Colwyn Bay seemed like an unlikely place to running some ‘learning outside the classroom’, when it comes to studying the habit of Chimpanzees, Penguins and Camels, but would you believe it, there’re all up there on the hillside. Even without the animals, the views were special enough today. There a semi-permanent rainbow over the bay almost… Read more

Overnight, the mountains of Snowdonia have been transformed! A good dusting of white has fallen from about 700m upwards and created great conditions for my winter walking group. Last nights downpours had all cleared away by mid-morning and so had the winds, so although the air temperature was cold, it was otherwise ideal conditions for… Read more

Marginal conditions in the mountains today, but we both fancied the exercise, so set off up Pen yr Ole Wen after breakfast. We got most of the way up the initial steep stuff from Ogwen Cottage and were about to admire the views of Tryfan when the clouds rolled around from the Nant Ffrancon. The… Read more

Big plans for a full day of scrambling on the east face of Tryfan had to be put on hold today thanks to a less than ideal forecast of gales and persistent rain. Despite the strong winds, we decided instead to try for an ascent of the Penmeanbach Ridge near the A55 expressway.  I wouldn’t… Read more

Having had to get up and get going much earlier than recent weeks, there has at least been a couple of good sunrises. Getting up in the dark has felt a little disorientating, but worth it for moments like this. As well as a couple of days in the climbing wall, teaching students and catching… Read more

No Sicilian sunshine here today, but the change of surroundings was still a welcome one. The views around here felt familiar in a comforting, ‘welcome home’ kind of way. There’s no sign of any winter conditions in the mountains of Snowdonia, but the wind chill only had the temperatures hovering in the low single figures.… Read more