Newbury Mountain Club Journal 2010
Click on any photo thumbnail to see the full picture.
9 Jan -
AGM
5-7 Feb - Black Mountains, Wales
5-7 March - Peak District
1-5 April - Scotland
30 April-3 May - Gower
28-31 May - Hay on Wye
7-12 June - Ireland
30 July-1 August - Snowdonia
9 Jan - Annual General Meeting
President: Dan Unwin
Treasurer: Richard Spraggett
Secretary: Catherine Conway
Committee: Sarah Davies, Andy Miles (joint Webmasters), Craig Cook, Marion Foster, Jilly Homersham, Simon Kirby, Claire White
After dinner Dan and Sarah presented the following awards, with the now-expected photographic highlights:
Absolute Altitude/Mountaineering Achievement Award: Pam Westgate, who summited Everest in May 2009.
Navigation Award: Simon Horner, for failing to locate a campsite and sleeping in his car... only 200m away.
Personal Achievement: Joanne Landrey, for achieving her personal goal of walking up Snowdon on the Llanberis path.
Most Improved Climbers: Simon Kirby and Alison Cann.
Best Trip: Dan Unwin, for the Pyrenees (again).
Girl Guide Award: Bob Hotchkis, for fixing Claire’s boots in the Pyrenees using tape and cable ties.
Most Trips Award (for most meets attended during the year): Alan Tinkler (despite strong competition from Trudi Wellings, who only joined the Club in February).
Gordon Golden Underpants Ramsay Award (combining the two this year): Bruce Wilson, for an attempt at head-boiling during the Pico Aneto ascent in the Pyrenees.
New Year's Honours Award: (Dame) Maggie Russell, for many years of loyal service (and entertainment).
The evening continued with a slide show of some of the year's photos, and a DJ.
5-7 February - Black Mountains, Wales
Present:
Claire (organiser), Alan, Keyna, Shaun, Maggie, Paula, Sarah, Bruce,
Catherine, Jo, Chris, Dave H, Nicola, Trudi, Simon H (plus Bob and
Rhoda staying in Llanbedr)
Location:
Perth-y-Pia bunkhouse, Llanbedr
The first NMC trip of the year, and with no snow and ice forecast it should have been a quick and easy journey. For those who left Newbury before 6pm, they did not encounter the motorway exit closures forcing them into a long detour via Monmouth, but we all had to encounter the hill to the bunkhouse. Perth y Pia bunkhouse is situated at the top of two large fields – and the track to reach it goes straight up. A magnificent setting perched just below Table Mountain and with far reaching views, but to drive up to it takes nerves of steel, particularly in the pitch dark with just a faint light to aim for on the horizon. When it started getting late and some of the group had still not arrived, a drunken search party set off down the slippery field and into the dark lanes around Llanbedr. We found Catherine settled nicely in the local pub. Having called in to get directions she had been greeted by the familiar voices of Rhoda and Bob offering to buy her a drink! We joined them and gave lots of advice about how best to drive up the fields. On wandering back to the bottom field we also found Dave and Nicola. Catherine put her car into first and floored it to the top, with one enforced stop to avoid a suicidal sheep. Dave and Nicola took 4 attempts. So with the smell of burning rubber behind us, the whole group were now able to settle in on the comfy sofas by the not so roaring fire (damp logs?) and continue drinking into the early hours.
A respectable 9.15am Saturday departure took us straight on to Table Mountain, followed by a long 17 mile romp along two ridges of the Black Mountains, or the horseshoe route as referred to by the locals. This took in Pen Cerrig calch (701m), Pen Allt-mawr (719m), Waun Fach at the head of the valley (810m and still covered in snow), Pen Twyn Mawr (658m), then eventually dropping down to the village of Llanbedr. As the pub was full of sweaty bodies in red shirts watching Wales play England, some went to Rhoda and Bob’s accommodation to watch the rugby match. Then it was the hard slog back up to the bunkhouse, followed by lots of chilli, garlic bread and apple crumble, washed down with copious amounts of wine.
