Dingli Cliffs

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Malta is the EU’s smallest country by both size and population. It’s also fairly flat and has great transport connections making it easy to bag its high points.

The country high point is on Dingli Cliffs on the main island. There’s 2 other large islands in the Maltese Archipelago, Gozo and Comino. Both have high points worth visiting for great views of their respective islands.

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Dingli Cliffs

Also known as: Ta'Dmejrek (in Maltese)
Significance: High point of the island of Malta and country of Malta
Elevation: 253m
Date climbed: 9th May 2024
Coordinates: 35° 51' 11'' N, 14° 23' 3'' E

Start & Finish: Parking Dingli Cliffs, Triq Panoramica, Maddalena, Dingli
Distance: 1km (0.6 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 12m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Mdina Walk
Guidebook: Europe's High Points: Reaching the Summit of Every Country in Europe
Links: Malta (Country), Malta (Island), Dingli, Peakbagger

For Dingli start at the Dingli Cliffs Viewpoint. There’s parking for a few cars and it’s a popular stop for sightseeing coach tours. From the parking spot check out the views across the sea to Filfla island from the back of St Mary Magdalene Chapel.

From the parking spot walk along the pavement in a westerly direction towards the radar station (the big white golf ball). About half way to the radar station there’s an obvious high point on the cliff top rocks. While not quite the high point, it felt like it should be so we took the banner phone above there.

To reach the actual high point you’ll need to cross the main cliff top road and walk up a private track to the radio transmitters.

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Ta' Dbiegi

Significance: High point of the island of Gozo, Malta
Elevation: 194m
Date climbed: 7th May 2024
Coordinates: 36° 3' 6'' N, 14° 12' 49'' E

Start & Finish: Free Parking outside Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, Triq ir-Rokon, St Lawrence, Gozo
Distance: 1.5km (0.9 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 58m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Links: Gozo, San Lawrenz, Peakbagger

The Gozo high point is a more interesting walk as it’s more challenging to get to. Note that the hill is in private farmland. There’s a well marked path to the top and, at the time we visited, no-one around to ask permission from. When scanning through previous logs on Peakbagger I saw that other walkers had a similar experience of either no-one around or farmers not being bothered by visitors walking to the summit.

We parked at the free parking spots outside the Kempinski Hotel on Triq ir-Rokon, San Lawrenz. From the parking spot continue along the road for 120m the take the first farm track on the left. Pass the houses on the right and continue to a bend in the track at 400m into the route from the parking spot.

Take the path on the right that ascends the hill to the summit. You’ll need to cross over a metal pole and a couple of signs saying “no entry, private farmers lane”. The summit is makes by a small cairn of white stones. From the top you can see across the whole island and to Comino and Malta islands.

Return via the same route.

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Comino High Point

Significance: High point of the island of Comino, Malta
Elevation: 74m
Date climbed: 10th May 2024
Coordinates: 36° 0' 44'' N, 14° 20' 44'' E

Start & Finish: Ferry berths, Blue Lagoon, Comino
Distance: 7.7km km (4.8 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 125m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Links: Comino, Peakbagger

The first task in reaching the Comino high point is finding a boat to get you to the island. There’s a lot of options, from the ferry at Cirkewwa or the numerous tourist boats that go from many places on the main island. We arranged for seats on a small boat that picked us up from our hotel and took us back a few hours later. Whichever option you take make you that you have at least 3 hours on the island to do the circular tour and enjoy the views.

Unless you have a private charter, most boats will drop you off at the moorings at the Blue Lagoon. This is a beautiful bay that’s worth visiting in it’s own right. The vast majority of visitors to the island don’t stray far from this bay and it can be very over crowded. There’s several food and drink kiosks by the boat moorings. Make sure that you either take food and drink with you or buy it from the kiosks when you arrive as there’s no other shops on the island.

From the Blue Lagoon we took the coastal path in a clockwise direction. The path is well maintained and has a few metal signs along the route. You can’t really get lost but there’s a few different options so we were glad to have the GPX route on the phone. There were a few places where we could have taken a path closer to the coast but kept inland being mindful of the departure time of our boat.

It is possible to take a shorter out-and-back route through the centre of the island to the high point. It only saves around 3km though, and the coastal route is such a nice walk that it doesn’t make sense to rush this one.

When we visited in May 2024 both the Comino Hotel in Saint Nicolas Bay and the Hotel Bungalows in Santa Maria Bay were shut and fenced off. I read that they were being redeveloped to re-open in 2025 but that felt optimistic as they were derelict and there was no sign of any work being done.

The actual high point is just off the main coastal path but hard to miss as there’s a small cairn at the top.

On the route back to the Blue Lagoon you’ll pass the remains of the old pig farm, the 19th century isolation hospital and Santa Maria Tower. The cliffs between the Tower and the Blue Lagoon are the most spectacular part of the walk.

We loved this walk and it was, for us, the highlight of our week in Malta. Dingli may be the highest point, but this was our favourite.

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Punta Martiño Lighthouse on the northern tip of the island

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The Canary Islands are a regular choice for us to spend our end-of-winter holidays. They’re always warm in February and, at 4 hours flight time, they’re about as far as we want to travel for a one week trip.

Our goal for these trips is always resting over adventure and I’ve learned not to get over-excited about ticking off everything on the islands. We’ve missed most of the highest points either due to weather or length of walk. Due to this we’ve managed to successfully miss the highest points on Tenerife, Lanzarote and La Gomera. We did manage to get to the Gran Canaria summit although that’s only the highest accessible point very close to the actual high point.

So, on our week in Fuerteventura I had written off the high point even before we left the UK. Pico de la Zarza is not a very difficult hike but it was too long and too hot for our relaxing break. I added it to the list of the other Canary High Points to cover later on a different type of trip at at a different time of year.

My need for high point bagging ended up being satisfied by a trip to a small island just off the north coast of Fuerteventura. Isla de Lobos is a 5k / 15 minute ferry ride from Corralejo harbour. It has well-marked hiking trails totaling 10k and an out-and-back ascent of Montaña La Caldera.

We took the 12:30 foot ferry run by Naviera Nortour. By the time all the tourists had stopped their faffing on and off the boat it was 13:00 before we started the hike. This gave us a full 3 hours on the island before needing to be back at 16:00 for the 16:15 return ferry.

We had read on other blogs that the 10k circuit takes 2 and a quarter hours to complete. That would be a very fast pace, especially if including the high point. We walked at a steady pace, stopped for lunch 15 minutes at the lighthouse and took the full 3 hours.

We took the anticlockwise route having seen a recommendation in another blog post that this would be the less popular route. Everyone with us that day must have read the same post as most people were going the same was as us.

A few minutes later east of the ferry pier is El Puertito where there’s a pretty bay and a restaurant. We passed through it quickly as it was already crowded. From there we took a side route from the main path that takes in Las Lagunitas.

