Changes

Well, a month after Dad's sudden passing much has happened, lots has changed but equally and reassuringly there has been continuity in other areas. His service was very much in accordance with his wishes and accorded close family the opportunity to celebrate a life well lived - we did him proud.
Since then I have addressed the formalities of dealing with his affairs, the privileged task of supporting Mum who is facing up to the new challenges with her usual dignity and composure and keeping tabs on other areas of interest that have otherwise taken a back seat for the time being. Living in a house has been unusual for me - over a half a stone in weight has been lost simply from climbing the stairs dozens of times a day - and the various public and private organisations dealt with have by and large been both helpful and sympathetic.
The Adventure Overland Show at Stratford provided a breather with plenty of displays, events and information to hand. My presentations covering my approach to travel were I think well received judging by the numbers of people who dropped by the van for a look round and a chat on more specific issues. I took a particular shine to Joe who is also planning a trip to the Nordkapp but is travelling in January in his very early Mini - that will be one heck of a challenge but his undoubted mechanical knowledge and skills will see him through I am sure - take a look here to follow his blog.
A huge array of private conversions and commercial expedition vehicles covered the full range of possibilities and gave me food for thought although as Trustybus sailed through its MOT with no issues I will not be changing anything any time soon : 285k miles on the clock and still pulling like the HS2. Talking of which a warm late September afternoon pub lunch and walk took us unknowingly to a spot on the London to Glasgow line where 40 years ago I used to pedal over for a bit of train spotting - I'm not sure Mum was converted but who knows....
Trips to Wales afforded the opportunity to catch up with friends, hone my badminton skills - plenty left to do there - visit various acquaintances in hospital or post-op and, just yesterday, pay a long overdue visit to the bothy project in Mid Wales that has provided such pleasure this year. A couple of recent MBA work parties had seen the installation of a new stove, a superb staged sleeping platform, the construction of some excellent bothy furniture and drainage works outside.
We were very privileged to meet relatives of the last family to live there in 1952 and new archive photos have emerged to augment the history of this very special place. Lluest Cwm Bach is now available to all for shelter and enjoyment - I hope you get a chance to visit some time. It was very moving to see smoke coming from the chimney for the first time in over 60 years. Click here for MBA details. Incidentally the team are reroofing Nant Rhys bothy near Llangurig this week so if you fancy a walk up there take them some cakes as encouragement as it is a formidable task.
A few of us did an extended walk around the Elan Valley and are planning a walk to encompass all 5 bothies that now sit within OS Sheet 147 which will I am sure become a classic in time. On my way back to Coventry I visited my brother and his family for a relaxed and cosy evening in front of the wood burner - my nephew and niece are full of the energy and enthusiasm of youth and provide a welcome distraction.
Whilst still very much in support mode I am making tentative plans for later this year and next with two weeks in Cumbria preceding a fortnight in Portugal : as I will be returning to the UK  rather than as planned returning to Morocco for 3 months, I have decided to fly down from Bristol and hire a car - quite an initial outlay but cheaper overall than driving there and back for such a relatively short period. I guess the new Year will be taken up with the formalities of probate and the like but a trip north of the border will provide encouragement and I am planning to take the van to Iceland and the Faroes in June which entails a 3 day sail from Denmark.

Anyway the photos revisit the amazing story of Lluest Cwm Bach and include other recent activities.
Thanks to all those who passed on their sympathies over recent events - the anonymous gestures in particular were very moving - just a piece of advice to all : putting your affairs in order (as Dad had done) is perhaps one of the most constructive gestures you can make in advance to help family cope with a difficult turn of events. Please think about it!

Piccies here.

A DIFFICULT TIME

Suddenly but peacefully my beloved, generous and inspirational father passed away last week. His loss has come as a huge shock to all his family, friends, former colleagues and acquaintances from across the broad spectrum of his many interests.

We have all been deeply touched by the many warm and heartfelt expressions of sympathy and the flowers received add hope to a sombre household.

Mum has amazed us all with her strength and composure in the face of the loss of a husband and partner of nearly 60 years.

We celebrate his life on Friday the 27th of September with a simple humanist service for close family only but would ask that you spare us a thought mid-afternoon.

My extended adventures are on indefinite hold for the forseeable future but Mum is already insisting that I should get back on the road from time to time.

Thus bear with me if posts become less frequent for a while and click the link below for a piece of music - the words to which form part of my personal tribute to a wonderful man.

