Rannoch and Aberdeenshire Grahams (27th October – 1st November 2025)

My autumn break in the Highlands this year was a little less than a full week, as the best option was squeeze the trip in between a Sunday brass band contest one weekend and a Sunday cross-country race the next. I got away from Desford, post-contest, at around 3pm, and paused briefly at home to change, drop off the euphonium and pick up my holiday bags. Unfortunately my journey north was then disrupted by road closures on the M6 sliproad at junction 16 and on the M80 near Cumbernauld, both requiring improvised diversions. I eventually reached my Travelodge in Perth just after 10pm – a long day but still better than the alternative of tackling the drive with Monday-morning traffic!

Rising around 7am on Monday after a good night’s sleep, I was soon back on the road, and it took another couple of hours to reach Rannoch Station, the last 50 minutes being a tedious 30 miles along B-roads from the A9 at Calvine! My first walk of the day was up the nearby Graham, Stob na Cruaiche, on the north side of Rannoch Moor. I expected this to be an excellent viewpoint over the famous moor so I was pleased that it was a sunny morning!

I followed good tracks up through the woods onto the shoulder of Meall Liath na Doire, then the ridge was mostly pathless for the remaining 6km to the summit. The views provided great motivation though, improving as I ascended, both northwest over Blackwater Reservoir to the Mamores and Grey Corries, and southwest over Loch Laidon and Rannoch Moor to the Bridge of Orchy hills, Black Mount and Glen Coe. There was an interesting triple memorial cairn to members of the Pearson family on one of the intermediate tops.

Looking over Blackwater Reservoir towards Glen Coe and the Mamores

Looking east to Schiehallion from the triple memorial cairn

It was a cold wind on the summit, so I only spent a few minutes taking in the views before setting off on the descent. A somewhat improved ATV track led east, dropping gradually off the south side of the ridge to enter the forest alongside the Allt’ a Bhuirich and follow its banks easily down to the main forest track. That just left 3km back to the car. I was surprised to see a man on a mountain bike, exercising his dog, and two others cycling together. I paused for a few minutes on the inland beach at the foot of Loch Laidon, which looked pretty spectacular under the blue skies!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3146922

After a lunch break in the car, I drove a few miles east to Bridge of Gaur where I started my shorter second walk of the day. This went up the 601m Graham, Leagag, now included in the list thanks to the change of minimum height from 2000ft to 600m. A good track led up beside the Allt an Fheadain and Allt a’ Mheanbh-chruidh to gain the west ridge of the hill, which led easily to the summit in little over an hour. I was surprised to pass one other walker descending. The cloud had lifted a little to reveal Ben Alder’s snowy plateau in the view to the north over Loch Rannoch, while Schiehallion and the Glen Lyon hills were prominent to the east. I descended the same way as the alternative route via Loch Finnart looked rather boggy!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3146925

It was another tedious drive back down the B-roads through Kinloch Rannoch and Tummel Bridge to Pitlochry Youth Hostel, my home for the night. I had never previously found beds available there on my visits to the town, having to stay instead at the Backpackers Hostel, and I was pleased that the SYHA hostel had better facilities, a quieter ambience, and a lovely view. An unexpected bonus was that I had the six-bed dormitory to myself for the night!

Tuesday’s forecast was poor, so it was fortuitous that my plan involved just one Graham, with most of the walk being on a good track. Creag a’ Mhadaidh was the chosen hill, my route going up from Aulich near the east end of Loch Rannoch. I used the weather radar to judge a good time to set off in a relatively dry spell – though still in continuous light rain – and found the first 3km up through mixed woodland rather attractive, with lovely autumn colours despite the poor light, and the Allt a’ Chreagain Odhair in spate below.

The next 4km, up to the broad bealach between Gualann Sheileach and Creag a’ Mhadaidh, were rather bleak, but the track at least had good bridges over all streams. I was greeted with a rainbow at the bealach, and a relative lull in the rain for the rough ascent to the summit of Creag a’ Mhadaidh, not very craggy despite the name! You could just about see down to Loch Errochty from the summit, but any higher hills in the view were in cloud.

The summit of Creag a’ Mhadaidh, with a misty view of Loch Errochty

Heavier rain set in as I began my descent, and continued for most of the walk out. Only the final 15 minutes saw some brightness, illuminating the forest colours nicely and giving my waterproofs a little time to drip and blow dry before reaching the car. A large group – multiple families on holiday together perhaps – were strolling in the forest, which was surprising given the poor weather!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3147769

I ate lunch in the car before driving north over the Drumochter Pass to Aviemore Youth Hostel. This time the six-bed dorm was fully occupied, but the excellent drying room was welcome! Aviemore was just a convenient staging post, as my next objectives were actually quite a bit further east down Speyside. Wednesday’s main walk was from Allanreid in Glen Livet, a few miles upstream of the famous distillery. My objective was Cook’s Cairn, a remote Graham across the valley from the Corbett, Corryhabbie Hill. I set off in sunny spells, following slightly boggy tracks beside the river as far as the abandoned houses at Suie. The paths were all surprisingly well signposted, but the only others I saw were a pair of shepherds on quadbikes.

Looking across the River Livet to The Bochel

Above Suie, I took the right fork to keep following the historic ‘Steplar’ route gradually up to the saddle between Carn na Bruar and Cook’s Cairn. Only as I neared the bealach did the wind turbines on the east side of the hills come into view and earshot. A further 1.5km up the ridge on short heather brought me to the summit, which had distant views of the high, snow-capped Cairngorm peaks and much closer views of Corryhabbie Hill and Ben Rinnes. I descended the same way, with the sunny spells eventually giving way to light showers that justified full waterproofs for the final few kilometres.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3148572

Looking back over Suie to snowy Ben Avon and Beinn a’ Bhuird

Distant Cairngorms from the small snow patches on Cook’s Cairn

It was another 45-minute drive via Dufftown and Cabrach to reach the second walk of the day, up The Buck. My route was a small horseshoe, directly up the boggy northeast ridge to the summit – with an unexpected rock outcrop – then down the heathery eastern ridge over Scad Hill and Clayhooter Hill to reach a track back to the car. There were more showers and a cold, strengthening wind, but also a few brighter moments.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3148573

I drove south to my accommodation for the next three nights, the independent Ballater Hostel. Ruth and I had enjoyed staying there previously when Corbett-bagging in the area, so it was good to return. After checking in, I walked to the Co-op to re-stock on provisions. The handful of other guests had all booked private rooms, so I had two nights with a six-bed dorm to myself, and just one roommate for the final night.

I had four nearby Grahams on my to-do list for the next two days. As the weather forecast was much better for Thursday than Friday, I opted to visit three of them on Thursday! Geallaig Hill was the first. I walked up the good track from Breanaloin to the north, with sunshine low down, but reached the summit in thin mist. I felt that the visibility was likely to improve shortly and, thanks to the lack of wind, it was not cold, so I loitered a few minutes by the trig point. As I hoped, I was rewarded with fairly clear views of Morven and Mount Keen. Lochnagar to the south was visible but capped in a layer of cloud, as were the peaks on the Cairngorm plateau. I made a round walk by descending more tracks west, with more good views over Deeside, then a final 2km down the lane back to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3149304

A few minutes’ drive north took me to the start point for my second walk, the summit of the A939 pass into the Don valley. I followed a rough ATV track that unhelpfully soon petered out in deep heather, making for a tiring (but not particularly long) climb up to Scraulac. Continuing east, there were better paths beside a fence over Cairnagour Hill to Mona Gowan, the Graham. I was surprised to find a digger working on the upper slopes of Mona Gowan, building small plugs of earth every hundred metres or so – I assume rudimentary grouse butts. The driver gave a friendly wave as I passed. The Corbett, Morven, to the east, was in and out of cloud, but was the most significant feature of the view. I retraced my steps to the car, except that I found a better path through the rough heather on the final descent!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3149307

Looking south to Geallaig Hill and Lochnagar

My third and final walk was from Invernettie in Glen Nochty. I ascended on good tracks through a pheasant farm and reafforested slopes to quickly reach the heathery summit of Ladylea Hill. The view included the Ladder Hills to the northwest, The Buck to the northeast, and Morven to the south. I returned the same way and drove back to Ballater for the night.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3149308

Friday had been forecast to be wet and windy, but looking again in the morning it seemed it would actually stay dry until early afternoon. I therefore picked the longer (and more interesting) of the route options for my Graham, Pressendye, going up from the northwest. The southern slopes, while closer to the road, are all forested, so I was rewarded with much better views on the northern approach. The tracks via Lazy Well and over Broom Hill all gave easy walking, so I covered the 8km to the summit pretty quickly.

The south wind was certainly strong, even at 600m, but the shelter cairn was very effective so I was able to have a few minutes’ snack break without needing to put on more layers. There were extensive views over Aberdeenshire and Deeside, with some sunlit areas in the valleys but never over my hill! I followed more good tracks down to Culfork, then a final 2.5km on quiet lanes back to the starting point.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3150044

I paused on the drive back to Ballater for a stroll at a signposted local landmark, the Burn o’ Vat. This unusual spherical ‘pothole’ was carved out by glacial meltwaters at the end of the last Ice Age. I followed the short circular route through the Vat then had my lunch on a picnic bench by the visitor centre. The rain arrived soon after I got back to Ballater, so I had another quiet evening in the hostel.

With my cross-country race the next morning, I didn’t want to get home late, so I didn’t try to fit in both a parkrun and a Graham on Saturday as I’d initially thought I might. The parkrun took priority this time. Unhelpfully, a band of rain was forecast to pass over the Central Belt at just the wrong time so it was difficult to choose where I was least likely to get wet! I narrowed my options to Perth, in hope of being before the rain arrived, or Cumbernauld, in hope of being after it. I set off at 6:30am, early enough to keep both options open. Pausing to check the weather radar outside Perth, I gambled that the western option was the better bet.

It was still raining when I arrived at Palacerigg Country Park, and I did my warm-up with my rain jacket on. But it turned out that, by 9:30, the rain had almost stopped, and I actually didn’t get significantly wet doing parkrun without the coat. It was an attractive trail course, through a mixture of woodland and grassy moorland, and fairly challenging with about 70m of climb, much of it on the approach to the finish! Only 40 runners turned out, many put off by the earlier rain no doubt, so there were lots of Halloween snacks to go round!

Charging through the puddles on approach to the finish!

It was another 2h30 drive to Kendal, where I paused for an extended break at my parents’ house for lunch and a stroll, then a further 2h15 home to Derby, arriving a little after 6pm. Splitting the drive into three manageable chunks with good breaks in between, it hadn’t felt that far really!

So, I bagged a total of nine new Grahams this trip, clearing up most of the ones on the fringes of the Cairngorms (after my Easter bagging foray in Angus) and ending on 135/231. Fewer than 100 to go, and I’m pleased that not so many of them will be heathery eastern ones now! That’ll be it until my New Year trip to Glen Nevis. My full photo album is available here.

Gentian Howgill Fells Trip (10th-12th October 2025)

October’s weekend trip with the Gentian Club, which looks set to be my last club meet of 2025, was to the Howgill Fells, in the north-western corner of the Yorkshire Dales National Park but actually located in Cumbria. I’ve walked there sporadically over the years, first with CUHWC and more recently to bag the various Nuttalls and Marilyns, but it’s not an area where I’ve spent a lot of time, so I was looking forward to the visit, As I still have a few days of 2025 leave to use up, I again extended the weekend by a day, travelling up to Mum and Dad’s house in Kendal on Thursday evening with Claire.

On the Friday, we chose to walk on the Barbon Fells. Sheena had spent the night at Ingleton Youth Hostel and met us at 9am in Barbon village. The day started grey, misty and damp, but the forecast suggested it might improve by afternoon, so we walked clockwise, starting with the low-level section up the Lune Valley. The footpaths through the fields via Middleton then along the riverside to Fellside were little-used and indistinct, requiring careful navigation, and led us through plenty of long, wet grass that meant we all had damp feet before we even started ascending any hills!

Looking over the Lune Valley from Fellside

A much better track led from there up over Brown Knott and Long Bank, soon entering the damp cloud, to reach the main ridge, where the path stays quite close to a dry stone wall most of the way. We met one other walker, bagging the Nuttall, at the summit of Calf Top. He set off down after a short chat and we paused for lunch by the trig point, which was intriguingly decorated with 5-, 6- and 7-point stars.

Sheena and Claire at the summit of Calf Top

The continuation of the ridge across the broad saddle to Castle Knott gave the boggiest walking of the day, before we picked up better paths again for the descent via Eskholme Pike – finally back out of the cloud – and Barbon Park to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3133196

It was only about a 30 minute drive to our very comfortable weekend accommodation in a bunk barn at Murthwaite, a few miles up the valley from Sedbergh. After we’d unloaded, had a cup of tea and settled in, I headed out for a short second walk to bag the nearby Hump, Harter Fell. With the weather finally starting to brighten, Claire and Sheena decided to join me again! We ascended steeply and directly up the south-western slopes to reach the ridge for an easy final kilometre to the summit. Thick grey cloud hung not far above us, but we could see that it had a distinct boundary over the Eden Valley and that parts of the North Pennine ridge beyond were in full sunshine! The other direction, we had good views over Adamthwaite and Wandale Hill to the higher Howgill fells.

Wandale Hill from the slopes of Harter Fell

We dropped down the easy north-west ridge then followed the lane and bridleway back to Murthwaite. Most of the others had arrived by the time we got back to the hut, and the final few came not much later. After a quick pasta dinner we spent the evening chatting and planning the weekend’s walks, as usual.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3133199

Saturday started with mist hanging fairly low over the hills. I proposed a walk over the highest of the Howgill Fells, starting a few miles down the road at the Cross Keys pub, while others chose slightly shorter routes directly from the hut. Vivienne, Sheena and Claire opted to join me. We started off by ascending towards and past the impressive waterfall of Cautley Spout, then continued into the cloud along the top of Cautley Crag to reach Great Dummacks, where we could tell we were not far below the top of the cloud. Pleasingly, the slight further rise to Calders was just enough to break out of the cloud and gain dramatic views over Arant Haw and the Lune Valley.

Cautley Crag, with cloud on Great Dummacks

Our high point for the day, The Calf, was not quite clear, but before we’d descended far towards Hare Shaw and Bowderdale Head, we were back below the cloud and the skies were getting increasingly blue. A steep climb up sheep paths brought us to the saddle just south of Yarlside, where we happened to meet Mick’s group completing the ascent from the other side. After a short chat, they continued up, while we paused for first lunch with a lovely view east over Wandale Hill.

Vivienne, Claire and Sheena in Bowderdale

We continued over Yarlside, then dropped steeply down its north-eastern slopes to follow the ridge over Kensgriff and Randygill Top, then more gently along to the trig point on Green Bell, one of just nine Simms outside Scotland that I had not previously visited. We chatted with a group of four from Yorkshire and Cheshire for a few minutes, then had second lunch. Two others came and went as we ate, and a farmer passed nearby on his quadbike – unexpectedly the busiest spot of the day!

Descending steeply, with a view of Wandale Hill

The grassy slopes south of Spengill Head gave an easy descent, followed by a slightly boggier re-ascent to Wandale Hill, another new Hump for me to bag, and an excellent viewpoint over the Yorkshire Dales and Howgills. That just left a descent of the ridge to Narthwaite and a short walk along the bridleway back to the Cross Keys. A lovely day out on the hills, mostly sunny after the initial misty ascent.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3133893

Looking over Murthwaite to Wild Boar Fell

Back at the hut, we refreshed with tea and hot showers, and caught up with the other groups. Later we enjoyed an evening meal of soup brought by Jane, chicken filo pie cooked by Claire, and (shop-bought) apple pie from me.

Sunday started sunny, with a cloud inversion visible down the valley over Sedbergh. Sheena and Claire once again opted to join my proposed route, a circuit of Wild Boar Fell and Swarth Fell. I had visited those hills only once before, by chance also in autumn inversion conditions, with Ruth in 2011! We parked on the Fell End road and ascended easily through the pretty limestone pavements of Stennerskeugh Clouds,

Above there, the going was more tussocky as we crossed over Hushy Gill to gain the Pennine Bridleway where it crosses Scandal Beck. A good track led up to the ridge at the quirkily-named High Dolphinsty. There we gained spectacular views over the Howgill Fells to the Lake District, over the Eden Valley (with cloud inversion) to the North Pennines, over Mallerstang Common to Mallerstang Edge, and along the eastern crags of Wild Boar Fell. Most of the major peaks of the Lakes, Dales and North Pennines were clearly visible. Climbing a little higher, a prominent buttress on High Nab made a great foreground for photos!

