mountain

A stunning view on the Isle of Skye

At Camasunary bay on the Strathaird peninsula of the Isle of Skye, we watched an otter at low tide lifting seaweed to find crabs. Boots off, we crossed one of Skye’s shortest (and coldest) rivers, before slogging upwards through unforgiving heather to the col beneath the pathless hill Sgùrr na Strì. The mountain view from the summit’s glaciated slabs is perhaps the finest in Scotland – or even Europe. Below is landlocked Loch Coruisk, girdled by the black teeth of the entire Cuillin ridge. Extraordinary. An hour passed, maybe two, before we headed back. The otter was by then long gone, hopefully just as replete and satisfied as we were.

Hugh Jones

Winter walking on the Cape Wrath trail

I did a long-distance winter walk on part of the Cape Wrath trail, heading south from the hamlet of Strathcarron to Fort William. Initially, the weather was perfect, with temperatures of about -4C, but then a full-on named storm blew in. I camped a couple of nights, but all my water froze. I then stayed in some great bothies. After five days, the only other person I had seen was at a gift shop in Morvich.

Tim

Pristine beaches on the Isle of Lewis

My girlfriend and I pitched our tent at Ardroil Sands, dropping a fiver into the campsite honesty box and putting aside pound coins for the hot showers later. The weather was unusually warm and there really was a tropical feel to the place. After firing up our barbecue, the glassy Atlantic beckoned. With dry bags strapped to our paddleboards, we launched into the turquoise waters of Uig. As we skirted rugged headlands and the water beneath us shifted to deep sapphire, we glided into the hidden sanctuary of Carnish Beach, claiming our own untouched white-sand paradise at the edge of the world.

Jason

Rewilding in Glen Affric

Last September, I spent a week in Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric with 10 other like-minded people of different ages and backgrounds, planting trees, removing old deer fencing, climbing hills and viewing beaver lodges from canoes. We were volunteering for Trees for Life, which manages a range of rewilding projects in the north-west Highlands from their tree nursery base at Dundreggan (which also hosts volunteers). I found wonderful company and fulfilling activities all in an utterly beautiful location. The cost (£690) includes accommodation and food, with all profits going to the charity.

Debbie Carr

Blissful isolation on Iona

The tiny island of Iona might be best known for its medieval abbey and nunnery, but the whole southern part of the island is uninhabited and wild – you can explore all day and not see another soul. There’s an abandoned marble quarry, several idyllic bays and stunning views everywhere you look. And when you get tired of exploring and isolation, you can quickly head back into the village for food and drink.

Roddy

The beauty of Kintyre

I visited the remote Kintyre peninsula in a very wet January and was still blown away by its beauty. The world-class whisky distilleries and log fires helped, as did the sandy beaches and historic sites. The quality of the seafood rivalled that of Oban. I loved it so much I visited again in summer, and also went to the Isle of Gigha, another incredible place. This time the sun was shining and we got that Caribbean feeling. Can’t wait to go back again.

Michelle

An adventure in Knoydart

It was an adventure to get into and out of remote Knoydart. There are no roads, so the choice is between a multiday hike from Kinloch Hourn or Glenfinnan, or the 40-minute ferry from Mallaig. We took the latter, which proved an adventure in itself. Magnificent Munros rise sharply above shimmering sea lochs, while ancient woodlands and quiet shores offer plenty of red deer and dolphin sightings. Our hike up Ladhar Bheinn offered dramatic views over the area, and on another day we followed some locals on part of the Cape Wrath trail. We stayed in the village of Inverie and visited the UK’s most remote pub, the Old Forge. Inverie sits on beautiful Loch Nevis – often called the Loch of Heaven because of its idyllic calm waters and spacious open setting.

Joe

Sea kayaking on the west coast

A multiday sea kayaking journey in the Moidart and Arisaig region on the west coast fully immersed us in a remote wilderness. Unzipping our tents each morning above a glorious white beach with our kayaks there ready was unreal. We would paddle past seals, lunch on another beach or island, and enjoy the ever-changing vistas of distant islands and a delightful new camping spot every evening. Dinner cooked after a day’s paddling tasted fabulous, and the sunsets over the sea, which few others got to see, were sublime. The trip was through Arisaig Sea Kayak Centre and cost £595.

