Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i Trail

LAKE DISTRICT They're seemingly happening more and more. Where once it would have been every decade, now it seems to be every year. I am, of course, talking about heatwaves. Though the mountains don't generally see the high temperatures of southern England, they do bake in their own way and in their own juices. This is both life affirming and life threatening for us walkers. As always in the mountains, successfully enjoying such conditions is a case of finding the way. So there I was, June in the western Lake District and things couldn't look greener if they tried. Yet the verdant lushness of the Ennerdale valley seemed to be evaporating before my eyes, as the sun was beating down with an unrelenting ferocity, intent on reclaiming every drop of…

RAIN TOMORROW Look out for high, streaky, wispy clouds. These are cirrus, aka mare's tails, which form within about 12-24 hours of a depression. If they are thinning, good weather is probably on the way but if they're thickening, rain is coming – probably within the next 24 hours. Dense white aeroplane trails (contrails) and a sun halo are also indicators that a warm front is getting closer and you should expect rain in 6-10 hours. RAIN TODAY Take note of cloud cover. If it gets thicker, lower, and turns from white to grey it indicates a change of weather – usually within the next 12 hours. If the cloud becomes dull and flat looking, obscuring the sun so that it casts no shadows, it's a good guess that it…

MAGAZINE Eryri (Snowdonia) 3 MOUNTAIN HORSESHOE The Ffestiniog Hills don't receive much love from the general hillwalking public and remain largely the domain of locals and avid hill baggers. To the north, and close at hand, a panoply of spectacular mountains monopolise the attention of most, while southwards the empty outback of the Migneint offers no obvious inducement to explore its baron interior. Northern Eryri goes out with a whimper rather than a bang. Spruce-filled cwms and extensive quarrying imbue the area with an air of sadness, but all is not lost. Moel Penamnen's regal, leonine form couldn't be more different to that of the twin Manod peaks which lie 2km distant. There is very little outcropping rock and a smooth, grassy ridge rises to the summit which falls abruptly…

MAGAZINE Peak District 6 CROWD-FREE WALK If it wasn't so well known, the Goyt Valley would be a very remote and hidden-away moorland clough (as they call moorland dales here) sitting on the border of Derbyshire and Cheshire. But this route avoids many of the crowds! Early on in this wonderfully crowd-free walk, there is a little-known section of the former Cromford and High Peak railway line. This ‘difficult’ section from Hindlow to Shaley Bridge was abandoned in 1892 and the former Bunsal incline became a country lane, with an ongoing contouring track above taking the former railway line above the headwaters of the Wildmoorstone Brook. Now the challenge really begins! There's some rough off-piste moorland up to the ‘other’ Burbage Edge. Peaty boggy footpaths then lead south over this…

LONG-DISTANCE TRAILS SLOVENIA'S JULIANA The Juliana Trail is an outstanding long-distance hiking trail through Slovenia's Julian Alps, which makes a circuit of the country's highest mountain, Triglav. Designed to reduce the strain of visitor numbers on the mountain – which lies at the centre of Slovenia's most popular hiking area, and suffers increasingly from overcrowding and trail erosion – the Juliana makes a 270km circuit around this iconic 2864m peak, without actually climbing it, while a further 60km extension to the trail branches off to the south. Rather than the usual two-day blitz on Triglav, the trail entices visitors to explore the equally beautiful surrounds, even if they are a few metres lower than the maximum altitude which rather arbitrarily defines a country's highest point. Spread over 20 stages, its…

PEAK OF THE MONTH ERYRI (SNOWDONIA) Mynydd Mawr To the west of the Yr Wydffa (Snowdon) range, sits the isolated 698m peak of Mynydd Mawr. A rough translation of its name is ‘Big Mountain’. Considering its neighbours, this clearly isn't the case, but hints more at the mountain's splendid isolation, something which makes you just want to climb it. Mynydd Mawr is also unusual in that it has a steep rocky south face as well as an equally impressive north face. It's at the top of the south face (Craig y Bera on the maps), about half a kilometre shy of the summit, that you get the best out of this mountain. Directly to the south is the Trail readers’ perpetual favourite, the Nantlle Ridge; out to the far south…

THIS MONTH'S WINNER Ben Nevis Highlands “Inspired by your magazine, our hiking club ‘The Pig Men’ chanced a last-minute trip to Ben Nevis in late May. First time summiting, with clear skies and great weather. Brilliant adventure with views for miles and miles across the Highlands.” Matt Cotton Helvellyn Lake District “Here's a photo of four friends (Danielle, Ivan, Xanthe and Matt) on the summit of Helvellyn in March. After a long walk, largely in cloud, we reached the summit as the cloud lifted and showed us the majestic view down to Glenridding. For most of the group it was their first ascent of this fantastic mountain.” Ivan Ericsson Stile End Lake District “This is my son, Oliver (6), taking a deserved break on his way up Stile End and…

