My First Cycle Touring Trip

Bank Holiday Weekend, 27-28 August 2017

I have been researching about bicycle touring for the last few months. What's strange is that I even didn't know this type of activity existed until recently. I discovered it when I was recovering from my knee injury. This involved going through a boring exercising routine at home every day and I started watching YouTube videos from Bicycle Touring Pro to take my mind away. At this point, I pretty much knew that mountaineering was off the table for me due to state of my knees and suddenly bicycle touring looked like something to look forward to. Something that could offer adventures.

I quickly discovered that cycle tourers use these expensive bikes designed purposely to allow them to cover long distances and carry heavy loads. Do I need to buy one straight away without knowing if this type of activity is even right thing for me? To start with I decided to utilize what I already had i.e. cheap seven year old Giant Escape hybrid bike. Writing this almost two years later I know this bike was not really suitable for touring but thanks to my lack of knowledge at a time I simply went for it. I worked out that as a minimum I need to buy a rear rack, panniers and sleeping mat that fits inside the pannier. This led to purchasing the Topeak Super Tourist DX rear rack, two blue Crosso 30l panniers and Exped SynMat HL Winter sleeping mat. As for all the other equipment I was planning to use whatever camping items I already had in my possession. It wasn't the expensive lightweight stuff but it had to be enough for my first, test mini tour.

Having sorted equipment out I started looking for a route. The obvious one in England is the coast to coast. Well, one of them to be strict as there is lots of coast in the UK. At a time this looked quite ambitious to me. I was full of anxiety. Will my bicycle survive? What do I do when it brakes down? Where do I sleep? How do I get to the starting point and how do I get back home?

The opportunity to gain some initial experience and put some of these worries to bed came with the August Bank Holiday. The weather was supposed to be warm and sunny so I plotted a route in Viewranger which was starting from my house and ending at the Crowden campsite in Peak District. Actually, I was hoping to wild camp somewhere but the campsite was my backup plan. I packed everything and set off on Saturday afternoon. The distance I was planning to cover was about 45km so I expected to manage it in a few afternoon hours. Most of the route was to follow Trans Pennine Trail so I would be avoiding roads which is always good news to me.

All the load was placed at the back of the bike which isn't great from a weight distribution point of view but I was managing somehow and budget Alex rims didn't collapse. I was also carrying a small rucksack and I would learn quickly it's not the best idea.

It is certainly harder to pedal on a laden bike and I was struggling uphill on Goddard Lane from Dunford Bridge. Yes, some pushing was involved. Once near Bleaklow I started looking around for a suitable camping spot but couldn't imagine camping anywhere near busy Woodhead Pass and pushing the bike high enough so that I would feel comfortable looked like way too much work. When hill walking in Peak District wild camping isn't a problem to me but being limited as to where I can go on my bike made a difference. Campsite it is, then. I had to find a way of crossing busy A628 from Longdendale Trail without being hit by HGV and managed to do it by walking across the dam between Woodhead and Torside reservoirs.  It involved conquering some steep steps with overgrown bushes on either side. My brand new panniers gained their first scratches. This allowed me to minimize my presence on A628 to only about 100m long stretch.

Being a bank holiday weekend the campsite was busy but I learned for the first time that there is always space for cycle tourers. I put up my Mirage 200 tent which is not the lightest but sturdy and prepared myself a meal. It was simply the case of boiling water actually and adding it to the bag as I brought freeze dried meal from Go Outdoors. A minimalist and lazy approach really. I resisted the temptation of ordering pizza from the campsite reception as this wouldn't be an option if I was to wild camp. The campsite has trees and my spot was surrounded by them. This brought back a memory of Spanish campsites.

Close to my lovely location was pitched another Mirage 200 which was probably the first time that happened to me. There is always lots of Vango tents at every campsite I go to but not Mirage. The night was very cold. I woke up in the middle of the night and had to put on all the clothes I had with me. I think it's because of the campsite location and cold air settling at the bottom of the valley. This was also the first time I was using my inflatable mat. It was easy enough to inflate but I found it a bit too small for me i.e. my arms were falling down the sides of the mat and getting cold. I quickly concluded I would probably need to replace it with a size bigger than medium.

There is something absolutely exceptional I found about this campsite, specifically showers. They had shelves for placing my shower get on! Excellent. Why cannot it be like this in other campsites?

