Walking

[Hugo]

On Wednesday we travelled to Dowyddelan to do a circular walk from there to Pont Y Pant with a little linear walk from Pont Y Pant to Lledr Gorge to have a look at an old platform that had been used by the Salmon fishermen years ago.
The walk started at Dolwyddelan Railway Station and we crossed over the railway bridge and took a steep path uphill where we met a forestry track.   The weather was overcast and the views were restricted,  the normally impressive summit of Moel Siabod was covered by cloud.   It was cold too and wasn't long before my gloves and anorak came on.  We passed a large old building on our way down to Pont Y Pant and it must have been grand in it's day but now needs a lot of TLC.     When we approached the river we took a public footpath that went between Parc Hall and Lledr Hall and followed the path until we came to a pool in the river and stopped there for a drink and a bite to eat. After that we continued to Lledr Gorge and to the fishermen's platform.  It occupied a position above a deep pool that was a favourite spot for Salmon fishing.  It was quite elaborate in it's design and must have taken some time to construct as there was evidence on both banks of some work having been constructed.   Nowadays it is not fit for purpose and wouldn't hold the weight of some anglers.
We then returned to Pont Y Pant, passing the Railway Station and following the Afon Lledr back to Dolwyddelan. 

[Hugo]

Dolwyddelan to Pont Y Pant

[Hugo]

Yesterday Tellytubby and I enjoyed a short circular walk of just under 4 miles in the Glanwydden and Pydew area.    We set off from Glanwydden and walked past the Queens Head pub and turned right past the old Ainon Baptist Church before making our way to the Baptist Cemetery in Ffordd Wiga.  Someone had been busy strimming the grass  and also tidying up the old Cemetery and although it's much better than when I was last there,  it's still in need of some serious TLC.    Tellytubby found the grave of James " Spinther" James a minister in the nearby Ainon Baptist Church in 1870.   " Splinther"  gave up the ministry in 1888 in order to devote his time to writing and many other issues  including speeches strongly denouncing Mostyn's  leasehold system.
We left the Cemetery and walked uphill past the Ffolt Cottages and the quarry and passed the picturesque cottage of Wiga,   before we came to the Bryn Pydew Road.   We then  followed the road to Pydew making a slight detour down hill to look at the attractive old schoolhouse cottages and admiring the many  groups of Cowslips and Orchids that we saw on the roadside.
After the centre of the village we turned down Goedlodd Lane and passed a number of large new houses before taking the path downhill through the woods.  By then it had just started to rain so we stopped and had some shelter and had our sandwiches and a drink.   We then continued down hill and somehow I took the wrong turning and we ended up at the bottom of Gilfach Road but if anything it was better for us with the heavy rain predicted for later.   We followed the road to Glanwydden and then drove to Mochdre where we ended the day with a nice cup of coffee.  Just as we got in the cafe the heavens opened and the rainfall was pouring down so we had timed the walk well.

[Hugo]

Glanwydden & Bryn Pydew

[Hugo]

Yesterday we took advantage of the best day of the week according to the weather forecast and went to Capel Curig to do a walk up Moel Siabod.   We always walk up on the southern side of the mountain as it's more impressive from that side and it also gives you more of a variety when you are walking,  After parking the car we crossed Pont Cyfyng and then took the steep farm track to Rhos Farm but it didn't seem long before we arrived at Siabod Holiday Cottages.   We've seen this building many times over the years and work on it has seemed exceptionally slow but I was pleased to see that it has been completed and is now occupied.
The next part of the walk is along a tramway and the gradient eases so it was a comfortable walk up to the ruins of the old miners cottages where we stopped for a rest and drink. After a short stop we continued upwards until we came to Cwm Foel and then we had to decide on which way to go to reach the summit.  We normally go up the scree which is shorter in distance but very hard but both Harry and I have achilles problems and I'm just recovering from a persistent cough so I chose to do the ascent via the ridge.
It's a bit longer that way but there are some good rock scrambles as we made our way up near the edge of the Cwm.  At the summit we stopped in the windbreak and enjoyed our refreshments while admiring the panoramic views from the top.  The weather wasn't as good as expected and was quite chilly on the top so the fleeces came out and we were glad of them.  After that it was down hill all the way to Plas Y Brennin and then we followed the Afon Llugwy back to the car.   

