VW Type 2 Combi Van Review

Cup of tea? I pulled to the side of the road and walked in the back. A match to the stove and the pot was soon brewing. Biscuits? In the cupboard above the cooker. Milk? Try the fridge.
There's nothing like a Volkswagen Type 2 Kombi. It's a home-from-home that retains its cool, even after 60 years. This is life on the road, an old-school Kombi with a bay windscreen and what looks like a spare tyre on the front.
Who hasn't thought about escaping from it all in one of these? But then you remember the rust, the clattering air-cooled engines, 60mph top speed and 20mpg thirst.
The one I'm driving, though, is a brand new, Brazilian-built Kombi, in right-hand drive, with a modern, water-cooled, 80bhp engine capable of running on petrol or E85 ethanol. Even with the old four-speed gearbox it delivers 35-40mpg (on petrol) and a genuine 80mph.
Bristol-based Danbury is the sole agent for these vehicles, which it imports as plain white vans and in which it invests up to 300 hours of love to recreate pure nostalgia.
There are three basic trims - Diamond, Amigo and Rio - but you can specify just about anything: a king-size bed and five seats, a queen-sized bed and seven seats, a loo, extra beds, cookers, fridges, grilles, television sets, heaters, curtains and zany upholstery.
They're all available - Pete Townshend of The Who specified pink leather and cream silk. I'd order the fabulously retro roof rack (£599), but not the fake spare wheel cover (£399).
This is a well finished conversion and Danbury's 40 staff add genuine craft. The interior panels are marine plywood for light weight and longevity, and they fit firmly in place.
Lamps, fixtures and fittings are of good quality. You can specify a proper rack-and-pinion steering system for £1,199 or even power assistance (£3,500) and both are useful improvements.
Turn the key and the little engine's purr is a far cry from the noisy original. The paddle-like gear lever is vague with long throws, but once on the move it's reasonably easy to master. The engine is all torque rather than high-rev power, so it's best to change up early.
Outright performance is best measured on a calendar, but if you look ahead and use the driveline as it was designed, you can make good progress. You feel as though you need to turn into corners before you've got to them, although the views out are brilliant.
The T2 romps rather than rides, but it is comfortable, predictable at normal speeds and after half an hour behind the wheel you're an expert.
The brakes (front discs, rear drums) need a firm shove, but they work, although if fully laden with Fray Bentos pies you'll need to allow a little more time and distance.
None of these campers is cheap - there's too much manual work in their construction. Compared with VW's £40,000 California, though, the Danbury oozes credibility and economy.
It is also the real thing.
Price/On sale From £23,000 in LHD Amigo trim to £35,500 in RHD SE trim. On sale now, six-month waiting list. Contact www.danburymotor caravans.com or call 01454 310000
Tested 1,390cc four-cylinder engine. Four-speed manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive.
Power/torque 80bhp/91lb ft
Top speed 81mph
Acceleration 0-62mph in 23sec
Fuel economy 35-40mpg (touring)
CO2 emissions 141g/km
VED band F (£125 a year)
.
Verdict Not a dynamic rival to a modern motor caravan, but full of charm and practical. Small wonder that they are so popular 
Andrew English: The Telegraph:29-5-10

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The Camper van cookbook

The Volkswagen camper has always been the ultimate outdoor vehicle for climbers, surf dudes and rugged outdoor types. Now Martin Dorey and Sarah Randell have knocked out the ultimate cookbook for those who fancy rustling up something beyond the traditional two ring fare.




My first thoughts when this book arrived in our laps was, 'Why has this never been done before?'.  Quite simply, its a really great book and so much more than just a cookbook.  This could and should be bought as a double whammy along with the Haynes manual.The Camper Van Cookbook has been as lovingly pieced together as a vintage splittie. Martin Dorey and Sarah Randell make a great team, combining his knowledge of campervans  with her know-how of producing gastronomic dishes from a two-ring burner. 

One of the fabulous things about this book is it answers questions almost as soon as I've thought of them.  One of them being, 'What sort of food should I be taking in the van? There's not much room, so what do I take?'.  Our staple foods for a road trip seem to be sausages, beans and the compulsory jar of peanut butter.  Their list of must-have staple items is idiot-proof.  The recipes also use seasonal veggies that you would find in farm shops without a problem, as well as other delicious items like mackerel, mussels, crabs and the list goes on. Martin and Sarah teach you how to go foraging for your own hedgerow foods and also delicacies like samphire and clams from tidal zones. You road trip can also become a culinary experience using the delights of locally produced and sourced food. 

