Blog: A Scottish wander... Dun da Ghaoithe

(I wrote this while up in Scotland but couldn't get the photos from my phone to my ipad, I'm now back home so I've put it all together. I apologise for the photo quality, they're all from my Galaxy S4. I hope you enjoy the blog post! -Paul)

I'm currently on a visit to Oban, seeing my sister and some of the beautiful Scottish countryside. I've been yearning to be back in Scotland after a visit last year and this trip couldn't have come at better time. There's been perfect blue skies, stunning sunsets and plenty of coffee - what more could a hillwalker want?! Cake... Oh yeah!

We were lucky enough to have a good forecast and one of Jenny's days off coincide, a quick check of the CalMac ferry timetable and we were good to go! 

We grabbed the 8.00am crossing from Oban to Craignure for a very reasonable £7.85 each (return), at this time of year the sun rises at about 8.20 so we were able to catch the sunrise from the ferry. Cool Autumnal air, crisp sea air and the sun just sneaking past the clouds on the horizon... A perfect start to a day on the hill?

The sunrise from the back of the ferry to Craignure, Mull.

We reached Craignure at 8.50, after a quick double check of food, water and sensible clothing we were ready to head off, turning left out of the port we had 2km of road to quick march before we started to ascend a gravel track which leads to 2 rather large and scary masts before branching to the right and reaching the last mast and the end of the track. After a few miles of gravel track and a climb to 540m from 0 we were ready for the proper walking to begin.

One of my favourites. Sun battles cloud!

A spooky mast appears in the fog.

We'd been surrounded by cloud all the way up and were beginning to wonder why we were continuing to climb with no sign of it relenting. We had a quick banana break and decided we should continue up as the forecast had predicted sun from 10am till 1pm, us Rickards ain't quitters either!

After a steep climb from the end of the track to a pile of rocks at 556m we were met with one of the most breathtaking views I've had from hillwalking, the cloud disappeared, blue skies appeared and we could see snow topped mountains, cloud inversions and the sea everywhere... Sometimes it's worth it to keep plodding through the cloud! 

From this position we had our first real view of the walk and the ridge, stretching out in to the distance with wisps of cloud and blue skies there was a stunning view of ascent, fake summit (754m, with a trig point and rather large cairn) and the real summit at 766m. The second highest point on Mull, the only Corbett and some of the best views around due to its prominence and location on the island.

The views above the cloud well worth the trek through it, snow topped mountains in the distance.

Although we were the only souls around, the popularity of this walk and mountain in the summer have caused erosion and a path has formed from the last mast up to the summit itself, while this increases the accessibility and allows more people to experience the beautiful views and the joy of walking it also tarnishes the hillside, we decided to follow the path loosely and wander through the taller grasses and boggy bits. 

The view from the fake summit, marked by a trig point.

A short flat section leads to a steep climb up to the fake summit, from here there are some great views over Mull, up to Ben Nevis and towards the other islands, plus the ridge itself. There's a drop of about 70m from the fake summit before climbing up to the real one, from here there's stunning views over Western Scotland and islands, with some beautiful snowy mountains in the distance! We found shelter behind the cairn on top and had a quick lunch before heading back the way we came, the wind had picked up dramatically with the temperature dropping suddenly, a quick shower of wet snow meant we made a quick descent with the view of Oban keeping us motivated before dropping back into cloud and back on to the gravel track (knees didn't approve).

The descent was far quicker than the ascent and we were back on the road in no time, 2km back to Craignure and we were just in time for the 3pm ferry back to Oban and the pub! 

Selfie at the top with the Ben in the background (promise he's there)

A few key stats...

Start point: Craignure ferry port
Total route length: 9 miles, 15km
Route style: There and back
Total ascent: 843m
Highest point: Dun da Ghaoithe, 766m
Total time: 5-6 hours

The sunset caused a lovely glow, seen here on the ferry back, a truly stunning day in the mountains.

Blog: Winter Hillwalking - Tips & Tricks

It's that time of year again... The clocks are going back, there's definitely a winter chill in the air and days are deceptively short. Here's a list of tips & tricks which can help keep you safe over the winter period when out and about in the British hills.

1. Steal ideas from far more experienced people. Whether you're out walking, on Twitter or in Cotswold Outdoor there are people with years and years of experience ready to offer it. Always keep an ear out for handy ideas so you can develop your own tips & tricks for the British winter, this is an ongoing one, you can always learn from others and you should always keep an open mind when it comes to keeping safe - what might sound silly in theory may save your life one day. All the things on this list have been picked up off people who were on the hills before I had my first pair of boots.

2. Pack spares. Spares of everything: socks, batteries, hats, gloves, maps, torches, fleeces. It may add to your pack weight but what's more important - staying alive or going UL? You never know when a torch will decide to stop working, when a stray puddle will get your socks wet or when a sudden bit of rain will get your only hat wet. These things sound minor but major problems happen when loads of little things go wrong. Pack spares!