Glynis Davies

Winter wonders on Mull

The Ardmeanach peninsula in February offers a broody atmosphere and wonderful wildlife. Thin red sunrises illuminated the wake of an otter swimming past our lochside cottage window; the shortened days featured thunderous clouds, snow and rainbows. Atop a wizened Scots pine in Tiroran forest, a majestic sea eagle perched in sunlit splendour. A noble stag held our enraptured gaze in a stunning roadside encounter. Shoreside walks, through volcanic rocks erupted a mere 60 million years ago, led to basalt columns and, for the brave (the paths are narrow and vertiginous), MacCulloch’s Fossil Tree, trapped in lava for ever.

Barbara Maher

Winning tip: forest and corries on a long Cairngorms hike

One of the most incredible multiday hikes is into the heart of the Cairngorms. Start at Glenmore (there’s a campsite on the beach of Loch Morlich, or great rooms and a bar at the Lodge) and walk an hour or so on a good path up to Ryvoan bothy, through woodland alive with crested tits, red squirrels and capercaillie. Walk past Bynack More and round to Lairig an Laoigh, where you might feel like the only people in the world. You can wild camp on the route below pure dark skies, but it’s a walk up the Fords of Avon that is the real highlight. A rough path takes you past Beinn Mheadhoin (worth diverting up for the huge rock formations on the summit) until Loch Avon opens up in front of you – one of the most stunning corries in Scotland and a beautiful place for a swim, a climb or just to lie back and watch the world.

Hannah

In the early hours of 2 June 1953, guests at the Pen-Y-Gwryd hotel in the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia) were woken from their sleep by the sound of footsteps running down the corridor outside their rooms. The commotion was followed by gleeful shouting and the sound of champagne corks popping. A late-night telephone call to the hotel’s owner had moments earlier confirmed that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay had successfully summited Mount Everest. It had taken two days for the news to travel from the Himalayas to London. Serendipitously, news of the historic achievement coincided with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II later that day.

In the days and weeks that followed, the two mountaineers were feted across the front pages of newspapers around the world. Posing awkwardly for the cameras, their beaming smiles shone out of frost-burnt faces. In the decades that followed, Tenzing Norgay’s role in the expedition was increasingly marginalised – he was a Sherpa, indigenous to the area, and the load-carrying guide, while Hillary firmly planted his ice axe in the history books.

A new film, set for release this week on Apple TV, aims to set that record straight. Tenzing, starring Genden Phuntsok and Tom Hiddleston, tracks Tenzing Norgay’s life from a young boy growing up in the Khumbu Valley to his rise as one of the most accomplished climbers within the Sherpa community, and his eventual recruitment to the 1953 British expedition to Mount Everest (known locally as Chomolungma) led by Colonel John Hunt.

The film opened the Zurich film festival last month, where its director, Australian film-maker Jennifer Peedom, told audiences: “It’s often reduced to a familiar shorthand: Hillary conquered Everest, assisted by a Sherpa. But Tenzing had more experience on Everest than anyone else on that 1953 expedition. He wasn’t just helping another man achieve his dream. He had his own dream.”

In the spring of 1952, a full year before the British expedition, Tenzing, alongside Swiss climber Raymond Lambert, came agonisingly close to reaching the summit – less than 250 metres stood between them and glory. After a storm-lashed night on the south-east ridge, and with little oxygen, they were forced to retreat, albeit having set a new altitude record.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, Hunt, having been assigned by the Joint Himalayan Committee to assemble a team of climbers, set up base camp at the Pen-Y-Gwryd hotel at the foot of the Llanberis Pass. It was here they would practise their technical climbing skills and test the state-of-the-art equipment that had been designed specifically for this adventure, in particular the closed-circuit oxygen tanks that would be critical in keeping them alive in the “death zone” above 8,000m. The teams spent weeks on Yr Wyddfa’s (Snowdon) notorious Crib Goch ridge and on Yr Lliwedd mountain, testing the revolutionary new high-altitude boots that would replace the old leather and hobnail ones, which offered little to no protection from the freezing temperatures of Everest.