The paths around the island are well maintained and mostly flat. When you get to the lighthouse be prepared for a short climb up the hill. You’re now roughly half way into the walk and a good place for photos and a rest.

After the lighthouse return to the base and take the right hand path, now on GR131. After 3.5 km you’ll reach the spur to climb the hill to the high point. If you don’t fancy it you can carry straight on back to the ferry pier.

The weather had changed for the second half of our walk and we had some light rain on the approach. As we started ascending the rain stopped and some heavy wind started. Timea got to around 100m of elevation and decided that was enough for her as she didn’t want to be blown off back to the mainland.

I continued the remaining 10 mins to the summit to reach the Trig Pillar, get a few photos and tried not to be blown off. Even that day there were great views to both Fuerteventura and Lanzarote but I didn’t hang around for long to admire them.

From the path junction to the Montaña it’s another 20 minutes walk back to the ferry pier.

With a new island and a high point bagged I was now happy to head back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the trip.

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The Hike

Start / Finish: Lobos Island Ferry Pier
Distance: 9.9 km (6.1 miles)
Elevation Change: +/- 128m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): GR131 Camino Natural de Fuerteventura
Cafe / pub on route: Chiringuito Lobos Antoñito El Farero, 600m from the Ferry Pier
Guidebook: Walking on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura (Cicerone)
Links: Fuerteventura, Corralejo, Lobos Island

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Montaña La Caldera

Also known as: Caldera de Lobos
Significance: Highest point on Isla de Lobos
Elevation: 127m (although listed as 124m on Peakbagger)
Date “climbed”: February 23rd 2024
Coordinates: 28° 45' 6'' N, 13° 49' 49'' W
Links: Peakbagger

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Isla de Lobos from above

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View to the South-East Crater from the Boca Nuova crater rim

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Significance:  Highest Point on the Island of Sicily and Metropolitan City of Catania
Parent Peak: N/A. NHN = Marmolada, Italy
Elevation: 3,342m
Date climbed: August 28th 2023
Coordinates: 37° 45' 1'' N, 14° 59' 41'' E

Route Start: 37°45'49.7"N 14°59'43.4"E
Route Finish: 37°45'55.4"N 15°00'49.7"E
Route Distance: 6.4 km (4 miles)
Route Elevation change: +336m / -540m. Net -204m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Guidebook: Walking in Sicily (Cicerone Guides): 46 walking routes including Mt Etna and the Egadi and Aeolian islands
Links: Wikipedia: (Sicily, Catania, Mount Etna), Peakbagger

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When we were talking about where to go for our summer holiday this year I wasn’t as keen as Timea was on Sicily. I always prefer to go somewhere new and we’d done Sicily. I got convinced about going when we researched about the Mount Etna and Stromboli trips. Our last trip had also been nearly 20 years ago and we’d only scratched the surface of exploring the island.

First up was the Mount Etna trip. Having come off a busy time at work, and wanting to minimise the planning, we went with a private tour organised by our hotel. Our guide Angelo and his daughter Fabiana picked us up at 07:30 from our hotel in Risposto and we headed towards the mountain.

We made a quick stop on the drive up to Cappalla Nel Maggio, an old church that had nearly been destroyed by a lava flow. A sign on the chapel tells the story (please excuse the translation): “During the eruption of November 1950 a lava flow, dividing into two arms, threatened simultaneously Milo and Fornazzo. In so much danger a solemn devout procession was promoted from the parish priest of Fornazzo Don Salvatore Fichera. It changed it, deviating to the left, it was channeled into the Cava Grande torrent, sparing the town. Then the commitment to build a chapel was born. In May 1971 another lava flow retraced the same route. The procession ended in a house owned by Mr. Sebastiano Cantarella. This house was overwhelmed by August 3, 1979. Of these there are currently some ruins still visible. The same flow of August 3, 1979 threatened to overwhelm this chapel but it stopped close to its walls penetrating inside the Chapel. The prodigious event is remembered every year on the first Sunday of August with a procession and the celebration of the Holy Mass”

The drive to the Visitor Centre at Piano Provenzana took just over an hour. Here we had a quick stop then transferred to a Unimog, a large off-road bus to take us further up. Piano Provenzana is also has a large car park and several tour agencies if you’re making your own way there. Our guide told us that there’s no limit on numbers of visitors to the mountain but you may be limited by the number of spaces on the Unimogs. An alternative is walking all the way up from Piano Provenzana but you’ve got to be a strong hiker, and prepared for the heat. Also, given the obvious dangers of climbing up an active volcano, I certainly wouldn’t go without an experienced guide.

The Unimog trip took about half an hour to cover 9.7 km and 1,183m of elevation to reach the start of the hiking section at 2,967m. There were a few other groups on the same bus and we let them go heading, preferring a more relaxing ascent. We slowly ascended in a southerly direction to reach the Boca Nuova Crater after 2.2 km.

We were there on a clear but windy day. Not too much wind to blow us off course but enough to blow clouds of sulphur into our faces. My regret here was no packing my Buff to cover my face with. Timea was better prepared as she brought hers so I had to settle with holding a tissue over my mouth and face. You definitely don’t want the sulphur inside you.

The sulphur was a small price to pay for the awesome view of the Boca Nuova Crater, still spewing clouds of steam and gas. Our route took us on a full anticlockwise circuit of the crater and close to the South-East Crater, the current high point of the mountain at 3,357m. We couldn’t get to the top of that one as it’s still dangerous but I was very happy getting to the most accessible high point of 3,317m.

After the Boca Nuova crater we skirted round the south-western edge of the North-East Crater. A circuit of this crater looked tempting but it was also too dangerous so we settled for peering over the top on the southern edge. from here we descended in a north-easterly direction towards the Observatory Etneo where we met the bus to take us back to the Visitor Centre. The fast ski-like descent down the ash fields to the bus was another highlight of the trip.

The adventure wasn’t over yet as there were 2 more interesting stops on the way back down to Riposto. First stop was an “island” of forest created when a lava flow cut off one of the main roads up to the mountain in 2002. A new road has been laid over the lava and you can take a small track down to see the remains of the old road.

Stop 2 was a small cave created by a lava flow. There’s steps at either end making it easy to walk through, although a helmet and torch is essential. The cave was once used as an ice house and is depicted in the painting “La Grotta a La Neige” by Jean-Pierre Houël. According to the information board, the painting is now displayed in The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.

We were back in our hotel in Rispoto by 16:30 totaling an 8 hour trip. If you’re up for a similar day trip I can highly recommend our guide Angelo at siciliaadventure.it

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View to the north from El Toro

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Significance: High point of the island of Menorca
Elevation: 358m
Date climbed: 6th May 2023
Coordinates: 39° 59' 6'' N, 4° 6' 48'' E
Links: Wikipedia, Peakbagger

Bagging Menorca’s high point is very easy. There’s a wide well-maintained road from Es Mercadal and a large car-park at the top near the high point. Although it’s a low elevation as high-points go, the whole island is pretty flat so you get great views from the top, including the other Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza.