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Those still able to walk on Sunday (Claire, Alan, Keyna, Shaun, Jo, Chris, Maggie, Paula, Simon), did an 8 mile circuit from Llanbedr taking in Sugar Loaf. The summit was thick in cloud with temperatures below freezing, but the rest of the walk was enjoyable, particularly when a certain lady got caught with her trousers down by an elderly farmer and his dog going by on a quad bike!
5-7 March - Peak District
Present: Keyna (organiser), Sarah, Bruce, Andrea, Trudi, Alan, Claire, Dave W, Paula, Belinda, Will
Location: New Buildings Farm, Wirksworth
The joys of the M40 (or rather, trying to avoid its closed section) made the journey rather longer than planned for several on Friday evening. Nevertheless, Keyna had arrived early and got the fire going, so everyone eventually arrived to a warm-ish bunkhouse and plenty of wine to keep us going. Alan offered round the chunk of parma ham that he bought for about 2p at Tesco and also brought on the Wales trip four weeks previously - despite his assurances that it doesn't go off, we all refused...
Saturday morning was cloudy but not raining, and everyone except Dave (who went biking) set off just after 9am to drive to Ilam, the starting point for the walk. Keyna led us along the Dovedale valley, where the water was quite high and meant the stepping-stone crossing required a little more care than usual. We made good time to Milldale, and decided we could extend the planned route a bit by carrying along the river for another mile or so. This resulted in a rather steeper climb up to Alstonefield than originally planned, but no matter. From there, we walked to Wetton and then picked up the Manifold Way, which took us through woodland. It was then back across country to arrive in Ilam just as daylight was beginning to disappear, having done just over 15 miles. In the battle of the satnavs on the journey back to the bunkhouse, Bruce's car left a few minutes after Keyna's and yet arrived a few minutes before her.
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Dinner was as usual plentiful: a choice of chicken or vegetable curry with all the accompaniments, followed by chocolate orange bread and butter pudding and (later in the evening, once people had room) lemon cheesecake. It wasn't an overly late night, due to the combination of the day's exercise and a warm fire.
On Sunday morning Alan was feeling a little rough, as his parma ham had come back to haunt him during the night. Several times. We eventually set out for the car park at Middleton Top. From there, the bikers (Keyna, Dave, Alan, Claire and Trudi) headed off on a route that took in Carsington Water and part of the Tissington Rail Trail. Trudi elected to ride around the lake, and after some confusion with routes and losing people and certain differences in speed, the rest of the group split up as well: Dave and Keyna did their own thing, and Alan and Claire rode at a more sedate pace. Meanwhile the walkers (Sarah, Bruce, Andrea and Paula) went down the former railway line of the High Peak Trail, past climbers at Black Rocks and then along the canal to Cromford with its amazing ice-skating ducks. From there it was a steep uphill out of the village, and some navigation practice for Paula as she took us around the quarries, through Middleton and back through fields to the car park - about 6.5 miles in total. We then set off for home at about 3pm.
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1-5 April (Easter) - Scotland
Present: In
the Snowgoose bunkhouse, Corpach: Claire (organiser), Alan, Belinda,
Will, Keyna, Maggie, Catherine, Trudi, Paula, Annie, Marion, Mark,
Simon P, Simon H
In alternative accommodation in Corpach: Joanne, Steve, Dave H, Nicola
and Nicola’s 2 friends.
We travelled to Scotland by Plane, Train & Automobile – the motorists arriving first in the early evening, then Simon H by door to door train travel (surely the greenest), then between midnight and 3am the fly/drivers - all very excited by the latest snowfall and excellent forecast for tomorrow.
There was hard decision making over breakfast on Friday – the skies were clear and blue, and the snow beckoning, so how best to use a perfect Scottish day? Nine set off for Ben Nevis at 1344m (Claire, Alan, Keyna, Simon H, Annie, Simon P, Maggie, Trudi and Catherine), whilst the rest opted for Aonach Mor, where Mark, Marion and Steve had a fantastic day's skiing (half price by putting on some silly hair/head gear) and the rest headed for the summit (1221m). Whichever option was chosen, the views were fantastic in the near perfect conditions. Crampons were required to summit Ben Nevis (a first for many), but the most unusual sight was of two guys carrying a full size wooden crucifix to the summit – very slowly! Their aim was to do Scafell Pike on Saturday and Snowdon on Sunday. The day finished with Marion cooking a superb meal of Scottish salmon, with plenty of wine to wash it down with.
