My main objective for the year was to tackle my remaining 34 Grahams but I only managed 12. Most of these were on the Cowal peninsula during a great week's walking in May. A boat trip in April visited two more wonderful island Marilyns, Eilean Shona and Carna. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Marhof meeting at Strontian in June, and it was so nice to meet people and put faces to names.
A Christmas present from my daughter to visit the Eden project in Cornwall was an excellent idea. It involved a round trip of more than 1400 miles and nine Marilyns were bagged. What an amazing hill Hensbarrow Beacon turned out to be. When standing at the trig point, massive china clay spoil heaps tower over you, dwarfing the summit. On our return journey, I spotted Walton Hill just off the M5. What a wonderful hill, with extensive views over Birmingham, and a much better rest stop than any motorway services.
Three more Welsh hills followed in September, but it was an unexpected surprise in November to reach the Upper Hall. An MBA meeting at the Crask Inn enabled seven additional hills to be climbed in excellent weather. I thought Sgribhis-bheinn, the most northerly summit, would be a good choice for my 1000th but alas, no Cape Wrath ferry during those short autumn days. However, Ben Hutig above Tongue turned out to be an excellent substitute - a very interesting hill with so many stone constructions on its summit.
