The Welsh One Hundred

An English version of a handy guide book to the hundred highest peaks in Wales, first published in Welsh in 1998, comprising a list of walking routes, estimated times for each route and parking information, written by an experienced mountain climber. 28 black-and-white photographs and 14 maps. First published in 1999.

Review :
It is hard to imagine walking to the summit of all 284 peaks now included in the list of Scottish mountains over 3,000ft – the infamous ‘Munros’. Now Dafydd Andrews sets walkers another challenge: to reach the summit of the highest peaks in Wales – ‘The Welsh One Hundred’. For the author, this is more than a physical challenge, it is also a way to discover the diverse beauty of the Welsh landscape and to reduce the environmental impact on the most popular mountains for visitors, such as Snowdon and Tryfan. This original and compact guidebook to the 100 peaks makes its first appearance here in English after its publication in Welsh in 1999. The author’s enthusiasm for the subject and his love for the Welsh countryside are evident throughout. He wants to take the walker beyond the ‘honey-pot’ peaks of Snowdonia and discover the lesser-known summits throughout the country. The Welsh name of each peak included is accompanied with its translation and a helpful pronunciation guide of evocative place names such as Pen yr Ole Wen (Peak of the White Slope), Moel Hebog (Hill of the Hawk) and Carnedd y Filiast (Cairn of the Greyhound Bitch). The book is helpfully divided into 14 geographic sections, each offering simple route instructions (in general the author has chosen the easiest or most obvious route for each of the peaks, which must only be attempted with the addition of the appropriate Ordnance Survey map), height of the summit, and approximate walking time. The peaks are also listed at the end of the book both alphabetically and in order of height – so, you can start your challenge however you choose. For the author, the challenge of the Welsh One Hundred is about getting to know Wales better and having a genuine feel for the mountains. There have been other books listing the mountains of Wales using various methods and mathematical formulas (such as the Nuttall’s book The Mountains of England and Wales, Vol 1) which Andrews feels miss something fundamental to an understanding of the Welsh landscape. ‘Should Garnedd Uchaf be considered a separate mountain? Are there 14 or 15 mountains over 3,000ft in Wales?’ he asks. And his answer? ‘In the final analysis, these questions and many others cannot be settled with a tape measure.’ As he rightly says, what is needed is a full consideration of all the factors, such as the names of the mountains, the perception of them by local people and the way that walkers in Wales ‘see’ the mountains. These factors are at the core of his own selection, and at the end of the book he invites us to get out there and get walking. If you make all one hundred, you will become a cherished member of an exclusive club. Good luck.