Facing the Three Peaks

I've always enjoyed going for a walk and getting out into nature. Back when I was a kid we lived in a valley surrounded by fields and woods so I'd often head out into the countryside either to take the dogs for a walk or just explore. These days I live in the city and don't have a dog so all that nature stuff is a lot less accessible but I've always tried to make a concerted effort to carve out time in my schedule to get a walk in - whether it's to the Glamorgan coast (places like Monknash or Duvraven Bay), the Whips to the north of Cardiff or further afield like Bannau Brycheiniog. I do find going for a long walk clears away the cobwebs and from a spiritual point of view it help to give me a chance to reconnect with God.

Looking out over Cardiff from Ruperra Motte

Going for a walk is a bit different to climbing a mountain, though, and that's something I ended up doing at the end of June as part of a fundraising effort by my business networking group. We chose to attempt the Welsh Three Peaks challenge, which involved climbing the three highest peaks in Wales within a 24-hour period.

I'd not really heard of this particular challenge before. I was well aware of the UK Three peak challenge (Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowdon) and always fancied doing it but it felt a bit out of reach. Doing three peaks in Wales (Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen Y Fan) seemed a lot more do-able so I was eager to give it a go.

I did as much training as I could, taking a few hours after church on Sunday to walk the Whips, although it wasn't the most challenging of terrain. Early on I'd bought some new walking boots especially but they soon began to feel quite uncomfortable and I realised I had to invest in a better brand of footwear. My replacement pair were one size bigger and felt very comfy. They also had decent waterproofing which was essential.

My most important training experience was climbing in the Lake District. Fortuitously, my cousin was having a 50th birthday hiking weekend two weeks before the Three Peaks challenge and Scafell was on the itinerary for the occasion. It was a tough hike, with a very steep climb at the start, made more unpleasant by the rain. Three of my brothers were there too and it was great to hang out with them for a weekend – something we rarely get to do. I didn't particularly enjoy the experience but I was pleased with myself that I did it. I was also glad my boots remained dry for the entire event. 

Looking East towards Scafell Pike (obscured by rain, obviously)

So, I managed to tick off one of the UK peaks while celebrating my cousin's birthday and getting some much needed training in.

When it was time for the challenge, I felt as prepared as I could be – although I was dreading the possibility of getting soaked. It's not like Wales is famed for its mild climate and glorious sunshine, and getting wet on Scafell Pike certainly put a dampener on things (excuse the pun).

We drove up together in a minibus to Caernarvon on the Friday, our accommodation being a very cheap and basic Travelodge. Leaving the following morning at 7.30am, it was already raining and only got worse as we walked on. I had my plastic poncho which made me feel a bit stupid but helped keep the rain off a bit. It was quite windy in some places and there were a few steep climbs but we made the Snowdon summit at 11am. The walk down was fairly steady and the rain eased off a bit. My boots, however, succumbed to the wet and were annoyingly sodden by the time we got to the bus. Not good.

Cadair Idris Peak behind me

We changed in the toilets then drove to a shop for a quick pitstop to get food. After about ninety minutes of driving we arrived at Cadair Idris. On the way there it seemed to brighten up which gave cause for hope but then it started raining again once we'd parked up so that was a bit depressing. The initial climb was steep and hard work but it eased off a bit. When we got to the top it was pretty wet and we finally reached the summit at 7pm. There was a bothy nearby so we went in there to dry off a bit and have some food. Walking down was OK at the start but then it got progressively harder as it got steeper. It was about 11pm when we got back to the van. We had another change of clothes then a drive to Pen Y Fan with a service station stop for coffee, Coca Cola and chocolate to refuel the body and try and stay awake.

