Author Topic: Walking  (Read 821907 times)

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Offline DaveR

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Re: Walking
« Reply #90 on: January 16, 2011, 07:07:48 pm »
I see the the Riverside Cafe is living up to its name.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #91 on: January 21, 2011, 10:18:52 am »
Yesterday was a cold but very sunny day and I didn't realise just how cold it was until I got in my car to drive to Halkyn.   I had icicles hanging inside my car!   :o  (leaking sun roof}
By Llanddulas I could see a white mist hanging over the vale of Clwyd with the tops of the Clwydian range peeping out of them.  After a spooky drive through the mist we took the back roads to Halkyn as there had been a serious accident on the A55 by Caerwys.
We parked the car on Halkyn common and made our way to the iron age hillfort passing the many disused mineshaftes on the way. The mine shafts were capped with beehive shaped stones for some reason. The views from there were great apart from when we looked at the Power Station in Connah's Quay.  We then retraced our path and took the lane to Midlist Farm where they have the Water Buffalos and took the footpath through the farm and then we walked through the woods where the paintballing fights take place and ended up by the Church in Halkyn.   It was a short but enjoyable circular walk on a lovely cold Winter's day.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2011, 10:22:34 am by Hugo »


Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #92 on: January 21, 2011, 10:21:15 am »
More photos of the Halkyn Walk

Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #93 on: January 21, 2011, 11:36:02 am »
On Tuesday the Retirement group enjoyed a nice circular walk in the Old Colwyn area. We parked up in the Berthes Road car park and walked down Beach Road, after a few yards we crossed the fast flowing stream and doubled back to go through the underpass to Fairy Glen.  We then followed the woodland path and the stream until we came out in Coed Coch Road and then crossed the Old Colwyn Golf Course very carefully watching out for any wayward golf balls before reaching Peulwys Lane.
It's a bit of a pull up the Lane from there so we took our time and then followed a footpath that took us on the edge of the quarry and past the infants school.  From there we took the road down Miners Lane to where the Hotel 70 Degrees once stood and then walked down numerous steps, (over 250} until we came to the Rainbow Bridge where we crossed over and followed the footpath back into the village.  We walked back through the park above the stream and admired the wood carvings made in a dead tree stump and then it was back to the car park.  There was no coffee and cake after this particular walk but at least we did enjoy a nice meal in the Afon Conwy beforehand.   :)

Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #94 on: January 21, 2011, 11:46:57 am »
Old Colwyn walk

Offline TheMedz

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Re: Walking
« Reply #95 on: January 23, 2011, 12:39:00 am »
I got the "Walks from Colwyn Bay" book as a Christmas present and went on the Playhouse and Picture Palaces walk on Friday. It's the first time I'd been inside the Weatherspoon's that used to be the  Princess Theatre and was amazed to find  that, like our own Palladium, there was a wonderful interior  to the building.  I did however have problems in finding a "hardware shop on Abergele Road that was the site of the old Colwyn Bay Cinema". Is there any evidence of this still remaining today or has it been demolished or built over?

Offline Nemesis

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Re: Walking
« Reply #96 on: January 23, 2011, 08:41:52 am »
I'm not sure, but could this have been what was the A&A shop? It has/had a lovely dome inside.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know.

Offline DaveR

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Re: Walking
« Reply #97 on: January 23, 2011, 08:59:31 am »
The Cosy Cinema (as it was known) was across the road from HSBC, a few doors down from the Carlton pub. You'll see a tiny old newsagent that was on the right hand side of the entrance, whilst the entrance itself was through what is now Matthews & Son Hardware store. You can still see the auditorium round in the alleyway at the back. I think my Dad once told me the layout was a bit odd in that you entered the cinema under the screen.

Offline poppy

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Re: Walking
« Reply #98 on: January 23, 2011, 11:47:33 am »
 The Central ? :o

Offline DaveR

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Re: Walking
« Reply #99 on: January 23, 2011, 03:06:55 pm »
The Central ? :o
yes, sorry, it was the Central I meant!

Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #100 on: January 29, 2011, 11:52:19 am »
Yesterday some friends and I drove to the Fairy Glen car park to start a walk that I had been hoping to do for ages.   It was the Capel Garmon-- Fairy Glen walk in Carl Rogers' book on the Conwy Valley walks.
We changed the starting place from Capel Garmon to Fairy Glen for two good reasons,  the parking is easier there than in the village (nominal fee £1.00 entrance to the Glen  50p  pp.) and also we wanted to get the most strenuous section out of the way first.
From the Fairy Glen we made our way to the A55 crossing it directly and then going up a very steep zig zag path through the trees, stopping just to get our breath and watch the Nuthatches and Greater Spotted Woodpecker on the trees.  We then came to a forest track and the slope then eased. This lead to a lane that went into the village and we followed it and all the time the views were getting better and better. It was a cold day, but there was no wind and last nights snow and ice could be seen on the peaks of Tryfan, Pen Yr Ole Wen, Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn that could be seen in the distance.
In the village we watched a beautiful Bullfinch by a cottage before making our way past the White Horse Inn and looking in the Churchyard.   We sat on a bench to have our refreshments and then made our way along a lane to the Capel Garmon Burial Chamber. This walk is also called Capel Garmon-- The Tomb with the view and you can see why as you get a splendid view of the Cnicht, Moel Siabod, Yr Arran and Snowdon from here.
The ground was frozen and it was just as well because I should imagine that downhill from here to the A5 and Conwy Falls could get very boggy at times.  At the falls we walked carefull along the A5 for a short while and then took a path to our left which followed the River Conwy down to Fairy Glen.  This pleasant path which is high above the river is actually all that remains of an old toll road built in the opening of the 19 th centuary. It became redundant when Thomas Telford built the A5 above it but was still in use many years later.        We walked as far as Fairy Glen and then followed the path to the gorge and then continued on the riverside walk past where the Afon Conwy and the Afon Lledr meet and then returned to our car to carry on to the Royal Oak where we enjoyed a meal of fish and chips. A fantastic walk that I hope to do again soon.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2011, 11:54:40 am by Hugo »

Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #101 on: January 29, 2011, 12:01:42 pm »
Capel Garmon - Fairy Glen Walk

Offline DaveR

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Re: Walking
« Reply #102 on: January 30, 2011, 06:05:30 pm »
Very pleasant walk today. Although cold (only about 2 degrees), it was quite warm in the sunshine, so we headed over to Betws Y Coed for a trek up and round Llyn Elsi. Took the path that leads up from behind the Church, bit of a pullup for the first 20 minutes but quite welcome in that it got us warmed up quickly! After exploring a long abandoned cottage in the woods, we arrived at Llyn Elsi and I was surprised to see that the entire lake was frozen solid! After skimming rocks across the surface and listening to the odd pinging noises that they made, we headed round the bottom end of the lake and then took a forestry track across to join the old Sarn Helen Roman Road, which we followed downhill back to the A5, pausing only to stop and take photos of the frozen waterfall on the Afon Rhiwddolion. A steady stroll back along the A5 and back in Betws Y Coed for coffee and hot chocolate muffins at the Royal Oak Hotel.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #103 on: February 02, 2011, 03:44:29 pm »
A nice way to finish off a good walk Dave, I just wish that I'd have known about those chocolate muffins when I was in the Royal Oak last Friday!    :)
I came across a book in the Conwy Archives called "County Borough" and it normally retails at £9.99 but was on offer at £5.00 so I bought it.    Inside on pg74 is a photo of the shop and cottage at Rhiwddolion, together with the shopkeeper and 3 others.  It's the only photo I've seen of the village prior to it becoming abandoned.  There are lots of other old photos of Conwy County too.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Walking
« Reply #104 on: February 05, 2011, 05:01:07 pm »
I've just enclosed some more photos of the Gapel Garmon walk, it's a nice walk of just about 4 miles with some stunning views.