Walking

[Helig]

Your account of the walk on Conwy Mountain took me back, Hugo. My father was stationed on the Conwy Morfa camp in WW2. He used to go on Conwy Mountain doing exercises with explosives. He liked to talk about his days there. When we moved to Llandudno in the 1960s, he loved to go and walk over Conwy Mountain and took me with him. We went to Conwy, walked up the road under the castle gatehouse until we came to a path up the mountain which was some way up the road. We climbed up Conwy Mountain and walked all along until we descended down to Dwygyfylchi.  In Dwygyfylchi we stopped in a cafe for a cup of tea and walked to the main road where we caught a bus back to Conwy. It was a full afternoon's walk but beautiful with all the views and items of interest. My father relived his wartime days and was always happy to do this walk whenever he could. He used to say there were more men killed on these wartime exercises with explosives, than on active service.

Helig.

[Hugo]

I'm pleased that the walk brought back some pleasant memories for you Helig and it was nice hearing about the walk that you did with your father that time.
We are quite fortunate to live so near to such beautiful places.  there has been so many changes  since your father was stationed there. 

The A55,  Conwy Marina and the Aberconwy Resort & Spa for instance.

I was just looking at the free November magazine last night and featured in it was the Bowmoor Lodge from the Aberconwy Spa which is on sale at a cool £449,995.00       

A bit different from the barracks that your father would have been in

[SteveH]

Some great photos of The Lone Tree on the edge of Llyn Padarn in Llanberis. , I thought the walkers would appreciate them....  You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

One of 9....

[Hugo]

That's a super photo Steve and it's a must do photo for anyone walking on that quieter side of the lake           

[BrianP]

Great photograph

[Hugo]

Yesterday,  I drove up the A5 to Llangollen and had a short but very enjoyable walk with Mrs H.      I parked the car in the Horseshoe Falls car park and we took the path across the field to St Tysilio's Church in Llantysilio.     The weather was good but after the recent heavy rainfalls we have been having the path was wet and slippy in places, the Church was open so we had a quick peek inside and then took the path by the side of the fast flowing River Dee to the Horseshoe Falls.
The weir supplies the water to the Llangollen Canal so we then walked along the canal, passing under a couple of bridges before returning along the canal path.   The trees were in good Autumn colours but were quickly falling into the canal and slowly drifting away.
On our return  walk we came to the Chain Bridge Hotel and walked alongside the river across the shaky suspension bridge, but stopping to admire the views and take some photos.    The torrent of water coming down the River Dee was both impressive but also frightening by its power and unfortunately I should imagine that there would be some flooding down stream.     What was nice to see was so many people in the Chain Bridge Hotel enjoying the views and their meals.
Crossing the bridge we had a steep climb to the road and just paused to see the neat and tidy Berwyn Railway Station.    We had seen the steam train leave the station earlier on and we noticed that there were about seven carriages behind the engine and we both remarked that sometimes, even at peak times the BR train only has two cars which didn't make much sense to us.
We then followed the road which crossed the river and made our way to the car park.
It was a lovely sunny day and after reading Steve's weather report on Llangollen I'm glad we went when we did as there has been some snow in that area today

[Hugo]

Llangollen

[Hugo]

