St Peter's Way Race

Recent view of the North Face of Ben Nevis

I went to Essex for the St Peter's Way Race last weekend. It is the second  time  that I've run the race both times with my sister. Part of the appeal of the St Peter's Way is that much of the route goes through the the area where I grew up, including some lovely Essex villages such as Purleigh and Tillingham. It ends at St Peter's Bradwell a beautiful 10th century church on the sea wall.
Two years ago when we last ran the race it was extremely muddy. Essex clay is very tenacious and hard to run through.However this year it was much drier and  I regretted wearing studded shoes . The weather was good too. In fact it was so warm that I decided to have a beer . The barman at the Bell in Purleigh refused to take my money and I really enjoyed my half of ale.

This weekend Helen and I ran back to Fort William from Bridge of Orchy. The weather forecast was poor, and  it started wet but actually the rain was mainly light and patchy. We carried much more gear than was strictly necessary not knowing what conditions would be like on the Devil's Staircase. There was quite a lot of snow at the top but it was warmer than we expected.

Today by contrast the weather was amazing. This morning I sketched Aonach Mor from our house.

In contrast the view from our kitchen is more often like this

View from our kitchen last Wednesday.