With a good weather forecast and a new electric car to try out, Chris visited John’s house in the north of the Lake District to sample some of the local hills and local culture. An early start on Wednesday 15th got John and Chris onto the 77a bus from Keswick to Buttermere, 50 minutes for a 15 mile ride on single track roads barely a few inches of tarmac wider than the bus, very few passing places and a 25% climb over Honister pass. Great views including Fleetwith Pike and Ha

Prologue This weekend had been a long time in the making – in fact just over 52 years! When I first climbed Ben Nevis in early September 1973 I had never even heard of Sir Hugh Munro, let alone a list of Scottish Mountains over 3000 ft – (we used imperial units in those days). I had hitch-hiked up from Whitley Bay with my Venture Scout mate Trev, with the sole objective of climbing the highest mountain in the UK. Our route north took us across the Ballachulish ferry, as there