Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Trail

Do you remember your first time on a proper mountain? Of course you do; most of us hold that memory pretty close, whether it involved clambering over a mossy hummock or a high and rocky adventure. Passing that experience down to your kids and introducing them to the wonder of the mountains can be just as special – if not more so. Do it right (turn to page 68 to see how) and they’ll be scampering excitedly up hill and down dale, examining wee beasties, racing to be king of the castle and generally enjoying the excitement of it all, before finally falling into a deep and satisfying slumber at the end of the day. A blissful experience for everyone involved.…

“It was a road that ran high over mountains to avoid potential ambush in the valleys below” 1 NORTH OF THE EMPIRE What have the Romans ever done for us? Well, quite a lot as it happens. I’m not going to list it all here; watch Monty Python’s Life of Brian if you’re really keen to find out. But in England’s rugged North-West, much of what they did centred on keeping the locals and the face-painted barbarians from the wildernesses north of ‘the wall’ under control. They built forts and constructed roads so the garrisons of legionaries could get about. Back in the day (and I don’t mean when vinyl was king; I’m talking 1st century here), Penrith was a key hub of Roman activity – something to remember next…

On one side: mountains. On the other, rolling hills and deep blue water. Ben Lomond sits right between them, perched betwixt the Lowlands and the Highlands. Find a topographical map of the UK, take a good look at Scotland and, after first clocking the mighty cleft of the Great Glen in the north, you’ll probably notice something about the land between Arran in the south-west and Stonehaven on the north-east coast. It’s marked by an unusual crease: you could streak a pen across the map here without having to wiggle it once. Above that line are red mountains, below it, rough green countryside. This is the Highland Boundary Fault, formed roughly 400-520 million years ago. It divides the smaller hills, larger towns and neatly managed farmland of the Lowlands from…

For many kids the idea of just ‘going for a walk’ is boring. What they want is to have fun. Some love puzzles, others have a really active imagination and some are quite competitive. The trick is to tailor the day so that it works for the child(ren) you’re with. Go on a treasure hunt, have a picnic on the cliff tops while looking for pirates/dolphins or act out their favourite film – all are infinitely more exciting than simply walking up a hill for the sake of it. When things get tough, some very unscientific research has shown that children respond really well to bribery, especially in the form of sweet treats, so be prepared to reward their hard work every 100m or so! Young people who have spent…

The Web has transformed how we buy stuff. One brand that has come to the fore in the internet age is Nottingham-based Alpkit, who set out to design, make and source great outdoor products, then sell direct to the customer. Alpkit’s approach has reduced the price of its gear; but the company also directs its attention to key items that fill a niche in the market. The result is an ever-changing range of products that are available for short periods then either continue to be available or are dropped, depending on sales. This means users need to buy promptly while products are in stock to avoid disappointment. But if you get in early you can expect low price tags and, most importantly, great design. Alpkit’s latest tent is the 2016…

Our Submarines business is home to the design, build, test and commissioning of the Astute class submarines. We are also designing a new generation of submarines to replace the Vanguard class – the nation’s nuclear deterrent. When it comes to ensuring the supply of goods and services to the boat build programmes, it is our Supply Chain function that provides this vital support. This encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in material availability, sourcing, contracting and procurement, as well as all logistics and transport activities. Due to recent growth, we’re looking for a number of experienced Supply Chain Specialists, from Buyers to Supply Chain Managers, to join us at our Barrow-in-Furness shipyard. We provide training and development and have a clear career structure to support our employees…

The Scafell massif is a Mecca for fellwalkers, and the crowds often seen at the summit of Scafell Pike reflect the fact that this is the highest point in England. Away from the main paths, there is a fabulous and little-used way to reach Great End, which lies at the end of this group of fells. Here I offer two ways of ascent, neither of which is for novices: via Skew Gill (only for the very experienced scrambler) and via The Band (only for the experienced walker). From Wasdale, this walk is almost immediately off the beaten track and the path climbing the fellside is wonderfully graded. It’s a real joy to walk, and much better than modern attempts at path making. There is a decision to be reached at…

