A blog without a hill

Just a quick blog to say that I'm still around and hoping to get out on those hills again real soon! I was planning on getting up Mam Tor on the Tuesday before Christmas, but decided against trying to drive through all the snow to get there!

My New Year's resolution is to get back out onto the hills! I hope to be posting before too long!

Climbing Thorpe Cloud with Dan

Made it to the Peak District for my 6th hill. We met our friend Dan, so there were 4 of us today, myself, Rachael, Bethan and Dan. Oh, and Monty! When I had first told Dan about my plans to climb 40 hills she had been a little unsure. She had asked my brother to recommend a 'gentle' hill, and he suggested Thorpe Cloud. Apparantly he described it as an easy hill with a good tea shop at the end! Half way up the steep slopes of the hill, Dan was mentally preparing an abusive text to him...!

Thorpe Cloud sits at the entrance to Dovedale. As you walk up alongside the river approaching the stepping stones, it rises steeply above you to your right. When we arrived today we had to use the uneven ground of the right (South/East) bank of the river to access Dovedale because the river was high, and flooding over the stepping stones. You could actually manage to get across if you wore decent walking boots or wellies, but even then you risked getting your feet wet! At the stepping stones you leave the river and climb straight up the hill. You quickly gain height, and think you have done well until the ground levels off a bit and you see the rest of the slope before you. The first picture here is from that point with Bethan leading the way, as usual! It's a sharp pull up to the top, but doesn't take too long. Thorpe Cloud isn't all that high (287m) but does rise dramatically up from river level, and you certainly feel you've climbed a decent hill and worked hard for the views. Talking of which, you do get a good vista at the top, looking South the land looks flat and full of fields, while North looks straight up into Dovedale valley, which is beautiful.

We ate our lunch at the summit, quite quickly because we soon got cold It was a good walking day and we avoided any showers, but it was chilly in the wind, especially when the sun went in. We weren't really complaining though, any hill walk in November where you get some sun and no rain has got to be a bonus! Getting down was interesting. Rach is in dire need of some decent walking boots, and her walking shoes today were not really up to the task in hand. Somehow she managed to remain upright, but only just! All I could hear from behind me as I was pulled down the hill by Monty was Rach slipping and sliding down. We made our way back to the stepping stones that cross the River Dove, and Bethan and I walked across as far as we could. I managed to get all the way across, but I'm sure Bethan's boots would have been full of water if she'd tried. We managed a short walk up the valley alongside the river before the thought of finding that tea shop drove us back to the car.

Ilam Hall has a National trust shop and tea-room. After the chill wind it was great to get warm indoors. Tea and cake were very much in order, and we enjoyed a leisurly hour or so there. The Hall is in a great spot, with views over it's church to the entrance to Dovedale and Thorpe Cloud. The village of Ilam is also very picturesque, with dainty cottages lining the street. All in all, it was a great day out. We all felt invigorated by being out and about, and I'm looking forward to hill number 7!

Up The Wrekin

Hill five done today! Nigel drove us down to Shropshire to climb The Wrekin. This is a great hill that rises above the Shropshire plains giving great views all around. It's 407m high, and involves a short, sharp climb up to the top. It's another ancient hill fort, just like Bickerton and Caer Caradoc. You can still make out some of the earthworks. Legend has it that The Wrekin was formed when a giant was walking to Shrewsbury with a huge shovel full of earth to destroy the town. He met a cobbler with a sack full of shoes needing repair, and asked him for directions, telling him that he was going to damn the River Severn in order to flood the town. The cobbler replied that Shrewsbury was a long way off, showing him all the shoes he had worn out walking from there. The giant gave up his quest on hearing this and dumped his shovel of earth down, forming the Wrekin...

We didn't see any giants today.

The weather was perfect. Morning showers cleared for us to walk up in the sunshine. It was a bit hazy for really good views, but you could see down to Caer Caradoc and the Long Mynd as well as East to Brown Clee Hill (on the list for anther day!). We enjoyed the walk as did our 2 dogs.

We had a quick driving tour arund Wenlock Edge to Cardington for lunch at The Royal Oak washed down by a pint of Shropshire Lass.

Another great day, good weather, a good hill and good company!

Walking with Aunt Jean up Uncle Stan's hill

I know I said that I was going to walk up Box Hill in Surrey, but Crooksbury Hill was where we went on Wednesday this week. We climbed this hill in memory of my wife's Uncle Stan. This was his favourite hill, and there is a bench on the top dedicated to him. We spent a few days with her Aunt Jean, and had always wanted to climb 'Uncle Stan's Hill' with her. She was only too pleased to take us there.

Crooksbury Hill is another small hill, easy to walk up, but with a great view from the top. Leafy Surrey seems to be laid out before you. We sat on Stan's bench and ate our packed lunch, willing the sun to come out for an even better view! The leaves are all turning, and the trees all yellows and golds at the moment. A great time of year to be out walking. There were four of us for this walk. Myself, Rachael, Bethan and Jean. The dog had been left behind when we came down to visit Jean. After a walk around, we managed a quick drink in the local pub, then went for another walk on Puttenham Common. It was a lovely walk, again with some great views, and trees to climb for Bethan.

