Gentian Chamonix Trip (18th-26th July 2026)

For this year’s summer trip abroad, eight of us from the Gentian Club spent a week based in Chamonix in the French Alps, where we were well entertained with high-level day walks above the valley and three days of hut-to-hut touring in the Passy / Anterne massif.

The plan had been for Claire, Sheena and me to travel together and share accommodation but sadly Claire had to withdraw at the last minute due to an arising family situation. Sheena stayed the Friday night at my house and we were on the road to Luton airport around 7am on Saturday. A|lowing a little extra time for traffic, but not actually encountering any, we needed to pause for a few minutes at the services to avoid arriving at the airport car park before the start of my booking. EasyJet had advised arriving at the airport three hours before departure but, predictably, our journey through bag drop (for Sheena; I had only a cabin bag) and security took only a few minutes. So it was a long wait for the gate announcement and departure. I bought a New Scientist to keep myself entertained.

Eventually we were on our way, just a few minutes behind schedule, and had a smooth flight over scattered clouds to Geneva. The EES registration process and passport control did not cause significant delay, and while we were in the short queue we were able to book coach tickets departing about an hour later. Flixbus delivered us efficiently to Chamonix Sud, where Steve greeted us near the bus station (just opposite his and Mick’s accommodation). Soon we had checked into our apartment – having the luxury of a bedroom each owing to Claire’s absence – and had picked up a few provisions at Spar for breakfast and lunch. Then we met up with Ned, Vivienne, Steve and Mick for a good meal and drinks at a nearby bar-restaurant. The apartment seemed noisy above the busy square but we found closing the the shutters was very effective at keeping it quiet inside and I slept reasonably well.

Sunday was quite cloudy to start off but with a forecast of brightening conditions. Ned, Sheena and I settled on a walk above Les Houches and got the train there together from the Aiguille du Midi station just a few minutes’ walk from our apartments. Always keen to get some extra exercise, I opted to yomp up the forest paths to Bellevue while the others took the ski-lift up. With a bit of a head-start as they walked to the bottom station and bought tickets, I was only 25 minutes behind them at the top station (800m ascent: signpost 2h25, David 1h).

The meadow below Bellevue, with a view to Rochers des Fiz

I managed to catch back up with Ned and Sheena after about another hour’s brisk walking! The path up to Col de Tricot turned out to be very busy in the morning as it’s an official variant of the Tour de Mont Blanc so my rapid progress required lots of ambitious overtaking manoeuvres past the dawdling backpackers! The wobbly ‘Passerelle de Bionnassay’ footbridge carried the path over the torrent of the Bionnassay river – swollen with glacial meltwater this warm morning – then the meadows of Combe des Juments gave excellent views up the Glacier de Bionnassay to the Dôme du Goûter and Aiguille de Bionnassay.

The Boinnassay river from the footbridge

The TMB path zigzagged right onto the ridge of Mont Vorassay; where it bore left to traverse to Col de Tricot we continued up a small and overgrown path on the ridgeline to the summit, where we had a very scenic lunchbreak with new views south across the Dômes de Miage and west towards Pointe Percée.

We dropped down to Col de Tricot and followed the TMB path – quieter now – back to the Passerelle, then forked left through more alpine meadows past Le Planet. We reached a track at Les Bettières, and followed it steeply up to Col de Voza, rewarding ourselves with beverages at a café. That just left a fairly long descent on good paths down the ski pistes back to Les Houches, and an easy bus journey back to Chamonix.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3378020
Vivienne and Ned hosted us for a tasty dinner of watermelon, pasta and peaches in their apartment in the evening.

On Monday we chose a linear walk traversing the high slopes on the north side of the Chamonix valley, through the Aiguilles Rouges. Again, I gave myself a bit of a headstart and some extra exercise by walking up the attractive zigzagging paths through the forest to Planpraz (the mid-station of the Brevent lift) while Ned, Vivienne and Sheena got the lift up (1000m ascent: signpost 3h, David 1h15). They waited a few minutes for me at the top station, watching paragliders and hang gliders taking off. Some of the hang gliders had zoomed close overhead as I’d worked my way up the steep slopes!

We followed a rising traverse path to Col Cornu, then turned a short way down the path to Lac Cornu until we gained a good view of it. Then we continued along the ridge to Col de la Glière, from where we followed a spur path up to Lacs Noirs. There we watched a group of ibex grazing with a spectacular backdrop of Mont Blanc.

Looking over Lac Cornu to Rochers des Fiz

After returning to the ridge, we descended a little down Combe de la Glière before reascending to Col de l’Index where we paused for a lunch break once we’d got a bit away from the unsightly ski infrastructure. The rough, undulating path continued past Tête Aubuy to reach the tourist hotspot of Lac Blanc – slightly spoiled by the crowds but deservedly popular with the views across the water to the Mont Blanc massif.

Our descent led us down busy paths (again on the TMB route) past Lacs des Cheserys then down steeply – with a few sections protected with cables and aided with ladders – past the Aiguillette d’Argentière to the railway station at Montroc, from where it was about a 25 minute train journey back to Chamonix.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3379054

Ned and Vivienne stopped off for an hour between trains in Argentière for a drink with Martin and Cathy (near their accommodation) but Sheena and I headed straight back as it was our turn to host for dinner: nachos and veggie chilli followed by ice cream.

Tuesday’s walk was on the south side of the valley, taking in the Grand Balcon Nord that traverses below the pinnacles of the Aiguille du Plan ridge. The others fancied a gentler day before we started our hut tour the next day, but I of course wanted a bigger day out, so I made a circular walk from Chamonix while they did a there-and-back walk from the train station at Montenvers. It was another attractive climb, zigzagging up through the forest with good views of the Glacier des Bossons and the snowy peaks above (1200m ascent: signpost 3h30, David 1h45).

Glacier des Bossons from below the Midi lift

I paused for a snack near the Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille then continued along the balcony with grand views up to the rocky spires and across the valley to the Aiguilles Rouges where we’d walked the previous day. I met the others at the junction for the climb up to Signal Forbes and we chatted briefly before continuing our walks. I enjoyed lunch with dramatic views up the Mer de Glace – severely receded and mainly covered in rock at lower levels these days – and across it to the Grand Dru.

Looking across the valley to the Aiguilles Rouges

The Chemins du Montenvers path led me easily back down to Chamonix. I was back a few hours before the others. After a trip to Intersport to buy a map and to Spar for more lunch provisions, I was quite happy to have some quiet time to myself for a lazy afternoon in the apartment. Sheena and I had the leftover chilli for dinner.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3379879

The next three days were spent on a hut-to-hut tour in the limestone mountains a little further north. Martin Fell joined me, Ned and Sheena from the start. We checked out of our apartments and got the train down the valley to Servoz, then a bus up to the ‘Le Mont’ stop at the top of the village. Our main project for the day was the ascent from 970m up to the dramatic col of ‘Passage du Dérochoir’ at 2171m. The first half was mainly in the shade of the forest, making our way up the Souay valley to emerge in alpine pastures near the surprisingly large settlement of Ayères des Pierrières. There were stunning views over the chalets to Mont Blanc, and the cliffs of Pointes d’Ayères towered above us.

Looking back over Ayères des Pierrières to Mont Blanc

The rest of the ascent was steeper and rockier, on a scree path then through a huge boulderfield below the crags of Le Dérochoir. We stopped for lunch just before the final scrambly section up the cliff to the pass, which was aided with ropes, handrails and footplates in places, although they were mostly not needed in these very dry conditions. Martin found the exposure challenging but made it up with a bit of help and encouragement from Ned. The pass gave totally different views to the north across a karst landscape of dry limestone pavement either side of the Sales valley.

Our destination for the night was a couple of kilometres down the valley at the Refuge de Sales. Rather than a single large building as at most alpine huts, this refuge was spread across four chalets: one housed the kitchen and dining area and staff quarters, another the washrooms (but no showers due to very scarce water in this location), and two were dormitories. We rested over a couple of drinks and freshened up before the treat of a cheese fondue for dinner, followed by a delicious lemon meringue dessert.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3382039

Descending from the Passage, with views to Pointe d’Anterne

I didn’t sleep very well in a warm and noisy dormitory with around 30 others. In the morning, a helicopter made four visits to pick up a package of waste and deliver four large bags of supplies. Breakfast was plentiful and tasty and overall I would recommend Refuge de Sales for a rustic off-grid night.

The terrain was less challenging but no less scenic for the second day of our tour: a circuit around the north and east sides of Rochers des Fiz. The first few kilometres were downhill, descending the initially dry Gorges de Sales. After the river emerged from underground – marked ‘Resurgence’ on the map – it cascaded impressively down a series of waterfalls.

After a while, we forked right to join the GR5 and reascend through the woods to Collet d’Anterne, where we stopped for snacks on a small adjacent peak with a wooden cross and great views of Cirque des Fonts and down to Salvagny in the valley below.

The path descended slightly to cross the Ruisseau d’Anterne, then passed the Refuge d’Anterne ‘Alfred Wills’. The others stopped for coffee but I preferred just to sit nearby and take in the views of the long and sheer limestone cliffs of Rochers des Fiz above. Continuing, we zigzagged up to Lac d’Anterne and onwards to Col d’Anterne at 2257m where we regained views south towards Mont Blanc. A couple of chamois were grazing near the saddle. That just left a short but steep descent to our destination, Refuge Moëde Anterne.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3382075

This was a more typical refuge with all guest facilities housed in one building of several floors. The showers were out of service due to the drought but I wasn’t too much in need as the pace had been easy so not particularly sweaty! Vivienne and Steve had walked up from the Brevent lift and were there before us, and we all sat and chatted on the terrace with drinks for a couple of hours. At dinner, the local sausage and polenta was tasty but I felt the sausage ration was a bit stingy. The dormitory this time was more spacious, cooler and less noisy and, after retiring early, I had a better night’s sleep.

Drinks on the terrace at Refuge Moëde Anterne (Martin, me, Steve, Ned, Vivienne and Sheena)

As I was lying awake before dawn, I got up and went outside to watch the morning alpenglow and sunrise on Mont Blanc. The muesli and bread at breakfast were rather tasteless and disappointing, so overall the Refuge Moëde Anterne was more comfortable but a less enjoyable stay than Refuge de Sales.

