Walking

[Hugo]

Tremeirchion is a pretty village on the western slopes of the Clwydian hills and as I hadn't been there for many years, I was looking forward to going there last Friday with my friend Keith.   The first thing I remembered as I drove into the village was  Bryn Hyfryd,  now a private house but in the 1970's a place where we could enjoy a pleasant drink or three until the early hours.  We drove up the hill and parked the car by the Salusbury Arms another pub where I've enjoyed some meals in the past.  Passing Yr Hen Ysgol we called at the Church of Corpus Christi and had a good look around at all the interesting things inside. What was nice about the Church was that it is still a vital part of the village community and that is obvious from what you can see inside.
We walked down hill  and passed a lodge at the entrance to Bryn Bella estate and carried on to St Beuno's well which is opposite another Bryn Bella Lodge.   The well is in very good condition but as we were taking photos of it some one came out of the adjoining house and made it very clear that we were on private land and our presence wasn't wanted!    Unperturbed  we carried on up the road and walked through Y graig nature reserve where we enjoyed some panoramic views from the summit there.   After finishing off all our refreshments we came back on to the road and headed back to our car.   We drove then to St Beuno's College and walked through the well maintained ground until we came to the Rock Chapel, which can best be described as a folly, the 'Rock Chapel' was built on a wooded hill in 1866 to the south of St Beuno's and designed by a Jesuit student, Ignatius Scoles.     After a quick look around we made our way back to the car and continued on our way back home.  It was a very pleasant and interesting walk and especially as it had been so long since I last went to the village.

[Hugo]

Tremeirchion

[SteveH]

Thanks H.  very interesting, I don't get in much walking these days, enjoyed your story and photos, 

[hollins]

Here is a walk Hugo to inspire you to visit the Lake Maggiore area. Your waiter friend was right, it is beautiful and looked especially so today with the clear blue skies.
We walked the Chestnut route from Stresa to Belgirate which is very aptly named and much of the path was sprinkled with fallen chestnuts. We had some welcome shade from the trees as we walked through the woods.
The walk was about two and a half hours and when we reached Belgirate we had a snack lunch and then caught the boat back to Stresa.

[hollins]

Part two

[Hugo]

Ciao Hollins,  those photos make me so envious of you and I wish I was able to go there.     Enjoy the rest of your holiday there and keep posting those lovely photos.     

[Hugo]

Well, back to reality after seeing those lovely photos of the Italian sunshine and back to a wet and windy day last Friday when we went to Nefyn on the Llyn Peninsula to do a circular walk there.
Our walk started in Nefyn and the first part was a steep pull up to Mynydd Nefyn with frequent stops to look back and see the two bays of  Nefyn and Porth Dinllaen in the distance but in reality it was for rests as this part was quite steep.   We passed Ffynnon Mynydd Nefyn and then followed a clear and well defined path to the old quarry workings.   By then the rain had become heavy and we sheltered in a  hollow while we had our refreshments but even then had to have them while we were standing up as the ground was too wet to sit down and enjoy the food and drink properly.   After that the path disappeared and we made our way through the bracken downhill until we came to St Beuno's Church that we had recently visited before.   From the Church we took the Pilgrims path back to Nefyn.   This path follows the edge of the cliff above the beach and then turns inland and goes past the large farm of Ty Mawr.      SteveH from the forum wouldn't like this section one bit as the path is surrounded by Himalayan Balsam, more than I've ever seen and Keith couldn't stand the smell of the plants as we walked along.    Further on, on a well maintained footpath we came to another well Ffynnon John Morgan and then carried on downhill towards the village and came across a decked area that lead to a seating area and a very tranquil pond.  Whether it was a private garden or public area,  we never found but enjoyed looking around it and then made our way down hill and to the village.  We had a look around the Maritime museum at St Mary's Church and visited  St Mary's well and then made our way back to the car and drove to Wayne's house where we he laid on tea and cakes for us.   When I arrived home and told my wife about Wayne's hospitality she asked what type of cakes he had so I said there was Bara Brith, scones, Eccles cakes and carrot cake.  She then asked me what cake I had and I told her the truth.  I had them all, but so did the other three guys so I didn't feel too greedy.
It was another good walk despite the awful weather and we'll be doing more walks in that area in the coming months.

[Hugo]

Nefyn walk

[hollins]

I admire you Hugo for getting out and about no matter what the weather. There is always something to be gained from it but sometimes it is too easy to stay indoors.
We have very much enjoyed the few walks we have done on the Llyn Peninsula. It is very attractive countryside and coastline.
Sorry Hugo, no more Italian walks as we are back on Swiss soil but today we did walk to the Alpine Garden via the bakery shop in town where we bought some goodies for a picnic up there. Here are a few photos.
Looking forward to seeing your next walk and I hope you have good weather tomorrow.

[Ian]

That cow photo would probably win a competition, H. Beautifully caught :-))

[Hugo]

Keep sending the Swiss photos in then Hollins but those cakes you seem to find are making me very envious.     

[hollins]

Ian, thanks for the compliment. I am still clicking away with the "wonder" camera!

Hugo, no cakes today but I did think of you this morning. I remember you saying how much you enjoyed the brandy coffees. I'm afraid I succumbed to one myself earlier. I hope I have walked it off since.
We accidentally became part of bringing the cows down from the alp today which was a lovely sight and sound with the bells ringing away.

[Fester]

Hugo,  can you give me the start point, and a few reference points.... as I am tempted to undertake that walk myself on Monday, but I don't know the places you refer to.   
Where to park, and a route back to the car (involving that pub??)..... would be lovely! 

[Yorkie]

Maybe Hugo could produce a map for each of his walks?   

[Ian]

That's exactly what I've been thinking.  I'd go further by suggesting that if Hugo would be kind enough to furnish maps in jpg form for each walk we can create a new index topic for the walks, where they can be listed in alphabetical order, or geographical order (or both) so folks would have the opportunity of following one of them.

It's built into quite a resource for walkers now, Hugo, and it's a genuinely useful aspect of the entire site.