There are brilliant sections in the book with tips on keeping the kids amused making their own sundials or  whittling.  Everyone is given the opportunity to discover their hidden Ray Mears. There's a huge range of tips from where to find adventure around the British Isles, how to get the best out of a festival with your van and what to pack in your van on a Friday night.  Quite simply, this book is destined to reach campervan bible status.

If you've never been off in a campervan before, you'll find yourself picking up the phone and hiring one for the weekend, just so you can get out and experience some of the good vibes emanating from this book.  As a seasoned campervan lover, I found this book had some great new ideas and tips that I had never thought of.  Ideal for families, singlies, foodies, festival goers and outdoor lovers - you'd have to have a screw loose not to love this book.

Review: Venture Activities Cornwall.

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YHA announce eight hostel closures.

Capel Curig YHA hostel. One of eight hostels to be closed by the association.


The Youth Hostel Association have announced the closure of eight of its hostels.
A statement from the YHA  outlined the reasons behind the closures...
"These closures result from an in depth review of YHA’s financial position and future strategy carried out by the management team over recent months. The money required for essential repairs and refurbishment of these hostels could never be repaid by their likely levels of occupancy, hence the need to let them go. Sadly, this is unlikely to be the last set of closures in the next few years, as YHA seeks to batten down the hatches and see off the recession.'.
Over the next year YHA will close and sell Capel Curig (Gwynedd), Exeter (Devon), Grasmere Thorney Howe (Cumbria), Hunstanton (Norfolk), Kendal (Cumbria), River Dart (Devon), Saffron Walden (Essex), and Scarborough (North Yorkshire).  They will continue to operate until at least 30th September 2010.
“We have chosen these hostels very reluctantly because when we looked at the amounts we would need to spend, even allowing for significant increases in the numbers of people staying and cost savings, these projects would still make a significant loss,” says Caroline White, YHA’s Chief Executive.  “The decision has been discussed with staff concerned and we will make every effort to ensure that they are able to continue working with YHA elsewhere.
“Closing a Youth Hostel is never easy and YHA does understand the impacts these decisions have particularly for guests and members who enjoy close links and strong loyalties with these particular hostels.”
By closing and selling hostels, YHA can release the capital value of these sites to pay for the investments elsewhere which do make a return, and also to reduce the amount of money we need to borrow from the banks.
“This is YHA’s 80th anniversary and we want YHA to continue for at least another 80 years,” YHA Chairman, Chris Darmon, says.  “To achieve that, YHA will need to become financially sustainable and these plans are a first step towards that goal.”

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Mountaineer John Kempe dies.

Kempe (front row, in the yellow anorak) with members of the Huagaruncho Expedition in Peru, 1956

John Kempe is reported to have died on the 10th May.