Martin opted to take the shortest descent route, down the valley back to Servoz, while Vivienne and Steve joined the group for our walk out to Le Buet. The first few kilometres were traversing into the green meadows of the Diosaz valley, passing the ruins of Chalets d’Ecuelle and the still-occupied Chalets de Villy. Mont Buet loomed at the head of the valley, its southwestern slopes dominated by extensive landslips. I got a little ahead of the group and stopped to wait before the steep ascent to Col de Salenton. When Ned caught me up, he reported that they had agreed that he and I would tackle the ascent of Mont Buet while the others descended directly from the pass. Consequently, we continued at a faster pace together.

Looking up the Diosaz valley to Mont Buet

Looking back on the climb to Col de Salenton

We paused for a snack at the col, watching a couple of chamois nearby, then dropped a short distance off the east side to the junction with the Mont Buet path. A short way up, Ned found a suitable boulder under which to stash some of his gear to lighten his load (but I was content just to carry mine). The remaining ascent crossed a couple of snow fields then climbed many steep zigzags up the shaly slopes to the summit. We had taken 1h40 from the col, much less than the suggested 2h50, but later we decided the sign should actually have said 1h50 as that would have matched the ones coming from the other side!

Looking over the Aiguilles Rouges to Mont Blanc

The summit gave very extensive and impressive views in all directions: south over the Aiguilles Rouges to the Mont Blanc massif, west back to Rochers des Fiz and the high passes we had crossed on our mini tour, and east into Switzerland including the distant peaks of the Bernese Oberland and the high glaciated peaks near Zermatt (Weisshorn, Dent Blanche and Matterhorn were particularly prominent).

Looking towards Glacier du Tour, with many Swiss 4000m peaks in the distance

Tour Sallières and the Bernese Oberland in the distance

After lunch, we made our way back down all the zigzags, reclaimed Ned’s hidden gear, then descended very enjoyably over steep boulders and slabs to find the others sampling the homemade lemonade at Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard. We took advantage of their recommendation then continued together the rest of the way down the valley and through the forest to Le Buet. The via ferrata on the cliffs around Cascade de Bérard looked like it could provide a good morning’s entertainment sometime!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3383452

Back in Le Buet, we visited the hotel for a celebratory drink before getting the train back to Chamonix. Sheena and I checked into a quieter but more compact Airbnb apartment a couple of blocks away from the first one, and we self-catered together there for dinner that night (gnocchi and sauce).

On Saturday, Ned reported sore ribs and it was only Sheena and I who fancied another mountain walk. The obvious gap in our explorations of the valley was east of Montroc and Le Tour, so I devised a linear route in that area. As there were thunderstorms expected by mid-afternoon, I went for the lazy option this time and took the gondola up to Charamillon to save time. That only left a few hundred metres’ climb up to Col de Balme then an easy path with a hint of scrambling to reach Croix de Fer, a 2343m peak a short distance into Switzerland. There were more great views towards Mont Blanc, Mont Buet and into Switzerland, although it was much hazier than the previous days.

Aiguille Verte and Mont Blanc, from above Charamillon

We retraced our steps along the ridge and passed over the small peaks of Arolette and Tête de Balme before descending the TMB route to Col des Posettes. We continued up to Aiguillette des Posettes (2201m) and stopped for a lunch a little further on, once we were away from the busy summit. We finished our walk with an easy descent on the well-walked TMB trail down to Montroc and caught the train back to Chamonix.

We fancied an ice cream so got off at the main station and bought one in the town centre to enjoy on the walk back to the apartment – as it turned out we enjoyed our ice creams in a thunderstorm as we dashed the final few hundred metres! At least it justified the decision to skip the big climb at the start of the day!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3384159

In the evening, we met up with Ned, Vivienne, Steve and Mick for a meal out at a nearby crêperie. The galettes and crêpes were excellent and felt like a suitably French ending to the week. Steve generously treated us to the desserts in celebration of his recent 70th birthday. Afterwards we went back to Ned and Vivienne’s flat for a while, watching another thunderstorm outside, then said our farewells.

Chamonix Sud from our apartment on a wet Sunday morning

Sheena and I had a leisurely start to Sunday. The overnight rain had pretty much stopped by the time we headed to the bus stops (different stops for the same bus, due to our slightly inconsistent bookings!). The expected coach turned out to be a minibus, which meant we got to Geneva a little quicker. The passage through the airport was very quick, with a long wait in departures thanks to our prompt arrival, and the flight was again just a few minutes behind schedule. Back in England, passport control, baggage collection, car park transfer and drive home (via the motorway services for dinner) all went smoothly and I was home by 9pm. Enough time for a bit of unpacking and laundry ahead of the return to work the next morning!

To sum up, another excellent week among some very dramatic mountains. It was great to explore the Chamonix valley and surrounding areas more thoroughly in perfect weather having previously spent a greyer five days there in 2015. 120km was a fairly modest total distance over the seven days of walking but 9500m ascent was a bit more substantial! Just six weeks to wait before my next big holiday!

If you like, you can browse my full photo album here.

Gentian Braemar Trip (22nd-31st May 2026)

May is prime hillwalking season in the Highlands, a sweet spot of few midges and (usually) good weather, so it’s always with excitement that I make the trip north at this time of year. As I have the last two years, I joined the Gentian Club for their week-long meet, which this year went to the comfortable Mar Lodge bunkhouse near Braemar in the Cairngorms. Sheena and Claire travelled with me once again, meeting at my house on Thursday evening to drive up as far as my sister’s house for the night.

After a fairly leisurely Friday breakfast and a little time playing with baby Chloe (now 11 months), we continued north, taking a short comfort break at Abington services and a longer grocery-shopping and lunch break at Tesco in Perth. That just left 90 minutes’ drive over the Cairnwell Pass, and we arrived at the bunkhouse a little before 3pm. Although check-in time was officially from 4pm, the cleaner emerged a few minutes after our arrival to say that everything was ready, so we were able to unload, choose beds, and put cold goods in the fridge.

Ned and Vivienne arrived just as we were heading back out for an afternoon stroll up Creag Bhalg (the one nearby Graham still on my to-do list!), but couldn’t join us as they’d agreed to pick up Martin from the bus stop a little later. We ascended by good tracks up onto the broad ridge, then gradually up on short heather to the summit cairn. It was not a particularly remarkable hill, only 330m above valley level, but did offer great views of the high Cairngorms, with lots of enticing snow patches remaining after the very snowy spring. We made a round route of it by continuing over the east top to pick up another track traversing across the southern slopes to regain the upward route just above Mar Lodge.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3323261

Most of the others had arrived by the time we got back from the walk. Sheena kindly cooked me dinner and we all spent the rest of the evening chatting over a couple of drinks as usual.

The forecast for the week looked extremely promising, with settled dry weather, so I started as I meant to continue by offering a big walk up some Munros! Vivienne, Amanda, Claire and Sheena opted to join in for my proposed route over Carn a’ Mhaim, Ben Macdui and Derry Cairngorm. We drove the couple of miles to Linn of Dee then set off up the good tracks to Derry Lodge under mostly cloudy skies with the odd sunny spell. Continuing up Gleann Laoigh Bheag I crossed the Luibeg Burn easily, stepping from rock to rock, but the others declined to follow so I spent a few minutes watching them make their way 500m upstream to the bridge and back!

The path up Carn a’ Mhaim is not marked on the OS map but turned out to be heavily improved with stone pitching and drainage most of the way, making for easy progress. I hadn’t been that way before, as my one previous ascent was directly up from Corrour Bothy. The summit gave excellent views over the Lairig Ghru to Beinn Bhrotain and the Devil’s Point. After a short pause, we continued along the ridge – narrow by Cairngorm standards but not at all exposed – then made our way up the steep, bouldery, southwestern slopes of Ben Macdui. There were grand views of Cairn Toul and Braeriach, with lots of snow in the corries.

Views of Cairn Toul and Braeriach from the bouldery slopes

A short walk across the plateau brought us to the summit of Ben Macdui, the second highest in Britain but not a great viewpoint due to the flat ground all around. The wind was quite strong and we definitely needed our hats and gloves! We made our way east and enjoyed crossing several large snow patches in the shallow valley above Loch Etchachan. Further on, we gained grand views over Coire Sputan Dearg to our final objective, Derry Cairngorm.

Derry Cairngorm across Coire Sputan Dearg

After a break near the bouldery summit, we made our way down the long south ridge to Carn Crom. I took the short detour to the summit, which is listed in the new High Hills of Britain book, then caught up with the others on the descent back to Derry Lodge. That just left a fairly tedious 5km back along the tracks to the car to end a 30km day.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3323263

Sunday was similarly overcast and breezy. Howard proposed a linear walk taking in four Munros on the East Mounth, and I was happy to drive to help facilitate it. Six others joined too: Mike, Ned, Martin, Amanda, Claire and Sheena. We dropped my car at the end point near Baddoch, then drove over the pass to the Devil’s Elbow car park in Howard’s and Amanda’s. The ascent to Creag Leacach was quite scenic, beside a burn initially then up grassy slopes below Meal Gorm to reach the bouldery upper ridge. There were improving views up the pass to The Cairnwell and later south down Glen Shee.

Glas Maol had initially been in cloud but had cleared by the time we reached the summit of Creag Leacach. We continued up the widening ridge to cross that broad dome and pick up a Land Rover track across the plateau. I and a couple of others left the track for a detour to take in the views over the steep-sided Caenlochan Glen from Craigie Glasalt, and caught back up with the group having lunch near the summit of Cairn of Claise.

On the way to the day’s final peak, Carn an Tuirc, we took another short detour for a grand view over Loch Kander into Glen Callater. On the descent of the northwestern slopes we crossed a fairly steep snow field to reach a ruined hut and the small path down to the road. I ferried the other two drivers back over the pass to fetch their cars, and we were soon all back at Mar Lodge.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3323993

Monday was sunnier. I led another 30km walk, this time on the West Mounth, starting in Inverey, just a mile’s drive from the bunkhouse. Sheena and Amanda joined me. I’m sure Claire would have too, but sadly she had painfully damaged her toenails over the previous two days and was forced to take a few days off. The walk started with 8km on the valley track up Glen Ey to the ruins of Altanour Lodge. The distance passed quickly though, with pretty scattered trees, heather burning patterns in the heather above, and the meandering river in the valley bottom.

