Posts tagged National Park
Eastbourne Pier and Beachy Head Circular Walk
Eastbourne Pier from the west

Eastbourne Pier from the west

Start & Finish: Eastbourne Pier, 3 Grand Parade, Eastbourne, BN21 3EL
Distance: 10 km (6.2 miles)
Elevation change: + / - 204m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): South Downs Way, Weald Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Other routes touched (run): Beachy Head Marathon
Pubs / Cafes on route: Several on Eastbourne sea front, The Kiosk at the start of the SDW, The Beachy Head pub
Trig Pillar: TP0453 - Beachy Head
Map: OS Explorer OL25 Eastbourne & Beachy Head
Links: Eastbourne, Eastbourne Pier, Beachy Head

For me this was a walk largely designed to bag the OS Trig Pillar at the top of Beachy Head. I’d had a couple of near misses, most notably on the final stretch of the Beachy Head Marathon, but never got to touch it. The pillar is actually a very easy to get on a drive-by as it’s just behind the big pub on Beachy Head Road. It would be a shame to miss out on the walk though as it’s a South Downs classic.

This is definitely a walk of two halves with a central hill section bookended by the flat, coastal out-and back from the pier. If you just wanted to do the hilly part you can save 5k and do the big loop starting either from The Beachy Head pub or from the start of the South Downs Way on Dukes Drive. If you’ve got the time the full 10k route is well worth it and gives you a diverse “Down and Town” trip.

We started from the pier entrance on the B2106 Grand Parade with a circuit of the pier. A combination of it being December and just out of the latest Covid Lockdown meant that there was nothing going on there at the time. After the pier, follow the Promenade south, keeping to the higher path when you have an option. After ~2.5k you’ll reach the sign that marks the start of the 100 mile South Downs Way. Follow the South Downs Way up a steep hill and continue for a further 2km until you reach the cliff-edge RAF memorial. To visit the Trig Pillar walk a further 100m up hill to the north-west then retrace your steps back to the memorial.

To return, take the first footpath to the left of the memorial (as you face the sea). Descend on the steep path to the cliff edge (but not too far) and continue round heading north back to Eastbourne. When you reach the cliff edge look back to the south along the coast for a great view of Beachy Head Lighthouse. Keep the the cliff-edge path and you’ll end up back at the kiosk on Dukes Drive. From here return to the pier following the lower promenade along the top of the beach.

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Richard gowerTrek, Coast, South Downs, National Park, Sussex, EnglandComment
Whernside: North Yorkshire County Top
Ribblehead Viaduct with Whernside on the right

Ribblehead Viaduct with Whernside on the right

Significance: Highest peak in North Yorkshire (Present-Day CT), the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales National Park
Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Hardy, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Cross Fell. NHN = Harter Fell
Historic County: Yorkshire (of which Mickle Fell is the County Top)
Elevation: 736m
Date climbed: October 4th 2020
Coordinates: 54°13′40″N 2°24′12″W 
Route Start / End: Ribblehead Viaduct Car Park, Blea Moor Road, Carnforth, LA6 3AS
Route Distance: 12.7 km (7.9 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 433m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Dales High Way, Three Peaks Walk
Other routes touched (cycle): none
OS Trig Pillar: TP0702 - Little Whernside
Map: OS Explorer Map OL2 Yorkshire Dales South & Western
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (North Yorkshire), Wikipedia (Whernside), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Given that Whernside is both a Present-Day County Top and features in the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge it was surprising that I hadn’t already ticked it off. Sometime over the last couple of years I’d lost interest in the Three Peaks and decided that I’d rather tick them off individually. Whernside’s time came this year as it was an obvious peak to bag to break up the long drive home from Mickle Fell.

Unlike the drenching that we got on Mickle Fell the previous day, we had perfect Autumn conditions for Whernside. It was dry, sunny, chilly (but not too much) and visibility was great. The walk even starts with one of its main highlights: an approach to the magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct. We had originally planned to keep to the path on the eastern side of the viaduct then cut through the underpass to join the Dales High Way heading west. When we found ourselves standing right under one of the arches to get a closer look, we decided to continue heading west through the viaduct and take the footpath through the farm to connect to the High Way.

After the farm the route gets steep. The waitress in the pub the night before had warned us that this approach would be tough and slippery. We imagined something like a damp Striding Edge but it turned out not to be so bad at all. The slabs had also dried out completely so there was nothing slippery at all.

Once on the ridge-line the route is pretty simple and, with the views we had that day, quite breath-taking. The summit was pretty crowded when we got there. Partly it was the normal weekend day-walkers and we hit it at the same time as a lot of runners on their own Three Peaks Challenge. This was also the day of the Virtual London Marathon and there was a fair few marathoners that decided to do the 3 Peaks as their own London Marathon Route.

The descent was steady and interesting. Once down from the steeper sections the path curves back towards the viaduct and crosses over both Little Dale Beck and the rail line as it emerges from the Blea Moor Tunnel. The final section gives you another change to admire the Viaduct before returning to the car park.

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, York, Yorkshire Dales, National Park, England, RailwayComment
North-East England County Tops
View from Burnhope Seat summit to the Trig Pillar

View from Burnhope Seat summit to the Trig Pillar

We had the dates for this in the diary for most of the year, even before Covid-19 became the thing that defined 2020. When the Lockdown came in March we we glad we had booked it in for later in the year and had assumed that the virus would have blown over by then. By mid-Summer things were relaxing and it was looking like there wouldn’t be a problem for the trip at all. September came, cases started rising again and the North-East was right in the centre of a local Lockdown. The rules were especially ambiguous and it was only the day before the trip that we decided that we would still be able to go. So, without breaking any rules and keeping as safe as possible, 3 of us headed North to complete the North-East County Tops.

As it turned out Covid had a very minimal impact on the plan. Our YHA for the first 2 nights was in Northumberland and had strict procedures. Rather than sharing one big room as per our usual trips, we had to have a room each under separate bookings. Breakfast was strictly one person per table, but given my lack of interest in talking to anyone 1st thing in the morning, it wasn’t a major inconvenience. Other than that we were out in the hills all day and the rare instances of coming in contact with others were few and far between and at quite a distance.

Being able to complete these 3, and by extension my completion of all of England’s County Tops, was a major win for me for 2020. Most other plans had been cancelled or postponed until 2021, so keeping this felt like a big achievement.

Burnhope Seat

Significance: Highest peak in County Durham (Historic CT)
Member of: Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Cross Fell. NHN = Meldon Fell
Elevation: 747m
Date climbed: October 1st 2020
Coordinates: 54.7331° N, 2.3369° W
Route Start / End: 2-car layby on B6277 north of kink in road over stream bridge, south of Yad Moss ski area
Route Distance: 3.1 km (1.9 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 160m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: none
OS Trig Pillar: TP1783 - Burnhope Seat
Map: OS Explorer Map (307) Consett and Derwent Reservoir
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (County Durham), Wikipedia (Burnhope Seat), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Burnhope Seat and Mickle Fell are a short car journey apart and can be easily done in a single day with fair weather. We had a long drive from the south which took up much of our first day so we used this short walk as a break in the journey.

Jonny Muir’s County Top guide suggests a parking space on the B6277 at NY 7754 3640 but we found a more convenient one a bit further north on the same road. The layby in the book is quite small and at a steep angle from the road so we gave it a miss. From the larger layby near the stream bridge you can cross over a wooden gate on the opposite side. From here follow the left hand side of the stream, passing the ruins of an old building and use the GPS to keep you on-track for the high point. From the un-marked summit you can see the Trig Pillar to the east along the fence.