Artefacts from those pioneering days can be seen at the hotel today. A glass cabinet contains some of the summit team’s original equipment and mementoes: goggles, an ice axe, a ledger of Sherpas’ fingerprints as most could not read or write, a compass and a battered tin mug. Little has changed in the 73 years since Christopher Briggs woke his guests with those glasses of champagne. The Pen-Y-Gwryd is a time capsule; it remains in family hands, now run by Briggs’s grandsons, Nick and Rupert Pullee, who are determined to maintain the hotel’s legacy and the traditions that have made it a beloved destination for those with a penchant for adventure and late-night conversations in front of roaring fires.

“My grandfather was originally from Scarborough,” Nick says. “He was a chemist, but his shop was bombed during the war, so [in 1947] he persuaded a friend to lend him the money to buy a hotel in Wales. The building had been used to home children during the blitz and had fallen into terrible disrepair, but he somehow managed to turn it into a success.”

Briggs also started the Snowdon Club, where guests under the age of 16 who have successfully climbed the mountain take part in a small ceremony in which they are quizzed on their mountain knowledge. Those who answer correctly get to drink (lemonade) from Hillary’s pewter tankard and are awarded a sterling silver ice-axe brooch, with their name added to a book of members – a ritual that still happens today.

The Smoke Room serves as the residents’ bar, a tiny wood-panelled snug whose walls are adorned with photos of the Everest team, with Tenzing featuring prominently. In one, he’s perched in the bar drinking tea with George Band, the youngest climber on the 1953 expedition. In another, he’s on a rocky outcrop of Tryfan, another famous Snowdonia peak, with team leader Hunt.

“I was only a toddler when Tenzing last visited the hotel,” says Nick. “I remember he was incredibly kind and was constantly smiling. He used to give Rupert and myself piggybacks up the stairs. He was great friends with my grandfather, who visited him in Nepal often.”

Built in 1810 on the bedrock that makes up the Glyderau range, the Pen-Y-Gwryd hotel is also the original starting point of the Pyg track, one of the most iconic routes to the summit of Yr Wyddfa, and today guests can walk directly from the hotel’s door to the path that snakes upwards towards Pen y Pass. The timeless interior of the hotel is devoid of TV screens or piped music, and the only concession to the 21st century appears to be the wifi.

This summer’s endless heatwaves saw sun-scorched hillwalkers cool their limbs in the natural outdoor pool in the grounds of the hotel. Fed by mountain streams, it offers unparalleled views of the hills and sweeping valley towards the mountain village of Capel Curig. The addition of an outdoor sauna and the popularity of cold-water swimming mean it’s now a year-round proposition.

The 20 rooms are all named evocatively after local peaks: Pen yr Ole Wen, Elidir Fawr, Crib Goch, Y Garn. Each is as cosy as one would expect from a rain-lashed mountain hotel: softly lit and with comfy mattresses wrapped in vintage Welsh wool blankets. In the labyrinthine corridors upstairs, you’ll discover bathrooms with Victorian roll-top tubs and Heath Robinson-esque showers. The bathroom doors are adorned with illustrations in the style of Aubrey Beardsley, and photos and artworks capturing the surrounding landscape and its mountaineering history adorn virtually every wall.

Dining at the Pen-Y-Gwryd is an event in itself: mealtimes are announced by the banging of a gong, the dining room is an unapologetic whirlwind of Axminster and silverware, and the menu features roast Welsh lamb and Welsh steak and ale pies, sticky toffee puddings or rhubarb crumble – everything you’ll need to replenish after a long mountain trek.

The ceiling of the Everest Room in the public bar has been signed by pretty much every big-name mountaineer of the past 100 years, and each corner of the building appears to have a story and artefact attached. It’s this authenticity that Nick believes gives the hotel its charm.

“I think our greatest attraction may be that things remain unchanged,” says Nick. “We have a lot of regular guests from all over the world, and for many people the opportunity to step back from the world in the wilds of Snowdonia is extremely enticing. It’s something we aim to protect and cherish.”

Rooms at the Pen-Y-Gwryd hotel range from £114 to £172 B&B; three-course dinner £49. Tenzing is on Apple TV from 16 October