Fort Martin Family Time

Having started the year off with only a handful of days at home, we saw January out with yet another trip away! This time down at Fort Martin for a belated birthday celebration as well as a bit of apple tree pruning thrown in for good measure! 

Clare met me there on Sunday evening and Michelle joined us too on Monday night for a birthday meal and some good laughs and chat. I even managed to squeeze in a couple of social visits to some of my oldest friends who leave nearby.

It was nice to have some clear skies and a fine sunset.

And before leaving on Tuesday, Mum and I had a lovely walk down to Grandad's tree, which is still looking as good as ever. 

Happily, I'm back at The Cottage now, having survived several near misses on the roads - a swerving car, and undertaking race move in the dark and a mobile home falling apart from a lorry at high speed on the M6 have all left me glad to be tucked up in the sanctuary of The Cottage!

Around Moel Siabod

 Got some different views today on a short hike around the base area of Moel Siabod. There's a nice big track that leads from Capel around the lower flanks to Dolwdellyn.

Having dropped a team of students at the far side, I drove around to Capel the walked up to meet them on the tops. There were some atmospheric views.

Happily, we all met up in the right place and enjoyed a good walk and natter on the way back to the minibus.

Which was parked up near the waterfalls on the Llugwy.

I'm staying overnight with the team at a very nice place, so as the sun set, we headed back to our fine accommodation for hot drinks and choccy biscuits, happy with our efforts.

Freezing on Filiast

A super day to be out in the mountains. Most of the snow has now melted away, but the air is still cold and the views good.

In the pools in the way up Carnedd y Filiast, there was still ice of varying thicknesses.

Some of my group did some 'experiential learning' in discovering how ice does not always hold the weight of a person and that wet socks soon mean cold feet.

Got some good views from the summit over towards Tryfan and the Carneddau range.

The wind chill was cold on the return journey, but the skies cleared up beautifully. 

By the Water

The extraordinary travel, socials, work and learning that this year has started off with all caught up with me a bit today! It was a warm and overcast day, but energy levels were critically low. Stayed close to The Cottage sorting out kit and admin and generally taking things easy and delighting in being home!

As way of exercise and a short change of scene, we took a stroll along the banks of the Menai Straits on Monday and again on Tuesday.

Despite my tired state, there was still enthusiasm for a round of hunt the pebble, in which I did quite well.

And some stone skimming of course as conditions were perfect for such an event!

All in all, it's been a few days of quiet 'slow-speed' re-charging along with some planning and preparation for future travels...

Broad Gully, Gd II - Cwm Lloer

There's not been many winters around here when I've not made an ascent or two of Broad Gully in Cwm Lloer. The winter conditions were beginning to thaw as we headed up with some keen students, but with several plans in mind, it looked like we might just be in luck.

Higher up in the cwm, before the climbing starts, the snowpack had and amazing topping of graupel and hail.

Which gave a certain amount of wading about in to get to the base of our climb.



Once in the gully, the snow was much firmer and gave quite good conditions and the sides were covered in ice, giving great winter ambience.



I had three students and an assistant with me, which made for a big team social ascent and a fair amount of rope management on my part! 



We made steady progress, pitching our way between the best of the rock anchors. Unsually, due to the incoming thaw, the higher we climbed, the warmer it got! There was just enough snow covering in the top section before we broke out onto the flatter ridge of Pen yr Ole Wen.

Both daylight and visibility were looking to be in short supply, so after gathering up the ropes and getting a few team shots, we set off down to the bus.

There had barely been a breath of wind all day and the lake was a mirror calm reflection.

We were late getting back, but all agreed that it had been worth it! I got home just before 7, and in a five minute turn around was showered, changed and back off out to dinner with Jane, Rene, Matt and Em!...

Climbing at The Boardroom

Had just enough time to get some much needed sleep in my own bed before getting back out into a new day - and a snowy one at that!

It was a beautiful day, but while Clare went off to enjoy the local snowy mountains, I took my rock climbing group on a day trip to Deeside to the excellent 'Boardroom' Climbing Wall. We had a really active day of bouldering, top roping and even a few goes on the auto-belays. There are two side by side at the far end of the wall which is great for coaching and climbing next to a student as you can literally talk through each move if needed.

Conferencing in Kilve

The last few days have flown by in a blur or training, conferencing, meetings and discussions about all things educational in the outdoors at the national ‘Heads of Outdoor Education Centres’ Conference.

Typically, it’s been glorious while I’ve been stuck inside! In an afternoon break between talks, I did jump in the car with a few colleagues and zip down to see the famous Kilve Coast as it was only 5mins away. Well worth it and very refreshing, if only for a short while.





Made it back in time to grab a cuppa too, before the next session!



Was super to catch up with old friends, meet some new ones, make connections and discuss common issues. I was told by Mike, the Head of Longtown Outdoor Education Centre that my photo was still up in the corridor. Delighted to remain a piece of centre history- I last worked there in 1998! Ha ha!



Picked up Clare, had lunch with Neil and then headed north. Took an extra hour and a half to drive north than it did south! Arrived home to find snow on the ground! 



Totally exhausted and disoriented, we managed to get the fire lit, eat some food before crawling into bed. Shattered….

Porridge & Pasties - A dash to Kernow

It was a long way to go for breakfast, but an early start from a dark and frosty Somerset, saw me down at the beach in Millendreath in time for a porridge session with Wally.

Further down the country, Cornwall was waking up to a good covering of snow, but I was lucky with the traffic and weather and made it down without incident. The early alarm and two hour drive was well justified and we had some good chats, belly laughs and a walk on the beach with a neighbour, before heading up to Looe to see Jenny.





The water looked pretty inviting, but (thankfully!) there was no time for swimming! And there was snow inland after all!



Got a brew, a proper good hug and an overdue catch up with Jenny with just enough time to grab a pasty for the road, then it was back in the car to Illminster, to meet Clare and Pat at the Arts Centre. A whirlwind of a day!



My favourite exhibit was this one - the flowers/leaves/stalks etc are made entirely of OS Maps! Zoom in for incredible detail! 

South to Somerset

After a full seven days back at The Cottage, we’re back on the road again! After a weekend of teaching climbing indoors, Clare and I drove south through the dark on Sunday night and woke to a beautiful day in Ilton.

Having got the drive over the night before, we enjoyed a day catching up with Pat and enjoying the local scenes. It’s a village with all you could need. Standing outside the pub and cricket field, all other needs are covered nearby.



The air was cool and clear and the blue sky felt great. Here’s some little things I saw…





Particularly enjoyed this gateway…



All was quiet as we strolled the lanes.





Got involved with a good domino type game called ‘Qwerkle’. Good times and good company…