The Cheviot

Significance: Highest peak in Northumberland (Historic CT) and Northumberland National Park High Point
Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Broad Law. NHN = Dollar Law
Elevation: 815m
Date climbed: October 2nd 2020
Coordinates: 55°28′42″N 2°08′44″W 
OS Trig Pillar: TP2152 - Cheviot
Links Wikipedia (Northumberland), Wikipedia (The Cheviot), Wikipedia (Northumberland National Park), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Hangingstone Hill

Also Known As: Cairn Hill West Top
Significance: Highest peak in Roxburghshire, Scotland (Historic CT)
Member of: n/a
Parent Peak: Cairn Hill. NHN = The Cheviot
Elevation: 743m
Date climbed: October 2nd 2020
Coordinates: 55° 28' 3'' N, 2° 9' 59'' W
Links: Wikipedia (Roxburghshire), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Route Start / End: parking area off small road to Langleeford, accessed from A697 via Middleton Hall
Route Distance: 15.3 km (9.5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 620m
Subsidiary tops on route: Scald Hill (548m), Cairn Hill (777m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): The Pennine Way
Other routes touched (cycle): none
Map: OS Explorer OL16 The Cheviot Hills, Jedburgh & Wooler
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)

This walk was the longest and most rewarding of the 3 especially as it's a circuit rather than an out-and-back like the others. If you’re using Jonny Muir’s guide this is a combination of the separate routes for The Cheviot and for Hangingstone Hill. It’s pretty obvious to do them both in the same walk so I’ve got no idea why they’re separated in the book. Both use the same start and end point and each trip is a return for the other.

We took an anti-clockwise approach taking in The Cheviot first via Scald Hill. Continuing south-west along the Pennine Way from The Cheviot you’ll soon get to the summit of Cairn Hill. From here there’s a short out-and-back section to the Scottish border to reach Hangingstone Hill (aka Cairn HIll West Top). There’s little to see here and bagging the top just involves a quick crossing of the gate to a slightly higher piece of moss.

From Hangingstone Hill retrace your steps back up to Cairn Hill summit and follow the path sign-posted to Windy Gale. After a short steep section keeping a fence to your right you’ll reach a footpath junction. Take the east (left) path signed to Langleeford Hope (2¼) and Langleeford (3½). This path will take you all the way back to the start following Harthope Burn (stream).

Mickle Fell

Significance: Highest peak in Yorkshire (Historic CT) and the historic North Riding of Yorkshire
Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Cross Fell. NHN = Knock Fell
Elevation: 788m
Date climbed: October 3rd 2020
Coordinates: 54°36′48″N 2°18′18″W
Route Start / End: Parking spot on B6276 to west of cattle grid between the Cumbria and County Durham county signs.
Route Distance: 17.2 km (10.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 505m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: none
OS Trig Pillar: TP4789 - Mickle Fell
Map: OS Explorer OL19 Howgill Fells Upper Eden Valley Map
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Yorkshire), Wikipedia (North Riding of Yorkshire), Wikipedia (Mickle Fell) / Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Mickle Fell is on a military firing range which is only open to the public on a few select days per year. You can apply for a permit to access the land from MOD Warcop. Based on our experience I recommend starting the application process early. It took over 3 months for me to get the permit from sending the application letter. There’s nothing complicated about the process, it’s just slow. With the permit secured the other thing that you need to do is call the control room number on the permit as you start the walk and again when you finish. We didn’t have phone signal at all on the walk so we were glad to have made the call in the car 10 minutes before arriving at the parking space.

The parking space is easy to find as it’s right next to the Welcome to Cumbria sign. From here cross the road and over a wire fence to access the hill. Strangely there’s no gate or stile even though this is the recommended approach. You can see where others have climbed through or over the fence though.

Much of the walk is very easy to navigate, even on a low-visibility day like we had. Follow the boundary fence, keeping it to your left all the way up to the summit plateau. A lot of the route is boggy underfoot and you’ll need to navigate around streams, loose peat and marsh-land. We were there on an especially wet day and it was all we could do to keep our feet dry.

There’s a steep climb up to the summit plateau where you’ll cross a fence via a stile and can pick up some Land Rover tracks. Keep to these heading on an easterly curve and they’ll lead you to the summit cairn and the Trig Pillar.

We were there on one of the wettest days possible. If the route was closer to home and we didn’t need a permit we might have delayed it for another day, but we had little option but to press on. The only other person we met on the approach had reached the summit but hadn’t bothered with the extra ~2km to the Trig Pillar. I could see how tempting it would have been on a day like that to have missed it. Given our Trig-obsession we weren’t going to miss it though and took the extra hour to bag the pillar.

The descent was much quicker as we had abandoned any attempt to avoid the wet marsh and mostly walked straight through it. At 5.5 hours of driving rain we arrived at the car as wet as if we had swum to the summit. It was challenging but it also meant that I had now completed all County Tops in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Now for the rest of Scotland…

OTHER HIGH POINTS IN County Durham

OTHER HIGH POINTS IN Northumberland

  • Westerhope (131m) North Tyneside Unitary Authority High Point: Peakbagger / Hillbagging

  • Camperdown (86m) North Tyneside Unitary Authority High Point: Peakbagger / Hillbagging

OTHER HIGH POINT IN Yorkshire

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Northumberland, National Park, County Durham, Roxburghshire, Yorkshire, England, ScotlandComment
Western Wales County Tops

View from Aran Fawddwy

“Remote” and “obscure” are relative terms. If you live in Aberystwyth then Arran Fawddwy, Plynlimon and Foel Cwmcerwyn are all local and accessible peaks. If, like the rest of the us, you don’t then they’re a bugger to get to.

Over my 7 years of County Topping I’d managed to pick off the rest of Wales. Snowdon came first and I’d repeated it several times. The rest of the North was ticked in one trip in 2016, the South in 2014 and all between came on weekend adventures over the years. The final 3 are pretty well spaced out so they could only be done on a road trip rather than a single location adventure. If I’d known earlier that this trip would be such fun I’d have tackled these much earlier.

As is mandatory for all weekend trips now, travel happens on a Friday after work. Saturday starts with the nearest parkrun not yet done. This time is was Dolgellau, a beautiful course along the Afon Mawddach river and Madwddach Trail. The Sustrans signs along the route reminded me that I’d passed through here before on my NCN8 end to end Wales trip in 2010.

Arran Fawddwy

Significance: Highest peak in Merionethshire (Historic CT)
Member of: Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Snowdon. NHN = Peak 931
Elevation: 907m
Date climbed: June 22nd 2019
Coordinates: 52.7880° N, 3.6881° W
Route Start / End: Out and back from Llanuwchllyn, LL23 7TR
Route Distance: 18.2k / (11.3 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 898m
Subsidiary tops on route: Arran Benllyn (885m), Erw y Ddafad-ddu (872m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP0865 - Aran Fawddwy
Map: OS Explorer Map OL23 Cadair Idris & Llyn Tegid
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Merionethshire), Wikipedia (Aran Fawddwy), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Llanuwchllyn, our start point for the Arran Fawddwy, walk was only 20 minutes from Dolgellau so we were on the trail by 11:00. We were lucky with the weather and had a the most amazing sunny day with clear skies and view for miles. The 360° view from the summit was a rare prize amongst so many cloudy summit days in my Welsh trekking experience.

Arran Fawddwy is a long but easy trek with only a small bit of scrambling in the last 20 minutes. It’s quiet up there too. At 2976 feet it narrowly misses out on being in the Welsh 3000s and the nearby Cadair Idris gets much more attention. If it wasn’t for it being a County Top I’d likely never have gone there either. That would have been a shame as this was one of my most enjoyable UK hikes in several years.

