Aviemore to North Uist

It should have been further but my back axle broke near Lochmaddy necessitating a return by boat and bus.

The first two days with Andrew Stoker were excellent; cutting cross country from east to the west coast.

Day 1: Over the Gaick to Glen Garry, road to Kinloch Rannoch and Rannoch Station followed by a tough 10 miles across Rannoch Moor to The Kings House. 70 miles

Day 2: Road to the end of Loch Etive. Very rough for a couple of KM on the north side of loch followed by gradually improving track leading onto good forest road and eventually tarmac. 37 miles. Ferry to Castlebay, Barra.

Day 3: Up Barra to the Eriskay ferry. 40 miles on wind assisted tarmac to within 10 miles of Lochmaddy 50 miles-ish.

All very nice but a bit disappointing that we didn't managed the full trip through to Ullapool, XC to Alness, Inverness and back over the Monadhliath.

Escalada en Sierra Espuña

What makes a good climbing trip? Well, these days, apart from the obvious such as good weather, great rock and routes, I look for venues which are less frequented by main stream euro craggers than I perhaps might have done 20 years ago. The obvious destinations such as Calpe, Sella, El Chorro and Kalymnos are most definitely off the radar.

I visited the Sierra Espuña region with Jonathan Lagoe in 2006 while competing in an orienteering event. We managed a bit of climbing but time was short and my motivation was pointing in different direction. I made it back 5 years later with Cynthia Grindley and Colin Moody, this time just for the climbing.

Apart from the first day we barely saw any other climbers all week and had the crags to ourselves most days.

The guide book: Escalada en Sierra Espuña

Where to Stay: Camping Sierra Espuña

Colin Moody's images: Spain