Through the Menai Straits

Moel y Don (opposite the pub at Y Felinheli), with the tide and a light tailwind, past Plas Nywedd and through the bridges. An excellent day for a spot of sea kayaking with some students.

Stopped for a spot of lunch between the bridges before looking at the fish traps on the island and Swellie Rock.

The most exciting part of the day came at the end, when we did the shuttle to collect the trailer and minibus - on the back of John's motorbike! 

Staying in the Sun - Bike and Climb Combos in Ogwen

It's hard not to ride the eBike without a huge grin on your face. This morning, I effortlessly sped out from The Cottage and up into the Nant Ffrancon where I'd arranged to meet friends. It's the first time that I've 'ebiked and climbed' and it felt great. A steep walk uphill soon had us at the base of Atlantic Slabs. They are some of the biggest cliffs in Wales, but hardly anyone goes there.

There were plenty of crystals to be found as we climbed as a team of three, moving together as much as possible for speed.

The angle is very low, so the climbing itself is not difficult, but finding protection required some focus. 

Bathed in the morning sunshine, the views were tremendous.

This photo of John and Lucy helps to give a sense of scale as we neared the top of the main slab, having already climbed over a hundred meters up. 

By 13:00 I was cycling back home, where I met Clare for lunch. Afterwards, we returned to the mountains. This time to the opposite side of the valley, which was now receiving g the full attention of the sun. 

The rock was warm and the sky was blue - we were happy climbers!

There was hardly anyone around or any wind. It felt like we had the whole of Cwm Idwal to ourselves. While Clare was climbing, a plane flew overhead and left a perfectly straight vapour trail.

The top of the cliff was still in the sunshine as we topped out. Below in the shadows, the lake was mirror calm. We made it back down in time for dinner at Dave's before greeting Matt, who arrived later on from Cornwall - the first guest in the new Cottage Chalet... The days are just packed...

Atlantic Slabs 

- Central Route, Diff

Cwm Idwal

- Sub Cenefion Rib, V.Diff***

Milestone Buttress

While driving over to Dinorwic to meet a friend, I had to stop and pull over for a few minutes to appreciate the amazing sunset. I was gleaning some information about a forthcoming expedition to Morocco. My friend had just returned from leading his own trek, so it was good to have up to date information.

Next day (Thurs), I was at a meeting of the Heads of Outdoor Education Centres. It was a beautiful day and thankfully, we were able to hold most of the meeting outdoors in the sunshine! On the way home, I had planned to climb on Tryfan Bach, but it was already in the shade when I arrived. I was about to go anyway, when my mind was changed by a group of climbers who appeared, dressed in hats and down jackets, saying it was really cold up there. Further down the valley, the sun was still hitting Milestone, so I ran to the base of the climbs and climbed quickly on warm rock.

I reached the top just as the sun hit the skyline of Y Garn. I was a serenely peaceful moment and I felt lucky to have been able to grab it.

Tryfan - North Ridge Scrambling

A cold day, but the presence of some blue skies had drawn out the crowds to the Ogwen Valley. I took a group of students to climb Tryfan, but could find no free parking spaces in the entire valley! We were about to change our plans and find a less popular area, when some kind climbers who were about to leave, gave us their spot. From then on, we moved light and fast (to make up for lost time) up the North ridge - one of the classic scrambles in all of North Wales.

To be honest, it was a bit windy to be trying to stand on the Cannon Stone as we moved past, but I'm not normally one to pass up a challenge.

I've no idea how many times I've climbed this peak, but the nice thing is that every time, I seem to find another variation. There was big group on the final tower, who were taking ages to negotiate a steep part, so we took a sneaky variation and ended up in front.

On the top, we all made the leap between Adam and Eve, which everyone was pumped about before making our escape down the West Face, via a few geological stops...

Bouldering at Parisella's Cave

After a few false starts, my afternoon climbing session, eventually arrived at Parisella's Cave on the Great Orme above Llandudno (for future reference, you need to pash cash at the toll road booth and although the lads tried hard, they don't negotiate!). Anyway, some of the students I was coaching had seen some pictures and wanted to go and check things out for themselves. 

Yes, it really is as hard as it looks to climb! 

After straining hard on small holds that are polished smooth by years of use, we finished the day with the scenic cruise around Marine Drive, stopping every now and then to peer over the wall to watch the seals bobbing around.