Once off the mountain we drove an hour South to the YHA at Borth. I didn’t know what to expect when I booked this one. My friend who was in charge of accommodation booking had made such an arse of it, I had to take over with only a month to go. This one was booked on the only criteria that it was near Plynlimon and still available.

As it turned out, Borth was a hidden gem. It’s an old Seaside resort that missed the memo about the need to become cheap and tacky. Our room in the YHA was spacious and had a sea view. Dinner in the seafront Victoria Inn and a beach walk back topped off a perfect adventure day in Wales.

Plynlimon

Also known as: Pumlumon Fawr
Significance: Highest peak in Cardiganshire (Historic CT), High Point of the Preserved County of Dyfed and the Principal area of Ceredigion
Member of: Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Pen Y Fan. NHN = Craig Cwm Amarch
Elevation: 752m
Date climbed: June 23rd 2019
Coordinates: 52.4675°N 3.7828°W
Route Start / End: Out and back from parking place on Nant-y-Moch eastern road plus a loop of Pumlumon Fach
Route Distance: 7.7 km (4.8 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 400m
Subsidiary tops on route: Pumlumon Fach (664m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: none
OS Trig Pillar: TP5480 - Plynlimon
Map: OS Explorer Map (213) Aberystwyth and Cwm Rheidol for Plynlimon
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Cardiganshire), Wikipedia (Plynlimon), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Plynlimon is just a few miles as the crow flies from Borth. We were driving though so it took a winding 45 minute trip so many hairpin bends and a route around the Nant-y-Moch reservoir.

The start of the trail is a small parking spot on the Maesnant road where it meets a farm track. There's 2 options from here: an out and back following the Maesnant stream or a circuit of the Pumlumon Fach. As we were following Jonny Muir's guide an wanted a more interesting route. We opted for the circular plus a couple of detours to bag the summits of Pumlumon Fach and an unnamed peak nearby.

Plynlimon was a much shorter trek than yesterday's Arran Fawddwy trip so we were back down by lunchtime and quickly on the road towards Newport YHA. Even with a short stop to bag a bonus Trig Pillar near Cardigan we arrived at the YHA by 15:00. I'd not read the check-in instructions so didn't realise that we were 2 hours too early. We could get a whole other mountain bagged in that time.

Foel Cwmcerwyn

Significance: Highest peak in Pembrokeshire (Historic County and Welsh Principal Area), Pembrokeshire Coast National Park High Point
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Plynlimon. NHN = Garreg Lwyd
Elevation: 536m
Date climbed: June 23rd 2019
Coordinates: 51°56′44″N 4°46′29″W
Route Start / End: Out and back from parking place on B4329
Route Distance: 6 km (3.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 135m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP5522 - Prescelly
Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer OL35 North Pembrokeshire
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Pembrokeshire), Wikipedia (Foel Cwmcerwyn), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

By the time wed reached the parking spot for Foel Cwmcerwyn it was proper rainy. The summit was apparently not far away but we couldn't see anything. Sticking to the GPS route and a straightforward path we arrived at the Trig Point in under and hour. The completion of the Welsh County Tops was a bit of an anticlimax in a damp field with views stretching across the nearest 15 metres.


Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Snowdonia, National Park, Merionethshire, Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire, Glamorganshire, WalesComment
Butser Hill

Significance: Parent Peak of (among others): Bowsey Hill
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Black Down. NHN = Black Down
Elevation: 270m
Date “climbed”: 30th March 2019
Coordinates: 50° 58' 40'' N, 0° 58' 49'' W
On route of: South Downs Way (just off)
OS Trig Pillar: TP0316 - Butser
Map: Chichester Map | South Harting & Selsey | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map OL08
Links: Wikipedia (Butser Hill), Peakbagger, Hillbagging, Queen Elizabeth Country Park

I’d passed close by to the tops of Butser Hill on the Race To The King ultra marathon. It wasn’t close enough though to add some more distance to the 53 miles I had to run that day so I gave it a miss. Luckily it’s in warm-up distance of Queen Elizabeth parkrun at the Country Park of the same name so I returned a few months later.

Although Butser Hill is not the highest point in the South Downs National Park (it’s Blackdown at 280m), it is the highest point on the South Downs escarpment (source).

Richard gowerTrek, South Downs, National Park, Sussex, England, Trig PillarComment
Cycling The South Downs Way - Eastbourne to Bury Hill

Having completed half of the South Downs Way on Race To The King, I was keen to do the rest. I’d also attempted a cycle trip on the Trail about 13 years ago but abandoned it after 30 miles. Deep mud had slowed us down and, in pre-GPS days, we didn't know where we were. Not being one to be happy with unfinished business, I needed to complete the first 50 miles.

Day 1: Destination Ditchling

Start: Eastbourne Railway Station, Terminus Rd, Eastbourne BN21 3QJ
Finish: White Horse Inn, 16 West St, Ditchling, Hassocks BN6 8TS
Distance: 51km (32 miles)
Elevation Change: +1188m / -1140m. Net +48m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): Weald Way, Vanguard Way, Sussex Ouse Valley Way, Mid Sussex Link
Other Routes Touched (cycle): NCN 2
Map: OS Explorer OL25 Eastbourne & Beachy Head and OS Explorer OL11 Brighton & Hove
Guidebook: South Downs Way: National Trail Guide (National Trail Guides), The South Downs Way: Winchester to Eastbourne, Described in Both Directions
Links: National Trails South Downs Way, National Trail South Downs Way Mountain Bike Guide, Eastbourne, South Downs National Trust

It was Saturday so a parkrun had to be included in the plan. We chose Tilgate as it was a new one for both Mark and I and he needed a new letter for his Alphabet Challenge. By the time we’d done the run, picked up the bikes and got 2 trains we were in Eastbourne for 13:30. It was getting on a bit for this time of year so we didn’t hang around.

The first 14 km to Alfriston were familiar as I’d already covered them on the Beachy Head Marathon. Unlike my previous cycling attempt the ground was dry and mud-free. Even so, we were making slow progress as it had been a while since we’d been out on the bikes.

This was also a Trig Pointing adventure and we took the opportunity to bag some Trig Pillars on the route. There are 14 Trig Pillars on or close to the route. See below for the full list.

All went pretty well until Southease when Mark's bike decided to break. Going over a small bridge his back wheel lost a spoke and buckled. It didn’t take long to decide that the bike was “buggered” (technical cycling term) so we needed a Plan B. Luckily we had just passed a station and a train would be passing through shortly. Not having many other options Mark headed back home by train and I continued alone.

By now I was concerned about the daylight. It was already 17:00 with max 90 mins of daylight and at least 2 hours to go. I took on some of my emergency Haribo and tried to cover as much ground as possible with the remaining light.

By the time I’d reached the bridge over the A27 it was completely dark and I still had Ditchling Beacon to climb. The next hour was a mix of slow cycling and pushing. At the top of the hill the trail was wide and relatively smooth. The sky was clear and the chalky trail was easy to see. I found it easier to turn my lights off and let my eyes adjust to the twilight.

I’d reached Ditchling Road by 20:00. The pub where I was staying was at the bottom of the hill and I wasn’t looking forward to taking the road down. Instead I discovered a path that goes parallel to the road. This was possibly more dangerous in the dark as it was steep and rutted. Even with carefully pushing the bike I still almost slipped over at least 3 times. By 20:30 I’d made it to the White Horse in Ditchling. After a shower, wine and fish and chips I took advantage of now having the twin room all to myself.

