Alasdair Robertson

Day 3: No Picnic

My breathers became more frequent. I really was finding this hard. At one point the trail had an option to go a few hundred metres out of the way to pop onto a hilltop and see the view. I shunned it; not worth the extra effort.

Day 2: The Stranger

I woke to a grey day, the first of many. Without much ado, I breakfasted, packed up my tent and set off. A couple of kilometres down the road was Plas-y-Brenin Outdoor Training Centre. A footpath took me through some of their grounds. Turning a corner, I encountered a curious sight. There appeared to beContinue reading “Day 2: The Stranger”

Day 1: Summertime on Snowdon

I missed the bus to Pen-y-pas (damn those Saturday timetables) and tried thumbing for a lift instead. I was picked up by a man who was tremendously excited to be in the mountains with his son (“There they are, Willoughby! Hee hee! There they are!”). It was, in fairness, a gorgeous day – Summer’s last,Continue reading “Day 1: Summertime on Snowdon”

Day 0: How do you get two whales in a train?

The kindness of strangers began to manifest itself straight away. Seeing my ungainly quickstep as I rushed for the bus, a woman pulled over and offered me a lift to the stop in the next town, which I gratefully took. On the bus an old lady struck up a conversation reminiscing about the days ofContinue reading “Day 0: How do you get two whales in a train?”

Planning and Doing

I had had the idea for a big charity walk floating around in my head for some time. Floating around in heads is what ideas do best, but it is not the best thing for them to do. Most of the ideas I have ever had have never left their mental holding pen, or atContinue reading “Planning and Doing”

Introduction

Who am I and why am I doing this My name is Alasdair, and I sometimes go hiking. I have been on a few exciting backpacking trips over the past few years. On these trips I usually try to keep a journal, with the emphasis on “try”. I start off full of enthusiasm and romanticContinue reading “Introduction”