MY FAVOURITE VIEW

The majesty of Everest and the Khumbu Glacier inspired musician Cerys Matthews during her memorable birthday expedition

For Cerys Matthews the sight of Mount Everest was unforgettable

The beauty of the Himalayas has stayed with Cerys

Given my birthplace, the obvious view to choose would be in Wales, and there are so many that I love.

But, actually, there’s a view that

I will remember for the rest of my life – and it’s much further away, in Nepal.

I was 50 in April 2018 and I decided to mark the event with an unforgettable trip, trekking through the Himalayas to Everest base camp. We hiked over 11 days, with the weather and landscape changing each step of the way. You’re there to see Everest – this iconic mountain whose stories we have all enjoyed – but you’re chasing a glimpse of it. Each day we’d be told by guides and fellow walkers, ‘Today is the day you might see Everest.’ There would be a blizzard of snow and wind, we’d get to the viewing point, and we’d have missed it again.

The day of my birthday, we walked out of the village we’d been staying in and there it was – Everest, this stunning peak with its iconic double summit. There’s a romance about going to the highest place on earth and I felt such a buzz when we first recognised it. The Himalayas are so huge – these thousand metre peaks filling a whole country – and Everest is the king and queen of places. The locals call it the Goddess Mountain, and every second in its vicinity you feel in awe of nature and the planet.

It was an experience I wanted to share with my family, and my husband and our two children came on the trip with me. In today’s world we can spend so much solitary time plugged into technology, and there’s little physical time when we are all present. In the Himalayas, we were going through this experience together. The sense of being alive was so tangible.

There was a second view on the trip that was just as magical. At this point there’s no greenery; we’d left the rhododendrons and junipers behind, and were clambering across huge boulders. I looked up to see caves of incredible clear blue and water tinkling – we were walking up an ice flow to the Khumbu Glacier. The size and scale and blueness of it; the solitariness… And the sounds! In nature, your mind has space to listen and respond to sound. There couldn’t be any more beautiful music.

Listen to Cerys Matthews’ new poetry album, ‘We Come From the Sun’, featuring Hidden Orchestra and 10 Poets (Decca Records).