Day 2: Ditchling to Bury Hill

Start: White Horse Inn, 16 West St, Ditchling, Hassocks BN6 8TS
Finish: Bury Hill Trig Point near Amberley
Distance: 45km (28 miles)
Elevation Change: +1147m / -1056m. Net +91m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): Mid Sussex Link, Downs Link, Monarch’s Way, Wey-South Path, West Sussex Literary Trail
Other Routes Touched (cycle): NCN 20, 223
Map: OS Explorer OL11 Brighton & Hove and OS Explorer OL10 Arundel & Pulborough
Guidebook: South Downs Way: National Trail Guide (National Trail Guides), The South Downs Way: Winchester to Eastbourne, Described in Both Directions
Links: National Trails South Downs Way, National Trail South Downs Way Mountain Bike Guide, Ditchling, Amberley, South Downs National Trust

Day 2 started with a full English Breakfast at the pub. This was mainly so I could make a Ditchling Bacon joke on WhatsApp. I’m still not convinced that my mates found it as hilarious as it deserved though.

On leaving the hotel I cycled back through the village, this time in daylight. Turning onto Beacon Road you get a great view of the imposing wall that is Ditchling Beacon. I was determined to get to the top without stopping or pushing and I made it. Just. The Beacon was my first trig point of the day after a very sweaty 2 miles.

In contrast to the previous day's overcast grey skies, today was sunny and clear. This would be a very different day altogether. There were similar amounts of ups and downs but it felt easier with a lot more smooth downhill stretches to pick up speed.

My second trig pillar was Devil’s Dyke at 13 km in. In my original planning I’d wanted to stay here only for the amusement of spending a night on Fulking Hill. The fact that the Devil’s Dyke Inn isn’t a hotel put an end to that. It was just as well given how late Day 1 turned out to be.

The rest of the day was a joyous trip along the South Downs. The warm early spring weather had brought a lot of people out walking, cycling or horsing(?) their way along the trail. I made a plan to say a cheery "hello" to everyone I passed to see their reaction. Horse-riders won with 100% "Hello"s back while walkers came joint second with mostly pleasant responses. Cyclists and runners came about even with either no responses or awkward grunts.

Amberley would be the natural destination for the first 50 miles of the Trail. I needed to go a bit further though as I needed to join the route of last year's Race To The King. The Ultra started a few miles South at Slindon, meeting the South Downs Way at Bury Hill. There's a Trig Point just off the Trail there so I made it my destination for this 2-day trip.

Trig Pillars on or near the South Downs Way (Eastbourne to Bury Hill)

All visited on this trip unless stated. Numbers in brackets show approximate kilometres from the start of the Trail at Eastbourne.

South Downs Way: Done

Map below: Blue = Beachy Head Marathon, Green = This cycle trip, red = Race To The King Ultra Marathon

Richard gowerCycle, South Downs, National Park, National Trust, Sussex, England, Trig PillarComment
Ditchling Beacon: East Sussex County Top

Significance: Highest peak in East Sussex (Present Day County Top), Highest point in the Rape of Lewes
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Leith Hill.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Leith Hill
Historic County: Sussex (of which Black Down is the County Top)
Elevation: 248m
Date climbed: 24th March 2019
Coordinates: 50° 54′ 7.2″ N, 0° 6′ 25″ W
OS Trig Pillar: TP0760 - Ditchling
Map: OS Explorer OL11 Brighton & Hove
Guidebook: Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (East Sussex), Wikipedia (Ditchling Beacon), Peakbagger, Hillbagging, National Trust

Ditchling Beacon is the County Top of present-day East Sussex. The high point of the Historic County of Sussex is Black Down, now the present-day county Top of West Sussex.

I'd first bagged bagged Ditchling Beacon in 2012 as a drive by on the way back from Devil's Dyke. There's free parking near the summit so it's easy to reach. I'd also had a few close passes while on the BHF London To Brighton Cycle Ride which goes up and over the hill on Ditchling Road.

It wasn't until my South Downs Way cycle ride that I felt that I'd properly bagged it. The early morning slog up the hill from Ditchling Village made me feel like I'd earnt it. The long views on a clear spring morning made it worth the effort too.

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Trig Pillar, South Downs, National Park, National Trust, Sussex, EnglandComment
Race To The King Ultra Marathon

When: June 24th 2018
From: Slindon Estate, Arundel, West Sussex
To: Winchester Cathedral, Winchester SO23 9LS
Distance: 86.1km (53.5 miles)
Elevation: +1,344m / - 1,380m. Net -36m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Monarch’s Way, South Downs Way, West Sussex Literary Trail, New Lipchis Way, Staunton Way, The Shipwrights Way, Long Woodland Trail, Wayfarers Walk, Allan King Way, Pilgrims’ Trail, Itchen Way, Clarendon Way
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 22, 222, 224, 23
Maps:
- Ordnance Survey Explorer OL10 Arundel & Pulborough Map
- Ordnance Survey Explorer OL8 Chichester, South Harting & Selsey Map
- Ordnance Survey Explorer OL3 Meon Valley, Portsmouth, Gosport and Fareham Map
- Ordnance Survey Explorer OL32 Winchester, New Alresford & East Meon Map
Trig Pillars: TP1105 - Beacon Hill, TP5226 - Old Winchester Hill, TP3089 - Exton
Finish time: 14 hours 49 minutes
Links: South Downs Way, Harting Down National Trust, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Beacon Hill Nature Reserve, Winchester

This was my 4th ultra and the 2nd in the Threshold Trail series. My first couple were a test, then reconfirmation, that I could do an Ultra. After the Gower I was happy to call myself an Ultra Marathon runner. From here on I’ll do them for the pure awesomeness of the events.

As a true introvert I’m not chatty on the events, defaulting to an inner game of getting through the run. Despite this I love the social aspect of the events. It’s the buzz of so many people taking on a major challenge, the support that everyone gives each other and the spectators cheering and helping anyone on the route.

Race To The King was a classic example of why I love these events. The South Downs Way is an iconic trail, the weather was amazing (albeit a little warm) and the organisation couldn’t be faulted.

The conditions couldn’t have been more different to October’s Gower Ultra. That was was damp and crippled my feet while this was bone dry. Despite being 3 miles long I’d completed this one nearly a hour quicker at 14 hours 49 mins. By the time I’d reached Winchester Cathedral I was in good shape and on a bit of a high.

Next Ultra: Race To The Tower 2019.

Start: Slindon Estate, Arundel

End: Winchester Cathedral

Richard gowerRun, Ultramarathon, Trig Pillar, South Downs, National Park, National Trust, Sussex, Hampshire, EnglandComment
Helvellyn: Westmorland County Top
Striding Edge

Striding Edge

Significance: Highest peak in Westmorland (Historic CT)
Member of: Furth, Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall, Wainwright, Birkett
Parent Peak: Scafell Pike
Elevation: 950m
Date climbed: 10th June 2018
Coordinates: 54.5268° N, 3.0172° W
Route Start / End: Circular from Patterdale Hotel, A592, Penrith, CA11 0NN
Route Distance: 14.7 km (9.1 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 848m
Subsidiary tops on route: High Spying How (Striding Edge: 863m), Catstye Cam (890m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Coast to Coast Walk (St Bees to Shap), The Ullswater Way
OS Trig Pillar: TP3724 - Helvellyn
Map: OS Explorer OL5: The English Lakes North Eastern Area
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Westmorland), Wikipedia (Helvellyn), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

We did Helvellyn in the same trip as Old Man of Coniston. This was a long weekend in the Lakes to complete the Historic County Tops in the area. We would have also included Scafell Pike if I hadn’t already done it several times and, after the last one, decided to never go back.

