28th of December and I was feeling particularly drowsy and slightly overweight due to the Christmas festivities. Too much food and too much booze. Recently me and my Dad have been discussing walking the Cape Wrath Trail this coming April, however in my current state I had never felt less ready to complete a long distance walk, particularly one as tough as this. I knew I was going to need to a few weekends away prior to the Cape Wrath Trail in April to test gear and regain some lost fitness, and that’s when the idea struck me. Why not aim to complete 12 wild camping trips in 12 months?
12 wild camping trips in 12 months, predominantly just weekends away, so not a particularly strenuous task. However, over the past year I’ve realised how difficult it can be to fit in weekends away whilst working a full time job. It’s easy to get stuck in the routine of working five days a week and then getting to the weekend and feeling too tired to do anything. By setting myself this realistic goal I am aiming to encourage myself to make time for doing what I’ve spent years enjoying, but in recent years been struggling to fit in; walking and wild camping.
My Dad is looking to walk the Te Areroa towards the end of this year, and will hopefully be joining me on some of these weekends away as training. I will look to post these walks each month and have listed my initial ideas for each month below. Subscribe to receive updates.
I attempted the Cape Wrath Trail with my Dad in 2017, although due to a combination of poor gear choices, lack of training and bad mindset, had ended my walk early with an injury. Beautiful wild camping, such as at Sandwood Bay, hearing my Dad talk about his second time walking the Trail, and reading Alex Roddie’s excellent new book have all motivated me to attempt this walk again. We aim to do this in April, so subscribe to this website and our social media to keep an eye out for this!
January
Pen y Fan weekend walk. Starting at the Pont ar Daf car park, walking up onto Pen y Fan, along to Fan y Big, down Craig Fan Ddu. Through Taf Fechan Forest towards the Neuadd Reservoirs, up over Graig Fan Ddu, back to the car park.
Highly recommend this walk if you’re lucky enough to have decent weather in the winter months. Short enough for the winter days but reaching high points with good views. Also easily extendable by following the path along the top down towards the Talybont Reservoir and opportunities to camp high in spring or summer. Some parts were busy, though other parts were much quieter and felt more remote.
Read full story here – Pen y Fan weekend walk.
February
Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal Weekend Walk. I had planned to go to to Snowdonia or the Peak District with my Dad, however after looking at the weather forecast we decided to stay lower level and closer to home. We’ve spent a bit of time travelling the canals recently, so opted to spend the weekend walking the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. Because of this lower level walk my girlfriend decided to come along as well.
This walk was excellent overall, walking from Brecon to Pontypool along the canal. I would highly recommend it as a low level winter walk when the weather isn’t ideal for hill walking. It would also potentially be a bit busy in summer months. The canals have been really interesting, with varied views, history and architecture. Wild camping was also relatively easy, and with many canals throughout the UK, I would recommend considering them as a possible location for a weekend walk.
Read full story here – Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal Weekend Walk.
March
The weather forecast was good for this time of year, so we chose a high level route in Snowdonia for our weekend walk. It turned out to be a lot more interesting than expected, with some extremely steep climbs and remote walking. We had two really nice wild camps.
Without intending to, we also climbed a few of the Welsh 3000s. I would highly recommend this route for a Snowdonia weekend walk, as it included some quieter paths as well as the popular Glyderau, and was fairly technical at some points.
Read full story here – Snowdonia weekend walk
April
I am planning to walk the Cape Wrath Trail with my Dad during April. The trail is approximately 230 miles (370km) long and we will try and complete it in 16 days.
May
This page will be updated as walks are finalised.
Further reading
My best walks for wild camping in the UK
The Farthest Shore: Seeking solitude and nature on the Cape Wrath Trail in winter – book by Alex Roddie
Walking The Cape Wrath Trail – Cicerone book
My Dad’s Cape Wrath Trail walk – North to South in 2017
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