The Aran Ridge

 

I hadn’t been on a big Welsh hill for over three years so it was about time to seek some Cymric solitude.

Which made the decision to climb the biggest mountain in Wales that I hadn’t previously been on an easy one, especially as I had been looking at this route for a long time.  Aran Fawddwy is one of those British peaks that is higher than everything south of it which gives it a certain, if little known, esoteric cachet.

Starting at the village of Llanuwchllyn at the south-west end of Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) a good track meanders under Garth Fach before a footpath bears left to gain the omnipresent ridge under Garth Fawr.  Rising steadily, the path can be followed directly but this lessens the adventure as the lower summits would be bypassed so it is worth taking some short detours to add to the day’s achievements and to enjoy some more expansive views over Cwm Croes.  I’ll admit that I ignored Moel Ddu but Moel Ffenigl was a pleasant distraction before strolling along the top of Craig y Llyn towards the imposing rise of Pen-aran.

Some classic foreshortening made this look steep and although the contours tightened, it was an easy enough slope to climb.  The reward from Pen-aran’s summit was the impressive view of Aran Benllyn and the walk’s ultimate destination of Aran Fawddwy.  The panorama from south-west around to the north gave me the chance to test my limited knowledge of the names of the peaks in view, from Cadair Idris, past the Rhinogs to Rhobell Fawr and Dduallt and finally turning to Arenig Fawr.

Aran Fawddwy & Aran Benllyn from Pen-aran summit

Aran Fawddwy & Aran Benllyn

I had seen a couple of family groups on the lower slopes but they didn’t continue on to the higher ridgeline.  It was on Pen-aran that I met the first of only nine other fellow walkers that I saw on the higher ground on this bank holiday Monday.  No doubt there would have been people queuing up to touch the trig on Snowdon summit but even though I wasn’t alone for all of the day, I still found some solitude on one of the country’s highest and most interesting summits.

The half mile from Pen-aran to Aran Benllyn is one of the finest stretches of walking I’ve ever done.  It’s over easy ground but the view ahead towards Aran Fawddwy is magnificent.  From Aran Benllyn you pass over the intermediate summit of Erw y Ddaffad ddu before tackling the rocky summit slopes of the peak that has been tantalisingly in view for a lot of the ascent.

Aran Fawddwy from Aran Benllyn summit

Pen-aran & Llyn Tegid from Aran Benllyn summit

The summit trig point appears to be perched precariously at the very highest point and reaching it rewards you with a vista that demands you take some time to appreciate it fully.  I had walked over five miles and ascended about 3,500 feet to get here so I succumbed to gazing at the surrounding mountains.

Aran Benllyn from Aran Fawddwy summit

Suddenly it felt like a long way back to the car – it was – but every step was a pleasant reminder that this less popular mountain deserves the appreciation that those who stride its slopes must surely understand.

The “Big” Ben More

 Munro baggers will know that there are two of their objectives that are called Ben More.  The Mull version is possibly better known as it is the only Munro on that island and is quite often kept to be many compleaters’ final summit.  But the mountain that looms over Crianlarich is a mountain that commands respect.

Ten club members set out from Inverardran Cottage which is the superb base of our hosts, the Ochils Mountaineering Club.  We walked alongside the A85 on the course of the old railway before starting uphill just past Benmore Farm.  The zig-zag track led to the start of the pitched path that relentlessly gains height.

Ben More is a TRAIL 100 mountain and is described by TRAIL magazine as “sadistically steep”; it’s not wrong!  We walked up towards the snow line and as the snow became more abundant than occasional patches, just above the start of the old stone dyke, we put on our crampons.  Progress now became a lot easier.

Cruach Ardrain

The boilerplate characteristics of the snow showed that it had gone through quite a few freeze-thaw cycles as the sunny days melted the surface and the nights of clear skies refroze the top layer of water.  These conditions were widely reported across Scotland at the time and in the days that immediately followed, resulting in many walkers being caught out, lulled on to the hills by seemingly attractive conditions but finding themselves have to deal with bullet névé.

Ben Lui & Ben Cruachan

The views became more expansive as height was gained with Ben Lui and Ben Cruachan particularly catching the eye to the west.  We took a line slightly to the left of a direct summit bearing and curved around to the right as we neared the top.  Whether the true summit is the cairn or the trig point, I had my photo taken at both to satisfy myself that I had actually reached the highest point of the mountain.  All the ground was shrouded by layers of snow subjected to cycles of freeze thaw and there was a slight breeze compounding the sub-zero temperature; we took shelter in the natural cleft a few feet below, and just to the west, of the summit pillar.