Kempe was widely known in the mountaineering world, as a member of the Alpine Club, having climbed extensively in the Alps, and having played a notable role in the first ascent of Kanchenjunga ("The Five Treasures of Snows") in north-east Nepal, at 28,169ft the world's third highest mountain.
In 1951 Kempe had been appointed founding principal of Hyderabad Public School in India, and among his first acts had been to ensure that the dates of the school holidays coincided with the Himalayan climbing season.
At that time Kanchenjunga had never been climbed – indeed, some considered it unscalable – but in 1953, with the Welshman Gilmour Lewis, Kempe undertook a reconnaissance. The next year they returned with a stronger party to examine the mountain's south-west face, and their report concluded that the climb might after all be possible.
This attracted the interest of John Hunt (fresh from the conquest of Everest) and the Himalayan Joint Committee, which in 1955 sent what is known as a "reconnaissance in force", led by Charles Evans. Also in the party were the British climbers George Band and Joe Brown, who became the first to reach the summit of Kanchenjunga. Band has said that the achievement would never have been possible without the earlier work of John Kempe.
In 1956 (by which time he was headmaster of Corby Grammar School in Northamptonshire) Kempe was the leader of an expedition to the Peruvian Andes which climbed Huagaruncho, the first time the 18,797ft peak had been conquered. Legend had it that the Incas had reached the summit, where they were supposed to have planted a gold cross (no such thing was found).
This was to be Kempe's final expedition. He gave up climbing in 1957 after marrying his wife, Barbara Huxtable, the daughter of an Australian doctor who had won an MC and Bar at the Battle of the Somme.
John William Rolfe Kempe was born in Nairobi on October 29 1917, the son of an officer in the Colonial Service. When John was four his father died of a fever, and his mother took her young son and daughter to live at her family's home in Norfolk. John was educated at Stowe and Clare College, Cambridge, where he read Economics and Mathematics. At Cambridge he also joined the University Air Squadron – of the 22 undergraduates who trained with him at Duxford, only two others were to survive the war.
Kempe was about to enter the Indian civil service when war was declared, and he volunteered for the RAF. In 1941 he was posted to No 602 Squadron, flying Spitfires, and in May the next year promoted to squadron leader. The next year he was mentioned in despatches.
In June 1944 he was posted No 125 Squadron, flying Mosquitos. From a base in North Africa he escorted convoys making for Malta. He commanded Nos 153 and 255 Night Fighter Squadrons, and in 1945 was posted to Algiers as chief test pilot (Middle East). Shortly before being demobilised in 1946 he was again mentioned in despatches.
After the war Kempe worked briefly at the Board of Trade and in private business, but found himself dissatisfied and restless. Discovering that his former housemaster at Stowe was now teaching at Gordonstoun, Kempe wrote to ask if there was a vacancy for a mathematics teacher. There was, and he got the job.
It was after only three years in Scotland that Kempe was invited to Hyderabad, the brief being to create a facsimile of an English public school. In 1955 he was appointed head of the grammar school at Corby, the Northamptonshire steel town, where he remained until 1967.
Kempe was a member of the Mount Everest Foundation committee (1956–62) and chairman of the Round Square International Service Committee (1979–87), through which young people undertake voluntary work in developing countries. He was also vice-chairman of the European Atlantic Movement Committee from 1982 to 1992 (and its vice-president thereafter), and a trustee of the University of Cambridge Kurt Hahn Trust from 1986 to 1989. 
The Telegraph:24-5-10

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Wolf project a howling success

Listen to the wolf howls with your eyes shut and you could be out on the steppes of Siberia or the plains of North Dakota. Actually, you are in Berkshire, near Reading.
Yes, 500 years since the last English wolf was tracked down and killed, Canis lupus is back. But this time both livestock and landowners can sleep easily. For, while the howls can be heard within a three-mile radius, the animals are safely penned in at the UK Wolf Conservation Trust's centre in the hilltop village of Beenham.


They are here thanks to Roger and Tsa Palmer, who have made it their life's work to show the world there is more to wolves than the traditional sheep-devouring side so often portrayed. It was in the 1980s that the Palmers first brought their wolves to Beenham and the project has quietly grown, both in size (now 50 acres) and manpower (five full-time staff, 80 volunteers). Indeed, when Roger died of a brain tumour in 2004, his wife Tsa decided not to scale down but to step up the work.
As a result, you can now come for all kinds of events, including Walking with Wolves, Painting and Photographing Wolves and even Howl Nights (howling guaranteed – Palmer gets them going with a few blasts of her mountain horn).
Participants range from Girl Guides and Wolf Cubs (of course) to bikers and Surrey Police dog-handlers. Souvenirs in the Trust shop range from silver wolf's-head earrings to cuddly wolf-motif socks and fleeces.
That said, the wolves are by no means docile, fluffy participants in all this. When they go for a walk with you, they don't romp freely through the fields but remain tethered to a couple of handlers throughout. And it's best not to wear furry boots, in case they mistake your feet for prey.
"Wolves are classified as dangerous wild animals and there is a reason for that," Palmer says. "Their jaws are extremely powerful and their bite is two and a half times stronger than a pitbull's," she adds.
This becomes apparent at feeding time, when volunteer Pat Melton, 65, squeezes hunks of meat and tripe through the fence and straight into the mouths of three waiting Canadian wolves. Standing upright on their hind legs, their forepaws up against the wire, they are a good foot taller than their keeper.
"It's amazing," says 19-year-old Nikita Benney, an animal care student here on work experience. "They bite through chicken bones as if they're biscuits." What's more, you can never guarantee 100 per cent that they won't see you as a human Hobnob.
"I love these animals, but I was taught never to take my eyes off them – and that's good advice," says head keeper Clive Readings, who was a firefighter for 31 years before coming to Beenham.
"You need to be calm and firm with them, but not macho. That makes them defensive and, when they're in that state, they are like a coiled spring. I had a bit of a nasty moment when one of the European wolves turned on me. Since then, I've stayed out of their enclosure," Readings says – a wise move, it seems, given the rules by which wolf packs operate.
"Once a dominant wolf demonstrates fallibility, it will be swept aside," Palmer says. "When my husband became ill, one of the male wolves sensed it and turned against him. That's how a pack stays strong and survives in the wild; there is no room for weakness. The females become particularly aggressive when they come into season – and they can try to kill each other. If one of them fails to produce cubs, her place will be taken by another."
"Unfortunately, wolves have always had a bad press," says Pat Melton, who came here after 40 years working in an office.
"I mean, bears kill far more people than wolves, yet bears have this image of being cuddly. Even today, there's a bounty paid in Russia for every wolf killed. We want people to study, appreciate and respect these wonderful wild creatures – and don't forget, back in the days when Britain was covered in forest, there were wolves around in abundance. They've been here just as long as we have."