I woke up early as I always do whilst camping and tested another dehydrated meal for breakfast this time it was the scrambled eggs. The meal wasn't too bad but it was too salty so I didn't feel that well afterwards. I'm still struggling to find a good solution for breakfast. I obviously tried porridge but I find it so tasteless that usually only manage to go through half of it. Adding things like nuts and raising doesn't really help.

The morning air was crisp and refreshing. I packed my things and set off west instead of east as I was hoping to find a better place to cross A628 than a day before. The path brought me to the dam between Torside and Rhodeswood reservoirs. I had to manage two sets of steps this time as well but at least didn't have to lift my bike over a locked gate which happened the previous evening.

Once on the other side of the dam, I joined the Longdendale Trail and quickly overtook DofE group that camped at the same campsite. They must have set off even earlier. I was riding now on a section of Kinder Loop route and even though mountain bike would probably be more suitable my Schwalbe Land Cruiser tyres saved me.

The weather was excellent and I wasn't in a hurry but quickly started feeling hungry.

The opportunity to remedy this problem arose after cycling only 28km when I was passing the Travellers Inn pub near Oxpring. Being only 11:30 they weren't quite open yet but they agreed to serve me food. I sat outside in the sun waiting for my chips and a veggie sandwich and managed to read a few pages on my Kindle. What more could I want? This was something I would miss on rainy cold winter days.

The meal, together with a pint of ale as nice as it was made me feel sluggish and my pedalling became even slower. I could feel the weight of my packed panniers and my tent making all the difference. This was easier to notice because I cycled this part of the route before carrying just bottle of water and some snacks. I finally reached home at about 2pm and remember being totally exhausted. Sitting in the garden I remember saying to Magda that I would never do it again. Having rested a bit I started thinking how I could lighten the load and where I would go next...

South Wales Cycling and Walking Holiday

06-13 August 2017

It might sound weird but the closer it was getting to the end of summer 2017 the more pressure I felt that I need to go on holiday. Not that I didn't want to go but I don't really like organizing anything and Magda had still not fully recovered from her illness. Also for the last few years, it was quite simple: we went somewhere where there were mountains and hiked but now, what do I do if my knees are falling apart? Cycling has always been a second choice outdoor activity for me but now I have decided to cycle more to strengthen my leg muscles without putting so much pressure on the joints. I had roof bars installed on our old Skoda, bought myself roof mounted bike carriers and this opened the door to new possibilities. Suddenly we were able to cycle in any location we wanted. So where do we go? South Wales! There is no sarcasm there at all. Well, maybe a little because I can see that not many people from England would rank this destination highly. They would rather go somewhere more exotic I guess. For me, Great Britain is still exciting enough and most of the places locals would consider boring for me are worth consideration.

We have been to Snowdonia many times before but never anywhere in the south of Wales so it was high time we rectified this. I decided to split the week between two locations: Talybont Reservoir in the Brecon Beacons and Manorbier in Pembrokeshire. I was initially hoping to try cycle touring and maybe even throw in some wild camping but I wasn't ready for it yet and didn't feel it would be ok to put Magda through this. In result we camped near two hostels as they offered bike storage. We drove to YHA Brecon Beacons Danywenallt on Sunday. The day was overcast and by the time we got to Talybont Reservoir, it started to drizzle. We weren't put off, found a good camping spot under a tree and had a barbecue.

Following day (Monday) the weather looked more promising and we cycled to Brecon along Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal. Red-brown colour of the water looked odd to me and until now I am not sure where it is coming from. Is it from mudstone or from old red sandstone, or from both?

On the way back we stayed on country roads and I was happy to confirm that this location was a good choice for cycling. Not much traffic, lots of narrow, undulated, tarmacked roads suitable for different types of bicycles.

One of the minor roads on the way from Brecon to Talybont-on-Usk

30km trip wasn't enough for us and after dinner, we cycled clockwise around Talybont Reservoir which added only 16km but included a decent climb.

Talybont Reservoir during a late summer evening

On Tuesday morning as we were waiting for the clouds to clear we weren't in a hurry and postponed climbing Pen y Fan until afternoon. The problem was when it came to starting the car it wouldn't start. This was a bit of a surprise because our old trusty Skoda until this point was, well...trusty. I ended up calling RAC and having to pay for a new battery. We still caught some sun that day standing on the dam waiting for RAC van to arrive. Car back in order allowed us to drive to the nearby waterfalls in the evening.

We topped the day with a short walk beside the reservoir and picked some wild mushrooms. I know this is not something very popular in the UK but I can recognize a few edible varieties and it was hard to resist. Mushrooms were to be consumed for breakfast the following day.

