This weekend just gone, we went up to Bristol to see something I’ve been wanting to watch for years: The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. We were going up on Saturday to stay for a couple nights in the area and watch the 6am mass ascent on Sunday morning. As we travelled up on Saturday I was a little worried as the Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning take offs had all been cancelled as the weather was too windy. I…
View Post
Recently we stayed in a hostel in Snowdonia. It was such a great experience being able to hike and scramble up to some of the highest places in Wales. Although there was a TV at the hostel, we felt it is always better to make the most of the evenings, instead of just chilling in front of the television. And what better way than to play some games. The ones we managed to take in our bags were…
View Post
The last time we had visited Snowdonia we had climbed Mount Snowdon. After climbing Tryfan the day before, we had wanted to go up via Crib Goch but with the weather being unsuitable we had opted for the Pyg Track instead for safeties sake. This turned out to definitely be the right choose as the thick layer of snow and ice up on Pyg’s zigzag made it all very treacherous. We started off with an early start of…
View Post
Having caught your first bass, working out what to do with it can be a tricky thing. The jubilation of all your hard work coming together and you landing a bass is one of the best feelings out there. However, after you’ve put the poor chap to night, the question “What now?” is at first a tricky one to answer. As I tackled my basstastic catch yesterday, I thought back to my first bass and thought it would have…
View Post
Walking poles are an important part of the serious hiker’s equipment. If you’re just doing a one day tourist trail, you’ll be fine without them but if you’re going to be doing anything challenging, for over several days, you really should think about them. Just check out what the BMC say (they should know!): “When using poles as much as 20% of a walker’s bodyweight is taken on the arms during each step down, which reduces the stress…
View Post