• UK Wolf Conservation Trust (0118 971 3330; ukwolf.org), Butlers Farm, Beenham, Berkshire. The next open day is on Monday, May 31, from 11am to 5pm; admission £7 adults, £5 children. All events (Howl Nights, Wolf Walks, Wolf Keeper Days) have to be booked in advance
INFORMATION PACK

• Wolves live for six to seven years in the wild, but twice that long in captivity.
• Humans can hear wolf howls three miles away; other wolves can hear them six miles away.
• King Edward I (1272-1307) ordered wolves in England to be exterminated; the job took 200 years.
• Wolves survived in the wilds of Scotland until 1743; in Wales, they died out in the 12th century (wolf pelts were used as currency).
• Because they can scent illness, wolves focus their attack on the weakest member of a prey herd.
• Cubs are born blind and deaf; their eyes open at around 10-14 days.
• Wolves mark their territory using scent glands in their feet.
       A wolf's nose houses 200 million olfactory cells (humans have 10,000).
 The Telegraph:20-4-10

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Walkers asked to disinfect boots in Oak disease fight.

Walkers and cyclists have been ordered to disinfect their boots and tyres after visiting ancient woodland to prevent the spread of a mysterious new disease that threatens to wipe out Britain's oak trees. 

 Acute Oak Decline (AOD) has already infected thousands of trees across the country. The condition can kill trees in just a few years and experts fear it could alter the British landscape to an even greater extent than Dutch elm disease if it spreads to all of the country's 200 million oaks.
The Forestry Commission, the Government agency in charge of protecting woodland, is so concerned about the situation it has issued an advice leaflet for the public.
 The condition is different to sudden oak death, that also kills other species, and bleeding canker that has infected half the country's conker trees.
But scientists remain at a loss as to where the disease came from or how it can be managed. All they know is a certain type of bacteria seems to be involved that could be carried by insects, animals or humans.
Thousands of trees have been identified with the condition in the Midlands and Wales but it is thought to be be much wider spread. The Forestry Commission are asking the public to report trees with bleeding lesions on the bark in order to monitor the scale of the outbreak. Landowners are being asked to put up signs so that the public is aware of infected areas as well as managing the disease where possible by cutting off infected branches or felling oaks.
The public are also being asked to stop the spread of the disease by disinfecting boots or tyres if they think they have been in an area infected with AOD. They have been told not to touch the trees or remove wood from the area.
The biosecurity advice is similar to measures brought in to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease between cattle on different farms.
Roddie Burgess, head of the Forestry Commission's plant health service, said everyone can help to stop the disease taking hold.
"We tend to be cautious about what might be seen as scare-mongering, but the signs here are that we are dealing with something that has the markings that it could become something very serious indeed," he said.
"We've 200 million oaks in the UK, so if this thing did really take off in the same way as Dutch elm disease, the impact on the landscape and biodiversity would be very significant."
Forest Research, the research arm of the Forestry Commission, is continuing to investigate the disease, to get a better understanding of it and how it spreads.
The Royal Forestry Society are calling for £10 million from the Government over the next five years to tackle the problem of new tree diseases.
The Telegraph:20-5-10

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Peter Gabriel fights to save Solsbury Hill.

Peter Gabriel:'Climbing up to Solsbury Hill'.Not quite the experience it was in the 70's !


