Category Archives: camping

D1: Mare á mare, Corté to Manganu.

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Monday 15th August. Rain to start, sometimes heavy. Cleared later.

Start out at 07.30, despite the rain and see how it goes. It’s a very long day to start, but I’m fresh. A quick coffee at the campsite to start and the owner shrugged on looking at the rain. I said “cest la vie”. The rain wasn’t to last and eventually I gained the footbridge opposite a spring.

What is that cow doing? This is an odd one. I xe across a cow on the track engrossed in some bones. It seemed to be playing with a scapula. A big one, probably from a cow. What was it doing? It nuzzled it and turned it over. I had a few ideas, maybe it’s using it like a salthlick, or is it more like visiting a dead relative, like elephant’s graveyards?

Bridge leading to the Mare-mare route I needed to return to the GR20.

Refuge de Sega. This is a nice refuge, it serves Mare-á-mare Nord and some other trails. I had a lovely omelette which was oozing cheese. A good choice. I still had quite a way to walk but the scenery changes from forest soon to something more open.

Bolt action rifles. After Sega, I came across a much needed spring. A chance to sit and drink. Then 2 french guys walked past with a couple of dogs.

GR20, get to Corté first.

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Saturday, 13th, tops 34°C, heatwave.

Travel day 1; Manchester airport to Geneva to Bastia. If all goes to well, I will camp near Bastia, Camping D’espiranza. I’ve been there before, it’s few km from the airport. Currently, by bag weighs a little under 15kg not counting hand luggage. All up, 20kg max is the aim.

On bag check-in, I was told to get the rucksack wrapped so it would be safe. Then have it weighed, result – it’s a kilo overweight now. Nobody has asked for an additional payment though.

From Geneva, we flew over Mont Blanc in the evening light.

Travel day 2: get to Corté. The idea is to get onto Mare à Mare Nord and walk walk up to Manganu on the GR20. Bastia to Corte is a bit uncertain, but last time, I hitched and it worked with a very short wait. Once there, get provisions at the supermarket.
There is Bergerie de Sega half way up for a rest (4 hours). I expect a 9 hour walk, all with steady ascent.

Lucciana Cathedral on my journey to Corte early morning.

Later: I got there simply by using the train from Casamozza. This morning I woke before dawn and set off on foot to the station. it’s all gone well so far. I’m worried about the charge on my phone though.

DofE 7: Buxton.

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21°C, slow moving showers, high pollen.

A two day Bronze qualifying expedition based on the edge of Buxton.

Day 1, staff briefing was at 9am for a school due to arrive at 11.00am. I asked which school is this? Wow, the place I worked for 15 years! Anyway, this day is for final training. That’s not usual for bronze but the school has bronze, silver and Gold running concurrently. I took my group out on the local moors to get a nice view and a sense of place. My group did grumble though. They had a minimal pack though.

Dismantled railway, an intrguing site. Reminds me of Dark.

Day 2: their first day of qualifiying expedition. It didn’t take long before my two groups opened a huge gap that grew throughout the rest of the day. By the finish, one group was the first to finish, and the other was amongst the last.

After handing over my group, I went home. I can’t stay to the end because I have work on school the next day. In the campsite, the projector was set up to show a football game and most of the the kids watched too. Driving back was strange because the roads were as empty as a lockdown. And, the lights were all on my side so I got home easily.+

DofE 7 & 8: Princethorpe Qualifying expedition.

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23°C, light breeze and bright sun.

Camped at the same site as in July; the campsite the expedition is using is rather tatty. The showers still have an Out Of Order sign, even 2 years after the first time I visited.

Group A, 5 lads. A group I’ve met before who got on well and had no difficulty at all. It was warm and sunny both days. The plan is to walk with them for part of day 1 and check their competance. I ended up leaving them later than ideal because there was a risky road section further on that I wanted to escort them down. As it turned out, the road was held in check by HS2 works a few miles down.

A long checkpoint on by a grassy verge. I was there about an hour, enough time to brew a coffee and get the tent dry. I guy walked past and asked if I was ‘doing a spot of wild camping?’. I answered him politely, he seemed to have little knowledge of what that entails.

Group B, a week later… 6 girls this time. More fine September weather and a very able group. They only made mistakes near lunchtime when they got hungry. I could see their confidence inproving over the hours I walked with them. As last week, I left them slightly earlier to get my car for a few final checkpoints. They travelled safely enough but had rather more rest-stops than is ideal.
Group 14 arrived at camp last and were determined to prove their ability to erect tents AND cook in the short hour remaining before pickup.

Unfortunately for both trips, they couldn’t camp the night because of Covid-19 restrictions. Many kids see camp as the highlight of the expedition- it’s a time to relax, look back on the day and for many – stay in a tent for the first time. It’s a shame they miss out on their first camp.

DofE 13 South Downs

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22°C, light wind and deep blue cloudless above.

