Wales Archives - A Simple Life of Luxury

Pen y Fan: One New Nuttall, Nearly Two

Alan Cole — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 06:25:02 +0000

Having recently climbed both Cadair Idris and Yr Wyddfa, I thought it might be nice if Clélia could climb Pen y Fan as well, so she could complete the Welsh Three Peaks before heading home to France. Unfortunately, we kind of ran out of time, but I got her a print of the Three Peaks...

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Bagging Nuttalls in the Rhinogs

Alan Cole — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:40:00 +0000

After summiting Yr Aran on Friday, I had a taste for bagging some more Nuttalls, and all of a sudden the weather for the weekend was looking lovely. I had a few other things I wanted to do on Saturday, so decided it would be nice to head to the hills later in the day,...

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Yr Wyddfa South Ridge: A Quieter Way to the Roof of Wales

Alan Cole — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:50:13 +0000

I had another great day in the hills on Friday with Clélia and Mel. Several plans were floated, but with Mel heading back to France soon, we thought we should at least summit Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) before she left Wales. It is the highest mountain in Wales after all, even if it isn’t my favourite....

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Cadair Idris with a French Flavour

Alan Cole — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:52:21 +0000

After a postponed trip up Cadair Idris last weekend due to a slight back injury for me and a lack of suitable shoes for Mel and Clélia, we tried again on Sunday. The Crowd Gathers My back was mostly better, Mel’s Mum and brother were now visiting and had brought Mel’s boots, and Clélia had...

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Windsurfing Revival

Alan Cole — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 08:14:42 +0000

Windsurf sessions have been few and far between lately, but with Alastair visiting on holiday with his family, a weekend sail had been on the cards for a while. Fortunately, the wind gods were on our side, delivering a solid north-westerly forecast for Saturday. I rallied the troops and we gathered on the beach —...

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Nuttalls: Dduallt and Rhobell Fawr

Alan Cole — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 13:00:46 +0000

After a busy week at work, it was time to make the most of my Friday off and head into the hills. The forecast was nothing special — just chilly, with possible showers. Most of the recent snow had melted, with only a few stubborn patches lingering above about 500 m here and there. I...

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Wax Caps and Workshops: Plant Science Wales 2025

Alan Cole — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 06:22:57 +0000

I somehow ended up coordinating the Plant Science Wales Meeting at work. Somewhat stressful, but it all came together in the end — and it meant a trip down to Carmarthen last week. It was a joint event organised by IBERS, hosted by the National Botanic Garden of Wales, and supported by the Learned Society...

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Welsh Nuttalls – Bagging the Big Ones – Crib Goch, Crib y Ddysgl and Yr Wyddfa

Alan Cole — Mon, 12 May 2025 14:14:55 +0000

With my sights set on summiting all of the Nuttalls in Wales, there were a few that I knew I’d definitely climbed in the past—but quite a long time ago. That meant that although I’d done them, I hadn’t used a GPS device at the time, so I had no ‘digital evidence’ to confirm it....

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Dunes and Waves: Finding Calm Between Storms

Alan Cole — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 07:27:29 +0000

Views from the Dunes It might not feel like it this year, but there have been some breaks in the weather here and there. Enough, at least, for me to sit on top of “the dune” opposite our house a few days ago and take in the views. It’s nice at this time of the...

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A Perfect Windsurfing Comeback

Alan Cole — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 13:58:14 +0000

I hadn’t been windsurfing for a while, and it wasn’t just because of unsuitable conditions. A mix of the occasional illness, a few injuries, and a desire to avoid further injuries kept me off the water. The main reason, though, was always having something else planned when the wind was perfect. Windsurfing is also the...

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