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On Saturday there was low cloud cover, so two carloads (Steve, Joanne, Mark, Marion, Trudi, Catherine, Belinda and Will) set off to explore Skye, taking the ferry from Mallaig, travelling to the far north of the island, then returning via the bridge and Glen Shiel. Annie went by train to explore the beaches of Morar, whilst the rest headed off for Glen Roy. A beautiful and unspoilt glen, we walked as far as the White Falls, visited the lonely but 5* bothy, and marvelled at the geological feature known as the parallel roads. Maggie was particularly interested in the recently deceased deer we saw - although it looked quite young, she concluded it must have died of old age! Another great meal this evening, organised by Keyna and cooked by Catherine, Marion and Maggie: various curry dishes prepared for all 20 of us, and a very enjoyable social evening was had by all.
Sunday was another day of blue skies and hard decision making. Marion and Mark chose to summit Ben Nevis. Steve and Joanne did a walk at Glenfinnan, then walked on the beaches at Morar. Claire, Alan, Simon, Keyna, Paula, and Simon did 2 munros from Glen Nevis – Stob Ban (999m) and Mullach nan Coirean (939m) in brilliant winter conditions and with amazing views across to Ben Nevis and beyond. The rest headed to Kinlochleven for a lower level walk led by Dave. All was going well until the route took them across a fast flowing river by a waterfall. Dave positioned himself on a rock in the middle to help everyone across, but alas Catherine slipped and ended up in the river. Will then courageously jumped over to help Dave haul Catherine in, but he too slipped and ended up in the river! Dave eventually managed to help both get out of the river! Luckily it wasn’t too cold or too far back to the cars. Later that evening some went to a recommended fish restaurant in Fort William, others got takeaway haggis, and the rest finished the leftover curry.
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Monday was a typical Scottish day – heavy rain and cloud! Most headed homeward after breakfast, but Claire, Alan, Paula, Maggie and Simon P ventured out to Arisaig and Morar where it stopped raining and were able to get a walk (and picnic) on the beach in, and visit Glenfinnan, before using the Corran ferry to commence the return journey.
And so, for two years running we have had a brilliant Easter trip to Scotland – with superb Scottish weather, a great crowd, and really good accommodation.
30 April-3 May - Gower
Present: Rhoda (organiser), Belinda, Will, Sarah, Bruce, Richard N, Jan, Claire, Alan, Joanne, Steve, Catherine, Maggie, Trudi, Jo, Keyna, Simon H, Richard C
Location: Rhossili Village Hall bunkhouse
Although the Bank Holiday weather forecast was on the traditional side (i.e. not promising), we set off for the Gower holding on to the hope that the peninsula would somehow miss the threatened rain. Certainly Friday night was fine: those who congregated in the Worm's Head Hotel for dinner were treated to fabulous sunset views over Rhossili Bay.
On Saturday, Richard N's plan was to catch the bus to Port Eynon and walk back along the coast before tackling the Worm's Head. Getting 18 people up, ready, and out of the bunkhouse for an 8.45am bus was always going to be challenging, and so it proved: some made it, some decided not to bother, and one (Maggie) was left in the middle of the road with her bootlaces undone as the bus departed without her. The "decided not to bother" group, which comprised Claire, Alan, Sarah, Bruce, Will, Belinda, Keyna, Simon and by default Maggie, set out instead to walk the other way, east, along the coast, meeting up with Richard's group for a snack stop partway along the southern stretch of the peninsula. There were plenty of beetles on the path for coleoptery expert Jo to identify, including green tiger beetles, oil beetles, and the interestingly-named bloody-nosed beetle. The eastbound group stopped at Horton for lunch and beach cricket (Bruce having brought the cricket kit along at Alan's special request). As usual, some took the game far more seriously than others: walkers along that part of the path were probably quite startled to hear Alan insulting Keyna's Aussie roots when she failed to take a catch. It was then on to Oxwich for a drink in the pub (and a cream tea for Simon) before walking along the sands of Oxwich Bay and up to the bus stop in Penmaen. There was a 50-minute wait for the bus, which then took the scenic route and nearly an hour to cover the 2 miles back to Rhossili thanks to narrow lanes, tricky manoeuvres and an excess of parked cars in Horton which led to prolonged discussion, much interest from the inhabitants of the village hall, a 15-point turn, and a round of applause from everyone on board.
