Musselwick Sands near Marloes
The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path around St Ann’s Head (see post #206) had been a good day out, so good in fact that this mountain man was ready for another bit of coast the next day. Repeating the winning formula, we went for another circular route, made possible by leaving the path, then re-joining it for the return leg after visiting the local pub – it’s good to have a plan!
Westdale Bay, near St Ann’s Head, Pembrokeshire
There’s no question about it – first and foremost I am a mountain man! Still, sometimes a change of scene is a good move, which is why Chris and I, plus Border Collie ‘Mist’, were down by the seaside. The seaside in this case was the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Rhobell Fawr from the ridge of Dduallt (Distant hills – Cadair Idris left and the Rhinogs right)
The panorama coming down from Cadair Bronwen at the end of our Berwyn day (see post #204) had views of some old familiar hills from entirely new directions. The outline of the Rhinog Mountains was particularly easy to identify, but as I added the image to the blog post I noticed another couple of hills in the hazy light – I had an idea what was lurking there, but projected the view on the map to check. No doubt about it – Rhobell Fawr and Dduallt, two mountains I had never visited. Well, that was the next trip planned then!
Cadair Bronwen in the Berwyns
The Berwyn mountains are the Cinderella hills of North Wales. These rough and lonely hills feel like they should be part of the Snowdonia National Park, but on the day that the guy drew the Park boundary, he must have been having a bad day at the office, leaving the Berwyns in a ‘No Man’s Land’ between the Aran Ridge and the Arenigs on one side and the Limestone hills of the Clwydian and Llangollen hills on the other.
Storr Rocks – North Skye
Skye holds many great mountaineering memories for me, but I would be the first to admit that the island gets more than its fair share of bad weather, and when conditions eventually turn fine the curse of the Scottish midge can make life almost unbearable. Our May trip was proving to be far from typical though, and with blue skies and an absence of insect pests it was clear that our luck was holding.
North Skye, near the Quiraing
The mountain walking highlight of our Scottish trip in May was undoubtedly my trip up Quinag (see post #201), but I had also pre-planned a couple of shorter days out that Chris might enjoy, both of them on Skye. There is always something special about travelling to an island, and even though Skye is now joined to the mainland by a road bridge, there is still a certain magic about crossing the narrow straits between Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin.
A nice day for a dog walk
Visitors from abroad probably look at our modest mountains in the UK and wonder what all the fuss is about. True, our mountains are lower in height than the peaks of Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, but our more northerly latitude often catches out visitors. In addition, we tend not to waymark our paths as they do in, say, the European Alps, which sometimes causes problems for visitors. It’s a fair generalisation though, that for a long mountain day in the UK you need to go to Scotland.
The ridge from Parlick to Fairsnape
For me, this was the beginning. For all my adult life, the hills and mountains have been very important to me, and this is where it all began. When I was 14 I cycled to these hills with a mate – when the road came to an end we carried on walking. We didn’t know about maps and compasses, let alone carried them, we just walked for a while then turned round and went back.
“Pendle, oh Pendle, thou standest alone, ‘twixt Burnley and Clitheroe, Whalley and Colne”
Pendle Hill has an air of mystery about it. The hill dominates the view in much of Central Lancashire, but stands separate from the Pennines, the Bowland Hills and the Yorkshire Dales which surround it. At 557 metres (1827ft) altitude it falls short by 53 metres (173ft) of being classes as a mountain, but Pendle doesn’t really care about that sort of nonsense.
#198 – Heather Terrace – A walk round Tryfan
Border Collie ‘Mist’ having fun on Heather Terrace
Tryfan in North Wales is one of my favourite mountains, and I’ve never had a bad day there yet. The classic route is the North Ridge, starting by the Milestone Buttress just above the A5 road – continuing over the summit from the North Ridge down to Bwlch Tryfan, then up Bristly Ridge and on to Glyder Fach, gives a mountain day made in heaven.
Paul offers guided hillwalking in the UK through Hillcraft Guided Walking. He is also a freelance outdoor writer.
Hillcraft Guided Walking Website
Paul Shorrock - One Man's Mountains AKA One Pillock's Hillocks 