The name El Toro means "the bull" in Catalan and the mountain is said to have been named after a bull that was killed by a hunter in the 13th century. Other than the views you’ll also find the Sanctuary of the Verge del Toro (built in the 17th century) a cafe and souvenir shop, a large statue of Jesus and a lot of communications masts.

 

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Ascent to Roque Nublo from La Goleta

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While we were in Gran Canaria for a short winter break we escaped the coast for a day to head into the mountains. Our main destination was the high-point of the island, but there’s a lot of interesting places to stop along the way. As Camino enthusiasts we would have loved to have walked the 67 km Camino de Gran Canaria from Maspolomas to Galdar, but this was a relaxing holiday rather than an adventure. We got to see some of the Camino though as the road to the island high-point runs parallel to the southern half of the walking route. The Camino starts at the Faro (lighthouse) in Meloneras on the western side of Maspolomas and we had already visited it after a walk across the dunes on our first day.

For our roadtrip to the high-point we took the GC-60 north out of Maspolomas. There’s a few interesting places to stop along the way:

• Mirador Astronómico de la Degollada de las Yeguas. 12km out from Maspolomas, this is a viewpoint with amazing view both back to the coast and of the Barranco de Fataga. It is situated at an altitude of 1,480 meters, making it one of the best places on the island to observe the stars and the night sky.

• Necrópolis de Arteara. 16km out from Maspolomas, this is an ancient burial site considered one of the most important pre-Hispanic archaeological sites in the Canary Islands. The site consists of over 900 tombs that were used by the Guanches, the aboriginal people of the Canary Islands. The tombs are arranged in a circular pattern and are made of stone slabs and boulders.

• San Bartolomé de Tirajana. 16km out from Maspolomas, this is a pretty village in the mountains that’s a great place to stop for lunch on the trip. Don’t miss the Tunte Catholic Church (Iglesia San Bartolomé), a natural stop on the Camino route.

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Roque Nublo

Start / Finish: Roque Nublo Trailhead, GC-600, 35299 San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Las Palmas
Distance: 3.1 km (1.9 miles)
Elevation Change: +/- 151m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): Route is along the S-70. Crosses the S-51 at the trailhead
Cafe / pub on route: Food van at trailhead by the road.
Map: Gran Canaria Tour and Trail Super-Durable Map
Guidebook: Walking on Gran Canaria: 45 day walks including five days on the GR131 coast-to-coast route (Cicerone Walking Guides)
Links: Roque Nublo, Tejeda

42 km out from Maspolomas, this is a famous volcanic rock formation located in the centre of the island. It stands at an impressive height of 80 meters and is a popular attraction for visitors to the island. Roque Nublo is a volcanic formation that dates back millions of years and is considered a sacred site by the aboriginal people of the Canary Islands, the Guanches.

The top Roque Nublo is the third altitude of the island of Gran Canaria, although accessing the summit requires rock climbing. For the rest of us the 2 mile oute-and-back walk from the parking spot on the GC600 is spectacular enough.

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Pico de las Nieves

Also known as: Los Pechos
Significance: 2nd highest peak on Gran Canaria
Elevation: 1,951m
Date “climbed”: 20th February 2023
Coordinates: 27° 57' 43'' N, 15° 34' 18'' W

Start / Finish: Parking at Pico de los Pozos viewpoint, 35299 Gran Canaria
Distance: 0.1 km (0.1 miles)
Elevation Change: +/- 2m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): S-20, S-37 and S-50
Cafe / pub on route: Food van in car-park.
Map: Gran Canaria Tour and Trail Super-Durable Map
Guidebook: Walking on Gran Canaria: 45 day walks including five days on the GR131 coast-to-coast route (Cicerone Walking Guides)
Links: Pico de las Nieves, Morro de la Agujereada, Province of Las Palmas, Peakbagger: Pico de las Nieves

50 km out from Maspolomas, Pico de las Nieves was the main attraction for our day in the mountains. The summit was considered the highest peak on the island, and it was the high point that I found on my initial research about the island. It’s actually the 2nd highest peak of Gran Canaria, behind the neighboring Morro de la Agujereada (at 1,956m).

You can access the summit as a quick drive-by as there’s a road to a car-park very close to the top. From the car-park it’s a short climb up some steps to the stone pillar that marks the summit.

When you look across to Morro de la Agujereada it’s a wonder how anyone would have thought that Pico de las Nieves was higher. As much as I would have loved to have summited the real high point, it’s another one, like Roque Nublo, for the rock climbers.

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To return to Maspolomas by car from Pico de las Nieves, continue east along the GC-130 then take the GC-120 from Cazadores towards the Airport. Take the GC-1 south to Maspolomas. Total driving time approx 1 hour.

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I was preparing to get bored on Mauritius. It was our big holiday and this time it was Timi's choice as I had chosen Peru last year. Timi wanted a more relaxing beachy holiday and Mauritius ended up top of the list. It looked lovely in the brochure but it didn't look like there would be a lot of adventure to be had. I was wrong.

The island is well known as a honeymoon destination but there's loads to keep the adventurous busy. After the first week of relaxing and driving around the North-Western part we had worked out what to do for week 2.

We already knew that our hotel for the 2nd week was close to the island's highest mountain. We just didn't know how easy it would be to get there. One interesting blog post about it had a link to one of the big travel companies there. On enquiring about the trip it would be 60 Euro per person plus another 60 for transport from the hotel.

It was a lot of money and we asked our travel rep at the hotel if they had options for the same trip. A couple overheard us and came over after to give us some advice. They had been up the peak the day before without a guide and found it very easy. They had also seen many other walkers on the route without guides.

I wrote back to the travel company to let them know that we didn't need their services. Then followed an amusing e-mail chain where the company rep's attitude quickly changed from pleasant to threatening. They said that it was dangerous and illegal to trek in Mauritius without a guide. When I asked for them to point me towards evidence of this they told me to "Google myself". So I did. One connection was to a guy who wrote a great blog on Mauritian treks. He explained that there was no law about local guides. Many of the routes are not dangerous but some go through private land. The advantage of a guide would be to steer you in the right direction. Other than that, there's little advantage if you're an experienced walker.

I also found the contact details for the Mauritius Office of Tourism. Nothing on their website referenced the need to use a guide. I e-mailed them to explain the situation but no reply came. So, we we pretty sure that we didn't need a guide but not 100% so we took a risk and did it ourselves anyway.