Looking over the Howgill Fells to the Lake District (including the Coniston Fells, Scafell massif, Great Gable, Pillar, Helvellyn, High Street, Skiddaw and Blencathra!)

Further on, we reached a cluster of tall cairns at the East Top, and paused there for first lunch, enjoying the views of Mallerstang and Garsdale Head. We crossed the flat summit plateau to the trig point at the main summit, which was the day’s best vantage point for the inversion in the Sedbergh Valley, with the Howgill Fells beyond. Continuing, an easy grassy path led across the broad saddle to Swarth Fell, again with crags on its eastern side. At the slightly lower summit of Swarth Fell Pike, we left the ridge to drop down rough, tussocky grass over Nettle Brow on intermittent quadbike tracks to the little-used footpath up Grisedale. An old lime kiln was a suitable spot for second lunch.

Inversion, the Howgill Fells and the Lake District

The next few kilometres were quite rough going on a narrow path through the boggy tussock grass. Clearly not many people complete the long-distance trail of ‘A Pennine Journey’! We paused to look around the smoothed limestone gully of the dry upper reaches of Grisedale Beck, and to look up Rawthey Gill onto adjacent Baugh Fell. Descending gradually into Uldale, we eventually escaped onto a better track at Whin Stone Bridge. From there, it was easy walking along the lanes over Black Moss and Fell End to reach the cars at 4pm. A really memorable day out above the clouds!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3134899

Claire and I called in to Natland for a quick chat with Ruth (and baby Chloe) on our way by – my last visit before they move house next week! Roadwords near Carnforth had caused queues on the M6 so we followed Ruth’s recommended diversion through Milnthorpe and Nether Kellet to avoid that without much delay, and were back at my house just before 8pm.

All in all, a fantastic weekend catching up with friends in the sunshine and above the clouds on these quiet but characterful hills. You can find more of my photos on Google Photos here.

Ollerton Tumps (27th September 2025)

Having paid a morning visit to Gedling parkrun, I made the most of being northeast of Nottingham by continuing to Ollerton for a walk taking in the four nearby Tumps. I parked in the Ollerton Pit Woods car park and started with a short loop on good tracks to the top of the old spoil heap, now landscaped and mostly covered in fairly mature woodland.

Then I headed for the footpath along the bottom of Wellow Park – attractive woodland – and up the lane to reach the summit of Golden Hill. A trig point is located next to the covered reservoir but the true high-point is the other side of a thicket on the rim of the Kirton marl pit.

I continued through Kirton village and up through Nickerbush Plantation to reach my third top of the day, Willoughby Hill, then dropped back down the same way, heading to Walesby village for a late picnic lunch outside the church.

More bridleways led me through pig and chicken farms into Walesby Forest then alongside the River Maun to reach the edge of the Thoresby estate. Although not strictly access land or a right of way, it seems to be pretty well used on Strava and cutting through the mature mixed forest made for a more interesting route than the alternatives.

A landslip on the bank of the River Maun

Soon I was at the edge of the old Thoresby Colliery spoil heap, recently landscaped into another country park and nature reserve. I cut up unpleasantly from a gap in the fence through scattered trees and a gorse thicket to reach the high point, with a viewing telescope, and the nearby colliery winding wheel, half buried as a memorial. Thoresby was the last of the UK’s deep coal mines, only closing in 2015, and the heathland still feels very immature.

That just left a gradual descent on much better paths back into Ollerton. Not a set of hilltops I’m likely to revisit, but a good afternoon’s exercise and some pleasant walking in the forest sections! I’ve now visited 17 of Nottinghamshire’s 27 Tumps.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3122020
Full photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BNUnCaAVEW4MPa4Q6

Gentian Langdale Trip (12th-14th September 2025)

After just four days at work, I was away to the mountains again, this time a weekend with the Gentian Club in Great Langdale. I have a few days of unassigned leave to use, so extended the trip to Friday. Claire travelled up with me, as often before, and we stayed in Mum and Dad’s house in Kendal for Thursday night (although we had it to ourselves as they were away in Eskdale with Ruth, Josh and Chloe!).

Friday’s forecast was for the showers to be fewest in the east, so we opted to walk in Longsleddale, where Claire also had four unbagged Wainwrights. The first couple of hours were mostly dry, as we ascended via Great Howe to Grey Crag and Tarn Crag then followed the broad, boggy ridge to Branstree.

A series of close-together showers passed over as we made the detour to Selside Pike and back, then the brighter conditions returned for the walk back down Gatescarth Pass to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3108499

Looking towards Selside Pike from Branstree

Thanks to roadwords near Windermere, it took around an hour to drive to Chapel Stile, where our accommodation for the weekend was TocH’s Weirside Bunkhouse. We moved our stuff in and had a cup of tea then, a little later, took a stroll down the river to the shore of Elterwater and back.

Saturday’s forecast was similar: sunny spells and heavy showers. I was feeling optimistic (as usual) and offered a high level walk at the head of Langdale while some others headed to the Langdale Pikes or to Lingmoor Fell. Claire and Sheena joined me and we drove the few miles up to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel where Claire’s NT membership card gave us free parking.

First objective for the day was Pike of Blisco. We ascended the lane for a short distance then followed the well-built path beside Redacre Gill, overtaking a large group near the bottom and pausing higher up to don waterproofs for the day’s first heavy shower.

It was fairly misty as we descended to Red Tarn then climbed back up, west then south, to the day’s second peak Cold Pike, then cleared out nicely when we were on the summit to reveal the views of the Coniston Fells and Dunnerdale.

Claire and Sheena, and the view to Dunnerdale, Harter Fell and Black Combe

After a short break, we continued across the broad grassy ridge to the rockier upper slopes of Crinkle Crags, where we enjoyed some grand views of the eastern crags and a little scramble up the Bad Step on Long Top (the Second Crinkle and Wainwright summit) before another heavy shower, accompanied by strong gusts and a little hail, blew in. By the time we’d crossed the remaining three Crinkles, it had dried up again so we found a sheltered spot below Shelter Crags (appropriately!) for lunch.

The final hill for the day was Bow Fell, which we ascended in the dry with more good views back to the morning’s hills and the Coniston and Dunnerdale Fells beyond. There was mist at the top, so only fleeting views. We debated briefly whether to descend via The Band or Mickleden, opting for the former as Claire hadn’t been that way before. The day’s final heavy shower arrived as we got to Three Tarns and it was good to be walking downwind from there. Helpfully, it did dry up for the final 15 minutes down to Stool End and the car, and the breeze did a fairly good job of drying out our waterproofs and bags in that time.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3109273

Soon we were back in Chapel Stile for tea and biscuits, showers and chat, then pre-dinner drinks to celebrate Helen’s birthday. Dinner was carrot and parsnip soup, pasta bolognese, then lemon tart for dessert – good to refuel after a great day on some fine hills.

Sunday’s forecast was dry for the morning, with a band of heavy rain expected by early afternoon. Ned proposed a grade 2 scramble on the south face of Harrison Stickle, which was a good option as we could get down before the rain. Claire, Sheena and Vivienne joined us too (although Vivienne took a detour to Pike of Stickle instead of tackling the scramble). The walk started with a steep ascent of the path north of Dungeon Ghyll to reach the base of Harrison Stickle’s upper crags.

Looking over Dungeon Ghyll towards Blea Tarn

Ned had brought some climbing gear so we harnessed up there (with sling harnesses) just in case, then set off up the crag, always aiming upwards and right. Ned led, followed by Claire and Sheena, with me bringing up the rear. The scrambling was pleasant and blocky in parts, exposed in places, and broken by grassy terraces. We did our best to weave around a few damp lichen-covered bands higher up, getting the rope out at one point to belay Sheena up although the rest of us were comfortable without. We emerged right by the summit of Harrison Stickle to find Vivienne waiting for us there, and took the direct descent route via Stickle Tarn and Stickle Gill, arriving back at the car by 1:30pm.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3110421

Ned and Vivienne invited us back to their cottage (also in Chapel Stile) for a couple of hours for coffee and chat. A little disappointingly, the wet weather only arrived as Claire and I were setting off home a couple of hours later. With hindsight, we could have included a tour of all the Langdale Pikes summits after the scramble without getting wet – but never mind, still a good day out!

Our drive back to Hilton took just under three hours with some short queues on the M6 near Warrington and Stoke. Another great weekend in the hills, but perhaps it will be good to spend a few weekends at home now after a several consecutive trips away!

My full photo album can be viewed here.

High Tatras Trekking (30th August – 7th September 2025)

Having enjoyed my guided week in the Western Balkans last summer, I was keen to find something similar this year, and chose a tour of the High Tatra mountains on the border between Poland and Slovakia. KE Adventure offered the most appealing itinerary, so I decided to give them a try.

The tour began on Sunday afternoon in Kraków so I thought I might as well go out a day early and have an extra 24 hours to explore the city. Conveniently, Ryanair fly there from East Midlands, so I only had a half hour drive from home. Less conveniently, the flight was at 5:55am, requiring me to get up soon after 3am. All went smoothly with the journey and I was back on the ground in Kraków by mid morning, and caught the train into the city centre, just a 20 minute journey.

I spent the rest of the day exploring the Old Town, starting at the Barbican, city walls and St Florian’s Gate, and heading down the main ‘Florianska’ shopping street to the historic market square. I spent a while taking a look at St Mary’s Basilica, the old market hall, and walking up to the top of the Town Hall Tower for a good view over the city.

St Mary’s Basilica from the Town Hall Tower

Next stop was the Wawel Royal Castle and Cathedral. I only looked at the outside of the castle but decided to pay for the full visit to the cathedral, which included the bell tower and crypt. Getting hungry by this point, I bought a sandwich and cake for lunch and ate them by the Vistula riverside in the sunshine. I followed the riverside path for a while, then detoured south to pass the ornate St Joseph’s church and the Jewish Ghetto Memorial, surprisingly lacking any good explanatory signs. I headed back towards the city centre and walked around the eastern half of the tree-filled ‘Planty’ park that rings the Old Town, then headed to my hotel near the railway station to check in. I relaxed for a while, popped out for dinner nearby, then got an early night after my very early start.

Looking back over the Vistula River to the castle

I felt I’d already seen the highlights of the old city, so on Sunday morning I caught the train half an hour out of town to visit the 700-year-old Wieliczka Salt Mine. This is a real tourist hotspot and one of the twelve original UNESCO World Heritage Sites – incidentally Krakow Old Town is another of them! – with regular guided tours offered in eight different languages! I avoided the crowds, however, by choosing an early tour at 8:30am, and only about half of the 35 places were taken. A very knowledgeable guide led us on foot through several kilometres of tunnels and caverns and told us the history of the place and the evolving mining technologies used. There are lots of salt sculptures to admire as well as several underground chapels and brine pools.

Salt sculptures of St Kinga and early miners

Once I’d finished the tour, I headed back into Kraków, walked around the western half of the Planty park to complete that loop, then returned to my hotel to pick up my bag. I got some lunch at the station then hung around there until the 2:30 rendezvous with the rest of the KE group, which turned out to be just six others. A local guide, Nicholas, escorted us on the two-hour public coach journey south to Zakopane, where we checked into Hotel Fian and relaxed for a short while before heading out for dinner at a nearby restaurant offering authentic traditional Polish cuisine, Karczma Przy Młynie.

It was good to get to know my travel companions over a tasty and filling meal with live musical accompaniment. We were a multi-national group, comprised of a couple (Lee and Sherry) from Ottowa, two brothers (Brendan and Martin) from near Dublin, a lady (Jess) from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and just one other Brit, a young man (Callum) from Milngavie. As I’d suspected, the average age of KE clientele is older than me, and older than that of Much Better Adventures (with whom I travelled last year). In general though, they were much more experienced hillwalkers rather than adventure tourists, so I felt I had more in common with the group this year than last. After the meal, Nicholas headed back to Kraków, advising that our mountain guide for the week would meet us at the hotel in the morning!

I hadn’t paid the surcharge for a single room but, due to the group composition, was lucky to end up with one anyway, and got a good night’s sleep. Our guide, Jakub Brzosko, met us in the reception after breakfast, and briefed us on the plan for the day, a few hours’ introductory walk in the nearby Tatra foothills, then some free time in Zakopane. It was just a few minutes’ journey by minibus to the start of our walk, which led gently uphill on easy forest paths to the minor summit of Wielki Kopieniec (1328m), which afforded a decent view towards the High Tatras as well as back down to Zakopane in the valley. We continued for a few more miles though forest and meadows to reach a road that we followed back to the hotel.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3097057

Callum and I pottered down to the town centre but didn’t find a great deal of interest to see really, so we got an ice cream then returned to the hotel and just relaxed in the lobby for a couple of hours until our minibus transfer to the Bialka Valley arrived late-afternoon. I felt the day’s itinerary was not very well filled, and would have benefitted greatly from a longer walk – a somewhat disappointing start to the tour but I was optimistic that the larger mountains ahead would be worth the wait!

It was just under an hour’s walk from the public road up a private tarmac road to the Roztoki Hut, the Tatras’ oldest mountain hut and our home for the next two nights. We were amazed at the huge numbers of local people walking back down the road to their cars – apparently this valley is a must-visit destination for all Poles! Our group had a reasonably spacious eight-bed room. We had dinner – a fixed three-course menu, much like the huts in the Alps – then chatted for a while before getting an early night. I slept surprisingly well despite some distracting snoring.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs – ubiquitous everywhere we stayed – and bread rolls with cheese and meats, we set out on our day’s walk. The first destination was the dramatically-situated lake of Morskie Oko, surprisingly reached by continuing up the wide tarmac road. At least it was traffic free except for a few horse-drawn carriages and hut staff in cars. The lake is quite small – less than 1km in diameter – but the largest in the Polish Tatras. Although the day had started sunny, grey clouds had built rapidly and cloaked the mountain-tops surrounding the lake, so the views were not as majestic as they could have been.

After a break for some to get coffee (Jess and I took a walk part way around the lake and back instead), we were back underway and were soon away from the crowds as we ascended a very well-built, zigzagging path towards the Szpiglasowa Pass. Jakub pointed out landmarks including a rocky spire named Mnich (monk), much celebrated for its climbing routes. There were great views back over Morskie Oko and the higher lake of Czarny Staw, with the cloud thankfully gradually rising and breaking again. I was pleasantly surprised that Jakub was often happy for we faster members of the group to walk well ahead at our own pace, whenever the route was obvious, with agreed points to regroup periodically.

The Five Polish Lakes, from the Szpiglasowa Pass

From the top of the pass, it was only a five minute detour to the adjacent peak on the Slovakian border, Szpiglasowy Wierch, which gave a view west into the Kŏprová valley with another lake. Surprisingly, only the Brits (me and Callum) were sufficiently peak-bagging-minded to go up! Back at the pass, the first section of the descent was the most challenging part of the day’s walk, with a series of fixed chains for protection on a steep and sometimes loose rocky slope. Beyond that, the excellent path returned, leading us down into the valley of the Five Polish Lakes, a very beautiful place that was enhanced for us by returning sunshine. We followed the Roztoki valley – as it’s also known – all the way back down to the hut, pausing to admire Poland’s highest waterfall on the way.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3098421

The plan for the next morning had been to walk out via some more high meadows then transfer to Slovakia, but Jakub advised that rain was expected and the forecast looked better on the Slovakian side. Therefore our minibus was rebooked for an earlier pick-up and we walked straight back down the road to reach it, then had about an hour’s drive around the east and south sides of the High Tatras to the tourist town of Štrbské Pleso. After another coffee stop, we had a couple of hours’ walk on an attractive traversing terrace path to reach the ‘Horsky Hotel’ (mountain hotel) by the lake of Popradské pleso, where we would stay the next two nights.

After lunch on the balcony, we checked into our room – a little smaller than the last and with much creakier metal bunk beds! – and unpacked most of our kit to have light bags for the afternoon’s walk. This went up the Mengusovská valley to the high lake of Velké Hincovo pleso. There were impressive views of the surrounding crags and summits, and some marmots on the nearby slopes, but grey clouds were building fast and we had heard some distant rolls of thunder, so we didn’t linger long by the water before heading quickly back down the valley. Jess and I were fastest and only had about 15 minutes to go in heavy rain when the thunderstorm hit, so I didn’t have time to get significantly wet inside my waterproofs. The slower walkers were not quite so fortunate!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3099327

We got showered and changed, then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, watching the heavy rain from the dormitory balcony and later being rewarded with a rainbow as brighter weather returned. Dinner at the Horsky Hotel was a more luxurious a-la-carte affair, with lots of choice in the canteen. Once again, we all got quite an early night, in bed by 9pm.

