Walking

[Gwynant]

Fantastic pictures and walk Gwynant, my friends were so impressed with your walk that we were going to do it yesterday but the weather had turned and we had a short walk on Anglesey instead. We'll save your walk for another day.

            Thanks Hugo, we were very lucky that the weather was so good on that day, I reckon it will be a lot wetter underfoot now! I haven't done any walking in the Blaenau quarries area on that side before and I could see that there is a huge area to pick from. I've done all the Moelwyns, Cnicht, Cwm Croesor and all the lakes in the Llyn Edno,Llyn LLagi, Llyn-y-Adar area etc. over the years from Croesor, Tanygrisiau, Nant Gwynant and from the top of the Crimea but only done a couple before on  that side of the A470, but starting and finishing in Dolwyddelan. The handy thing is that you can use your Bus Pass in conjunction with the Valley line and there are the stations of Pont-y-Pant and Roman Bridge to take advantage of as well for lower level walks.

[Hugo]

Conditions were still treacherous in the mountains so Pete and I took advantage yesterday of the winter sunshine and had a nice walk along the paths and hills surrounding Dyserth, a village where we have both lived at sometime.  The start of the walk was in the car park near where the old railway station used to be and we dropped down and followed the fast flowing Afon Ffyddion  which had been swollen from the melting snow in the hills above the village.  This delightful woodland walk takes you under some overhanging rocks and has a number of caves in that location, the origin of which we don't know. Kingfishers are there but we never saw any but Pete was captivated by a Dipper that was sitting on a rock in the fast flowing water and managed to take some photos of it. Later on in the year Guneras are abundant but at the moment the wild Garlic plants are thriving.  Carrying on down the path we came to Dyserth Waterfalls and the water was thundering over and the noise quite deafening.  It's a must see for anyone who hasn't already seen it.
From there we had a pull up the steep hill and made our way to Lower Foel Road where we had a woodland walk along the contours of Moel Hiraddug and crossed a field or two before coming out in the village of Cwm.   Years ago The Blue Lion in Cwm was our local and we had many pleasant evenings there, the food was good and the host Geoff Copeland ran a well run pub.  Across the road is the Church of St Mael and St Sulien and we wandered through the Churchyard and then up through Cwm Woods until we came to Marion Ffrith and we stopped to eat our sandwiches in the pleasant Winter sunshine and in the shelter of an old stone wall.   After that it was onwards and upwards passing the disused quarry on our way to the Ironage hill fort of Moel Hiraddug.  When I was living in Dyserth the quarry was still working and blasting daily.  One day they must have used too much blasting powder and a shower of rocks rained down on the village one of which hit the roof of my neighbours house!   Shortly after that the blasting stopped.   We stayed at the top for a bit to admire the views of the snow covered mountains in the distance and the swollen river Clwyd nearby.    We then walked steeply downhill along a slippery muddy path and Pete did a great impression of a skier as he slid sidewards until some Gorse bushes stopped him going further.  We came to a lane and then followed Cwm Road until we came back to the village and to our car. A nice coffee at the Waterfall Café finished off another good walk.

[Hugo]

Dyserth Walk

[Gwynant]

                That's an interesting walk and great photos, Hugo. We have used that car park a few times and walked down the old B.R. branch line to Prestatyn (which is now a tarmac cycle-path) and we have also picked up the last couple of miles of the Offa's Dyke Trail (which also ends in Prestatyn) by turning off to the right uphill to Pandy Lane and Allt-y-Graig at the first bridge on the cycle-path. The handy thing is that you can get a P & O Lloyd bus back from Prestatyn back up to the car park which saves retracing your steps. As you say the views from that area are both impressive and extensive, over the Vale of Clwyd and also up to the Carneddau and beyond on a good day. I have noticed the path you took from the car park down to the river before but have never followed it so it will be one for the future. You are absolutely right about the mountains being treacherous at the moment, another lad was killed ice-climbing in the Glyders yesterday, so we are also sticking to the low-level walks until conditions improve. 

[hollins]

Enjoyed reading about your walk and interesting photos, thanks Hugo.

[Hugo]

Thanks Gwynant, you'll have to try the section of the walk that we did from the car park to the waterfall.  It's a short but very interesting walk and  I hope to go back when the Guneras are there.  You can always extend it by taking the lane past the church and return to the disused railway track.
Have you ever visited the Fish Caves above the Golf Course as there is a nice walk up there as you go to Gwaenysgor?

It's just not worth it going in the mountains at the moment especially if you are not kitted out properly.  The mountains will always be there so it's best to wait for the good weather to come.

Thanks Hollins,  it was a lovely day and a nice walk of about 5 miles so not too exhausting.  Pete could have done with a skiing lesson from you as he's the only one I've seen that skis side wards down hill.     

[Michael]

Yet again, thanks Hugo. Don't know how you have the patience to type out your long posts without a sign of any mistypes.
  I wish I had your patience, although I am not impatient by nature, just a careless typewriter Mike

[Hugo]

The secret is that I can only type with one finger but I do use the spell check most of the time.     

Hope that you have a good start to your new season and hope to see you up there on the course soon Mike                      :golf:

[Michael]

  True to his word, Hugo went to the trouble to come and see me earlier today. A nice chat until, believe it or not, my car got too hot in the sunshine. Mike

[Hugo]

Today we were heading for a walk in Rhoscolyn, a delightful seaside village on the west coast of Anglesey and Keith drove us down a very narrow lane with right angle bends until we arrived at the beach car park.  It was a bright sunny day but the easterly wind made it very cold so we all donned our warm gear before setting off.   The walk itself is an easy walk of about 3 or 4 miles and passes by some beautiful houses that you have to walk or drive across the beach  to get to.   Shortly afterwards we passed the Holy Well of St Gwenfaen that was believed to cure mental illness but as we are past curing we declined to take the waters.  The rest of the walk followed the edge of the cliff and you get commanding views of the area as the land is slightly elevated.  We were lucky to see quite a few Choughs on the walk and also a pair of young goats who had some how got to the middle of a sheer cliff face.   The rock formations along here are quite fascinating and none more so than the sea arches of Bwa Gwyn and Bwa Du.    We kept an eye open for a memorial stone that Keith was hoping to see and found it it is inscribed `Tyger Sep 17th 1819`, and commemorates the bravery of a dog that guided his master and crew to safety when their ketch sank half a mile offshore in mist. One of the younger crew hung on to his collar and, after taking him to land, the retriever dragged another man onto the rocks. Although all the men survived, Tyger died from exhaustion.    We then stopped to have some refreshments in the Spring sunshine and made our way back via some farmland.  The field was full of sheep and their lambs and we were lucky to see a lamb that had only just been born so we passed by quickly so as not to scare the mother who was trying to clean it and get it up on its feet.  Not long after we passed the church and drove off to Four Mile Bridge where Pete treated us to a hot chocolate and a delicious piece of coffee cake.

[Hugo]

Rhoscolyn Walk

[Michael]

  As always a great story, great photos, great pieces of cake Mike

[Hugo]

Thanks Mike, it was an absolutely delicious piece of Coffee Cake fresh from the oven.    Sorry that I forgot to save you a slice!     


Pete and I were just saying that we haven't seen any posts from Pendragon on walking recently as we have always looked forward to reading about her walks and seeing the photos.
Hope that she's ok and keeping well.

[Fester]

I spoke to Gez last night, who is Pendragon's husband.
Apparently is working her little tail off at the  moment, and has less time for walks or messing about on Forums!

Hope hear from you soon Pen! X

[Hugo]

Thanks very much Fester, it's good to know that Pendragon is keeping well.