Black Forest and Vosges (8th-12th May 2019)

I spent a long weekend visiting Alex and Ausma in Vögisheim on the edge of the Black Forest, a little over two years since my last visit. Although the forecast looked rather wet for much of the trip, the reality was much better with only a few short showers, all of which we managed to avoid!

Having flown out on Wednesday evening, I had Thursday to entertain myself while my hosts were at work. I went for a morning walk from Vögisheim through some of the nearby forests and vineyards, followed by an afternoon run on a shorter route. In the evening we took a short bike ride over the hill to Mauchen for dinner at a “Strausse” (seasonal vineyard restaurant). On Friday Alex was able to take the day off work, and challenged me to a run up the Blauen, the highest nearby major summit in the Black Forest. The run amounted to 25km, my longest ever, with over 1000m ascent, the most I’ve done without walking! After some well-earned pasta carbonara for lunch we had a more leisurely afternoon picking up provisions from some nearby farm shops.

On Saturday we headed north to the low hills of Kaiserstuhl just west of Freiburg. The highest point, Neunlinden, proved to be a good viewpoint with the Black Forest to the east and the Vosges mountains to the west. I also enjoyed ascending the distinctive terraced slopes with vineyards, and passing through an interesting arboretum on the descent, with many unusual trees from all around the world. We followed the walk with a late lunch at the restaurant of a free-range turkey farm!

Finally, on Sunday, we drove west to France for a walk in the foothills of the Vosges mountains, starting in Husseran-les-Châteaux. As well as some attractive mixed forest and the occasional rocky outcrop, we enjoyed looking around five ruined castles, and some great views over Colmar and the Rhein valley back to the Black Forest.

All in all, a lovely relaxing weekend and it was great to catch up with Alex and Ausma.

Full photo gallery at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vgnwFy2mRU7Rd25K7

Looking over a vineyard to the Blauen
A rocky outcrop near Château de Hohlandsbourg

Parents’ visit (2nd-7th May 2019)

My parents visited me in Hilton for the long May Day bank holiday weekend. As Dad and I were taking part in the Woodhouse May Day Challenge, a 13.5-mile trail race, on the Monday, our walks the previous days were shorter and more leisurely than they might otherwise have been. The weather was dry and bright but with a cold northerly wind.

On Saturday, after a morning run at Markeaton parkrun, we headed to Blore for an afternoon walk through the Hamps and Manifold valleys, with good views of Dovedale and Thorpe Cloud for much of the time. On Sunday we walked from Thorpe on the Limestone Way through Tissington village, returning via the Tissington Trail. Both were areas I hadn’t previously explored very thoroughly, adding to the interest.

Full photo album at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ysvMppTTHn77gcef6

Mum and Dad above the Hamps valley

Band trip to Keswick (26th-28th April 2019)

For the fourth biannual Rolls-Royce (Derby) Band hillwalking weekend, seven of us travelled to Keswick and the Lake District’s Northwestern Fells. We stayed at the very friendly and smartly renovated YHA hostel in Keswick.

On the Saturday, most of us started with a run at Whinlatter Forest parkrun, a good challenge as the hilliest parkrun in the UK with around 200m ascent and the finish 50m above the start! After coffee and bacon sandwiches in the cafe, we all headed to the Newlands Valley for a walk up Catbells and back along the shore of Derwent Water. A few heavy showers and windy squalls passed over during the walk, but it was dry for the majority of the time and we were low enough to remain out of the cloud with great views both east and west. In the evening we headed into Keswick for an excellent pub meal at the Packhorse Inn followed by drinks at the hostel.

On the Sunday, Jeff, Helen, Heather and I felt energetic enough for a longer walk in much better weather. Starting in Braithwaite, we did an anticlockwise round of the Coledale Horseshoe, taking in five Wainwright fells (Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Grasmoor, Crag Hill and Sail). We enjoyed excellent views of Skiddaw, the Vale of Keswick, the Loweswater Fells, and at lunchtime a particularly fine vista over Rannerdale (with bluebells) and the Buttermere valley from Grasmoor.

Full photo album at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Zq7q4bHx3n4sNkGr7

Ashleigh, Helen, Jeff and Jo on Catbells
Helen, Jeff and Heather at our lunch spot on Grasmoor

Kentmere Horseshoe (23rd April 2019)

With Easter Tuesday being a fixed holiday at Rolls-Royce and Ruth being back at work, I took the opportunity for a morning walk in the Lake District before returning to Derby. The recent theme of warm but hazy sunshine continued for my brisk anticlockwise round of the Kentmere Horseshoe, a route I’d not done for a few years.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gHdhXT2WwnpJMNug9

Blea Water and Haweswater from Mardale Ill Bell

Loch Voil, Tyndrum and Glen Lyon (18th-22nd April 2019)

As usual, Ruth and I spent the Easter long weekend Corbett-bagging in the Highlands. With Easter being late this year we’d opted mainly to camp, a decision that was well justified by the excellent warm and dry weather throughout!

As I’d been out running with friends on the preceding Wednesday evening, I made an early start on Thursday to drive up to Loch Voil via Ruth’s, arriving around noon with plenty of time for an afternoon walk up the impressively steep and craggy Stob a’ Choin. We then continued north to Tyndrum to set up camp at By The Way for the first two nights. Friday’s walk was the biggest of the trip, taking in the five Corbetts east of the A82 above the pass to Bridge of Orchy in 21 kilometres packed with over 2000m ascent. This is the only place where five Corbetts can readily be bagged in a single walk.