It’s a classic view: the sheer northwestern face of Craig-las towering beyond the waters of Llynnau Cregennen. But how many people actually walk those crags? Very few, judging by the quietness of this westernmost end of the Cadair Idris massif. For those who like their hills uncluttered by crowds, this is the place to be on a summer’s weekend when everyone else is out to bag the summit, Penygadair. So let’s start by enjoying that view and then, literally, walking it – the whole length of the Craig-las escarpment and on to the western outlier, Craig-y-llyn. At first the route skirts the shoreline of the larger lake at Cregennen, running below the mini-peak of Bryn Brith. Field paths and a minor road bring you views of the summit ridge as…

Jolly boating weather is any weather there is. Dim grey slopes rising into black mist, and white breakers hissing by: this is fun on the voyage, and also for the shoreline path, which is the first walk here. On a better day, the ferry sets you up for Striding Edge and a long, long day along the Dodds. Then again, the mid-level path can be the top form of fun: take in the knobby summits of Sheffield Pike and Gowbarrow, and teeter around the steep head of Glencoynedale. What unites all three routes is Ullswater: seven and a half miles of wiggly water, and green woodlands, and high stony slopes – seen from alongside, from above, and also from aboard Lady Dorothy. TRANSPORT Ullswater Steamers Pooley Bridge to Howtown and…

1 NY387169 From the river bridge in Glenridding, pass through the main car park to its top, and exit past the health centre to a lane. Follow it up, past the Traveller’s Rest pub, until just before it bends right, uphill. Here keep ahead on a rough lane, which runs level then drops to cross Rattlebeck Bridge. 2 NY379168 A path runs to the right of the track, then up a field. At a plantation corner, it turns up right to a gate. Through this turn left, as the built path crosses Mires Beck and runs up to the left of it, then with a wall on its left. As the slope steepens, fork right. The main path slants up across a steep slope, before turning up to the plateau…

1 NN762200 From the car park turn along the lane towards Comrie for 1.2km, first beside Water of Ruchill then across fields. At a right bend, turn sharp left along a gravel driveway, signed as a footpath to Aberuchill. 2 NN748210 Before the grand house turn left on a track through a white gate. It runs uphill across a field, then up again through woods and past Tomanour onto open hill. Here a track turns off right. Follow this north below a deer-fenced enclosure, then more steeply uphill through heather to left of the stream Allt an Tamhaisg. 3 NN729211 At the 300m level the track turns away left towards an old quarry. Here keep ahead though grass, heather and bog, to cross the stream on the right below birch…

Earlier this year a flock of 10 sheepedup Renault Twizy electric quadricycles arrived in the Lake District to offer ecofriendly transport to visitors. Available for hire (see ‘Find a Twizy’), each has a different name and sheepish facial expression. During a recent stay at the Blencathra FSC Centre in Threlkeld, Trail got behind the wheel of ‘Pip’ for a quick Tour de Derwent Water: from Threlkeld to Castlerigg Stone Circle, on to Keswick town centre, down to Grange in Borrowdale, up to Portinscale, finishing with a quick blaast back along the A66, maxing out the speedo at a terrifying 51mph. Twizys have zero emissions and are almost completely silent (which takes some getting ewesed to). They’re also immense, joyous, gleeful fun, nipping about the winding Lake District roads like they…

Three Peaks challengers who want to be responsible and carry a map (as they all should) have just had their load lightened. Rather than having to pack separate sheets for Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, this new all-in-one map covers each of the mountains at 1:25,000 scale with enlarged summit detail, useful information, hazard warnings and additional route-planning maps for drivers. It is available now for £12.99 at www.os.uk/shop, where you will be able to choose which of the three peaks you want to grace its cover, or (in the near future) upload your own image.…

Having left Nottingham at 6pm on Friday and arrived at the foot of An Teallach by 4am on Saturday, our Trail -inspired perfect adventure weekend involved 21 hours of driving, an 11 hour round of An Teallach in glorious sunshine topped off with a wild swim on the descent, a Brocken spectre, some great sea food and beers in the Dundonnell Hotel, and a bit of sleep before being back in Nottingham for 5pm on Sunday. Jason Pullin, via email Ed – That really is making the most of the weekend, Jason!…