The Bethesda Dragon

In the woods along the A5, as you drive into Bethesda, a sculptor recently carved a freshly fallen tree into a dragon. You can just about get a glimpse of it as you drive past, but this morning we decided to take a closer look. With rain forecast later in the morning, we jumped on our bike to quickly check it out while it was still dryish.

As well as now being home to a fine wooden dragon, the area has also had some woodland management and clearance. All sorts of trees and shrubs have been planted and gorse bushed cleared to reveal some colourful Rhododendrons, which seemed to be popular with the bees.

As the rain didn't seem to be arriving, we carried on down to the pier in Bangor. (do you recognize the bike Pat?)

From there we wove through the streets of Bangor and along by the Menai Straits, past an old stone circle before deciding to stop for lunch at a small cafe.

On the cycle back up to The Cottage (which is predominantly uphill), I found, which a bit of practice, that I was able to hold onto the back of Clare's eBike. It was impossible for me to keep up with the eBike's electric motor for any length of time, but I was able to get a tow every now and then! A very useful feature indeed.

We made it home in record time and just before the heavens opened. As the rain poured down, we settled in by the fireside for an evening of planning the logistics for our Easter explorations of eastern Europe...

Bristly Ridge & Glyder Fach

Today's objective was uncertain until I'd actually got a look at the mountains, as all the different weather forecasts were predicting slightly different conditions today! The west of the National Park was held under a big bank of clouds, but further east, there was blue sky and sunshine. We chose east. 

The boundary of the cloudy weather seemed to be on top of the Glyders, so my team of scramblers and I chose to climb Bristly Ridge. The scramble is a steep one and required a lot of strategic spotting as well as a high level of confidence in the group. I had my rope at the ready, but in the end, we summited without needing to use it.

At the top of the ridge we stood and admired the cloud inversions around us

Every now and then, a bank of cloud would blow through and visibility would be reduced to about 10 metres and the temperature would plummet. Then, as quickly as it came, the mist would clear. Magic moments.

The final pinnacles on the ridge were the most spectacular as the cloud swirled all around us.

We located the famous 'Cantilever' stone on the summit plateau for a team photo, before pressing on to Y Gribin Ridge.

It was a shame we couldn't stay up there longer as it was a totally spectacular view.

As the mist rolled past us, every now and then we'd see a broken spectre rainbow.

We practically ran down the ridge. I pushed the team quite hard, as it was looking like we'd be late back to base, but they took on the challenge well and we returned the minibus with three full minutes to spare! We even stopped to check out the newts and frogs sporn on the dash down, which is every where at the moment.  

It was a great day, topped off by a trip to the climbing wall with friends in the evening.

Coastal Path Navigation

Good to see a bit of sunshine today! Had a quick walk along the North Wales Coastal path with some students this afternoon, from Llanfairfechan to Penmeanmawr. 

The main aim was to teach some navigation skills in preparation for a forthcoming Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition, but there was a lot of geography chat along the way too.

Where the Conwy River reaches the sea, we could see a big brown alluvial fan, where sediment from the weekend's floods has washed out into the sea. It's not that clear in the photo, but was striking to see against the green-blue sea.

A Wet and Wild Weekend in Yorkshire

I've visited Yorkshire twice in the last two years, with the intention of completing some of the classic walks, but on both occasions, I've been shut down by the weather! We did get out and about, but got pretty wet in the process!

Access to the Broadrake Bunkhouse (which is a very nice place), involves crossing a dry river bed - as shown in the photo below. 

After a night of heavy rain, the dry river bed was not so dry any more!

We ventured out on foot a few times during the day, but were forced to admit that it was a tea drinking, board game playing kind of day that lay ahead for us on the Saturday.

At 17:00, the rain eased off, so we escaped up hill from the Bunkhouse, onto the long ridge that leads to Whernside - one of the Yorkshire '3 Peaks'.

Using the wall for shelter, we made it up and down, just before dark. Without the wall, I don't think I'd have been able to stand up against the howling gales!

By Sunday morning, the water levels had dropped and we were free to drive away. We chose to do a loop of the Ingleton Waterfalls as the water levels, would give some great sights.

Fresh snow had fallen on the higher peaks overnight and with the wind still blowing, everyone was glad to seek shelter in the gorges.

Above Thornton Force, the sun even came out for a few minutes!

We completed the circuit, by passing by Beezley Falls on the River Doe and finished by a quarry, where the rock climbing had had some additional holds added! 

Despite the weather, it was a great fun weekend... Hopefully, next time I'll take the sunshine....