We had another good year in 2012, although not quite hitting the big target of the previous year. I think the 2011 total will be our all-time high. We did get round quite a few hills though, with an excellent week in the Isle of Man, during the heatwave in March, and a fantastic week in Orkney in May. We bagged all the Marilyns during both holidays, also managing some sightseeing on the side. In June we got as far up as Sutherland, and in July all the way down to Cornwall and then the South Downs. In contrast to earlier months of great weather, we managed to be on the south coast during the floods. The poor weather slowed us down a bit, and put a visit to the Isle of Wight on hold until another year.
One thing we have noticed with the Marilyns is how pleasant it can be to walk in forests. Looking at the maps before we committed ourselves to really tackling Marilyns as a project, we were a bit put off by the number of summits surrounded by trees, especially those with no apparent paths. It has turned out though that finding ways through the woods has proven to be generally more enjoyable than not. There has, however, been the occasional definitely never again.
Another key Marilyn bagging skill must be barbed wire and electric fence climbing. Our skills seemed to be developing in that area, until an unfortunate incident on our first 2013 hill on Skye resulted in a pair of well-worn trousers becoming well-torn trousers, on the last barbed wire fence of the day. The hill itself, Beinn na Cro, was otherwise excellent. The hill was in snow and gave great views all round. We shared the walk with twelve friends from the new year get together, also adding to the enjoyment of the hill. With about half of that group being on the Marhofn list, it cannot be such a mad thing to do?