Fortunately everyone was back in time for the 3-course meal that awaited: Steve and Joanne's watercress soup, Richard and Jan's variety of tagines with couscous, Keyna's amazing salad, and Rhoda's meringues with fruit and cream. We then adopted the default NMC position of sitting around, drinking, and chatting as late into the evening as we could manage.
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On Sunday Claire led a walk north along Rhossili Down and across to Llanmadoc, where we had a pub stop once we managed to find the pub. We then carried on towards Whiteford Point, where the lighthouse proved similarly elusive: it took a lot of map examination during our lunch stop to work out how exactly we'd got turned around. Maggie enjoyed the bird hide at the point where we stopped, although she seemed to think the birds would be inside the hide... Lighthouse finally located, some ventured out to examine it at closer quarters, while the rest started the long slog along Whiteford Sands and then Rhossili Beach. We did manage to cut the corner off by going through a caravan park, which also happened to supply much-needed toilets and ice creams. Having covered 15 miles or so, we were very glad to get back to the bunkhouse for tea and cake.
In the evening we got the BBQ going (although it was a little chilly to sit outside), and Julie, William and family joined us from their nearby accommodation. There were also delicious leftovers from Saturday night on offer. Catherine and Keyna disappeared off to the pub, and returned much later, after many had gone to bed.
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On Monday there were a variety of activities. Rhoda had organised horse riding for her, Keyna, Richard C and Jo. Sarah, Bruce, Alan, Claire, Steve, Joanne, Will and Belinda decided to reprise the beach cricket: rather than go on a walk first, they headed straight towards the beach 5 minutes from the bunkhouse. However, that was deemed unsuitable due to the steep descent, and the next bay round was covered by the tide. Therefore a walk was necessary after all: round to Rhossili, where we encountered Julie's family who were bodyboarding and kite flying. There was plenty of space for the cricket, although the cold wind made standing around a rather unattractive proposition. Tom joined in while still wearing his wetsuit, and William's kite had an unfortunate encounter with a local dog. Eventually it was time to head home, after an ice cream stop - and NO RAIN all weekend!
28-31 May - Hay on Wye
Present: Dave H (organiser), Nicola, Richard N, Jan, Alan, Claire, Steve, Joanne, Simon H, Jo, Sarah D, Bruce, Pokey, Annie, Izzy, Ange, Mick, Ayla, Callum, Dan, Beckie, Maisie, Sarah M, David M, Millie the dog
Location: New House Farm campsite, Rhosgoch
Once we'd navigated several miles of narrow lanes to find the campsite, we were rewarded with clear views of sheep-dotted hills all around as we set the tents up. The barbecues were quickly fired up, and later on (once Certain People had said goodnight and gone off to their comfy B&B accommodation) the campfire was also going well - something for Dan, Bruce and Alan to nurture after everyone else had gone to bed.
The forecast rain had well and truly arrived on Saturday morning, but did seem to be lessening once we arrived in Glasbury. This was the start point for our 11-mile canoe trip along the river to Whitney on Wye. Everyone launched more-or-less successfully, although Millie required some serious persuasion to get in the canoe in the first place. The river proved to be very shallow in many areas, leading to regular grounding (and swearing) moments - at times the easiest option was to get out and push the boat along. Just before Hay there was a small weir that required some precise paddling if you didn't want immediate grounding afterwards - success was mixed, and David and Sarah managed to get their canoe impressively stuck on top of the weir. We stopped in Hay to meet Nicola, and for sustenance and a wander around the festival. From there it was a few miles more to the pub at Whitney on Wye, and the distance was completed in a mixture of sun and showers. Joanne sang her way down the river to pass the time, while Bruce tried a spot of gondoliering (or was it punting?). We all recovered with a drink or two in the pub before being shuttled back to our start point.