Indeed on Wednesday morning, we had scrambled eggs with wild mushrooms. Since I'm still alive writing this more than a year after the event I must have recognized them correctly.

After breakfast, we drove to the small car park near Torpantau station where we actually saw a group of passengers getting off the train. For them, this was the end of the trip but for us only the beginning. The aim was to walk to the top of Pen y Fan more or less following the Pen y Fan Horseshoe walk description from www.gps-routes.co.uk but ideally to include Fan y Big as well and do it anticlockwise.

Taf Fechan Forest

I would class the walk as relatively easy but long. This is obviously in good weather. Everything would change completely if it was windy and raining. Since it wasn't we enjoyed the day.

First glimpse of Corn Du, Pen y Fan and Cribyn

The walk must not have been as easy actually because I can remember now that we certainly didn't go to Fan y Big and bypassed the summit of Cribyn. I was simply predicting it would be too tiring to include these two summits and I was thinking about my knees. The summit of Pen y Fan was fairly busy but this was kind of expected. I noticed that most of the people used an easier, shorter route so there was some satisfaction coming from the fact that we made it a little bit more challenging for ourselves.

Summit of Corn Du with Pen Y Fan in the background

As much as I enjoy going up I dislike going down. The inevitability of descent is the reason I'm starting to think about bikepacking as all the weight would be on my bike and not my back. Of course, I would not be able to cycle everywhere but I reckon there should be enough interesting locations available.

After Pen Y Fan and Corn Du summits, we continued walking south-east on the Craig Fan Ddu ridge and spotted a gliding red kite. At some point, we started climbing down towards the Neuadd Reservoir. Path sides were covered with some kind of white mesh which from the distance looked like snow. I'm guessing its purpose is to slow down erosion.

View towards Neuadd Reservoir

The path leading down towards the reservoir is fairly steep to start with and we took a couple of short breaks to sit down and enjoy the surroundings. From the reservoir, there was still about 3km to the car park but it's on the flat.
We topped off the day with a tasty meal and a pint in Gurkha Corner restaurant in Brecon.

On Thursday we were relocating to Manorbier. Since driving from Talybont-on-Usk to Manorbier, in theory, takes only about 2.5 hours and the weather was excellent we went for a ride first. We set off from the car park near Brecon Interchange and rode west pretty much along the River Tarell. The day was humid and hot which I think weakened Magda. This resulted in only 17km covered but we enjoyed the views of the Brecon Beacons range from the north side. Again we used narrow country roads and there was very little traffic.

I ignored part of the route calculated by my sat nav and instead of going for the quickest A40 option we stayed in the Brecon Beacons National Park for a bit longer in order to drive through the Black Mountain area. The Black Mountain should not be confused with the Black Mountains range we left behind in the east but of course, it is confusing to me. Originally I was considering staying in the YHA Brecon Beacons which would be a good base for exploring the western part of the park. I also wanted to cycle in the Usk Reservoir area but this will have to wait until we go there next time. On this occasion, we only stopped near the main dam for lunch and listened to the heavy machinery as there was some construction work in progress.

YHA Manorbier felt more modern than the previous hostel. Our bikes got placed in the storage room in the main building rather than the shed. The kitchen was bigger and despite the summer school holiday, we didn't have a problem finding enough space for us. After pitching our tent and unpacking we walked to the Church Dove Cove which is located only a few hundred yards away from the hostel. We immediately liked the place with its small beach and dramatic rock formations resembling doorways of a church.

Skrinkle Haven beach and Church Door Cove

On Friday we walked from the hostel to Tenby and back along the coast. One of a few highlights of the walk was crossing a firing range located near the Penally village. Luckily enough on this day, it was not in use and we were allowed to cross it (one would assume safely). We could see the Caldey Island which is only 1km off the coast and I was wondering if Trappist monks living there are actually brewing Trappist beer which I remembered well from visiting Belgium. Wikipedia doesn't mention it unfortunately which caused great disappointment.

Pembrokeshire Coast Path near Manorbier

We also came across lots of kitesurfers near Tenby South Beach. I've never seen any from that close and we spent a good deal of time watching them flying past. After walking around Tenby for a while we turned back. The wind was picking up and drizzle started as we were getting closer to the hostel. The distance was about 10km each way so it was a decent walk. The day was overcast but we remained dry for most the time.

Sunny Saturday became cycling Saturday. The 40km loop included Manorbier, Freshwater East, Stackpole and Pembroke.

