Clare and I had intended to spend the day up in the mountains on a long walk or scramble, but neither of us could quite summoned the required energy. And with temperatures at The Cottage only just above freezing it felt bitterly cold out, so we put the idea on hold… In the shelter of Read more

Having been to Conwy plenty of times over the years and driven past it considerably more, I finally had the chance to take a look inside the town’s famous castle! It’s free to walk around on the top of the town walls, but for about a tenner, you can get inside and wander through the Read more

Every three years since around 1995 I’ve done a two day outdoor and emergency rescue first aid course. I was still at school when I was invited on the first one, and since then I’ve kept the certification up to date as part of my mountaineering qualification requirements. This course was particularly fun as it Read more

With snow on the tops of the mountains, it felt like we should capitalise on conditions, so I was back up in the hills again with an older group of students. This time we were able to access the higher peaks and set out for Y Garn from Ogwen Cottage. The winds remained light and Read more

The north winds have blown, turning the sea into a very different scene than the calm of a few days ago. Foam from the sea was blocking the promenade in Llanfairfechan – waist deep! The cold winds have put down the first coating of snow in the mountains, so we felt we ought to go Read more