ACTOR and adventurer Brian Blessed has braved some of the highest peaks in the world.
However, the Yorkshire-born actor, 75, has a special place in his heart for the mountains of Snowdonia.
He said: “The Welsh mountains mean a hell of a lot to me, because my mother was Welsh.
“Wales, I feel, is God’s country.”
Speaking at the SFX Weekender in Prestatyn on Saturday, the avid mountaineer said that he enjoyed tackling routes such as Crib Goch and Clogau.
He said: “I rather dread going up Snowdon because, while it’s such a beautiful mountain, every time I go I have to rescue somebody!
“There’s always someone who’s dressed in the wrong gear, in plimsolls, flip-flops and t-shirts. Why do they do that?”
It seems that the actor, who won film fans’ hearts as Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon, trained as a cosmonaut in Moscow and is first reserve for the International Space station.
He is also working with scientists in Abingdon on Skylon, which could provide unpiloted transport to the moon.
He said: “For me it’s Flash Gordon with reality. They’ve found Helium three on the Moon, which comes from the Sun, bounces of the surface of the earth and lands there.
“One tonne of Helium three would give Britain pollution-free fuel for 500 years, so what’s going to save the earth is our sister planet.”
Brian also told the Chronicle that his many of his lines in Flash Gordon came from his days in the RAF during his national service.
“One of the parachutists crashed his Dakota in Oxfordshire, where we were jumping from, and I thought he was dead.
“His name was Gordon Darrant, and I just said ‘Gordon’s alive!’, and I could relate it the film.”
Brian also gave his thoughts on why the simple line had gone into movie legend.
He said: “I think it’s a cry for freedom and happiness.”