Home .:':. Tales and Stories .:':. more to follow

The summer of 1980, my first summer break as a University Student, found me toiling up the steep and winding lane to a walkers Guest House on the edge of Snowdonia for three weeks taking groups of walkers on high level mountains and lowland trails. Plas Heulog "The Place in the Sun" they called it. Could have fooled me as the rain dripped, dripped, dripped from the pine trees that sheltered the house from the open aspect 800ft up in the foothills of Snowdonia. An odd sort of property it was,,,, Tunisian Style with whitewashed walls on the outside and Italianate, within with curved and embossed passageway ceilings and cherrywood panelling. Thus began twelve years of part then full time guiding in the UK and abroad before being dragged, kicking and screaming, into Head Office to run the walking side of the operation.
 

So what was it like taking people over the hills, to secluded places and some of the hidden gems of the countryside that few ever bothered to visit? In a word: fascinating.

There were the good times, the bad times and the times you plain did not want to get up in the morning. It was, however, pretty good on the whole, meeting many characters along the way and making long standing friends plus the great satisfaction of seeing the group enjoying themselves.

Hopefully, I can share some of the more memorable stories and tales plus a generous sprinkling of photographs from both the UK and abroad.
 

The hat? Genuine Australian bush hat. Had it for years... it's been to all sorts of strange places and, despite the comments in a particular newsgroup, it does not look remotely like a cow pat.

Sorry there is very little here yet apart from a wry look at the History of Mountain Climbing and some stories. Tuits have been in short supply. Come back in a couple of months and there should be a more to see.

Last updated July 2007                                                                           Come to the wrong site of mine? Try the index of sites.