earlier. He wrote: “I can pay no
higher compliment by saying that
at times I found myself comparing
his (ie Wainwright’s own) style
with that of Priestley’s in a manner
that was no way derogatory.”
But it is his scandalous personal
views which spoil for me what is
otherwise an entertaining read,
enlivened by illustrated postcards
which Wainwright sent to a
colleague in the Blackburn town
treasurer’s office.
Awful Hand. Turnbull explains it’s
certainly the biggest and bumpiest
of Galloway’s three surrounding
ridges, but that the “awfulness” is
confined to the east, where steep
slopes drop down to the bogs which
lie to the north of Loch Enoch.
The Galloway Hills are not
known for their airy, rocky
ridges, but I was pleased to see
that Turnbull had included the
wonderful rocky ridge of Hoodens
Hill in his circular, 15-mile
walk from Loch Doon, taking in
Craigmawhannel, the Wolf Slock,
conical Mullwharchar (692m)
and Dungeon Hill. The route is
somewhat marred by the return
route through the boring conifers
which cloak the head of the loch.
Snowdonia: North. 30 low-
level and easy walks
Alex Kendall
Cicerone, £9.95 (pb)
A
Walking the Galloway Hills
Ronald Turnbull
Cicerone, £12.95 (pb)
T
he Galloway Hills are too often
by-passed by hill-goers heading
for the higher, glamorous and more
enticing heights of the Western
Highlands and Islands. But they are
Guild stalwart Ronald Turnbull’s
home ground, and his love for these
under-rated yet characterful hills
shines through in this new Cicerone
guide.
He obviously relishes the
chance to give these so often
ignored mountains the recognition
they deserve, and his admitted,
“hopelessly ambitious” but highly
significant project is “to avoid
completing the Monros for at least
another 20 years.”
All the highlights the few
aficionados of these lovely, “small
but special” hills might expect are
there including the reigning but
slightly disappointing peak of the
Merrick, and some entertaining
accounts of ascents in the
wonderfully named range of the
lex Kendall, author of the The
Snowdonia Way, now turns his
hand to 30 easy, low-level walks in
the northern part of the Snowdonia
National Park.
They include Snowdon, the
Ogwen and Conwy Valleys, with
the welcome and unusual inclusion
of a few walks along the North
Wales coastline, including the
little-visited Conwy Mountain
and the prehistoric landscapes
around Penmaenmawr, visiting the
misnamed Druid’s Circle at Meini
Hirion.
Other low-level routes are
based around Betws y Coed and the
Gwydyr Forest, the Ogwen Valley
and the Vale of Ffestiniog, Cwn
Pennant and Tremadog.
As the author points out, it is in
these places that the human story
of Snowdonia is best told, ranging
from Stone Age settlements to
Roman ruins, the medieval castles
of Welsh princes and of course,
Edward I, through to the more
recent remnants of the mining
industry.
The well-chosen routes also
mines some of Snowdonia’s
rich veins of myths and legends,
including King Arthur, the heroes
from the Mabinogion and the
terrifying monster known as the
Afanc which threatened to flood the
Conwy Valley.
This is a useful bad weather
alternative when the clag descends
on the higher Snowdonia hills.
Walking the Cambrian Way
George Tod with Richard Tyler
Cicerone, £14.95 (pb)
A
fter the border-hugging Offa’s
Dyke Path, we now have the
more central Cambrian Way, a 298-
mile long-distance route which
threads the Principality from Cardiff
to Conwy.
This challenging route
owes much to the hard work
and determination of the late
Tony Drake, Gloucestershire
Area Footpaths Secretary of the
Ramblers, and the creator of the
Offa’s Dyke and Cotswold Way long
distance paths. Drake, who died in
2012, was the Tom Stephenson of
Wales, and called his creation “the
mountain connoisseur’s walk.”
The joint authors of this new guide
pay due tribute to his pioneering
ambition.
Drake’s work was carried on
by the Ramblers Cambrian Way
Working Group and the result is
this updated and comprehensive
guide. The route passes through
the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia
National Parks, also takes in the
spectacular escarpements of the
Carmarthen Fans, the shapley
ridge of Blorenge (as far as I know
the only British placename which
rhymes with “orange”!) and the
boggy heights of Pumlumon, source
of both the Severn and the Wye.
This is a serious, often high-
level route, and the authors warn
that it should not be the first outing
attempted by the novice trekker.
autumn 2019 | Outdoor focus 11