The first weekend trip of the year was to the Caseg Fraith bunkhouse in Snowdonia. On the Saturday I did a fairly long walk with lots of scrambling, taking in Tryfan, Bristly Ridge, the Glyders and Y Garn – great fun despite the rain and low cloud! On Sunday the sunny weather was perfect for a circuit of the Snowdon Horseshoe.
This was my fourth freshers’ trip to Edale in the Peak District (and my last as an undergraduate). Michael and I led a group on a route I hadn’t taken before, ascending Grinds Brook then crossing the Kinder plateau and following its northern edge before descending past the reservoir to Hayfield. I also enjoyed the journey there and half way back in Gordon’s car (before switching to the coach to save him the 20 mile drive from Fen Drayton to Cambridge and back)!
This year my room is in Westminster College – it’s just off the Queen’s Road / Madingley Road mini-roundabout for anyone who wasn’t sure. Renovation of some staircases in Christ’s during the Bradwell’s Court redevelopment meant they had to look elsewhere for fourth-year accommodation. Here are a few photos of the College and my room, taken the morning after I moved in.
For this year’s summer trip (well, one of this year’s summer trips!) five of us flew out (and Emily drove) to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Emily’s mum’s Suburban provided spacious, luxurious, 4×4 transportation. After a day in Denver, we visited and camped in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Elk Mountains, and then Leadville. Snow on the ground meant that our walks were a bit different to what we’d planned, but gave lots of fantastic views. Then it decided to snow properly, with two feet falling on the mountains, and a foot in the valleys, over a couple of nights! We therefore moved to warmer accommodation at a condo Emily’s parents had rented in Breckenridge, and did some exciting winter walks including, for four of us, Quandary Peak (a fourteener!).
A couple of friends from the Hillwalking Club joined me over the bank holiday weekend for two walks in the Dark Peak. On Sunday, I walked with Alex and Simon, doing a long, boggy ridge walk starting and finishing near Howden Reservoir in the upper Derwent valley. On Monday, it was just Alex and me for a walk around Ladybower Reservoir, including more classic Peak District edges.
I met up with my uncle Jonathan and his family for a day out in the Matlock Bath area, including meeting my cousin Xavier for the first time. We took the cable car up to the Heights of Abraham and visited a mining museum in the town. Then we went to Haddon Hall, where, by pure coincidence, we met my uncle Michael and his family, on holiday from their home in Dorset!
This week’s walk was a circular route from Buxton, exploring some moorland to the west and north of the town. There were some fine views to enjoy and the weather stayed dry despite some ominous-looking clouds!
I did another fairly long Saturday walk in the White Peak, this time starting and ending in Bakewell. The highlight was a series of interconnected dales northwest of Bakewell: Deep Dale, Monsal Dale, Upperdale and Cressbrook Dale.
I made a day trip to the Peak District by bus, for a long-ish walk from Buxton to Matlock. My route took me along parts of the Midshires Way and Limestone Way, and passed scenic locations including Deep Dale, Lathkill Dale and Robin Hood’s Stride.
While his parents were away on holiday, Chris invited the band to his house in Grove (near Wantage, in Oxfordshire) for a barbecue. Only seven of us actually attended, however. As well as the barbecue itself, we enjoyed driving trains around Chris’s garden (and this seems to have been the subject of most of my photos!).
Two weeks into my summer internship at Rolls-Royce, I spent a Saturday afternoon exploring Derby, including the Cathedral, riverside, and Markeaton Park.
A few hillwalkers decided to make the most of Emily’s last full day in Cambridge, starting with an uncomfortable night in Alison’s very own bunkhouse! This was followed by sunrise-watching on Castle Mound (no photos), a trip to the University Library (again, no photos), punting along the Backs, and fajitas in Alison’s kitchen.
Gordon invited the hillwalkers to visit his house in Fen Drayton for an afternoon walk around the surrounding fens and nature reserve, and a barbecue in the evening.
A few hours after handing in my third-year project reports, I was off to the Lake District for five days of fantastic walking. We stayed in the Gillside Farm bunkhouse in Glenridding, and climbed most of the hills in the surrounding Eastern and Far Eastern Fells, boosting my Wainwright count to 161!
As part of the third-year ‘Advanced Cycle Power Generation’ project, we went on an afternoon trip to Little Barford Combined Cycle Power Station, near St Neots.
Having finished my exams the previous afternoon, I enjoyed a relaxing day trip to Stiperstones in Shropshire. We walked along the main Stiperstones ridge, returning at lower level and having a pub dinner in Stiperstones village before the journey back to Cambridge.
This year’s Brass Band Annual Dinner was held at Churchill College, with pre- and post-dinner drinks in the college bar. Unfortunately being midway through my exams meant that I couldn’t/didn’t stay too late, but it was a good evening nevertheless!