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Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire

Significance: Highest peak in Mauritius
Elevation: 828m
Date climbed: 11th October 2018
Coordinates: 20° 24' 32'' S, 57° 24' 29'' E
Route Start / End: out and back from lay-by on Plaine Champagne Road, just west of Gorges Viewpoint Parking
Route Distance: 6.7 km (4.3 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 241m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee

Piton de la Riveire Petite Noire is the highest mountain in the country. There was an option of walking there from our hotel, approaching from the South-West. Instead, taking advantage of our rental car, we drove to the more popular start near the Black River Gorges Car Park. The best option is to park in the lay-by West of the Car Park, starting you much closer to the trail.

The trail is very easy to follow and very little chance of going wrong. Much of it cuts through dense trees with a few gaps to see the view. For most of the route its not particularly steep either. The main hazard is the combination of mud and tree roots. We went on a dry day following a few days of rain and it was fine. It would be a lot trickier under much wetter conditions.

The final 10 minutes is much steeper although there are ropes in places to help you up. One rope was tied to a tree that had fallen over and I wasn't completely confident that it was anchored properly. It held fine and we were up to the top in no time. This would only part where you would need a guide for safety reasons. Even so, compared with the trickier parts of many UK mountains, it's pretty straight-forward.

The summit rewards you with amazing 360° views over the South of the island. Le Morne Mountain to the South-East is particularly enticing from the angle. It was here that we decided to climb that one too a few days later.

On the descent, following the same route, we counted up how many people we had passed on the trail. For the full walk there were 25 people in 10 groups of which only 3 groups had a guide. Having tested the route for myself I can't see any reason to use a guide unless you're really inexperienced or the guide has amazing stories to tell along the way.

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map below: Trailhead at Gorges Viewpoint Parking

 

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Le Morne Mountain

Elevation: 556m
Date climbed: 13th October 2018
Coordinates: 20° 27' 10 S, 57° 18' 60 E
Route Start / End: out and back from parking at Le Morne Trail Entrance on the south of the peninsula
Route Distance: 7.3 km (4.5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 560m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee

Inspired by our easy conquest of the country high-point, we set off for Morne Mountain 2 days later. This was the walk where most articles suggested that having a guide was either mandatory or highly recommended. The 2 reasons for this are the steepness of some sections and that some of the route goes through private property. Taking the advice of the couple we'd met in the hotel earlier in the week we decided to try it ourselves.

Parking for the walk is easy to find on the South Side of the Morne Peninsular. You need to sign in at the control booth by the gate. There were a couple of employees in the booth but neither seemed bothered about either checking or helping people.

From the trail-head the first 3 km is a gradual easy ascent on wide paths. This takes you to a fence and a gate which marks the entrance to the private area. I'd read stories of people either being turned away or charged an entrance fee for going past this point. On the day we went the gate was open and no-one was around so we passed straight through. This is a good point to make a decision whether to attempt the full climb or call it a day. From here you can see the steep part and several people we spoke to had decided they weren't fit or brave enough to go further.

A few minutes past the gate you'll reach the Chimney. This is a steep high-sided section that's the hardest part of the route. Normally there's ropes on either side but these had been removed for maintenance. There's lots of rocks and routes to hold on to though and we found it easy to help each other up. I definitely would not have attempted this on a wet day as the descent through it would be treacherous.

Even if it wasn’t for the sharp edges, this is not a route to rush through. There’s an amazing view out of every angle. On a clear day like the one we had you can see for miles and get a great perspective on the underwater waterfall next to the peninsula.

The walking route ends by a big metal cross. The actual summit can only be accessed with climbing gear and proper experience. We had neither but it’s hard to be disappointed with a finish as spectacular as this. The Cross was rammed with people queuing for the best selfie positions. We found a quiet rock, waited patiently for our turn whilst taking a breather, then started our descent.

We took our time on the way down as we negotiated the tricky parts of the chimney. We were thankful that we didn’t take a guide so that we could have the walk to ourselves. Observing some of the other trekkers on the way up though, it was clear that some people should have taken a guide. Some were clearly not fit enough, others poorly dressed, one was carrying a baby and some had no water with them. If all a guide did was tell them to be better prepared, then there’s definitely a reason to use them.

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Don’t get me wrong, I’m not certainly against guides in general. They play an important part of the local travel economy, especially in developing countries. I had some amazing experiences with guides on Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail and the Balkans. In these trips the guides kept us safe, informed us on local history and were great ambassadors for their countries. My problem is with companies, like the one I battled with in Mauritius. They try to exploit tourists with “mandatory" guides for simple trips like Piton de la Riveire Petite Noire. We were happy to save the money this time and spend it on bigger tips for locals who really deserved it.

Far from being just a honeymoon destination, I discovered a wonderfully diverse, fun and adventurous island that would be high on my list of places to return to.

More on the web:

• CNN Video: The Tragic Story of Mauritius’ Runaway Slaves

• Explore Mauritius (Blog): Hiking Trails

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Significance: High point of the island of Guernsey, Channel Islands
Elevation: 107 m
Date “climbed”: June 17th 2018
Coordinates: 49° 25' 55'' N, 2° 35' 44'' W
Route Start / End: car park in front of  Guernsey Airport Terminal building
Route Stats: Approx 2 metres walk up the grassy bank between the car-park and the main road, 1 m elevation!
Subsidiary tops on route: none
Links: Wikipedia (Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guerney Island), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

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The high point of the island of Guernsey was an easy bag as it’s right outside the main airport terminal building. Hautnez isn’t the highest point on the Bailiwick of Guernsey, though. The Baliwick is a is a self-governing British Crown Dependency comprising several of the Channel Islands. It includes the island of Sark where there’s a higher point, Le Moulin which, at 114m, is 7m higher than Hautnez.

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Mt Teide

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Mt Teide

Significance: High point of Tenerife, The Canary Islands and Spain
Summit height: 3,717m
Highest point reached: 3,555m
Guidebook: Europe’s High Points (Cicerone)

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I don’t remember much about visiting Mt Teide. I’ve definitely been before, at least to the bottom of the Teleferico (cable car). Judging from the old photos it must have been about 35 years ago.

I do remember talking with my dad about going up again when I was an early teenager. This was in my less adventurous days and I was scared when my dad told me that the air would be thinner up there. I had this fear that it would be too thin for him and he would have a heart attack. I realised today that he would have been about the same age as I am now ... which I’ve now decided is really really young.

So, on my first trip back in over 20 years and with a well developed adventure obsession, I had to make it to the top. I’d made all the plans: permit, pre booked tickets, all the right clothing. The only problem was that it was February and the trail from the upper cable car station was shut due to ice.

Despite the near miss of reaching the summit, Timi and I had an amazing day. We ticked off the Teide National Park UNESCO site and got some amazing photos of the peak and Los Roques de Garcia before the clouds came down.