Helvellyn is an icon of the Lake District and often considered to be one of England’s best walks. We had a great time on outperform trek there so I can relate to those reviews. We started at the hotel next to the Patterdale Hotel and followed the track that follows the route of the St Bees to Shap section of the Coast to Coast Walk.

When ascending in this clockwise direction you’ll approach the summit via Striding Edge. I’m not a big fan of ridges like these but this was a lot of fun. We had the advantage of good visibility and dry conditions. However, the weather forecasted rain soon so we didn’t hang around too much. That was just as well as an icy downpour started just as we reached the plateau at the summit. We got a good view of walkers behind us getting drenched.

From the Trig Pillar at the summit we saw mini cyclones in the distance and rapidly moving clouds. Fortunately they were moving away from us so we had avoided much of day’s rain. After lunch at the summit we continued our clockwise route, descending via Swirral Edge. It’s another challenging route, but not as tricky as Striding Edge and easier to do as a descent. Even so, the route was now very wet so we took it easy.

Once off Swiral Edge (which I always misremember as Squirrel Edge), we were back in easy terrain, following the path back to the Patterdale Hotel

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Trig Pillar, Westmorland, Mountain, Lake District, National Park, EnglandComment
Old Man of Coniston: Lancashire County Top
IMG_7318.jpg

View to Low Water

Also known as: Coniston Old Man
Significance: Highest Peak in Lancashire (Historic CT)
Member of: Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall, Wainwright, Aetherius Society Holy Mountains
Parent Peak: Scafell Pike. NHN = Crinkle Crags-South Top
Elevation: 803m
Date climbed: 09/06/2018
Coordinates: 54.3701° N, 3.1199° W
Route Start / End: Circular from Holly How YHA, Coniston
Route Distance: 11 km (6.8 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 728m
Subsidiary tops on route: Brim Fell (796m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP2382 - Coniston Old Man
OS Map: Outdoor Leisure 6: The English Lakes South Western Area
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Lancashire), Wikipedia (Old Man of Coniston), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

We did the Old Man of Coniston in the same trip as Helvellyn . This was a long weekend in the Lakes to complete the Historic County Tops in the area. We would have also included Scafell Pike if I hadn’t already done it several times and, after the last one, decided to never go back.

We were staying in the YHA Coniston Holly How so had the advantage of doing a circular trek from the door of the hostel. An alternative start point is the Old Station Car Park in the centre of Coniston.

We took the footpath on the north side of the YHA to join another path heading in a south-westerly direction around the edge of Round Haw and Mouldry Bank. This curves to a north-westerly direction roughly following the course of the Red Dell Beck stream. Don't follow this all the way though as you'll need to take the paths that lead you to Levers Water.

Continue around the southern edge of Levers Water ascending to the west until you meet a path that connects Great How Crags with the Old Man of Coniston summit. Take a left onto this path and follow it in a southerly direction to the summit.

After the summit continue on the path to the south-east (not the path that leads directly south). This will curve to the north-east as you descend to the north-east corner of Low Water. From here take the easterly path for ~2km until you meet the Church Beck stream. Continue along this path following the stream as it curves to the south-east and leads you to Coniston town centre.

If you're staying at the YHA it's less than 1km up Yewdale Road from Coniston Town centre.

OTHER HIGH POINTS IN Lancashire

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Lake District, National Park, Lancashire, EnglandComment
Walking The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal - Part 1

Start: Brecon Canal Basin, Brecon, LD3 7EY
Finish: Crickhowell High Street, Crickhowell, NP8 1BE
Distance: 25 km (15.5 miles)
Elevation change: +134m / -201m. Net -67m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): Taff Trail, Usk Valley Walk
Other Routes Touched (cycle): NCN 8
Maps:
- OS Explorer OL12 Brecon Beacons National Park - Western & Central areas
- OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern area
Links: Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, River Usk, Brecon, Talybont on Usk, Crickhowell

I’d only seen the Monmouth & Brecon Canal a few times before and that was only the basin at Brecon. It’s where I started the Taff Trail many years ago and was the venue for a Landscape Photography course I did in 2012. I never thought about where it went to until recently. Timi and I were staying in the Valley of Ewyas on the Welsh border and I needed a one-day adventure while she spent time with her coaching friends.

I looked at a few options from cycling the whole length of its to walking or running a section. The 16-mile Brecon to Crickhowell section was an obvious choice for a short winter day. There’s an infrequent bus between the towns which helped the logistics for a point-to-point walk.

After a thwarted attempt on Pontypool parkrun I arrived at Crickhowell at 09:30. I’d driven over an hour to get there from our isolated farmhouse only to find that the run was cancelled due to ice. It was especially annoying as I had checked the run’s homepage the day before to see if it was on. It must have been cancelled overnight and, without internet at the farm, I had no way of checking that morning.

With the bus leaving at 10:20 I had a while to fill up on coffee and carrot cake at the Latte-Da cafe next to the bus stop. The last time I’d spent any time in the town was 25 years ago. I remember a cafe there that was a shrine to Cliff Richard. His songs were on constant rotation and there were photos of him all over the walls. It was a quirky place that I hoped was still there but it was now long gone in the history of the town.

After a short bus ride and a 5 minute walk to the canal basin I started my walk. The first section was pretty snowy with some amazing views of Pen-y-fan and its sisters on the first 3 miles. The well kept towpath is dotted with wooden sculptures and information boards depicting the history of the canal.

The route follows the River Usk remaining higher than the river in most parts and crossing it on viaducts several times. The A40 is also close by and, apart from the first couple of miles out of Brecon, it’s distant enough not to spoil a quiet walk.

There were a couple of places, like Talybont on Usk and Llangynidr, with canal-side pubs that would have been nice stops. As it happened I decided to plough on so I could be back at the farm before it got dark.

The first 5 miles were the most interesting then a lot of the route was much the same. That’s why I prefer to cycle along canal towpaths as they’re often a bit samey for the slower speed of walking. Even so, it was a lovely walk and a good use of a chilly winter day.

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Richard gowerTrek, NCN, Canal, Monmouthshire, Brecon Beacons, National Park, WalesComment
Peak District County Tops

On the Pennine Way between Black Chew Head and Black Hill

Our Peak District trip was the latest in what was now becoming an annual County Top bagging long weekend. We based ourselves at YHA Castleton and did day trips to conquer the historic and some present day county tops in the area.

First up wit Kinder Scout, the County Top of Derbyshire and the hugest peak in the area. We started from the car park at Edale station and too an anti clockwise route taking in Grindslow Knoll and Crowden Tower. We had to divert from the route to find the actual summit. With low visibility, drizzly rain and an ambiguous high point we relied on following a GPS bearing. With no Trig Pillar or obvious summit market we decided that the big stick on a clump was the summit and declared victory.

Although neither an historic nor present day County Top, Mam Tor was too iconic to miss. It was also close to our YHA and a quick and easy Trig Point bag, so we ticked it off in the way to Cheeks Hill.

This was the underwhelming peak of the trip. The high point of the historic county of Staffordshire is a short walk across boggy ground to a lonely corner of the county market by a sheep pen. One for County Top completists but at least it’s in the way to Shining Tor. This one makes up for the underwhelm of Cheeks Hill. It’s a short walk but rewarded by a Trig Pillar and good views on a clear day.