The view from Solsbury Hill is no longer what it was when it inspired a single by Peter Gabriel, former lead singer of Genesis, in 1977.
To the dismay of residents, it has been scarred by building and excavation, and next week Gabriel joins their fight to save what he calls “one of the most beautiful valleys in the West of England”. Just as appalled is the television presenter Jonathan Dimbleby, who sold the land on which the unapproved construction has taken place.The Woolley Valley, where Gabriel once lived, is a mile from Bath, a patchwork of steeply sloping fields, winding lanes, farms and stone villages.
On paper the valley is heavily protected. It is green belt land in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is covered by an Article 4 direction, which requires landowners to seek planning permission to do almost anything more than mow the grass.
Residents say that vast sheds for South American alpacas and free-range chickens now fill fields once occupied by sheep and cows. A new track wider than the lane it runs alongside has been built without planning permission and excavators are digging “stock ponds” and land drains in a boggy meadow once filled with wild flowers.
Dimbleby, a former chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, sold 55 acres in 2005. In the past two years agents for the new owners, Golden Valley Paddocks, have made retrospective planning applications, all of which have been refused. They have put a mobile home on the site for two agricultural workers and converted a neighbouring barn into offices. The agents say that the intention is to build a farmhouse, and claim that planners will find it difficult to refuse.
Bath and North East Somerset Council (Banes) has not ordered reversal of the work, just a halt on part of the site while it considers its next move.
Gabriel said from Los Angeles yesterday: “The development is making a mockery of our planning and environmental policies. I can only think that Banes don’t have the resources to fight it.” On Wednesday he will be centre stage at a press conference on the legal fight against the construction.Dimbleby, who had an organic farm in the valley, said: “It appears that the new owners have repeatedly ignored the planners and that Banes has been remarkably slow to take the tough action required.
“Enough damage has been done. It must be stopped before it is too late.”
The Cotswolds stone farmhouse of Deborah Jones, an illustrator, was damaged when the mobile home was taken along the narrow lane on the back of a lorry. She said: “We are not just worried about what their ultimate intentions are for this land, it is not suitable for the sort of intense agricultural use they claim to want to put it.”
Almost every window and car in the tiny village of Woolley displays a “Save Woolley Valley” poster. Residents have a petition with 650 names and have raised “tens of thousands” of pounds to fight a legal battle.
The local authority says that it is investigating the case and will decide what action to take when the temporary stop notice expires next week.
Mrs Jones said: “Our fear is that at one minute past midnight they will just move the diggers back and carry on wrecking the place.”

The Times:15-5-10

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New Climbers Club Ogwen guidebook.Exclusive review.

