Scotland, The Brecons and the Jubilee Beacon

Steve and I headed up to Scotland in late April. We spent five days on Rum reccying it as a Mountain Leader Assessment venue. Stunning place with amazing ridges, sunsets and views. Watch this space for an advertised course there next year.

We then went onto Inverie in Knoydart where we had one mountain day. Our trip was cut short due to me developing terrible abdominal pains the first night we were there. I gritted my teeth to get through the first day but had to give up the following night. I was rushed into the Belford Hospital in Fort William with what turned out to be appendicitis.

My second week of the holiday was spent in hopsital while Steve and Cluanie enjoyed the mountains of Lochaber.

We have just returned from a delightful two days in the Brecons with Dolphin School. We had two mountain walks; Picws Du and Pen y Fan. On the descent from Pen y Fan we passed a sad memorial to a little boy, Tommy Jones who died on the mountain in August 1900 having wandered away from his farm. It took 29 days till his body was found. It shows how busy the mountains have become. Where he was found is on one of the main paths up Pen y Fan. Nowadays he would have been found within a day!

We also stopped at a tarn which plays host to the largest leaches I have ever seen in the UK: 10 cm long and 1 cm wide!

It was then back to Snowdonia for a busy few days with Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team over the Bank Holiday before joining LLMRT and SARDA Wales for a walk up Snowdon last night with Walking With the Wounded to light the Jubilee Beacon at 10.29 pm. An enjoyable and sociable occasion.