I was a bit disappointed in not getting to the top but February is always a risk. It’s was the same reason we didn’t get to Mt Olympus in Cyprus 3 years ago. After all, our mission for the week was to have a relaxing end of winter break, not to get to the summit. Anway, I figured that we would have better luck climbing Alto de Garajonay on Friday.

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Alto de Garajonay

Significance: High point of La Gomera
Summit height: 1,487m
Highest point reached: 1,250m

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Whilst a Teide trip is simple to organise, La Gomera is trickier. We wanted a 1 day trip from where we were staying in Costa Adeje, Tenerife. I started researching 6 weeks before. The first company that I emailed obviously hadn’t got the knack of using computers. After 2 weeks with no reply to my enquiry I emailed again. Apparently their reply was stuck in their draft folder. They sent me as brief an email as they could muster, so I replied with a few basic questions. No response.

With a bit more research I found another company that had a few interesting trekking options on their website. I picked one and paid online, giving all the details they asked for, including the hotel where we were staying it. It was a good sign that I got a response straight away, but strange that they were asking me again where I was staying. I told them our hotel name and within minutes got a refund with a blunt email saying I that I could not join the trip as I was not staying on the island. After a bit of back and forth with me trying to explain how god customer service works, I gave up.

Attempt #3 was prompted by an email from my hotel asking if there was anything they could do to help with our upcoming stay. They even had an Experience Centre with a dedicated email address. I wrote to them to explain what we wanted to do on La Gomera. No reply. Was the island was actively trying to discourage tourists? By now I’d given up hope of making arrangements in advance and decided to chill out and sort out when I got to Tenerife.

Once we’d arrived at the hotel and settled in Timi and I went to the hotel’s Experience Centre to ask about La Gomera. Having not quite got to the top of Teide we were determined to bag at least one island summit. I asked whether the jeep safari they offered would go to Alto de Garajonay, the highest point on the island. The guy made a phone call and confirmed that yes, it definitely did. Result.

On the day of the trip we were picked up early and taken on the ferry from Los Cristianos to San Sebastián de la Gomera. Soon after arriving the jeep convoy stopped at a nearby viewpoint and the main guide explained the day’s agenda. It all sounded great but was a bit odd that he didn’t mention to stop at the summit. I asked him about it... “no, unfortunately we don’t go there, it’s a bit of a hike and no tour company goes there.” I was, as you could imagine, not amused.

The tour itself was OK but not special and certainly nothing to make up for the lack of summiting. We did the usual stops for the Aloe Vera Farm, Banana Plantation, local lunch and Botanical Gardens. All fairly interesting but not worth the money we’d paid for, especially as I’d been there before. So close.

Back at the hotel I made sure they understood my frustration and eventually got my money back. I’ll spare you the details here as my Tripadvisor review explains it well.

So, the learning for La Gomera is not to go with an excursion if you want to get to the high point. Don’t believe anyone who tells you they go there unless you’re sure they completely understand that Alto de Garajonay doesn’t mean just the National Park that surrounds it. You may have better luck than I did with a local company on Gomera, just don’t expect good customer service.

We plan to go back but we’ll organise it ourselves now that we know what to do and where to go. The best plan seems to be to go by ferry on foot and hire a car on La. Gomera. Our first plan had been to take our Tenerife based rental car over on the ferry, then we found out that most rental companies don’t allow it. The island roads from the port to the national park are good and there’s several parking spots around the trail to the summit. We will probably stay on the island for a few days and check out the many other trails too.

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So close

Roque de Agando - volcanic plug, a highlight of the centre of La Gomera

 

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Significance: Highest peak in Buteshire (Historic County Top), North Ayrshire (Council Top), North Arran NSA High Point
Member of: Corbett, Marilyn, Hardy
Parent Peak: N/A
Nearest Higher Neighbour: The Cobbler
Elevation: 874m
Date climbed: 11th and 12th August 2017
Coordinates: 55.6258° N, 5.1919° W

Route Start / End: out and back from Cladach car park
Route Distance: 11 km (6.8 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 829m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Arran Coastal Way
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 73
OS Trig Pillar: TP3393 - Goat Fell
Map: OS Explorer 361: Isle of Arran
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking on Arran (Cicerone Walking Guide)
Links: Wikipedia (Buteshire), Wikipedia (Arran), Wikipedia (Goat Fell), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

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My first time on Arran was 2 years ago on our Lands End to John O'Groats cycle trip. We took the scenic route across the island and over to Kyntire to avoid Glasgow. The island part was only 15 miles but it made that day one of the most memorable. As we skirted past Goatfell, the huge County Top of Buteshire, I knew I'd be back to walk it.

This trip was for our 7th wedding anniversary. With our Inca Trail trip less than a month away, a Goatfell climb was good training. Timi needed to test her both her fitness and her new gear. If she could do Goatfell 2 days running it would be a good sign that we were ready for the Inca's distance and elevation.

The 2 days we picked couldn't have been more different. The first was an overcast, rainy Friday. We didn't see anyone for the first hour and only 10 people the whole trip. Neither could we see the mountain for most of the day. The clouds hung low, revealing the peak once or twice. As we got closer to the summit, most people were coming down not having braved the final steep ascent.

Our plan for day 1 wasn't to reach the top. We wanted to test our waterproofs and get some good descent practice in. Timi has suffered with her knee on steep down-hills in the past. If she was fine now, it would solve our main concern for the Inca Trail. We took it steady and reached the top in under 3 hours. The rain had stopped but the summit was windy so we headed down after a few minutes. Timi's knee held out well and we completed the trip in 5.5 hours.

Day 2 showed us a completely different Goatfell. The sun was out and visibility was as good as I've seen on UK hills. People were out too, with at least 10x more on the route than the day before. The view from the summit was one of the most stunning I've seen. We saw the coast on all sides of the mountain, the mainland back to the east and the Mull of Kyntire to the west.

We finished the day with a beer at the Arran Brewery at the start of the trail, then a walk in the beach opposite. As a training mission, it was a big success. Next stop: Peru.

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Bonus walk: King’s Cave

Before our ferry trip home we tried the King’s Cave Walk, recommended as one of the top walks on the island. It's a short one at 3 miles / ~2 hours and covers some beautiful views of the west of the island. The cave itself is somewhat underwhelming, but don’t let that put you off as its a great walk even without the cave.

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High point is next to the big golf ball

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Significance: High point of the island of Jersey, Channel Islands
Elevation: 136 m / 143m (different sources)
Date climbed: 10/06/2017
Coordinates: 49° 14' 39'' N, 2° 5' 35'' W
Route Start / End: Circular from car park on Rue des Platons
Route Distance: 1.7 km (1.1 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 31m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): Jersey Cycle Route 1
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee

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Pico Ruivo Trail

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Madeira had always been a place that we thought we would go to one day, but it was never high up on our travel list. Maybe its reputation as a retirement holiday destination had put us off. It turned out that it’s an ideal winter break location for us: warm in the winter and loads of great walking trails. We could have easily spent a month there discovering all the Levada routes. For now, we made a start on three day trip walks.