Yesterday Tellytubby and I drove down to Beddgelert to meet old Uncle Albert and have a walk from Llyn Dinas along the Afon Glaslyn and down the Aberglaslyn Pass and then return along the same route.     It was raining lightly as we drove down and the clouds hung onto the high peaks of the Snowdonia  mountains but we couldn't resist stopping at the Snowdon viewpoint and then again at Llyn Gwynant.    The rugged beauty of this area is breathtaking, even on the dullest of days and the lake was as still as a mill pond.
By the time we arrived at Llyn Dinas the rain had stopped and it turned out to be a dry warmish day, ideal for the walk we had planned.
Crossing over the Afon Glaslyn we followed the path to Beddgelert and it wasn't long until we came to the Sygun Copper mine which was the location for the 1958 film " The Inn of the Sixth Happiness"        A lot of filming was done in the Snowdonia area and it is still remembered fondly by locals of a certain age.
Continuing on the lane we passed many  areas of healthy Rhododendrons along the route and I suppose they are like Marmite, you either like them or hate them but personally they are one of my favourite plants.
At the confluence of the Afon Glaslyn and Afon Colwyn we stopped to look at the Dippers in the fast flowing water and a friendly Robin kindly posed for us on a gate leading to the Aberglaslyn Pass.
We walked along the path to the railway line and then crossed it, but before we continued to  the Aberglaslyn Pass we decided to have our lunch sitting on rocks near to the river.      To anyone who hasn't walked along the Fisherman's Path in Aberglaslyn Pass then it is well worth the walk.    It's set in a dramatic looking gorge with the river nearby and the Welsh Highland railway running above you.  As the path is near the water the rocks can be slippy but it has been made a lot easier and safer by the installation of boardwalks and by grab handles, particularly by the stone buttress.   
At the end of the path we turned around and retraced our steps back to the railway crossing where we crossed over the river and walked towards Beddgelert but resisted going to visit the tourist attraction of Gelert's Grave as the weather seemed to be closing in.  We had had a good day so we didn't want to push our luck any further.

[Hugo]

Beddgerert walk

[Hugo]

Beddgelert walk


A short clip of Beddgelert and the film location     

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

[Hugo]

Late on Friday evening Tellytubby said that he wanted to go for a walk on Saturday  "to clear the cobwebs" so we agreed to meet at the boating lake on the West Shore at Llandudno.   When we arrived at a windswept West Shore we knew that that would blow any cobwebs away.
We set off along the Marine Drive past the Tollgate, erosion seems to be a problem in that area and we are always aware of some large rocks further up the slopes just waiting to fall down onto the road.     At  St Petrocks we stopped  to watch a herd of young Goats feeding in the garden and then carried on to Pen Y Ffordd Goch  where we turned up the lane.   Not far up the lane we stopped to have a look at the ruins of the Gogarth Tea Rooms.  In the late 1800's it was run by Miriam Jones or Miriam Yr Ogof as she was affectionately known on account of the fact that she lived in a cave near St Petrocks with her husband Isaac and their many children  (  I've heard of 13 in some books )
Anyway Miriam provided refreshments for the tourists that travelled along the Marine Drive  and what a nice view they must have had from that cafe.
We took the left lane going upwards past a lovely old restored cottage and then made our way up hill to Ffynnon Gogarth and then to the summit,    On our way downhill we passed  Bishops quarry and continued past the Bronze Age Mine to St Beuno's Road where we headed to see the Cromlech.      St Beuno's Church is now a private home but I can remember going to a Baptism there in the 1980's, a little further on is a Chapel that has been nicely and sympathetically converted into a private home.    The old mining community of Llandudno certainly had a number of Churches and Chapels for the inhabitants of the Great Orme
We took the steep steps down near the Chapel and then followed Tyn Y Coed Road all the way to the top of the Zig Zag path and then down the steep steps to Invalids Walk and then back to our cars
It was a short but enjoyable walk despite the wind and it had certainly cleared away Tellytubby's cobwebs but he was off then to take some photos of a rare Bunting seen in the local area

[Hugo]

Great Orme walk

[Hugo]