Magda looking towards Manorbier Bay

An abundance of blackberries on the sides of the roads slowed down the progress but yet again we were not in rush. The very simple lesson I learned was that riding along the coastline inevitably means having to work harder because of constant ups and downs. This was to be confirmed following year in Scotland on my short touring trip. After reaching Pembroke we headed towards the castle, stopped for a pint of ale in a nearby pub and busked in the sunshine. We didn't go inside the castle for two reasons. I didn't know what to do with the bikes and I remember that after visiting even the most famous ones like the Sterling Castle I was always a bit disappointed.
I remembered that day as hot and sunny and it ended on the Church Dove beach.

Steps leading to Church Dove beach

August 12th was the Perseid meteor shower night. In my ignorance I didn't know that and went to sleep relatively early, thinking about driving back home on Sunday. I was greatly surprised to see bright objects whizzing across the night sky when I woke up for a pee in the middle of a night!

We had a safe journey back home on Sunday and I will remember South Wales as a great place for cycling and walking holiday.

Robin Hood's Bay and Hayburn Wyke

Weekend, 17-18 June 2017

First (and only?) heatwave of 2017. We haven't been out camping for months and we have never camped near the coast before as we have always been opting for the mountains. Magda has just finished her forty-day long course of intravenous antibiotics and would do with a break. The decision had been made rather quickly and after packing the car for camping we set off on Saturday afternoon to one of the campsites near Robin Hood's Bay. I didn't think booking would be necessary but when we reached Hooks House Farm campsite we were told the campsite was full! Apparently, hot weather brings lots of people to the seaside. Who would have thought of that? Luckily enough just after a few minutes of waiting it turned out that somebody was leaving the campsite as he didn't like it. Knowing that all other campsites would most likely be also full we took the last spot.

The campsite was busy but now I know that this should be expected if it's not raining and it's hot in the UK.

We spent an evening cooking, drinking and looking towards Robin Hood's Bay. We have been here a number of times before but this time we had an opportunity to see the sunrise. I think that we had to get up around 3 am as we were so close to the summer solstice and days were so long.

Half asleep we quickly walked through the deserted village and reached the beach just in time. It was worth it!

We tried to get some sleep after coming back to the tent but this turned out to be impossible. Burning sun and hot air is quite a good combination at kicking you out of a tent.

As for Sunday, I wanted to go to Hayburn Wyke because we have never been there and I saw this spot whilst watching wild camping video on Haze Outdoors channel.

We left the car at the Hayburn Wyke Inn car park, had an early pint and set off to the stony beach. We wanted to get some suntan but we really had to watch ourselves to avoid getting burnt! Hiding in the shade provided by boulders was one option.

We didn't manage to find the camping spot from the clip but I think this was because we simply didn't walk far enough. At least we have a good reason to come back.

Walking - The Lake District Ski Club

Sunday, 30 April 2017

Until now I had no idea it was possible to ski in England. I don't ski myself but a couple of my friends do. In search of the place suitable for practising skiing in the UK before going to the Alps, they discovered The Lake District Ski Club. Despite no chance of seeing any snow at the end of April in England, we set off for a day trip to the Lake District to check the place out. After a couple of hours drive, we made it to the Helvellyn Hostel near Glenridding and started climbing up the path leading through the old lead mine.

The 360 metre button tow and a hut are located on the northern side of the 883m high fell named Raise that belongs to Helvellyn range.

Instead of following the path leading towards the Sticks Pass we turned straight towards the hut and shortly could see it in the distance.

To start with we walked along the tow to the summit of the Raise, planning to have a look at the hut later.

It was quite windy on the summit. Most of the tea from the flask got blown away.

We stopped outside the hut for some time. Off course we couldn't get inside because only club members have access but we still got a good idea what the place is like and if it would be worth joining the club.

We decided to come back to the youth hostel via a path from Sticks Pass.

At the car park, I was relieved to take my DonJoy brace off and it felt good to have completed the walk.

After a pint in Glenridding on the way back home, we popped into Fairfield Marine to look at the boats as my friends are equally interested in sailing as they are interested in skiing.

ViewRanger summary:
Height gain: 653m
Length: 8.2km
Duration: 04:27:06

Here is the link to the GPX file:
Walking Lake District Ski Centre.gpx

Walking - Alport Castles from Ladybower

Sunday, 23 April 2017

Alport Castles in Peak District at last. I saw the area before but only from a distance, Grindslow Knoll or eastern flanks of Kinder Scout to be more precise. A few months earlier I would be there for a scramble but given my knee problem, I had to resist the temptation.

