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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Kevin Rushby

‘On a peak under a blue sky’: the joy of summer in Europe’s mountains

Man on the summit of a mountain on sunny day
The summit of Averau in the Dolomites, with a view down the valley to Rifugio Nuvolau. Photograph: Alamy

After a tough scramble to the summit of Rhinog Fach, we look down into the deep valley holding the chilly waters of Llyn Hywel, then west across several miles of heather, bilberry and bare rock to the Welsh coast. Turning my gaze north, there is the entire Llyn peninsula leading east to the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), no doubt weighed down by thousands of visitors. Up here there are just two of us in an utterly peaceful landscape. No clouds on the horizon. No surprises.

I lie down for a few minutes and feel myself drift off. There are no human voices to be heard, only birds. Summer has come early to these mountains and I wouldn’t be anywhere else, drinking in that particular kind of tranquillity to be found on a peak under a blue sky.

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