Snowdonia Backpacking
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About the site:
"Snowdonia Backpacking" has been created to put online my accounts of the multiple-day walks with wild camping that I have done in the National Park every autumn bar one since 1981. Filed in Walks my writings tell not only of my appreciation of the Welsh mountains, but also of my trials and tribulations during my self-taught apprenticeship in the wilds.
You will not find routes with directions here, these can be found on a number of other websites, some of which I have listed on the Links page.
You will not find many pictures either, something else that is more than adequately catered for on other sites. It was not until 2000 that I started taking a 35mm compact camera on my walks, although I did replace this with a digital one in 2007. If you'd like to see some photos click here (this might be a bit slow to load). These were scanned from slides, but unfortunately the quality is very poor.
I have never been acquainted with any one else who goes backpacking, so everything I do has been learned from books and magazines, and from experience. I live over 200 miles away from North Wales, so I am not one of the lucky people who can slip out at weekends for a bit of practice in the hills. Nor am I any sort of a super-fit type; I have good stamina but I have always been slightly weaker compared to my contemporaries, and I don't mind admitting I am scared of heights!
It is hoped that the contents of Snowdonia Backpacking will inform you, pass on some of my hard-gained know-how and maybe entertain you, but above all I sincerely hope it will fill you with enthusiasm and inspiration, in much the same way as the books I read around 1980 did for me.
Some background information:
I was born in Rhyl in 1942, not of Welsh blood, it was more to do with wartime evacuation. I lived there till my fifth birthday, when my family moved to the outer London suburbs of Middlesex, where I have remained. The area is good for work, transport and facilities which I would miss if I lived anywhere else in the UK.
I have been married since 1969, I have two grown up sons and I worked as a field service engineer from 1975 to 2003, when I took early retirement. My interests are natural history (most particularly ferns), gardening, the countryside, walking, travel, out-of-print books and photography.
I am a very independent person, and although sociable I am also quite happy with my own company; I would not entertain the thought of going on a long hike or backpacking with another person. My wife? She is a sun worshipper; her personal holidays, as well as the ones we share, are exclusively to hot countries, so she always declines to accompany me to Wales!
Some more background is included in my 1981 Prologue & 1st Trip on the Walks page.
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