We saved the best walk for last on this trip. In one 8 mile walk you get an historic county top, a present day one and a scenic section of the Pennine Way. This was a point to point walk but we had the advantage of having 2 cars between the group so we could do a 2 car shuffle. We left one in a lay-by on the A635 and parked the other at our starting point at Crowden. For much of the walk we followed the Pennine Way, with a diversion after 3 km to visit Black Chew Head. If Black Hill is all you’re interested in then an out and back from the A635 is simpler.

Kinder Scout

Significance: Highest peak in Derbyshire (Historic CT), Peak District National Park High Point
Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Hardy, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Cross Fell. NHN = Fountains Fell South Top
Elevation: 636m
Date climbed: 23rd September 2017
Coordinates: 53°23′0″N 1°52′2″W 

Route Start / End: Car park at Edale Train Station, anti-clockwise circular route via Grindslow Knoll, Crowden Tower and back via Jacobs Ladder
Route Distance: 14 km (8.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 480m
Subsidiary tops on route: Grindslow Knoll
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Pennine Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer OL1 The Peak District - Dark Peak area
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Derbyshire), Wikipedia (Kinder Scout), Peakbagger, Hillbagging, National Trust

Kinder Scout is an icon of the Peak District and extremely popular walk. Strangely though, the summit is amazingly hard to find and most walkers don't stray far from the footpaths to find it. We gave it a good go, taking a bearing from the main trail just west of Pym Chair. After 10 minutes of faffing around we found a pile of stones a stick which may have been the summit. That was good enough for us to call it the peak and celebrate with a 1 kilo, now frozen, gummy bear. 

elevation_profile.jpg

Mam Tor (and Lords Seat)

Significance: N/A
Member of: Dewey
Parent Peak: Kinder Scout. NHN = Lords Seat, then Brown Knoll
Historic County: Derbyshire (of which Kinder Scout is the County Top)
Elevation: 517m
Date climbed: 24th September 2017
Coordinates:  53°20′57″N 1°48′38″W

Route Start / End: Mam Nick Car Park, Sparrowpit, Buxton, S33 8WA
Route Distance: 4.2 km (2.6 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 145m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP4623 - Mam Tor
Map: OS Explorer OL1 The Peak District - Dark Peak area
Links (Mam Tor): Wikipedia, Peakbagger, Hillbagging, National Trust
Links (Lords Seat): Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Cheeks Hill

Also known as: Cheeks Hill-South Slope
Significance: Highest peak in Staffordshire (Historic CT)
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Shining Tor. NHN = Whetstone Ridge
Elevation: 520m
Date climbed: 24th September 2017
Coordinates: 53°13′31″N 1°57′44″W

Route Start / End: Where Dane Valley Way crosses country road between A53 and A54
Route Distance: 1.5 km ( 0.9 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 25m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Dane Valley Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer OL24 The Peak District
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Cheeks Hill), Peakbagger, Hillbagger

A competitor for the least interesting County Top prize at less than 1 mile and 30 metres of ascent. Only makes sense if done whilst in the area.

IMG_5156.JPG
elevation_profile - Cheeks Hill.jpg

Shining Tor

Significance: Highest peak in Cheshire (Present Day CT), Cheshire East Unitary Authority High Point
Member of: Marilyn, Dewey
Parent Peak: Black Hill. NHN = Brown Knoll
Historic County: Cheshire (of which Black Hill is the County Top)
Elevation: 559m
Date climbed: 24th September 2017
Coordinates:  53°15′39″N 2°00′34″W

Route Start / End: Car park of Peak View Tea Rooms, A537
Route Distance: 3.3 km (2.0 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 75m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP5950 - Shining Tor
Map: OS Explorer OL24 The Peak District
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Cheshire), Wikipedia (Cheshire East), Wikipedia (Shining Tor), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Black Chew Head

Significance Highest peak in Greater Manchester (Present Day CT), Oldham Unitary Authority High Point
Member of: Dewey
Parent Peak: Black Hill. NHN = Black Hill
Historic County: Yorkshire (of which Mickle Fell is the County Top)
Elevation: 542m
Coordinates: 53°30′57.96″N 1°55′17.76″W
Links: Wikipedia (Greater Manchester), Wikipedia (Oldham), Wikipedia (Black Chew Head), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Black Hill

Significance Highest peak in Cheshire (Historic CT), West Yorkshire (Present Day CT), Kirklees Unitary Authority High Point
Member of: Marilyn, Dewey
Parent Peak: Kinder Scout. NHN = Bleaklow Head
Elevation: 582m
Coordinates: 53°32′18″N 1°52′53″W
OS Trig Pillar: TP3980 - Holme Moss
Links: Wikipedia (Cheshire), Wikipedia (West Yorkshire), Wikipedia (Kirklees), Wikipedia (Black Hill), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

For both peaks:

Date climbed: 25th September 2017
Route Start / End: Point to point walk along Pennine Way from Crowden to Greenfield Road
Route Distance: 12.9 km (8 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +531m / -296m. Net 235m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: The Pennine Way
Map: OS Explorer OL1 The Peak District - Dark Peak area
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)

Two County Tops for the price of one in a scenic section of the Pennine Way. The 11 km trek started in Crowden, finishing at the junction of the Pennine Way and the A635. A short diversion from the main path at Laddow Rocks takes you up to Black Chew Head, the high point of Greater Manchester and Oldham. It was a clear day and we found it easily. Be extra careful in low visibility, especially when re-joining the Pennine Way as the path follows a cliff-edge here. Black Hill, the (Historic) County Top of Cheshire is right on the Pennine Way path at around 8km into the trip.

elevation_profile.jpg

Other High Points In Cheshire

Other High Points In Derbyshire

Other High Points In Staffordshire

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, National Trust, Peak District, National Park, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, EnglandComment
Beachy Head Marathon

When: October 29th 2016
Where: Eastbourne
Course: Hilly! Mostly South Downs Way & other trails starting and ending at Bede's preparatory School in Eastbourne
Start & Finish: Bede's Prep School, Dukes Drive, Eastbourne, BN20 7XL
Distance: 42.2 km (26.2 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 1,099m
Other routes touched (walk): South Downs Way, Weald Way, Vanguard Way
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 2
Finish time: 5:36
Links: Beachy Head Marathon, South Downs Way, Beachy Head, Eastbourne

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elevation_profile (1).jpg
Richard gowerRun, Marathon, South Downs, National Park, Sussex, EnglandComment
North Wales County Tops

Snowdon

Now that I've done most of the Southern County Tops, the rest are getting higher and further away from home. Expeditions have changed from day-trips to a few days away, bagging multiple tops in one region. The plan for this trip was North West Wales, bagging Snowdon, Holyhead Mountain, Moel Famau and Cadair Berwyn. Ideally we would have also squeezed in Aran Fawddwy but we only had 3 days off work and we wanted to get in some zip-lining action too.

Snowdon

Also known as: Yr Wyddfa
Significance: Highest peak in Caernarfonshire (Historic County Top), Gwynedd (Preserved County and Principal Area), Snowdonia National Park High Point, Wales Country Top
Member of: Marilyn, Furth, Hewitt, Nuttall, Welsh 3000s
Parent Peak: Ben Nevis.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Stob Binnein
Elevation: 1,085m
Date climbed: 25th July 2016 (and several times before) 
Coordinates: 53°4′6.59″N 4°4′34.43″W


Route Start / End: Pen Y Pass car park
Route Distance: 12.4 km (7.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 874m
Subsidiary tops on route: Y Lliwedd
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Pyg Track, Llanberis Path, Snowdon Ranger Path, Watkin Path, Miners Track
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP6043 - Snowdon Summit
Map: OS Explorer OL17 Snowdon & Conwy Valley
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Caernarfonshire), Wikipedia (Snowdon), Peakbagger, Hillbagging
 

Before the trip I wasn't hugely excited about doing Snowdon again. I'd been up there at least 4 times before and would have rather spent the time on a new peak. Mark, my fellow County Topper, hadn't done it before so we needed to include it. Chris, the third of our group had literally no idea where he was so had no opinion on the matter.

