Blog Posts in Category: Walking

Weekend in North Wales

Alastair BegleyNorth Wales, Scrambling, Walking Short Link

I spent last weekend catching up with friends from University in North Wales. Thankfully we were treated to some excellent weather on Saturday. As were were a large group we decided to stick to grade 1 scrambling ground so that we could stay together as a group. We elected to avoid the classics which we have all done before, and we headed around to the back side of the Carneddau to climb the Llech Ddu spur which is a *** grade 1 scramble. The walk up towards the black ladders was lovely and very warm in the morning sun, and were soon at the start of the steep climb up to the start of the scrambling, and into the cold wind. The scramble was brilliant, there were outstanding views out towards Anglesey and there was just the right balance of interest to keep everyone engaged without terrifying anyone. After the scramble we walked over to Carnedd Llewelyn, before descending back down to the hut we were staying in. After an enjoyable evening with chilli and games we awoke to a less favourable forecast on the Sunday. So we enjoyed a mostly dry. Read the full article…

Walking above Les Haudères

Alastair BegleySwitzerland, Walking Short Link

After being evacuated from the campsite in Arolla due to landslides we headed down to Les Haudères. Due to an unsettled forecast we spent a few days doing day walks rather than heading up to the big mountains. The first walk was the ridge directly above the campsite, we walked up to the Col de Torrent and then aimed to walk along the ridge over the Pointe du Prélet and along to the Pointe du Tsate. The walk up to the Col de Torrent had lovely views up the valley towards the Pigne d’Arolla and down the valley towards some mountains north of the Rhone valley. As we were leaving the col we were treated to a close flypast by a bearded vulture which was stunning. The ridge was fantastic, with great views in every direction, some good scrambling and plenty more wildlife. Unfortunately we got to within 100m of the Pointe du Tsate and had to turn back due to a climb and some loose rocks which we weren’t willing to do without ropes. Thankfully the forecast thunderstorm did not arrive! The next day we planned on climbing the Pic d’Artsinol but decided to turn. Read the full article…

Walking in the Western Lake District

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

At the beginning of July I headed up to the Lake District for a long birthday weekend, we spent the weekend with the Avon Mountaineering club in the beautiful but remote Duddon Valley before heading over to Eskdale on Sunday. On the first morning we woke up to a spectacular day, with almost wall to wall sunshine it doesn’t get much better in the Lake District. There was a reasonably cold wind, but this didn’t matter as we weren’t able to climb as Becky had broken her finger earlier in the week. We elected to walk the obvious circuit from the campsite which included most of the peaks around the Old Man of Conniston. The circuit was great, with a short walk up a track to a picturesk tarn before making an abrupt ascent up to the ridge which connects all of the peaks. Once we had gained most of the altitude the views were stunning in every direction. To the south west we could see down the Duddon valley and out to the sea, to the north we could see Scafell, Scafell Pike and Crinkle Crags and to the. Read the full article…

Overnight on Conival & Ben More Assynt

Alastair BegleyScotland, Walking Short Link

After two days of walking and a day cycling we had one day with some mild dampness, before another sustained spell of good weather. We took this as a good opportunity to enjoy a rest day before heading out for dinner. The next morning we woke up to a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky and without a breath of wind, we quickly decided it was too hot to go walking and we needed to go and get some brunch (definitely not the wine…). As the day continued to heat up, we did indeed decide that it was too hot to enjoy walking, but we could make the most of the conditions by waiting for it to cool down before climbing Conival and sleeping on the summit. Due to the lack of phone reception we didn’t actually realise that it was forecast to be 30 degrees, or that the far north of Scotland was the hottest place in the UK. We left the car park after 7pm, and the walk up still felt brutally hot. I am pretty sure I have never been hotter walking, even in the. Read the full article…

Far North Munroe Bagging

Alastair BegleyScotland, Walking Short Link

We have recently got back from a trip to the far North of Scotland where we were Munro bagging and road biking. Initially we headed up about as far north as it is possible to go in Scotland to climb Ben Klibreck and Ben Hope. These are often climbed in a single day, as they are both relatively short days and are close together by road. Thankfully the weather saved us from having an epic day climbing both, as we had two days in a row with good weather in the morning and rain forecast in the afternoon. Ben Klibreck was an enjoyable walk which followed a natural ridge line up, with a feint path for most of the way. The views from the top were very different to most of Scotland, with lots of moorland combined with the views of Ben Hope, Ben Loyal and Ben Mor Assynt. Ben Hope was a very dull peak, but not as bad as Mount Keen! It was again another early start due to forecast rain, although it never materialised. The walk up was fairly harsh with lots of ascent in a very. Read the full article…

Mullach Clach a’Bhlair & Sgor Gaoith

Alastair BegleyMountaineering, Scotland, Walking Short Link

Having had an excellent day on Sunday traversing Liathach in unusually nice Scottish weather, today we were treated with a more usual day out. We spent the day munroe bagging above Glen Feshie where we completed a 25km loop which included Mullach Clach a’ Bhlair & Sgor Gaoith. We set off from the car hoping that we would be able to cross all of the rivers which on the east bank of Glen Feshie, thankfully we were just about able to with some fairly committing jumps over the first river we came to. The ascent up Mullach Clach a’ Bhlair was very painless after the long walk down the valley due to the estate track which runs all the way up to the plateau, as we joined the plateau we ascended into the white room. Unfortunately the rest of the day was spent in the white room staring at a compass. Having read stories online of people not being able to find the summit of Mullach Clach a’ Bhlair in the summer even with the help of GPS due to the summit being very indistinct and having a tiny cairn. Due to this. Read the full article…

Sunny Schiehallion

Alastair BegleyScotland, Walking Short Link

Today was the start of this years Scotland trip, last year we were constantly battling with frankly terrible weather. The start of this year’s trip could not have been more different as we were greeted with wall-to-wall sunshine, I even got sunburnt! We have plans in Torridon tomorrow so had a short day en-route today. We climbed Schiehallion, which is a Munroe which Becky had been saving for a perfect winter day, and it certainly could not have been much more perfect than today. On the ascent we were too hot in our baselayers as there was no wind, although we did get a sharp reminder of how cold it was in the slight breeze on the summit. The conditions underfoot were relatively easy going on the well trodden path which enabled us to make a quick ascent in under 2 hours. The views from the top were absolutely fantastic due to the cold crystal clear air which meant that we could see over to Rannoch Mor and Ben Nevis to the west, Ben Lawers to the south and the Cairngorms to the North East. The snow was softening slightly. Read the full article…

Stag Weekend in North Wales

Alastair BegleyNorth Wales, Rock Climbing, Walking Short Link

It’s been a while since I have written a blog post, which is more due to the shear volume of climbing I have been doing, rather than the lack of climbing. I have been having an excellent season and have been making good headway into E2 and am now looking forward to the rest of the season. Last weekend I was due to head up to North Wales for a friend’s stag do, and given the nice weather three of us decided to head up a day early and do a mountain route in Snowdonia. We decided on Grooved Arete and were pleased to discover that we were the only people on the crag when we arrived in the morning. The weather was fantastic but very warm and humid in the sun which made the approach pretty warm. I lead the entire route to save time due to thunderstorms being forecast in the afternoon. The route was fantastic with lots of interesting pitches, although there was a surprising amount of polish which was a bit of a shame. The standout pitches for me were the second main pitch, the third main. Read the full article…