Intermittent ATV tracks and some off-piste sections led us to the foot of the northeast ridge of Beinn Iutharn Mhor, where we paused for a snack with views of An Socach, which John and Susie had climbed the previous day. A short, steep climb up a well-walked path led to the easy-angled upper ridge, where we gained views of Loch nan Eun, location of one of my wild camps many years ago. The view over the corrie above Lochan Uaine was greatly enhanced by the impressive remains of a large cornice. We visited the windy summit, with views of Carn an Righ and Beinn a’ Ghlo, before retreating a bit to a sheltered spot on the eastern slopes for lunch.

We returned to the east top then dropped down steeply across scree patches to gain the broad, heathery ridge to Carn Bhac – fairly hard going although not boggy as it might have been in more normal conditions. It was good to reach the rockier ground of the upper ridge, around the rim of Coire Bhearnaist to the summit. We dropped down east then contoured northeast to pick up the end of a well-used Land Rover track down the ridge of Carn nan Seileach to reach the Glen Ey track at Auchelie, about 3km above Inverey – not such a long and tedious walk out today!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3324808

Ned spent the evening planning and publicising a scramble up The Stuic for Wednesday. Several of the group wanted to save energy for that with an easy day on Tuesday, but given the continuing sunny weather I was still surprised that only Sheena joined me for my walk up Lochnagar, probably the grandest hill in the area! The drive via Ballater to to Spittal of Glenmuick took about 45 minutes, and we were soon on our way up the standard route via Clais Rathadan. Straight away, we passed a group of red deer, surprisingly the first we had seen on this visit to the Highlands. Further up, there was lots of colourful yellow broom beside the river. A helicopter passed overhead as we continued up the well-built path to the corrie rim.

We paused for a short while to enjoy the views over the lochan to the celebrated cliffs, then made our way up the boulders to the plateau and followed the cliff-edge path all the way over Cac Carn Mor to the highest summit, Cac Carn Beag. Part-way along, a ptarmigan posed obligingly for photos overlooking Meikle Pap! From the summit, there was also a great view of the proposed scramble for the next day.

Sheena at the summit of Lochnagar, with The Stuic in the background

We had our lunch in a sheltered spot below the summit tor, then made our way southwest towards Eagles Rock. Part way, we disturbed a large group of deer which, unusually, divided into two smaller groups rather than all running away together. The eastern group ran dramatically along the skyline above us.

The descent southeast from the 1051m top was an unconventional and partly pathless route but did offer views of Creag an Dubh-loch, where we could see that Central Gully, another of Ned’s suggested scrambles, was partly filled with snow as I’d suspected. Further down, we gained views of Dubh Loch itself, then the smaller Loch Buidhe. We joined the stalkers’ path down the valley for the final couple of kilometres to the head of Loch Muick, where we paused for second lunch on the shore. That left 6km on a path then a larger track along the south shores of the loch back to the car: scenic walking but it felt a long way! We paused at the Co-op in Ballater on the way back to the bunkhouse to pick up extra breakfast supplies (I had been assigned breakfast duty for the week).
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3325855

On Thursday I joined Ned’s walk and scramble, providing the second car to enable it to be a linear route from Invercauld Bridge to Auchallater. We dropped Mike’s car at the finish point then continued to the start in mine. Sheena and Howard also joined the group. The first few kilometres were gently uphill on tracks through the very pleasant natural woodland of Ballochbuie Forest. We were interested to pass a group harvesting sticks of heather for use in thatching. We left the forest on the track beside Feindallacher Burn and, soon afterwards, crossed it, all keeping dry feet except for Mike! We crossed some pathless ground over Druim Odhar to reach an ATV track that eased progress beside Allt Lochan nan Eun. Further up, it became just a small path up to the shore of Sandy Loch, where we gained views of The Stuic (our scramble) and up the corrie to Lochnagar.

Rather a rough climb through heather and some boulders led us to the shore of Loch nan Eun, right at the foot of the scramble. We took a lunch break in the lee of a large boulder, then set off steeply upwards. Keeping to the most interesting line on the lower section, the scrambling was more continuous than it had looked from below, on good rock with nice holds. Higher up, the crest of the ridge gave the easiest line and was a fairly well-worn route – deservedly so with the grand setting between two impressive corries. Apparently Lord Byron once ascended that way! Near the top, we saw a couple of ptarmigan on the rocks.

Mike, Ned, Sheena and Howard at Loch nan Eun

From the top of The Stuic, it was a short walk across the plateau to the (slightly higher) summit of the Munro, Carn a’ Choire Bhoidheach, where we had some more lunch. This was the first day without a strong breeze, so there was no need to seek a sheltered spot. Afterwards, we returned to The Stuic, where we bumped into John and Susie, who were doing a there-and-back walk from Auchallater. We had a short chat, then continued west across the undulating plateau, over Carn an t-Sagairt Beag to the day’s second Munro, Carn an t-Sagairt Mor.

Dropping down west a short distance, we passed scattered remains of a crashed RAF Canberra aircraft (from the 1950s), and gained views into Coire Loch Kander, which we had looked down on Howard’s walk a few days prior. Soon we were on a well-built stalkers’ path that led all the way down to Lochcallater Lodge. We spent a few minutes having a look around the MBA bothy in the old stable block, looked enviously at John and Susie’s bikes locked nearby, then walked the 6km down the track to the road.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3326886

A jet engine on the descent from Carn an t-Sagairt Mor

The good weather continued for the final day of the club trip, so I proposed another big day up onto the high Cairngorms, this time Beinn a’ Bhuird. Ned, Vivienne and Sheena opted to join me. We drove the short distance to Linn of Quoich and followed the high-level track across the slopes of Carn Elrig Mor to rejoin Quoich Water in the scattered, natural pine woods further up. We forded the river without difficulty and followed a helpful unmapped path east to gain the mapped one up to the ridge above Carn Fiaclach. From there, it was an enjoyable walk up large, grippy boulders to the rim of the impressive Coire na Ciche, then across the tundra to the South Top. We continued a few hundred metres north to the rim of Coire an Dubh-lochain rim for a lunch break with a grand view over the corrie and lochan and towards Ben Avon.

After lunch, it was easy walking around the corrie rim and then around Coire nan Clach to the Munro summit on the North Top – another flat summit that doesn’t do justice to this fine mountain! We retraced our steps for a couple of kilometres then took the path branching southwest to descend easily via An Diollaid back into Glen Quoich. Once we’d easily forded the shallow river, we were just left with a final stretch down the valley, the monotony of track walking this time broken up by a section of smaller, more attractive path beside the river.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3327822

In the evening, most of us went into Braemar for a tasty dinner at the Flying Stag bar at the Fife Arms Hotel. A great way to mark the conclusion of a wonderful week of Cairngorm hillwalking.

The next morning, we spent some time packing up our stuff and tidying the bunkhouse before saying our goodbyes and hitting the road. Claire, Sheena and I were heading to Pitlochry for an extra couple of days before returning home, to make best use of the weekend. We drove for about 75 minutes to reach the Ben Vrackie car park and followed the tourist route up via Lochan a’ Choire to the summit. Luckily, Claire toes had recovered enough for her to enjoy a bit of hillwalking again! Not so luckily, a shower blew through as we approached the summit and low cloud obscured the views for a while. We had lunch on a bench by the lochan then continued down to the car and drove into town.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3328949

The afternoon was a bit brighter and we enjoyed a few miles’ walk beside Loch Faskally, Loch Dunmore and the River Garry – pretty woodland although not as good in spring as in the autumn! We were surprised to find bungee jumping in progress under Garry Bridge, and watched that for a few minutes before heading back down the riverside path.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3328956

Back in Pitlochry, we checked into our accommodation at the Backpackers Hostel, got ice creams, then popped to the Co-op for provisions before an evening in the hostel.

Saturday started with a tourist parkrun at FeldyRoo Fitness Trail in Aberfeldy, a pleasant three-lapper beside the River Tay and through scattered trees on trail and grass paths. I was a little slower than of late, after a week of long walks and somewhat disturbed sleep, but did finish first out of 80 participants. Sheena annoyingly beat me by 0.01% on age grade!

After parkrun, we drove west along Loch Tay for a walk up Ben Lawers, starting at the high car park by the National Nature Reserve. The car park was quite full, with our late start on a Saturday morning, but the hill didn’t seem so busy. Perhaps lots of people had gone up Meall nan Tarmachan instead. Some afternoon rain was forecast but it stayed dry with sunny spells as we ascended towards Beinn Ghlas with extensive views over Loch Tay to Ben Vorlich and Ben More.

Looking up Beinn Ghlas from the nature reserve

The summit was just in the cloud, but we dropped back out of it at the bealach before Ben Lawers, and we paused there for lunch. The summit of Ben Lawers was also in cloud, but it never dropped much below 1000m so we had views all the way back along the traverse path below Beinn Ghlas. A bit of light rain fell as we descended Coire Odhar back to the car, and our finish was well timed as a heavier shower arrived as we drove back along Loch Tay.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3329772

Back at the hostel, I was feeling lazy and got fish and chips for dinner, while Sheena and Claire cooked their own meals. Sheena made an impromptu visit to a local ceilidh for the evening while Claire and I watched the film ‘Prince Caspian’, which was being projected in the hostel lounge. Not a great film – at least an hour longer than it needed to be – but it filled the evening!

We started Sunday with a short walk from Pitlochry to the nearby Black Spout waterfall, circling back via Moulin with good views of Ben Vrackie.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3330721

That just left the six hour drive back to Derby, which was free flowing except for some queues on the M6 near Knutsford. Definitely a trip that will leave behind lots of fond memories. I revisited 15 Munros and 1 Corbett, as well as bagging a new Graham the first afternoon, and we only had a few minutes of rain over the entire 10 days. And great to spend time with good friends. Midge season is starting now though, so I’ll leave it until October for my next Highland jaunt!

You can view my full photo album on Google Photos here.

Arenigs and Glyderau (16th-17th May 2026)

With a rare empty diary for the weekend, I decided to book a bed at YHA Idwal Cottage for an impromptu weekend in Eryri. Naturally, I wanted to fit in a new parkrun on the way there on Saturday morning. As the forecast was for rain pushing in from the west, it seemed best to get an early start and choose a parkrun close to a walk in the east of the National Park. Pont y Bala parkrun and the northern Arenigs fitted the bill. The parkrun course is a double out-and-back on flat tarmac paths beside the Rivers Treweryn and Dee, with good views of the surrounding hills. I was happy with my finish time of 18:10, especially considering I’d done a hard run on Thursday lunchtime. Second place in a small field of 84.