QUAQUAVERSAL If you spotted this word in the intro and had no idea what it meant, you're not alone. We had to Google it. Quaquaversal means ‘dipping from a centre toward all points of the compass, used especially of geological formations.’ Sounds like a mountain to us. QUARRYING Mountains all over the UK have been shaped by quarrying, with slate extraction being the main culprit. Bizarrely, although these literal scars on the landscape should be horrifically ugly, we often find they have an odd kind of brutal beauty. QUARTZ This white, glistening crystal rock usually appears in seams and patches, often looking like the last remains of the winter's snow. QUEUES Bank holiday weekend. Beautiful warm sunny weather. Summit of Yr Wyddfa. Striding Edge. The bar at the Clachaig Inn.…

MASTERCLASS MEET THE EXPERTS Jen & Sim Benson are award-winning writers, guidebook authors and gear experts for The Ramblers. They have spent many years exploring the UK and further afield in search of perfect camping spots, glorious walks, exhilarating trail runs and family adventures. CHOOSE YOUR SPOT The flatter the area on which you pitch your tent, the better. Everything from cooking and eating to sleeping is easier and more enjoyable on flat, level ground. Avoid water-logged ground or dips and hollows where puddles are likely to form in wet weather. Choose a pitch that's as sheltered as possible from the prevailing wind, particularly if you're camping in exposed or weather-affected areas. Campsites are usually very safe places, but be aware of hazards such as overhead powerlines, resident wildlife and…

Clarks The go-to shoe shop for many a parent getting their kids feet sized for their first pair of shiny black school shoes, Clarks also offers a range of its own hiking footwear. This includes shoes, sandals and boots, many featuring Gore-Tex waterproofing. Example: Clarks ATL Trek Rise Gore-Tex £140 Marks & Spencer The Goodmove collection isn't just a range of well-priced tops, trousers, jackets and accessories for making the most of the great outdoors, it's an M&S etc, etc. If they're half as good as M&S's Triple Chocolate Tiffin they're worth checking out. Example: Zip Off Trekking Trousers with Stormwear £45 TK Maxx You can never be entirely sure what you'll find in the jumble-sale like experience of TK Maxx. But if you've got a keen eye and a…

MAGAZINE Lake District 1 FORGOTTEN OLD PATH Sometimes, on whatever map you're using, you'll see a path that's slightly odd. Instead of following the favoured ridgeline, or heading as steep as possible straight up the slope like a proper modern hillwalker, it'll proceed slantwise, with some zigzags on the way up. It may even fade away altogether and then return. What you're looking at is an ancient pathway, which would have been built by people who didn't necessarily desire the shortest possible way up. Often, there may also be a pony in the picture. In Scotland, such old paths have been made by the deer-stalkers. In the Lake District, they're often peat paths, designed for coming down with a heavy-laden sled. Or they may have been made by miners. Today…

MAGAZINE Exmoor 4 DRAMATIC COASTAL The Holnicote Estate covers 12,000 acres of moorland, woodland, villages and farmland within Exmoor National Park, edged by the Bristol Channel. Nestled within the estate is the pretty village of Selworthy, all cob and thatch with sweeps of bright green lawn and a white-painted church. Starting in the village, tantalisingly close to the tearooms, this walk climbs the densely wooded Selworthy Combe, emerging onto open moor below Selworthy Beacon. An adventurous loop of the South West Coast Path follows, out along the easier higher path to the summit of Bratton Ball, then dropping seawards to join the rugged lower path. One of the most spectacular and dramatic stretches of the coast path, the return route rises and falls with the steep-sided hills and combes, offering…

MAGAZINE Eryri (Snowdonia) ULTIMATE WEEKEND ▲ 3 ROUTES Dyffryn Nantlle is a picturesque, almost hidden valley south-west of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), and flanked by some of the most beautiful mountains in the National Park. Visiting in midsummer/early autumn when the heather is in full bloom will enhance the experience and provide a welcome escape from the honeypots, especially the area around Mynydd Mawr, which translates as the Big Mountain but is also known locally both as Mynydd Grug (Heather Mountain) and Mynydd Eliffant, owing to its resemblance to an elephant. Craig Cwm Silyn sits at the far south-west end of Crib Nantlle but is a worthwhile day out in its own right when walked from the valley below. Mynydd Graig Goch is south-west from Craig Cwm Silyn and is perfectly…

BASECAMP “I’M JUST JOSS, whatever I've got to do.” Joss Naylor, who has died at the age of 88, wore his legend lightly. He established, smashed and rewrote records. He was adored by communities across Cumbria, Yorkshire, Snowdonia and anywhere else in Britain where the ground is more up than flat. His name is revered by fell-runners and trail runners across the globe. He was, quite simply, ‘The King of the Fells’. But as far as Joss was concerned, he just got on with it. “Nothing beats running on my own,” he once told us. “The solitude, the views, the fresh air, and to think how lucky you are to be there to enjoy it. Anything else could be happening in the world, but if you've got that moment, you're…