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Trip1: Levada Dos Tornos

Start: Botanical Garden Cable Car, Caminho das Voltas, 15 Ilha da Madeira, 9060-329 Funchal
Finish: Casa Velha Do Palheiro, R. da Estalagem, 23 - São Gonçalo, 9060-415 Funchal
Distance: 9.5 km (5.9 miles)
Elevation change: +272m / -307m. Net -35m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Levada de Bom Sucesso, Caminho Rev. Padre Eugénio Borgonovo, Levada dos Tornos,
Other routes touched (cycle): None

Like Tenerife, where I spent many childhood family holidays, Madeira has a north-south climate divide. The north and mountains get a lot of rain whilst the south is dry. Madeira solved this by laying over 2000 km of miles of drainage canals. These take the water down to the south where it's used both for irrigation and drinking water. Funchal, the capital, is positioned at the confluence of a few of the larger Levadas as they reach the sea.

As a warm up for longer more adventurous hikes later in the week, we set off to do the Levada dos Tornos. This one is very easily accessible from Funchal. The start is about 10 minutes walk from the top of the cable car station that connects the Old Town to Monte and its Botanical Garden.

The thing we'd wish we had known about was that the start of the Levada walk was closed due to a huge forest fire in the summer of 2016. Signs at the bottom of the cable car would have been helpful. Obviously, no one had thought to warn people before spending 10 euro each to get to the top. We considered bypassing the barrier and giving it a go, but the locals at the cafe near the top were adamant that it would be a bad idea. Apparently someone had died attempting and several others had to be rescued. An enterprising taxi driver came to the rescue by offering us a ride to the other side if the valley for "only" 20 euro. As a ride back on the cable car would have cost the same, it seemed like a good option.

We started the walk at Choupana where the road crosses the Levada. This was the site of the Choupana Hills Resort, once a 5 star spa hotel which was completely destroyed in the fire. The diversion cut off the dangerous part, shortening the walk by an hour.

Immediately leaving the road you see the effects of the fire with trees barely clinging to life and others reduced to charred stumps. Villas and hotels that backed onto the Levada are now burnt out ruins. Look up and you can see the giant football stadium perched high up on the hill. It's one of the weirdest locations for a stadium, accessible only by steep, winding local roads.

One mile in and we reached the Hortensia Tea House. It's well situated for the full hike from Monte but felt a bit early for the reduced trip. We stopped anyway: we were on holiday so we didn't need much excuse for a cake, a beer and a nice view down to the coast.

The rest of the walk is a further 40 minutes down to Palheiro Gardens. This is part of a large privately owned estate which also has a golf course and 5 star hotel. It's a pleasant, quieter alternative to the bustling Botanical Gardens back at the cable car station.

We ended the trip at the hotel at the lower end of the gardens, taking a taxi back to the city. It would have been another hour to walk to the centre, but we opted for a nap and an early dinner instead.

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Trip 2: Pico Ruivo

Start: Parque de Estacionamento Pico do Areeiro
Finish: Rua Dr. João Abel de Freitas, Médico 6, Santana
Distance: 8.6 km (5.3 miles)
Elevation change: +493m / -708m. Net -215m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): PR1 Vereda do Areeiro, PR1.2 Vereda do Pico Ruivo, Vereda da Ilha, Vereda da Faja da Nogueira,
Other routes touched (cycle): PR03a, PR17

This was the highlight of our winter break in Madeira. Billed as the Madeira Three Peaks, it actually reaches the summits of the 1st and 3rd highest points on the island. The 2nd highest point was previously accessible but a land slip in 2016 has closed the path so the route now follows tunnels through Pico das Torres.

We chose to do the trek as a guided walk with Madeira Explorers. For the 2 of us it was only 20 euro more than hiring a car for the day and it solved the logistical issue of a point to point walk.

The route starts at Pico do Areeiro, the 3rd highest peak. You can drive all the way to the top where the summit is marked by a stone pillar behind the military "golf ball" radar station. From here the route descends gradually to a lookout point.

The stone path is well made and maintained. It's also exceptionally clean for a route that gets so many visitors. Much of the path also has strong cable handrails on the steep or exposed sections. Be careful though as some are loose or broken. Even without them it's not an especially dangerous walk.

Around an hour in, you pass the junction to the closed path leading up to the top of Pico Torres. Avoiding this, the routes continues and enters Pico de Gato Tunnel, the first of three on the trip. This is the longest one at about 100m.

As the route ascends towards Pico Ruivo you see more greenery. This is part of the Laurisilva, a UNESCO designated heather forest covering much of the north of the island. At around 8k the path reaches a hut which is a good place for a rest before the final push to the summit.

The final climb is only 10 minutes from the hut along a steeper section of the stone path. Although cloudy on our trip we could still see Achada do Teixeira, the neighbouring peak to the west. The summit is marked by 2 stone columns.

The trip concluded with a 2km gentler walk down to the car park on the east side of Achada do Teixeira.

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Trip 3: Ribeiro Frio

Start & Finish: Ribeiro Frio Restaurant, ER103, Funchal
Distance: 6.9 km (4.3 miles)
Elevation change: + / - 395m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Levada do Furado, Levada do Poco do Bezerra, Caminho Real 24
Other routes touched (cycle): None

We did the Ribeiro Frio walk as a part of a 1 day east Madeira road trip. The 3 hour circular walk starts and ends at the Ribeiro Frio ("Cold River") restaurant. It's a 40 minute drive north of Funchal on some steep, and sometimes scary mountain roads. Once there, the walk is an oasis of calm and greenery.

The first hour of the walk follows the Levada do Furado. An alternative walk takes this all the way to Portala in the east, but our route branched off following the Levada do Bezerro. Whilst the first part was pretty busy, we had the route to ourselves apart from an American family that we occasionally met.

The Levada do Bezerro is a pretty steep climb. For the first 20 minutes were weren't convinced we were following the right path. The guide book said that there would be fast flowing water in the Levada but this was dry. The reason was clear about half way in, a landslide had damaged the conduit sending the water over the cliff to the river below. Further damage beyond this gave us some tricky places to clamber over.

The source of the Levada is a small series of pools on a cascade. The water here feeds the river below and some is siphoned off into the Levada. It's a nice, quiet place for a rest before the final 20-minute climb.

After the pools the path cuts up through the trees, reaching the Chao das Feiteiras plateau. Further on, at the highest point on the trip, is a small hill with some amazing views of the central mountain range. From here we could see the route of Wednesday's walk, from the radar station at Pico do Areeiro, through Pico das Torres, the summit of Pico Ruivo and Achada do Teixeira.

