My interest in Marilyns began... in May 2006, when I started to annotate Marilyns in my own hill list which, along with a diary of my walks, has been going since 1975. In September 2014, my brother Peter climbed his 600th and I thought I had been on 598 Marilyns. Subsequent armchair bagging suggested 600 or 601 so I started entering my ascents into the hill-bagging website but this activity (264 entered so far) has been overtaken by outdoor hill bagging.
My favourite Marilyn is... Ladhar Bheinn. I like complex mountains with many ridges and prefer coastal hills. In Wales, it is Cadair Idris but I must not say Bowfell for England here. Outside the mountains, there are delights in Shropshire and the Quantocks for a superb day.
My least favourite Marilyns are... any with wind farms. I have not enjoyed any, and generally fit them in as a run or just don't bother or walk away, for instance from Garreg Lwyd, which was the start of a wonderful walk above the Wye Valley. Why ruin the environment to save the environment - I don't get it.
Do I keep Marilyn bagging a secret? No, though I prefer to talk about the overall experience of the walks. Even my own hill list is not a secret, though perforce more obscure than Marilyns. It is based on hill 'character', like the Wainwrights, but for all the British Isles.
I... am a member of the John Muir Trust and an active member of the Surrey Wildlife Trust and butterfly conservation group. I have lots of wildlife interest, especially moths, which I record and run events for the public to see. The only time I have seen a wild cat was on the drive back from a moth-ing trip, at 2am at Boat of Garten. The wildlife is a big part of the hill experience for me and enlivens days on mountains some consider dull.