MOELSIABOD SNOWDONIA This cheeky pair are Kyla (8) and Alexia Poole (6) from Warrington. According to proud dad John, the sisters scrambled up the south-east ridge of Moel Siabod after spending the night on their first wild camp. Halfway up they transformed into superheroes: Spider Girl (Alexia) and Goat (Kyla)! John described them as "two awesome girls who totally inspire our adventures and fill them with fun.” HIGHSTREET LAKE DISTRICT Here are Ben (13) and Amalie (10) Gray from Sherston on the windy summit of High Street. Mum Nicky, who took the photo, told Trail, “The low cloud disappeared to give us gorgeous views on the descent! ” Dad Paul is just out of shot... BEINNSGRITHEALL NW HIGHLANDS Relaxing in the sun having conquered Beinn Sgritheall are the Evans and…

While viewers of the inescapable TV show Game of Thrones may find this feature’s dramatic introduction sounds familiar for other reasons, the tale of British geology is an equally gripping epic that has a lot in common with the endless goings-on in Westeros – albeit at a somewhat slower pace. The long-running TV series and the rather longer-running Earth story even share the ‘Song of Ice and Fire’ subtitle. It’s a torrid adventure of violence and intrigue. Locations are gathered from all over the world, from a black volcano island to a tropical beach paradise to a southern ocean that ceased to exist almost half a billion years ago. There’s confrontation as one land overruns another among fiery outbursts of volcanoes. Summers build mountain-high sand dunes. Winters can last a…

BERGHAUS EXTREM 8000 PRO £450 Hot because: Quite simply, this is one of the most technical items of mountain clothing that Berghaus has ever made. The Extrem range turns 30 this year, and the 8000 Pro jacket is part of Berghaus’s relaunch of its performance marque. Tested extensively by high-altitude mountaineer Mick Fowler and extreme climber Leo Houlding, the Extrem 8000 Pro has been created to provide maximum protection from the fiercest weather in the most hostile of environments. Meeting such high demands does not come cheap, and the price of the 8000 Pro is a reflection of the attention to detail and quality of fabrics used in its design. Trail has been testing the Berghaus Extrem 8000 Pro (due for release in Go Outdoors stores in September, and afterwards…

BLIZZARD BAG ACTIVE £24 This comes shrink-wrapped into a tiny package that is small enough to store in the base of your rucksack so you can easily take it on the hill. The foil-like material is called Reflexcell and it consists of a silver layer that reflects heat back to the skin, plus there’s a protective orange outer shell and an air pocket construction between the two layers that provides 6 Togs of insulation. The bag is elasticated for a closer fit and a drawcord at the top helps trap more air inside. You don’t get the comfort that heavier bivvy bags and tarps provide, but this is perfect to stash in your pack year round so you are protected should you become benighted. Once unwrapped it is a challenge…

Hill-bagging stats Walking the Wainwrights, the Munros, the Corbetts or the Welsh 3000ers? These routes have got you covered. Gradient profile We map every route for its unique gradient profile, giving you a pinpoint impression of its progressive steepness and the heights you’ll hit. Wainwrights TRAIL’S1 ROUTE Strenuousness••••• Navigation ••••• Technicality ••••• Wainwrights 1 Trail 100s 2 What are the Trail 100s? They’re your tick-list of the 100 UK mountains you MUST climb! Download the full list from: bit.ly/trail100 Always take a map on the hill We aim to provide the most accurate information, but you must ALWAYS use an Ordnance Survey or Harvey map on the hill and double-check any directions against it. BEFORE YOU GO... If you’re likely to encounter snow or ice on your walk…

As you round a bend in Great Langdale, the sudden view of the towering Langdale Pikes rising from the valley floor takes the breath away. The secret to such magnificence lies in their naturally pleasing summit shapes and an unusual perspective which allows you to take in the whole mountain complete with spiky rocky tops (definition of Stickle) in one glance. How many Langdale Pikes are there? Among writers, Alfred Wainwright suggests three, Mark Richards four and Bill Birkett five. This route offers great views of all, and finds entertaining broken scrambling up Birkett’s ‘fifth pike’ of Thorn Crag. The scrambling can feel exposed and exciting at times; however, escape options exist at almost every step near the crag base. These generally get fewer and the scrambling more committing (although…

