A weekend near Sölden

Alastair BegleyAustria, Via Ferrata Short Link

This year we started our alpine summer holiday in the Otztal in Austria. After driving out from Bristol we met up with some friends in the Sölden valley for the first weekend of the trip. After the long drive down we wanted a short day on the first day, we we headed for the classic Klettersteig Stuibenfall, a relatively easy klettersteig which climbs up next to an impressive waterfall. As it was the weekend, close to the road, and not too difficult we knew it would be busy, and we were certainly not wrong! We spent most of the route in some form of queue, but as it was such a nice day, and we were catching up with out friends this was certainly not a problem. From the top we decided to have an extended walk back down to the car along the valley. Unfortunately the Sunday had very unsettled weather, with just about no forecasts agreeing with how much rain there would be, or when it would hit. Due to this we made a plan in the morning to do a short walk up to a small hut. Read the full article…

Derry Cairngorm & Beinn Mheadhoin

Alastair BegleyScotland, Walking Short Link

Today was another day in the Cairngorms where we were able to use our bikes to significantly shorten the day. We climbed Derry Cairngorm & Beinn Mheadhoin which is a 31km day, of which 10km can be cycled which saves about 90mins of walking. The morning was beautiful with plenty of sun which made the cycle up from the Linn of Dee to Derry Lodge very enjoyable, it was just a shame about the headwind! Thankfully the sun stayed and successfully battled the predicted hill fog while we climbed Derry Cairngorm on the excellent path. This enabled us to make rapid progress while enjoying the fantastic views in every direction. When we got to the summit it was very windy so we didn’t stay there long, and the big hills of the Cairngorms were very shrouded in mist. We were soon at Loch Etchachan which is the highest loch in Scotland, which also had a slightly challenging set of stepping stones to cross the outflow given that we were only in approach shoes! After a steep pull up we were soon at the summit ridge of Beinn Mheadhoin. The summit. Read the full article…

An Socach

Alastair BegleyScotland, Walking Short Link

Due to weary legs combined with very strong winds forecast we elected to have a lie in combined with an easier day. We elected to climb An Socach, which meant that again we could make great use of the bikes on the approach along estate tracks. The cycle in was fairly short, but harder work than expected due to the headwind, which was a sign of how windy it was going to be on the summit ridge. We made good time on the ascent which as very sheltered, and had a bit of a shock at just how windy it was on the summits. It felt more like winter than may! Despite walking into the wind along the 3km summit ridge we made good time and were at the summit 2hrs after leaving the van. We then made a hasty retreat back along the ridge and out of the wind. The views on the summit ridge were excellent, we could see a long way in most directions as the cloud base was above all but the highest summits. After making good time on the descent we were back at the. Read the full article…

Glen Tilt MTB circuit

Alastair BegleyMountain Biking, Scotland Short Link

After a few days of walking I was keen to try out my new mountain bike in the mountains, so we headed to Blair Atholl where there was a short Munro for Becky and a good MTB loop for me. We started the day by heading up Glen Tilt together until Forest Lodge. Becky then headed up Carn a’ Chlamain and I continued up the valley. The biking up Glen Tilt was very straightforward up good estate tracks which enabled excellent progress to be made. The biking became more interesting as I turned off the main estate track and headed down to the Falls of Tarf. After an enjoyable section of rough estate track and single track I was soon at the river crossing, thankfully due to the dry weather recently the river was low and I managed to keep my feet dry. After pushing my bike up the very steep and loose hill behind the river crossing there was a long section of gently uphill single track towards the very remote Fealer Lodge. This section was surprisingly tiring, but very interesting, however it was a bit of a relief. Read the full article…

Western Fannichs

Alastair BegleyScotland, Walking Short Link

Due to a poor forecast which was marginally better in the afternoon we had planned for a lie in followed by a short day. However the weather turned out to be much better than expected, so suddenly on route to our planned outing we changed our mind as we drove past the Fannichs and decided to have a big hill day. Normally it would not be possible or sensible to head out on an 8 hour hill day at 1:30 in the afternoon, however thanks to it being the end of may in the far north of Scotland, the sun doesn’t set until 10pm! The vastly improved weather forecast turned out to be wrong, but we still had an excellent day. We set off in the sun and made good time up to the first Munro, however on the climb up a shower passed through which caused us to put our waterproofs on, and they remained on until the end of the walk. We had fantastic views for a lot of the time, however as we got to the summit of A’ Chailleach a horrible hail storm was passing through.. Read the full article…

Seana Bhraigh

Alastair BegleyScotland, Scrambling, Walking Short Link

Due to the morning being better again we head another early start for the very remote Seana Bhraigh. We made good use of our bikes on the approach which was down good estate tracks. Our route was up the imposing ridge on the east side of Luchd Choire up An Sgurr and then along to Creag an Duine. To avoid cross the river twice we decided to make the most of the dry conditions and cross the heathery ground which would normally be horribly boggy. This seemed to work for us, but usually would probably be horrible! The ridge looked very imposing from the bottom, but after a very steep approach up a grassy slope it was generally very straightforward. There was a very exposed scramble to get up to the peak of the ridge, followed by an easy but exposed downclimb, before a short wall which was even more exposed than the previous sections. Unfortunately, as we got to the top the cloud had started to come in, but as we descended on the route around to the Munro we dropped out of the cloud and were greeted with. Read the full article…

Suilven

Alastair BegleyScotland, Scrambling, Walking Short Link

Due to a very mixed weather forecast as we left Edinburgh we did not really have an idea about what we were going to do the next day, other than something in the north west of Scotland. On the drive up, we decided to head all the way up to Lochinver with the aim of climbing Suilven the next day. As the weather was best in the morning we had to set a very early alarm, which was not appreciated after the late drive. In the morning the weather looked beautiful, and there was even some unexpected sun. Unfortunately, as I was looking outside the van window in the morning I could also see a swarm of midges, which took delight in eating me as I sorted the bikes out. We attempted to save some time by cycling along the track, but we ended up dumping them fairly early as the track was hard going and we didn’t think they were helping much. Unfortunately the track soon improved and we were regretting our decision! The climb up to Suilven is very steep, but thanks to the new path was over. Read the full article…

May Bank Holiday in the Lake District

Alastair BegleyLake District, Rock Climbing, Scrambling, Walking Short Link

We headed up the the Lake District for the first May bank holiday this year. After a terrible journey up with what seemed like most of the rest of the country who were also relocating for the weekend, we eventually arrived at the campsite in Langdale. While the weather forecast was lovely for the weekend, it was forecast to be very cold. As we wanted to climb we elected to stay low and headed to Raven Crag in Langdale. As a three we climbed The Original Route which was a lovely climb, and it was great to be back outside on rock and enjoying it! On the second day we went for a big circular walk from the campsite. We headed up to Silver Howe and then up the ridge above Langdale towards Pavey Ark. After some initial, and very unexpected, rain the weather soon improved and we were left with beautiful views. From Pavey Ark we scrambled up the brilliant Jack’s Rake before heading to all of the Langdale pikes as well as a bonus wainwright. After the long descent back down to the Langdale valley, we enjoyed a. Read the full article…