The weather has been amazingly mild for the end of October, and being outside to enjoy it during half-term a huge bonus. I've managed 4 hills so far, so I guess I'm on track for the 40, although need to pull my finger out between now and Christmas! I'm still looking for ideas (and friends) for hills, so let me know your thoughts!

3 down, 37 to go!

Caer Caradoc is a geat hill to climb. You can find it just North-East of Church Stretton, and on the oppsite side of the valley to the Long Mynd. As you approach down the A49 it rises up sharply out of the flat plains around. It is a proper hill, with steep sides that make you wonder how you are going to get up.

Bethan, Monty and I met my parents, Carole and Graham, and my brother, Simon, to climb it today. The weather was perfect, overcast for the ascent, followed by sunshine and blue skies coming down. We managed to leave the car near Comley, and walked straight up via Little Caradoc. The picture above is from the top of Little Caradoc (327m), looking towards Caer Caradoc (459m) itself. It was steep walking at times, but not for too long.

The views from the top are great. As you ascend, you get an increasingly impressive view of The Lawley, behind you with The Wrekin beyond, and a great view of the plateau of The Long Mynd over to you right. My dad had fun with Monty. Managed to get almost pulled over a couple of times, and finally accepted that the dog was stronger than he was!

We were expecting strong winds on the top, and it was a little breezy, but not too bad. We easily managed to find a sheltered spot for our lunch. A leisurely stroll down was then in order, heading first South, then curving around East then North around the bottom of the hill. The mid afternoon sun was warm on our backs as we headed back to the car for tea and cake.

My mum is going to arrange to climb another hill with me sometime, and wondered about doing Kinder Scout. I've climbed it once before, with Simon, and remember it being quite a hill. Should be good. Simon is still giving me list of hills he would like to climb, mostly in Scotland, and mostly very high...

The second hill, and musings about where to go next

So, you may not think that Bickerton Hill is very high (200m), but I never specified how tall a hill has to be in order to qualify for this challenge! We like Bickerton. It is one of our nearest hills, and a great spot to walk Monty. When my daughter, Bethan, first heard that I was going to be walking 40 hills, she immediately said that she wanted to walk this one. So, that's what we did this afternoon, along with my wife Rachael, and our friend, Ken. Rach and Ken are also signing up to do hills of their own with me, so watch out for them in future posts! The weather was good, not sunny, but mild and with good views.

The highest point of Bickerton Hill is Maiden Castle, an iron-age hill fort set on a sandstone ridge that forms part of the Sandstone trail. This is a long distance walk covering 34 miles from Whitchurch in the south, to Frodsham in the North near the Mersey Estuary. You can see a long way over the Cheshire plains to the Welsh hills in the distance. The views today were much better than the ones I got (or should I say didn't get) in the Berwyns last week.

We really enjoyed our walk today, and spent some of the time planning where to go next. I think a trip to Scotland is going to be planned for Spring next year, and also a trip to the Lake District, but I need to get a few more hills done before Christmas to stay on track!

I have a week off son, and hope to do 2 or 3 then. We are down in Surrey visiting relatives for a couple of days, and plan to walk Box Hill in the North Downs. I would also like to get out more in Cheshire, as there are quite a few hills around that I've never been to - Cats Tor, Shining Tor, The Cloud and Tegg's Nose to name a few.

I'm on the look out for ideas for hills to climb, especially ones around Cheshire, so let me know if you think you know of one that I should do!

My first hill

OK, so 1 hill down already. My mate Jamie met me just west of Oswestry last Tuesday 6th October. We walked the Berwyn hills from Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog taking in Cadair Bronwen, Cadair Berwyn (840m) and Moel Sych to finish at the waterfall at Pistyll Rhaedr. The waterfall is worth a trip even if you don't fancy the walk. It rained. A lot! Neither of us ended up with a single dry item of clothing, and Monty (our black lab) was drenched. We only went wrong once however, and throughly enjoyed our tea and cake at the tea shop at the end. We think we did about 12 miles and a fair amount of climbing. It was not really a day for photos, with views essentially limited to the inside of a cloud. Despite the rain it was great to be out, and we enjoyed each others company.

Good to have got the first hill under the belt!

What my 40 hills is all about

I turned 39 in September. Don't feel any different yet, but people keep reminding me that next year I'll be 40. It seems appropriate to mark the occasion in some way, so...I'm going to climb 40 hills in my 40th year. Which means I have to start now. To make things a little more challenging I've decided I'd like to climb the 40 hills with 40 different people. My wife thinks I am going to run out of friends before I've managed it, but I have faith that it'll be ok!

This blog is to keep you up to date with the hills I've climbed, and the ones I'd like to do next. I've already got some people lined up to do certain hills. Ken wants to do Ben Nevis, my brother-in-law wants to do Scafell Pike, so I thought I'd persuade my wife that she really wants to climb Snowdon. That way, I'll manage the 3 highest hills in England, Scotland and Wales.

So far I've done 1 hill, so 39 to go!