The year, 2012, ended badly with a major illness, a stay in hospital and a potential recovery period that I guess will not see me on the hills again before the spring. The great news however is that I will be back and should be able to resume bagging, although I am not sure whether I will be able to manage the bigger hills. Does not matter, the important thing is that I will be out in the hills again and there are many smaller hills, for example in the islands, that are more than deserving of attention.
Highlights of 2012 included a visit, at last, to Ben Hiant and a trip to the delightful and interesting Holy Island to climb Mullach Mor. Hill of Persie turned out to be an unexpected gem and, in contrast, I tree and heather bashed my way to a number of summits, including Mount Eagle, Drummond Hill and Cademuir Hill. As is often the way of things, the anticipation was far worse than the experience. I visited a new area for me - Northumberland - and was so impressed that I returned later in 2012. The north Pennines and the Lake District also featured briefly on my way to and from the Mountain Bothies Association AGM. I find the landscape, architecture and way-of-life of different areas of the country fascinating. It is all part of the hill experience.