Thursday’s walk was the most challenging on the itinerary, heading to the summit of Poland’s highest mountain, Rysy. We had a 7am breakfast and were on our way by 8. The first kilometre or so was back up the previous afternoon’s path up the Mengusovská valley. This time we took a right turn to zigzag up to a pair of high lakes with beautiful reflections of the west ridge of Rysy, and great views back down to the peaks of Malá Bašta and Satan.

A bit higher up, we reached the most challenging section, made easy by the provision of ladders, footplates and fixed chains, but rather congested with some of the many visitors proceeding nervously on the exposed path. After that, the walking was easier again to reach the high, Alpine-style hut of Chata pod Rysmi. There were impressive views of the black pyramid of Kôpky. Once we’d regrouped and had a short break, we continued up to a high saddle then turned left up the final ridge to top of Rysy.

The main path led to the Polish summit (2499m), which was extremely crowded with visitors, reminiscent of Snowdon on a sunny Saturday and not a great place to linger! We took in the awesome views of the surrounding High Tatra peaks – including Gerlach, the highest in Slovakia – for a few minutes then retreated a few metres west to find somewhere a little quieter for lunch! After that, Jakub led Callum and me on the easy scramble over to the slightly higher Slovakian summit (2503m), just a few metres to the south, before we began the descent, retracing our steps all the way to Popradské pleso.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3100053

Callum and me at the summit (photo by Jakub Brzosko)

Friday started with an easy walk out to the Popradské pleso railway station. Jakub took us on a small detour to a very interesting and poignant ‘Symbolic Cemetery’ with memorials to local people who have died in these mountains and others. He spent a few minutes telling us the stories of some of the better known individuals, before we rejoined the easy track down.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3101936

The group at Popradské pleso: Lee, Sherry, Jess, Martin, Brendan, me and Callum (photo by Jakub Brzosko)

Jakub telling us about the Symbolic Cemetery

It was an hour’s scenic train ride, with a change at Starý Smokovec, to the ski town of Tatranská Lomnica, where we boarded a cable car that carried us 800m back up to the mid-station at Skalnaté pleso for lunch on the restaurant terrace. The very impressive cirque of Lomnický štít towered above, the cliffs offering some of the Tatras’ longest multi-pitch climbs. An observatory is located at the top lift station at the summit of the highest peak.

Skalnaté pleso and the cliffs of Lomnický štít

Our walk led us northeast on a quiet, well-built, gently descending path to a broad saddle then further down into a forested valley. There we turned back to the west, following a much busier gravel track up the Zeleného plesa valley to our hut for the night, Chata pri Zelenom plese. This was beautifully situated by the ‘green lake’ at the bottom of another incredible mountain cirque, this time on the north side of Lomnický štít.

I was a little disappointed that we’d chosen this easier route rather than Plan A, which would have gone over a much higher and steeper pass to reach the same destination, due to the possibility of storms and some of the group being tired after several days of hiking. I was happy, therefore, when the afternoon weather was brightening again and Jakub offered us an extra walk (as per the official itinerary), up the steep glacial valley above the hut. I was the only one to take up that offer, which was an unexpected bonus as it meant that Jakub and I would be able to move much faster! It was three hours until dinner and that would determine how far we were able to get.

Jakub set a brisk but comfortable pace all the way up the valley, pausing for a few minutes as we passed through a herd of chamois right on the path. We passed a few others descending but in general this valley was much quieter than other places on the tour. After about an hour, we reached the high saddle of Kolové sedlo, at the top of a few fixed chains that we had both preferred not to use as the rocks gave more reassuring handholds.

Beyond there, the marked route involved more easy scrambling, traversing around the west side of the ridge for a few hundred metres, crossing a couple of rocky spurs, then approached the summit of Jahňací štít, the Lamb’s Peak, from the back (relative to the hut). It had only taken 1h19 to walk up, compared with the signpost time of 2h30. The last other visitors of the day were just leaving as we arrived, so we had this beautiful spot to ourselves, and sat for at least half an hour taking the magnificent views and taking photos in the low, late-afternoon sunshine, which bathed the scene in lovely pastel colours.

Me at the saddle (photo by Jakub Brzosko)

The view southwest towards Lomnický štít

Layers of mountains, with Rysy towards the left

Jakub and me at the summit (photo by Jakub Brzosko)

We had a couple more photo stops as we descended the scrambly section to the saddle. Once below the chains, Jakub encouraged me to walk ahead at my own pace, while he took it a little easier to protect a sore knee. I got back to the hut at 6:50pm, with 10 minutes to freshen up before dinner, and Jakub walked in just as dinner was starting to be served. We regaled the others with tales of our excellent outing and shared the photos.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3101938

Low sunshine to the west of Jahňací štít

Saturday was the final walking day of the trip. We followed another good traversing path to the small lake of Velké Biele pleso, then climbed steeply to the saddle of Predné Kopské sedlo. There was distant thunder and low cloud was rolling up the valley so we didn’t hang about long before continuing down to a lower saddle then setting off down a good track into the Meďodoly valley, built to serve copper mines on the ridge. Light rain fell for a few minutes and it was misty for some of the way, but then brightened again as we passed through a small canyon in the lower valley and then through lush ferns by the river to reach our final destination, the small town of Javorina.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3101940

Soon our minibus arrived to carry us back to Zakopane, where those who had left luggage at the hotel picked it up and repacked (I had travelled with cabin baggage only so did not have any extra gear!). A couple of hours later, we headed to the bus station to catch the coach back to Kraków, where it was just a 15-minute walk to our hotel, east of the city centre. In the evening, Jakub led us into the old town, pausing at a few of the sights, for dinner at a casual buffet restaurant, Chimera. It was great to eat together for one last time and celebrate our wonderful week in the High Tatra mountains.

On Sunday, Callum and I were the only ones with early flights. A taxi took us to the airport at 7:15am and my on-time flight got me back to East Midlands and home about five hours later. Plenty of time to sort my gear, laundry and photos before the return to work on Monday!

It was great to spend time exploring the High Tatras this week – something that has been on my to-do list for several years. The grand scenery of the Five Polish Lakes, the high peak of Rysy, and the dramatic but peaceful summit of Jahňací štít were the undoubted highlights. Thanks to Jakub and the group for making it a fun week! Perhaps I’ll be back to explore more some day!

My full photo album can be viewed on Google Photos here.

Millom and Ennerdale (23rd-25th August 2025)

I spent the Bank Holiday weekend in the west of the Lake District, taking advantage of the extra day to justify the longer drive that that area entails. After a surprisingly quiet Friday evening drive up to my parents’ house for the night, I was up early on Saturday to drive across to Millom for parkrun, another new event for me. Although not the most interesting on paper, being five laps of a school field, it does have the novelty value of the entire course being on a proper running-track surface! This comprised a 100m straight with six marked lanes, and 900m of narrower path around the rest of the perimeter. I felt good in my warm up and set off ambitiously at 3:40/km, and was very pleased to be able to hold that pace all the way for a finish time of 18:16, my best since 2019 and a new age-grade PB of 74.73%!

Afterwards, it was only a couple of minutes’ drive to Amy’s new house on the eastern edge of town. She and the girls have moved down from Plockton this summer as Amy takes on a new geography teacher job from September. A slightly more convenient place for me to drop in occasionally! Amy had suggested that we take a walk up her new local hill, Black Combe, so after I’d freshened up and got changed, we headed to Whicham church car park in her car.

The route up is straightforward, with an obvious and well-used path through bracken and then heather to the grassy summit. There were hazy views of the west coast, Morecambe Bay, and towards the Lake District fells. We spent a few minutes exploring the rim of the actual black combe, its crags providing the most interesting scenery of the otherwise rounded hill, and stopped there for lunch. Lily enjoyed playing on the rocks while Isla was more wary of the steep drop.

Lily, Isla and Amy ascending Black Combe

Amy and the girls on Black Combe, with a view of the Coniston Fells

After lunch, we walked to the south top. Its large cairn is slightly lower than the summit but very obvious in the view from Millom. Lily enjoyed climbing up and down a few times with a little help from me and Amy, while Isla took some photos. We descended the same way back to the car, then called in at Haverigg Beach for an ice cream.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3088768

Then we returned to Amy’s house where I had a tour of the upstairs rooms before saying farewell and setting off on the one hour drive up the coast to Ennerdale. I had been very surprised, just a few days earlier, to find a dormitory bed available at the YHA hostel on the Bank Holiday weekend for less than £30 for two nights – cheaper than most camping options! The final two miles from the end of the public road up the forest track were extremely dusty, leaving the back of the car filthy! Checking in soon after reception opened, I was able to bag a bottom bunk before having a shower, cooking some pasta for dinner, relaxing a while, and getting an early night.

I had a fairly good night’s sleep with quiet roommates, and enjoyed a cooked hostel breakfast at 8am – good fuel for my long day’s walking around the Ennerdale Horseshoe. I was out of the door by 8:25 and followed footpaths across the valley bottom to gain the heathery spur above Silvercove Beck, which gave a sheltered and consequently rather sweaty ascent route to Caw Fell. I was glad to reach fresher air and gain a light breeze on the ridge!

Looking back across Ennerdale to Great Borne

These western hills were pretty quiet, as I’d hoped, and I only saw a handful of others as I continued over Haycock, Scoat Fell (with a short detour to Steeple), and Pillar.

The next section was the most strenuous part of the day, with a big descent and re-ascent to Kirk Fell – more technical than I’d remembered – and another big drop before Great Gable. I had thought I might stop there for lunch but it was unpleasantly busy, so I just took a few photos of Wasdale and the Scafells before continuing down to Windy Gap and back up to Green Gable, which was much more peaceful. I found a lovely spot overlooking Ennerdale to pause for a few minutes.

The next objective was Brandreth, and from there I followed some smaller paths and trods via Seavy Knott onto Haystacks, avoiding the much busier paths via Blackbeck Tarn and keeping closer to the true watershed line. There was plenty of pretty flowering heather giving an attractive foreground for the views of Great Gable and Pillar.

Haystacks summit was predictably busy, so I didn’t pause long before continuing to Seat and up the final significant climb to High Crag. That just left easy walking over High Stile to Red Pike, and a final big descent back into Ennerdale. I was back at the hostel at 4:25, pretty much exactly 8 hours door-to-door. Not bad for 28km and over 2200m ascent, I suppose! The evening was spent in the usual way: shower, dinner, and a book.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3088772

I started Monday with another cooked breakfast then checked out of the hostel and drove back down the very dusty track to the road then up onto Blakeley Moss where I started my walk for the day. Tracks and grassy slopes led me easily to Grike, where I passed an older couple, and on to Crag Fell, where I saw a father and son on electric mountain bikes. Crag Fell gives a good view over Ennerdale Water and up the valley.

More grassy walking across a couple of broad saddles led me to the green dome of Lank Rigg, which is not one of the more interesting Wainwright fells! Black Combe was obvious in the view south. I dropped back to the saddle then took the good track beside Whoap Beck into the Calder valley and back up to the lane.

Various forest tracks and footpaths led me to the broad summit of Dent, a Marilyn that I had not previously visited. I continued a few hundred metres to the west top, which is the Wainwright Outlying Fell summit (not that I have any near-term intention of completing the WOFs!). It turned out to be a much better viewpoint for the west coast, so was worth the small extra effort. The Isle of Man and the hills of Galloway and Dumfries were just about visible through the haze as I ate my lunch by the cairn. A few people on the first day of the Coast to Coast were passing over, perhaps heading to YHA Ennerdale where I had encountered a few others during my stay. I took in the unremarkable summit of Flat Fell (another WOF) on my way back to the car, and was on the road around 2pm.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3089679

It took about 90 minutes to drive to Natland, where I spent another 90 minutes with Ruth, Josh and baby Chloe, who has got longer and learned to smile and to look at things with much greater interest! Then I headed back to my parents’ for a chat and dinner before the fairly busy evening drive back to Derby. A good end to an excellent weekend on hills that I don’t visit so often, with unseasonably good weather for the August Bank Holiday!

My full photo album can be viewed here.

Brassington and Bleaklow (16th-17th August 2025)

With more great summer weather and an empty diary, I spent most of the weekend walking in the Peak District. Saturday started with a visit to Black Rocks parkrun, meeting up with Jeff, Helen, Matt and Sarah who were staying nearby. My fitness has improved since my previous visit a few months ago, and I was pleased to knock nearly 90 seconds off my time to finish in 4th place in 18:56. It’s a flat and fairly fast course but, disappointingly considering its setting on the High Peak Trail, only really has views for one short section in the first kilometre, so not my favourite!

Afterwards, I drove a few miles to Brassington for my walk. My route headed west to Ballidon, up then up the valley and across fields to Minninglow, with its neolithic chambered tomb. Then I dropped down to the High Peak Trail for a short distance before descending the quiet, grassy valley of Gratton Dale. I continued through the village of Elton, pausing for lunch on a bench, then followed undulating footpaths via Aldwark back to the car. This is a quiet area on the fringes of the national park and I didn’t see many others except for a short section on the High Peak Trail – a very peaceful if not dramatic outing.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3079602

Looking back along the High Peak Trail to Minninglow

For Sunday’s walk, I headed much further north, to the very top of the Derwent Valley. I got a fairly early start for the 80-minute drive and arrived at Fairholmes around 9am, finding the large car park already over half full! Nevertheless, I was soon able to get away from the crowds by ascending the permissive path up Hagg Side to gain the ridge near Lockerbrook. I followed the good path over Rowlee Pastures to reach Alport Castles – only a few weeks since my last visit but I trod almost none of the same ground!

After taking a few photos of the landslide and crags, I dropped back down the footpath into the Westend Valley and followed the track up the valley bottom, passing a fell-runner descending and a group of farmers using sheepdogs to round up their flock from the forest and moors above. A surprisingly well-worn path leads up the ridge to Round Hill, and from there up to Barrow Stones and then Grinah Stones, with impressive wind-carved rock formations. All around was a sea of purple-flowering heather – a very picturesque display!

I followed the traversing path west to Bleaklow Stones, then turned north, taking another obvious (but unmapped) path down Far Black Clough for a while before diverting east to reach Swains Head, the saddle at the very top of the Derwent Valley, From there, I followed steadily-improving paths and tracks all the way back down the valley to the car, initially brushing through more purple heather and lush bracken but becoming a 4×4 track to Slippery Stones. The final few miles beside Howden and Derwent Reservoirs were the only busy section of the day, with many walkers and cyclists out enjoying the sunshine. The water levels were as low as I’ve ever seen them, after the very dry spring and summer!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3080788

There are more photos on Google here.

Parents’ visit (9th-10th August 2025)

My parents came down to Derbyshire to visit me for the weekend, making the journey by train for the first time. It’s not a bad option, their house only being a few minutes from Oxenholme station, and a single change in Crewe gets them onto my local line for an easy pickup at Tutbury & Hatton, just a few minutes from mine. Nearly as quick as driving, providing the 10-minute connection works out – which it did both ways this time! They arrived around lunchtime on Friday and I worked from home in the afternoon while they took a stroll around Hilton Nature Reserve.

We started Saturday with a visit to Markeaton parkrun, me running and Mum and Dad supporting. James, Gemma and Andy from Rolls-Royce Harriers were all celebrating landmark birthdays and there was a good turnout from the club, as well as a few of my regular parkrun companions from the brass band.

Rolls-Royce Harriers at Markeaton parkrun

We returned home for coffee and a shower, relaxed until lunch, then took a short drive to Calke Park for an afternoon stroll. We parked in the Round Car Park, near Staunton Harold Reservoir, and basically walked the perimeter of the park: along the reservoir shore, around the Deer Park, through the woods, along the Tramway Trail for a bit, then back past the church.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3073359

Dad and Mum by Staunton Harold Reservoir

On Sunday morning, we headed into the Peak District in search of flowering heather, the season having started promptly this year after all the warm weather. Stanton Moor was my chosen spot, and provided us a great display of purple interspersed with yellow gorse, red-tipped bilberry and rich green bracken. We parked in the Birchover car park, and followed the main path via the Cork Stone and trig point to the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. From there, we looped back around the far side of the moor then took a footpath across the fields to Birchover village to pick up an old bridleway back up the ridge to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3073364

Dad and Mum among the heather on Stanton Moor

We took a short drive to Winster for a picnic lunch then returned home for a relaxing afternoon, including a game of Scrabble for Mum and me.

