My year was disrupted by family health issues but, before that, I managed to climb a good few new peaks. Following the tradition of conquering new peaks to mark royal occasions (e.g. Everest 1953) I took advantage of the extra holiday to head off to Glen Dessary for a six-day expedition and came back with five Marilyns, a nice tan that didn't all come off in the bath, and a fair few insect bites.
A couple of months later, on a short trip to Yorkshire with a friend who drives, I persuaded him to stop just long enough to snatch the summit of Bardon Hill to complete region 39. The sun continued to shine for my summer trip to the Cairngorms. I was greeted by midges at Dalwhinnie, but these rapidly dwindled after I crossed the A9 - I guess they never learnt the green cross code. A couple of nights at the bothy in Glen Feshie were followed by a trek across the Braeriach plateau, for once hot and sunny, and completely clear of cloud.
There were more midges to be found in the Galloway hills in early September, but I was prepared. A new midge hood allowed me to strike camp without being bothered by the cloud of insects around me. Instead it was the infamous boggy terrain that took its toll. After the trudge from Mullwharchar to Corserine I tried to use the forest tracks more, but then came across a hellish machine with rotating blades, busy shredding every bit of scrub around it. I was glad to get well down the track from that.
Outside A'Chuil bothy in Glen Dessary (photo: Richard Paul)