Ben Lawers & Loch Tay

Ben Vorlich & Stuc a' Chroin

Many summits, near and far, completed the impressive panorama.  Bens Lomond, Lui, Cruachan and Lawers could be seen from the south to the north-east.  Ben Vorlich and Stuc a’ Chroin were prominent just south of east.  Neighbouring Stob Binnein dominated just over a mile to the south.  And a tantalising glimpse of the Paps of Jura 70 miles to the south-west was a surprising highlight.

Stob Binnein from Ben More summit

Stob Binnein from just above the bealach

We had become a group of four as the faster amongst us continued well ahead of us.  As we descended south towards Bealach-eadar-dha Bheinn I spotted a group of people and immediately feared the worst.  I soon recognised a few people from our original 10 and as I got nearer was told that one of our party had taken a tumble and had sustained arm, shoulder and possibly rib injuries.

Luckily a group of Manchester and District (MAD) Ramblers were quickly with him quickly followed by a member of the Tayside Mountain Rescue Team who was out on a walk with his wife.  Telephone conversations were had and soon the Prestwick based Coastguard rescue helicopter was on the scene and our casualty was promptly airlifted to hospital in Glasgow, no doubt reaching the warm indoors before any of us!

AIRLIFT!

AgustaWestland AW189    G-MCGT 

We all took the traversing descent path down to Benmore Glen with the group once again splintering based on differing levels of fitness and fatigue.

Such a taxing day resulted in the night’s meal being hailed as the finest of feasts.

A 2021 Summary

2021 carried on in a manner similar to 2020.  Pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions lessened opportunities for time on the hills with some days out feeling almost subversive.

At the start of 2021 I had 280 summits on my rather eclectic ticklist of ticklists with TRAIL 100 and Nuttall summits making up the bulk of desired tops.  2021 was very quiet from a point of view of additions to my list with no “new” summits being discovered.

Overall I :

            went on             9                                  walks

            walked              94.6                              miles

            ascended          23,192                          feet

            walked for         61 hrs 29 mins            (including rest stops !)

            reached            29                                 individual summits that I hadn’t been to before

            reached            0                                   individual summits that I had been to before

            reached            25                                 summits on my combined ticklist

            reached            1                                   previously unclimbed TRAIL 100 summits

            reached            20                                 previously unclimbed Nuttall summits

            drove                1942                             miles on trips to and from walks

The vast majority of this year’s walking occurred on the Pennines and Cheviots resulting in a significant increase of my expertise of traversing rolling peat moorland .  I completed the English TRAIL 100 summits on The Cheviot.

All of this meant that at the end of 2021, my ongoing ticklist dropped to 255 summits.

The Other Moel Eilio

 After the previous year’s cancellation due to pandemic restrictions the club’s annual post-Christmas day out made a welcome return in 2021.  Seven of us met up at Dolgarrog’s Adventure Parc Snowdonia, best known for its artificial surfing lagoon, and booted up before heading out on to the eastern foothills of the Carneddau. 

Seven of us wound our way up lanes and woodland paths to just above the remote pool on the Afon Porth-llwyd before easier walking led to the Coedty reservoir.  We stopped for lunch at the dam after which we followed the track uphill to the foot of the east ridge of Moel Eilio.  The wind was picking up and we worked our way up the slope into the clag to the summit where we only stayed for a few minutes before heading south-east towards flatter ground which was just tantalisingly in sight.  After reaching the fence line some of the more sensible members of the group decided to ascend a little to avoid following the challenging ground that the fence was leading over; their decision was justified as they found a much easier way down. 

We walked along easy tracks that led to, and under, the Llyn Cowlyd pipeline before gingerly making our way down the very steep roads leading to the Conwy valley, made greasy by the damp and decomposing leaf litter. 

The final mile was along the main road to the Adventure Parc where we unburdened our shoulders of rucksacks and feet of boots before indulging in coffees and hot chocolates in the café for a debrief and discussion of forthcoming post COVID-19 adventures.

Northern Solitude

For the second time in under a month, an early start marked the beginning of a day walking over remote Cheviot summits.  At Wedder Leap car park I laced my boots after eating a breakfast butty and set off, crossing the River Coquet to start what was to be another long day in the hills.

At a junction in the track I decided to follow the track uphill.  I soon worked out that this was a navigational error that would take me to the summit of Kyloe Shin but at the point of realisation I reckoned that it would be easier to continue than to reverse and descend.  The summit turned out to be a worthwhile leg-stretcher and descending the grassy north-west ridge was a pleasure.

towards Uswayford

The route ascended the felled forestry slopes of Middle Hill, skirting around the top before descending to the col below The Middle and then taking the traverse path on its east slope.  Uswayford could be seen clearly at the head of the valley over a kilometre away.  The well maintained track allowed quick progress and as I at the farmstead I crossed the bridge and skirted the farmyard boundary, walking around the enclosed solar panels while looking for any clue as to where the way ahead went.  Although the ground was boggy I decided to roughly follow the fenceline and was soon on a vague path.