We were disappointed, on checking the train status on Monday morning, to find that Mum and Dad’s train from Crewe had been cancelled, which would add an hour and probably some overcrowding to their journey home. Then an hour later, we were relieved and surprised to find that the service had been reinstated! So it was back to Plan A and a slightly late start at work for me enabled me to do the station drop-off without giving them too long a wait for the train to Crewe. The trains were busy but they managed to get seats and were not significantly delayed getting home.

It was great to host Mum and Dad for the weekend again and I was glad their new travel option went to plan, hopefully smoothly enough not to be off-putting for next time!

There are few more photos on Google here.

Gentian Summer Trip: Stubaier Höhenweg (19th-27th July 2025)

I’m treating myself to two foreign holidays this summer, and the first came in July with a week in Stubaital in the Tyrolean alps of Austria. I was meeting up with friends from the Gentian Club for a circuit of the Stubaier Höhenweg, a high level hut-to-hut tour of the valley. The only catch was that I preferred to fit the expedition into a single week whereas the others (mostly retired) did not place such a premium on holiday days! Consequently, they started the tour on the Friday whereas I travelled out on Saturday and set off in pursuit on Sunday! I had previously visited Stubaital with university friends in 2017 but this tour still appealed as there wasn’t much overlap between the routes covered on the two trips.

My flight from Stansted was at 8:10am and I hadn’t booked a hotel, so I was up at 3am and on the road 45 minutes later to drive down! Thankfully an overnight closure on the A14 at Huntingdon had re-opened by the time I got that far, allowing a straightforward and undelayed journey. Parking at Mid Stay, the bus shuttle to the terminal, and passage through security all went smoothly so I had an hour or so to wait in departures over a coffee before the gate was announced.

The flight was also on time and Salzburg airport is quite a small and quiet one, so it wasn’t long before I was on the bus into the city centre. I had a couple of hours to spare before my booked train to Innsbruck, which gave me some time to explore parts of the city not too far from the main station, most attractively the Salzach riverbank and the gardens of Schloss Mirabell.

I paused at a bakery / café for lunch before heading back to the station for an uneventful two-hour ride west, partly spent having a much needed snooze! In Innsbruck, it was around a 40 minute walk from the Hauptbahnhof (main station) to the Jugendherberge (youth hostel) where I had a dormitory bed for the night. Once I’d checked in, I popped back out to a nearby Eurospar for dinner provisions and some snacks for the coming days in the mountains. Back at the hostel, I ate, had a shower and got an early night.

The next morning, I had hostel breakfast at the earliest opportunity then packed up my stuff and walked briskly back to the main station to catch the 0805 bus up Stubaital – free with a voucher available to all overnight visitors to the valley. Soon I was at the roadside in Neder and setting off, steadily uphill into Pinnistal. Although it was a sunny morning, I was in the welcome shade of the steep mountainside for at least an hour. Once past Pinnisalm, the forests gave way to more open meadows and, beyond Karalm, the ascent became steeper with lots of zigzags all the way up to the Pinnisjoch. There I also reached my destination for the night, the Innsbrucker Hütte at 2369m.

Looking up to the Habicht from the Innsbrucker Hütte

I had made excellent time, yomping up in 2h30 compared with the 4h30 suggested by the footpath signs, so I had plenty of time to add an ascent of the Habicht. The walking was much steeper and rougher, often crossing boulders and with some sections protected by fixed cables. Having started the day at around 500m, I really noticed the altitude once above 3000m, and felt I was going very slowly on the final section to the summit (although I again got there in about 60% of the signpost time!). This was the highest point of the whole trip, at a lofty 3277m.

The clouds had been gradually building and were swirling around the summit, intermittently blocking the views up the valley towards the highest Stubai peaks. Once I’d taken a few photos, signed the summit book and had a quick bite of lunch, I set off back down, keen to be off the highest ground before any storms came in. I needn’t have worried though, as it stayed dry with sunny spells all the way back down to the hut.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3057999

Looking towards the Kirchdachspitze from the slopes of the Habicht. Note the hut, bottom right.

Looking over Stubaital towards the Ruderhofspitze

I was lucky to have been allocated a single bed in a room of Matrazenlager. I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the view and trying to keep well hydrated to help with acclimatising to the altitude. Very unusually, the Innsbrucker Hütte does not offer a fixed half board menu to visitors except for larger groups, so dinner was an à la carte affair. Very tasty food, but it was a less sociable arrangement for the solo visitor as each party just sat at their own small table and waited for the waitress service, rather than the normal assigned seating with a few strangers for company.

Fine views of the Tribulaun, from the hut window

I had a very poor night’s sleep – probably due to the altitude as the bed was comfortable and the room generally quiet. Monday was forecast to be a wet day, and unfortunately I had two stages of the Höhenweg to cover as I started to chase down the Gentian group! I had heard rain in the small hours and, although it was only spitting when I set out, it soon set in more heavily as I followed the rough and steeply-undulating path across a series of steep cirques and over numerous spurs towards the Bremer Hütte. I was mostly in the mist, with only occasional breaks for cloudscape views and fleeting glimpses of the mountainside above. When I reached the one route choice, I decided to take the shorter but trickier route via the Lauterersee lake and a short protected scramble up to the hut.

A clearer moment below the Wetterspitze and Rotenspitze

I was starting to get a bit damp and cold, so I paused briefly in the shelter of the hut porch to put on an extra layer and have some snacks before heading back out into the wet. It was a short but steep climb up to the Simmingjöchl, the day’s high-point at 2754m, and my passing over the ridge helpfully coincided with a half-hour dry spell and some slightly better visibility.

Simmingjöchl – a small border police hut still stands although this is no longer the Italian border

I was not so lucky for the descent on the west side of the pass though, with the heaviest and most persistent rain of the day. I was glad of the numerous fixed cables that allowed my progress to remain rapid over some very rough and steep ground in the very wet conditions. The most unnerving section was crossing the swollen Langental river: the largest branch of the river was spanned by a slippery wooden two-plank bridge, which I edged across very cautiously above the raging torrent! Then I was faced with several smaller branches of the river that required heading well upstream of the paint-marked line of the normal footpath to find safe crossing points!

That obstacle safely passed, there was a final short ascent and descent to cross another rocky ridge to reach the Nürnberger Hütte (2297m) – a very welcome sight in the mist! Thankfully I had taken under 7 hours to complete the walk, not the 11 hours suggested by the signposts! Nevertheless, I was one of the last to arrive (before 2pm!) and found the large drying room already crammed full with every hanging place taken. Luckily people were being pretty diligent about popping in to remove up their dry kit over the course of the afternoon and I was soon able to bag a spot for my wet boots on the heated boot rack and by dinnertime there was also somewhere to hang my jacket, trousers and rucksack!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3058001

The evening was more enjoyable than the previous as I was seated at a table with a Dutch couple – walking a section of the trail in the opposite direction – and a solo German walker – on his day off from work at the higher-level Hildesheimer Hütte – all of whom were happy to converse in English! Again, the altitude resulted in a very poor night’s sleep despite a comfortable bed and near-silent room.

Thankfully Tuesday was much brighter and the drying room had done a very good job of drying out all my gear by morning – just a little dampness in the boots still but not enough for them to be unpleasant to put on! I was tackling another double stage, but only signposted as 7.5 hours this time so a relatively short day! First up was a pleasant ascent on a good path up to the summit cross on the Mairspitze (2775m but actually not the highest point of the mountain). This was an excellent viewpoint, down Stubaital but particularly up the glacier to the Wilder Freiger, which I had climbed on my 2017 visit. On the descent to the blue-green waters of the Grünausee, there were several smaller lakes offering superb reflections. Then it was an easy descent down moraine to the Sulzenauhütte, where my friends had spent the previous night.

Looking up to the Feuerstein from the Nürnberger Hütte

The valley below the Wilder-Freiger-Ferner

As the weather was good, I opted for the more mountainous route variant for the next section, via the Groẞer Trögler (2902m). The ascent was on a long sequence of steep zigzags, protected with cables for the rockiest section, followed by some fun grade-1 scrambling up the ridge. I was surprised only to see one group going the other direction. There were fantastic views up to the high glaciers of the Zuckerhütl – also visited last time I was in the area. The descent was on easier paths, except for one short section where it seemed a relatively recent landslide had littered the path with debris. All felt stable underfoot and I had no particular reason to expect further rockfall, but signposts at the far end of the route were warning people not to go that way, which explained why I’d seen so few others! It turned out my Gentian friends had also been warned at the Sulzenauhütte and taken the easier route via the Peiljoch.

The Zuckerhütl from the ridge of the Groẞer Trögler

I arrived at the Dresdner Hütte (2308m) in around 4.5 hours, once again well ahead of the suggested time, and just a few minutes after my friends had completed their more leisurely walk over. Soon we had met up and we ate lunch together overlooking the hut in the sunshine. In the afternoon, Claire and I took a bit of a stroll to a nearby waterfall. Sadly the hut surroundings are somewhat spoilt by ski infrastructure including the adjacent middle station of the gondola up to Eisgrat. Our group of six (Ned, Vivienne, Claire, Sheena, Mike and I) had a private room and our own table at dinner, and this hut felt more like a hotel in some ways. After dinner, we played cards until bed. I finally got a decent night’s sleep!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3058004

Soon after setting off on Wednesday morning, we realised that we would be treated to a spectacular cloud inversion over Stubaital! Sadly Mike decided, after five days of tough walking, that he was too tired to continue with us and opted to take the lift back down to the valley instead. Having said our goodbyes, we followed a zigzagging path up to the Egesensee and, from an unnamed pass at little further on, had awesome views over the clouds towards the Schwarzenbergspitze and Ruderhofspitze. There were also brocken spectres for a few minutes, although I did not manage to get a good photo of one.

After a short downhill section on a ski road, we were back into unspoilt terrain for the long northerly traverse to the Grawagrubennieder pass – at 2881m, the highest point on the Stubaier Höhenweg. On the way, we passed the beautiful Mutterberger See, with amazing reflections of the Schaufelspitze, Stubaier Wildspitze and Daunkogel. Further on, we took a short detour along a bouldery ridge to the Schafspitze, a narrow spur with great views over Stubaital towards the Habicht.

Reflections in the Mutterberger See: Schaufelspitze, Stubaier Wildspitze and Daunkogel

Looking up the valley to the Zuckerhütl and Stubaier Wildspitze

We had some lunch at the high pass, and took photos towards the adjacent pointy peaks of the Nockwand and Grawawand, before beginning the final descent of Höhes Moos. The first section was down some very steep, loose zigzags to reach the top of a cable that one could use to almost abseil down the remaining scree slope to more solid ground! Then there were several boulderfields to cross, and a section where we were obviously walking on the rock-topped remains of the old Hochmoosferner (glacier), with a few visible crevasses.

Sheena, Claire, Vivienne and Ned at Grawagrubennieder, below the Nockwand

The final half hour to the Neue Regensburger Hütte (2287m) was through greener meadows beside the river. It was a hut of two halves, with a modern wing attached to the original building. Our room was in the old half, and we shared it with just one other, a keen walker from near Munich. The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent over refreshments, dinner and card games as usual. Unusually, this hut offers only vegetarian food. The lentil and dumpling-based meal was very tasty nonetheless, and the salad was (appropriately) the best of the trip! Again, I slept pretty well.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3058006

Thursday’s walk to the Franz Senn Hütte was shorter, which was well timed with a few showers in the forecast and heavier rain expected by mid afternoon. We set off through thick mist in drizzle and full waterproofs on the path traversing Windtratten, but were able to remove the waterproofs for the subsequent steeper ascent to the Schrimmennieder (2714m). Claire and I took the optional detour to the nearby peak of the Basslerjoch (2829m) and were rewarded with a few fleeting views of the Schrimmenkopf and fragments of blue sky, while the others started the descent straight away.

We had a few more fleeting views of the Schrimmenkopf as we descended through Platzengrube on a decent path. Then came a bouldery section, although it was not nearly as tricky as the guidebook had suggested! We paused for a few minutes to watch a group of ibex on a nearby ridge – too far away to properly photograph though. Soon after that, we caught up with Ned, Vivienne and Sheena, and we walked together the rest of the way on a well-built traversing path, more light rain falling for a while.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3058011

The Franz Senn Hütte (2147m) was a relatively large one, apparently offering a base for alpine skills training courses as well as touring and mountaineering groups. We were on Matrazenlager on the third floor but this actually turned out to be quite comfortable as it had been partitioned into two-person cubicles each with dedicated light, power socket and storage, and I ended up with one to myself! In good weather and visibility, I’d have been tempted to go out for an afternoon blast up the nearby (but 900m higher) Rinnenspitze to collect my last of the so-called ‘Stubai Seven Summits’, but that will have to wait for my third visit to the valley! We passed the evening in the usual way.

Friday was a mostly dry but very misty day. Our route took us on another long northerly traverse, with relatively easy footpaths and not many steep undulations this time. We only had fleeting views between cloud layers in the two hours it took us to walk to the small hut at Seducker Hochalm, where we paused for a drink and a slice of very tasty apple strudel.

A few kilometres later, we reached the crest of the main ridge at the Sendersjöchl, which was high enough to be generally above the cloud. There were some excellent views over the inversion to the Schlicker Seespitze and Höher Burgstall. We visited a couple of minor tops on our way to the day’s highpoint, the Gamskogel (2659m). The descent from there to the Seejöchl gave more superb close-up views of the Schlicker Seespitze – very reminiscent of the Dolomites – followed by a dramatic traverse of the steep scree slopes below the limestone cliffs.

Looking over the inversion to the Höher Burgstall

Looking towards the Gamskogel and Schlicker Seespitze

As it was still dry when we reached the Schlicker Schartl pass, we opted to include the ascent of the Höher Burgstall before dropping down to the hut. This involved another interesting traverse at the foot of impressive cliffs, followed by a steep scramble up to the summit aided by cables and staples. A little light rain fell, but not really enough to make us wet. It was just a short descent on an easier path to reach our final hut, the Starkenburger Hütte (2237m).
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3058014

This time our dormitory was in a recently renovated annexe building, around 100m from the main building and its dining room – not quite so convenient. It was another good meal, and the hut staff brought a round of Schnapps for us to enjoy after dinner for us to celebrate having completed the Stubaier Höhenweg! The evening was not so enjoyable for me though as I was in the thick of a heavy cold that had started to set in the previous evening, and my night’s sleep was also somewhat disturbed by that.

I felt a little better in the morning for our two-hour descent in continuous rain back into Stubaital. The path zigzagged down through the forest to emerge in the village of Neustift. There I said my goodbyes to the others as they went to fetch some left luggage while I caught the bus back to Innsbruck.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3058035

Damp and misty in the forest above Neustift

I bought some lunch at the station to eat on my train journey back to Salzburg, where I arrived in the early afternoon. A half hour walk brought me to my hostel accommodation at Stadtalm Naturfreundehaus – just a few rooms above a small restaurant on the defensive walls of the Mönchsberg hill.

Looking over Salzburg from near my hostel

I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the historic city centre, including passing the Hohensalzburg fortress, cathedral, Mozart’s statue, Mozart’s birth house, and the fortifications of the Kapuzinerberg hill the other side of the river. I got some street-food for dinner before returning to the hostel for a lazy evening, not feeling particularly energetic with my continuing cold. Surprisingly, I slept well despite the cold, a very lumpy pillow and an excessively warm room!

The river and fortress from Kapuzinerberg

In the morning, it was a fairly early start to walk back into the city centre and catch the bus to the airport. I had breakfast in the departure lounge while I waited for my 1040 flight back to Stansted, which was on time. Nice quiet roads got me back to Derby in good time to end another excellent week in high mountains.

I’d highly recommend the Stubaier Höhenweg for its challenging terrain, impressive scenery and comfortable huts with consistently delicious food. My unusual itinerary of three long, fast days followed by four more leisurely ones with the group worked out really well and provided a good contrast. And despite significant rain on Monday and Saturday, the weather was pretty decent overall, with three bright days and two mostly dry despite a lot of walking in mist! My full photo album can be viewed here. Now I just have four weeks at work before my next adventure!

Woodlands Valley (6th July 2025)

Claire suggested we meet up for a bit of a training walk ahead of the Gentian trip to the Austrian Alps later this month. Options are a bit limited in the Peak District to meet her requests for “hilly” and “some easy scrambling” but I did my best with a circuit around the Woodlands Valley and Alport Dale.

