92 - Raw Head - Cheshire West and Chester - 24th June 2014

It was time to get some more high points ticked off and so I planned a trip where I could get a few done in one go, the first high point was a quick stop off not too far from my campsite in north Wales. I left home and drove the long drive up the M27, M3, A34, M40, M6 and eventually turned off the big motorways and onto the smaller roads, the area I was heading for was situated between Chester and Nantwich. On arrival at the small village of Bulkeley I worked out the best route to walk and eventually decided to change my parking spot and park on the otherside of the high point not too far from the village of Harthill.

The lane to my parking spot was rather small and quite worn out so it was a bit of a bumpy ride but I found the location easily and parked up. Walking from the parking spot I instantly found myself walking up a hill and through some woodland eventually coming out at another bigger path which seemed to run along a ridge along the top of the hills, this path I was now walking along was part of the 34 mile long Sandstone trail which stretches from Frodsham in the north to Whitchurch in the south.
I walked south along this path for a while, on one side of the path were fields stretching out to the east and on the other side were the woodlands and a steep drop down, I followed the path for a few minutes and soon arrived at the destination, the highest point of Cheshire West and Chester, Raw Head. At 227.1 meters  it was also the highest point on the Sandstone trail, it was not amazingly high but the views to the north west were pretty amazing, in the distance I could just about see the Wirral and the rivers Dee and Mersey in the distance.

I stopped here for a short time and eventually retraced my steps back to the parking spot where I continued my journey to the campsite in North Wales. The Campsite was located in the north of Denbighshire not too far from the small town on Ruthin, I set up camp and had a quick cup of tea but soon headed off to find another landmark on the north coast of Wales.

About 40 minutes drive north I arrived at the seaside town of Talacre where I parked up and walked the short distance to the beach, the beach was amazing, very sandy and wide at low tide, however it was not the beach I had come to see, it was the Talacre Lighthouse. The Talacre Lighthouse stands alone on the beach, jutting out of the sand and standing tall and dominant keeping a watch over everything that happens around, It really does grow right out of the sand and is an impressive sight. I seemed to spend ages here and I eventually had to head back to the campsite because the tide was coming in, it had been an excellent way to end the day.

91 - The Shard - Honorable Mention - London

Last month I visited a high point with a difference and I have decided to include it in my highest points blog. The Shard in London is a little controversial because it will be the only high point on my list which is not a hill, it is however the tallest building in western Europe so I have decided to give it an honorable mention.

I wrote about the Shard in another blog so here is that blog post

It was going to be my 40th birthday and to help celebrate it Nathan suggested we head up to London for the day, The main thing we wanted to do was see Phantom of the Opera but we wanted to do a few other things as well, we booked tickets to see the Viking exhibition in the British Museum and then planned a small trip to Camden market, one more thing we wanted to do was to visit the Shard, its one of those buildings that you always look at and thing "yes we must do that sometime" and then the risk is you never will do it but a few months ago we checked it out online and Nat booked tickets for us.

We arrived at the Shard half an hour early so stopped to take some photos and then found a little restaurant to grab a few diet cokes while we waited for our time slot, it was not too long to wait and we soon headed through the doors and up the stairs to the main entrance. As we had pre-printed our tickets at home there was no need to queue anywhere, there were no queues at all and we walked straight up to a very happy and chatty lady who scanned us through. 

Next we headed through security, this was very much like being at the airport, your bags are put through scanners and you walk through a scanner yourself, there was no waiting around, we were straight through that. Just past security and we had to have our obligatory photo taken in front of a green screen and then we were straight onto one of the elevators which took us half way up the Shard, we then transferred to another elevator for the rest of the journey up to the first level of the viewing area.

On exiting the lift I was a little taken aback as I was expecting to instantly see some amazing views but the windows were obscured with big pictures of cloud types, I would imagine the reason for this is to prevent too much congestion around the lift areas but we were soon making our way up the last set of steps to the magnificent views. 