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The rain had set in once more in a very soul-destroying fashion when we returned to the campsite, and rather than attempt soggy cooking, some of the group decided to try their luck at the pub in the next village along. Unfortunately we were part of a large influx of pub-goers thanks to the festival and the weather, and the pub couldn't cope. When we still hadn't had any food two hours after ordering, and some of us had been asked to change our order twice, the two Sarahs were contemplating mutiny and eyeing up Millie's food instead. Meals of varying quality were finally served, and we returned to a slightly drier campsite - so much so that Dan got the fire going again.
On Sunday the conditions were much better. The campers got a good idea of how the other half live while queueing for the toilets: they had a clear view of Certain People having a full breakfast in the B&B's conservatory. The majority of the group did a walk over the hills around the campsite on open access land, which gave us clear views of Hay Bluff. We were back by mid afternoon for tea and cake, and later on got the BBQs going again. The campfire had plenty of fuel as night fell: Bruce and Dan, armed with a folding saw, went foraging for wood (we half expected to see a nearby telegraph pole fall) and when Joanne's wooden chair broke, it was a matter of seconds before it was disassembled and thrown onto the blaze. Once again, some people stayed up into the wee small hours, thanks to the combination of beer and fire.
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Monday involved a leisurely morning at the campsite as people packed up and set off in various directions - Hay on Wye, Ross on Wye, and Hereford seemed to be popular choices.
7-12 June - Ireland
Present: Catherine (organiser), Paula, Richard, Jan, Simon P.
Five intrepid adventurers set off for the west coast of Ireland and for the first 24 hours it was a case of ferries, planes and automobiles. Catherine and Paula left the UK first on 6 June and decided to avail themselves of the recently reopened ferry service between Swansea and Cork: this would mean spending 10 hours on the ferry in exchange for a much shortened road journey. And their verdict of the experience was that they would definitely recommend it, although it did have its almost surreal moments which included being towed out of Cork harbour by a tug boat which was piloted by a topless and rather overweight gentleman (we think the ferry went the wrong way although they never officially confirmed this). The ferry is called the Julia and seems to have spent most of her life operating in the Baltic sea which would explain all the maps of the Nordics adorning the walls and the signs in Russian on board. Most of the staff on board seemed to hail from northern regions as well, which probably goes some way to explaining how spotlessly clean the vessel was and how helpful everybody was. Ten hours may seem like a long time but it turned out not to be long enough. It was not enough time to take in all of the activities on offer which included dining, drinking, shopping, watching the sun go down from the deck, playing with a Rubik's cube (still not solved!), going to the cinema and getting to bed at a reasonable hour.
The weather did not auger well when we arrived in a drizzly Cork on the Monday morning and the rain accompanied us on the short journey to Killarney where Siobhan of Leen’s B&B had a welcome and a cup of tea waiting. Leen’s is a great traditional Irish B&B – the rooms are cosy, the welcome is very warm and the breakfasts are large and delicious. Roxy the dog was also happy to see us. We spent the morning scouting out important things like where to buy humongous sandwiches (they were home-made, delicious and lasted on average for two days of eating), and finding the starting point for some of the walks. The plan was to do a short hike up Torc mountain to see how Paula, who had recently broken her collar bone, could handle it (she was one of the fastest walkers all week!). Torc is a wonderful introduction to the Kerry mountains in that it is very accessible from a carpark that goes past the impressive Torc waterfall. Torc mountain is not very high (535m), has a railway sleeper path to the top and yet for very little effort the summit rewards the hiker with some wonderful views. The Irish weather was on side. The rain stopped once we had donned our wet gear and the sun was actually shining when we got to the summit to reveal beautiful views of lakes and mountains. Later that afternoon we took in more wonderful views from Ladies View (so named because Queen Victoria was impressed by the scenery at this point) and Moll’s Gap where the weather had cleared to reveal a perfect view of the U-shaped Gap of Dunloe and the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks. Ladies View also proved popular with a group of swallows who had built several nests in the eves of the cafe and shop and seemed to be oblivious to the humans below as they went about their business.
Simon arrived by plane into Kerry airport that evening, and Paula and Simon had their first proper Guinness later on (yes, it does taste better in Ireland, something to do with how it is stored and the way that it is poured). Paula was able to compare the Guinness with the Murphy’s she had been introduced to on the ferry the previous night. The final two members of our group, Richard and Jan, arrived later that night.