A very long drive down near Brighton. I hope it’s worth it. Heathside has always been brilliant previously, so it will be again.

Before the punters arrive, I have the field to myself. Peace and rest after a long drive. Oh, and a good book (The Secret life of Flies).

Day one: Silver expedition is three days of walking and other activities. Day one was eventful with a first aid incident that had awkward effects all day. I had two groups, one of boys, the other- all girls. To start, the boys seemed well equipped and ready to move out early.
The girls, however; were overloaded (one arrived with 18.5kg) but with too little water. One C*, had enough food for a week and many, many changes of clothes (some cotton pieces). Also, their packs did not fit well, but since they were quite tall, the problem was less than usual.

The boys marched on full of energy. They sailed past the turning and headed south. Five groups made this same mistake and I had to rush about turning them around. Bear in mind, they didn’t do Bronze.

Within a few km of starting, one of the girls fell faint in the heat. We’d stopped for a snack, but it was warm, still and very humid. She (N*) couldn’t even sit up and lost all her colour. We were a km from the nearest road at a junction of paths by a golf course. A golfer could see we had a problem and offered to get a golf buggy. I went with N* and sat her in the golf shop while we waited for the minibus.

The minibus dropped me off near Fulking village so i could get onto the hill.

The boys’ group were easy to find but the girls were far more tricky. They’d gone south passed the A27 catching feature. On the phone they were into Shoreham., A local had misdirected them away from a path which may have adders. It got to the point where I asked them to install OS-Locate and get me a grid reference. Once I got to this group, I stayed with them for the day- I’m not letting go!

13.2: both groups’ longest day started misty, brewing up for a coming storm overnight. One of the lads was withdrawn for the day with an injury and a teacher had to walk with them to make up the numbers. A misjudgement meant my tent was left at the previous camp. I was told to stay at the same camp because of staff ratios. In the end, the numbers were okay so I could move it to the nice scout camp. All the better because the showers are good. Late finishes are fine, but in a row, tiredness builds. After a shower, I turned in at 11.

13 2: rain overnight, but I slept through the thunder. Shame because I love a good thunderstorm, especially in the tent. The last day turned into a beautiful day. The kids were hot but got on with it. The girls had a far better day with navigation.

DofE 16.0

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15°C falling to 0°C under clear sky.

Gold Qualifying expedition, Brecon Beacons. Long drive in fine conditions, rolling mist filled some fields near the coast. That reminded me of some of the early season trips this year. In in the tent now as the air rapidly approaches freezing. It’s going to be a cold one! I met my two groups earlier and they seem lovely.

DofE 16.1 Friday: sorting out a lad who woke feeling and looking rather ill took so much time this morning. He was so pale, he looked almost green. I was ready to pull him out and the other staff agreed. The school wanted to try warming him up and persuade some food into him. Their approach turned out to be right. After the warm minibus ride to the start point, they set the group towards an old railway line. My plan was to drive to a point half way, walk in and intercept the trail on foot. The valley held a temperature inversion, fog pooled in the bottom like a sheepskin rug. It was very dense once you descend into it, cold too. It did burn off quickly, a photo opportunity missed, I can’t stop when I’m working. It took too long to decide on a parking spot. This area has a terrible reputation for car break-ins.

I got up there and saw no groups. Even walking a few km SW revealed nobody. That’s good really because he must be okay. So, off to the next checkpoint after walking for about 4km.

In the evening we inevitably cooked in the dark, no problem with that. The nearby woods attracted the most tawny owls I have ever hear in one go, at least five. There was a barn owl calling in the valley too. Another call in the mix I didn’t recognise, the night sky is clear too.

DofE 16.2: Fan-y-Big and Cribyn.

Drove round to the finishing campsite and walked up to the Bwlch next to Fan-y-big. One of my groups was there and were planning an addition to their route because they wouldn’t be out long enough. I suggested more time spent on their aim. Eventually they decided on the path NW of Cribyn. It’s a narrow ledge which should be spectacular.

Then I went up the summit to find my other group. They were visible from the Bwlch, clearly making navigation decisions so I guessed where they’d be. Sure enough, they were relaxing on the summit.

From here, I went to the summit of Cribyn, not because I needed, to just to bag it. From there to the bwlch the other side so i could re-trace the route my group 2 had taken an hour earlier. There was damage from a landslide half way along.I hoped the gold group were okay. If they weren’t, I’d find them. I didn’t.

DofE 16.3: the alarm it set for 05.40 to give time to organise groups and myself. We’re relocating, so the tent has to come down. However, above blazed the stars in Orion, Gemini and Auriga. Before dawn, before breakfast, I gazed through binoculars. This was a chance to see clearly without light pollution. Sirius and all of Canis Major was visible down to the horizon. I’ve never seen it like that before. Twilight would soon show.

Back up Cribyn. Leaving the tent to dry, I set off after 3 groups who had started. The other staff reassured me that it’s okay to overtake them to man the summit.

