Sun 26th July, Glencoe and Coire Gabhail (The Hidden Valley)

The weather has changed today and we have high winds and driving rain, but at least it kept some of the midges away in the Glen Nevis campsite. After a leisurely start waiting for the weather to improve we headed down to Glencoe and took a short walk up into Coire Gabhail(The Hidden Valley) With all the rain we had some of the waterfalls were running full and looked quite spectacular. Staying low in the valleys gave us shelter from worst of the winds and we did manage to enjoy a walk and avoid the heavy rain showers that were passing through

Sat 25th July, Ben Nevis

We are in Fort William this weekend with Estelle and friends, and today’s walk took us up onto the summit of Ben Nevis following the main footpath from Glen Nevis visitor centre. The route was busy with lots of poorly equipped holiday makers, fortunately the weather was great with little wind and lots of sunshine, This was my third time on the Ben this year and the first I had been able to see anything. The views from the summit were very good although it was rather crowded.

Sun 19th July, Pinnacle Ridge, St Sundays Crag

This morning I set off early with Jane to make our way up onto Pinnacle Ridge, on St Sundays Crag. The route involves a short but steep climb up an old path to a grassy balcony before following an easy traverse path to just below the ridge.

A final short steep ascent up loose scree brings you out at the foot of the ridge. The route was very quiet with no one else around when we set off. The ridge is an enjoyable and airy scramble on good blocky rock which was dry and very grippy today. We were also very fortunate to do this in good weather. The highlight of the route is a short chimney section which is climbed and the traverse of the pinnacles. We exited the route on the summit plateau of St Sundays Crag. The visibility was good and we enjoyed 360 degree views of the Lakes before descending back down into Patterdale.

Sat 18th July, Millican Dalton's Cave

After we left Sally and her family, Jane and I went for a short walk in Borrowdale to explore the home (cave) of one of the first mountain guides in the Lake District. Many people have considered walking out of the office and chucking it all in for a life of simplicity. Millican Dalton, an insurance clerk, from London had the courage in the 1900's to follow his dreams and to live by his convictions. He lived under canvas, in a cave or in his woodland hut for the most part of his life. He styled himself ‘Professor of Adventure’ and the following quotes are attributed to him.

“You can't feel lonely with nature as your companion”

"Don't Waste Words Jump to Conclusions" This later one is carved in the wall of the cave if you know were to look.

Sat 18th July, Scafell Pike

We are on Scafell Pike today with Sally and her family. We set off from Seathwaite in pleasant conditions for the long pull up Ruddy Gill to Esk Hause. As we gained height on Great End the wind speed picked up and low cloud rolled in making visibility to the summit, over the last few kms,very poor.

As usual at this time of year there were a number of large groups of "three peakers" resting on the top. After a short break for pictures we headed down towards the Corridor Route and our way back to the valley. As we reached the col near Lingmell we came back out of the clouds and enjoyed some shelter from the wind and warm sunshine for the rest of our descent back into the valley.

Wed 16th July, Ben Vorlich

Ben Vorlich lies on the side of Loch Lomond and is a munro that is often driven past by walkers heading further north. Despite it proximity to Glasgow it is a quiet but interesting mountain without the usual broad paths that scar many of the munro's.

Conditions were very mixed today with a few heavy showers and very humid atmosphere. Out of the cloud visibility was good and conditions made for some very atmospheric views.


My route up was from Ardlui railway station climbing over the Little Hills a complex ridge that leads directly to the summit of Ben Vorlich. On reaching the summit I followed the ridge to the north top and then followed this down into Coire Creagach and an easy walk back to the cars.

Sun 12th July, Snowdon

Today is Day 2 of our Expedition training course and we set off with the group to walk up the Miners Track from Pen Y Pass to the summit of Snowdon. Conditions were slightly better today although high up visibility was still poor. We had a few sore legs in the group today and this route is good to help loosen up muscles before we start the steep ascent up to the summit ridge.

One member of our group, John who a lost a leg, was fundraising for Help the Hero's and his efforts over the two days on his crutches was amazing .

Since I was last on Snowdon a few weeks ago the cafe has re-opened and the train is running to the top station again, It was very cold on top and a strong wind was blowing so we headed to the cafe for coffeee and cakes. Surprisingly it was quite and prices seemed very reasonable and our Exped Doc, Jackie, showed us how to eat scones and cream to boost energy levels.

We returned to Pen Y Pass by the Pyg Track with a short diversion over The Horns.

Sat 11th July, Y Garn, Snowdonia

I am in North Wales today leading a two day training course for a group who are heading out on charity fund raising challenges later in the year. Our route today was from Idwal Cottage, round Cwn Idwal before ascending steeply up the ridge of Y Garn. Weather conditions were poor and forecast to get worse during the day with very strong winds.

After stopping briefly for a group photo on the summit we headed down to the Llyn y Cwn to find some shelter for a lunch break. For most of the time on the top we had been in cloud with poor visibility. From here we descended down through the Devils Kitchen back in Cwn Idwal and a gentle walk back down the valley.

At the end of the Cwn Idwal we climbed steeply up the slopes to reach a hanging valley below Y Gribin Ridge and follwed a traverse path under the ridge before crossing over to Llyn Bochlywd and back to the minibuses.

Tuesday 7th July, Evening Scrambles in Barbondale

My son Scott is back in Kendal for a week and we opted for an evenings scrambling in Patterdale, unfortunately a serious car accident blocked the main road into the Lakes so we headed off to Barbondale again.

We followed the same route as a few days ago and enjoyed a pleasant scramble up the gyhll with no one else around.

There is a second ghyll a few hundred metres away and we decided to visit it after we finished the first ghyll. It has many more large blocks to scramble over and a large 8m wall to climb to escape from the ghyll. Conditions were still damp but we managed a good evening before retiring to the local pub for a few beers.

Sunday 5th July, Ghyll Scrambles

After a long day yesterday and a poor forecast for today we opted for a short scramble in Barbondale. The route starts with a short crawl through a tunnel under the road before entering the ghyll which was still damp from the overnight rain and some of the rocks were very slippery. It was surprisingly busy today with two school groups have started just ahead of us but they kindly let us past.

It is an interesting little ghyll with a few interesting problems and some steep walls to climb, a rope can be useful. It finishes with an intersting problem of a limestone keyhole you have to pass through before emerging from the gyhll on open fell side. A fun morning and it stayed dry.

Sat, 4th July, Scafell Pike

We set off early today from the Old Dungeon Ghyll (ODG) in Langdale with Estelle and friends for a walk over to Scafell Pike in the early morning sunshine. Our route involved an ascent of Rossett Ghyll before heading up to Esk Hause and a walk along the ridge connecting Ill Crag and Broad Crag before the final short pull up to the summit.

As we gained height it became much cooler today and by Esk Hause we had walked into low cloud and mist with poor visibility. After summiting we retraced our route bback to Esk Hause before returning by Esk Pike and Bowfell, descending down the Band to reach the ODG for a well earned pint.