Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

Thoughts of torrential downpours like those that we got last week are enough to send all but the most dedicated (insane?) outdoors types huddling indoors in the comfort of their own homes. The sound of the rain being blown against my bedroom window on Saturday did anything but entice me from my nice warm bed. Couple that with a wetting on the way home from work on Friday night and a consummate power hosing while on the same journey the previous evening, you’d begin to consider using your best hillwalking waterproofs for a five minute dash to and from the bus. Thankfully, such grottiness has now departed us and I now hope to get in a pre-Christmas excursion into hill country after seeing the delights of today pouring through the windows at work. It’s amazing how a spot of sunshine changes the mood.

In fact, the foul weather episode got me thinking about why it’s so easy to go into walking hibernation. For one thing, the shorter days are a challenge, particularly when it comes to day trips. Staying local, going away for a few days and planning for some walking after dark are all ways around this. I must admit to having done a little of the last of these but I did ensure that navigation was straight forward so that I’d make my way home as planned.

Speaking of winter skills, thoughts of going out in snow and ice soon bring forth visions of crampons and ice axes and the need to able to use them. In these days of global warming, it may be that snow is encountered less and less, making going on a course at the likes of Plas y Brenin or Glenmore Lodge a very good idea. I once popped up to Fort William for a weekend in January only to see little or no snow while pottering about in Glen Nevis. It was later in the same year when I finally encountered the white stuff and it was very crisp and crunchy underfoot as I wandered about on local hills between Macclesfield and Buxton. So snow need not be that threatening, so long as you keep your wits about you. Having said that, I’ll be mindful of the need for winter skills when plotting trips to the higher places of Scotland, Wales and England, particularly when potential encounters with snow and ice are forecast.

It would be a shame to let thoughts of inclement weather and shorter days put you off; there’s a spot of very special magic be sampled at this time of year. After all, you can getting torrential downpours at any time of year and I spent a soggy sojourn in Fort William on one July visit that rather proves the point. It can be very memorable to see how the way that light plays upon the landscape does enliven the views on those cold, crisp, clear sunny days. Intriguingly, mixing sun and cloud can make those views even better as I found out while on an excursion around Harlech last year, and you may find that you have the whole experience to yourself. I must get back to plotting that escape…

It’s late September and it has cooled down already: time to turn on the heating and bleed the radiators. Today, I caught sight of the Met Office’s long range forecast for the winter, which it defines as December through to February. Apparently, the outlook is that it will be drier and cooler than last year. That said, last winter was an exceptionally mild and wet affair so that isn’t likely to mean what it sounds. In any case, they are talking about drier milder than average weather. The same thinking seems to apply to their autumn forecast. Whatever happens, I hope that we’ll get some nice walking weather and that I’ll get a chance to get out there.

Doubtless, few in Gloucestershire will want to recall the July that we have just had and I hope that they are beginning to get back on their feet again. Amazingly, those heavy rains didn’t affect Cheshire to anything like the same extent and I did manage to make two visits to the Cumbrian fells. However, we shouldn’t forget that July weather can be very much a hit and miss affair; I can think of loads of occasions where July has been very grey. Maybe, that’s down to my experiencing loads of Irish and Scottish summers. Good weather in July is dependent of the jet stream moving to the north and that can take a painful amount of time, like it has done this year, or it may hardly happen at all, 2004 is etched in my memory for this reason. It was late in doing so again in 2003, an otherwise fabulous year, and I made the mistake of spending a soggy week inn Scotland’s Western Highlands only to be greeted with a heatwave the very next week! After various efforts to distract myself from my disappointment with a number of weekends spent around Keswick, Skiddaw and Derwentwater, it was only a weekend visit to Lochaber that more than made good. I won’t easily forget walks between Kinlochleven and Fort William over the Lairig Mor and around Loch Lochy at all easily; the weather could not have been better. It was nearly worth getting sodden for the motivation return to sights like these. So here’s to August 2007. Let’s see what it brings.

I have been looking at BBC Weather’s Monthly Outlook and it looks as if low pressure will control July’s weather with nary a blocking anticyclone in sight. It might cheer up in August but any spell of dry weather, however short-lived, would be welcome for a longer hillwalking outing. I am still pondering ideas but, on the basis of the expected weather, one can only hope two or three days away. Still, we haven’t done too badly so far this year and there’s hope for more yet. 2004 as a whole was memorably short on sunshine but I came lucky with a few July days in Scotland’s West Highlands, encountering only one really grotty day and I needed a rest then anyway after walking from Oban to Glen Noe on the day before. So, dry weather walking opportunities haven’t been derailed, merely rescheduled. I’m sure that I’ll make something of what we get anyway…

P.S. The BBC’s newfangled weather charts extend out to five days rather than the previous two or three, making the site more useful again and there are certain advantages to having the new weather graphics.

It’s absolutely chucking it down here as I write this and weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office for now until Monday. Appropriately enough given that the Glastonbury Festival is in train and that Wimbledon is on the horizon, the weather has taken to doing its usual watering session at this time of year. Still, there is a glimmer of hope for the start of July and a return to hill country may be in the offing for then. In any event, my mind is now turning to planning multi-day hillwalking trips for over the summer and I may mull over my options in a future post. Due to one thing or another, my only hill outings in the last few weeks have been limited to ambles up and around Teggie and last evening tempted me out after work to enjoy the long evening. Nevertheless, I haven’t forgotten about this website as I have been engaging in some under-the-bonnet tinkering and that should continue for a wee bit more. I also have it in mind to add to the photo gallery as well and it may face a spot of re-organisation too. having sections for the West Highland Way and the Pennine Way does make a modicum of sense so that may happen.

Update: We don’t seem to be doing too badly here in Macc, especially when you consider the deluge that has hit Glasgow. Hope everyone is OK up there.