We met at mine around 8am and I drove us up to the start point, a large layby about a mile short of the old Snake Inn. Heavy rain had fallen as I ate my breakfast but it had only been showery on the drive and we started up the lower reaches of Blackden Brook in the dry. Drizzle soon arrived though, and gradually intensified to be more like rain as we ascended. The scrambling opportunities in the stream-bed are intermittent and optional but were just about dry enough to be enjoyable towards the top.

One of the more interesting scrambly sections

Claire reaching the top of Blackden Brook

There were only a couple of short breaks in the rain as we continued west along Seal Edge, which had some interesting wind-carved rocks and, briefly, a rainbow that appeared unusually far below us. After a while we reached the top of Fair Brook, which we descended by the good path, not opting to include any scrambling this time as there was a good amount of water flowing down right from the start. Lower down, the rain did stop properly and we paused for first lunch below some pretty cascades that were being ascended by a gorge-walking group.

Once back down in the valley, we crossed the River Ashop and followed its east bank up below the Snake Inn, then took the forest path up Lady Clough as far as Birchin Clough. A short but steep climb up the steps in very humid, misty air brought us onto the open moorland of Alport Moor with a welcome breeze making it feel fresher.

There’s a clear and not-too-boggy (at least at the moment) path across the moor towards Hern Clough. We followed it as far as Over Wood Moss, from where we descended steeply, off-piste into Alport Dale, crossing the river just above an attractive set of waterfalls. Not far back up the opposite slope, we joined a fairly obvious path that traversed southeast with great views up and down the steep-sided valley, and across to the waterfalls in Nether Reddale Clough. I had not explored these impressive upper reaches of Alport Dale previously. Some sections are being reafforested with deciduous trees that seem to be establishing quite nicely in their plastic tubes.

After a pause for second lunch, we clambered up the steep grassy slopes to join the larger path on the rim of the dale, which gave easier walking to Alport Castles – always an impressive sight. We took the scenic detour down the lumpy, bouldery valley created by the landslip, and I enjoyed the easy scramble up to the summit of The Tower. Then we returned to the public footpath to descend back into Alport Dale. That just left a half hour or so down the track and back up the road to the car.

Looking back up Alport Dale from The Tower

It didn’t rain significantly after first lunch, so we finished with mostly dry kit and felt we’d had a good day out overall. It was good to catch up with Claire too. My full photo album can be viewed here, and a route map here.

Gentian Newlands Trip (7th-8th June 2025)

June’s Gentian Club meet was to the North-western Fells of the Lake District. Due to a mix-up with the hut booking, there had been a late rescheduling of the trip, a week earlier than originally planned – not particularly convenient for me as I had entered and was keen not to miss the Carsington Hill Race on the Friday evening! A good choice as it was a perfect dry and breezy evening for a fell race, and it turned out to be a very enjoyable course with a very steep (walked) ascent from the village to start off, then nice runnable undulations on bridleways and footpaths around the back of Harborough Rocks, and a lovely fast descent on grass to finish. Surprisingly, I was not the only Gentian Club member running – Sue was also there and we had chance to chat briefly before the start and after the finish. I was pleased to finish in 10th place, accruing a useful 27 points for the Rolls-Royce Harriers championship!

The view from Carsington Pastures (taken on my warm-up!)

Chilli and cake were available in the church after the race, and that was a convenient option for me, avoiding the need for a separate dinner stop on my drive north. To avoid an extremely late arrival in the Newlands Valley, I only drove as far as my parents’ house in Kendal that night, getting there a little before 11pm. Mum kindly stayed up to welcome me, and got up to see me off again the next morning! Another hour’s driving got me to Little Town, from where it was a very slow 10-minute drive up the gravel track to the Carlisle Mountaineering Club hut, near the head of the Newlands Valley. It was my first visit to this hut and it’s a delightfully secluded spot!

The remote and basic Carlisle Mountaineering Club hut

The others were just discussing their routes for the day when I arrived. The fairly wet forecast had convinced them that lower-level walks were the best option but, obviously, I was more optimistic and offered to lead an anticlockwise round of the Newlands Horseshoe. Sheena chose to join me, and Vivienne as far as Hindscarth (but then she wanted to turn the other way to bag Robinson!).

It’s a scenic ascent up the north ridge, clambering up a few easy rocky outcrops to reach the terrace of Scope End, then up steep grass to the summit. After a mostly dry start, a spell of moderate rain did blow in for the second half of the climb, lasting a bit over half an hour and just about petering out by the time we got to the top. There were fleeting views through breaks in the cloud across Buttermere to Haystacks, High Stile and beyond.

Looking back down to the hut from Scope End

Looking down the Newlands Valley from Scope End, as the rain arrived

As planned, Vivienne went her own way at Littledale Edge, and Sheena and I continued up to Dale Head in brightening conditions. We paused at Dale Head Tarn for first lunch, then continued along the ridge over High Spy and Maiden Moor. Keeping to the left hand side gave the best views over the impressive crags.

Looking towards Coledale over the crags of High Spy

Coincidentally, just as we arrived at the saddle between Maiden Moor and Catbells, Howard and Claire also arrived, coming up from the Derwent Water side having been to Castle Crag! We merged groups for the rest of the walk. We didn’t pause long at the summit of Catbells – a great viewpoint but busy as always – but dropped down to Skelgill Bank for a quieter second lunch. Then it was an easy walk walk back up the track to the hut, finishing with dry kit thanks to the sunny spells and fresh breeze. A better day than expected, with just the one heavy shower and plenty of sunshine.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3005308

The very green Newlands Valley, from Catbells

The evening followed the usual format with plentiful tea, dinner together, then drinks and chat until bed. Steve did a tasty chilli for main course for the meat-eaters, and generously shared around a bottle of port afterwards. The pot-bellied coke stove was very effective at keeping the room warm, but not particularly well sealed and it was smokier than I would have liked.

Sunday’s forecast was better and the day started brightly, so I proposed a round of the Coledale Horseshoe. That would also be very productive for Claire’s Wainwright-bagging! She, Sheena and Vivienne opted to join me. Sadly, the early sunshine had gone by the time we had packed up and left the hut, and we drove in rain down the valley to Braithwaite, parking near the bottom of the Whinlatter Pass.

On-and-off rain, with only short dry interludes, continued for our ascent up the grassy ridge to Barrow, then across the heathery saddle to Outerside, and it was only when we completed the rising traverse back to our left onto Causey Pike that it really felt like it might brighten again. I had forgotten what an excellent viewpoint it is over the Newlands Valley – I think I have gone straight from Scar Crags to Outerside on my last few (anticlockwise) rounds.

Sheena, Claire and Vivienne at the summit of Causey Pike, looking towards misty Skiddaw

Thankfully, after a damp couple of hours, it did stay generally dry from then on. We continued, in and out of mist, over Scar Crags and up the unattractive bulldozed zigzags to Sail, then stopped for lunch in a sheltered spot on the slopes of Crag Hill, with excellent views down Coledale.

The cloud base was hanging persistently around 800m so it didn’t seem worth including Grasmoor this time – we descended by the upper part of Gasgale Gill instead to reach Coledale Hause, followed by the short climb up the scree path to Hopegill Head. It’s a lovely well defined ridge from there to the final peak of the day, Grisedale Pike – which was another one on Vivienne’s wish list – and mostly easy walking on the descent back to Braithwaite. Again, the late sunshine and breeze had dried us out nicely – always good not to have a pile of wet gear to dry on getting home!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3005314

Looking towards Grisedale Pike, with Blencathra and Clough Head beyond

Looking back from Grisedale Pike – Grasmoor had cleared eventually!

I paused on the way home to join Mum and Dad for roast chicken dinner in Kendal, then had a quiet drive the rest of the way to Derby. A busy weekend squeezing in the fell race as well as the club meet, but definitely worth the effort for two good ridge walks and time spent with friends. You can see my full photo album here.

Tump-bagging in southern Nottinghamshire (31st May 2025)

I’ve established a tradition of visiting my favourite local parkrun, Bestwood Village, to celebrate the milestone whenever I reach a multiple of 50 parkruns. This week was my 200th, and thus my 4th visit to Bestwood! I love the hilly challenge (100m ascent equals or matches anything else in the area), the mixed parkland and woodland scenery, and the fact it’s a genuine single-lap course with no out-and-back or repeated sections. Jeff and Helen, Will and Jane, Jonathan and Andy kindly turned out to celebrate with me.

I’m in pretty good form at the moment so was hopeful of setting a course PB and ran hard from the off. As always, I’m better on the ups than the downs, and I was leading at the top of the first hill, dropped to third place on the descent, regained the lead by the top of the second hill, and dropped back to second soon after that. I was glad of the pacer to drag me along though, and finished about 10s behind him, in 20:05, a full minute ahead of third place. Tantalisingly close to a sub-20 (would have been well within if the course were not 150m over distance, but that’s part of the challenge at Bestwood)!

Will, Jane, Helen, Jeff, me, Andy and Jonathan after parkrun (thanks Will for the photo!)

Afterwards, I decided to make the most of having driven to central Nottinghamshire by having a drive-bag-repeat day, touring around some of the county’s Tumps. Not the most inspiring list but it’s been in the back of my mind as a small local project for a while.

1) First on the list was Ramsdale Hill, near Calverton. This one’s a drive-up, the highest natural ground being within the car park of the Priory mental health hospital. I walked a few metres to a nearby artificial mound in the grounds, then got back in the car!

2) Next up was Loath Hill, north of Oxton, which at least had a rural setting. The highest point is near the trig point and a couple of transmitters, on a field edge above some woodland. Better views were on offer from the adjacent Robin Hood Hill.

3) I continued north to Redgate Wood, near Eakring, for the next summit. After visiting the trig point and nearby high-point in the woods, I took the time to explore the marked trail around the adjoining Duke’s Wood, where I was surprised to find several restored ‘nodding donkey’ oil pumps. I associate these with childhood walks in Purbeck when visiting my uncle Michael. The information boards advised that this was the UK’s first onshore oil field, established urgently and in great secrecy at the start of World War 2, when German U-boats were very effective at cutting off our previous supplies from the USA and Iran. A number of American oil-men came across to help establish the field, and there’s a also memorial to their efforts on the site. It remained operational until the 60’s.

Memorial to the US oilmen who helped establish the field

4) I had to drive through the rather congested centre of Newark to reach my next objective, Beacon Hill. The highest natural ground is just outside a fenced reservoir compound, although the embankments inside are obviously higher. I followed the advice of previous visiting baggers and went up through some woodlands on the south side of the hill. It didn’t seem worth exploring further.

5) Starting to head back towards home, the next stop was near East Bridgford for Old Hill, situated above the south-eastern bank of the River Trent. There’s an attractive escarpment here with several spurs and re-entrants, and an undulating bridleway crossing over them leads very close to the summit, with decent views over the river. Unfortunately the only way into the (private) summit field (without coming from the other side and blatantly trespassing in view of houses) is to crawl under/through a prickly hedge – not much fun! As so often with these obscure hills, there was a transmitter near the high point.

Looking over the Trent valley from near Old Hill

6) Continuing southwest to Radcliffe-on-Trent, I reached Dewberry Hill. The western slopes are a nature reserve with a good signposted circular route through it, but nothing particularly memorable to see. Reaching the high-point just required hopping over a fence onto the adjacent golf course. I think I managed not to disrupt any of the golfers’ games!

7) The seventh hill of the day was another very quick one – Wilford Hill is just a short stroll up a bridleway behind Wilford cemetery, with another transmitter at the summit. There were quite a few locals out for a walk.

8) I parked in Barton-in-Fabis for my walk up nearby Brands Hill, another one on the escarpment south of the River Trent. A bridleway leads through the woods below the ridge, but then it’s a very steep clamber up the slopes to reach the summit at the edge of a crop field. The woods unfortunately block any view of the river.

Looking down from Brands Hill to the recently-decommissioned Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station

9) The final stop of the day had the bonus of offering two Tumps that it actually seemed worthwhile to walk between! I parked by the church in Gotham village and followed bridleways onto Gotham Hill then a footpath through the woods to the highest point in the woods. A wide bridleway, gravel and then grass, led directly to the final summit, Court Hill, on the edge of another golf course. A short descent on a bridleway through sheep pastures led me back to Gotham.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2997341 (don’t think I’ll bother for the others, which were no more than a couple of kilometres each!).

That’s ten new Tumps bagged in total. Added to the three Nottinghamshire hills I’d already done, that takes me almost half way through the county’s 27 in total! If you’re really keen, there are a few more photos here!

Mostly Marilyns around Dolgellau (23rd-27th May 2025)

Having enjoyed two trips to the Highlands in the past month, I decided not to head north of the border for Spring Bank Holiday this year. Instead I headed west of the border, to Wales! I based myself at the Tan-y-Fron campsite in Dolgellau, where I’ve stayed a couple of times before. Even leaving at 5pm on the Friday of Bank Holiday weekend, I wasn’t significantly delayed by traffic, the drive taking around three hours plus a dinner stop, so I was able to get pitched up before dark.

Saturday looked dry until evening, but with increasing winds and very low cloud. I started the day with a parkrun, choosing Y Promenâd parkrun, Abermaw as I thought it would be more scenic than the (much closer) Dolgellau parkrun! I had wondered whether the wind would slow me down on the sea-front, but it turned out to be just a light onshore breeze, and I was very pleased to finish in 18:37, my fastest time since 2019 and my second best age grade ever (73.32%)!

Once I’d got my breath back and taken a few photos, I headed back inland for a walk up the Marilyn, Foel Offrwm, just north of Dolgellau. I was surprised to find a marked trail up the hill from the Precipice Walk car park. Even at just 405m, the hill was well in the cloud, so I didn’t get any summit views, but the woods were attractive on the lower slopes. I continued my walk by heading around the Precipice Walk itself, with a detour to the summit of Foel Cynwch (a Hump). The precipice was underwhelming, to someone who often walks above much larger crags!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2987822

I still had plenty of dry hours left, so I then took a drive east to the village of Aberangell, and from there up to the top of the high pass through Dyfi Forest. That gave easy access to nearby Mynydd Cymcelli, another Marilyn, which had some unusual earthworks around the summit and good views of Maesglase.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2987859

Looking towards Maesglase from Mynydd Cwmcelli

Earthworks at the summit of Mynydd Cwmcelli

I took the slow route back to Dolgellau, continuing over the narrow pass through Aberllefenni to rejoin the main road at Corris. With rain expected by 6pm, I showered and cooked early, eating my pasta in the car as the first spots started to fall. It was a very wet evening, the rain eventually easing around 10pm to leave a dry night.

Sunday looked like it would offer the best weather of the trip, although still windy, so I planned a walk to include Cadair Idris. Walking directly from Dolgellau, I headed first to the nearby Marilyn of Moel Fynydd (shown on the OS maps as Craig y Castell). Lanes and tracks led most of the way but the summit ridge was rather unpleasant with even the sheep trods overgrown with bracken. At least it was less than waist deep at this time of year! A heavy shower fell as I approached the top. There were views towards the Rhinogs, Rhobell Fawr and the Arans, but Cadair Idris was cloaked in cloud.

Looking towards Braich Ddu and Pared y Cefn-hir, from Moel Fynydd

I improvised a descent route very steeply south through the fields and then the forest towards Llyn Gwernan – pathless, overgrown and not recommended! However, I couldn’t see a better way to reach the bottom of the Fox’s Path up Cadair without a large detour or blatant trespass. The sky was brightening nicely as I set off up the grassy path – clearly not heavily used – and the steep buttress of Cyfrwy was almost clear above. I hadn’t been up that way before, and enjoyed passing by Llyn Gafr and Llyn y Gadair with fine views of the mountain’s northern crags.

Brightening conditions on the Fox’s Path below Cyfrwy

Even the final section up the scree to emerge on the ridge just east of Cadair Idris wasn’t anywhere near as loose as it looked, with a zigzagging path making its way up to the left of the main gully. Impressively, for a walk up Cadair Idris on a dry day of a Bank Holiday weekend, I didn’t pass a single other person until I reached the summit! It was very blustery on the highest ground, so I didn’t hang around long before setting off west to find a more sheltered spot for lunch above the crags on the way to Mynydd Moel. I continued east to Gau Graig then followed the obvious quad-bike track down to Bwlch-coch – familiar as Ruth and I had ascended that way on our Dragon’s Back backpack a few years ago.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2988707

Back in town before 3pm, I was in plenty of time to buy dinner supplies at the Co-op and had a leisurely evening chatting with a German couple who were backpacking the Snowdonia Way. There was a lovely sunset over the Rhinogs before bed.