 







Welsh Favourites

Whilst calling in to check up on Nant Rhys bothy in mid Wales my rear wheel collapsed, tore off the derailleur and required a temporary fix to get me back to the comforts of Miss Pope's C&CC site near Llangurig. After a decision to replace rather than repair the bike I dropped back to Brecon where Jason at Biped Cycles fixed me up with a KTM hard tail with 27.5 inch wheels that was also slightly lighter than the old bike which had served me well for many years. Considering it had sat on the back of the van for 8 years during trips to Oz, NZ, Morocco and the recent Scandinavian journey as well as around the UK and Europe in all weathers it was due for replacement so I turned north once more for a Bank Holiday weekend of bothy maintenance, looking forward to a few test rides.

Penrhos bothy lies half way round one of Coed y Brennin's black routes and thus starting there gives you a chance to ride the tracks ahead of other visitors. After partially rebuilding a dry stone boundary wall two of us headed over to the compact Arenig bothy which had been damaged by some idiot leaving a gas cylinder on the fire. New perspex was placed in the window frame and everywhere given a good tidy out before we dropped back to Penrhos via a possible new project for a quiet night, in contrast to the crowds reported to have descended on Snowdon. Monday saw me giving the new wheels a good test on the 40 km long black route before I found a superb location above Nant y Moch reservoir for a quiet night.

At the new Elan Valley project I spent a useful day repointing the fireplace prior to the stove installation planned for early October and again marvelled at the achievement of all involved in its renovation before returning to the comforts of Llangurig for a much needed shower.

A good walk near Shrewsbury with Penny was followed by a meet up with members of Bedworth 4x4 Club who are involved with the Adventure Overland Show at the end of September - it promises to offer plenty of sources of advice and information about future trips and vehicle options.

A trip to the GP extracted a scrip for 9 months of ticker pills and after a catch up with family I headed down to Bristol to collect a trailer for the forthcoming Beast mountain bike event in Brecon.

A very peaceful long weekend near Abercrave at a fellow smallholder's property gave me another chance to test the bike with a ride through my old farm which sadly looks slightly run down before I followed the superb Sarn Helen off road track up to Sennybridge and back to Abercrave - a tiring but exhilarating ride.

In contrast the ride down the Swansea Valley to Mumbles the next day was a relaxed affair - the bay looked almost Mediterranean in the hot sunshine and that evening I enjoyed a good Chinese takeaway with friends near Neath.
Down at Henrhyd Falls the setting sun produced an idyllic scene - this location features as the waterfall entrance to the Batcave in the film 'The Dark Knight Rises' - but I only saw a robin.

Wednesday saw me collect most of the signage needed for our event and the work began in earnest on Thursday with 3 of us signing the steep climb to Fan Ghyrich, the estate track to Ystradfellte and the mountain route back to Brecon. Hot sunshine and good company made for another memorable day in stunning scenery and I enjoyed my temporary camp at the leisure centre compound with power, showers, internet and TV. Friday saw a whole range of tasks completed with more signing of the 100km of route, 900 T shirts collected, 1000 litres of water and 400 kilos of fruit stockpiled, two 4x4 pickups and a quad delivered, the camping and parking organised and marshals given their instructions. At the event pavillion another hard working team prepared to register riders, record their safe return and issue the T shirts and other sponsored rewards, as well as coordinating the course marshals, safety riders, mountain rescue cover and so on

A friend from Bristol joined me on the Saturday to provide invaluable assistance in delivering 2 tonnes of water, 8 barrels and 300 kilos of fruit to the first feed station just beneath the summit of Fan Ghyrich where all 600 plus riders would arrive after 25km of riding and a climb to 700m ASL. We then checked the previous day's signing as in previous years the odd act of selfish stupidity has occurred but all was well and we had enough time to deliver the remaining water and fruit to the second feed station aimed solely at those tackling the full 100km route via the infamous Gap Road east of Cribin which reaches 600m ASL.

After an excellent pizza we turned in early as a couple of hundred campers checked their bikes in readiness for the big event.

After some traffic duties first thing Dale and I were away to our marshalling points on Fan G. and within one hour of the start the first rider appeared followed over the next two by the rest of the riders who were grateful for a brief stop and refreshments. Two broken collar bones a little further along the mountain section kept Brecon Mountain Rescue (a major recipient of our funds raised) busy and once the last rider had passed through we relocated unused fruit to further round the course before removing signs, tidying up and heading back to base. Once the second 4x4 was available again we retrieved the now considerably lighter trailer from Fan G. and descended cautiously as rain had made parts of the track quite slippery.

A steady stream of tired but happy riders arrived back during the afternoon and we retrieved the second feed station, removed signs and returned to Brecon to soak up the positive vibes and sense of achievement expressed all round.