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On Tuesday we had an early start as we set off for the Gap of Dunloe. The plan was to complete the Purple Mountain (832m) circuit, which is a long but not difficult walk which starts with a rough and arduous climb up through heather to the top of Tomies (568m). Unlike other countries, very few Irish mountains have proper paths. What paths there are are usually as a result of erosion by hikers or sheep rather than deliberate construction, and Tomies is a classic example of this. There is a path of sorts at the bottom which peters out at a large deer fence which cuts off the most obvious route up the mountain and forces the hiker to follow the fence for a few hundred metres before you come to a stile of sorts. Then it is a case of aiming for the top through the heather and it is every man for himself until you get to the top. Some hours later you arrive at the cairn that marks the top and then the path magically reappears and stays with you to the top of An Chathair (735m) until you get to the top of Purple Mountain. Although it is no secret that Ireland gets a lot of rain and Kerry is the wettest county in Ireland, Tuesday was the only day that we got proper rain. We got lots of mist and some drizzle but amazingly no rain for the rest of the week which counts as good weather in Kerry terms. This day our views were often obscured, although occasionally the scenery would be tantalisingly revealed only to be rapidly swallowed up by the mist again. This also made for some interesting navigation – Catherine was very grateful for her GPS on this day which proved very useful in the very thick mist and to Simon for his back-up navigation. The descent from Purple Mountain takes you to the Head of the Gap of Dunloe and then it is a walk along an old track through the valley back to the famous Kate Kearney’s cottage where a welcome fire and food awaited us.
On Wednesday, Richard and Jan decided that they wanted a day off and went to Kenmare for the day. Simon, Paula and Catherine decided to climb Mangerton (839m) following an old bridle path that dates from Victorian times and was used to take well-heeled tourists on horseback up to the Devil’s Punchbowl lake near the top of the mountain. The drive to the start point included a close encounter with 3 red deer (Ireland’s only native species of deer) and a very friendly and overweight dog called Ben. Catherine had optimistically hoped that this would be a gentle walk up a proper path but unfortunately the path has not been maintained and so resembles most other Irish mountain paths (see above) as in it looks like bog rather than a path a lot of the time and this one had a few very wet river and stream crossings thrown in for good measure. This day we encountered mist from about 300 feet and it just got thicker the higher we got. When we got to the rim of the Devil’s Punchbowl we could hear but could not see the lake. At this point Catherine and Paula decided that there was no point in trudging through the bog for another 300 feet to the summit for yet another view of the mist but Simon gamely went on and bagged the summit. That evening the group reconvened for some delicious food in the Stonechat restaurant.
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Thursday was the day of the big climb. The plan was to complete the Coomloughra Horseshoe which takes in the summits of the three highest mountains in Ireland – Carrauntoohil (1,039m), Beenkeragh (1,010m) and Caher (1,001m). Jan had enjoyed her previous day off so much she decided to take another day off and made it as far as Tescos. So Richard, Simon, Paula and Catherine headed down various winding roads (the kind that don’t appear on your average road map) to the start point at track that goes up to an hydro electric dam in the Coomloughra Valley. In many ways the track is the worst part of the climb. The road rises extremely steeply at the start and by the time you arrive at the dam you have gained about 300m in height. At the dam the horseshoe circuit is revealed in all of its glory. We decided to start with Caher which is an easier climb and also meant that anyone who did not want to cross the knife-edge Beenkeragh Ridge would still have the satisfaction of having summitted Carrauntoohil and Caher. It was another day of low cloud and so we summited Caher and Carrountoohil in the mist but still got to see the views lower down. The summit of Carrauntoohil is like the summits of many highest mountains, it is always surprisingly crowded. While we met relatively few people on Caher, there was a school trip from Rossbeigh and three chatty Corkmen on the summit of Carrauntoohil. Richard was roped in to act as official photographer for the school kids while we roped in one of the Corkmen to take our group photo beside the large cross on the summit. Nobody wanted to cross the Ridge in the mist and wind and so we retraced our steps back to Caher. That evening we had a farewell dinner for Richard and Jan in the Vanilla Pod. They left early the next morning to drive across Ireland and get the ferry from Larne to Scotland.
