So now the second of the three peaks is completed, Scafell Pike, which I have learned is a different place from Scafell. I travelled up Friday evening on the train and met Andy, Trev and Sharon at Kendal for a night under canvas at Seatoller. It was about 10 by the time we had set up so we nipped back to the pub for a quick pint which would have perhaps been two if they hadn’t closed at 10:30. Ah well, back to the tent for a very cold night -4°C cold enough to freeze the breath on the tent sides by morning. An early start the following day at 5am: I couldn’t stand the snore-a-thon any longer. So a quick coffee and some instant porridge, pack the tents away and clear the camp site and ... read more

One of our guides summed up Morocco very well by saying that it is like a tagine, in the sense that you don’t know what is there until the lid is whipped off, giving it an aura of mystery and excitement. So too are the women (in the main at least) covered up, maintaining their sense of mystery. This also extends to the buildings: many a time a building has looked very unimpressive from the outside, but when you go in it is as if you are entering another world. So what have we learnt apart from a few words of Arabic, what have we done, apart from travelling a lot of miles and what will our lasting memories be? Morocco is a country of contrasts: an Islamic country that makes great wine for example. Until ... read more

This morning, after another lovely breakfast spent looking out to sea and, as ever, closely observed by the resident gulls, we were collected from our hotel in Essaouira and brought to our Marrakech base the Riad Assouel, where we were given a very warm welcome and a refreshing juice. We successfully negotiated a route out of the medina, amid protests from a local that we were going the wrong way to see the sights, and found our way to the Jardins Marjorelle. These gardens, which had been bought and restored by Yves Saint Laurent, had been recommended to us and were definitely worth a visit. Having paid the reasonable entrance fee, we went through the gate and were immediately transported into an oasis of shady tranquillity from the hustle and bustle of the city. Here, a ... read more

Morocco Day 10 We left the high Atlas Mountains this morning as the first of this year’s snow had fallen on the peaks visible from our hotel. The journey to Essaouira took about four hours skirting the outskirts of Marrakesh, showing us some of the high end hotels and future golf resorts. We will see the city centre when we start our proper visit there on Wednesday. The hotel we were staying in was about four miles from the nearest metalled road, in the town of Ourika, which is actually a collection of Berber villages. Monday is market day and whereas yesterday when we walked through to visit the gardens there was a road, today it was not visible for people, animals and carts. However Abdul found his way through, by the use of the horn. ... read more

Morocco Day 8 Another day for moving on today so this morning we left Caroline and Les Jardins de Skoura for the High Atlas mountains above Marakesh. One of the first towns we went through was Ouarzazate or the Hollywood of Morocco. The town and the surrounding area are where quite a few Hollywood films have been made including Gladiator. Not long after leaving Ouarzazate we left the main route through the mountains for the old road through the Oued Mellet valley. This spectacular road is only passable by 4X4 according to our guidebooks but no one has ever bothered to inform the locals as they potter about in their Mercedes taxis and bashed up old Peugeots and Renaults. The route has two fantastic Kasbahs, the first one at Ait Benhaddou is only accessible on foot ... read more