Our plan was to do the Snowdon Horseshoe including the knife-edge Crib Goch. This excited me as I hadn't done any of that route before, normally sticking to the Watkin or Llanberis paths. I was a bit nervous about Crib Goch so I did a bit of Internet research on it the night before. I'm fine with heights but get nervous of slipping so I wanted to find out more about it. It turned out that this kind of research is much the same as looking up the cause of an itchy rash in the Web (You are definitely going to die). Our breakfast time meeting about the route was a good decider to not do it. We were discussing kit and Chris was talking about how proud he was of his new £9.99 waterproofs. He was also not sure about whether he would need to take a backpack or any water. That was it ... Pyg Track to the summit, no Crib Goch.

Despite leaving the B&B early, we soon became an hour and a half behind schedule. The Pen Y Pass Car park gets full really early so we had to go to the next lay-by a couple of miles along the road to Llanberis. The good news was that there’s a regular bus service connecting the stops on the road. The bad news is that non-one, including us, could work out what the bus timetable was telling us. Convinced that the bus would be imminent, we waited an hour before getting into a taxi exactly 30 seconds before the bus came round the corner.

Heading away from Pen Y Pass on the Pyg Track, the sky was overcast and the rain came within 10 minutes. This was further confirmation that our plan to avoid Crib Goch was the best idea ever. I also got the opportunity to stoke my amusement of people on mountains who are unprepared for the the conditions. £9.99 waterproofs were the height of preparedness compared the the walkers in jeans and t shirts and some carrying babies up the highest mountain in Wales.

Just beyond the cloud line we joined the familiar Llanberis Path and reached the summit. Apparently the view is amazing, but in the 5 times I've been there, it's only been dirty fog. After a quick stop at the summit cafe we started the descent along the Watkin Path. I done the Watkin a couple of times in reverse and remember the steep part near the top to be a bit of a wobbly scramble. We must have gone off track on those previous attempts as the path down was significantly more straightforward than I remembered.

At Bwlch Ciliau we left the Watkin and ascended again to Y Lliwedd. This was a new summit for me and, at 898m, it was taller than the majority of County Tops. With some amazing views, my previous disinterest in climbing Snowdon again was long gone.

At the bottom of Lliwedd Bach, the final peak of the Horseshoe,  we joined the Miners Track on relatively flat ground. Mark, who was just ahead of Chris and I, had got talking to a lone walker by the reservoir. The guy had done Crib Goch that morning and still looked petrified by the experience. He'd got to the knife edge relatively easily only to have got caught in a strong downpour right at the top. After our breakfast decision Mark and I were worried about whether missing it would take some of the enjoyment out of the day. As it happened, the day was awesome and the had the added bonus of not shitting ourselves and/or falling off.

Snowdon done ... Next stop: Holyhead Mountain.

Holyhead Mountain

Significance: Highest peak in Anglesey / Isle of Anglesey (Historic County Top, Preserved County, Principal Area and National Landscape)
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: N/A.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Moel Tryfan
Elevation: 220m
Date climbed: 25th July 2016
Coordinates: 53°18′47″N 4°40′35″W


Route Start / End: Car park opposite Ty Mawr Hut Circles on South Stack Road
Route Distance: 4 km (2.5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 141m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP3989 - Holyhead
Map: OS Explorer 262 Anglesey West
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Anglesey), Wikipedia (Holyhead Mountain), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

The problem with Holyhead Mountain in that it's a massive pain in the arse to get to. Holyhead an island off an island in the far North West corner of Wales and takes a long time to get there from anywhere other than Snowdonia. At only 220m high and an hour and a half up and down, it not worth the trip unless you’re in the area anyway. Having just completed Snowdon and with several hours of daylight left, we decided to squeeze in Holyhead Mountain before evening beers.

The last time I’d been to Holyhead was in 2010 for the start of the 4-day NCN Route 8 Wales End-To-End cycle trip. Holyhead was once a thriving town supporting the ferry to Dublin, but had long since fallen on hard times. With a fast road and rail connection straight through to the port, there’s now no need to stop in the town. We were staying there overnight before setting off on the ride and really struggled to find anywhere to eat. Only 1 out of 3 shops in the high street were open with the rest either shut or housing a weird local charity. The Anglesey Feral Cat Action Trust was my favourite. If only I’d got the County Top obsession back then I could have bagged Holyhead Mountain then and avoided a return trip.

The walk, like so many of those I’m not expecting much from, turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. From the RSPB car park, its a gentle incline for about 20 minutes towards the big chalky cliff. A relatively straightforward and well sign-posted path leads through beautifully coloured heather to the trig point at the top. We had a warm but cloudy day so couldn’t see all the way to Dublin, just bits of Holyhead harbour and the ferries coming in and out.

elevation_profile - Holyhead Mountain.jpg

Moel Famau

Significance: Highest peak in Flintshire (Historic County Top and Principal Area), High Point of Preserved County of Clwyd, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape High Point
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Moel y Gamelin.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Cyrn-y-Brain
Elevation: 555m
Date climbed: 26th July 2016
Coordinates: 53°09′16″N 3°15′21″W


Route Start / End: Car park opposite Pen Barras Lodge on Bwlch Pen Barras Road
Route Distance: 4.4 km (2.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 271m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Offa’s Dyke Path
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP0005 - Moel Fammau
Map: OS Explorer 265 Clwydian Range, Prestatyn, Mold & Ruthin
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Flintshire), Wikipedia (Moel Famau), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

 Just like Holyhead Mountain, Moel Famau isn’t a County Top that you’d make a big effort to get to just for itself. The summit itself is surrounded by a Country Park with various routes to the top and nice views. We picked the main route from the car-park at the bottom making the round trip in an hour and a half.

The main highlight of Moel Famau is the ruins of the Jubilee Tower, an Egyptian-style monument built in 1810 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of George III. It was never completed and the actual tower was destroyed in a storm 1862 leaving the base that you can see today.

Moel Sych

Significance: Highest peak in Montgomeryshire (Historic County Top)
Member of: Marilyn, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Cadair Berwyn
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Cadair Berwyn
Elevation: 827m
Coordinates: 52°52′34″N 3°23′19″W
Links: Wikipedia (Montgomeryshire), Wikipedia (Moel Sych), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Cadair Berwyn

Significance: Highest peak in Denbighshire (Historic County Top), Wrexham (Council Top)
Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Aran Benllyn
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Aran Benllyn
Elevation: 832m
Coordinates: 52°53′02″N 3°22′49″W
OS Trig Pillar: TP1837 - Cader Berwyn
Links: Wikipedia (Denbighshire), Wikipedia (Cadair Berwyn), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

For both peaks:
Date climbed: 27th July 2016
Route Start / End: Car park at Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall
Route Distance: 10.5 km (6.5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 597m
Subsidiary tops on route: Cadair Berwyn North Top
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer 255 Llangollen & Berwyn
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)

Two tops in one trip: this was the highlight of the 5-County Top adventure as it was one that I’d not done before and a long, interesting trek. We’d saved this one for last as it was on our way back down South from our base on Betws-y-Coed.