The first viewing level is totally enclosed, there are full 360 degree views all around London with some of the most impressive being towards Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and along the Thames towards the east. It is amazing to see the network of railway lines and roads spread out below you and the little toy cars and trains zoom around on them. Situated around this first viewing area are lots of computer operated telescopes, these give you the option of seeing a variety of views including the live views, night time views and various other times of the day, they also give you plenty of information about the sights you are seeing. We spent quite a while looking for famous landmarks such at the Thames barrier and Wembley stadium. I was amazed as to how quiet it was up on the viewing levels, there were always plenty of places to stop and peer out of the windows and you could always find telescopes available to use (which were all free to use as well which is great).

After a short time on the first lever we headed up to the second viewing level which is partially outdoors, there are still glass walls all around you however there are sections open to the sky above you which means you can hear the distant noise of city life below you. Although the views were much the same as the first level I think I preferred this lever as it was nice to be out in the open air. On both levels they played a lovely relaxing music track, I really liked this as it gave the whole area a nice 'up in the clouds' type atmosphere. 

It was a little bit difficult to take photos of the view as the whole area is surrounded by glass, you end up with reflections galore but this isn't really a problem as you just need to hold your camera closer to the glass, I think the problem was worse for us because it was a beautiful sunny day.

This upper lever was a little busier but I was still shocked as to how quiet it was, there really was a lot of space to spread out. There seemed to be a lot of staff on hand to answer questions and take photos too, every member of staff seemed really cheerful and this really added to the whole experience. We stayed up on the top level for a while and eventually made our way back down to the lower levels for a quick look around the little shop.

The lift journey down was again in 2 stages and then we were arrived out into the shop area. I was a little put off by the fact that we were directed to the photo booth area where we were forced to view our green screen photos. I really don't like these green screen photos they do, I just don't understand the point of them, they basically showed us 4 or 5 poorly taken photos of me and Nat badly superimposed onto various scenes taken from the top of the Shard, What is the point? we took some identical photos while we were actually at the top of the Shard so why they need to create these fake photos I do not know. I don't mind the fact that they do offer this green screen service but why can't we have an option of opting out? 

Just past the pointless photo sales we were into the shop, we didn't buy anything, there were a few books I liked the look of but didn't buy any as it would mean I would have to carry them around and I knew I could get them cheaper elsewhere. We finished off with a quick trip to the toilets which had the most useless taps on the planet, They were combination taps/dryers which seem like a good idea, basically you wash your hands and then the water stops and warm air comes out of 2 blowers either side of the water nozzle to dry your hands, sounds brilliant until the water gushes out again after your hands are dry.

The View from the Shard was a wonderful experience and one I hope to do again, it is a little expensive but I think its well worth the money to get some incredible views and once you are at the top there is no time limit so you could stay all day if you wanted to. I was really impressed with the experience from start to finish, the only thing I thought was a bit off putting was being forced to see the pointless green screen photos but apart from that it was awesome and I thoroughly recommend you all go and visit it.

 http://www.theviewfromtheshard.com/en/

90 - Great Rhos - Radnorshire - 23rd-25th April 2014

Back in the 70s the counties of the UK were rearranged, some were moved, some expanded and some disappeared never to be seen again, it was time to climb to the highest point of one of these historic non-existent counties - Radnorshire.

Radnorshire lies completely within the current county of Powys and the highest point of Radnorshire is Great Rhos near the village of New Radnor. I packed up my van with all the essential camping equipment and headed off to Wales. My campsite was called the Old Station caravan and Camping park and on arrival I was welcomed by the lovely owners who showed me to my pitch where I set up camp next to an old railway engine shed. It was such a lovely peaceful campsite with a field of sheep for company.

Once I had set up camp I headed out to visit a local waterfall which was situated just a mile down the road, I parked in a carpark and headed off into the forest to find the falls. My first view of the 'Water Break Its Neck' waterfall (unusual name I know) was from above and it looked magnificent below me, I worked my way around over the top of the falls and eventually down to the river which I followed to get back to the waterfall again.  As I walked along the valley the sides started to tower up over me and I eventually reached the base of the waterfall, it was a beautiful sight and it was so lovely to get so close to it and feel the water rushing down the stones. I eventually made my way back to the campsite where I cooked a nice dinner of beef stew and then I went to bed ready for my big climb the next morning.