3. Survival bags. Clue's in the name, they help you survive! These are normally bright orange or silver, orange bags are a thick plastic material which will keep rain and wind off, silver bags are more for thermal insulation and are very lightweight. I always carry an orange bag with me even in summer conditions - you never know when something could go wrong!

4. A flask of something hot & tasty. I go for coffee but put in whatever you like, make sure it's something you like when out in the hills - part of hypothermia is an unwillingness to admit something's wrong so you need a good excuse to fill up with hot fluids. Even if you've got a fire going you still need to heat up your core, notice how as soon as you leave the fire you cool down? That's because your skin has been cooked but your core has been cooling.

5. Good waterproofs. Getting wet will dramatically cool you down, there's one way of stopping the rain and that's a solid set of waterproofs (jacket with hood, trousers, gaiters and waterproof boots). Find a set which works for you, there's more choice than ever before with different fabrics and cuts in all prices and styles. No excuse for leaving the house without them.

6. Know how to read a map. This one gets me every time I'm out and about, people who wander around Dartmoor with a GPS... 90% of the time it'll work but what do you when it fails? Always carry a map and compass in your pack, and know how to use it. Spend a few quid on a day out with an MIA so you have the skills to get off the hill and to safety. 

These are just a few ideas, remember rule no. 1 - keep your ear out! I'll be doing the same and adding to this list over the winter and years to come.

Blog: WGL Training

This is a short write up of a WGL Training course I recently attended (today, dedication!). I will try not to drag it out too much! Enjoy...

Our group going from Ryder's Hill to Snowdon (big walk! ;))

Walking Group Leader Training with Andy Holborn (provider) and Louise Ansell (Vixon Climbing, MIA)

Day 1,

Arriving just past 9.30 at Princetown car park I was met with a large group of adults all throwing on jackets and gaiters and I immediately knew I'd got the right car park. I quickly got all my gear on and joined the group by Andy's car. There was a total of 12 participants on the course and the 2 instructors, too big a group to set out as one so we split up and each went off with a different MIA. We were partnered with Louise, after quick introductions and last minute gear checks we were off! 

Nothing too difficult to begin with but it still caught a few of us off guard, after heading south of Princetown on the main track we stopped and went through the task of finding ourselves on the map. Myself and my partner both thought we were further along but we were quickly schooled by the rest of the group - good start! Eager to make up for it I was looking forward to getting in to pacing and timings, luckily for me they were next! As soon as we hit the Moor we worked out everyone's 100m pacing (64, if you're wondering...), a few of the group hadn't done this before so it was nice to get some peer learning in and to share techniques with each other early in the day. I find it takes something like this on most courses to get everyone in the same boat so to speak, it eases everyone's nerves and allows questions to be asked and answered. 

We reached South Hessary Tor in no time and had a quick coffee and chatted weather/weather predictions for the day, the rain and wind had picked up with it forecast to get worse over the day. After talking micro and macro navigation, putting away flasks and talking rocks we were ready for Louise's first real challenge of the day... We were split up into pairs and told to reach tiny contour features (Our's was SX 592 719, middle point of the "W"). We quickly did our bearings, worked out timings, looked at the collecting features and also had a look at the map to see what the ground should be like. We headed off on a very different line to the other 2 teams, not to worry, we had our bearing and were sticking to it. After avoiding a bog, going up a little bit and finding a middle something we decided we'd hit it. The other teams were a little bit further off but Louise seemed happy with how close we'd got to the contour feature so all was good! After this we headed south to the 445 Trig Point where we set another task. Once again, we were split into pairs but this time only 1 person from each team was told the location they should end up... My partner went a little bit too left so we missed our target but he knew where'd he gone wrong so a good learning point came from it. A quick lunch break in the old tin mine was a good time to chat away and get to know each other, after the rock talks earlier it was time to talk plants... Star moss, Reindeer Moss and Tormentil were all mentioned with the mosses both being present in the mine. 

The next task is something they do on assessments, one person leads the group to a location on their own. The group then have to relocate and explain the route. To ease us into it, Louise took us on a short walk out of the mines towards the Devonport Leet and Crazy Well Pool. I didn't manage to immediately see the route we'd followed but after a quick chat with the rest of the group I quickly worked out the way we'd come and where we were. More micro-navigation came next with the group heading towards the contour feature at 583 708, then on to the settlement at 577 714. We did this with ease which was reassuring! After another quick coffee break we were off to the Stone Rows just north of the settlement, then on to Hart Tor, north-east from the Stone Rows and then straight back to Princetown to meet with the other group at the cafe. We spent quite a while talking about the history behind stone rows (longer the row, more important the person buried at the end of it) and taking photos so after hitting Hart Tor we got a move on and averaged about 5km/h back to Princetown. 

After a coffee and debrief, we were told to meet at Combestone Tor for 9am... 