On Saturday Tellytubby and I drove down to the Vaenol Estate in Bangor where we met old Uncle Albert.     We only did a short circular walk but it was a good chance to blow the Christmas cobwebs away but more importantly it was a good excuse to meet up and do our last walk of 2019 together.    Unfortunately Rhuddlan was unable to be with us as he was suffering from Man Flu
Anyway to get to the car park we had to drive the cars through the impressive Vaynol Estate and along a narrow and potholed track before arriving at the muddy car park.
After leaving the car park we headed across open farmland straight down to the banks of the Menai Straits and sat in the bird hide which had impressive views across to Anglesey.  To the west was the impressive building of  Plas Newydd and directly across the Straits is Pwllfanogl where Sir John "Kyffin" Williams, who was a Welsh landscape painter once lived.  His house is the secons white house on the left of the photo.
The path along the banks of the staits is the coastal path so we headed eastward and walked under the Brittania Bridge where we stopped to read all about this fantastic piece of engineering.   At the base of one of the towers we came across a marker stone with the initials RD on it but we still haven't a clue what it was for. the walk then continued for a short distance until we came to Ynys Gorad Goch,   It is inhabited but those currents and what appears to be an increasing high tide would put many people off living there,
We retraced our walk along the path and under the bridge and through the gates of the Vaenol Estate and had our refreshments on the picnic seats nearby,   Then it was back to the car along a higher route that took us past the creepy gothic style mausoleum in Vaynol Park which is surrounded by an iron fence and densely packed trees making it difficult to photograph.   At the back of the mausoleum we could see that numerous windows were broken by acts of mindless vandalism which was a shame as it could be a lovely building. It wasn't too far then to the cars and then back home.   Tellytubby and I stopped at the Mill Cafe in Aber where we had a nice latte and it was nice to see the cafe so full with fellow walkers enjoying a warmish Winter day

[Hugo]

Vaynol Estate and Menai Straits walk


 The best examples of the fishing weirs in the Menai Straits are found on Gorad Goch itself. The exact date of construction of the remaining weirs on Gorad Goch are not known but are estimated to be around 1824 when a fish smoking chamber was also built on the island. The system works as the weirs are built near eddy currents and therefore water is sucked into the weirs, leaving fish trapped

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

[SteveH]

Even with forethought and planning.......................

North Wales is home to the tallest mountain in Wales and it's not for the faint hearted.              ref DP

It is both the highest mountain in Wales as well as the one with the most choice in routes up which is likely why is draws in more than 582,000 walkers every year.
But at an elevation of 1,085 metres above sea level, tackling Wales' highest mountain is not for everyone.

Even with it's beautiful scenery and choice of routes it seems that Snowdon doesn't please everyone with some harsh and downright bizarre reviews left about it on Trip Advisor.
In a series of social media reviews left on the website, those who climbed to the 3,560ft peak blasted the treacherous weather conditions , the cold temperatures, and, strangely, the 'abysmal' wheelchair access.

Steven from Leicester took to Trip Advisor to warn others of his experience which he says was "the most terrifying" of his life.

He wrote: "We spent weeks researching the best route path to take being we were novice climbers , we spent weeks walking up hills in prep for it, we watched you tube videos of people doing the chosen path, The Ranger Path, and all I can say is don't do it.
"It was the most terrifying experience of our lives.

"The path is relentless, starts straight away going up hill and never lets up, the higher you go the worse the terrain becomes, you clamber over rocks, steps, jagged rocks and you cant walk more than 20 yards without stopping."

Steven doesn't just end there, he goes on to blast the weather conditions saying that it was "really sunny" when they started their journey but a quarter of the way up it "lashed it down, it hailed and there was wind of around at a guess of 40mph."

He added: "We seriously did not think we would get of alive .
"Having pushed ourselves up there we were physically and mentally exhausted, soaked through to the skin and beyond."

Having that the "worst experience" of his life on the way up, he decided to take the Llanberis route down , but that wasn't to his liking either.
He added: "The info on the website states an easy climb and decent...absolutely garbage, unless you are an experienced mountaineer.

"The rain wind and hail never let up for the entire time, we saw nothing but fog fog fog.
"I seriously did not think we would get down alive!"
To top off his terrible experience he then had to pay £30 for a taxi to drive him back to his car having parked it at the bottom of The Rangers Path.

There may be 13 poor and 12 terrible reviews but there are 2,068 excellent ones so it seems the positives far outweigh the negatives.