After breakfast the next morning I packed my backpack with lunch and headed off to climb Great Rhos. The route first took me into the village of New Radnor where I stopped at the shop for supplies and then I headed north out of the village and into the countryside. Just as I left the village I passed a huge mound, this was the location of an old Norman castle. it was surprising to find out that this little quiet village was home to quite a major castle and some quite interesting history including many attacks where the castle was destroyed and eventually re-build several times. Continuing up a road away from the village I then turned onto a smaller lane which climbed up the side of a hill and eventually had views back over the village. 

Eventually I turned off this path and into a woodland, I walked through this woodland for a while, there had been a lot of forestry work taking place in this area with new trees and lots being cut down, the path was climbing up all the time and eventually came out onto some areas. A new path took me up further towards the top if a nearby hill and eventually became open moorland, it was along here that the views became really amazing, all the way back over the village and miles to the hills in the far distance, I also passed two people along here who said hello, the first 2 people I had seen since the village. The path now descended back down into a small valley and then back up the next hill past some old quarry works and on to the top of a hill called Black Mixen. 

Black Mixen is home to a huge antenna and it was odd to see some works vans parked up here, obviously some work was being done but I didn't see anyone, it was eerily quiet and I continued onward. From this point I could see my destination in the distance so I pushed on along the path. In the valley below was a firing range so I has to walk around the valley first to get to the other side where the next hill was located. The path took a sharp left and I went along the edge of a forest and over some styles eventually heading out onto open moorland again and finally up to the highest point in Radnorshire and Great Rhos.

Great Rhos

At the top of Great Rhos there were a few things I noticed, firstly a trig point marking the top, a man eating his lunch and some AMAZING views to the south and west all the way to the Brecon Beacons. I stayed here for a while and ate my lunch and took some photos and then it was time to move on and back towards the campsite. My walk from the top continued along the edge of a firing range, it wound its way in and out of the heather and then down the side of a hill. Soon I followed the path further down and eventually I got some amazing views over the firing range which was situated down in the valley. After a while the path crossed a stream and I arrived back onto the edge of the village, I walked through a few fields and then past the church and finally back into the village centre, finally crossing another stream and road and into the campsite. Thankfully the campsite had a little tearoom so I grabbed a cup of tea and slice of cake which was delicious. 

That evening I had a barbecue with chicken, sweetcorn, potato cakes and pancakes for desert and I spent the evening relaxing after my long walk up to Great Rhos. The next day I packed up and drove home in the rain, I was lucky not to get too much rain while I was away and I had a brilliant time. Great Rhos is well worth a visit and I was treated to some amazing views along the way.

Black Mixen

 

87-89 - Wakefield, Doncaster and Rotherham

In late March I traveled up to Leeds to attend an event for a few days, It was a really fun few days. On my way home i decided to drop in on some high points, it was a 5 hour drive for me so I didn't want anything too big to climb, I looked at the maps and found I had 3 very easy high points very close to my route home on the M1.

Wooley Edge, Doncaster

Foredoles Head, Doncaster

My first high point of the day was in Wakefield, I found the high point near a look out point on the side of a road and it was actually really nice, It was called Wooley Edge and is 176 meters above sea level. I was not expecting the destinations to be so impressive but this one was an excellent view. I didn't stay too long so I headed back to the M1 and headed for the highest point of Doncaster.

It took me a while to work out how to get to the highest point of Doncaster, I first tried to get there from a posh housing estate but the area seemed fenced off so I drove around to the other side of the hill to a farm where I managed to pull over and wander over to the highest point of Foredoles Head at 144 meters above sea level, This one was not quite as nice as Wakefield but still it was better than expected with some nice views over Rotherham . . . . . It all sounds so glamorous.

Blocked by a fence at Harthill

It was time for lunch so I found a Supermarket with a cafe and stopped there for a short while and then I was back on the M1 to find my next and last high point of the day. It was only a short drive south on the M1 and the I turned off and along some country roads to arrive at the village of Harthill and the highest point of Rotherham. The highest point of Rotherham can be found inside a large fenced off area so sadly I was not able to stand on the exact place BUT I did get very close to the 157 meter high point.

