Sunday 10 May 2026 - Beinn nan Cabar

Whilst Sue, Tom and Roger went up Sgurr Choinnich Mor and met TGO Challengers John Bridge and Darren Smith, Julie and I went nearly all the way to Arisaig to climb a rough and ready Marilyn called Beinn nan Cabar.

After a brief spell in pretty woodland we emerged onto a nice path for a couple of kilometres. The distinctive summit of Eigg appeared behind us.

The path crossed a stream and headed to an obscure point where it divided. We turned left. The correct route was to the right.

We wrestled our way up a steep gully and were confronted by a good view of our mountain - some way ahead, beyond an impressive rim of crags.

The views back to the coast had by now widened, but they soon disappeared into a fog of light rain.

After a while we found the fence that was marked on the map and which comprised a line of ancient metal posts that led eventually to  the cairned summit.

It was cool, wet and breezy on the summit, so we descended to a more sheltered spot for lunch. 

Continuing down, we were thankful to have GPS and digital mapping to assist in getting us to the right place. Even then, it took us several attempts to avoid the crags.

Meanwhile, we emerged from the mist to regain coastal views towards Eigg.

Throughout the day we were bombarded by the sound of cuckoos.

Looking back, another nearby hill beyond a large puddle.

On the way down we met a family who had wisely decided to abandon their attempt to reach the summit - a good further 4 km beyond the end of the 2 km path that they hadn't yet reached. It was raining. 

After nearly 6 hours on this complex hill we returned to Julie's car after walking for 13 km with 600 metres ascent. Here's the route we took. 

Earlier, 5 minutes of 'Merlin' on the deck at breakfast time resulted in the following bird calls being identified:

I wish I could actually see them all as well as hearing them.

As I write, an evening cluster of Martins are harvesting the air outside despite the steady rain that's falling.

Taigh Mor and Penrith parkrun

After 340 miles we reached our home for the next week. Great views towards the Ben.

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We had taken a break at Penrith - the tenth time I have done this parkrun.

I was in position 239 out of 334 in 30:48, my quickest time for 5 km this year.

Sue finished in 25:01 - position 102, a PB for Penrith.

Paul was ahead, and Jeanette was behind us.

We saw Lindsay Harrod again - she finished just ahead of me.

Thursday 7 May 2026 - Greek Night at Aspire

Together with Paul and Jeanette, Sue and I were treated to another delicious meal at South Trafford College's Aspire restaurant.

What's not to like about an ouzo cocktail?

I'd eaten the feta and basil bomb before I remembered to get the camera out...

This was billed as 'On Arrival', but we'd already got through a plate of assorted bread rolls.

Pork shoulder 'To Start'

'Intermediate' -  fried fish fillet

Main - Duo of Duck

A sharing selection of desserts

To accompany our coffee (or even to take home)

That was a lovely meal. Sadly, thanks to the academic year, we now have to wait until October for their next offering.

Persie House 2026 - Index

Saturday 25 April 2026 - Penrith parkrun, Falkland Palace and Persie House

Sunday 26 April 2026 - Cat Law

Monday 27 April 2026 - Branklyn Gardens and Kinnoull Hill

Tuesday 28 Apriĺ 2026 - Carn a' Mhaim

Wednesday 29 April 2026 - Hill of Persie and Creigh Hill

Thursday 30 April 2026 - Glen Feshie

Friday 1 May 2026 - Carn Aosda, The Cairnwell and Carn a' Gheoidh

To view these posts in order, go to the 25 April posting first, and when finished click on 'Newer Post' to proceed to the next one.

Wednesday 6 May 2026 - Spunch Monton and Worsley

This was our third go at a Spunch event, the first two being recorded here and here.

Despite being poorly attended - with just 31 participants - this was another most enjoyable outing on a lovely evening in pleasant surroundings.

We started at the Waterside Bar in Eccles, opposite the Bridgewater Canal lighthouse that needs a coat of paint.

Sue and I got off to a steady start and progressed well until a hiccup found us on the wrong side of a fence, and there was a short 'lost in Worsley Woods' episode that we shared with one of the other runners who we kept bumping into.

The evening light at the canalside in Worsley was lovely - the camera came out and was kept out for much of the remainder of our outing.

Sue stayed ahead of me for most of the event, and as has become the norm, she bagged a few 'outlier' there and back satellite checkpoints points whilst I enjoyed walking for a while.

There were quite a few folk enjoying the evening light in Worsley Woods, a small proportion of which are familiar to us, and we recognised sections of our bike ride from home to the RHS Bridgewater Gardens, and also points on the parkrun that thankfully weren't as knee deep in water as we found them last time we did that parkrun.

The next picture is typical - Sue with her head in the map, forging ahead towards the next checkpoint, whilst I stroll along in her wake.

She does wait for me now and then, especially when she reaches a checkpoint.

Towards the end of our outing, from checkpoint number 74, we found ourselves by this monument near some interesting half timbered housing.

Here's Garmin's take on our route, though both of us failed to record the first five minutes. On the far right you can guess that we turned back at point 55 rather than risk being late to finish. On reflection, we could probably have bagged four more checkpoints had we gone around the top of the golf course. Never mind, we did ok as shown by the results shown below.

Here we are, 12 out of the 31 participants chose the 120 minute option. Click on the image for a better view. Apparently I did 13.09 km, and Sue did about 14 km - a good evening's exercise.

Adjourning to the bar for food and drink, we spent a pleasant half hour chatting to Sue and Steve Marsland. Sue was 65 today, and chose this outing as her birthday treat! She has just 40 Munros to complete (Sue B is now down to 48 to go) but doesn't seem to have the same desire as Sue B to get them finished.

Thanks as always go to Andy Thornton, who must put a great deal of effort into organising Spunch events in Manchester  and Cheshire.

Sunday 3 May 2026 - The Mike Dunne Memorial 10 km Run

Mike sadly succumbed to cancer in 2023. He was a stalwart member of Sale Harriers and was committed to helping out in whatever way he could at Wythenshawe Park's Community runs of 2km and 5km held every Sunday at the running track. This was the third Memorial Run and was completed by 195 runners and walkers in perfect conditions

My report on the 2024 event is here, and on the 2025 event, it's here. All my '10km' postings are here.

Sue and I are pictured near the 9 am start.

Off we go. I'm nearly last as usual and have a brief chat with 'Tail Runner' Alison before continuing at a modest pace.

Organiser Paul was on hand to cheer people past the bike track corner.

The course has a couple of sections where slower runners like me meet faster ones who may be 1 to 2 km ahead. I seem to meet the same folk - Paul Lockett, Frank Cordingley, Jan Williams, Tris Pocock, for example, every year. Not so many photos this year as I was battling for position with three fit ladies.

Paul was too fast for me, and I'd have had to wait a couple of minutes for Sue to pass.

Below, Paul Wood was one of only two VM70 runners, whereas there were five of us in the VM75 category. I chatted to Paul afterwards, we may encounter him on a Spunch event.

Mike Curley, one of the VM75 runners excelled himself by finishing in a time of 47:23. Well done Mike and friends.

Afterwards we lingered at length in the courtyard, whilst Jan almost bankrupted himself as coffees were ordered and re-ordered. It won't be his round again for a long time!

Sue and my results are shown below, together with my splits - despite a desire to walk after reaching the 5 km point, I seem to have gone a bit quicker after that (trying to stay ahead of the three fit ladies...)

The full results are here.

That's it for now - after another great (and successful) fundraising event.