Christmas in Glen Coe II: The Revenge of the Rainstorms

January 3, 2024 Trip reports britain, buachaille etive beag, corbetts, glen coe, hill walking, munros, scotland 0 Comment

Another Christmas, and another cottage in Scotland for a week. What would the weather hold in store for us this year, and would we get up any mountains? The forecast wasn’t promising, but one good day in the hills could make it all worthwhile.

The Spasimata Slabs: the day I nearly died on Corsica’s GR20

December 6, 2023 Trip reports cicerone guides, corsica, corsica aventure, france, gr20, long-distance trails, self-guided walking, via ferrata 2 Comments

The weather had been good for the best part of two weeks, but the rain gods were preparing for the last dance. We were about to cross the Spasimata Slabs, the most dangerously exposed section of the trek, and we were going to cross them at the worst possible time.

A surfeit of scrambling: walking Corsica’s GR20 North

November 22, 2023 Trip reports corsica, corsica aventure, france, gr20, long-distance trails, self-guided walking 1 Comment

When I signed off the last post, I was enjoying a delicious pork rosti and a pichet of vin rosé at a palatial hotel tucked away in the forests of Corsica. How on earth did I prise myself away from that luxurious setting and get on with the hardest section of the GR20?

Rosé, ridges and laricio pines: walking Corsica’s GR20 South

October 25, 2023 Trip reports cicerone guides, corsica, corsica aventure, france, gr20, long-distance trails, self-guided walking, the natural adventure 2 Comments

I’ve known about the GR20 for over 20 years, but it slipped to the back of my mind as I focused on peak bagging in the greater ranges. I sensed that long-distance hiking in Europe was something I would enjoy later in life. I guessed I must have reached that stage now.

My 2007 Knoydart diary: a winter backpacking trip that didn’t quite go to plan

September 13, 2023 Trip reports backpacking, britain, hill walking, knoydart, luinne bheinn, munros, scotland, travel diaries 1 Comment

My visit to Knoydart with Edita that I wrote about in my previous post, was so different from my first visit in 2007 that I could have been walking in a different world. I thought I would dig it out my diary of that first trip for a laugh, so here it is.

Bothies, boats and backpacks: climbing the Knoydart Three Munros

August 30, 2023 Trip reports backpacking, boat trips, bothy nights, britain, hill walking, knoydart, ladhar bheinn, luinne bheinn, munro bagging, munros, scotland 4 Comments

Sixteen years ago, I set out on a 5-day winter backpacking trip to climb three Munros in Knoydart, a remote peninsula in northwest Scotland. It turned into an epic that I was lucky to survive. Earlier this year, unexpectedly, I found myself with a chance to make amends.

The Dubh Slabs: the most iconic scramble in the British Isles

July 26, 2023 Trip reports boat trips, bothy nights, britain, cicerone guides, cuillin ridge, danny macaskill, hill walking, isle of skye, karl smith, munros, scotland, sgurr dubh mor 2 Comments

We decided to continue our Cuillin reconnaissance. But what to reconnoitre? Our guide Karl suggested climbing the Dubh Slabs and staying overnight at Camasunary. I’d known about the Slabs for years, but never imagined I would ever climb them myself

The four summits of Sgurr a Mhadaidh: another Cuillin reconnaissance

July 5, 2023 Trip reports britain, cicerone guides, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, hill walking, isle of skye, karl smith, munros, scotland, sgurr a mhadaidh, west coast mountain guides 5 Comments

It was time for another Cuillin reconnaissance, and there was one section of tricky scrambling that we hadn’t done: an unavoidable obstacle in the form of the four summits of Sgurr a Mhadaidh. I was keen to complete this section before committing to a full traverse of the ridge.

The Buttermere Round: an epic walk for sensible people

May 10, 2023 Trip reports alfred wainwright, britain, cumbria, dale head, high stile, hill walking, lake district, red pike, robinson 4 Comments

We live in an era of epic endurance challenges, where people believe there’s no point getting outdoors unless you do something bigger, longer or quicker than everyone else. But it’s possible to do a challenging walk while thoroughly enjoying yourself, and without running.

A Grasmoor and Grisedale Pike horseshoe via Grasmoor End

April 26, 2023 Trip reports alfred wainwright, britain, crag hill, cumbria, grasmoor, grisedale pike, hill walking, lake district 2 Comments

It’s been four years since my last visit to the Lake District. A return visit was long overdue and the Easter weekend offered a good opportunity. We set our sights on the Northwest Fells, an area of peaks that I’ve only explored in impenetrable hill fog.