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

Essential Skye reading: The Black Ridge by Simon Ingram

July 12, 2023 Reviews and tributes alexander nicolson, britain, cuillin ridge, history of mountaineering, isle of skye, john mackenzie, mountain literature, norman collie, scotland, simon ingram 6 Comments

I’m only just starting to delve into the literature of the Black Cuillin, but I’ll be surprised if I come across a better book than this one. Erudite and poetic, yet marvellously accessible in places, this is simply a great book by a great writer.

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.

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, but is it a real place?

February 22, 2023 History britain, cicerone guides, cotswolds, damian hall, solsbury hill, walking, walking guides 8 Comments

As we drove back to the Cotswolds earlier this month, Peter Gabriel’s 1977 hit Solsbury Hill popped up on the car stereo, which prompted Edita to remark: “Is Solsbury Hill a real place? If it is then we should climb it.” So we did.

How to survive a wet and wintry week in Glen Coe, Scotland

January 11, 2023 Trip reports aonach eagach, britain, chris townsend, glen coe, hill walking, munros, scotland 3 Comments

For many years the idea of a week in Scotland at the end of December was far from my thoughts. There are only a few hours of daylight, a high chance of rain every day, howling winds and thick mist over the hills. But it’s still possible to enjoy yourself in these circumstances.

All 14 Welsh 3,000ers for the Queen’s jubilee

June 15, 2022 Trip reports britain, hill walking, peak bagging, snowdon, snowdonia, wales, welsh 3000ers 5 Comments

Our beloved monarch Queen Elizabeth II has now been sitting on the throne for 70 years. To celebrate this event, and because the people of Britain had been granted an extra day of public holiday to mark it, I decided to do something special.

Snowdonia’s Nantlle Ridge the hard way

May 11, 2022 Trip reports britain, cicerone guides, hill walking, moel hebog, nantlle ridge, snowdon, snowdonia, wales 1 Comment

The Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, is one of those classic mountain scrambles that has been lurking on my list for many years. Its 9km contained the right sort of terrain: narrow ridge walking interspersed with some short easy scrambles.

Plynlimon: traversing the five tops of the fruitiest mountain in Wales

April 27, 2022 Trip reports britain, cadair idris, cambrian mountains, cicerone guides, drygarn fawr, george borrow, hill walking, plynlimon, wales 1 Comment

Plynlimon, is a complex mountain of multiple rolling summits connected by broad ridges. It is the source of Britain’s longest river, the Severn, and its fourth longest, the River Wye. I have been meaning to climb it for many years, and over Easter I had my chance.