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They say the best time to plant a tree is 40 years ago… so I’m off on a mini adventure to fact-check that 40 years ago this summer, as a sixth-former, some friends and I volunteered on a conservation project in Snowdonia (Eryri) Now we’re heading back to climb a mountain and see whether it worked…

I know we all love to hate Euston Station, but I do like the way the roof floats above the walls Squint and it’s a kind of grim version of Ronchamp

The trip back then was fun but quite eventful (I ended up spending a night in Bangor hospital) This time round, the challenge will be my hip. Just three months ago I had a total hip replacement. Can I now climb a (small) mountain? Who knows - let’s find out!

Well both Llandudno and Conwy Castle live up to their reputation. Very nice

We made it up there! And found the site. What was just boggy bracken back when we built a fence on the mountainside, has since regenerated into a lovely woodland of 40-year-old trees, filled with birdsong. The project worked, and these trees will outlast me by many lifetimes

We built a fence to stop overgrazing and allow regrowth. Carrying heavy posts, wire and tools up the mountainside. Here’s what it looks like outside the fence, and what our fence posts look like now

Literally just fencing and natural regeneration? Really impressive example of how simple and light touch it can be if so, rather than hours and £s spent on saplings in plastic tubes.

So my new hip lasted the trip - the furthest I’ve walked in years. Hip replacement surgery is a genuine miracle. And the Aber Falls (Rhaeadr Fawr) at the end was lovely. Go to north Wales.