An ascent of Y Garn in the tail end of Hurricane Barney seemed an unlikely choice of activity first thing this morning. Rain continued to bombard The Cottage with flower pots and leaves doing circuits of the garden. Needless to say, the rivers were in full effect – this is Ogwen Falls by Ogwen Cottage:… Read more

Sub prime conditions in Llanberis today… Nevermind the weather though! The psych was still high for some orienteering, despite the wind and the rain! As is often the case, the thought of getting out in bad weather is always much worse than once you’re actually outside. I had my work work cut out today though,… Read more

It was a little disorientating today. Having been partying in the busy city of London yesterday, today (essentially, only a few hours later) I was canoeing by the considerably less busy village of Llanberis, in North Wales. When we arrived back at The Cottage last night, the wind was howling and rain was battering the… Read more

Great Uncle Fred! Head of the Martin Family is 100 years old and The Martin Clan have all assembled to celebrate with him in London! What a legend! Having finished yesterdays session in the climbing wall I drove directly to London. One of the things that I like about little ‘mini-missions’ such as this, is… Read more

Route setting and bouldering all afternoon! Indoor climbing is not normally my choice of venue during daylight hours, but gale force winds and heavy rain made it rather appealing today! It’s surprisingly tricky to set a good bouldering ‘problem’. You can’t just screw the holds on anywhere. The best ones require the climber to give… Read more

There’s snow on the hills! The first of the season and having not seen the forecast yesterday, it was quite a surprise to wake up to this! It was 16 degrees when I drove home last night; the temperature had dropped right down to 6 this morning!  The rivers are still up after a week… Read more