It is fitting that the new Climbers Club guide to Ogwen should come exactly one hundred years after the very first publication of an Ogwen guidebook written by the great Edwardian North Wales pioneer, Archer Thomson. Under the diligent and enthusiastic authorship of local activist Mike Bailey with experienced guidebook editor Bob Moulton bringing it all together,the CC have produced one of the most comprehensively updated guidebooks in their long history.
Two quite revolutionary elements are now included which could well act as a template for other guidebooks for mountain areas. For the first time ever, Scrambles of Grade 3 and above are listed amongst rock climbs with bouldering also covered by Simon Panton who offers a selection of venues and routes complimented by topos and action shots. With regard to the Scrambling sections; the guidebook extends its traditional areas beyond the rock climbing community to cater for that growing constituency ' the adventurous walker '. An area stimulated in recent years by magazines like Trail. Look out for some unfairly neglected big old 'Mods' which have been re-invented as entertaining scrambles.
The area stretches from the A4086 Capel Curig to Pen y Gwryd road and sweeps across to the remote crags above Marchllyn Mawr and Carnedd Filiast. Within the former area lies one of the most exciting 'new' developments. Most people know of The Ricks and the Racks but few have actually climbed there. Dismissing the area as a training ground for Plas y Brenin . How wrong can you be. For the first time ever, the crags hereabouts-more properly described as Creigeu Llynnau Mymbwr- which have recorded routes going back to the 1940's- are detailed in a guidebook. The crags here could well be described as 'The new Tremadog' given their pleasant,south facing road side location and the quality of the routes..albeit of the single pitch variety. The jewel in the crown is the impressive 100' cliff of Clogwyn Wen which offers some steep and hard middle grade climbs on its clean white walls.The surrounding smaller crags also sport some great little climbs such as Ginnel Wall  a delicate E1-5b on the adjacent crag known as The Blocks. Higher up the hillside lies an area of impressive ribs and slabs known as Creigiau'r Gelli. Check out the elgant Diamond Slab-E1, the steep and exposed Basil Brush-Vs-4c and The temptation of St Jullita; a great little multi pitch V-Diff which is a lovely route for a beginner.
The RAC crags further West offer quality bouldering and hard single pitch problems while higher on the hillside,Craig y Haul Slabs sports a selection of new routes across the grades. Further East lies another new crag....little Craig Rhiw Bach with a selection of easy climbs.
Heading north we arrive in an area which has seen an explosion of development; the great cwm of Nant y Gors under the east face of Gallt yr Ogof.In the remote far reaches of the cwm lies the lumbering 400' Sheepbone Buttress which offers a trio of easy mountaineering routes. By contrast, high above Sheepbone Buttress is the crag which has Ogwen valley's hardest climbs. The ferocious Skyline Buttress with routes up to E9 on a crag lying above the 2000' contour. Only hard cases need apply !
Directly below is one of the cwm's more pleasant suprises. The beautiful pink dolerite slab known as Red Slab. Previously only offering a Tony Moulam V Diff and a Severe of mysterious origin-the crag has been developed and now offers around ten routes mostly in the VS-E1 grade. A perfect quiet venue for the middle-grader to while away a sunny afternoon!
Moving right we come to another crag which has been intensly developed. Craig y Gelynen-previously listed in Ogwen guidebook as Skyline Buttress. This name now applied  to the actual Skyline Buttress previously mentioned.Traditionally Craig y Gelynen only offered a couple of old V Diffs but since development it now has a selection of entertaining routes mostly in the HS-HVS grades. The sunny crag is contained by a ridge to the north first climbed by Showell Styles in 1937 and named 'Eagle's Nest Ridge'. A Grade 3 scramble which finally makes it's guidebook debut. Looking down on Eagles Nest Ridge is the steep little buttress 'Hidden Wall' which has a couple of strenuous 'extremes' and a curious ramp line which crosses the face at V Diff.
Over in Cwm Tryfan some new outcrops have been discovered and developed offering a selection of middle grade problems in an attractive location while at the head of the Cwm,the impressive East Face of Bristly Ridge which was mostly developed in the 1940's has finally had its true value appreciated when it's mountain routes were reclimbed by the guidebook author who has awarded two stars each to Skyline Buttress and Great Tower Buttress. ( See...Between the ridge and the beaten path: Footless Crow, May-2010).
Over on the East Face of Tryfan,a comprehensive review has seen some old routes such as Crevassed Rib and Arete Climb duly appreciated as quality alternatives to the old favourites and some 'new' old routes remarkably making a first appearence in an Ogwen guide such as the early 1940's Trinity Corner,the 1970's starred Hard Severe- Crackerjack and a magnificent top end VS mountaineering line from 1973, East of Eden, which deserves to become an essential tick for all VS leaders.
Cwm Idwal remains as the honeypot heart of Ogwen but even here,some new extremes have appeared whilst further up in Cwm Cneifion the West face of Gribin has been fully re-evaluated with some fine scrambles and easy routes complimenting the ever popular Cneifion Arete.
Over on the traditionally neglected West Face of Tryfan, a thorough reassessment of the face's potential sees it emerge as as scramblers paradise with routes like the Wrinkled Tower, V Buttress and Notch Arete- amongst several others-becoming starred scrambles. Traditional routes like Columbyne- VD and Cannon Ridge- Severe are offered as quality mountain lines with new routes such as the 600' severe- Jamie's Route and Flat Iron Ridge emerging as other excellent outings.
Further north in Cwm Goch, a crag which last appeared in 1966-Creigeu Gleision makes a welcome reappearence with a selection of scrambles and mountaineering routes including one of the great Edwardian test pieces-The Great Ridge-HS- amongst traditional routes worthy of further investigation.
The Carnedd Filiast Slabs offer the areas longest routes-up to 1000'- and The Ridge a long Mod/Grade3 scramble could finally be recognized as one of Ogwen's best scrambling expeditions. Finally,we arrive at the remote cliffs of Marchllyn Mawr where routes like Janos and the infamous Corrugated Cracks await. 


In Summary; This guide is probably unique in recent times in that it offers an explosion of new crags and routes which are in the more accessible grades. Furthermore; it is complimented by some outstanding images with extensive notes on history,ecology and advice on combination climbs,wet weather alternatives,transport,camping and the first appearance in an Ogwen guide of a graded list which should stimulate some passionate debate! The most comprehensive Ogwen guidebook ever covering an area which is the spiritual heartland of the Climber's Club domain. Well worth the wait!

