Red Screes Circuit

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

On our last day in the Lake District we were meant to be going climbing, but having removed a large amount of skin from my heal the previous evening while removing tape I was unable to put my climbing shoes on. Thankfully we had a plan b, and we headed off on a half day walk from our cottage. We decided to walk from Ambleside up to Red Screes, onto Middle Dodd and then back down Scandale back to Ambleside. The walk was fairly abrupt as we left Ambleside on the road up to Kirkstone pass, as we left the road it didn’t get much easier, but the views did get better. We made good time up to the summit and enjoyed the views. Despite not seeing anyone on the walk up the summit was fairly busy as it is very close to the Kirkstone pass. We then had the strange experience of descending to the second Wainwright from the first summit. The view down over Brothers Water from the Middle Dodd was brilliant. After a boggy traverse to avoid the re-ascent we were at the start of the descent. Read the full article…

Kentmere Horseshoe

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

After a relaxed morning in Ambleside we headed out for a late walk to make the most of the improved weather in the evening. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite as nice as forecast, but it was still a lovely evening and a great walk. Based on our time the day before, we set off at 4:30 which we thought would get us back just as it was getting dark. We made really good time and were back in 5h30mins just after sunset, which was a nice surprise. As we set off from the cars it was very humid and we were not feeling that motivated by the late start, but thankfully as we climbed up to the first top our motivation increased, and the breeze made it feel less humid. The views were brilliant for the entire walk, which was much more undulating than the previous day. We met a few other people out, who were mostly out for an evening wild camping. It looked like a nice way to spend the evening with the excellent forecast. It was great to see a different perspective of some of the mountains. Read the full article…

Fairfield Horseshoe

Alastair BegleyLake District, Walking Short Link

We decided to make the most of being able to walk from our cottage in Ambleside and headed out to do the Fairfield horseshoe. The weather when we set off was fairly marginal, but thankfully other than a few spots of rain we stayed dry. We decided to do the route clockwise, which meant a flat walk along the valley to Rydal at the start with before the steep ascent up to Nab Scar and onto Heron Pike. After Nab Scar the views were brilliant all day, with excellent views in every direction. There was even a surprising amount of sun. We made good time to the summit of Fairfield, where we enjoyed a quick lunch before descending. The descent was very warm as we were protected from the wind by a beautiful dry stone wall which snaked it’s way all the way down the ridge. After an enjoyable day out, and in a respectable time of 5hrs10mins we were back at the cottage in time to enjoy some champagne before heading out to dinner.

Troutdale Pinnacle

Alastair BegleyLake District, Rock Climbing Short Link

After driving up from Bristol in the morning we were after a short day climbing in Borrowdale. Our initial plan having not climbed outside since the Dolomites last year was to head to Shepherd’s Crag, however despite it being a Thursday every car park was very full so after driving between them all multiple times we bailed to another plan. We parked in the large car park near Quayfoot Buttress and then made an unusual approach to Black Crag to climb Troutdale Pinnacle. I last climbed Troutdale Pinnacle six years ago while training for the alps, it was soaking wet and we moved together. This time the weather was much more favourable, and my climbing was much less current, however it was a much more enjoyable route this time. We were hoping that starting late in the middle of the week that we would be the only people at the crag, however as we arrived there were two other teams there, one of which was setting off up Troutdale Pinnacle. We decided to queue anyway, and had a chilled out climb enjoying the sun at the belays. The climbing was. Read the full article…

Mendips MTB

Alastair BegleyMountain Biking Short Link

After a long hiatus due to lockdown it was great to be back out on the mountain bike at the weekend. We took it nice and easy and headed for a well known loop from the top of Burrington Combe. As expected after the recent rain the route was fairly muddy, but nothing like the worst that the mendips can throw at you. We enjoyed the initial descent along the top edge of the coombe, before descending to the bottom of Rowberrow Warren and the all too familiar climb back up to the top. Thankfully all my road biking at left me fairly fit so the climb was fairly easy. Taking it easy we headed down the official blue run in the woods, and it has bedded since I last did it and was much more enjoyable. Maybe it was due to it being less wet, although there were some sections which seemed fairly difficult for a “blue”. We took the direct (read steep) ascent back up to the top of Rowberrow Warren, and then headed up to Beacon Batch before the final descent back to the car. It was. Read the full article…

Crook Peak Sunrise

Alastair BegleyLandscape Short Link

After a number of evenings heading out for sunset, we decided to have a change and head out for sunrise. We decided to head to Crook Peak in Somerset and it turned out to be a lovely sunrise. I certainly did not enjoy my 3am alarm call, but it turned out to be worth it. When we got to the top there were two other couples there, and we enjoyed the pre sunrise glow as it became lighter. To start with I had free reign to take photos where I wanted, but by 5mins before sunrise there were about 30 other people who had turned up, including families with small children which as great to see. After sunrise had finished we headed out for a short walk in the relative cool of the morning which was enjoyable as it was fairly quiet other than runners and there was lots of wildlife around there.

Malvern End to End

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Walking Short Link

For years as we have driven up the M5 we have commented that we should visit the Malvern Hills, however never quite got around to it. As we still have to stay fairly local, cannot go to the mountains and cannot stay away we decided this would be an ideal time to explore the Malvern Hills. So that we could have a big day out, and not just walk out and then back we decided to do the full traverse of the Malvern Hills, stating at Chase End Hill in the south and finishing at End Hill in the north. This provided a walk of about 16km with 750m of ascent. After parking the van at the north end of the ridge we headed down to the south and started walking shortly after 5. This meant that if we made good time we should just about be on North Hill by sunset. The start of the walk was very quiet, on small paths with lovely views. It was also very hot! We had occasional views of the bigger hills in the distance on the first half, and they looked a. Read the full article…

Quantock Hills Sunset

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Walking Short Link

With the easing of the lockdown restrictions we headed down to the Quantock Hills for an evening walk. We chose the evening as we thought it would be quieter, and also to coincide with sunset. During the walk we saw about 10 other people, so we definitely made the right decision to wait until the evening. It was great to be out in the hills on a beautiful summer evening with a lovely sunset, even if they were only hills and not mountains.