We arrived at Pen-Y-Fan about two in the morning. It was fairly dry at first but then the rain worsened. The climb was a steady gradient which wasn't too bad, but visability was no-existent save for our head torches – so not being able to see our destination because of the dark made for a frustrating game of checking Google Maps every ten minutes. Eventually we reached the summit at 3am. It was cold and wet so we quickly took our group photo and made our way to the finish. Being easier to walk back down, we got to the car park after about an hour. I got home at about five in the morning and had a good sleep until midday. The rest of the day I did feel a bit spaced out but at least I took it easy and didn't do much. Plus we had Domino's for tea so that was a nice reward!

It felt great to complete the challenge, and it was well within the twenty four hour time frame, so I was pleased with myself. We raised over £1,700 for Shelter (a great cause) and it was a good bonding experience with my fellow hikers.

Even so, I wouldn't say I enjoyed the experience. I do prefer to walk without having to hurry or keep to a schedule. The time pressure took a bit of fun out of it and made me walk a bit quicker than I probably needed to. The rain really didn't help, although by the time we'd started climbing Cadair Idris I'd say I was used to it and it wasn't such a big deal.

I did get to see some stunning scenery, although most of the time I didn't see anything beyond cloud cover. I think if the weather had been dry I would have felt a bit more positive about the experience. That being said, if it had been sweltering heat (it was June after all) I would have complained about that.

So what next? Am I going to continue on this madness? Well, I certainly won't be rushing to do such a thing again. But seeing as I've done two of the three UK peaks, I'd be keen to give Ben Nevis a go just so I've completed them all.

But if I do, I won't rush. And maybe I'll get to enjoy the scenery a bit more.

Is Welsh independence a good idea?

Ever since the disaster that was Brexit, I've been pondering on the future of the UK. With Scotland charging towards an independence referendum and the recent snap election looming this June, the stability of the 'union' is more uncertain than ever.

As always, there's polarised opinion about this and the Welsh question of independence is hard to ignore. Better arguments for it can be read elsewhere (See http://yes.cymru/independence/
and https://freewales.org/independent-wales-prosperous-wales/). Plenty of people will guffaw at the very notion of Welsh independence, but given that we may not have a 'United Kingdom' for much longer I think serious thought needs to be given to this idea.

For a long time, I've been one of the naysayers seeing Windependence (my new word everyone! yes, just as awful as 'Brexit') as a total joke, but now things have changed on the political scene I'm beginning to see it as a potential way forward for this small nation known for its mountains, male voice choirs, dragons (fictional ones, obviously) and poets.

Our current 'Welsh Government' has fewer powers than the Scottish Parliament or any other fully independent sate – but it's a start. I don't see why we can't build on what we've already got and work toward Windependence within the next decade or so.

Why am I thinking this way? Well, it's partly because of Brexit (and to a lesser extent, Trump's rise to power). Times they are a-changing and I think now more than ever, people need to call for change – but the kind of change that benefits the majority, not the precious few with power and wealth.

People will cry that we're 'too small' and 'economically weak' but one look at Iceland as a comparison proves that we are more than capable of holding our own on the world stage:

Iceland vs Wales

Population of Iceland: 330,000
Population of Wales: 3,000,000

GDP of Iceland: $17 billion
GDP of Wales: $70 billion

So, Iceland – an independent State like the USA, Russia, France or Japan – has 10% of the population and 20% of the GDP of Wales but the idea of Welsh Independence is laughed off by the English (and plenty of Welsh too). Interestingly, Iceland has one of the lowest economic inequality rates in the world and one of best Human Development Indices.

I've nothing against Icelanders. They are no doubt a noble and worthy people, and their land is majestic and beautful – but it's cold, stuck in the middle of the North Sea and beer costs something like £8 a pint. Not the greatest of selling points for a nation state, one might think. And yet, they're doing just fine.

I don't think we need to sever ties with England in some bad divorce kind of way (a la Brexit), but perhaps it helps to view the smaller parts of the union as England's children. For centuries, these children have lived under the shadow of their parent and perhaps rightly so.

Now, in the 21st century, though - perhaps it's time for the children to finally grow up.