UKH

I’ve been walking Welsh hills for 30 odd years and, more recently, going to areas I’ve not been to before. Finally I have adopted the mindset of the peak bagger and, finding myself confused by lists, have decided to walk up all the 2000 ft hills of Wales, the Nuttall’s presents itself as a good list to go at.

I thought I might have bagged a fair few of them over the years but having just gone through the list I find i’ve only done 69 out of 189! Where were all these Welsh hills hiding? Loads in the Berwyns, which I’ve never been to, loads east of the Arans, which I’ve never even heard of, quite a few in the Carneddau, even though I’ve been over them loads of times.

I’m looking forward to ticking off all the Rhinogydd hills in a couple of weeks.  I guess I’d have been disappointed if there wasn’t much to do.

Wales was my stamping ground in the 90's and I used two guides - pre Nuttall. Terry Marsh book The Mountains of Wales had a listing that I worked through that took me to lots of new areas. Then I found a 2 volume guide to Hillwalking in Wales by Peter Hermon that added to my resources for walk planning. The Hermon books are great with a comprehensive set of routes listed for every hill. 

I visited the main summits and many outliers in every area in both books, but did not complete either list, however I thoroughly enjoyed every day I spent trying. Then I bought the Nuttalls books and realised that I had yet more to do.

Good luck with them.

Sorry to say you missed another... There are 190... I'm working my at through them too... just 31 left to go

At my current rate of three backpacking trips per year with an average of five hills bagged per trip I’m in it for the long haul!

I wonder which obscure one I should leave till last?

I had an idea of doing the Welsh 2000ers when I first took up walking in the 1990's, but first Plynlimon Fach and then the ones in the Radnor Forest made me think they weren't worth it.  I could never face the Manods either. 

In fact, 20 years later the same 29 remain unclimbed (if that's the right word).  And there are only 141 on that list.

I have done all the 2000ers in the Lakes, but some of those were of dubious prominence. 

I did a lot of my Wales walks with a couple of mates who invented the idea of 'The last Ratcliffe'. In the end I moved to Scotland with several left to do so I organised a special trip to take them on a final walk together. It was Y Garn in the Rhinogs and provided lots of memorable moments with two great companions.

Some of the obscure Welsh tops can provide the best days. There's usually a lot of interest to see, if not spectacular crags, and they're generally quiet.

I'm reaching a point where I need to plan what peak to leave to last... I think it'll be Cadair Idris rather than something minor... or even do Mount Snowdon on the train as a last hurrah! (Never been on the train)

Well if it's Cadair just make sure you do do it, the finest mountain (not hill) in Wales.

Y Garn in the Rhinogydd is one of the finest little hills in Wales. punching way above its weight. Super views in all directions and you'll probably have it all to yourself.

I've been slowly working my way through the Welsh and English Nuttalls for about 15 years now, I only really walk in winter (summer is for rock climbing) and when there's no winter climbing to be done.

What I like is not that the "unknown" mountains are anything special in themselves, although a few are, but that it forces me to places I've never been. I've discovered new towns and villages en-route, learned more about local history and interesting events associated with these areas, seen wildlife you don't see as much in the busy areas, had whole days to myself instead of jostling with the crowds and my overall feel for the geography of these areas has improved massively.

There's a lot more to walking than just ticking summits.

Just bear in mind though, that by the time you've reached the end of the list they'll probably have discovered some more, there's a dedicated army of Nuttalls enthusiasts out there surveying lumps and bumps in the quest for new summits as we speak!

Keep an eye on their website for updates.

Absolutely, the idea of completing the list only arose out of curiosity since I've been deliberately going to areas new to me and wondered how many 2000 footers there were and how many I've visited.

Happily many of the remaining ones will make cracking two day trips. It's definitely the places in between the summits that are most interesting.

Bagging obscure summits definitely gets you into some great places you might otherwise have missed. Spent chunks of last winter picking up the tops from Richard Moss's list (it's on Haroldstreet), and although many of the summits were ridiculously minor it led me to ace spots like Cwm Gwerin at the back of Pumlumon and the SW top of Craig Eigiau in the Carneddau. Must have walked past the latter half a dozen times without visiting it or doing the scramble below it.