Monday was forecast to start bright and deteriorate around lunchtime, so I got an early start, up at 6am and on the road by 7. I was not a long drive around the eastern end of the Cadair Idris massif to Llanfihangel-y-pennant in the Dysynni valley, where I parked opposite the church.

I had planned a circular route that would link together a couple of Marilyns as well as the impressive (but not so prominent) Birds Rock. I followed the attractive bridleway east to the saddle at the ruined farmhouse of Nant-yr-eira, then climbed steeply south to gain the east ridge of Foel Cae’rberllan, surprising a few sheep and cows grazing among the bracken as I passed! It was a small and rather overgrown path beside the wall to the summit, but it was nice to traverse the full length of this shapely hill’s well-defined ridge. There were excellent views over the valley to Graig Goch, as well as towards Cadair Idris.

Graig Goch, and a glimpse of Tal-y-llyn Lake

The descent to Caerberllan farm was much easier, mostly on a well-made zigzag track. I followed the lane a short distance to Pont Ystumanner then re-ascended steeply on a footpath to gain the ridge of my next objective, Gamallt. This also gave excellent views, particularly back towards Foel Cae’rberllan and over Abergynolwyn to the Tarren hills. The actual summit, though, is over the fence into the forest, with no view at all!

Foel Cae’rberllan, Abergynolwyn and the Tarrens

I improvised a descent of the forestry tracks towards Rhiwerfa, having to backtrack a bit and choose a different track when I encountered forestry machines working ahead – not what I had expected on a Bank Holiday Monday! Soon I was onto the main track, which I followed up to Bwlch-y-maen. From there, I found small paths over all three summits of Birds Rock, a popular family walk from the adjacent campsite, I think. The north top has impressive cliffs on its north side but I found they couldn’t really be appreciated from the summit!

The first spots of rain began to fall as I descended back into the valley, but I made it half way back along the lanes to Llanfihangel before deciding a waterproof jacket was worthwhile. It didn’t seem to be deteriorating fast, so I decided I’d gamble on a second walk for a bonus Marilyn, Foel Cocyn, starting in Bryncrug. Although not a right of way, other baggers had reported no issues using the obvious zigzag track up the west ridge above Gwyddelfynydd, and so it proved for me – easy going for a quick yomp up and down, with views over the coast and Dysynni valley. Although the very light rain continued throughout, the strong breeze was drying me just as fast as I was getting wet, and I made it back to the car without needing waterproof trousers.
Route maps: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2989 8 57 and https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2989862

Looking inland to Birds Rock and Gamallt, from Foel Cocyn

It was still only around 1pm. I drove up the coast to Fairbourne and ate my lunch in the car overlooking the estuary as heavier rain began to set in. That deterred any further exploration, so I headed straight back to Dolgellau, where I just spent the afternoon reading in the car! It was so wet that I took the lazy option and drove the half mile into town to get fish and chips for dinner. The rain only began to ease as I was thinking of heading to bed, around 9:30pm – one of the wettest eight-hour spells I can remember!

After a rather restless night, disturbed by squally showers, I got up early again on Tuesday. This time the forecast suggested it would start raining by 9am, so there wasn’t much of a weather window to play with, but I was keen to clear up my remaining two unbagged Marilyns in the vicinity. I decamped in little over an hour and was on the road just after 7am for the 20 minute drive around to near Aberangell.

My objective was Esgair Ddu, the highest point of the Mynydd Cemmaes massif. Most baggers had reported going up from the east, but their descriptions of awkward parking spots, and indistinct and overgrown paths didn’t really appeal, so I followed a small minority who’d gone up the west side of the hill. This proved an excellent choice, with a good layby to park in and attractive tracks that zigzagged up through deciduous woodland then steeper bracken-covered slopes to reach a grassy bridleway leading almost all the way to the summit. There were good views back over the Dovey valley to Maesglase, and a couple of red kites circled overhead near the summit.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2991243

Looking over the upper Dovey valley to Maesglase

The summit of Esgair Ddu, looking towards Carnedd Wen (in the forest)

The first spots of rain fell just as I started back down. I donned my waterproof jacket but, like the previous day, did not feel the need for trousers before reaching the car. A few minutes’ drive into the Banwy valley got me to Cae’r-lloi, the start point of my final walk of the trip. From a look at the radar map, I was pretty sure heavier rain would soon arrive, but I decided to go up the hill anyway. I knew that it was an easy walk up a large track all the way to the summit of Carnedd Wen and that I would be sheltered by forest on the upper half. I covered the 5km in just over an hour, and the descent a bit quicker than that, so didn’t have time to get totally soaked although the rain had been pretty persistent. Not much to say about the summit – just a trig point in a forest clearing. Not one to return to!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2991247

The drive back to Derby was pretty slow with various tractors, lorries and minor jams, and wet all the way, but generally uneventful. Getting home by early afternoon, I was able to get most of my unpacking, sorting and drying done before bed, as well as writing this blog. The tent-drying will have to wait for a dryer day though!

My full photo album can be viewed on Google Photos here.

Gentian Torridon Trip (2nd-11th May 2025)

With a late Easter this year and the Gentian Scottish Spring meet falling earlier than usual, I found myself heading back up the motorway to the Highlands only a week and a half after I’d returned from Angus! This time I had passengers to help the journey pass more quickly: Claire and Sheena met me at my house after work on Thursday evening and we drove up to Natland, where Ruth and Josh kindly accommodated us for the night.

We were up quite early on Saturday to drive up to Drumochter in time for an afternoon walk. I had picked the southern two of the four Munros west of the pass, as Claire and I had done the northern two on our way back from last year’s trip. Disappointingly, it was a bit drizzly as we set off up the track up Coire Dhomhain, but I trusted the forecast saying that it would soon brighten. Claire’s knee was causing her pain and she soon opted to stroll back to the road and start the week with a rest day! Sheena and I continued up a rough ATV track onto the east ridge of Sgairneach Mhor, and paused for lunch in a sheltered spot on our way up to the summit. The rain had cleared out, as expected, and the summit was just below the cloud, but the wind was pretty strong and cold! We heard, then saw, a couple of ptarmigan nearby, their bodies grey for summer but wings still holding their white winter plumage.

We continued west to the bealach with Beinn Udlamain, eventually gaining a view of Loch Ericht, with Ben Alder opposite. We watched another pair of ptarmigan near the ridge. Once we’d reached the summit of Beinn Udlamain, we descended by the broad northeast ridge, then more steeply east on a better-than-expected path down a spur to regain the main track in Coire Dhomhain. Thankfully Claire didn’t seem to have got too bored waiting for us!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2963465
We drove up to Inverness Youth Hostel for the night, delayed a bit queueing to pass an accident at Aviemore, and just spent the evening in the hostel.

As the forecast for Saturday was again better in the afternoon, I was keen to fit in a parkrun, and Sheena decided she’d like to join me. We took the short drive east to Nairn Links, where it turned out the event was only on its sixth week! The course was three laps of tarmac paths behind the dunes, with good views over the Moray Firth. I ran my fastest time this year, exactly 19 minutes, then joined Sheena for the second half of her final lap. She also ran very well, taking advantage of new running shoes to achieve a PB and an impressive age grade over 72% (half a percent better than mine)!

Our next stop was Tesco Extra at Inverness, to buy lunch provisions for the week, and ingredients for our allocated evening meal courses – a main and a dessert in my case. That gave us a very full car for the final drive to Torridon! We stopped at Achnasheen for a walk up the easy Munro of Fionn Bheinn. The ascent goes up fairly gentle but (even after the recent dry weather) rather boggy grassy slopes, with improving views west to Beinn Eighe and south over Strath Bran to the distinctive Corbett of Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn. We paused for lunch part-way up, and reached the ridge in a brighter spell with good views over Toll Mor to the summit.

Looking over Achnasheen to Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn

Sheena and Claire on the ridge of Fionn Bheinn (before the cloud dropped!)

The cloud dropped as we ascended the ridge though, so we missed out on summit views this time. We made a round walk by returning east along the ridge then beside a very smart dry-stone wall to gain another boggy path back down to the forest and glen, with a final kilometre on the road back to Achnasheen.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2964616

Another half hour’s driving got us to Torridon, where our accommodation for the week was the National Trust for Scotland’s ‘Mol Mor’ bunkhouse, right on the shore of Upper Loch Torridon. Stuart and new member Amanda had arrived before us and unlocked. Soon we had unloaded the car, chosen beds, and packed our groceries into the fridge. Within a couple of hours, the rest of the group had also arrived – nine of us in total. Sheena kindly cooked dinner for me.

With dry weather forecast for the entire week, we were all keen to start with one of the “big three” Torridon peaks on Sunday. Beinn Alligin was the chosen hill, and we drove in three cars to the Coire Mhic Nobaill car park, finding it already nearly full at 9am. We expected to split into a faster and a slower group and the members of each assigned themselves based on walking pace up the lower slopes of the hill. Claire, Sheena, Amanda, Ned and Vivienne were with me in the faster group.

It’s a well built path all the way, and we made good progress up into Coire nan Laogh, with impressive views east over the other Torridon peaks and south over Upper Loch Torridon to Beinn Damh. There was a dusting of fresh snow above about 800m to start off but it gradually retreated as the sunny spells warmed the air and ground, and there were only traces remaining by the time we reached the summit of Tom na Gruagaich. It’s a magnificent end to the ascent as one approaches the east facing cliffs from the west and is suddenly rewarded with a stunning view over Torridon on reaching the trig point!

Sgurr Mor and the Horns of Alligin, from the path up Tom na Gruagaich

Looking back down Coire nan Laogh, and across Upper Loch Torridon to Beinn Damh

The awesome summit view from Tom na Gruagaich: Sgurr Mor, Beinn Dearg and Liathach

We stopped for first lunch on the way down to the bealach, then climbed easily back up to the second Munro, Sgurr Mor, admiring the huge vertical-sided gully of Eag Dhubh na h-Eigheachd near the top. We continued the traverse, enjoying some short sections of grade 1-2 scrambling over the three peaks of the Horns of Alligin (Na Rathanan).

Looking back across the gully and bealach to Tom na Gruagaich

Looking past the third Horn to Beinn Dearg

Once past all difficulties on the final descent, we paused for second lunch. The path back to the car follows the riverside and several waterfalls, looking pretty even though presumably far less impressive than they would in normal (wetter) conditions.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2965716
Back at the bunkhouse, it was the usual routine of tea and biscuits, showers, then dinner. I was on main course duty in the evening and prepared a creamy chicken dish for the meat eaters.

I had arranged to meet up with Amy (who lives relatively nearby in Plockton) on Monday for her 40th birthday walk (a week late) up Beinn Dearg. This is considered the fourth classic Torridon peak, but is much the quietest due to being 70cm below Munro height and therefore ‘only’ a Corbett! Amy arrived around 8:45am and Ned, Amanda, Sheena and Claire decided they’d like to join us for the day.

We parked at Coire Mhic Nobaill again and set off up the previous day’s descent path, the waterfalls looking even better in sunnier weather! The path continues below the Horns of Alligin to reach the Bealach a’ Chomhla. We crossed the small river there then ascended very steeply on a faint path to Stuc Loch na Cabhaig, pausing for a snack break towards the top. There were particularly good views north to the Corbetts of Baosbheinn and Beinn an Eoin.

Looking over the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil to Beinn Dearg

The ridge south to the summit of Beinn Dearg was very attractive, with a few easy rocky steps to negotiate. We had first lunch near the top, then continued east, helping each other down the three scrambly pitches of a buttress on the ridge to reach easier ground leading eventually to Carn na Feola. This was a great viewpiont for Beinn Eighe and Liathach, and over many small blue lochans to the northeast. We descended steep and mainly pathless gullies and slopes south to reach the path west of Loch Grobaig, and followed that easily down the valley back to the car. A lovely day out on an excellent mountain in sunshine, and great to catch up with Amy in person for the first time in about a year.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2966756

Amy, Sheena, Amanda, Claire and Ned at the summit of Beinn Dearg

The weather was milder but cloudier for Tuesday’s walk up Beinn Eighe, again with Claire, Sheena, Amanda, Ned and Vivienne. Martin and Mike formed a slower group while Stuart headed north for an overnight trip to Cape Wrath! We dropped Amanda and Martin’s cars at the finish point then returned to the start in Ned’s. The walk starts up a well-built path through Coire Dubh Mor then traverses below Sail Mhor and climbs up into the grand northwestern corrie, Coire Mhic Fhearchair, with its eponymous lochan and much celebrated Triple Buttress.

Ned, Claire, Vivienne, Sheena and Amanda in Coire Mhic Fhearchair

A smaller path leads through rockier ground past three smaller lochans then up a scree gully (pretty solid and stable towards the side walls) onto the bealach south of the first Munro, Ruadh-stac Mor. From there it was an easy walk up the ridge to the quartzite summit. We paused for first lunch on the way back to the bealach. We were not sure how Martin would have got on with the steep scree, so were pleased to see him and Mike emerge onto the ridge just as we were approaching.

Looking past the Triple Buttress to Liathach, from Ruadh-stac Mor

Our traverse continued over the grassy eastern end of Coinneach Mhor then along a well-defined rocky arete all the way to the trig point (for second lunch) then a short distance beyond to the second Munro, Spidean Coire nan Clach. There were great views down Beinn Eighe’s northern and eastern corries and along the awesome ridge of Liathach. The steep descent goes down scree then a better-made path to reach the road 900m below in only a couple of kilometres. Everyone’s knees were glad to reach the bottom!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2967939

The eastern Tops of Beinn Eighe: Sgurr Ban and Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe

A few of the group fancied a rest day on Wednesday. I fancied a change of scenery and I led the rest (Claire, Sheena and Amanda) on a walk in Glen Carron. We left Amanda’s car west of Loch Sgamhain then continued down to Craig in mine, again taking the opportunity to do a linear traverse route. We crossed the railway then followed tracks up the forested valley above the Allt a’ Chonais. Lazy navigation on my part got us onto the wrong branch at one point but a short off-piste scrabble through the brush got us back onto the right track! Further up, we reached a two-wire bridge across the river, which we dutifully crossed for fun then crossed back.

Claire on the track below Sgurr nan Ceannaichean

The zigzagging stalkers’ path up from Pollan Buidhe gave improving views of the opposite Munros, Sgurr Choinnich and Sgurr a’ Chaorachain, and later of the distinctive pointy summit of “Cheesecake” (Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich). When we reached the end of the improved path, a short, rising grassy traverse got us to the rim of Am Fliuch-choire, where we paused for first lunch in the sunshine, with a couple of eagles circling high overhead in a thermal.

Sgurr Choinnich, from the stalkers’ path

First lunch, with pointy “Cheesecake” in the distance

A short further climb got us up to the summit of Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, once thought to be a Munro but actually slightly too low and now a Corbett. The views were very extensive, particularly to the north and west, over the Glen Carron hills to Torridon, Fisherfield, and the Fannaichs.

Claire, Sheena and Amanda at the summit of Sgurr nan Ceannaichean

We followed the grassy ridge east to the day’s Munro, Moruisg, which is a much less interesting hill than its Corbett neighbour, although with comparable views. After second lunch near the summit, we made an easy descent of the broad northern slopes, soon picking up a well-used path, under the railway at an underpass and directly to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2969163

As there was plenty of afternoon left, we decided to take the slightly longer but more scenic route back to Torridon, down Glen Carron to Lochcarron for an ice cream stop and then over the low pass to Shieldaig.

Back at the bunkhouse, I prepared my bread and butter pudding for the evening’s dessert, ready to pop in the oven at the necessary time. Always good to get the somewhat-stressful catering duties over with on these longer club trips!

On Thursday, another sunny day, we tackled the trickiest of the Torridon peaks, Liathach, a solid grade 2 scramble, touching grade 3 depending on the chosen line. Claire and Sheena were daunted by the prospect but plucked up the courage to attempt it with Ned and my support. I’m sure Amanda would also have enjoyed it but sadly she had to head home early for a family event. I drove us the three miles up Glen Torridon to the start point near Glen Cottage.

The ascent is very steep but on a good path all the way up the grand corrie of Toll a’ Meitheach to the bealach west of Stuc a’ Choire Dhuibh Bhig.

We took the short detour to that eastern Top to take in the fine views of Beinn Eighe, then followed the easy ridge west over a couple of other minor summits to the first Munro, Spidean a’ Choire Leith, passing a couple of ptarmigan on the way.