Bloodybush Edge trig point

I crossed the stile at the point 506 col and followed the fence on its southern side to the summit of Bloodybush Edge.  I knew that there was a triangulation pillar at the top but as I crested the convex slope I could hardly see it.  Because it was so white it successfully blended in to the sky in the background; it was probably the whitest trig point that I’ve ever seen.  From here the broad dome of Cushat Law dominated the view ahead with the fenceline meandering the three kilometres to its top.

Cushat Law from Bloodybush Edge

Cushat Law summit towards Hedgehope Hill

Views from Cushat Law’s summit cairn towards the higher Cheviot summits had improved.  I had a quick conversation with a man who had followed me up with his dog, before he set off towards the Breamish valley.  My route off was to retrace the three kilometres to Bloodybush Edge and then back down to Uswayford.

I had been calculating the time that would be needed to tick Windy Gyle and I worked out that chasing the tick would add two hours to the walk; probably more as my variation of Naismith’s rule starts to fail if the day’s total time exceeds 8 hours.  I thought it almost certain that heading for the third summit would result in me finishing the walk in the dark – the extensive cloud cover would exacerbate the lack of light – and the resultant tiredness being a hindrance to my own safety.  And thus the decision to head straight back to the car was made.

Windy Gyle from Bloodybush Edge

Although at some point in the future I would have to make the long drive again to tick off Windy Gyle, I consoled myself with the thought that combining the trip with a return home via some northern Pennine summits would offset the petrol expense.  That plan will have to wait until BST arrives in 2022 with the lengthening days.

As I walked over The Middle it was clear that Windy Gyle summit would have been reached at or after sunset which justified the decision not to climb it.  I got back to the car 15 minutes before sunset, having been going for over eight and a half hours.  Considering the looming long drive home in the dark I was happy with the day’s route choice decisions.

But the long day did make me feel good about the stopping off at Burger King on the M6 for my tea!

Beyond Hadrian

 A 2 hour drive from home in west Lancashire can get me to the start of a lot of walks in north Wales, the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, Pennines and the Lake District but this day-walk needed a bit more dedication.  An early start and a 4 hour drive got me to the Harthope Valley at 10am to start my walk in the Cheviots.

Hedgehope Hill from Hawsen Burn

Housey Crags

Although the highest summits were in cloud Housey Crags could be clearly seen.  Good ground underfoot soon had me at the base of the crag with a wide choice of routes to the top with anything from some challenging scrambling to walking.

The Cheviot from Housey Crags

The views were hazy but the valley and its surrounding hills felt big and open with broad grass and heather slopes reaching to a big sky.  The walk over Long Crags was easy and the foreshortened view of Hedgehope Hill suggested more of a challenge that it turned out to be.  Obviously not overly trodden, a narrow path had been worn and was easy to follow to the final convex slope where I emerged out of the midge-populated still air into a light breeze.  The summit is topped by an impressive cairn supporting a triangulation pillar; it turned out to be the most impressive summit of the day.

Hedgehop Hill summit

Looking out towards the North Sea I spied a lower cloudbase and possibly some rain although inland was clearer.  I turned towards Comb Fell encountering some hags down to the col and even more of them at the col, albeit mostly dry, before roughly handrailing the fence to a bend which marked the summit.  Mist had moved up Harthope Valley and ascended its north-facing slopes, spilling over the col I had just walked up from.  I hadn’t yet escaped the midges as I started across the wetter plateau which had some Armco beams places over occasional areas of exposed peat which made progress easier.

The route to Cairn Hill is not intuitive; that is, not direct!  The summit is to the right but the fenceline bends to the left and I was going to take a direct route but after looking at the OS Explorer map I decided to keep to the right of the fence and use it as a handrail feature to take me directly to the summit.  The col between Comb Fell and Cairn Hill had some deep groughs that would provide good sport in wetter conditions.  It was here that I started to meet other walkers for the first time today as they descended from The Cheviot to take the valley route down and past Langleeford.

Cairn Hill summit

On the walk from Cairn Hill to its west top, also known as Hangingstone Hill, I could easily see the group of three Nuttalls to the south and west with Windy Gyle being the most obvious.  Hangingstone Hill’s summit is an insignificant piece of heather in the middle of nowhere, 60 or 70 yards from the signpost at the junction of the three paths of the Pennine Way.  Auchope Cairn was an easy stroll giving teasing views of the more rugged north side of The Cheviot including the rockier features of the Hen Hole and Braydon Crag.  The summit cairns stood sentinel over the view to Scotland and I retraced my steps, stopping for a quick chat a young couple mountain-biking to Kirk Yetholm.