Monday was spent cleaning vehicles, returning equipment and tidying up - all in good weather and I again felt very proud to have been involved in such a worthwhile cause where the willingness and enthusiasm of the volunteers echoed that shown for the bothy restoration. The thanks and appreciation from many riders was heart warming - for some it was their first and rewarding if gruelling introduction to a part Wales that has given me over 30 years of very special memories.

A few photos sit here but things were so busy over the event that the camera remained largely unused - something I will rectify over the next few weeks as other excitement unfolds.
Click here to see where I am most days.

Magic!

In the space of the last fortnight my erratic lifestyle has again thrown up the unexpected. Two weeks ago I was tucked away north of Trondheim miles from anywhere and all tooled up to give the van its scheduled oil change in a secluded parking area. Whilst removing the sump plug it became clear that it was merely spinning freely allowing oil to leak out but proving impossible to either remove or re-tighten. PTFE tape reduced the trickle to a slow drip and I made my way carefully to a small garage some 30 miles away where after some effort we managed to apply a two part quick setting liquid metal that stopped the drips but prevented the removal of said plug. 
With only a fortnight of my trip left I decided it would make sense to return early and the next three days saw a rapid and trouble free return across Northern Europe. In Bristol PC Motors fitted a new sump complete with gasket and fresh oil putting me back on the road again with a trip to Wales and Shropshire proving that all was well. After catching up with friends and family I was able to tag along for the next chapter in the renovation of a new bothy in the Elan valley in mid Wales.
Nine weeks previously over 20 tonnes of tools, materials and equipment had been lifted across to the ruined farmhouse where Paul, Chris and a small team of craftsmen had started on the ambitious project. Two MBA stalwarts had installed a flue liner once the chimney was secured and reported favourably on the progress to date and I was keen to see the transformation having walked in 20 months ago in mid December when the idea of a renovation first emerged and been at the memorable initial work party to dig out 60 years of accumulated rubble in November of last year.

Rounding the headland gave the first view of a remarkable transformation best described by clicking this link:

PICTURES TO BE FOUND HERE

Paul and his team with the support and back up of Alec, the Elan Valley Trust and the MBA volunteers are to be thoroughly congratulated on an achievement that is a true credit to all involved. The sensitive and sympathetic materials used combined with high quality craftsmanship have produced an outstanding result that sets a benchmark for future projects.
This stage of the renovation work was rounded off by the lifting out of scaffolding, tools, surplus materials and scrap roofing sheets by the skilled team of  Chief Pilot Phil and his colleague Dave from Veritair (www.veritair.com) and soon the rejuvenated building was left in its remote surroundings with a kite and some sheep taking no obvious notice of the transformation. 
A bonus for four of us was a flight over the bothy and surrounding area - the Elan reservoirs looked superb way below and the dams almost insignificant as all too soon we were dropped off at the water's edge for a final check of the site.
Much internal work including stove installation, repointing and the construction of a sleeping platform remains to be done so an appeal will be made to the many MBA volunteers who have achieved so much in Wales over the last 30 years in the hope that progress will be made in time for a scheduled 'official opening' in mid October.
Back at the drop zone a small team worked hard to return the scaffolding and other equipment to various storage areas before I headed off to Brecon with the prospect of a Bank Holiday weekend at another bothy near Dolgellau.
Thus my unexpectedly early return has had many a silver lining and I anticipate being UK based now until December - updates will follow in due course so as ever watch this

Ups, downs and rounds.

The impressive Seven Sisters ridge offers a 16 hour traverse but I contented myself with an ascent of the most southerly summit as I felt attempting the full route on my own might be asking for trouble and would require some logistical planning eg dumping the bike at the far end etc. However the 910m Breitinden was a good top in its own right and provided superb views across to the thousands of islands out west and further tops inland - later that day I saw my first moose as I was heading to Sandnessjoen : not a good photo as I passed at speed but good to see anyway.

I took the ferry over to Donna planning to do that island's main summit but unfortunately the following day the conditions had changed dramatically and I spent a wet and windy day tucked beneath its fog bound slopes by a lovely beach and caught up on my trip diary and some further research. After crossing to Heroy via various bridges and causeways I took another ferry back to the mainland and spent the night on a small site between two more of the many ferry crossings that complete the E17. 
Heillhornet provided a superb day's hiking in perfect conditions with the final ridge requiring some scrambling assisted at one point by some chains. The views were again astounding, confirming Norway's status as one of the most beautiful countries I have visited. The unspoilt scenery, well kept villages, colourful houses and low visitor numbers combine to make it a place I will return to another time - probably when there is some snow on the tops but perhaps not when the nights are long and dark.