After breaking camp on Saturday we drove around to Glen Lyon for a couple of days. Saturday’s walk took in two rounded hills above Innerwick, Cam Chreag and Beinn Dearg. The former was grassy and the latter heathery, with both offering hazy views south to Ben Lawers and north to Loch Rannoch. With no campsite nearby, we chose a semi-wild camp by the very quiet roadside just below the dam of Loch an Daimh. Sunday’s walk at the very head of the glen proved more interesting, with Meall Buidhe and Sron a’ Choire Chnapanaich offering excellent views of Beinn Heasgarnich, Beinn a’ Chreachain and Loch an Daimh.

For the final night of the trip, we enjoyed the relative luxury of Loch Voil Hostel, the spectacular lochside setting of which was just about worth the slow and very rough four-mile drive along gravel tracks on the south side of the loch to get there! This remote base gave us the opportunity for an unusual but attractive route to Monday’s hill, Beinn Stacath, ascending via Bealach Griseach and returning via the forestry tracks below Coire Odhar.

11 Corbetts over the course of the trip took me to 185 down, 37 to go.

Full, labelled photo album at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3J71dGw4uHA6ndHs6

A scenic lunch-spot on Stob a’ Choin, with views of the Crianlarich Munros
Sron a’ Choire Chnapanaich had superb views down Loch an Daimh

Top o’ Selside (13th April 2019)

I was taking part in the Kong Mini Mountain Marathon in Chapel Stile on the Sunday, so I headed to the Lake District for a full weekend based at Ruth’s house in Natland, where my parents also happened to be visiting. On the Saturday Ruth and I ran at Fell Foot parkrun near the foot of Windermere, then went for a couple of hours’ easy walk up nearby Marilyn, Top o’ Selside, which I had not previously bagged. This gave excellent views over Coniston Water to the Coniston Fells.

N.B. I didn’t take photos during the KMMM, but did just about have time to appreciate the great surrounding scenery as I ran through the Langdale and Easedale fells, in weather that was much better than it had been for my previous similar event last August!

Full photo album of our Top o’ Selside walk at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5c6BHW5ZNXM2TM4DA

Coniston Water and the Coniston Fells

Fauld Crater (6th April 2019)

A few years ago my parents and I were walking near Hanbury in North Staffordshire and saw surprising signs warning of unexploded bombs! We were skeptical, but a little research on getting home that day revealed that it was the site of the Fauld Explosion, in which an arms depot accidentally blew up in 1944, in the largest explosion ever seen in the UK. But I never got around to returning to the area to get a view of the crater… until this afternoon! It was more impressive than I expected, and the short stroll fitted the bill on a rest day before tomorrow’s Loughborough Half Marathon.

Photos at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/raZ4EASufCjMFzDg8

The Fauld crater

Alport Castles and Derwent Edge (31st March 2019)

Loading my photo archive onto this blog over the past few weeks has inspired me to get back out into the Peak District more often. I devote more of my weekend time to running, orienteering and brass banding these days, but that’s given me a break from many local places that had become over-familiar and boring, such that I find myself with renewed interest in re-exploring!

With a good clear and dry forecast today, and following a couple of weeks of dry weather, it seemed a good time to head to the moors of the Dark Peak. I opted for a 28km circuit starting by Ladybower Reservoir at Ashopton Viaduct. I started by ascending via Crook Hill to Alport Castles – always a dramatic viewpoint – then dropped back down to Howden Reservoir and followed the track up to its head at Slippery Stones. Then I took the high moorland route back over Margery Hill, Back Tor and Dovestone Tor, with their interesting rock formations and great views over the Reservoirs to Bleaklow, Kinder Scout and Edale.

Just a couple of photos here. As always, the full album is on Google Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QgjhTWyAMMVWGFht9

Looking over The Tower at Alport Castles, to the Woodlands Valley and Kinder Scout
Win Hill, from Whinstone Lee Tor

New Year trip to Crianlarich (30th December 2018 – 6th January 2019)

I joined Dave and Jo (+ baby), Ruth and James for New Year week in Crianlarich, where I enjoyed re-visiting six Munros (including three with baby thanks to the calm, dry, non-snowy conditions!) and bagging four new Corbetts.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GqbkUqLAmqH4mVhCA

Jo (+1), Dave and Ruth at the summit of Ben Lawers (baby’s third Munro, at just 12 weeks old!)

Band trip to the Yorkshire Dales (5th-7th October 2018)

The third biannual Rolls-Royce Band hillwalking weekend went to the Yorkshire Dales to tackle the Three Peaks Challenge. Plus photos of my solo Friday walk on Kirkby Fell, and a few survivors’ Sunday-morning walk around Gordale Scar and Malham Cove!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zBfiX33vzM5oVES27

The group below Pen-y-ghent: Andrew, Heather, Grahame, Heather, Jeff, Helen, Jo, Pete, Ian and Ben

Bank Holiday weekend in the Lake District (25th-27th August 2018)

I headed up to the Lake District for the Bank Holiday weekend. On the Saturday I walked in the Northern Fells to bag the newly-identified Nuttall of Miller Moss. On the Sunday I tackled my first Mini Mountain Marathon (of which no photos), a four-hour score event on the fells north of Ambleside. Finally, on the way home on the Monday, I bagged Ward’s Stone (a Marilyn) in the Forest of Bowland.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/V9t512Pd11z6dT2a8

Skiddaw