We started the walk from the lay-by located a couple of hundred meters south of Fairholmes car park so not from usual Snake Pass side.

From there we walked past Fairholmes and turned west towards Lockerbrook Farm.

View towards Ladybower Reservoir

Before the main path started dropping down to Snake Road we turned right and started crossing Rowlee Pasture.

We picked this day for a walk because of good weather and we were rewarded with great views towards Kinder Scout plateau but also south (Win Hill) and north (Bleaklow).

View towards Kinder Scout Plateau from Rowlee Pastures

Once we got to the Castles, we spent a good amount of time wandering around and sitting on the edge of the cliff. There is a small bird hide overlooking the cliff. We did see some birds of prey but I wasn't able to recognise them so I couldn't make a note in the book.

The scrambling route goes across the Tower that sits below the Castles. The Tower might seem small from above but it looks like a good challenge from below.

Not being allowed to climb it we...walked around it.

And found a potentially good wild camping spot. It's probably too close to the farm though.

Climbing back to the top of the cliff along the old disintegrated stone wall was a good exercise, made more demanding because of the already strong spring sun.

Come on! Just a few more meters left to the top

I wanted to make a loop out of this walk so we headed east towards Hawden Reservoir rather than south i.e. where we came from.

I must say that long return route wore me off. Especially the tarmacked section on the side of Hawden and Derwent reservoirs. This was partly due to the fact that I was wearing my DonJoy brace again and straps on the back of my leg were causing chafing.

We covered 16km. Weather was great and we saw a beatle!

ViewRanger summary:
Height gain: 670m
Length: 16.7km
Duration: 06:06:49

Here is the link to the GPX file:
Walking Alport Castles.gpx

Walking - Win Hill Loop

Monday, 17 April 2017

My first outdoor activity in almost four months. This was due to two things: my knee injury and my partner's health problems which led us to spending time in hospitals rather than outdoors.

I have been to Win Hill summit number of times before but I always started from Hope. On this occasion, we parked the car in the lay-by next to The Yorkshire Bridge Inn i.e. other side o the hill. From there we walked towards Win Hill, crossed the bridge and then followed steep steps leading through the woods towards the summit.

Ascent is fairly steep and getting to the top will make you sweat but it's worth the effort.

First glimpses of Ladybower Reservoir after getting out of the forest

Despite chilly and overcast conditions, there were quite a few people at the summit but this should not be surprising keeping in mind this was a Bank Holiday Monday.

View towards Lose Hill and Kinder Scout

From the top, we followed a broad path (just visible on the above picture) along the summit ridge for about 2km and then we turned sharp left. The wide path took us down the hillside first towards Twitchill Farm and then Alston. On our way, we passed some abandoned farm buildings and clear signs of springs.

After passing Alston we chose to walk diagonally across the fields through a series of gates and stiles back towards the bridge where we started. The path became very muddy and staying on the road might have been a better choice.

We finally made it back to the bridge and after a short uphill walk back to the car. To me, this short trip felt like a relief after a few depressing months. I was wearing DonJoy FullForce brace on my right leg hoping it would prevent my knee giving way as it happened in Wales a few months earlier. I was ok but I don't think it had anything to do with the brace as such. Probably more down to me being more careful in general. At this point in time, I was still waiting for my MRI scan and did not know how poor state my knees were in.

2016 Summary

2016 wasn't too bad for me despite it started with MRI scan results arriving, which lead to my left knee ACL total rapture diagnosis. The year ended with the right knee injury. I am worried about 2017 as I won't be able to simply live in denial any more. Clearly, my knees are not strong enough for the activities I like the most.

Anyway, 2016 started with a trip to Scotland. We failed to make it to the summit via CMD Arete on the last day of 2015 but partly made up for it by walking to the top on 1st of January via tourist path. Not much snow but cold and windy. Googles were absolutely necessary. We set off late, around 11am, so we had to walk fast.

At Ben Nevis summit

Conditions shortly before reaching CMD Arete

Ben Nevis and CIC Hut

Despite living very close to Peak District I have never visited Bleaklow before. We rectified it on 30/01/2016. Cold and short day.

On Ben Nevis, I realized I would do with gaining some skills and booked basic, one-day winter skills course in the Lake District for 21/02/2016. We learned how to self arrest, walk in crampons etc. The day was very cold, windy with drizzle and wet snow. The course was run on Helvellyn but we did not climb to the top. We spent the night in Wayfarers hostel in Penrith which I recommend.