Leka is of geological significance  to Norway and made for a good day out on the bike. I left the van parked up, caught the ferry across to the island and followed the coast roads and tracks on a day that whilst dry lacked the sunshine to highlight the deep yellows of the convoluted igneous outcrops that characterised particularly the west coast.
Similarly today Joa - another island - provided another excellent perimeter ride. Whilst tucked away last night torrential rain had drowned out the action whilst watching the 1st series of Homeland but after a lie in this morning things cleared up and the 6 hours pedalling round Joa's roads and tracks were enjoyed in hot sunshine.
A mini festival that apparently takes place annually had taken over a pristine beach and headland and had obviously been severely affected by the overnight downpours. Sadly there was a huge amount of rubbish and abandoned tents, camping gear, old chairs and settees but I presume it would get cleared away eventually.
Side tracks led to small jetties and landing stages and the Nordveien crossed to the north of the island via a good section of single track riding. The small church at Dun stands in the ruins of a larger one and marked the final highlight of what had been a thoroughly enjoyable if tiring day.
Back on the mainland I passed through Namsos and will need to do a bit of a shop tomorrow before heading for another planned summit : Hermanssnasa and then entering what may be a slightly busier area of Norway. The last four weeks have covered an area that takes some getting to but over the next three I will be trying to cover the highlights of the major fjords and some national parks which will involve some back tracking at times.

A few photos sit here and progress south can be seen here.

The Lofoten Islands and the E17 Coastal Route

Arrival at Fiskebol on the Lofoten Island of Austvagoyby ferry from Melbu on Langoya (one of the Vesteralen Islands) was on a grey afternoon with low cloud obscuring the tops but things improved the following day as I walked a stiff section of coastline from Eggum before heading round to Nusfjord - a wonderfully situated traditional fishing village with brightly painted huts, a former cod liver oil factory and another good walk round the craggy coastline.
From near Flakstad a walk over a steep ridge followed by the descent to Kvalvika beach was undertaken in perfect conditions and the bay an absolute gem - a few people had pitched tents enjoying the 'allesmannsratte' that permits wild camping almost anywhere in Norway and which people very much appreciate so undertake responsibly as regards litter and nuisance value.
The islands are linked by tunnels and bridges all dominated by the 160km long Lofotenveggen mountain chain which provide a remarkably craggy backdrop to the many hamlets and bays. Down at 'A' (at last an easy name to pronounce) I skirted the south shore of Lake Agvatnet before climbing steeply to the ridge that offered superb views back down to A and out to the wild west coast. 

With the weather conditions now perfect I enjoyed a couple more days exploring the many delights of this straggly chain including Henningsvaer another pretty village with many rorbuer (former fishermens' huts) available for rent and a diversion down to Digermulen where one of the large Hurtigruten ships was powering majestically through the Raftsunde. In the mornings a sea fog filled the fjords leaving the bridges to rise ghostlike beneath sun drenched mountains - all very picturesque.
However with the halfway point of this trip fast approaching I headed inland and round to Narvik with its huge iron ore processing terminal and then followed a dramatic section of the E6 to Fauske. The amazing road climbed steep passes, followed idyllic coastline and utilised many long tunnels and one ferry crossing to bring me to the start of the E17 coastal route (the Kystriksveien) which will take me the 800 or so kilometres down to Trondheim. It mixes and matches roads, bridges, tunnels and 7 ferry crossings and has linked a number of previously very isolated communities with the wider world. 
The good weather encouraged me to free camp every night - hence the long gap between blogs - and I was making use of the tinned and dried goods from home topped up by fresh fruit and veg from the odd larger village. Between Jetvik and Kilbogham whilst on the ferry we crossed the Arctic Circle (marked by a steel globe on the shore) which marked for me the end of 3 weeks within its 'confines'. The van had also clocked up 280,000 miles that day and the trip had reached its halfway point so the day was full of mini milestones - closer examination of the labels in a shop in Ornes had revealed a miscalculation of mine over the price of Guinness as it is in fact only 99p a can but I resisted the temptation to indulge as with 6 weeks on the wagon behind me it could only hurt.
After a night by the sea in Glomfjord the long dark Svartistunnel led out on to high plateau where the Svartisen glacier could be seen - its lower edge drops to only 170m ASL - the lowest glacial arm in mainland Europe and reminded me of the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers in NZ's South Island which also drop almost to sea level.
The whole coastline had been superb and the innumerable off shore islands beckoned so at Nesna I decided to take the ferry over to Tomma where I found the perfect free camping on a beach on the west side of the island. Here I saw my first sunset in a month as now being outside the Arctic Circle things would slowly revert to normal, although in fact it only set for an hour and it never actually went dark. The main purpose of my visit was to climb the 922m Tomskjevelen  mountain reached by starting at sea level near Forsland. A steep pull up to lake was followed by another section across rocky outcrops and amongst blueberries and stunted birch trees to reach about 2000' at which point I realised I had mislaid my camera (sounds familiar). Backtracking to the van met no success so I set off again trying to follow my route but with no paths to stick to it all seemed rather pointless. Then amazingly 500' below where I had turned round I came across the shiny blue case - if anybody ever does lose a needle in a haystack I'm your man - and feeling somewhat reinvigorated tackled the remaining 1500' to the summit. From here the north east face of the mountain dropped a sheer 2000' to the the approach slopes and then the superb coastline with its turquoise bays, tiny huts and golden beaches.
Hundreds of islands glinted across the water in this area known as Helgeland which receives no coverage at all in my Rough Guide - a major omission - and will be well worth returning to.
A hundred miles away across in mainland Norway - probably nearer the main inland route the E6 and Mo I Rana where the even higher mountains of the Norwegian/Swedish border lay- I could see that there was a huge storm breaking so decided to head back down arriving at the van after a tiring but exhilarating 7 hours on the go. I had the beach to myself again and enjoyed a peaceful night before today picking up the E17 again with 2 ferries down to Sandnessjoen. The remnants of the storm passed by and after a week of wild camping I have booked in on a lovely coastal site to do some laundry, deal with emails and update this blog. If the connection is up to it there are phone calls to be made as well before I head south to Trondheim with a couple more islands and some good summits to look forward to. By connecting one of my jump leads to the aerial I can occasionally boost reception sufficiently to get Radio 4 which is a bonus but when I have a wifi connection I have been downloading dozens of podcasts to listen to enabling me to keep abreast of news and current affairs.