From here the path crosses some farm buildings and down a steep stone track meeting the Trout Farm. We'd timed it right as the restaurant at the bottom was quiet, with most of the tourist busses already having passed through earlier in the day. Grilled Trout with herbs and garlic bread were a great reward for one of the best short hikes I can remember.

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Snowdon

Now that I've done most of the Southern County Tops, the rest are getting higher and further away from home. Expeditions have changed from day-trips to a few days away, bagging multiple tops in one region. The plan for this trip was North West Wales, bagging Snowdon, Holyhead Mountain, Moel Famau and Cadair Berwyn. Ideally we would have also squeezed in Aran Fawddwy but we only had 3 days off work and we wanted to get in some zip-lining action too.

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Snowdon

Also known as: Yr Wyddfa
Significance: Highest peak in Caernarfonshire (Historic County Top), Gwynedd (Preserved County and Principal Area), Snowdonia National Park High Point, Wales Country Top
Member of: Marilyn, Furth, Hewitt, Nuttall, Welsh 3000s
Parent Peak: Ben Nevis.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Stob Binnein
Elevation: 1,085m
Date climbed: 25th July 2016 (and several times before) 
Coordinates: 53°4′6.59″N 4°4′34.43″W

Route Start / End: Pen Y Pass car park
Route Distance: 12.4 km (7.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 874m
Subsidiary tops on route: Y Lliwedd
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Pyg Track, Llanberis Path, Snowdon Ranger Path, Watkin Path, Miners Track
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP6043 - Snowdon Summit
Map: OS Explorer OL17 Snowdon & Conwy Valley
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Caernarfonshire), Wikipedia (Snowdon), Peakbagger, Hillbagging
 

Before the trip I wasn't hugely excited about doing Snowdon again. I'd been up there at least 4 times before and would have rather spent the time on a new peak. Mark, my fellow County Topper, hadn't done it before so we needed to include it. Chris, the third of our group had literally no idea where he was so had no opinion on the matter.

Our plan was to do the Snowdon Horseshoe including the knife-edge Crib Goch. This excited me as I hadn't done any of that route before, normally sticking to the Watkin or Llanberis paths. I was a bit nervous about Crib Goch so I did a bit of Internet research on it the night before. I'm fine with heights but get nervous of slipping so I wanted to find out more about it. It turned out that this kind of research is much the same as looking up the cause of an itchy rash in the Web (You are definitely going to die). Our breakfast time meeting about the route was a good decider to not do it. We were discussing kit and Chris was talking about how proud he was of his new £9.99 waterproofs. He was also not sure about whether he would need to take a backpack or any water. That was it ... Pyg Track to the summit, no Crib Goch.

Despite leaving the B&B early, we soon became an hour and a half behind schedule. The Pen Y Pass Car park gets full really early so we had to go to the next lay-by a couple of miles along the road to Llanberis. The good news was that there’s a regular bus service connecting the stops on the road. The bad news is that non-one, including us, could work out what the bus timetable was telling us. Convinced that the bus would be imminent, we waited an hour before getting into a taxi exactly 30 seconds before the bus came round the corner.

Heading away from Pen Y Pass on the Pyg Track, the sky was overcast and the rain came within 10 minutes. This was further confirmation that our plan to avoid Crib Goch was the best idea ever. I also got the opportunity to stoke my amusement of people on mountains who are unprepared for the the conditions. £9.99 waterproofs were the height of preparedness compared the the walkers in jeans and t shirts and some carrying babies up the highest mountain in Wales.

Just beyond the cloud line we joined the familiar Llanberis Path and reached the summit. Apparently the view is amazing, but in the 5 times I've been there, it's only been dirty fog. After a quick stop at the summit cafe we started the descent along the Watkin Path. I done the Watkin a couple of times in reverse and remember the steep part near the top to be a bit of a wobbly scramble. We must have gone off track on those previous attempts as the path down was significantly more straightforward than I remembered.

At Bwlch Ciliau we left the Watkin and ascended again to Y Lliwedd. This was a new summit for me and, at 898m, it was taller than the majority of County Tops. With some amazing views, my previous disinterest in climbing Snowdon again was long gone.

At the bottom of Lliwedd Bach, the final peak of the Horseshoe,  we joined the Miners Track on relatively flat ground. Mark, who was just ahead of Chris and I, had got talking to a lone walker by the reservoir. The guy had done Crib Goch that morning and still looked petrified by the experience. He'd got to the knife edge relatively easily only to have got caught in a strong downpour right at the top. After our breakfast decision Mark and I were worried about whether missing it would take some of the enjoyment out of the day. As it happened, the day was awesome and the had the added bonus of not shitting ourselves and/or falling off.

Snowdon done ... Next stop: Holyhead Mountain.

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Holyhead Mountain

Significance: Highest peak in Anglesey / Isle of Anglesey (Historic County Top, Preserved County, Principal Area and National Landscape)
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: N/A.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Moel Tryfan
Elevation: 220m
Date climbed: 25th July 2016
Coordinates: 53°18′47″N 4°40′35″W

Route Start / End: Car park opposite Ty Mawr Hut Circles on South Stack Road
Route Distance: 4 km (2.5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 141m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP3989 - Holyhead
Map: OS Explorer 262 Anglesey West
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Anglesey), Wikipedia (Holyhead Mountain), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

The problem with Holyhead Mountain in that it's a massive pain in the arse to get to. Holyhead an island off an island in the far North West corner of Wales and takes a long time to get there from anywhere other than Snowdonia. At only 220m high and an hour and a half up and down, it not worth the trip unless you’re in the area anyway. Having just completed Snowdon and with several hours of daylight left, we decided to squeeze in Holyhead Mountain before evening beers.

The last time I’d been to Holyhead was in 2010 for the start of the 4-day NCN Route 8 Wales End-To-End cycle trip. Holyhead was once a thriving town supporting the ferry to Dublin, but had long since fallen on hard times. With a fast road and rail connection straight through to the port, there’s now no need to stop in the town. We were staying there overnight before setting off on the ride and really struggled to find anywhere to eat. Only 1 out of 3 shops in the high street were open with the rest either shut or housing a weird local charity. The Anglesey Feral Cat Action Trust was my favourite. If only I’d got the County Top obsession back then I could have bagged Holyhead Mountain then and avoided a return trip.

The walk, like so many of those I’m not expecting much from, turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. From the RSPB car park, its a gentle incline for about 20 minutes towards the big chalky cliff. A relatively straightforward and well sign-posted path leads through beautifully coloured heather to the trig point at the top. We had a warm but cloudy day so couldn’t see all the way to Dublin, just bits of Holyhead harbour and the ferries coming in and out.