Afterwards, a few minutes’ drive brought me to the shore of Llyn Celyn where I started my walk. The first ascent was on a good track, across the ridge of Foel Boeth then up to the summit of Carnedd y Filiast, which has a large cairn and a trig point. It had stayed dry so far, but I could see rain approaching from the west and, sure enough, I needed to don full waterproofs as I started my descent towards Llechwedd-llyfn. Light rain fell on-and-off for the rest of the day, accompanied by a chilly wind.

Looking across Llyn Celyn to Mynydd Nodol

The route towards Arenig Fach mostly followed a boundary fence. There was a reasonable path beside it to start off but it deteriorated into bog and tussocks further down near the Afon Gelyn. It felt a hard slog through the vegetation approaching and climbing the northeast ridge of Arenig Fach. I paused for lunch part-way up, once I’d gained a view over Llyn Arenig Fach. The summit area was just in the cloud, so I didn’t stop for long before starting my descent east, back to the road. That just left a little over 1km of roadside walking to get back to the car, pausing briefly at the Capel Celyn memorial chapel that commemorates those buried in the graveyards submerged by the reservoir. I had not seen another walker all day, and I am sure that very few visit these peaceful hills.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3315906

Gloomy skies as I headed towards Arenig Fach

It was about an hour’s drive to the Ogwen Valley, which I reached about an hour before the hostel opened for check-in. It was still raining – more heavily than in the east – so I just sat in the car and read a book to pass the time. I had an uneventful evening, showering, cooking and eating dinner, then reading until bed.

Sunday’s weather forecast was much better, with sunny spells expected in the morning and a few showers later. Having had an early night, I woke quite early and was ready to go before 7:30. I drove a mile east to park near the foot of Tryfan, and started my day with the steep, scrambly ascent of its popular north ridge – although I had beaten the crowds and only saw two other walkers on my way up. There were a few spots of rain and the rock was damper and greasier than I’d hoped, but I still made quick progress to reach the top in about 75 minutes.

Looking over Llyn Ogwen to Pen yr Ole Wen

Looking down the valley to Pen yr Helgi Du and Creigiau Gleision

It was getting notably sunnier as I descended the south ridge to Bwlch Tryfan. The rock was getting drier too, so I decided I’d go up Bristly Ridge. As it happened, when I reached the foot of the initial gully and was double checking that it was indeed the correct start point, another walker – Darren from Reading – arrived and did the exact same. We ended up walking together for the rest of the day! The scramble was the highlight of the day, with drier rock than on Tryfan and no doubt about the correct line once started. There were excellent views back over Tryfan towards the eastern Carneddau.

We were going a bit more slowly than I otherwise would have, but there was no shortage of time and it was good to have company and conversation, so I continued with Darren over Glyder Fach (clambering up to the cantilever stone and to the summit), around the south side of Castell y Gwynt, and on to Glyder Fawr (visiting both summit tors). There were good views of the sunlit Moelwynion to the south, and towards Y Lliwedd and Crib Goch. Snowdon stayed mostly in the cloud but did emerge for a few minutes. There was a scattering of other walkers on the ridge but generally it was not as busy as I expected considering the bright weather.

Looking towards the Moelwynion and Y Lliwedd

Snowdon not quite clear, from Glyder Fawr

The scree descent to Llyn y Cwn was not as loose and unpleasant as I remembered. This was followed by an easy walk up to the summit of Y Garn, where we paused for lunch in the shelter cairn with a grand view over the Ogwen Valley. Dark clouds were gathering as we set off again and a couple of light showers did pass over as we descended the good path back to Llyn Idwal and the valley.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3317106

The view of Pen yr Ole Wen, Tryfan and the Glyders, from Y Garn

I was on the road before 2pm and, thanks to light traffic, home soon after 4:30. Great to have got away for the weekend and revisited some of Snowdonia’s quietest and best known hills! You can see my full photo album here.

Great Birmingham Run (3rd May 2026)

On the Sunday of the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, I took part in the Great Birmingham Run half marathon. Thought I’d write a very short blog post as I took a few photos on my quiet early-morning (around 7am!) walk from my parking spot near the finish (Aston University) to the start line in Centenary Square ahead of the 8:30am start (for my orange wave).

It was the largest running event I’ve competed in, with around 17000 runners split roughly equally between the half marathon and a 10k, sharing the same start and finish. It certainly felt like a major occasion with with lots of uniformed marshals, a lot more race infrastructure than at smaller events, and lots of supporters out on the roadside. Not a particularly scenic race route overall but it did pass a few well-known landmarks in the city centre, Selly Park, Cannon Hill Park and Edgbaston Stadium. I’ve been in good running form lately so set off optimistically just inside my PB pace (from 2021) and was delighted to be able to cling on to the end for a 20 second PB of 1:24:33. 135th place out of 8465.

Charnwood with Kate (25th April 2026)

Kate and I met up for a deferred day of walking and talking. As she had been suffering from a sore Achilles tendon, we opted for a gentler stroll through Charnwood Forest rather than something in the Peak District. I started the day with a run at Beacon Hill Country Park parkrun, one of my favourite local events even though this was only my second visit! It was a lovely morning for the hilly run up through the bluebell woods, around the summit area, then back down to the finish. I had hoped for a sub-20 result so I was pleasantly surprised to finish in 19:17, despite the more than 100m ascent. Kate arrived a little later and joined me, plus Will and Jane who had also run, for a coffee in the cafe.

Our walk started with an ascent back to the summit of Beacon Hill, with extensive views, then followed footpaths through Broombriggs Country Park and across the golf course to reach Bradgate Park, where we had our picnic lunch on the rocks near the summit. We descended east, walked through Swithland Wood to Swithland village, then followed the footpaths that were once part of the Woodhouse May Day Challenge route back to Woodhouse Eaves. A crowd of trainspotters were waiting on a railway bridge over the Great Central Railway to see a heritage locomotive pass by. We made a final loop up Windmill Hill before returning to the cars below Beacon Hill.

Then we headed back to Kate’s house to catch up with Robin and the children and have a barbecue dinner in the garden, for which we were also joined by the Farrows. A good day in the sunshine and lovely to catch up with everyone.

There’s a map of our route here and a few more photos here.

Marilyn-bagging around Welshpool (11th April 2026)

A few of the Marilyns in England and Wales are located on private land. Most notorious for people being intercepted by the landownder and told to ‘Get Off My Land’ (GOML) is Upper Park, in the heart of the Powis Castle estate just outside Welshpool. Helpfully, the Relative Hills Society (RHSoc) has occasionally made arrangements for an accompanied group walk to the summit. This was the first such opportunity to fall on a convenient day for me, and I duly snapped up a place.

It was about a 1h40 drive from home so I was on the road a little before 7am to arrive in good time for the 9am meet-up. Sadly the schedule did not allow for any parkrun tourism on the way! The group was actually divided about 50-50 between Marilyn Baggers and amateur radio enthusiasts wanting to visit the summit for ‘Summits on the Air’ (SOTA). Our guide didn’t actually feel the need to accompany or supervise us on our route, simply greeting us, advising us of the approved route, and that we could take our own time as long as we’d departed by noon.

Naturally, I walked up with the faster members of the party. The radio operators spread themselves out across the grassy summit area and set up various elaborate antennae to score their SOTA points by contacting others from that summit. The hill baggers were content just to take in the views for a few minutes! Most were a lot further along their Marilyn-bagging journey than me, and it seemed most had travelled a lot further than me to tick off this obscure hill!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3314218

I walked down to the car with a few other baggers and set off to my next objective, Stingwern Hill, a few miles to the west. Verge parking on the lane just to the north of the summit allowed for a very short walk up and down a couple of fields to the summit with trig point and more views over undulating Welsh border country.

The view from Stingwern Hill, with Upper Park right of centre

My final hill for the morning was Caeliber Isaf, a few miles southwest of Montgomery. I parked on another grass verge, waited a little while for a shower to pass, then improvised a route south through a few fields to the grassy summit. A farm worker doing some fencing watched me from a distance but didn’t seem bothered by my walk across the farmland so thankfully no GOML was received! I dropped down west to a bridleway, then followed that track and the lane back to the car.
Approximate route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3314220

Looking west from Caeliber Isaf, with rain approaching

I ate my packed lunch in the car as a band of heavier rain set in, swiftly deciding (based on a radar check) that it was not worth taking a drive to any of my other unbagged Marilyns a bit further west. Accordingly it was just an early-afternoon drive back to Derby.

There are a few more photos here.

Graham bagging from Beauly (2nd-7th April 2026)

Once again, I spent the long Easter weekend in the Highlands – a total of six days having taken annual leave on Maundy Thursday and with Easter Tuesday being a fixed holiday at Rolls-Royce. To get a head start on the journey north, I went as far as my parents’ house on Tuesday evening and worked remotely there on Wednesday. Then it was less than three hours to my overnight accommodation at Stirling Youth Hostel, with a stop at Sainsbury’s for petrol and a few breakfast and lunch provisions. After checking in, I walked into town for a fast-food dinner.

Snoring room mates meant it was not the best night’s sleep. Unfortunately the best of Thursday’s weather looked like it would be in the morning, and I had a few more hours to drive to reach my destination, so I was up early, and on the road soon after 7 o’clock. I arrived in Strathconon to start walking in hazy sunshine soon after 10. My objective for the day was a Graham, Carn na Coinnich, on the south side of the glen. A good track led me up the first 100m or so, then it was a clamber up rough heather to reach the northwest ridge of Meall Doire Fheara. There was snow above about 400m – patchy at first then complete coverage – and some rocky outcrops to add interest. The high ground gave excellent views across Strathconon to Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn (Corbett).

I continued past Loch an Daimh Ghlais and Loch Gruamach to reach the slightly higher summit of Carn na Coinnich, with a trig point and views of the very snowy Strathfarrar Munros. I dropped down to a good track on the east side of the hill and followed that all the way back down to Milton, and was pleased to be back at the car before any rain arrived.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3271188

Looking over Loch an Daimh Ghlais to the summit of Carn na Coinnich

Looking over Glen Orrin to the Strathfarrar Munros

Even better, the rain came later than forecast and I was able to get to my campsite in Beauly, pitch camp, pop back out to the Co-op, return to camp and cook and eat dinner in the dry! A bit of rain did fall in the evening and overnight.