Here they come.

Here was another spectacular day, crystal clear and deep blue above, from the vantage point, the very top of Sugar Loaf mountain can be seen in the distant east. From here, I watched the two groups climb the north ridge. They were so thrilled to get to the top; many selfies were taken.

DofE 16.4: last day, a simple walk up the Taff valley. Weather was cool but bright and dry; good for us then. Debrief would be 2km from the finish to prevent a rush to board the coach. Debrief is payback, I know I get money for this job but feedback from the kids is a kind of pay. They were lovely too, grateful and charming. I got a sense that they will genuinely develop a love for the hills, their kit will be used again.

And to return.

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More rain, 14°C, followed by rain again.

Leaving Scotland is easier when the weather is bad, more so when the outlook is also poor.

With the tent packed (wet) by 7.30, I was ready. The most remarkable point to note of the trip is the lack of midges. I finished happy with my fitness, the dragging feeling from the first few days had gone. I came down from Lawers tired but not worryingly so. Physical tiredness can be a satisfying feeling. Every year I think to myself how fit I could be if I did hikes like these every week.

To review, I just counted up my Munro bag, it’s now 51 summits. The total for all, Corbets and so on is around double that figure. I have a cracked tent pole to fix and wet smelly kit to wash. The only annoyance has been my mobile phone. I’ll post about that separately.

Here is the almost traditional Tebay melancholy shot. I took this picture as an interval from my sketchbook. The trip is complete in the sense that I want to go back, hence the melancholy mentioed at the top.

3: Breadalbane

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12°C, rain, much of it heavy with brisk SW.

Moved to the Trossachs, this gives me a new area to explore and a shorter drive home than Ardnamuchan. The Ben Lawers range was recommended by the Fife couple. It may be that I don’t get onto the range of Munros immediately north of here because of the weather. Often in previous years, I have used the return journey to look for ideas for future trips. Maybe this stop will work the same.

Found a campsite on the shore of Loch Tay. This area seems more geared towards caravans and even this site is dominated by those hideous things. This place is a bit of a come-down after the fine views at the last site. Perhaps the hill-fog will lift in the morning and something exciting with appear.

3.1/ Ben Lawers and the ridge: first some stats, total 8h54mins (incl stops); total ascent 1518m, descent 1256m, distance ;

Summits: Beinn Glas, 1103m; Ben Lawers, 1214m; An Stuc, 1118m; Meall Garbh, 1118m. I skipped out Meall Greigh because of titimeme and the rain had started heavily by then.

Summits were gained quite easily, I felt fit. That dragging sleepy feeling had gone which plagued the day on Ben Hiant. Maybe I was held back by a bug or something. All of the summits were in thick hill fog and strong wind. I estimate 40mph gusts, I unfolded the poles after B. Lawers.

There was lots of geology, despite the terrible visibility. Schist was in abundance as were micro-folds. There were rocks with tight zig-zag folds as little as 6″ amplitude. I took no photos because of worries about tne effect hmudity or rain would have on tbe camera. Perhaps that’s why I got round so quickly.

The descent from the bealach at larig Innein was grassy and fairly easy. There were faint trails to follow down past an enclosure to a dam. It’s a small dam that’s part of a bigger system, presumably for collecting fresh water. These structures reminded me of those on Ben Cruachen. Burn water is collected into numbered inlets into a huge pipe that mostly runs beneath the ground. The pipe is black as is the concrete hese structures are made from. All over are rusty or white streaks from weathering. As I walked south, I played a counting game to pace out the way. This section is easy and I wanted to cover some ground quickly. Turning downhill, the track zig-zags once before I had to leave it to follow a derelict stone wall. Follow that and it leads you back to the car park. Sounds easy huh? In a way, this last leg was the hardest with deep gullys streams to cross and rough ground hidden by tussocks. That last 3 km took nearly a 2 hours. Was it the hardest or was I beginning to tire? Either way, it was a slog along long grass and heather. The trickiest bit was crossing gulleys that contain Burns which were partly hidden by bracken.

At the end car-park, a mountain rescue party arrived at the same time as me. Two women were lost in the mist, I overheard. They’d gone to B. Lawers and intended to come back the same way. They phoned for help in the An Stuc area. So they went north off the summit instead of SW. Oh dear.

14/ Man verses Lakes: marshalling.

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20°C, white cloud.

14.1: A late start means a late finish just as night is falling. It’s the problem with the tides determinig the start time for this race. The first stage was over the sands at Silverdale to Grange Over Sands where we all were briefed. The event was a marathon called Man Verses Lakes.

It’s quite differet working with adults, I’m used to children with 13 DofE trips this season. Most of the racers were grateful for my words of encouragement and jelly-babies. I gave them factual information, height to the top, remaining distance and the like.

14:2 eating breakfast, shall I climb Old Man Of Coniston? The cloud base is quite low and there has been soft drizzle overnight; but on the other hand, I have come all this way.