Page 17 - 2020 AMA Summer

restrictions are lifted. Naturalists are both optimistic and pessimistic.
But what will we as mountaineers and walkers see? How will the Covid -19 lockdown affect the places we tread? Well there should be more vegetation growth, there should be recovery of eroded footpaths, there should be a breathing space for trampled crag bottoms and tops. I hope this is the case, I do. I hope Snowdon can breathe a little and let some green return to its overpopulated summit. I suspects its overused paths are looking a little forlorn at the moment, I hope the scars of recreation can heal a little. We’re in a month long drought as well, which after the wettest February on record is not exactly as we’d like or expect.
The crags, too, will have a little space to breath. The bases won’t revegetate, but those trees we grapple with will have little break, those birds that nest nearby will have a little more space (have you ever seen the wren that lives in the undercut just right of Faith on the Slabs?). Tremadog will need some attention, feel free to tug away at the brambles and ivy as they encroach on to routes. On the other hand, the rhododendrons can continue their spread, any stuck sheep will remain stuck and the goats won’t be moved on from the precious arctic-alpine sites. I’m also concerned about our rate of return. If we all turn up on day one post-restrictions at the Cromlech or the Milestone Buttress there will be a severe impact. The parking problems will be laid bare once more, the erosion will reappear instantly, and nature will be in for a shock. So, on day one, go somewhere different, off the beaten track, leave the honeypot sites alone, they will be crowded, and crowd’s on cliffs increase danger. If you are walking head to the Arannau or the Rhinogiau, they’ll be busier that in the past, but still much quieter that than northern Snowdonia. If you are climbing seek out the ‘Alternative’ list in the Llanberis guidebook, Cloggy is dry as a bone right now, so should be climbable throughout the summer. Just take the opportunity to go a different way,
or to a different hill, or to a crag you’ve never visited before.
There is an irony though. Snowdonia needs, walkers, climbers, and moun- taineers, it needs tourists, as does the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District, and other rural areas. I hope you haven’t been put off by the nastiness of some of the ‘stay home’ brigade who seem to have revelled a little too much in the idea of closing the countryside. The unarguable fact is that tourism brings in money to the hills whereas hill farming brings in subsidy. It is potentially a matter for debate as to who is really ‘working the land’ these days. We do need to find some effective solutions to the peak time transport and parking issues though, any ideas?
I hope the scars of recreation can heal a little
It’s been a shame to miss the spring blossoming in the hills. There are stands of damson, crab apple and blackthorn in blossom now. The spring flowers are rampant, our lanes are full of stitchwort, celandine, wild garlic, dog violets and the bluebells are beginning to make an appearance. On the hill the tormentil and milkwort will be appearing. Of the arctic alpines we got to see the best displays of purple saxifrage before the shutdown, if we were there now, we’d be seeing the starry saxifrages and the mossy saxifrage making their appearance.
I think when we return to the hills; they will look greener, they will look a little ragged and wilder, there maybe a little more bird song. But, for how long? It will return to as before, there will be many people,
maybe even more than usual heading up Snowdon, the bikes will return to the valleys and the lakes will be swum in again. People will return. I hope nature has had a good recovery period, it did during foot and mouth. I know nature will have, overall gained, but do be mindful that a minority of landowners may have seen this as an opportunity to do some bad things; we’ll see. Maybe, just maybe we’ll all appreciate the natural world a little bit more. So maybe we’ll wish to see our uplands in a more natural state, a few less sheep, a few more trees, a wider range of flowers and birds. I hope so. I hope we’ll all appreciate the great outdoors that little but more than we ever did. The sheer joy, the sense of wonder, the specialness of a walk in the hills, these are our places, we need them, we want to share them, we want to care for them, let’s work very carefully, as effectively as we can to be a voice for being in the hills, for exercise in the hills and for, above all else, nature in the hills. I do hope you get to enjoy your summer and return to the hills just as soon as it is possible and safe to do so. Look out for change, take a moment to stop and listen, do you notice anything that is different?
Mike is the author of Nature of Snowdonia (Pesda Press 2020) which can be purchased from www.mikeraine.co.uk where you will also find details of his Nature of Snowdonia workshops. You can follow his Notes form the Hill page on Facebook which features podcasts, videos and updates ‘from the hill’. On Twitter he is @mikerraine. His mission is to improve environmental and nature awareness amongst hillwalkers, climbers and mountaineers.
Cwm Cywarch – Try the Cwm Cywarch Horseshoe over Glasgwm and Aran Fawddwy for another alternative to northern Snowdonia.
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