Friday started bright again and I decided to head up Glen Affric for two close-together walks up Grahams. First up was Carn a’ Chaochain, south of Cougie. I had not realised that the lane to get there, marked in yellow on my map but not on the latest edition, was only a gravel track beyond Tomich, and slow going with lots of potholes. Just short of Cougie I found a digger working on track maintenance, so I had to park a little further east than intended.

The ascent started up a very waterlogged path through the forest, but got firmer as it got steeper higher up, then crossed some open moorland to reach Bealach Feith na Gamhna. The high Munros on the north side of Glen Affric looked spectacular in the sunshine!

A short, steep ascent got me onto the snow-covered summit ridge, passing a 704m trig point en route to the 706m summit. The views extended to include the Cluanie Munros to the west, and the rounded bulk of Aonach Shasuinn (Corbett) a bit closer. I descended northwest across rough moorland then down clear-felled slopes to reach the valley track back to Cougie. My plan to reach the (apparently more scenic) track on the north side of the river was thwarted by the mapped bridge no longer being there, so I stuck with the southern option!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3272025

The Cluanie hills and Aonach Shasuinn from the summit of Carn a’ Chaochain

On the drive back down the track to Tomich, I paused at the popular Plodda Falls for a quick walk around the waymarked half-mile loop. The falls had an impressive vertical drop into the Deabhag gorge and an unusual cantilevered viewing platform directly above!

I drove the few miles back up the main Glen Affric road and parked at Chisholm Bridge, beside Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin, named after my next peak. I ate my lunch in the car there as a heavy shower passed through, then set out again. The ascent started on a good path through the forest to reach the main Gleann nam Fiadh track, which I followed for a short distance before diverting onto a rather boggy ATV track that led most of the way up to the summit of Beinn a’ Mheadhoin. The view was dominated by Sgurr na Lapaich, Tom a’ Choinnich and Toll Creagach, which came in and out of sight as a few snow showers blew through (but nothing significant fell on my lower hill). The wind was cold, so I didn’t hang around long before retracing my steps back to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3272026

Loch Affric and Sgurr na Lapaich from Beinn a’ Mheadhoin

After dinner by the tent, I spent the rest of the evening in “Captain Faff’s” campsite bar (only open on Fridays and Saturdays) – a good place to sit in the warm and dry with electric lighting to read by!

The forecast looked daunting for Saturday with Storm Dave expected in the evening and the wind gradually building before that. It was another sunny morning though, and I started my day with a visit to the recently-established Belladrum parkrun (event number 11), just a five minute drive south of Beauly. This was an attractive three-lap course through undulating parkland with sheep grazing and views of distant snowy hills. My legs felt tired after walking through quite a bit of snow the previous two days and I was disappointed with my finish time of 19:41.

After the run, I headed off immediately to get started on the day’s walk, the chosen Graham being Carn Gorm near the bottom of Glen Cannich. I parked near Craskie and walked up the track past the house then steeply up beside the burn on faint trods to a gap in the deer fence (as described in others’ bagging logs). There was a bit of fresh snow almost down to valley level. Then I followed intermittent paths east, aiming for a prominent cairn on a rocky shoulder, which offered good views up the valley to Loch Mullardoch and the high hills that surround it.

Looking up Glen Cannich to Loch Mullardoch

A short distance further on, I reached an unnamed 638m top, giving improved views past the Corbett, Sgorr na Diollaid to the Strathfarrar Munros. I dropped down to Loch Coire an Uillt Ghiuthais then reascended about 150m to the fairly flat Graham summit. Cloud was gradually building but there were still glimpses of blue sky so I decided I would make the effort to include the bonus top of Sgorr na Ruadhraich, which was actually rockier and more interesting than its higher neighbour.

Looking over Sgurr na Ruadhraich to the North Mullardoch and Strathfarrar Munros

A flurry of fine snow was just arriving as I started my descent, so I pressed on down the easy slopes as quickly as I could, re-joining my upward route near the prominent cairn and soon getting back down to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3272879
It was actually dry again by that point, and stayed dry long enough after I got back to camp that I was able to make a cup of tea on the camp stove and get showered and changed before it started to close in for the storm. It was no evening for camp cooking, so I drove into Beauly to get fish and chips then made another visit to Captain Faff’s! The snow was coming down pretty heavily and a couple of inches had settled on the grass and tent by the time I went to bed. I shook most of it off the tent to reduce the load, and a while later noticed that it sounded more like rain hitting the canvas. Thankfully the winds never became particularly strong and my sleep was not really disturbed by the storm.

Most of the snow in the campsite, very near sea level, had melted by morning, but anywhere above 50m had a good covering, and the hills were very white indeed! It seemed that the snow at low levels was wet enough to be easily cleared by vehicle traffic so I gambled that I would be able to drive up Strathconon again for the day’s walk – a good choice as there were pretty clear tyre tracks all the way, with just a bit of slush in places. I parked on the snowy verge at the start of the track to Inverchoran.

My first objective for the day was Beinn Mheadhoin. It was quite hard work heading up the track below the slopes of Creagan a’ Chaorainn with the snow depth quickly increasing with height and and some deep drifts to cross. After that, the stalker’s path on the map could certainly not be traced on the ground and I was walking off-piste the rest of the way up the hill’s heathery and rocky northeastern slopes. The ice axe was definitely required for security in places on the steep, deep snow. Above the first steep section, I was surprised to find that there were several obvious cairns to guide the way.

Very gloomy over Creagan a’ Chaorainn as a shower approached

It was pretty bleak on the summit, my arrival unfortunately coinciding with a squally snow shower. There were indistinct views through the spindrift and falling snow, west to Bac an Eich and south to the Strathfarrar hills. I soon headed back down, the route-finding being aided by those cairns in the temporarily reduced visibility. Further down, it brightened up again, and I was able to follow my own footsteps back to the track and road.

Checking the weather forecast as I reached the car, I saw that a significant band of snow was about to arrive, so I decided to sit in the car for lunch and let it pass before heading back up the other side of the valley to my second peak, Meall na Faochaig. Even after the shower, the wind had increased so it was colder than the morning. The route started up the long zigzag of a stalker’s path to reach the saddle behind Creag Iucharaidh, once again hard work in quite deep snow. Conditions were changing rapidly with moments of blue sky and sunshine alternating with grey clouds and light snow.

Looking over Loch Beannacharain towards Moruisg

Above that, the ascent of the hill’s obvious southern spur was tough, with quite a bit of spindrift and lots of deep drifts to wade through, again making plenty of use of the ice axe. It certainly felt more than a 300m steep ascent to the ridge! There were some good views across Gleann Meinich to the Corbetts of Meallan nan Uan and Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn as I walked the final few hundred metres east to the Graham summit. Moruisg was also visible beyond the head of Strathconon, and Fionn Bheinn to the north. I could see darker grey skies approaching as I started the steep part of the descent, so I dropped down as quickly as I could. There were a few minutes of fairly heavy snowfall as I walked the final section down the stalker’s path. It had not settled at all on the road though, so the drive back to camp was straightforward.
Route map (for both hills): https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3274028

After several productive days, I only had one unbagged Graham left in the area: Beinn na Muice near the Loch Monar dam. That meant a drive up the private Glen Strathfarrar road, so I made sure I was at the gate when it opened for the day at 9am. There were only half a dozen cars waiting so no problem being within the 25 permitted per day. The website suggested that parking for the summer season was only at Mhullie Greens – convenient for the popular Munros. I suspected it was actually possible to drive much closer to my objective, and so it proved, but I decided to stick with the guidance anyway and just enjoy the extra valley walking to make a fuller day.

It took a little over an hour to cover the 7km past Braulen Lodge to the bottom of the Allt Toll a’ Mhuic track. The road and valley bottom were totally snow-free, and it was only above about 500m that I found significant snow as I climbed the east ridge of Beinn na Muice – helpful as the lower slopes required clambering up a very steep grassy and heathery gully that would have been unpleasant with soft snow added! There was much more snow to the north on Sgurr na Muice and the Strathfarrar Munros beyond that were fully white. I felt that the couple of groups setting off to do that traverse were quite ambitious in those conditions, given that there were only 8 hours available before gate closure!

Sgorr na Diollaid from Glen Strathfarrar

Looking over the River Farrar to the North Mullardoch hills

Sgurr na Muice and the Strathfarrar Munros

I enjoyed the final section up the gentler, rockier upper ridge, with improving views of the North Mullardoch Munros. From the summit, there was a spectacular vista along Loch Monar towards the Glen Carron hills, particularly Lurg Mhor, Sgurr a’ Chaorachain and Maoile Lunndaidh, and I had quite a few photography stops!

Lurg Mhor, Sgurr a’ Chaorachain and Maoile Lunndaidh

I descended the gentler western slopes, with ice axe in hand initially for the snow and actually used as a walking stick all the way down to Monar Lodge because these were some of the most slippery, waterlogged slopes I’ve walked on! I was pleased to reach the solid, grippy ground of the valley track without falling over! I took a short detour across the dam, which was a great viewpoint back to Beinn na Muice, paused for lunch a little further down, then enjoyed the easy walking back down the road to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3274974

Back in camp, it was a much milder evening. I filled the time with the usual shower, tea and dinner routine, then packed up what I could to aid a quick getaway in the morning, and got an early night. Back up at 6am, I had broken camp and hit the road south by quarter past seven. It took about three hours, via the petrol station in Inverness, to the start point for my morning walk near Amulree in Glen Quaich. I could see that the hill was pretty much snow-free all the way to the summit, so set off without the ice axe this time. A good track led easily up Glen Lochan past Lochan a’ Mhuilinn, then I made a rising traverse up the steep grassy slopes to gain the ridge west of Creag Grianain. It was just a short climb from there up to the day’s Graham summit, Beinn na Gainimh, which offered good views over Glen Almond to Ben Chonzie and beyond. I followed the ridge around the head of Henzie Burn to Meall Mor then enjoyed an easy descent on soft but dry grass back to the track and car. The high Cairngorms in the distance were still very white and reflecting brightly in the sunshine.
Route map; https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3276410

I drove the short distance to Crieff, paused for lunch, then continued south back to my parents’ house, a motorway closure due to an accident north of Penrith unfortunately delaying me by about 30 minutes. Refreshed after dinner and a chat, I did the final 2h15 stint back home and got most of my unpacking and sorting out done before bed.

