My first Marilyn was Moel Siabod in 1967 on a trip organised by the chemistry master, Mr Anderson, who was very happy to take kids out hillwalking. No mountain leadership certificate, no alternative plan, no form-filling - just common sense and a bunch of kids who wanted to go and didn't mess around. I seem to remember there was still snow around and it was quite cold. We went out regularly over the next few months and I did quite a few of the Welsh 3000-foot peaks.
I did my 600th on 23 January 2005 when I climbed White Hill in Lancashire. It was a spur-of-the-moment bag, as the weather looked okay in Wallasey, so I suggested to Dennis that a little walk would help him shed some of the girth that restricted his caving ability to the larger passages. We set off in bright sunshine which faded as we headed up the M6 and then turned to drizzle. As we parked the wind picked up, it rained more heavily and visibility decreased. We trudged through the bogs following the fence and eventually arrived at the trig point. There was no view. To save a repeat performance over the very boggy ground we headed virtually due east following the stream to hit the road. It had stopped raining by then, and we could almost see the top.
Since the 600th I have been to the Lleyn Peninsula for Gyrn Ddu, and may have to go back with caving gear to explore the interesting levels (horizontal holes) on Moelfre. Spending time caving cuts down the time for walking, but I intend to have a go at passing the halfway mark on the Corbetts this year, so I may end up with a reasonable Marilyn bag.
Rod Munro reaches 600 on a busy Arthur's Seat