New Ogwen Routes......
Top row L-R...Haolt-HVS-5a....Diamond Slab-E1-5b...
Middle Row....Red Slab Direct-E1-5a...Ginnel Wall E1-5b
Bottom row....Jamie's Route-Severe..As the Crow flies-V Diff

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Controversial Helyg planning application re-submitted.

The Climbers Club plans to develop a new car park within the grounds of the historic Helyg Hut in Ogwen Valley, North Wales,have been re-submitted to the Snowdonia National Parks Authority after the original plans were thrown out at the first planning hearing.
As previously reported here in February....see Gunfight at the Ka Corral....The Club wishes to re-locate its car park from the current site on the A5 opposite Helyg to the hut side looking out to the cliffs of Gallt yr Ogof. The development would see a new gated access and lay-by constructed on this busy road which would involve temporary traffic lights installed during construction and the removal of boulders and trees in one of the valley's few wooded areas to create a circular car park and path way to the Helyg hut.
The issue has divided members of the Climbers Club,many of whom have registered their opposition to the development through the club's forum and newsletter. However, committee member David Lanceley has re-submitted the new plans to the SNPA after some minor alterations to the original plans were made by the club's architects  Richard Broun of Colwyn Bay.


Details of the application can be seen on-line by visiting the SNPA website and viewing the planning application section where it is listed as planning application NP4/13/14OB.


Letters of objection or support for the application can be sent to...'Richard Smith, Planning Officer,Snowdonia National Park Authority,National Park Offices,Penrhyndeudraeth, LL48 6LF, North Wales.

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CLIMB magazine rings in the changes.

The UK's Climb magazine has seen a new editorial team take the reins.Out go current head honchos Neil Pearsons and Gill Kent; enter new editor in chief Dave Pickford with Ian Parnell coming in as Associate editor. The new team will take over in July with the October edition of the magazine expected to be their first creative collaboration to hit the streets. Climb was born out of the ashes of Geoff Birtles fondly remembered High magazine and the more Rock Jock orientated On the Edge.
Climb has long been the UK's best selling climbing magazine but with only the more traditional Climber as competition, 'best selling' is a relative term with both magazines selling a fraction of the number of issues sold by Bauer's Trail magazine for example which outsells its rivals in the great outdoors market by a ratio of ten to one. Dave Pickford and Ian Parnell both have immaculate pedigrees as mountaineers and photographers so we can expect great things with regard to the content and the look of the magazine.

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Rare Scottish wildcat 'swam' to Hebridean island.

A rare Scottish wildcat spotted on a Scottish island could have swum there, according to animals experts.

The iconic animal was seen on Mull, in the inner Hebrides, which is about 1 mile (1.6km) from the mainland. There have been unconfirmed sightings on the island before but experts said that the photograph above, taken by holidaymaker Peter Harris, gave the clearest picture yet. There are thought to be only about 400 pure wildcats and 3,500 hybrid wildcats left in Scotland.
 Mr Harris, 34, spotted the carnivore near the Glengorm Estate, in the north of the island, while he was visiting with his wife last week.
He said: “I noticed it crouching in the undergrowth silhouetted against the dried grass and I was pretty sure straight away that it was a wildcat because I had seen them at the wildlife park at Kingussie and I saw the thick black stripe on its back and its bushy tail.“We pulled over and got out of the car and I could see it cleaning itself.
There was a ditch between the road and the grass verge where it was sitting so it didn’t seem too alarmed when I went nearer to take photos and watched me with a rather wary eye.
“We were incredibly lucky because it stayed there for about ten minutes before turning round and slinking off into the undergrowth.
“I feel very privileged to have seen it because it is a truly magnificent and iconic Scottish animal.”
Steve Piper, of the Scottish Wildcat Association, said that he was surprised to find that one of the animals had made it to the island.