You never know what you’re going to get in the Highlands at Easter. It can be anything from full winter conditions to totally snow-free, and this year I got the former! Some days there were options to add Munros onto my Graham routes but, with the sheer amount of soft snow at high level, it wasn’t appealing and I was happy that the conditions made simply climbing these 600-700m hills more exciting and challenging than it would otherwise have been! In total, I ticked off eight Grahams over the six day trip, taking me to 146 down, 85 to go. I expect my next visit to the Highlands, with the Gentian Club to Deeside at the end of May, to be much more Munro-focussed!

You can see my full photo album on Google Photos here.

Gentian Little Langdale Trip (19th-22nd March 2026)

The Gentian Club’s March meet was in the south of the Lake District, based at the Fylde Mountaineering Club’s small and cosy hut in Little Langdale. Claire travelled with me again, and we took the Friday off work to extend the weekend, which turned out to be a great decision thanks to warm and sunny weather. We drove up to Hale on Thursday evening and stayed at my sister’s house for the night – also chance for a bit of interaction with nine-month-old baby Chloe over breakfast.

Claire’s nearest unbagged Wainwrights to Little Langdale were actually in Eskdale, so we drove over the Wrynose and Hardknott passes in the morning to tackle a long-ish horseshoe there. Our first objective was Hard Knott, which we ascended via the Roman Fort and Border End. We continued down the broad north ridge with good views of Crinkle Crags and Bow Fell to the right, and the Scafell range to the left. Lingcove Beck was easily crossed (more hesitantly by Claire!) after a few dry days, to reach the long, gentle south ridge of Esk Pike. I hadn’t taken that route before – great views of upper Eskdale but it felt a long way and we had a well-earned first lunch near the summit. This was also the first place we saw any others walking, except on the road in Eskdale!

Mediobogdum Roman Fort, on the ridge of Hard Knott

Descending from Hard Knott, with views of Crinkle Crags

We continued over Esk Hause and along the well-trodden bouldery ridge to Scafell Pike – more pleasant than often thanks to the reduced crowds of a Friday afternoon. There were great views towards Great Gable and Pillar in particular, although haze reduced the clarity. Soon we continued down to Mickledore where we opted for the Lord’s Rake route to Scafell as there was no significant snow on the ground. Ruth had suggested the ‘West Wall Traverse’ variant and it looked more appealing than the loose upper parts of the Rake so we gave that a go – I would recommend it as the rock is generally more solid and you emerge closer to the summit of Scafell.

Looking back down the West Wall Traverse

After second lunch we pressed on south to Slight Side, our final Wainwright of the day. It was already around 4pm so we tried not to faff much on the long, grassy descent of the quiet footpath above Cowcove Beck and into Eskdale, and finally got back to the car around 6pm. That just left a short drive back over the two passes to the hut, where we arrived just before dark. We were surprised to find nobody in residence – turned out the others had gone to the pub for a drink. The evening was spent over dinner, a couple of drinks and lots of conversation, as usual.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3259277

Burnmoor Tarn, Illgill Head and Wast Water

Saturday started with the traditional group breakfast of porridge and toast. Hoping to attract a few companions for the day, I proposed a medium walk from the hut around Greenburn onto the Coniston Fells. Julia, Teena, Simon and Jayne, plus the ever-reliable Claire, opted to join me. The overnight frost soon cleared in the warm sunshine, but the air was even hazier than on Friday. Our first destination was Great Intake – rough going on small paths and some tussocky ground, but a decent viewpoint towards the Langdale Pikes and Wetherlam, and there were some interesting old slate workings.

The Langdale Pikes and Lingmoor Fell from Great Intake

Claire, Teena, Julia, Simon and Jayne on Great Intake

We joined some better paths on the ridge of Birk Fell, which made for quicker going, then there was a little easy scrambling on the steeper climb up Wetherlam Edge. We had a bite to eat at the summit, then continued via Black Sails (Simon and Jayne took the direct path) to Prison Band and up to Swirl How. After lunch near the summit, we continued across the gentle saddle to Great Carrs and its air crash memorial. Simon and Jayne opted to continue directly down Wet Side Edge while the rest of us took the scenic detour to Grey Friar and the Matterhorn Rock. Wet Side Edge gave an easy, grassy descent back into Greenburn, with a slight detour to the Birkett summit of Hell Gill Pike, which offered unfamiliar views over Wrynose Bottom. We had a quick look around Cathedral Cavern before returning to the hut for the usual tea, cake, showers, dinner and drinks.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3259875

Julia, Claire, Teena, Simon and Jayne on Great Carrs

Sunday started with breakfast together, than some packing and cleaning and tidying of the hut. As usual, most of the group wanted short walks before the drive home on Sunday. Claire and I went for a fuller day out, ticking off a few more of her unbagged Wainwrights on a walk from Dunmail Raise. First up was Seat Sandal, where we were surprised to gain views over a cloud inversion to Steel Fell, the Langdale Fells and the distant Scafell range.

Looking west over the inversion from Seat Sandal

A short but steep descent brought us to Grisedale Tarn, always a pretty spot, then well-pitched zigzags led up to Dollywaggon Pike for some grand views of Saint Sunday Crag and across Ruthwaite Cove. It was easy walking from there over Nethermost Pike and we paused for lunch in a surprisingly sheltered spot overlooking Striding Edge.

At the summit of Helvellyn, a member of the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team sold us a couple of tickets for the upcoming duck race, and supported my suggestion that we add a loop of Swirral and Striding Edges to our itinerary! Claire was motivated by a visit to Catstycam, of course, while I fancied the scrambling on the nice dry rock. About 1h45 later we were back on the summit of Helvellyn, but without views this time as the cloud had dropped to around 750m. We descended the well-built Birk Side path in light drizzle, but pretty much dried out again on the final traverse back to the car at Dunmail Raise.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3261033

We decided to take up Ruth’s offer of roast chicken dinner in Hale, then had an easy drive back to Hilton, arriving at mine by 9pm. Another fun weekend away with the Gentians, with three contrasting walks and a first taste of summery weather for the year. Claire bagged seven new Wainwrights, and I realised we also visited the highest three (Scafell Pike, Scafell and Helvellyn)! My full photo album can be found here.

Southern Edges from Calver (22nd February 2026)

With the ‘blocking system’ that caused six weeks of wet and gloomy weather over the UK to start 2026 finally having moved away, we’ve started to get a few brighter days in between the frontal rainfall! Last weekend, I was very pleased that the first properly sunny day coincided with the Winter Half Tour of Bradwell, a 28km fell race. This weekend the better weather came on Sunday, which worked well for me as Saturday had been well filled by parkrun and a brass band contest.

Although I wasn’t feeling very energetic or motivated in the morning, I knew that I would not regret heading up to the Peak District and forced myself to plan a not-too-strenuous walk in the east (which looked like it would have the sunniest conditions). The southern gritstone Edges are a perennial favourite for me, and today’s route also took some inspiration from the Baslow Bolt fell race that I ran last autumn. It was about an hour’s drive up to Calver, my chosen starting point, and there was barely a cloud in the sky as I set off east over Hare Knoll, with grand views over the Derwent Valley. I dropped down to New Bridge and followed the riverside path north to Froggatt before zigzagging up through the woods to Curbar Edge, which looked great in the sunshine.

Curbar and Baslow Edges, across the valley

I followed Curbar and Baslow Edges south, mostly keeping to the smaller paths close to the edge itself for the best views of the rocks, with Longstone and Eyam Moors across the valley. Although it was a very mild day with warm sunshine, the strong westerly wind brought a significant chill, particularly at the top of the cliffs!

Looking over Chatsworth from Curbar Edge

From Wellington’s Monument, I turned east on the track then took the waterlogged path over the moor up to Birchen Edge, pausing for a few more photos by Nelson’s Monument and the ‘Three Ships’ rocks, inscribed as Victory, Defiance and Royal Sovereign.

Looking back up to Nelson’s Monument and the Three Ships

I paused for lunch in a sheltered spot on the descent to Robin Hood. Once down at the road, I crossed over and followed permissive paths through the Chatsworth Estate along Dobb Edge, then down into the open parkland and out of the turnstile gate to Baslow. The final hour’s walking was the muddiest and slippiest of the day, up the fields and along the ridge of Bank Wood back to Calver.

You can see my route here and more photos here.

Manifold Valley with Kate (7th February 2026)

Kate had messaged me in the New Year to say she’d like to meet up for a few days out in the hills. The first appointed day turned out to have rather a wet weather forecast, but we went for it anyway, choosing one of the nearer parts of the Peak District as it didn’t seem like we’d be well rewarded for a longer drive. We started the morning at Markeaton parkrun, with a few of my regular parkrun buddies, then drove up to Wetton for the walk.

There was light rain and low cloud as we headed up to the eastern (and highest) summit of Wetton Hill, but it began to improve as we descended north and continued to Ecton Hill. From the trig point, we descended through the old copper mines to Ecton village and paused nearby for lunch before following cycle tracks and lanes down the Manifold Valley.

As conditions were relatively bright when we reached Wettonmill, we took the scenic route over Ossoms Hill to Grindon, where we had a quick look around the church. Then we dropped back down Ladyside and ascended past Thor’s Cave (which we decided would be too slippery to enjoy exploring) to get back to Wetton, more rain arriving as we entered the village.

The misty Manifold Valley from above Thor’s Cave

We returned to my house for a cup of tea and more chat, then went for an early pub dinner at the Hilton Brook (my local, but only my second visit in 16 years!) before Kate headed home. A good day out and great to catch up with Kate for the first time in over a year. Looking forward to our next outing in a few weeks’ time!

You can view a route map here and a few more photos here.

Gentian Welsh Winter Trip (23rd-25th January 2026)

Four years have passed since I first attended a Gentian Club meet, and each of those years has started with a ‘Welsh Winter’ gathering in Eryri (Snowdonia). This year’s base was, as last year, the comfortable Capel Tanrallt bunkhouse near Penygroes, in the northwest of the National Park. Claire and I travelled together after work on the Friday, leaving my house at around 5:30, stopping for dinner at the services near Chester, and arriving at around 8:45. We unloaded, settled in, and chatted over a couple of drinks until bed.