The obvious starting point is a car park at the base of Tan-y-Pistyll Falls, the longest single-drop waterfall in the UK. Jonny Muir’s book recommends a there-and-back route to Cadiar Berwyn via Moel Sych. We followed this route up, but descended via a parallel path on the East side of the valley, ending up a mile further South from the car park. I definitely recommend this as is a far more interesting walk.

Navigation is easy for most of the route except, we found, for a small section near the top of the waterfall leading up to Moel Sych. It took a couple of attempts to find the small path however once on it, its an obvious route to the summit.

We read that Moel Sych was once considered the County Top of both Montgomeryshire and Denbighshire until someone noticed that Cadair Berwyn was higher and both counties got their own summit. When you’re at the top its obvious which one is the higher and hard to imagine how it too so long to discover it.

The route down follows a path curving down the side of a steep drop. Safe enough on a clear day like we had, however I’d seriously consider returning via the Moel Sych route on a low-visibility winter’s day.  

route-28201389-map-full Moel Sych & Cadair Berwyn.png

For Merionethshire (Aran Fawddwy), see the Western Wales post, linked below

OTHER HIGH POINTS IN North Wales

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Snowdonia, National Park, Caernarvonshire, Anglesey, Flintshire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, Wales, Island High PointsComment
Wiggle Sussex-Surrey Scramble Cycle Sportive

Start & Finish: Brinsbury College, North Heath, Pulborough, RH20 1DL
Distance: 162 km / 101 miles
Elevation Change: + / - 1,431m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (Walk): Wey-South Path, The Serpent Trail, South Downs Way, Monarch’s Way, West Sussex Literary Trail, New Lipchis Way, Sussex Border Path, Downs Link
Other Routes Touched (Cycle): NCN 223
Maps:
- OS Explorer OL10 Arundel & Pulborough
- OS Explorer OL8 Chichester, South Harting & Selsey
- OS Explorer OL33 Haslemere & Petersfield
- OS Explorer OL34 Crawley & Horsham

With 1 month to go before the epic Lands-End To John O'Groats (LEJOG) cycle trip, I needed some practice. I'd bought a new road bike 6 weeks before and had ridden a total of 20 miles on it. As much as I loved the bike, I didn't love riding it. Being more of a mountain bike man, the riding position felt all wrong and I just couldn't work out the gears. Today would be 101 miles of getting used to it.

Martyn, a fellow LEJOGger, had done a couple of Wiggle Sportives already. The sportives are long-distance cycle one-day events organised by the on-line sports shop. Martyn gave me some good advice a week before that its best to get there and set-off early. The organisers started everyone in groups of 25 and if you get there late you can get stuck waiting for the crowd to start.

The event had 3 distance options: "Short" at 50 miles; "Standard" at 76 miles and "Epic" at 101 miles. I chose the Epic mostly because I couldn't understand driving so far for an event and only doing a short version of it. It was on the start line that I realised that everyone else on the Epic was really fit. In most organised events I tend to finish in the middle of the pack, but I had a feeling that I would end up nearer the back.

The event was well organised with excellent signage. This was good as I had decided not to take a sat-nave with me. The only tricky bit came around half way when the route crossed with another cycle event that had almost exactly the same direction arrows, just pointing a different way. The big advantage of being slower than nearly everyone else is that getting regularly overtaken was a good sign that I was still on the right route.

As a practice ride it all worked out well. The new bike did its job and I had over 8 hours to get used to the riding position and how the gears worked. All but 1 of the LEJOG days will be shorter than this and we'll take more breaks during those rides, so I was feeling pretty confident by the end.

My premonition on the start line that I would finish near the end was pretty accurate as the car park was nearly empty by the time I finished. I think that everyone who finished after me either got lost or had a mechanical problem on route.

So, my first Wiggle was a success and I'll remember it mostly for the beautiful route through some amazing South Downs villages. I'm sure I'll be back for more Wiggles.

elevation_profile.jpg
Richard gowerCycle, NCN, South Downs, National Park, Surrey, Sussex, EnglandComment
Chwarel y Fan: Monmouthshire County Top
Summit of Chwarel y Fan

Summit of Chwarel y Fan

Significance: Highest peak in Monmouthshire (Historic CT)
Member of: Hewitt, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Waun Fach. NHN = Pen y Gadair Fawr
Elevation: 679m
Date climbed: 5th April 2015
Coordinates: 51°57′30″N 3°04′51″W 
Route Start / End: Llanthony Priory, Llanvihangel Crucorney, Abergavenny, NP7 8DQ
Route Distance: 14.1 km (8.8 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 470m
Subsidiary tops on route: Bal-Mawr (599m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Beacons Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Monmouthshire), Wikipedia (Chwarel y Fan), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

OTHER HIGH POINTS IN NORTH WALES

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Brecon Beacons, National Park, Monmouthshire, WalesComment
Fan Foel: Carmarthenshire County Top
IMG_3574.jpg

Significance: Highest peak in Carmarthenshire (Historic CT)
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Fan Brycheiniog. NHN = Fan Brycheiniog - Twr y Fan Foel
Elevation: 781m
Date climbed: April 4th 2015
Coordinates: 51° 53' 14'' N, 3° 42' 49'' W
Route Start / End: Llyn y Fan Fach Car Park, Llanddeusant SA19 9UN
Route Distance: 9.9 km (6.1 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 540m
Subsidiary tops on route: Bannau Sir Gaer (Picws Du), Waun Lefrith
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Beacons Way, South Wales Traverse
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer OL12 Brecon Beacons National Park - Western & Central Areas
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Carmarthenshire), Wikipedia (Fan Brycheiniog), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

This one is the highest peak in Carmarthenshire but only counts as a sub-peak of Fan Brycheiniog so it doesn’t count as a Marilyn, Nuttall or Hewitt in its own right. Looking back on this one I wish I’d made the extra effort to bag the higher peak too. Even so, this was an amazing walk on a clear spring day with views for miles. It was much less crowded than the Brecon Beacons too.

route-29027815-map-full.png
Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Carmarthenshire, Wales, Mountain, Brecon Beacons, National ParkComment
Black Mountain: Herefordshire County Top

Also Known As: Twyn Llech (Welsh)
Significance: Highest peak in Herefordshire (Historic CT).
Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Waun Fach. NHN = Rhos Dirion
Elevation: 703m
Date climbed: April 20th 2014
Coordinates: 52°00′30″N 3°05′05″W
Route Start / End: Gospel Pass Car Park, Capel-y-ffin, Abergavenny, NP7 7NP
Route Distance: 8 km (5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 196m
Subsidiary tops on route: Hay Bluff (677m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: Offa’s Dyke Path
OS Trig Pillar: TP5402 - Pen-Y-Beacon
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Herefordshire), Wikipedia (Black Mountain), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

If I had known that I’d be returning to the Ewyas valley many times in the future I probably wouldn’t have attempted this on on such a rainy day. As it happened we were on the last day of a long weekend in the Brecon Beacons and I was eager to bag this one.

Although Black Mountain is the high point of Herefordshire, an English County, much of the walk is in Wales. The obvious starting point is the car park at the top of Gospel Pass. From here there’s a well trodden path up the side of the valley to the Hay Bluff Trig Pillar. From the pillar, take the south-easterly path to join Offa’s Dyke. Continue for ~1.2k until you get to the high point. There’s nothing here except for a small group of stones. As visibility was very poor and it was raining a lot, we quickly retraced our steps back to the parking spot.

In the following years a good friend of ours would move to the valley and we have done a lot more walks near there. With better weather and more time I would plan a different walk that includes both Twmpa and Black Mountain.

Richard gowerTrek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Herefordshire, Brecknockshire, Brecon Beacons, England, Wales, National Park Comment