My journey then took me all the way home again and although these were not very exciting high points they were much better then I imagined they would be.

The View from Harthill

83-86 - The Chiltern's - 12th March 2014

Foggy Morning

It was day two of my camping trip to the Chiltern hills and I woke up in my tent bright and early, the weather forecast was due to be bright sunshine but when I unzipped my door and peered out the amazing view had disappeared into the thick fog. It was a very eerie as I couldn't really see too much, just the thick fog.

I cooked some eggy bread for breakfast and had some tea and then headed off to the first location, it was only a 20 min drive past the town of Tring, when I arrived it was still very thick fog. The high point I was planning to visit was meant to be the best of the four I was going to see today and I really couldn't see anything so I decided to change my plan and come back to this one later in the day when the fog had cleared.

Whitehill, Luton

Driving east from the Tring area I headed along a few large roads for about 20 mins and then through the town of Hemel Hempstead, It was here I realised I had been here before, many years ago I worked in the area and I remembered a crazy roundabout system they had. Past Hemel Hempstead I joined the M1 for a few miles and eventually turned off and made my way through the town of Luton, past the airport and along a few roads ending up at the highest point in Luton. This hill is called Whitehill and is 178 mts above sealevel, there was an interesting white house with a turret but there was nothing too special with this high point and it was still a little bit foggy but I could see it was starting to clear now.

Bow Brickhill, Milton Keynes

Next I drove west across the M1 and through Dunstable where I turned right onto the famous Watling street, This street was an ancient Pre Roman road which started in Canterbury and headed off for 277 miles across ancient Britain. I followed Watling street for about 6 or 7 miles turning off near the village of Little Brickhill just south of Milton Keynes. After a little difficulty finding my way (due to some road closures) I managed to park and walk up to the top of Bow Brickhill, the highest point of Milton Keynes, this hill is 171 meters above sea level, not as high as Luton but a little better looking, it was mainly tree covered and quite peaceful except for the roadworks going on in the distance.

Haddington Hill

I didn't stay on this hill for too long, I was soon off to my next location (after a short stop at the camping shop for some more gas). The next 2 high points were both very close to each other so I headed back south past Leighton Buzzard and then to my next hill. Wendover forest is run by the forestry commission and is home to a hill with 2 claims to fame, after parking not too far from the summit I walked the short distance to a small monument marking the top of Haddington Hill, the highest point of the Chiltern hills and the highest point of Buckinghamshire. Haddington hill sits at 267 mtrs above sea level, the highest point of the day. This was a really beautiful location, I went for a walk and ended up sitting in the sun for some time, the fog had cleared and it was now quite warm. I stayed here for a couple of hours and took plenty of photos, it was such a beautiful place and so peaceful.

Wendover Forest

My last high point for the day was about a 15 min drive away to the east, I had to drive along a few small bendy roads but was soon at Pavis Wood, the highest point in Hertfordshire. This high point was not to obvious as it was all pretty flat but thanks to my maps I found the exact location and took some photos, this location is 244 mtrs above sea level. It was now time to head back to the campsite for the evening and that was just a short 10 minute drive away. I finished the day off watching the sunset while cooking my dinner over an open fire.

Pavis Wood

The next morning I packed up my tent and headed off home after a really nice few days away, it was my first camping trip of the year and it was well worth it. The campsite was amazing, the hills were not too bad and the views of the Chiltern's were wonderful. Thanks to Town farm campsite for letting me camp, I really recommend them if your wanting somewhere to pitch your tent.



These 4 hills now bring my total up to 85 out of 236, that is nearly 37% complete.

Wendover Forest

Highest point of the Chiltern hills and Buckinghamshire

82 - Bald Hill - Old Oxfordshire - 11th March 2014

The view from Bald Hill car park

It was early March and it had been one of the wettest winters in a long time, things were looking wet almost everywhere and I was wondering if I was ever going to get out to visit some new high points this year. I don't actually mind getting a bit wet but to go camping when its torrential rain and wind is NOT a good idea. I was suddenly excited to see a possible high pressure heading our way and started to look into a camping trip. I picked several locations and started the search for campsites and eventually decided to head to an area about 2 hours north of Portsmouth. I initially wanted to climb 4 high points in the area but after studying the maps for a while I noticed there was a high point that I could visit on the way to the campsite, so here is my trip to Bald Hill (and another bonus high point).