Saturday’s forecast was for strong winds, gusting 45-60mph on the highest hills. As always, I was the weather optimist, and proposed a hill walk, hoping that the 700m peaks of the Nantlle Ridge would be low enough for the wind to be manageable. Claire, Ned and Sheena opted to join me, while all the others opted for lower level walks from the hut. We drove to the east end of the ridge, above Rhyd-Ddu, in my car. It was very blowy as we put our boots and coats on, but the wind actually didn’t seem to increase very much with height as we climbed steeply up to Y Garn, with improving views of Yr Aran and Moel Eilio.

The rock was quite greasy but the wind not a major issue as we continued up the easy scramble to the summit of Mynydd Drws-y-coed, gaining better views south towards Moel Hebog. With the southeast wind generally either a crosswind or on our backs, we continued over Trum y Ddysgl then across the narrow grassy arete to Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd, with its prominent obelisk. There we found some good shelter behind a dry-stone wall for first lunch.

Claire on the rocky ridge up Mynydd Drws-y-coed

The ridge to Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd and Craig Cwm Silyn

Claire, Ned and Sheena on Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd

A larger grassy descent (in the wind) and rocky re-ascent (sheltered on the north side of the ridge) brought us to Craig Cwm Silyn, the day’s highest summit at 734m, This was followed by some easier walking along the nearly-level ridge to Garnedd-goch, where we paused briefly for second lunch by another wall. There were good views over Cwm Dulyn to the Lleyn Peninsula as we continued across Bwlch Cwmdulyn to Mynydd Graig Goch, our final summit of the day. There was a well-trodden grassy path down the northern slopes to the outflow of Llyn Cwm Dulyn, then a few kilometres of footpaths and lanes to get back to Tanrallt. Although the wind had been fairly strong and cold, it was mostly possible to walk steadily and there was never any risk of being blown over, so it was definitely the right decision to have gone out in the high hills!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3211634

Looking back from Craig Cwm Silyn, with Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in the cloud in the distance

The Lleyn Peninsula from Mynydd Graig Goch

Ned drove me back to Rhyd-Ddu to fetch my car. Once back at the hut, I refreshed myself with tea, biscuits and a hot shower, then relaxed until dinner. Ned had prepared a delicious cottage pie for the meat eaters, and Steve had brought a bottle of port to share afterwards. We had a good discussion of potential plans for the proposed Chamonix meet in July, and settled on a rough itinerary for the week, with a few day-walks followed by a few days of hut-to-hut touring on the Aiguilles Rouges.

Sunday was forecast to be a little warmer and have lighter winds, and we were pleased to find lots of blue sky near the west coast when we got up. I proposed a walk up Moel Hebog from Beddgelert Forest, and Ned, Vivienne and Claire opted to join me this time. Once we’d packed up our stuff and tidied the bunkhouse, we set off on the 15-minute drive to the free car park in the forest. It was nice and calm in the valley and actually felt pretty warm in the sunshine!

The first couple of kilometres of walking were on tracks and bridleways through the forest, with one small detour near Meillionen where the path was closed for forestry works. From Cwm Cloch we gained the rough and sometimes boggy path up the northeast ridge of Moel Hebog – quite a long slog with nearly 700m of height to gain and stronger, colder winds higher up. As we climbed, there were beautiful views over Nant Colwyn and Nant Gwynant, and towards the Moelwynion with Cnicht, Moelwyn Mawr and Moelwyn Bach prominent. From the top, you could see down the coast towards the Rhinogydd, with Tremadoc Bay looking splendid in the sunshine. Surprisingly, the flat grassy area just north of the summit was very calm – I guess the easterly wind was separating off the top of the steep eastern slopes and going right over our heads!

Claire approaching the summit of Moel Hebog

Looking towards the Rhinogydd and Tremadoc Bay

After a short pause, we descended northwest on short, steep grass – thankfully dry and not too slippery – pausing for lunch in a sheltered corner near the bwlch. A short re-ascent led through some impressive crags to Moel yr Ogof. There we enjoyed some good views towards Snowdon, the cloud lifting for a little while to reveal significant snow coverage above about 900m. Crib Goch also peeped through the Y Lliwedd saddle in the sunshine.

Descending from Moel Hebog towards Moel yr Ogof

A gentler final traverse led to the day’s final summit, Moel Lefn, from where we could follow a good, rocky path all the way down to the next bwlch where a public footpath crosses over. There were superb views to all the previous day’s summits on the Nantlle Ridge, and some interesting derelict mine workings in Cwm Trwsgl. The footpath gave very rough and boggy going through the rough moorland and felled forest all the way down to Hafod Ruffydd, where regained our outward route for the final few minutes back to the cars. Another cracking day out in the hills!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3212629

We said our goodbyes and Claire and I had an excellect, clear drive back to Derby in just under three hours. A great first meet of the year for the Gentian Club, and now we look forward to March’s meet in Little Langdale. My full photo album can be found on Google Photos here.

RR (not)Butlins 2026 (9th-11th January 2026)

Rolls-Royce Derby Band’s fourth annual (not)Butlins social weekend went to Priestcliffe, in the heart of the Peak District, organised this year by Tim and Janice. Heavy snow had fallen on the Thursday night, with around five inches on the ground in the High Peak, so we were a little apprehensive about the road conditions for the drive up. However, all the gritted routes had been well cleared by Friday afternoon and the farmer had helpfully ploughed the one mile of lane from the A6 into Priestcliffe, so the journey was straightforward (except for Will and Jane, who inadvertently and unsuccessfully attempted one of the smaller lanes into the village!).

Our accommodation was the luxurious ‘Broadway Barn’, a very smart barn conversion sleeping twelve in six bedrooms. Jeff and Helen prepared baked potatoes for dinner and the rest of the evening was spent chatting over a few drinks.

Predictably, both the nearby parkruns were cancelled, so I led our own improvised 5K run from Priestcliffe in the morning instead. Jeff, Helen, Will, Jane and Tim joined me on the perfect crunchy snow with enough give in it for the shoes to grip well but enough firmness not to be hard work or get wet feet. We followed a track and footpath down into Miller’s Dale, turned west up the Monsal Trail for a while, then picked up another footpath back to the barn. A perfect morning with the beautiful snow all around and clear blue skies overhead. We enjoyed coffee and bacon sandwiches for second breakfast to warm up on our return. The others had popped out to the farm shop at Chatsworth for their breakfast.

Jane, Will, Helen, Jeff and Tim on the Monsal Trail

In the early afternoon, we set off in three groups to the Angler’s Rest in Miller’s Dale. I led an 8km route with Jeff, Will and Tim via Blackwell and Chee Dale with its famous stepping stones along the bottom of the cliffs in the narrowest section of the gorge. The stepping stones were, thankfully, not icy, but the same could not be said for some of the other sections of path traversing on sloping ledges above the river – great care required and luckily none of us fell in!

Jeff and Tim traversing an icy path above Wye Dale

Jeff, Tim and Will on the stepping stones

Another group walked down by a more direct route, while some others drove. We gathered for a drink in the cosy hikers’ bar, then the long-walk group walked the 2km back up the hill to Priestcliffe just before dark.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3200432
Jeff and Helen cooked lamb burgers and jam sponge for our delicious dinner, accompanied by a few more drinks and some games and more chat in the evening.

Sunday was a wet day, so there was no temptation to head out for another walk. We had a leisurely start, cleaned and tidied the barn, packed our bags and were on the road by 10am, the remaining ice on the road now mostly turning to slush. We headed to the café at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton for morning coffee and cake, then went our separate ways.

Back in Hilton, the snow (only ever about two inches) had almost entirely melted and I felt virtuous after running a half marathon around the local lanes in the late-afternoon once the rain had stopped! A good end to an excellent weekend with friends in a lovely part of the county!

You can find a few more of my photos here.

New Year in Glen Nevis (28th December 2025 – 3rd January 2026)

For this year’s New Year trip to the Highlands I had booked myself a private, ensuite room at Glen Nevis Youth Hostel for six nights, hoping to revisit a few of the impressive nearby Munros and tick off a few new Grahams. I set off around 9am from my parents’ house and had a good clear drive up, with a lunch stop in Tyndrum and a supermarket stop in Fort William, arriving around 3pm when check-in opened. After unloading, I took a very short stroll by the river as a prolonged temperature inversion had left the valley trees spectacularly frosted while the hillsides above were warmer and ice-free. I was surprised to be greeted ‘Hi David’ by a passing runner, which turned out to be Alex Stearn, an occasional CUHWC trip attendee now living in Kendal and married to my sister’s friend Alice. They and son Albert were also staying at the hostel for the next three nights and provided me with some welcome company in the evenings!

The forecast looked excellent for the first two days of the trip. On Monday, my walk took in the three westernmost Munros of the Mamores, which I had only visited once before. I drove a few miles up the valley and parked at Achriabhach, starting walking at around 8:40: a little before sunrise but there was plenty of light to walk by. The walk started with a steep and relentless 1000m climb up the northwest ridge of Sgurr a’ Mhaim, which certainly warmed me up despite being in the shade most of the way! I had been gradually gaining on two others ahead and they were still by the summit when I arrived. Mist was swirling around, occasionally dropping a little to give a view over an inversion to Ben Nevis.

There was a chilly breeze so I didn’t hang around for long before setting off along the so-called “Devil’s Ridge”, a name that greatly exaggerates the level of challenge, which has only a couple of easy rocky steps and barely constitutes more than an exposed walk. There were grand views of the twin pyramidal peaks of Am Bodach and Sgurr an Iubhair with inversion behind them. Soon, I was at the summit of the latter, taking in the views south over the inversion, with only the highest Munros protruding above, most obviously Bidean nam Bian and Beinn a’ Bheithir.

I followed the well-defined ridge west to the day’s next Munro, Stob Ban, which gave more inversion views and also a fine panorama of the Nevis Range and Sgurr a’ Mhaim. Another 3km via a subsidiary top brought me to my final peak of the day, Mullach nan Coirean. I passed a few other walkers on this section of ridge, including one other solo walker who was staying at the hostel, and caught up with two more pairs at the summit. We descended more-or-less together down the rather icy northeast ridge, although it did not merit spikes or crampons as the worst patches could be avoided with care.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3190803
I popped back into Fort William for more provisions before returning to the hostel for the night.

