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Nantlle Ridge – High Adventure on the western skyline

Nantlle Ridge – High Adventure on the western skyline

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The Nantlle Ridge is frequently recommended as an alternative to Snowdon without the crowds, although this is to undersell an entirely independent massif that warrants recognition, not as a quieter surrogate, but because it is one of the finest standalone ridge walks in Wales. Furthermore, the Nantlle Ridge provides not just the mountain grandeur of its own composition, it is accompanied by commanding views of mighty Snowdon itself, and the walk across its summits is additionally embellished by stunning vistas…

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Carrauntoohil – First Among Equals

Carrauntoohil – First Among Equals

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In the south west of Ireland lies the ancient Kingdom of Kerry, boasting the magnificent mountain range of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, home to the country’s three highest mountains, its highest lake, and (arguably) Ireland’s finest ridge walk, the Cumeenloughra Horseshoe. Crowning the range is Carrauntoohil, the roof of Ireland, which thus attracts more visitors than the other peaks of the ‘Reeks’, its ascent being principally achieved by a ‘tourist route’, the Devil’s Ladder, a path that is nevertheless rarely recommended…

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Beacons of the Chiltern Ridgeway – A Downland Sanctuary

Beacons of the Chiltern Ridgeway – A Downland Sanctuary

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Small in stature yet abounding with character, the eastern fringes of the Chiltern Ridge emerge from the woodlands that cloak the main body of the hills, forming a shapely swathe of open, chalky grassland. But how can a tiny compass of rolling downs command Worthy status when compared to the giant mountains of the north?  Realistically, these are small hills and only just make the grade, principally through isolation from any rival, which ensures their unique appeal can be measured…

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Cleveland Hills – Frontier of the Yorkshire Moors

Cleveland Hills – Frontier of the Yorkshire Moors

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The subject of this Yorkshire Worthy is a noble curving escarpment, dramatically delineating the north western termination of the North York Moors. The extent of the full escarpment is around fifteen miles, although it is the western half that is the most distinctively enjoyable, comprising an undulation of four linked hills – Carlton Moor, Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and Hasty Bank. These hills afford a sense of immediate prominence and perhaps for this reason have been aptly named the Cleveland…

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Preseli Hills – An enigma of blue stones and golden roads

Preseli Hills – An enigma of blue stones and golden roads

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There is something special in the air amidst the Preseli Hills, a pervading atmosphere of antiquity that captures the imagination, elevating this ridge of gently undulating moorland into a quest for adventure. Wherever you wander, there is a sense of an ancient past, from the prodigious quantity of prehistoric remains to the powerful links with Stonehenge, Britain’s most-prized megalithic monument, for it was from here that the inner stones of the henge were sourced, either by man… or nature. As…

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Ben Cleuch – Walking the Ochil Hills

Ben Cleuch – Walking the Ochil Hills

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The Ochil Hills thrust a forbiddingly steep escarpment above the flat carselands of Clackmannanshire, abruptly liberating the hills from a Lowland landscape; their southern flanks incised by a succession of deep folds shutting out the world. Beyond this, as the gradient eases, the terrain softens into grassy, rolling hills that gradually decrease in elevation to the north and east, where they extend for a considerable distance to the North Sea coast. The summit of the range is Ben Cleuch at…

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Beachy Head & Seven Sisters – The Thrill of Cliff Edge Theatre

Beachy Head & Seven Sisters – The Thrill of Cliff Edge Theatre

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Beachy Head presents the highest exposed chalk cliffs in Britain, which together with the adjoining and equally precipitous Seven Sisters, comprises a landmark spectacle of extraordinarily raw grandeur. Danger is ever-present in the form of frequent rockfalls; the crumbling chalk crashing onto an uncompromising beach, itself blockaded by vast boulders and lashed by heavy seas. Contrast this scene of devastation with the short-cropped grassy swathe atop the cliffs, offering a comfortable, albeit marginally precarious lookout post on the action, creating…

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Ingleborough – Paragon of the Yorkshire Dales

Ingleborough – Paragon of the Yorkshire Dales

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Ingleborough was the nearest ‘proper’ mountain to my childhood home and the first over 2,000 feet that I ever climbed. I was twelve years of age and took the bus to Ingleton one very wet winter Sunday. I didn’t see a thing all day and my primitive waterproofs were wholly inadequate, yet the sodden experience did not put me off, and repeating that ascent became a regular feature of my teenage years. Now fifty years later, it was a hill…

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Ben Lawers – Pride of the Perthshire Highlands

Ben Lawers – Pride of the Perthshire Highlands

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Ben Lawers is the friendly face of 4,000-foot mountains, rising proudly above the shimmering waters of Loch Tay and set in a softer landscape than the rockier or more remote giants to the north. With the option of a high starting point and a gently graded path, the ascent might just feel a little like cheating. But does that make Lawers a lesser mountain? In the field of lure and status Ben Lawers reigns supreme as Perthshire’s highest point. However,…

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Gleouraich – A window into the wild

Gleouraich – A window into the wild

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The two historic routes to the Isle Skye, through Glen Shiel and Glenfinnan demark a vast, remote mountain landscape penetrated by just two minor roads, both abruptly terminated by the fabled Rough Bounds of Knoydart. Amongst this wilderness are twenty-eight Munros with Sgurr na Ciche claiming first place in altitude and Gleouraich a close second. Whilst the former grips attention from every angle, Gleouraich is a benign presence above Loch Quoich, yet is of considerable interest to the discerning hillwalker….

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