A LIFETIME OF ADVENTURE Mountaineering legend SIR CHRIS BONINGTON celebrates his 90th birthday this month, on 6 August. With a climbing career that began at 16 in Snowdonia in 1951, Sir Chris has enjoyed more than 70 years of adventure as a journalist, author and photographer, attempting unimaginable feats, in a time when travel to remote places seemed near impossible. He pioneered many first ascents around the world, leading the expedition to put the first Brits on the summit of Everest the “Hard Way” in 1975, exploring unclimbed Himalayan peaks and unchartered mountains of Tibet using only a tourist map. He has faced the most extreme conditions, including a famous six-day epic on the Ogre in the Himalaya, where climbing partner Doug Scott crawled all the way down with both…

SNOWDONIA I had always thought that mountain marathons were for impossibly athletic fell-running folk. Super-humans who could run for hours over mountains, without breaking their ankles. That it was all very serious, and to be credible you had to be up there smashing out 25km before lunch without breaking a sweat. Well, turns out that's not true. The athletes are there, but so are a whole bunch of regular hill lovers like me, looking for a personal challenge rather than trying to win. The OMM – which stands for Original Mountain Marathon – has been running since 1968. It's held in a different UK mountain area each year, and billed as a unique challenge to test your mountain craft. It's a two-day self-supported journey with a teammate that takes place…

Bizarrely, over the past few years outdoor gear has been finding favour in fashion. In 2024 you're as likely to see an Arc'Teryx hard shell jacket riding the Tube as you are battling conditions on a gnarly mountain ascent. But the fashion brands’ ventures into the world of outdoor kit have been far more limited and, if I'm being totally honest, far less successful when they have occurred. There was, you may recall, that particularly unfathomable collaboration between The North Face and Gucci, which did neither brand any favours in the eyes of the average UK hiker. Swedish brand H&M is a common sight on UK high streets and shopping malls, but not one usually associated with outdoor kit. However, H&M Move – the sportswear section of the retailer –…

SIX OF THE BEST FIELD TEST YOUR TESTERS For a ‘big walk’ – by which I mean anywhere from a few days to a few weeks in length – most backpackers will typically need a rucksack of 50-65 litres. After all, your pack will need to be large enough to carry your shelter, your sleep system, and all the rest of your gear – including spare clothing, food and water. Some might prefer a heavier pack that offers superior carrying comfort and extra features. Typically, with a heavier trekking pack you might expect a plush, padded harness and back system, as well as design features like a lid, additional compartments and extra pockets. Others though might eschew all this stuff in favour of a streamlined pack that weighs less than…

MAGAZINE Cairngorms 2 ANCIENT BOTHY TRIP Experience the ultimate of Scottish hillwalking adventures through the rugged, wild and remote Cairngorm plateau, a region teeming with history and natural beauty. The Cairngorms, Scotland's largest National Park, has been a haven for wildlife and outdoor enthusiasts for generations. This alpine semi-tundra habitat hosts a diverse array of wildlife, from the elusive capercaillie and pine marten, to the majestic golden eagle and semi-domesticated reindeer, as well as venomous adders. Start your journey at the iconic Linn of Dee, a striking 300m granite carved gorge, where the river Dee flows with awe-inspiring force. Traverse ancient Caledonian pine forests, following the meandering path of the Luibeg burn. Ascend Carn a’ Mhaim and traverse its ridge to tackle Ben Macdui, the UK's second highest peak, casting…

MAGAZINE Lake District 5 LONELY FELLS WITH FEW PATHS The River Duddon turns south at Ulpha on the way down to its broad estuary below Broughton-in-Furness but, to the west, a wild horseshoe rises above the woods. These tops might be some of Wainwright's lesser-known Outlying Fells but don't let that put you off! There's some rough going here, with few established paths, though the castellated outcrops on the summit of Buck Barrow form a fine book end before leaving the high ground. An anti-clockwise circuit climbs steadily, but up and down, across half a dozen rolling summits, with expansive views out to the Irish Sea and, later in the day, panoramic vistas stretching south to distant Walney Island. The last top is hardly a top at all – but…

MAGAZINE Inner Hebrides ULTIMATE WEEKEND ▲ 3 ROUTES With a combined population of about 20, you'll enjoy being off the beaten track on this pair of islands. Joined by a bridge, they form the most westerly part of the scattered Inner Hebridean Small Isles. Split into three, this fine circuit first explores Canna's magnificent coastline. Most of the first two routes are exposed to the elements, but clear weather on the island's dramatic high cliffs provides fantastic views across the Hebrides. The third route is more relaxed – a gentle walk around lower lying Sanday is the perfect diversion before catching an afternoon ferry. As well as spectacular scenery, there are interesting historical sites to discover and good chance of spotting some exciting Scottish wildlife, such as golden and whitetailed…