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Moel Famau

Significance: Highest peak in Flintshire (Historic County Top and Principal Area), High Point of Preserved County of Clwyd, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape High Point
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Moel y Gamelin.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Cyrn-y-Brain
Elevation: 555m
Date climbed: 26th July 2016
Coordinates: 53°09′16″N 3°15′21″W

Route Start / End: Car park opposite Pen Barras Lodge on Bwlch Pen Barras Road
Route Distance: 4.4 km (2.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 271m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Offa’s Dyke Path
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP0005 - Moel Fammau
Map: OS Explorer 265 Clwydian Range, Prestatyn, Mold & Ruthin
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Flintshire), Wikipedia (Moel Famau), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

 Just like Holyhead Mountain, Moel Famau isn’t a County Top that you’d make a big effort to get to just for itself. The summit itself is surrounded by a Country Park with various routes to the top and nice views. We picked the main route from the car-park at the bottom making the round trip in an hour and a half.

The main highlight of Moel Famau is the ruins of the Jubilee Tower, an Egyptian-style monument built in 1810 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of George III. It was never completed and the actual tower was destroyed in a storm 1862 leaving the base that you can see today.

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Moel Sych

Significance: Highest peak in Montgomeryshire (Historic County Top)
Member of: Marilyn, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Cadair Berwyn
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Cadair Berwyn
Elevation: 827m
Coordinates: 52°52′34″N 3°23′19″W
Links: Wikipedia (Montgomeryshire), Wikipedia (Moel Sych), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Cadair Berwyn

Significance: Highest peak in Denbighshire (Historic County Top), Wrexham (Council Top)
Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Aran Benllyn
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Aran Benllyn
Elevation: 832m
Coordinates: 52°53′02″N 3°22′49″W
OS Trig Pillar: TP1837 - Cader Berwyn
Links: Wikipedia (Denbighshire), Wikipedia (Cadair Berwyn), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

For both peaks:
Date climbed: 27th July 2016
Route Start / End: Car park at Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall
Route Distance: 10.5 km (6.5 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 597m
Subsidiary tops on route: Cadair Berwyn North Top
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer 255 Llangollen & Berwyn
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)

Two tops in one trip: this was the highlight of the 5-County Top adventure as it was one that I’d not done before and a long, interesting trek. We’d saved this one for last as it was on our way back down South from our base on Betws-y-Coed.

The obvious starting point is a car park at the base of Tan-y-Pistyll Falls, the longest single-drop waterfall in the UK. Jonny Muir’s book recommends a there-and-back route to Cadiar Berwyn via Moel Sych. We followed this route up, but descended via a parallel path on the East side of the valley, ending up a mile further South from the car park. I definitely recommend this as is a far more interesting walk.

Navigation is easy for most of the route except, we found, for a small section near the top of the waterfall leading up to Moel Sych. It took a couple of attempts to find the small path however once on it, its an obvious route to the summit.

We read that Moel Sych was once considered the County Top of both Montgomeryshire and Denbighshire until someone noticed that Cadair Berwyn was higher and both counties got their own summit. When you’re at the top its obvious which one is the higher and hard to imagine how it too so long to discover it.

The route down follows a path curving down the side of a steep drop. Safe enough on a clear day like we had, however I’d seriously consider returning via the Moel Sych route on a low-visibility winter’s day.  

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For Merionethshire (Aran Fawddwy), see the Western Wales post, linked below

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OTHER HIGH POINTS IN North Wales

• Carnedd Llewelyn (1,064m). Highest point in the Principal Area of Conwy: Peakbagger / Hillbagging

• Aran Fawddwy (905m). Historic County Top of Merionethshire: Peakbagger, Hillbagging

• Craig Berwyn (790m), Wrexham. Highest point in the Principal Area of Wrexham: Peakbagger / Hillbagging

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Significance: Highest peak on the Isle of Wight (Present Day County Top), Isle of Wight National Landscape High Point
Member of: Marilyn, Hardy
Parent Peak: n/a.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Butser Hill
Historic County: Hampshire (of which Pilot Hill is the County Top)
Elevation: 241m
Date climbed: 6th July 2014
Coordinates: 50° 36' 13'' N, 1° 11' 51'' W
OS Trig Pillar: TP0352 - Wroxall Down
Map: OS Explorer OL29 Isle of Wight
Guidebook: Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Isle of Wight), Wikipedia (St Boniface Down), Peakbagger, Hillbagging, National Trust

This was another drive-by County Top bagging for us. We were on a weekend trip for my mum's birthday and I convinced her that the diversion to the top of a hill to see a radar station was a good thing to do. As it turned out the views to the south coast of the island were fantastic that day.

Having seen David Bathurst's book since that trip, I've been inspired to go back one day and try a longer circular route to the top. I also completely missed bagging the Trig Pillar so I definitely have some unfinished business up there.

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View from the Pony Track

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Also known as: Beinn Nibheis
Significance: Highest peak in Inverness-shire (Historic County Top), Highland (Council Top), Mainland Great Britain/Scotland/UK Country Top, Ben Nevis and Glen Coe NSA High Point
Member of: Munro, Marilyn
Parent Peak: N/A.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Melderskin, Norway
Elevation: 1,344m
Date climbed: 21st May 2005 and July 28th 2012
Coordinates: 56.7969° N, 5.0036° W

Route Start / End: Ben Nevis Inn, Achintee Rd, Achintee, Fort William, PH33 6TE
Route Distance: 15.5 km (9.6 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 1,306m
Subsidiary tops on route: none
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched: none
OS Trig Pillar: TP1289 - Ben Nevis
Map: OS Explorer 392: Ben Nevis and Fort William
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Cicerone Guide: Ben Nevis and Glen Coe
Links: Wikipedia (Inverness-shire), Wikipedia (Ben Nevis), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

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I’ve completed two ascents of the UK’s tallest mountain. Both were on unofficial self-organised Three Peaks Challenges. We weren’t bothered by doing it in the normal 24 hour window, so did it in a more leisurely 36 hours. This allows for an overnight stay and removes the need for a support driver.

On my first attempt we completed the challenge in a whisker under the 36 hours. We stayed in Fort William on the night before, did Ben Nevis in the morning, lunch in the Ben Nevis Inn, and drove to a hotel near Scafell Pike. On the second day we did an early ascent of Scafell Pike, then drove to Snowdonia for the Snowdon ascent.

My second Three Peaks attempt, with a different group, didn’t go quite so well. We ended up doing four peaks, but not the ones that we intended. I’ll save that story for the Scafell Pike post.

Unless you’re particularly adventurous and very experienced there’s one route up and down a Ben Nevis: The Pony Track. It’s a safe route with little navigation required. On both of my ascents the visibility at the top was extremely poor and the return from the summit to the track wasn’t obvious. Yes, it’s a relatively easy climb but don’t beget caught out and do all the usual mountain prep and precautions.

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