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Simon, Paula and Catherine decided to have a well-earned day off from hiking on the Friday and went on a boat trip to the Skelligs. The Skelligs are a group of islands about 8 miles off the Kerry coast. Little Skellig is home to a large gannet colony. Neighbouring Skellig Michael is a steep rocky island which contains the ruins of a 7th century monastery, which is situated almost at the summit of the 230m high rock. Skellig Michael became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, and is a spectacular and unique site. We took a boat from Portmagee. Because of the inaccessible location of the islands, the boats that go there are small fishing boats with few facilities and little shelter on board and in the rough seas the trip to the islands is not for the faint-hearted. We were lucky enough to end up on a boat which leaves last and transports the OPW rangers to and from the island. Arriving last initially did not sound great but it meant that before the return journey we got about half an hour on Skellig Michael when we were the only tourists left on the island. It also meant that we got a lot of information and some great stories from the rangers about the islands and their work there. However, when Catherine enquired about the possibility of spending the night on the island she was informed that it would cost at least EUR700 and there are some other conditions attached which made it an unattractive proposition! Our luck continued when we arrived at the islands. June is nesting season for the puffins but these birds normally spend the day at sea fishing and only return to their burrows in the late evening and so are not normally seen by the visitors to the island. However, because a storm was brewing the day we visited, all the puffins had decided to remain on the island and so we got to see hundreds and hundreds of them. They were literally everywhere. They are such comical looking birds and make a weird groaning sound almost as if they were suffering from severe indigestion. It was a fantastic sight. The island was covered in a profusion of wild flowers – mainly sea campion – the lushness caused by the fertilising properties of the bird’s guano. And if puffins and flowers were not enough, the monestery at the top of the island is very atmospheric. Visitors get to spend about 2-3 hours on the island and it is really not long enough – we were very reluctant to leave. The trip back was not without its moments – the storm which the puffins had predicted was on its way. The swell produced big waves that hit the side of the boat that Paula was sitting on, saturating Paula and then hitting Simon. Both of them arrived back in Portmagee soaked to the skin but even a soaking did not detract from our enjoyment of the trip.
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Catherine caught up with some relatives on the Saturday and Paula and Simon walked from the Killarney Demense to Ross Castle. Simon caught his flight from Kerry airport and Catherine and Paula had more fun on the ferry back to Swansea.
30 July- 1 August - Snowdonia
Present: Claire (organiser), Alan, Sarah, Bruce, Jo S, Simon H, Maggie, Paula, Pokey, Annie, Rhoda, Bob.
Hoping for fine midsummer weather in Snowdonia was a little too much to ask, and we arrived in a downpour at a very sodden Gwern Gof Uchaf campsite, spectacularly positioned beneath the craggy peak of Tryfan. We consoled ourselves with alcohol while awaiting the arrival of the stragglers who almost pitched up at the campsite down the road (Gwern Gof Isaf) – an easy mistake to make!
Saturday was grey and bleak, and the walkers set off along the Ogwen valley. The aim had been to walk the Carneddau range, but once at Ogwen, a change of plan took us up the opposite side of the valley to Llyn Bochlwyd, Bwlch Trayfan, Y Foel Goch (our high point at 805m) and along the ridge down to Capel Curig and the Pinnacle cafe – a respectable 11 miles. This kept us mostly out of the cloud with some good views, though we couldn’t avoid the occasional drenching. Despite the weather, the climbers managed to climb the East face of Tryfan, and returned just before dark. We managed to BBQ in the evening amidst various attempts to build shelters, though the climbers opted for fish & chips and the pub!
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On Sunday the weather was no better, but a group of walkers (Claire, Alan, Maggie, Paula, Simon & Jo) set off on another low level walk, from Capel Curig across rugged terrain to Creigiau Gleison (678m) and Llyn Cowlyd – a total of 10 miles. This turned out to be a great energetic romp with dramatic views looking back up the Ogwen valley to Tryfan beneath the storm clouds.
Although we cannot complain about the great walking – it would be nice just once in a few years to experience a dry summer weekend camping in Snowdonia!