Tal y Fan (610m)

At only 610m high, the mountain of Tal y Fan lays claim to being one of the smallest mountains in Wales. It's height might be modest, but the views from the summit are far-reaching.

From the ridge that runs up to the high point, you get great views over to Anglesey, the North Wales coastline and the Great Orme.

Due to it's northerly, almost coastal, position it also means that it often avoids the worst of the weather, when the higher peaks are in the cloud. We got hit by a few showers, in-between some bright spells as we made our ascent from the south side. The main thing today was the wind. I took some wind speed recordings during the day and it was blowing a steady 30mph all day. It might not sound like much, but it was hard work walking against it and with the wind coming from the north, the wind chill was very noticeable. In fact, it was the first time that I'd had to wear gloves since last winter!

The photos look all calm and serene, but it was a hood up and wooly hat kind of day as we hiked along the tops.

It was also the first hill day for my new Lowe Alpine rucksack, which is made of a very durable material, which kept the rain out well. Very happy with that.