Looking south from Stob Ban over the inversion

Tuesday was an even better day, with lighter winds and clearer skies expected, so I opted for the celebrated hillwalkers’ route up Ben Nevis via Carn Mor Dearg. I arrived at the North Face car park soon after 8:30 and was surprised to find it virtually full already – it seems most people start in the dark rather than going fast as I prefer to! I was able to find room to park on the verge near the entrance and was soon underway.

I followed the main path up beside the Allt a’ Mhuilinn for a couple of kilometres, overtaking a few folk heading for winter gully climbs, then took the smaller left fork up the north ridge of Carn Mor Dearg. There was a thin layer of mist hanging over the surface of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil to the west.

The hillside was very icy up to about 600m – frozen water rather than compacted snow – but it was always possible to pick a route around rather than having to don crampons. There were lots of groups ahead and I had overtaken more than 20 people by the time I reached the top of Carn Mor Dearg. There was a lot of old snow on the eastern slopes, well seen from the subsidiary peak of Carn Dearg Mheadhonach on the way up. It was also spectacular to see the sun appear from behind the peak of Carn Mor Dearg as I emerged from its shadow!

Ben Nevis from the icy slopes of Carn Mor Dearg

Several others were putting crampons on at the summit but the first section of the arete could be negotiated entirely on dry rock, so I delayed putting mine on until a couple of hundred metres further on, where the snow did become unavoidable. The ice axe wasn’t required as there were lots of rocks to hold onto, and the old snow was very solid and reassuring to walk on. As the ridge began to swing around more to the west, it became snow-free again, so I took the crampons back off. The final steep climb up to Ben Nevis was straightforward but did involve crossing some fairly steep snow patches – there were excellent footsteps left by those who had climbed when the snow was softer, but I did get the ice axe out this time for security.

Soon I emerged on the flat snow of the summit plateau where there were, of course, plenty of others who’d come up by the tourist path, as well as a few climbers emerging from the north face gullies. I spent a bit of time looking at the views in different directions: over the cliffs, back to CMD and Aonach Mor, and south over many mountain ridges. The very distant peaks of Ben More (Crianlarich) and Ben Cruachan were readily identifiable, as well as lots of nearer hills in the Mamores and around Glen Coe. Ardgour and Glenfinnan were also beautifully sunny to the west.

Looking over the North Face to Carn Dearg

Looking south over the Mamores and Glen Coe

I decided to put the crampons back on for the descent of the first few zigzags, on continuous firm snow. Although it was mostly fairly grippy in just boots, I was able to walk with more confidence and speed with guaranteed traction! I had a late lunch break by the halfway lochan, which was really warm in the sunshine, then took a direct, off-path route over the moor back to the riverside to rejoin my upward route at a bridge just above the forest. I was back at the car soon after 2pm, so it had only taken about 5 and a half hours to complete the route – definitely no walking in the dark required! It had been a perfect winter day out on Britain’s highest mountain.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3191610

Looking over Meall an t-Suidhe to Loch Eil

The weather deteriorated markedly by Wednesday morning, with milder temperatures, but lower cloud and drizzly showers. I decided Graham bagging would give the best chance of views, and drove south to Ballachulish to visit the two near there. I parked at the visitor centre and set off initially up the path towards Beinn a’ Bheithir’s ‘Schoolhouse Ridge’, which I had done with Ruth and Josh a couple of years prior. This time, though, I continued up Gleann an Fhiodh and crossed the River Laroch below the mapped cairn, as I had previously done on approach to the Corbett, Fraochaidh. The river crossing was straightforward, the stepping stones not icy, but the steep 150m climb through rough heather to the ridge was just as tough as I remembered!

On the crest of the ridge, I was surprised to find a fairly well-trodden path all the way up to the summit of Sgorr a’ Choise. The peak was in and out of the mist, but did give intermittent views back down to Loch Leven and across the corrie to the second Graham, Meall Mor. Continuing, the ridge was broader and more grassy all the way, with any boggy parts still well frozen despite the rise in air temperatures. The summit gave a bit of a view into Glen Coe but all the higher peaks were in the cloud, as expected.

I followed a rough path down the northwest ridge to the transmitter on a subsidiary peak, then a better path down the edge of the forest and around the rim of the quarry back into Ballachulish.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3192481
Due to the frequent, drizzly showers, I’d only stopped briefly for snacks and photos, so I had my lunch in the car before driving back to Fort William, with another pause at Morrison’s on the way.

Thursday and Friday were forecast to be much more wintry, with stronger summit winds and frequent snow showers blowing in from the north. I struggled to decide what to do, and went to bed with the intention of starting New Year’s Day at Fort William parkrun. But looking again at the forecast when I woke, I felt a little more optimistic and targeted a remote Graham by Loch Arkaig instead. It seemed that the freezing level would remain high enough that the road to the Chia-aig Waterfalls car park would remain clear even if snow showers came at higher level, and so it proved.

I parked at first light and set off along the track towards Invermallie in the dry. Soon the first of many light showers (of rain at low level, but snow above about 300m) blew in, and I switched from soft shell to waterproof jacket for the rest of the day. It felt a long way to the ruined house at Glenmallie, despite the good track, and it was still another 3km on a rougher path to shielings at the bottom of Coire nam Fuaran. The views were initially dominated by Beinn Bhan, then by Meall a’ Phubuill, and finally by the back (relative to the normal ascent route) of Gulvain.

I had been surprised that the guidebook route made the ascent so far up the valley, but it made sense on seeing that the slopes there offered shorter, less tussocky grass than further east. Nevertheless, it was a steep and tiring slog of 500 vertical metres in just 1.3km, which I completed in 50 minutes. A group of deer were sheltering in the back of the corrie, out of the northwesterly wind.

Meall a’ Phubuill and Gulvain, from near the top of Mullach Coire nan Geur-oirean

The summit was marked by a small cairn. I was fortunate to arrive just after the end of a sharp snow shower, and at the start of a brighter spell that lasted long enough for me to complete the exposed 4km walk east along the ridge. The wind was quite strong and gusty so it was good to have it mostly on my back. Straying north of the crest from time to time gave the best views over Loch Arkaig to Sgurr Mhurlagain (Corbett) and Meall Blair and Sgurr Choinnich (Grahams). The Munro Gairich, by Loch Quoich, also came into view for a while.

I was looking out for an ATV track that the guidebook said would lead me back down into the valley, and it turned out to be pretty obvious and improved with boards across the boggiest bits, although that was not necessary this time with the terrain being well frozen. The longest and heaviest snow-storm of the day came in as I started the descent, and was just about ending as I arrived back on the valley track, where a shepherd’s shed offered some shelter for my late lunch break.

That just left a 10km march back to Gleann Cia-aig. Sunshine returned and I had some good views of Beinn Bhan and Glas Bheinn with notably more snow on them than there had been in the morning.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3192917

I was back at the car by 3pm and so was able to drive back to the hostel in daylight. Snow began to fall at valley level in the evening, with more overnight, amounting to about 3 inches in total. I didn’t really fancy a long drive or a long solo slog through deep snow so picked a local, lower-level walk for Friday that would still take in a couple of hilltops.

Snow continued falling until about 9am, so I had a leisurely start. The Glen Nevis road is pretty flat so it was not a difficult drive out to the main road to park at the Fort William Leisure Centre. From there, I followed the popular footpaths up onto Cow Hill, already well walked since the snowfall. I visited first the north summit (by the transmitter) and second, after some bushwhacking, the slightly higher south summit (with no footprints and a small cairn). Both were fine viewpoints over Loch Linnhe.

Beinn na Gucaig, from the true summit of Cow Hill

I continued down the main track to the lane above Achintore, followed that south for a few hundred metres, then took the path up to the summit of Druim na h-Earba, a 288m Marilyn. The lower slopes were popular for sledging, it turned out, but the summit was quieter. The cloud base had been gradually rising, with longer sunny spells, and there was a superb view across the loch towards Sgurr Dhomhnuill in Ardgour. Beinn na Gucaig also looked very fine on my side of the water.

Looking over Loch Linnhe to Sgurr Dhomhnuill

I had lunch near the top, then followed the lane back into town, picked up a few last provisions at Morrison’s, and then returned to the hostel.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3193594
A little before sunset, the top of Ben Nevis even cleared for a while. Part of me wished I’d been higher to enjoy the afternoon brightness, but I still didn’t really feel like a long slog through deep powder. After dinner, I re-packed all my kit and got an early night ready for an early start.

Sunshine high on Ben Nevis, from the hostel

I was on the road at 6:30am, heading south in hope of visiting a parkrun in the Glasgow area. Another 3 inches of snow had fallen overnight, so it was a slow trundle to the A82 then more cautious miles beside Loch Linnhe in falling snow with a light dusting on the road. It seemed unlikely I’d make it to Glasgow by parkrun-time, but at Ballachulish the snow stopped and the road became black, and was then fully clear all the rest of the way. The skies cleared too, with the full moon illuminating the peaks of Glen Coe and the Black Mount.

I paused for fuel at Dumbarton and checked the facebook pages of my candidate parkruns: Erskine Waterfront had cancelled due to ice but Victoria was going ahead, so that became my destination. Jo and Dave had run there on Christmas Day, by chance! I found roadside parking right outside the park gates at 9am which gave enough time to take a few dawn photos of the frozen duckpond and do a warm-up before the 9:30 start. It was a flattish and fast course and, despite the very cold air, I managed to run a pleasing time of 18:16, achieving my best ever age grade – first time over 75%!

I didn’t hang around long before continuing my drive south. It went well as far as Penrith, then I got delayed by a couple of hours trying to find the best way around the M6 closure for a railway bridge replacement. With hindsight, I should just have accepted the signed diversion, as all better alternatives had been closed, and I ended up back on the official route anyway. Very tedious, and by the time I reached my parents’ house for a very late lunch I had had enough driving for the day. Luckily I was able to stay the night there and delay my return to Derby until Sunday morning.

Quite a memorable New Year trip to the Highlands overall: two spectacular sunny days on Munros with little snow but lots of ice, then three increasingly snowy days on lower hills (including three new Grahams). While fairly expensive, my private hostel room had provided a convenient and comfortable base and it was an excellent way to fill the time between Christmas and the return to work. You can view my full photo album here.