Anyway whilst my meanderings can be clocked here this time there is a bonus of two sets of photos - the Lofoten Islands here and the northern part of the E17 coastal highway here

Some time this week I will have to spend an hour spannering under the van as an oil change is due and I will have to find a chemist for some aspirin as I am about to run out - in fact all my pills will run out just as I return home so a GP appt. will need to be made before  I head to Brecon for this year's Brecon Beast event - if you can help out then please set aside the weekend of the 7/8th of September for some fun and games.

Longer term readers of the blog will recall my involvement with a new bothy project in Mid Wales - great progress has been made since the helicopter drop : these pictures give an idea of the achievements made - a superb effort on many fronts. Well done guys - I will soon be back to choose the curtain fabrics!

Island Life

Tromso's stunning new cathedral looks across to the small city itself which was reached by crossing a graceful bridge. The Polar Museet had some excellent displays on the history of life over the last few hundred years in these once remote places. The story of Roald Amundsen's polar explorations including by airship were well documented and the story of Fridtjof Nansen and a colleague who were marooned in 1895 on the pack ice and waited 9 months over winter to escape after a total of 15 months of isolation was somewhat humbling.
From Tromso (which took some leaving as the major roads are in tunnels with poorly signposted roundabouts underground where of course the sat nav was itself lost) I headed west to catch a ferry across to Skenja and a harbour side park up in Husoy for £10 including hook up. In the village which sits encircled by high mountains there was a travelling summer festival brought in on a ship that had moored up which was well attended.
I explored the rest of the island which has many isolated villages linked by passes and tunnels (but most easily for locals by boat)  including Torsken with its beautiful wooden church and parked beneath Kvaenen on the coast with a large shoal of fish being hunted offshore by a pod of dolphins. The Anderdalen National park lay to the east and with plenty of daylight left on a fine evening I decided to tackle the 3,300' top reached by a long ascent through birch wood and then large expanses of boulders and scree before a final steep scramble to the jagged ridge. From the top this fell away dramatically to the fjords below and the panoramic views were the best of the trip so far. I stayed an hour or so before descending to the comforts of the van for a good night's sleep.

After returning to the mainland at Finnsnes I followed the coast road round to Harstad on Hinnoya reached by another bridge and found a place to stop on the Elgsnes peninsular.
Today has seen an exploration of Andoya one of the Vesteralen Islands and I am currently at the top end of another - the island of Langoya  at Sto on a small site that offers peace and quiet in a very special setting. The Lofoten Islands will fill the next few days before a circuit back to Narvik - if you enjoy the photos at this link it is possible to get a slideshow by clicking the'v' to the right of  the 'add photos' box and selecting the slideshow option.
Equally my whereabouts at this link are updated daily whether or not I post on the blog.