On 22/02/16 we climbed Skiddaw but sadly didn't get much chance to walk in crampons as there was not enough snow.

Last snow of 2016 in Peak District arrived on 05/03/16. Deep fresh snow. Great sunny day. We went for a circular walk from Edale via Grindslow Knoll and Jacobs Ladder.

We came back to Scotland at Easter time. In theory longer day should increase chances of completing a long walk from the hostel via CMD Arete. In practice we didn't attempt it as a friend of ours warned us about unstable snow at the end of the arete. We played it safe and climbed Stob Ban on 26/03/16 and Aonach Beag 28/03/16 instead.

View from Aonach Beag

Complete change of scenery. On Sunday 17/04/16 we grabbed our bikes and cycled from Barnsley to Leeds using Trans Pennine Trail. On this occasion, we came back by train but next time we need to cycle back home. The distance cycled was just short of 50km.

April was cold and it didn't look like spring would ever arrive. Wilderness Gully West and Wilderness Gully East are good scrambles not far from us. We did both on 24/04/16. Lesson learnt: if you are carrying a helmet in your backpack you may as well put it on.

The top part of Wilderness Gully East

April snow on Wilderness Gully West

A new bit of kit got installed in the house in May. King Kong fingerboard.

In May I booked us on a two day scrambling course in Snowdonia. On the first day (14th) we scrambled Tryfan's North Ridge and practised body belaying (short rope, single sling and a carabiner give you surprisingly many options for protecting scrambles). On the second day, we ascended the Dolmen Ridge which until now is the most challenging thing we did so far. It would be good to come back there without a guide to prove we learned something. This scramble involved using a rope and climbing rack and gave us a taste of proper mountaineering. Great route, great weather.

On Dolmem Ridge route

Just two weeks after the trip to Wales we were back there again but first, we celebrated Magda's birthday in Lake District. We camped at National Trust Great Langdale Campsite and arrived there on the 26th of May. We got lucky with the weather again as this was another weekend without a single drop of rain. On 27th we walked to the summit of Bowfell via Crinkle Crags and came down via Climbers Traverse. The following day we scrambled up Jacks Rake.

Donkey on top of one of the 'crinkles'

Approaching Jacks Rake scramble

Straight from sunny Lake District, we drove to Wales to meet our friends at a Hafod y Llan campsite. The plan was to stay for the Bank Holiday weekend but we escaped after only one night (and a walk of course). The campsite was overcrowded, with showers not working and our conclusion was simple i.e. during Bank Holidays go to remote places or...stay at home and do some gardening. Nevertheless, we had a great walk with a group of friends. We set off from Idwal Cottage, walked to Y Garn first and then across the Glyders. Visibility was great.

Looking towards Y Gar from slopes of Glyder Fawr

On 19/06/16 together with two friends, we walked the Kinder Circuit starting and ending in Edale. This is a long walk (30km) so long summer day seemed perfect for it. This was the second time I walked this route as a few years ago I did it together with Magda.

Winnie-the-Pooh and me

Just a few days later (between 22 and 27) I was in Poland in Bieszczady mountains. This should really be a separate post. Essentially every year together with a few old uni friends we do some hiking either in Beskidy or Bieszczady. These are short trips but always interesting and eventful. You need to watch out for bears and wolfs.

Early morning start from Rajskie village near the river San

Resting somewhere in the forest

View from Polonina Wetlinska

At this point, I started writing this blog so it's enough to say that for the rest of the year we wild camped, scrambled and even tried climbing. For some reason, we didn't do much cycling. The last trip of the year happened between 27 and 30 December. We stayed in Plas Curig hostel in Wales. There was no snow at all so crampons and ice axes stayed in the car. The only walk we managed to complete was the one taking you via Pen yr Ole Wen, Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn. The weather was exceptionally good, it didn't feel like winter at all maybe except some frozen mud early on as we set off about 8am.

Magda with Flynnon Llugwy Reservoir in the background

Unfortunately, I twisted my right knee on an easy, grassy ground coming down from Carnedd Dafydd. Even though I know my knee is not in the best state (injured it years ago whilst playing football) I was surprised. I completed the walk including scrambling down the slabby bad step but the pain was becoming more of a problem. We stayed two more nights as planned but there was no more hill walking or scrambling for me. We drove to Anglesey but all the attractions were closed. The idea of spending New Year's Eve camping on Ben Nevis also evaporated. I am recovering quickly but being aware that there is an underlying problem with my knee I am debating as to what to do in the future. Time will show. It certainly would be very hard to give up mountains.