Local nature reserve

Bald hill is not one of the current high points, back in 1974 the counties of the UK were all reshuffled, some counties disappeared and others were created, what this means is that some of the high points were no longer the highest point. when I started this challenge I had to decide whether to climb the original (historic) counties (86 I think) OR the new modern counties (which including a lot of extra unitary authorities comes to around 225ish), so in the end I decided to do all of them and Bald Hill is the historic high point of Oxfordshire.

The top of Bald hill

I left home at 10:30am and headed north up the A3(m) past Petersfield, Guildford and onto the clockwise M25, then up past Heathrow and onto the M40, a short distance after High Wycombe I left the motorway and drove past the village of Stokenchurch (there was a huge concrete pillar/antenna thing here which was quite attractive . . . . not). Eventually I made another turn and arrived at my destination car park near Bald Hill. It was a very handy car park, free and just 500ft from my destination. I walked along a path and found that the hill was far from being bald as it was covered in a woodland, I was soon at the summit of the hill, the actual highest point was hard to find as the whole area was pretty flat.

Town Farm campsite

After a photograph I headed off back to the car park and crossed the road to take a quick look at the views. It was actually a little murky so I could not see too far. It was then time to head off to my campsite which was situated around 45 mins drive away. I headed through lots of little villages eventually coming to the town of Tring and finally to the village of Ivinghoe which is where my campsite was situated.

The Chiltern's

Ivinghoe Beacon

Town farm campsite is a wonderful place, I was met by Tom who showed me to one of the camping fields which I had to myself. The views were stunning, to the north I had miles of view to look at, to the south were the rolling Chiltern hills, then to the east was Ivinghoe Beacon. I pitched up my tent and made a cup of tea, then I decided to head out for a walk before I started my dinner. I walked back through the farm and then up across the road towards the hills. The walk took me through a few fields and then over a style and gradually up the hills eventually coming to the summit of Ivinghoe Beacon.

Ivinghoe Beacon is not on my list of high points which is a shame is its a beautiful location and much nicer than some of the ones I have done recently, I did however decide to give it honorary high point status. I sat on top of the beacon for some time and watched the sun setting, the clouds had cleared by now and the views were stunning. I eventually made my way back down the beacon and back to the campsite where I lit the campfire and made my dinner of beef stew and potato cakes with pancakes for dessert, all made on the open fire. Then it was off to sleep ready for me to visit 4 more high points the next day.

To be continued . . . . . . . .

81 - Blackpool - 24th Feb 2014

Every year in late February I get the chance to visit Blackpool as it is the home to the worlds largest magic convention, I love Blackpool, yes you heard me correctly, I LOVE Blackpool for 4 reasons (here is where I upset the population of Blackpool), the main reason why I love it is that it makes me realise how really good it is in my home town of Portsmouth, Blackpool really makes me see what a good city I live in, I mean its really good here, Blackpool is like a polished turd, in recent years they have spent millions on the Blackpool regeneration, a whole new seafront, new shopping centres and loads more of amazing things, but no matter how much they try to make it look good, no matter how hard they polish it, it's still a turd. The second reason I like Blackpool are the fact it is home to the worlds largest magic convention, Thirdly it is home to some pretty nifty roller coasters and finally( and in this blog most importantly) it has a high point.

Now before we go any further, no, the Tower is NOT the highest natural point in Blackpool, and no, nor is the 'Big One' rollercoaster in the Pleasure beach. The highest point is in fact next to the Warbreck Reservoir about 1.5 miles to the north of the tower. So it was on my way home from the Blackpool Magic Convention I asked my friend Scott (who was driving that weekend) if he would mind me stopping off on the way home at the reservoir for me to take a quick photo.

And to keep you all happy, here I am standing at the giddy height of 34 meters above sea level.