Fairfield Horseshoe

Alastair BegleyWalking Short Link

We decided to make the most of being able to walk from our cottage in Ambleside and headed out to do the Fairfield horseshoe. The weather when we set off was fairly marginal, but thankfully other than a few spots of rain we stayed dry. We decided to do the route clockwise, which meant a flat walk along the valley to Rydal at the start with before the steep ascent up to Nab Scar and onto Heron Pike. After Nab Scar the views were brilliant all day, with excellent views in every direction. There was even a surprising amount of sun. We made good time to the summit of Fairfield, where we enjoyed a quick lunch before descending. The descent was very warm as we were protected from the wind by a beautiful dry stone wall which snaked it’s way all the way down the ridge. After an enjoyable day out, and in a respectable time of 5hrs10mins we were back at the cottage in time to enjoy some champagne before heading out to dinner.

Troutdale Pinnacle

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

After driving up from Bristol in the morning we were after a short day climbing in Borrowdale. Our initial plan having not climbed outside since the Dolomites last year was to head to Shepherd’s Crag, however despite it being a Thursday every car park was very full so after driving between them all multiple times we bailed to another plan. We parked in the large car park near Quayfoot Buttress and then made an unusual approach to Black Crag to climb Troutdale Pinnacle. I last climbed Troutdale Pinnacle six years ago while training for the alps, it was soaking wet and we moved together. This time the weather was much more favourable, and my climbing was much less current, however it was a much more enjoyable route this time. We were hoping that starting late in the middle of the week that we would be the only people at the crag, however as we arrived there were two other teams there, one of which was setting off up Troutdale Pinnacle. We decided to queue anyway, and had a chilled out climb enjoying the sun at the belays. The climbing was. Read the full article…

Mendips MTB

Alastair BegleyMountain Biking Short Link

After a long hiatus due to lockdown it was great to be back out on the mountain bike at the weekend. We took it nice and easy and headed for a well known loop from the top of Burrington Combe. As expected after the recent rain the route was fairly muddy, but nothing like the worst that the mendips can throw at you. We enjoyed the initial descent along the top edge of the coombe, before descending to the bottom of Rowberrow Warren and the all too familiar climb back up to the top. Thankfully all my road biking at left me fairly fit so the climb was fairly easy. Taking it easy we headed down the official blue run in the woods, and it has bedded since I last did it and was much more enjoyable. Maybe it was due to it being less wet, although there were some sections which seemed fairly difficult for a “blue”. We took the direct (read steep) ascent back up to the top of Rowberrow Warren, and then headed up to Beacon Batch before the final descent back to the car. It was. Read the full article…

Crook Peak Sunrise

Alastair BegleyLandscape Short Link

After a number of evenings heading out for sunset, we decided to have a change and head out for sunrise. We decided to head to Crook Peak in Somerset and it turned out to be a lovely sunrise. I certainly did not enjoy my 3am alarm call, but it turned out to be worth it. When we got to the top there were two other couples there, and we enjoyed the pre sunrise glow as it became lighter. To start with I had free reign to take photos where I wanted, but by 5mins before sunrise there were about 30 other people who had turned up, including families with small children which as great to see. After sunrise had finished we headed out for a short walk in the relative cool of the morning which was enjoyable as it was fairly quiet other than runners and there was lots of wildlife around there.