Looking up the ridge to Spidean a’ Choire Leith

Torridon from Stuc a’ Choire Dhuibh Bhig

Beinn Eighe from Spidean a’ Choire Leith

The descent from there is a rough and not particularly pleasant one, over quartzite boulders and scree, so it was good to reach the next bealach and start the fun scrambly traverse over the numerous sandstone pinnacles of Am Fasarinen. We were able to keep mostly to the crest, at least visiting the top of each pinnacle even if not always following the most direct descent lines! All too soon, we were on the easy grassy slopes that lead up to the second Munro, Mullach an Rathain. We watched an eagle fly quite close-by and, even more unusually, a sea-plane fly up the valley! It was also great to look back along the ridge we’d traversed. My one previous visit had been in mist and rain, back in 2007. The scrambling certainly seemed a lot more straightforward in the dry!

Mullach an Rathain, and Beinn Alligin in the distance

Ned, Claire and Sheena before the pinnacles

As we had made good time, I decided to have a go at improvising a route through the corrie of Glas-Toll a’ Bothain to reach the Munro Top at the end of the ‘Northern Pinnacles’ ridge. This is one of only four Munro Tops I had not visited, the other three also being scrambly ones on the Black Cuillin. Descending west and then north from Mullach an Rathain, down the western ridge of the corrie, I was able to drop down steep but straightforward grassy slopes and then cross a couple of stable scree gullies to reach the bottom of the Northern Pinnacles crags. I clambered up extremely steep grassy slopes broken by scattered boulders, weaving between any small crags, to gain an easy ledge that traversed left (north) to the bealach. This was fine in the dry but I certainly would not have fancied it if the grass were wet! It was an easy walk up a surprisingly well-trodden path from there the short distance up to the summit of Meall Dearg.

Mullach an Rathain from the north Top, Meall Dearg

Spidean a’ Choire Leith, from Meall Dearg

After a short pause to catch my breath and take a few photos of the main ridge, I retraced my steps most of the way back up to the Munro, but traversing around the easy western slopes to gain the top of the main descent path by the Allt an Tuill Bhain. The others had set off down in the meantime, but moving fast on my own I was soon able to catch them up and we descended the lower slopes together. Another punishing descent of 1000m in around 2.5km that it was good to reach the bottom of! We walked the 1.5km back along the road to the bunkhouse, and Ned dropped me back up the valley to collect my car. A grand day out to complete the Torridon set for the week, and we couldn’t have been luckier with the weather!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2970176

Looking back over Glas-Toll a’ Bothain to Meall Dearg

In the evening we drove then 9 miles from Torridon, west along the twisty coast road and over the Bealach na Gaoithe to the small village of Diabaig, for dinner at a lovely little restaurant, Gille Brighde by the pier. We enjoyed three very tasty courses served by the genial Dutch owner, and got the drive back to the bunkhouse done just before dark!

For the final walking day of the club meet, Claire, Sheena and I headed up to Kinlochewe for a walk up Slioch, an impressive distinctive peak defended on three sides by high cliffs. It’s another Munro I had only done once before, back in 2011 at the end of a strenuous three-day backpacking route through Fisherfield with Ruth! The walk starts with a very pretty flat 5km beside the Kinlochewe River to reach the eastern end of Loch Maree. The flowering gorse, fresh green foliage and blue water and sky made a particularly attractive scene, with good views of Beinn Eighe and the neighbouring Corbett, Meall a’ Ghiuthais.

Once we’d crossed the bridge at the bottom of Gleann Bianasdail, we turned right to follow the well-walked path up over the shoulder of Meall Each and into Coire na Sleaghaich, then up again to one of two unnamed lochans on the ridge above Sgurr Dubh.

A final, zigzagging climb up scree led to the summit ridge, with the actual summit perched at the clifftop a little beyond the trig point. It’s a wonderful viewpoint over Letterewe and Fisherfield, and further north to An Teallach and Beinn Dearg, with Ben More Assynt in the far distance. We found shelter from the breeze just below the rim of the plateau and had a leisurely lunch in the sunshine admiring the vista.

Looking back over Sgurr Dubh to Kinlochewe

A closer view of A’ Mhaighdean and An Teallach

We then completed the circuit of the corrie by following the narrow ridge to Sgurr an Tuill Bhain, before descending south to regain the ascent path near Meall Each. That just left the easy descent back to Loch Maree and the pleasant walk back up the riverbank to Kinlochewe.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2971574

Claire and Sheena and the view to Beinn Lair and A’ Mhaighdean

After dinner back at the bunkhouse, we spent some time sorting and packing our belongings ready for departure the next morning, and had a fairly late night chatting before bed. Atter a quick breakfast and cleaning session the next morning, we were on the road before 9am. Claire, Sheena and I made full use of the weekend by staying an extra night in Stirling, allowing us to stop off en route for another Munro walk up Schiehallion, which was my completion hill back in 2013.

A return to the gentle, heathery slopes of the eastern Highlands made quite a contrast after our week on the steep and rocky Torridonian peaks! We must also have seen more people that day than in the entire week in Torridon, with many families descending the easy path as we made our early-afternoon ascent. It was good to be well behind them and have the hill mostly to ourselves as we descended a couple of hours later. Some people had set up some kind of temporary radio transmitter at the summit, but we were not sure for what purpose! The views covered most of the southern Highlands, the most easily identified summits being Ben Nevis and Ben Lawers. Braeriach and Ben Macdui were just about visible through the haze too, with a few snow patches remaining.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2972426

The summit of Schiehallion, looking towards Loch Rannoch

Another 90 minutes of driving brought us to Stirling, where we popped into Sainsbury’s for provisions before driving up the hill to the Youth Hostel, just down the road from the Castle. After dinner and showers, we took a stroll around the Castle, enjoying the sunset behind Ben Vorlich, and then around the attractive town centre.

We started Sunday with an easy stroll up the popular nearby peak, Dumyat, at the western end of the Ochils. Again we were accompanied by lots of family groups and dog-walkers enjoying the sunshine, and a few fellrunners too. It’s an attractive little hill with craggy, gorse-clad slopes and extensive views over the Central Belt and up to the southern edge of the Highlands. Beside the Forth we could see Diageo’s huge complex of whisky cask warehouses, and a munitions depot on the opposite bank.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2978243

After a couple of hours of fresh air and sunshine, we hit the road, having a very good drive back to Derby with stops at Annandale Water for lunch and at Lancaster a bit later, arriving before 5pm. That gave plenty of time to get everything unpacked and sorted and some laundry done before bed and the return to work the next morning.

To summarise, a brilliant May week in the Highlands! It was great to revisit some a few of the most exciting and scenic Munros, and to spend time with good friends. Already looking forward to next year’s meet in Braemar but I’m sure I’ll be back in the Highlands in the meantime in October (after the midge season) and at New Year as usual!
My full photo album can be found on Google Photos here.

Easter Grahams in Angus (17th-22nd April 2025)

I took my usual Easter long weekend in the Highlands, this year a solo trip to Angus, where I chose to camp as I hoped the late Easter would give mild temperatures. To get a head start on the drive up, I worked from my parents’ house in Kendal on the Thursday, and set off from there at around 3:30pm. Traffic was mostly quiet and, after a dinner stop at Stirling services, I arrived at Foresterseat Campsite, just outside Forfar, soon after 8pm. That meant I was able to get my tent set up well before dark and spend some time looking at the maps and guidebooks. It looked like I’d be the only tent that night, but one other arrived as I was going to bed.

Although there was a light ground frost, Friday started sunny. There was a forecast of some light rain by evening so I got away promptly. I chose to head to Glen Isla to bag three Grahams over two walks. The first walk started at the top of the low pass between Glen Isla and Glen Shee. An easy grassy ridge with good ATV tracks led me quickly up to Duchray Hill, which gave good views north towards the Munros of Creag Leacach and Glas Maol, and over Glen Shee to the West Mounth.

Continuing round the horseshoe, the descent to the pass was made a little more awkward by newly planted forestry. Once across the road, it was an easy climb up Mount Blair on a large path through grass and then heather. The summit has a transmitter mast and trig point and, unusually for a Graham, a view-finder indicating all the surrounding peaks that could be seen. The visibility was excellent and I was able to pick out summits including Ben Lawers, Bidean nam Bian, Ben Nevis, Beinn a’ Ghlo, Cairn Toul and Ben Macdui. Those high Munros were mostly capped with snow, but there was none left at lower levels. Again I continued around the horseshoe for an easy descent back to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2947331

Looking over Glen Shee to Schiehallion and Ben Vrackie, with the Glen Coe and Glen Nevis hills just about visible in the distance!

The second walk of the day started a little further up Glen Isla at Fergus. I followed good grouse-shooting tracks up beside Fergus Burn to the minor summit of Craig Lair, then onward to the Graham, Badandun Hill. The views were not as extensive as from the morning’s hills, but Mayar and Driesh were closer at hand (at least their undramatic southwestern slopes!). Surprisingly, I saw two other pairs of walkers further down the ridge.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2947335

Looking up Glen Isla to Monamenach and Glas Maol

I popped into Tesco for provisions on my way back to camp, and cooked and ate relatively early to be done before any rain. As it turned out, it had still barely drizzled by bedtime, so I needn’t have rushed. The campsite felt busier now, with three more tents arriving and numerous caravans and vans (but I don’t think any of them were occupied by hillwalkers!). A few light showers did come through overnight.

On Saturday morning I was well placed for a visit to Forfar Loch parkrun. This is an attractive, flat and quite fast course, once around the loch with a short extra loop at the western end to make up the distance. I was happy with my pace and was in third place most of the way but the two others who’d been hanging on my heels were able to outsprint me at the end to leave me as fifth finisher.

Afterwards, I drove up to the foot of Glen Lethnot for the day’s chosen Graham, Hill of Wirren. It was dry and clear but there was quite a chilly wind as I walked up more shooting tracks up the ridge then across rough heather to the summit. Mount Keen and Mount Battock were the most identifiable hills in the view. I continued to East Wirren, which gave better views of the Aberdeenshire coast, and descended by another ridge, pausing for a late lunch in the lee of a well-appointed but locked luncheon hut.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2948198

Sunday looked like the brightest day of the trip, so I headed to the most exciting of the hills on my to-do list, Hunt Hill at the head of Glen Esk. This was nearly an hour’s drive from Forfar, the second half of it all on the dead-end road up the glen! The car park was quite busy as it’s also the start point for the southern approach to Mount Keen. I had bagged that one from the north when I did it.

To make the most of the good weather, I took the long and scenic route, a full horseshoe around the Loch Lee skyline. This meant setting off a couple of kilometres down the valley to Glen Effock to begin. Good tracks led from there up onto Cairn Caidloch and Burnt Hill, which gave views of the craggier hills ahead. Then it was harder walking across pathless long grass and short heather all the way to the rocky spur of Craig Maskeldie. This is a fine vantage point over Loch Lee and Hunt Hill, and a good place to pause for first lunch.

Looking over Loch Lee to Hunt Hill, from Burnt Hill. Lochnagar is visible in the distance.

It was just a short descent to a good footbridge over the Water of Unich above the impressive Falls of Damff, where I passed two girls who I think were there for the waterfall rather than the hill. A steep climb led along the top of the crags to the summit of Hunt Hill, a very fine viewpoint, particularly looking back towards Craig Maskeldie.

A short but steep descent on soft heather brought me to the Stables of Lee, where I was surprised to find actual stables that looked in recent use. Then I climbed steeply back up to the summit of Wolf Craig, where I sheltered behind one of the numerous cairns for lunch with a view of Mount Keen. It was also a good viewpoint towards Lochnagar and the snowy plateaux of Beinn a’ Bhuird and Ben Avon. There were intermittent ATV tracks and deer trods to ease progress along the flat ridge to the final summit of the day, Monawee. From just below the eastern cairn marked on the map, a newish hydro track gave a quick descent through the forest to Kirkton, followed by a short walk along the lane past Invermark Castle back to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2949358

That left just two Angus Grahams for me to tackle on Monday: Cat Law and Corwharn on the west side of Glen Prosen. The cloud was lower than expected to start the day. I parked by the roadside at Easter Lednathie and was soon in the cloud as I walked up the track to Peat Shank and then up small trods to the summit of Cat Law. Once I’d visited the boundary stone, cairn and trig point, I used the compass to identify which of the many trods would lead me off the right way.

At around 550m I broke free of the cloud, which had clearly risen quite a bit since I’d set out, and had a view along the ridge to Cormaud. There was a good shooting track to follow for a while, then rough heather along the ridge of Tarapetmile and down to the top of the pass between Glen Uig and Glen Quharity. More shooting tracks led easily from there up to the summit of Corwharn, by then just about below the cloud.

I decided I’d stop for lunch whenever I found somewhere sheltered, but it turned out that didn’t happen until I’d trudged along the mostly-pathless ridge all the way over Adenaich Hill and Finlet to Broom Hill, almost the end of my walk! I did eventually find a good spot on the final descent, with a view of Long Goat across Glen Uig.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2950268

As on Friday, I had an early dinner to get my cooking done before forecast evening drizzle, and this time it was a good decision. I got an early night as I planned to be up at 6am on Tuesday, with a lot to pack into my day!

The day dawned sunny, so it wasn’t too chilly as I had breakfast and broke camp. I was on the road at quarter past seven, driving around an hour via Coupar Angus and Dunkeld to Glen Cochill, just south of Aberfeldy. I was surprised to find another car parked at the entrance of the Calliacher Wind Farm – it turned out to be a dog-walker rather than a Graham bagger! My route followed the wind farm tracks through Griffin Forest to near Loch Hoil, then shooting tracks most of the way up to the minor summit of Creag an Loch. This gave view over Loch Fender to the Graham, Meall Dearg.

A rough descent and reascent through long heather led me to the summit, with pretty good views of Ben Lawers, Schiehallion and Beinn a’ Ghlo. Then a short descent east got me back onto tracks. The guidebook’s recommended route through the forest back to the wind farm track turned out to have a fairly well-walked path and the full descent to the car took less than an hour.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2952082

Back on the road by 11:30, I stopped in Stirling for petrol, at Abington for lunch, and at Lancaster for a stretch of the legs. The final section back to Derby was delayed a bit by an accident near Warrington. Google re-routed me via the M61 and M62 to avoid the worst of the queue, but inevitably found other rush-hour queues that way. Nevertheless, I was home just after 6pm and a quick turn-around for food and a shower allowed me to head out to band rehearsal in the evening!

Overall, a productive long weekend of bagging, ticking off eight new Grahams and taking me to 126 out of 231 in total. Although the southern Cairngorms don’t have the most spectacular hills in the Highlands, they were a good choice this time as I’d seen that the weather on the west coast had been much wetter. Not long until I’m heading back up the M6, M74 and beyond, for the Gentian trip to Torridon in early May! After a good Graham fix at Easter, I expect I’ll be content mainly to revisit that area’s exciting Munros on that trip!

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

Gentian Rydal Trip (11th-13th April 2025)

I haven’t found time for much hillwalking this year so it was great to get away to the Lake District for the Gentian Club’s April meet at the Rydal Hall bunkhouse. Claire and I travelled together again, leaving my house just before 6:30pm, and had a good drive up the motorway, arriving soon after 9. I was glad I had investigated the location of the bunkhouse on the aerial photo as it would otherwise have been tricky to locate in the dark! With this trip surprisingly not very well subscribed, there was plenty of space in the large hut, and plenty of bottom bunks to choose from despite being the last to arrive.

I was up early on Saturday as I was on breakfast duty for the trip and had to make the porridge and lay the table ready for the appointed breakfast time of 7am. We were keen to get out promptly on what was a sunny day after a largely sunny month! I had looked at Claire’s Wainwright bagging list in advance and planned a circular route from Grasmere village that would visit some quieter places and four new Wainwrights. Sheena decided to join us too.

After a short drive from Rydal, we parked in the large layby on the main road and walked through Grasmere village and up into Easedale. We followed the main track up to Easedale Tarn, which looked lovely in the sunshine with Tarn Crag above. That was one of the hills on our route, but we took an indirect route, first ascending southwest onto Blea Rigg, which looks more impressive from that side than when approaching up the ridge from Silver How! The summit rewarded us with fine views towards the Coniston Fells and over Langdale, and back over Easedale towards Helvellyn and Fairfield.

We headed up the ridge of Blea Rigg a bit then dropped down over easy but pathless ground to Codale Tarn. There we picked up a small path that led up easily to Tarn Crag, perhaps the highlight of the day and a place I have not visited many times. Another passing bagger took our photo on the summit.