Although there is no universal definition of what a mountain is in Britain, it regarded by many as a landform more than 600m above sea-level. This means that a number of rounded lumps up and down the country are classed as mountains yet are more hill-like in their nature. Ben Hiant, which rises above the Ardnamurchan Peninsula on the most westerly point of the British mainland, is only 528m tall yet this remarkable, rocky peak is undeniably mountainous in character. Ben Hiant is the highest point of the peninsula and dominates the view above the remote village of Kilchoan. It has steep, craggy faces and views that compete with (or perhaps better) those from any of the bigger, better-known peaks of the west Highlands. During this splendid out-and-back walk much…

Crieff was the end of the road for the small black cattle driven south out of the Highlands every autumn. Exactly on the Highland-Lowland dividing line, it’s where gentle meadows and cosy cafés of the south meet the shaggy mountains and wide rushing streams of the Highlands edge. Hills here can be any height: from an airy back way onto Munro-sized (3,000+-footer) Ben Vorlich, via coarse Corbett (2,500+-footer) Meall na Fearna, to the rocks and heather of the 2,000+-footer Mor Bheinn and the birch woods of the wee Knock of Crieff. And to go with these every-height hills is a very big river. So come to Crieff – you don’t even have to bring your cow. TRANSPORT Buses Crieff to Stirling Bus 47; Comrie and Crieff to Perth Bus 15;…

Until you’ve actually looked at the Cuillin range and taken in its dark and jagged imposing reality with your very own eyeballs, you haven’t really seen it. Gaze at all the pictures you like (such as this fine example), but it’s almost impossible to capture the experience of standing beneath this domineering ridge and gazing up at its jagged spires. And as for the experience of standing upon it and gazing down, well... Though a full traverse is a committing task demanding comfort with exposure, scrambling skills and proficient ropework, Sgurr Alasdair, the highest summit on the ridge – indeed on any Scottish island – is within reach of walkers, with only a short scramble needed to achieve its narrow apex and mindblowing views. The glory doesn’t belong solely to…

In June 2014 a group of us supported the band Jimmy Rockit to do the highest gig in England – a live performance on the summit of Scafell Pike – and another live gig at the Tan Hill Inn on the same day, to raise money so their drummer, Frazer Stanford, could go and volunteer in Tanzania for a month. Trail featured us at the time in ‘Out There’. The people involved had such a great time, I decided to arrange a reunion using Trail’s three-day ‘Lakeland Highlights’ route [December 2014] to get everybody together again. The picture [above] – taken by a friendly couple who we met at the top – shows us on High Street on Saturday 28 May (Frazer is standing in the check shirt, eighth from…

THIS COULD BE YOU! Send your shots, marked ‘Summit selfie’ to trail@bauermedia.co.uk CATSTYE CAM LAKE DISTRICT Here are Chris Arnott (front), Sean Blenkinsop, Gary Brummitt and Adam Brummitt, shattered after a first ascent of Helvellyn via Striding Edge and down Swirral Edge, having planned for a massive downpour and actually having had one of the warmest days of the summer! Each issue we’ll be giving away the new Summit 25/38 mattress from Multimat’s Expedition range. New materials make this self-inflating sleeping mat tougher and lighter for durability on unsupported expeditions. Tested to -35 deg C, its wedge profile maximises comfort and minimises weight, while a warm zone improves tog value under the torso. www.multimat.uk.com…

Suilven Location Assynt, NW Scotland NC152183 That a mountain can be this statuesque and yet so wonderfully accommodating for a wild camp is rare – and yet there Suilven sits. The mountain is long and thin on the map, but its highest point – Caisteal Liath (731m) atop that oh-so-unique wheeled buttress – is flat and grassy, and the view of coast and mountain is, quite simply, awesome. Stock up on water on the way to the top, though – and avoid windy days. The Lost Valley Location Glen Coe, central Highlands NN163552 An evocative name goes a long way towards making a night-time spot magical – and they don’t get much better than the Lost Valley. Once a hideaway for cattle, this spacious, high-tucked hanging valley beneath Bidean nam…

To walk with others, or to walk alone? Most of us do either one or the other, most of the time. Then you get the extremes: those who always walk solo, and those who would never even consider it. It’s an interesting decision that transcends philosophy, practicality, psychology and safety. Our mountains are big, wild places that offer a concentrated dose of solitude and grandeur; if you so wished, you could make yourself very alone there indeed. But what it boils down to is, would you prefer your own company to that of other people in such a place? I’d wager the gut reaction of the person in the street would be to recoil from the idea. Maybe it’s because ‘walking alone’ as a concept has melancholy connotations. Say ‘alone’,…

