My last major Welsh GOML concern of Upper Park (31A) was conquered in the autumn without any problem, although the deer in the woodland provided a few adrenaline surges. Nearby Allt y Main proved to be the best viewpoint from the Welshpool cluster of hills, although my visit was a bit rushed due to frozen points at Shrewsbury (must have been the coldest morning of the winter so far).
Highlight of the year was joining up with other Hall members for the Barra isles boating extravaganza in May. Despite the dodgy forecast we bagged all five Marilyn islands with just one significant wetting. The Easter break was used for visiting another island group that I'd not been to before - Orkney. Apart from Hoy the hills are undemanding but have excellent panoramas. I also managed to claim my first Caithness summit between trains on the way back south.
The most exasperating event occurred at the end of one of the finest hill days of last January. I took the early-morning bus from Oban to Bonawe and enjoyed wonderfully crisp inversion conditions while claiming the three Grahams east of Gleann Salach. On returning to the road, the afternoon school bus failed to appear and I ended up walking most of the way to Connel Bridge before a vehicle came along and offered a lift. Apparently the bridge had been closed for most of the day after being struck by a lorry, and the school children had been bussed home via the scenic route (Glen Coe). After nearly two hours of road bashing, wondering whether I'd catch my booked coach to Glasgow, I actually had sufficient time (ten minutes) to sink a couple of highly refreshing pints of squash in the pub at Connel. This incident also meant that I needed to return to Oban the following weekend to reclaim my surplus luggage.
A friend's last Munro party based in Tobermory provided an opportunity to bag the Ardnamurchan hills by commuting on the Kilchoan ferry. Meall nan Con (18A) is not a particularly good viewpoint for appreciating the volcanic crater whose rim it is on, but to be totally surrounded by roaring stags while eating lunch on the summit was an impressive experience.
