After rock climbing in summer 2006, I was looking for new challenges to spur on my stroke recovery. I decided that I wanted to walk up Snowdon. This seemed a little foolhardy when my walking was still quite awkward. But I can be stubborn.

My rock climbing exploits last year and the photos that Amanda took opened up a number of opportunities for me. There was the Primary Care Trust GP's Seminar that I was invited to speak at and the newspaper article that I passed on to most of my friends and acquaintances. Few of you escaped that! But I needed another challenge to keep my momentum going. So I told everyone that I wanted to get up Snowdon. At 3,560 feet, Snowdon is not a small target. There is a train that goes up it but of course that would not be good enough for me - I would have to walk up and back down or I would feel that I had cheated. So some preparation was going to be necessary.

I hadn't been on any long walks since my stroke. Actually we're not very good at going on short walks either. So I took the opportunity of a walk in the Dales with Simon at Easter. We set off from a layby near Bolton Abbey to walk up to Simon's Seat. I don't think either of us knew how this was going to go but as we gradually climbed out of the valley onto the moor, we got into a good rhythm and made good progress. Without it seeming too strenuous, we got to Simon's Seat in time for lunch. We sat on the gritstone rocks and admired the view as we ate our sandwiches. After a while, we set off for Howgill where we could get a bus back to Bolton Abbey. I started to tire on the way down but we made it in time for a pint before the bus came. The total distance was a bit over 5 miles and we both agreed that it was enjoyable because it seemed normal - like the old days. Of course, I was then so worn out, I wasn't fit for anything for several days.

Our next outing was at the end of May when we visited Derbyshire with the hope of doing some more rock climbing. But it poured with rain all weekend. Still we did manage a 7 mile walk along the full length of Stanange Edge while it poured with rain onto us. We were completely soaked by the time we reached the Fox House Inn, which is now so sanitised that I wondered if they would let us in. Despite the unpleasant weather, the walk did demonstrate that my stamina was improving.

So we came to Snowdonia. Alison and I booked our holiday for the end of August in a cottage at Beddgelert so that we could make the most of any good weather and have some time to rest after the attempt. Simon was to come down for a couple of days to help with the attempt. But the awful weather throughout the summer did not look promising. Fortunately, the weather improved in the last week of August and we settled on the Bank Holiday Monday for our attempt. Alison decided to come with us to make sure we "didn't do anything silly". We set off at around 10am at a fairly relaxed pace from Rhydd Ddu to the West of Snowdon, partly because it was a route that I had not walked before and partly to escape the crowds on some of the other more popular routes. The weather was dry if dull but as we gained height, the clouds lifted away and we could see the summit above us. It was hard going and at times I had doubts that I could get all the way. But I pushed the doubts away and just kept walking. Eventually, the angle eased and we reached the final narrow ridge. As we approached the summit, the sounds of building work on the new summit cafe were disturbing so we found a place for lunch a little below the top. The clouds had lifted completely and this was the first time I'd had a decent view from Snowdon. It really is worth the effort of getting there.

It had taken three hours to reach the top so we didn't linger too long. We headed down the Snowdon Ranger track because it was easier for me to negotiate. On the way, we got good views of the train puffing up its track. The going was mostly quite easy apart from one steep zig-zag section. I had to pick my way slowly and carefully through the loose stones that made up the path. Then it was a long walk out back to the road. We were all getting tired and Alison's feet were quite sore - she'd never done a walk like this before. We eventually got down to the road some seven hours after we started but, having missed a side path, found ourselves a couple of miles from the car. However, we came out next to one of the stations on the Welsh Highland Steam Railway and a train was due in 10 minutes. So we finished our trip by steam train.

So now I have completed my challenge, what next? I can't carry on climbing higher and higher mountains but the challenges I have set myself have contributed immeasurably to my recovery. When I was in hospital, I wasn't sure if I could ever get to these places again. Now I know that I can, I will probably try less challenging routes for their enjoyment rather than the challenge. But there are other challenges to be found in my life - and the first is likely to be the relocation of my job to Salisbury. Life does go on - it's just that sometimes you have to work at it.