Hi all; I've recently taken early retirement and am getting back into walking and the outdoors; hopefully I've still got as few decades left in me!
I've been in Orkney for 17 years now, having previously spent a similar amount of time living in Snowdonia. Orkney is a wonderful place to live and bring up a family, but I do miss the higher mountains, despite frequent forays 'Sooth' to see family. And I do miss trees!
I've done a fair bit of hillwalking in the past, in Snowdonia, the Lakes and the Dales, and in the Highlands; my most difficult walk being the Welsh 3000s. Longest walk was from Swansea to Conwy, and I do enjoy a bit of wild camping, whether it be in Torridon or on the local cliff tops here in Orkney. In my youth I also visited the Alps and Pyrenees, but I'm no climber!.
Best walk so far this year - a toss up between a solo trip up Fairfield in the snow in February, which left me feeling euphoric, and a family day trip to the island of Hoy, where we climbed Cuilags and visited the St John's Head cliffs before descending to Britain's most northerly native woodland, Berriedale. A grand day out.
Next planned trip - an overnight foray into the mountains around Glen Feshie, on my way south to pick up my son from college in Glasgow. Roll on Friday!