Kitwise, a tick-list of features to find works well, plus their own bag for goodies and possibly some geocaching to keep them engaged. The main thing is lots of snacks and sweets, which ‘hill fairies’ leave for the kids to find. Here some hillwalking parents from Mountain Training’s Facebook group share their secrets… John David Clare Kit... total nightmare. Small kids doing serious routes need good gear. Good boots are very hard to find at reasonable prices, and any early teens who are smaller than average will grow out of them faster than the credit card bill, but you can’t skimp if they do serious stuff... Adrian Partridge Fisher’s in Keswick will take back boots they have sold you with a reduction on cost of next pair. We were buying…

A PILLOW Waking up with a nasty crick in the neck is not pleasant. Get yourself something compressible or inflatable – and for the sake of your cervical spine, shove it in your bag. PICTURED: Mammut Kompakt pillow £26 B LIGHT Sure, you could dangle your headtorch from the tent; but this inflatable, lightweight, solar-powered lamp emits a gentle ambience and you won't lose it in the dark. PICTURED: LuminAID PackLite 16 £20 C SLEEPING BAG The ideal is ultra-cosy and very compact – but you may need to compromise for price. Check the season rating to ensure it's warm enough. PICTURED: Mountain Equipment Xero 550 £440 D CHARGER It's always wise to have your phone with you in case of emergencies. This lighter-sized stick will boost…

Mid Wales is as renowned for its glorious cwms as it is its summits. The tops may be a little less dramatic than those of the Brecon Beacons to the south, or Snowdonia to the north, but the deeply cloven valleys that cut into these hills are at times quite breathtaking. None more so than Cwm Gwesyn, a crag-bejewelled delight that carves a deep V into the otherwise blank southern flanks of one summit that is distinctive: Drygarn Fawr. The valley is simply sumptuous: as wild and remote as any in Wales. And it’s all the more exhilarating for the fact that it leads to such a fine top. The twin-cairned summit rises like a desert island from a sea of featureless moorland and offers huge views in all directions.…

Now why is it, exactly, they call ‘em the Grey Corries? On the high hill line above Glen Spean, this is a question you absolutely never hear. Gabbro makes Skye’s Black Cuillin. Granite makes Yosemite. The stuff called quartzite is off-white and shiny, blocky and smooth. Make it into mountains and what you get is the Grey Corries range. The ridge sides are high, steep scree. The tops are smooth slabs, like a city walkway high in the sky. Or else they’re blocky, rectangular boulders. And the corries are – there’s only one way to say it – grey. Up at the 1100m mark, any intimacy with these handsome but intimidating fellows is going to involve a smidgen of suffering. Their enigmatic reserve means starting with a plod in along…

1 NY387169 Pass through Glenridding’s main car park, to exit past the Health Centre to a lane (Greenside Road). Follow it up, as it becomes a rough track. Just across a filled-in cattle grid, at the start of the upper row of cottages, turn up a grassy track back right then up left. A path heads up past a power pole, and slants up left, steeply, to a col with a wall across it. Turn right, to the top of Glenridding Dodd. 2 NY380175 Return to the col and follow the path as it zigzags up the craggy slope ahead. At the slope top (Heron Pike), paths go north-west over bumpy ground to Sheffield Pike’s cairn. The small path heads on just north of west, through a shallow col, and…

1 NN710160 Follow the valley road westwards to its end. Keep ahead across Water of Ruchill to a junction of tracks at farm buildings. 2 NN693154 Follow the main track, bending right (northwest) gently uphill. After 800m, turn uphill to the right of a fence to the ridge top. Turn right, over the hump of Carn Labhruinn. Follow the wide ridge west of north, with crag drops to your right, over Stuc Garbh and a nameless hump (701m) to the nearer summit of Stob Chalum Mhic Griogair. At once turn left for the short drop and ascent to Meall na Fearna. 3 NN650186 Drop steeply north then north-west, to find a minor hump at 717m. Cross it west to an old fence down a grassy ridge south-west into a narrow…