There are no bridges linking Mull to the mainland but it could have swum from the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, which is about a mile from Mull at its narrowest point.
Mr Piper said: “It could have got there by swimming. They are pretty decent swimmers, though it seems a long way for a cat to get all the way over to Mull. Wildcats are not scared of water like a domestic cat. “From the photos it’s not necessarily a pure wildcat, but it has very nice markings and that rough coat and that wild sort of look to it and the thick tail.
“It’s very helpful to get photos of sightings because we really don’t know too much about where they live.”
Wildcats are afraid of humans so it is unlikely that the hybrid stowed away on a ferry.
Mr Piper said the other option was that it had been found in the wild as a kitten and handed to Cats Protection to rehome as hybrid kittens look like domestic kittens. Their true identity only emerges when they are older.
Mr Piper now hopes to take a team to the island to investigate the sighting.
Wildcats look like large muscular tabbies, but can be distinguished by their rough coat with distinctive tiger stripe markings, thick tail with black rings and a black stripe along the back, extending onto the tail.
Nicknamed the Highland tiger, the endangered predators live mainly in the Highlands, north of the industrial belt formed by Glasgow and Edinburgh.
They were once found across the British mainland, but the destruction of their habitats and interbreeding with domestic cats has led to a dramatic drop in population.
In the Cairngorms National Park scientists have launched a ground-breaking study to trace the movements of the animal using specialist equipment including motion detectors, infra-red technology and camera traps.
The scientists hope that pictures from the camera traps will provide vital information about the cat’s habits, which, in the long run, could save it from extinction. 


The Times:3-5-10

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The rabbits that ate an island

Experts flew in from the far side of the world; they paced and poked, calculated, calibrated. They set thousands of cunning traps and waited ... for six long months until — hurrah! — the last unwelcome visitor scuttled to its doom and the tiny Hebridean island of Canna was released from its plague of rats.

That was four years ago and the rats were exterminated because they had threatened the survival of Canna’s important colony of seabirds, which includes shags, kittiwakes, fulmars, puffins and guillemots, and the unique Canna mouse, which is 25 per cent bigger than its mainland counterpart.
Yet their disappearance has led to a new menace. With the rats gone and an acute shortage of other predators, rabbits have enjoyed a population explosion and are now nibbling the five mile-long island to destruction, decimating the gardens of residents and jeopardising historic monuments as they burrow through the land.
Indeed, in an effort to do its bit, the island’s only restaurant has responded to the crisis by offering dishes of rabbit and cranberry with pistachio, and rabbit pie in a rosemary and thyme cream sauce.


Canna, with just 20 residents, was officially declared “rat free” in 2008 by Michael Russell, the then Environment Minister, after a team of specialists from New Zealand cleared the island of 10,000 brown rats whose ancestors had first found their way to the island from a passing ship more than a century ago.
 The blitz against Rattus norvegicus began in autumn 2005 when poisoned bait was laid at 4,200 locations around the island. The short, sharp slaughter was so effective that the body of the last rat was found and removed the following February. Two years then had to pass without any further sightings before it could earn its rat-free status. Without the rodents, however, and thanks to several mild winters, rabbits are now booming.
“There are thousands of them now, it has reached near plague proportions,” said Winnie Mackinnon, 47, who has lived almost all of her life on Canna.
“I have never known it so bad. It is because the rats have gone and they used to keep the rabbit numbers down. The rabbits don’t have a natural predator anymore.”
Although the last thing residents want is a return of the rats, the booming rabbit population has become a problem, Mrs Mackinnon said. It was the main issue at the last meeting of the island’s community association.
She claimed that their burrows are destroying important archaeological sites. “An Iron Age mound is a particularly target for them. It is a scheduled monument but it is being burrowed into by the rabbits and eroded. Stone Age huts and dykes from the Clearances are having their foundations destroyed,” she said.
They have also been munching on islanders’ gardens — an important resource used to grow the vegetables that cannot easily be had from the mainland.
Mrs Mackinnon added: “I like rabbit and people are eating a lot of it here at the moment, but I don’t know how this problem will be solved — without a complete eradication of the species — and there is no money to do that.
“The only things that are happy are the sea eagles. They have been having a real feast — but [are] obviously nowhere near keeping up with the rabbit population.”
Amanda McFadden and Aart Lastdrager, who run the The Gillebrighde, the island’s only café, have taken advantage of the increasing population, and are using about a dozen rabbits a week. “They are a big problem here and at least those that find their way into our dishes are not dying in vain,” said Ms McFadden, 38. “Rabbit is very popular with our customers, but since the rats have gone they seem to have bred prolifically. We are making our small, but tasty, contribution to keeping them down.”
A spokeswoman for the National Trust for Scotland, which owns Canna, acknowledged there was an issue.
“We recognise there is a rabbit problem on Canna as is the case on other Hebridean islands. But we don’t believe it has got worse since the eradication of the rats. However we will continue to monitor the situation,” she said. 

Charlene Sweeny©: first published in the Times: 27-4-10

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