Auchope Cairn summit

Hangingstone Hill signpost

he route to the top of The Cheviot was on a good flagged path which led into cloud which turned out to be drizzle.  I put on my waterproofs at the summit and climbed the slippery concrete plinth to reach the trig point to claim the tick.

The Cheviot summit

The way down followed a reasonable but rough stony track over pink granite to Scald Hill and then past some well-made and numbered (1 to 10, or was it 11?) shooting butts.  This is the standard way up to Northumberland’s county top but I would definitely recommend the horseshoe route that I’d walked.

The day on the hill had been long – just over 8 and a half hours – and I still had to get my boots off and load the car before starting the drive home.  I knew beforehand that it would be a long day; the round trip turned out to be 410 miles of driving 18 hours from leaving home to returning.

The North of the Spine

The day turned out to be the hottest of the year so far. 

So my decision to tick some northern Pennine outlying summits was probably a good one as three shorter walks allowed for some respite during the day

Thack Moor was the first singleton of the day.  An early start allowed me time to get lost on the lanes leading to Renwick but I was soon parked up on the main street and was heading uphill before 9’o’clock.  A good track followed by a good path led inexorably to the summit and posed no navigational problems and the trig point marked what most would assume to be the high point.  However, when Thack Moor was being surveyed and awarded Nuttall status, the actual summit was found to be 1 centimetre higher on the other side of the wall.  I carefully climbed over to a grassy sward with no obvious highest point but I used GPS to get to the “top” – tick!

Thack Moor trig point

the Dodds ridge with Great Gable behind

The views to the Lake District were hazy but High Street, Helvellyn, the northern Dodds, Blencathra, Skiddaw and Binsey could be easily identified.  There was a distant summit poking above the Dodds which I thought could have been Grisedale Pike but it turned out to be Great Gable.  I used my monocular to spot the summit of Grey Nag to the east, a Nuttall that I had walked up a couple of months earlier.  Cold Fell to the north – a target for later today – looked as if it had some significant summit furniture.

The descent back to the car was quick and I then drove up the quiet roads to Hartside summit before enjoying the descent to Alston along with many bikers – both the motor and pedal versions.  At Nenthead I turned uphill to the road summit and started my stroll to Flinty Fell.

The summit of Flinty Fell was previously determined to be on an old spoil heap which seems to be an obvious place for it to be.  But more recent surveys have found that it is in the middle of a significant plateau where there is no obvious highest point.  According to my GPS I got to within zero metres of the 10-figure grid reference of the summit but that point had no particular significance to the eye.

It’s got to be said that if it wasn’t on a list then Flinty Fell would be seldom, if at all, visited.  And I suspect that it gets few visitors now!  My “ascent” followed a significant dry spell and it was fine underfoot but after more typical British weather, the area would be horribly boggy. Despite the lack of positive attributes, it does afford good views of Cross Fell and the Dun Fells although you can see these just as clearly from the summit of the fell road!

The drive back down to Alston and then on towards Brampton was a treat in the Sunday afternoon sunshine.  I parked at the RSPB reserve at Geltsdale and walked down the track to the old quarrymen’s cottages at Howgill before attempting to follow the track marked on the Landranger map that has long become overgrown with bracken and is now all but impossible to follow.  I should have turned off at the more obvious path that looked as if it cut the corner.

The track marked above the zig-zags was a lot clearer to follow but the sun and the heat made for slow progress on my third walk of the day; time for some chocolate and jelly babies to consume some calories before heading once again uphill.

The track narrowed to a path, boggy in a few places and encroached upon by tall grasses and bracken until open moorland was reached.  A snake slithered off the path and into the undergrowth – I was too slow to identify the species but I suspect it wasn’t an adder.  Once past the fence the path led to a grouse butt and took a line to the left but soon petered out.  Then it was heather bashing to the fenceline which could then be handrailed to the summit.

Cold Fell summit

Accompanying the trig point was a substantial shelter and an impressive cairn.  Although hazy, the views to the Lake District were clear enough to identify the same summits that I saw earlier in the day from Thack Moor.  Looking at the photos later at home, Great Gable was as prominent and Scafell Pike and Lingmell straddled Clough Head.  As I was so close to the border the view over the Solway to Criffel was uninterrupted.

northern Dodds, Scafell Pike, Lingmell, Great Gable, Blencathra

I followed a path downhill that led directly to the grouse butt that I saw on my way up.  I rejoined my original track just below the butt and turned around to see that the path I had just descended could not be seen and it was obvious that the path I took on the way up was misleading.  I noted this for the future but it’s unlikely that I’ll ever be back here again.

The descent was very quick and I was glad to get back to the car, take off my boots and start the drive home.  Overall it was a long day which was made that much more enjoyable by doing the walks in the sun and after the recent spell of dry weather.