Day 2,

Arriving early at Combestone Tor I was met with a beautiful view across Dartmoor. Our group was with Andy on day 2, as a lot of the group hadn't worked with him before another round of introductions were due. The forecast had been for poor visibility all day with it worst in the afternoon, rain and sleet with moderate winds. Everyone got all their layers on but the weather never came! After 15 minutes we were all overheating, the sun was shining and the wind was barely noticeable. 

Similar to the day before we kicked off with a simple track on to Dartmoor - I'd cheated by doing night navigation here the week before so was aware the simple track isn't actually marked on the map but a footpath to the left is. After showing off and letting everyone know about it we did some relocation stuff by following Andy through a homestead, through the rocky ground south-east of Horse Ford, contouring round an old leet then on to Hooten Wheals (an old, large mine). We then followed the main track north of the mine to an old building, we discovered some large pieces of concrete which had been used as targets some time before! Probably by the American or Canadian troops of practiced on Dartmoor around WW2. After this we did some mock assessment tasks by telling one person to lead and the rest to relocate. I volunteered to go first and I was given the "cairn circle and kist" south of Skir Hill, after doing my bearing and looking at the hill where it should be I made the mistake of assuming it would be a circle of large cairns... After getting to where it should have been in my head none of us could find it or even see it for that matter. I asked the group to split up like a search party and continue up the hill until it was found. In the end it took a GPS and Andy to find it - turned up it was a few rocks around a smelly hole full of water! Next we headed up to the north end of Skir Gut, up to the BS 550m's north of Ryder's Hill, round to Snowdon, east to the homestead by the wall, along the river Mardle then north to the tin workings and mine. This allowed everyone to have a go at leading while the rest of us relocated and kept an eye on their bearings, this was a really useful learning method as Andy was just there to give people targets - I don't think he had his own map out all day! While at the mine we talked about emergency procedures and first aid bits. Our next task was to jump in the group shelter and wait for it to get dark... Andy headed off to the car and we ate sandwiches and chatted about kayaking. We were told to leave at 6 even it was still light, we then had to navigate to 2 points in the dark and get back to the cars. We found our first target straight away (it was visible from the mine still) then aimed off and headed for the Stone Rows (675 710) so we could turn left and reach the breaks in the wall before heading back to the car. All of this went smoothly and we were soon reunited with Andy at the car park.

Day 2 was a much bigger day, 9 hours of practical navigation compared to the 6 on day 1. We were all knackered and ready to head home to get some well earned rest. 

Andy was happy with our navigation for the day and told us to meet him at Princetown Community Centre for 9am with logbooks!

Day 3,

Today was the theory side of things, so to speak. We chatted about the Award, what was happening to it (changing to Hill & Moorland Leader), had a Q&A session then spoke about experience and assessment bits. We were told to go and visit the Dartmoor Visitor Centre (located by the main car park), we all headed round there after some tasty lunch in Fox Tor cafe but unfortunately the main exhibition area was closed for renovation (reopens late March). After this we headed back to the Community Centre to cover camp craft and tents. 

We had a group discussion with Louise about this then split up into groups to cover different parts of camping and tents. Our team was given the tent section, tips for putting them up and general knowledge about makes/performance/reliability. We got 2 tents up to help us show the other groups what were talking about, had a quick discussion about our tips then we headed back to see the other teams and hear there sections.

This was a great tool for sharing information - there was so much experience in the room and it gave everyone a chance to get it on the table. There was some lesser experienced people who I know loved the opportunity to lap up all the knowledge. 

And that's it! A quick debrief from Louise and WGL Training was done. Quite a few of the participants were keen, myself included, to get on and book Assessment straight away while others were aware they needed some more logbook experience. It was a great course, no question felt too silly, it flowed well with the right amount of breaks and stops and the MIA's were both great but in different ways. Their each style complemented the others though which is great on a course like this. 

Quick comment on each MIA;-

Louise Ansell - I hadn't met Louise before but I was quickly impressed. Great knowledge of Dartmoor and the history of the area. Great map reading and great teaching, our whole group was very impressed and I recommend you book on one of her courses. Very professional coaching and kept the group moving, she kept challenging us but also joined in with the jokes and laughs. Louise operates as Vixon Climbing, based in Ashburton.

Andy Holborn - I did my CWA with Andy so I've known him for a while now. He's a great instructor and an absolute fountain of knowledge with years of experience behind him, I thoroughly enjoyed my CWA with him so he was my first choice for WGL. I recommend him too! Andy operates as Andy, based in Ivybridge. 

Few pictures;-

 The group on top of Ryder's Hill

 Looking out from around 500m up

 Towards Snowdon

 Vennford Reservoir

 And again

 And again

 And again!

Looking out across the Moor at sunset.

- Thanks for reading, apologies for any mistakes, I wanted to get this written while it was fresh in my mind! -

Blog: Storms hitting the South West!

Few snaps of the weather/waves hitting the UK at the mo, all of these shot in Teignmouth, Devon. Feel free to use and share! Credit is always nice though.

Enjoy -