Me, Sheena and Claire at the summit of Tarn Crag

We then followed small paths and trods west up to Codale Head, from where it was only a small detour to visit Sergeant Man (not on our original plan) for first lunch. Then we continued up to the broad whaleback summit of High Raise. There were extensive views over most of the Lake District (although hazy in the distance) with the panorama towards the Scafell range looking particularly fine. The ridge north to Ullscarf gave easy walking on short grass, not at all boggy after the prolonged dry weather.

Pavey Ark and the Coniston Fells, from Sergeant Man

Crinkle Crags, Bow Fell and Scafell Pike, from High Raise

We improvised a rough and fairly steep descent of Green Comb into Wythburn Head, finding a large group of red deer by Greenhow Crags, and pausing for second lunch half way down. Once across the stream at the bottom, it was just a short climb back up onto the ridge of Steel Fell, our final Wainwright of the day. We descended by the southeast ridge, then the lanes back to Grasmere for an ice cream before returning to the car and bunkhouse by around 4:30pm.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2940579

The others had also had a good day tackling the Fairfield Horseshoe, and got back a little before us. After a few cups of tea and a shower, I took a short stroll around the grounds of Rydal Hall before dinner. We enjoyed Simon’s vegetable soup, Martin’s chicken curry, and Claire’s lemon tart, then chatted until late-ish.

A few light showers fell overnight, but it was bright again by the morning. I prepared breakfast again, which was followed by the daily meeting to discuss plans. Sheena had left early for a choir reunion, and surprisingly, most others were not up for another full day out despite the good weather. Consequently it was just Claire and me for my proposed ‘Inverted Hartsop Horseshoe’, starting at the top of Kirkstone Pass, reached by just a few minutes of steep uphill driving up The Struggle from Ambleside!

We walked clockwise, starting with the ascent of Red Screes on the good path that weaves between the crags. There was a cold breeze on the top so we didn’t linger long before continuing down to our next objective, Middle Dodd. We traversed around to Scandale Pass and reascended a little to Little Hart Crag, which gives wonderful views over the head of Dovedale, then continued down the ridge to High Hartsop Dodd and on down to Brothers Water. The distant views were much less hazy than the previous day, presumably thanks to the overnight showers, and there had been plenty of sunny spells.

Claire above Brothers Water, on the descent from High Hartsop Dodd

We made our way through the pretty hamlet of Hartsop, then ascended very steeply up the north ridge of Hartsop Dodd, pausing near the top for first lunch with a view over Hayeswater Gill and Patterdale.

A few spots of rain fell as we passed over the summit of Hartsop Dodd, but were not enough to need waterproofs. We continued up the gentle ridge to the indistinct summit of Stony Cove Pike, visiting various candidates for the high point before continuing to the west top, Caudale Moor, with its large cairn. That just left an easy descent along the ridge to St Raven’s Edge – I bagged the Dewey as I don’t think I had ever actually visited the highest point before! – then steeply back down to the Pass. Surprisingly we had only passed around a dozen other walkers all day!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2941659

St Raven’s Edge and Red Screes, from Caudale Moor

The drive back to Derby was mostly free flowing, again taking around 2 hours and 45 minutes. Another really enjoyable weekend with the club, with very scenic walks and good company on the hill and at the bunkhouse. It was great that the good weather continued even on the Sunday when showers had been forecast. Next up for me, a long Easter weekend in Angus!

You can find more of my photos from the weekend here.

A weekend in Kendal (28th-30th March 2025)

I spent a weekend visiting my parents in Kendal, by chance coinciding with Mother’s Day. On Saturday the forecast was for a bright start then a wet afternoon, so a parkrun seemed the ideal activity. We took the short drive to Fell Foot parkrun, at the south end of Windermere, which I had not visited since 2019 despite it being the closest to Kendal. The summer course was in use for the second week this year, and the recent dry and breezy weather had done a good job of eliminating all mud from the grassy path around the meadow. I had a reasonable run, a little under 20 minutes but nearly a minute slower than my previous visit, then joined Dad for his second lap.

Once back in Kendal and showered, I spent an hour or so pressure washing the patio. In the afternoon, Mum and I enjoyed a game of Scrabble, then I walked down to town in the rain for a chat wiht the Patricks over a cup of tea – good to catch up for the first time since Ruth’s wedding nearly a year earlier.

Sunday was a sunny day, although quite breezy in the morning. We took a half hour drive to Dentdale for a scenic walk from Dent village. We started with a short but steep ascent on the bridleway beside Flinter Gill, lined with attractive old trees and with sporadic views of the unusual slabby stream-bed (but with very little water flowing down that day!).

Near the top we passed an unexpected viewpoint with a topograph identifying the surrounding peaks, including the Howgill Fells to the northwest, Aye Gill Pike across the valley and Great Knoutberry Hill to the east.

A little higher, we reached Green Lane, a traversing track, which we followed to the east, boggy in places, for around a mile. Whernside gradually came into view ahead as we rounded the hillside. We paused for a lunch break below the eponymous Great Combe of Great Coum, then descended by another bridleway, Nun House Outrake. Then it was easy walking along the lane to Double Croft. There we were surprised to find the bridleway down to the riverside flooded, so instead of joining the Dales Way we followed parallel footpaths beside a smaller beck back to Dent. A lovely day out in the sunshine!

We returned to Kendal for the rest of the day, and I headed back home to Derby after roast pork for dinner. You can find more photos here, and a map of our Dentdale route here.

Hilton, Lathkill Dale and Edale (1st-9th March 2025)

The blog has been very quiet lately as a combination of poor weekend weather, the cross-country running season, and brass band rehearsals and competitions kept me off the hills from mid-January through February. I’ve been pleased to get out for a few local walks since the start of March though, my availability finally coinciding with some dryer and brighter weather!

On Saturday the 1st it was just an afternoon walk from home to Hatton, but I explored the path along the Dove riverbank from Marston-on-Dove – not strictly a public right of way but clearly in fairly regular use by dogwalkers and fishermen. Thankfully much less overgrown than the section the other side of Marston, which was my last exploratory route near home!

On Saturday the 8th, I started the day with a visit to the relatively new Black Rocks parkrun near Wirksworth. It was a lovely sunny morning and a scenic course on the High Peak Trail with views over Cromford, although I thought it would have been more fun if the course had included one of the nearby inclines rather than sticking on the flat section with multiple 180-degree turns!

Afterwards, I headed into the nearby corner of the Peak District for a walk through Lathkill Dale, starting at the Moor Lane car park west of Youlgreave. My route took me across Cales Dale to One Ash Grange, then down towards the head of Lathkill Dale.

I followed the dale all the way down to Alport: a narrow gorge with slippery limestone boulders in the base to start off, then a wider but deeper dale with scree and crags, then a wooded valley with the clear waters of the River Lathkill flowing beside the path. It’s a pretty spot in any season but particularly beautiful on a sunny day like this one!

From Alport, I followed Bradford Dale upstream for a few kilometres, pausing for a late lunch below Youlgreave, then returned to the car by a steep final climb up the Limestone Way.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2902549

The next day I had a band rehearsal late afternoon but the forecast was similarly sunny and I was feeling motivated so I got up early to drive up to Edale. Even though I arrived in the valley by 8:45am, I found the Barber Booth car park full, and the main Edale car park also full! There had also been a large number of cars abandoned on double-yellow lines near Mam Tor, despite all the publicity this problem has received recently. I was glad to see they had all been given parking tickets while they watched the sunrise! Luckily there were still a few spaces left in the Edale overflow charity car park beyond the railway station.

I was pleased to get away from the crowds quickly as I set off west up the valley footpaths to Barber Booth and Upper Booth, enjoying views of Broadlee Bank Tor to the right and Horsehill Tor to the left.

From Upper Booth, I climbed steeply up the front of Broadlee Bank then more gently to the rocky summit of Grindslow Knoll, which gave some good views over Grindsbrook and Crowden Cloughs.

I followed the edge of the plateau east, around the top of Grindsbrook Clough and Ringing Roger, then above Oller Brook and Jaggers Clough to reach Crookstone Knoll, from where there’s a gentle descent to Hope Cross. I then followed the high-level traversing footpaths past the youth hostel at Rowland Cote and back to Edale village, with a lunch break in the warm sunshine about 1km before the end of the walk. That gave me plenty of time to drive home, shower and change before band, and the lovely walk was definitely worth the early start.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2903357

Looking past Ringer Roger and over Grinds Brook to Lose Hill

Looiking down Jaggers Clough to Win Hill and Lose Hill

Hopefully the next couple of months will see me head to the hills more often!
My full photo album can be seen here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YeiSEiY8cnq5tsrA7

Gentian Snowdonia Trip (18th-19th January 2025)

The 2025 ‘Welsh’ Winter’ weekend marks three years since my first trip with the Gentian Hillwalking and Mountaineering Club. I’ve been a pretty regular participant over that time, attending more than 20 meets, and this trip was a great chance to catch up with many of those who have now become good friends.

On the Friday night, I didn’t want to miss my annual pilgrimage to Worksop College to see Voces8 in concert, so my drive to Snowdonia was very early on Saturday instead. I left home at around 5:15am and, thanks to predictably quiet roads, arrived at the bunkhouse near Penygroes before 8am, in time to join in with the day’s route-planning session. The mountain forecasts suggested there could be an inversion at 700m so I decided to maximise the chances by going up the highest hill in the area, Snowdon (well, properly Yr Wyddfa these days!). Sheena, Claire and Ned joined me, while the others gambled on the forecast being spot on and tackled some or all of the Nantlle Ridge (with its highest peaks just exceeding 700m).

It was a short drive up the valley to Rhyd Ddu where there was plenty of roadside parking. We followed the start of the Rhyd Ddu path towards Snowdon but, rather than bearing left to climb to the Llechog Ridge, carried on up the old mine track to Bwlch Cwm Llan. There was only a little dissent among the group as we took the scenic detour (with 250m bonus ascent) to the summit of Yr Aran, the upper parts being in the mist but with some attractive hoar frost on the grass.

Looking back across the bwlch to Allt Maenderyn and Cwm Llan

Then we returned to the bwlch and ascended the ridge over Allt Maenderyn, with a little easy scrambling in places, to rejoin the Rhyd Ddu path on Bwlch Main. Even there, at 900m, where some people descending had reported the inversion level to be, we had not escaped the mist, so I was beginning to feel unlucky. But just a little further on, around 950m, we did finally break out into sunshine. We took our time on the final approach to the summit of Snowdon, with lots of photo stops to appreciate the best inversion I’ve seen since 2023’s trip to Norway.

The wider inversion southeast of Snowdon

We found a relatively quiet spot on the east side of the summit – inevitably disturbed by a drone overhead – for a leisurely lunch overlooking Crib Goch and the inversion. The Glyders were also above the cloud, while the Carneddau were totally cloud free to the north.

The view from our lunch spot, with cloud cloaking Y Lliwedd

Crib Goch, with the Glyderau and Carneddau beyond

It would have been easy to stay there longer in the warmth of the sunshine, but the dwindling daylight hours pushed us onward. We followed the main track down to Bwlch Glas with the tourists, then forked left onto the much quieter Snowdon Ranger path down Clogwyn Du’r Arddu, soon re-entering the mist, but getting back below the cloud at around 700m. Moel Cynghorion was just below the cloud base so we included that bonus peak on our walk, as planned.

Looking over Glaslyn and Llyn Llydaw from Bwlch Glas

An easy grassy descent took us to Bwlch Maesgwm, from where we followed the footpath fairly directly back to Rhyd Ddu. Beyond where it crossed the Ranger path, it was quite indistinct underfoot and boggy in places, although well marked with signposts. The evening sunshine beyond the Nantlle Ridge and Mynydd Mawr gave good views as we wiggled through the old quarries, and we got back to the car just before sunset.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2855720
Our decision to go high was definitely vindicated when we discovered the Nantlle groups had not escaped the mist all day!

Sheena in the sunshine below Cwm Clogwyn

Late-afternoon sunshine beyond the Nantlle Ridge

Dinner for the meat-eaters was the ubiquitous (but tasty) pasta bolognese, with crumble and custard for dessert. Most of the group who’ve signed up for July’s hut-to-hut tour in the Stubai Alps were present, so we spent the latter part of the evening agreeing our itinerary and possible travel plans. After the very early morning, I didn’t stay up late!

Sunday was a greyer day, with the forecast again saying an inversion was possible at 800m. Although it would have been good to do the Nantlle Ridge when staying so close-by, it didn’t seem like there was much chance it would not be in mist all day. The Carneddau had the best forecast so, after we’d packed up our stuff and tidied the bunkhouse, I headed to the Ogwen Valley with Claire and Sheena. The others chose lower hills near the hut, near Beddgelert, and on the Lleyn Peninsula.

We followed the standard route – although new to Claire – via Ffynnon Lloer and the mildly-scrambly east ridge to Pen yr Ole Wen. The lower part of the scramble was made more interesting by a layer of verglas on the rocks! Chances of inversion didn’t seem good when the cloud base was not far below 900m, but we did at least get some good views over the lake and between layers of cloud in the Ogwen Valley.

Mist in the Ogwen Valley, from the path beside Afon Lloer

Claire and Sheena, high above Ffynnon Lloer

We continued over Carnedd Dafydd to Carnedd Llewelyn, getting views from the bwlchs but not the summits, and had lunch there next to the shelter cairn. Then we headed down the ridge of Penywaun-wen, soon dropping back below the cloud for some great views over Cwm Eigiau. A little bit of easy scrambling – not icy this time – led us to Bwlch Eryl Farchog. We descended south from there on the well-built zigzag path down to Ffynnon Llugwy, where there were excellent reflections of the snow-patch covered south-eastern slopes of Carnedd Llewelyn.

That just left an easy walk down the reservoir road and along the old valley road back to the cars. I was on the road by 4pm and home before 7 after another good drive.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2855722

In summary, another great weekend in the hills with friends. Dry and fairly calm weather with not much snow on the ground wasn’t particularly wintry, but was made particularly special by Saturday’s excursion above the clouds. Well worth the very early start to drive over on Saturday morning! You can find my full photo album on Google Photo here.

RRDB (not)Butlins 2025: Chester (10th-12th January 2025)

I organised the third annual Rolls-Royce Derby Band “(not)Butlins” weekend, this year staying at YHA Chester Trafford Hall. The trip replaces our previous tradition of a social weekend at the Butlins Mineworkers band contest in Skegness. We had a pretty good turnout, with 20 members and friends of the band joining the fun this year.

I got an early finish from work on Friday and picked up Hayley in Boylestone for the drive to Chester, arriving and checking in at around half past four. Traffic was mostly flowing well, thanks partly to the M6 northbound actually being closed south of where we joined it (so we joined an empty motorway at Stoke)! Our accommodation was “The Stables”, a self-contained block adjacent to the main youth hostel, which was well appointed with a spacious lounge and dining room and eleven en-suite bedrooms. Helen and Jeff again led the catering, preparing a tasty chilli and rice for us all for dinner, with jam sponge for dessert. Drinks and chat filled the rest of the evening.

As all the parkruns within a sensible driving radius had been cancelled due to ice, we improvised our own course for a steady 5km jog on Saturday morning, along the Millennium Greenway, a disused railway / cycle path. We were pleased to find a good stretch of nearly 2km that was covered in crunchy white snow, turning around on reaching a much icier section.

Post-(not)parkrun selfie (by Will) on the Millennium Greenway

We returned to the hostel to shower and change then mostly headed into Chester for the rest of the day. I joined Steve, Helen, Meg and Henry for a walk of about 5 miles, following the riverside on well-frozen muddy paths then bridleways back into town, followed by a pub lunch at the Brewery Tap. Then I popped down the road to the Bear and Billet pub for a drink and chat with Heather, Graham, Tim and Janice. I left them an hour before sunset to take a brisk solo walk around the city walls and see the main sights before returning to the hostel, and ended up catching up with Will and Jane half way and joining them for the second half of the loop.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2851315

Saturday night’s feast was chicken casserole with mashed potato, followed by chocolate sponge, then more drinks, chat and games until late.

Sunday was another cold but bright morning. A few of the group needed to head home but most of us took a walk along the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal, starting at Caughall Bridge and continuing about four miles to Chester city centre. There we found an excellent little café for lunch before walking back to the cars and heading home.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2851316

Starting to thaw as we walked back after lunch

A great start to the banding year as usual. Looking forward to next year’s – location to be decided! There are a few more photos here.