The Cares Gorge is billed as one of the most famous walks in Spain and according to our Guidebook “no trip the the Picos would be complete without a journey through the Cares Gorge”. It’s a long trip with no escape routes. The guide said 11km to the village of Cain at the far end.… Read more

After a very smooth travel day, my student expedition group and I flew over the Bay of Biscay and arrived at the North Coast of Spain  by evening, en route to the mountains of the Picos de Europa. To break up the journey to the mountains, we stayed at a campsite down by the beach.… Read more

Conditions, weather, people, time of day and free time all came into alignment today. After about fourteen years of waiting for the perfect combination, I finally got to climb the three star classic and longest route in Cwm Idwal – the East Wall Gridle. It was everything that I’d hoped it would be! Great rock,… Read more

We went on a bit of a new exploration today around our local mountain ‘Yr Elen’. It was slightly overcast as we set out from Bethesda, but incredibly warm still. This was after a delightful slow Sunday ‘al fresco’ breakfast at The Cottage sunshine of course. There are very few times, hiking in Snowdonia where short… Read more

Given the tropical conditions across North Wales, it felt a bit weird getting ice axes and crampons packed in preparation for next weeks expedition away. After an exhausting, but productive day working ‘behind the scenes’ sorting the logistics and paperwork of various forthcoming expeditions, there was still just enough time to enjoy the three-star classic climb… Read more

I had to be in Llandudno this morning for a day of meetings, expedition packing, and preparations. I’ve always wondered if I’d be able to cycle there and now that I’ve got a decent bike, I decided (a bit spur of the moment), to give it a go and commute in by peddle power. I… Read more