[Hugo]

Moel Siabod

[Gwynant]

          That's a great route Hugo, and one of the most visually rewarding after all the exertion on the ascent. We did it a couple of years ago taking the same circular route from Pont Cfyng up the S/E ridge from Llyn-y-Foel on one of the hottest days of the year.There wasn't a breath of wind and I'd drunk nearly 2 litres of water by the time we reached the summit. It was so quiet you could clearly hear the sounds of life down below in Dolwyddelan and see and hear the trains travelling up the Lledr Valley. I think it's well worth the effort and the views from up there are certainly some of the best in the North Wales area, as Moel Siabod is in a "stand-alone" location, with unbroken panoramic access in every direction

[Hugo]

It must have the most panoramic views in  Snowdonia,  as you can see all the mountains around you and as far south as Cadair Idris.
My friend likes the solitude you get from doing that walk as it's so different from the tourist trails on Snowdon.   On Wednesday we only saw about 10 people all day and it was so quiet and peaceful apart from a lot of planes flying overhead.   I'm sure that one was a Spitfire that flew quite low above us.
We usually go up the loose scree but it looked more unstable than usual so we chose the ridge instead.  Have you ever gone up that way before Gwynant?

[Gwynant]

        I have been up the scree route on Moel Siabod from Llyn-y-Foel Hugo but it seemed to be "3 steps forward and then slide back 2" on the loose surface, so we normally go up the ridge. The last time we went up the scree it was in snowy conditions and it seemed considerably easier on the packed snow.
        When I first started hill walking (with Humphrey Smith and the Llandudno Youth Club in the late 50's/early 60's), we used to go up the east Ridge of Tryfan and then all run down the scree slopes on the west side, great fun! In the same area I always used to find it easier to scramble up Bristly Ridge than battle up the scree slope over to the the east up to Castell-y-Gwynt and onward to the tops of the Glyders, I never ever fancied coming down Bristly Ridge though, or coming down Crib Goch on the Horseshoe Route instead of scrambling up.

[Hugo]

We found that scree on Siabod exactly as you have described Gwynant and it looked more unstable on Wednesday so we decided to give it a miss this time and enjoyed the rock scrambles on the ridge instead.
If my memory serves me right I think that there were some people from Cwm Place that used to go up Tryfan with Humphrey Smith but I never went up there with his party as I took up walking on the mountains  much later on.
As for the scree on Bristly Ridge that has suffered a lot of erosion in recent years and is now best avoided.   I took two Dutch women up Glyder Fawr years ago and we came down that scree and there was nearly a foot of snow on the ground but that wasn't all the problem as the younger woman suffered from vertigo and was screaming her head off and hadn't mentioned her fear beforehand
The only safe way to get her down was for the three of us to slide down the zig zags on our bottoms and that way we had five points of contact with the ground.  We were all glad when we got down safely after that.

[Hugo]

Yesterday,  I had a short but very enjoyable walk with Tellytubby in the village of Dyserth.     We started off by the car park near the site of the old Railway Station and had a delightful woodland walk following the Afon Ffyddion.   The wild Garlic was out in its masses and the smell as you walked past the plants was unbelievable. It wasn't long before we reached Pandy Lane then we took a detour to a field that had  Cowslips and wild Orchids in abundance.  Returning to the lane we crossed over and made our way back to the river and this is my favourite part of the walk with the overhanging rock, a product from quarrying in days long gone by.     There are many small caves there and Tellytubby took me into one to see the millions of Spiders that lived there but in this instance although we had torches we couldn't see one. Not a single one!       Anyway we carried on past the masses of Gunera,  just sprouting up along the path and made our way towards Meliden  and along the path above the Badger setts was a group of wild Orchids, more than I had ever seen together before.     
It wasn't long afterwards  before we came to the Clive Engine House which stands in a field near the Meliden to Dyserth road.   For years the building was falling into ruin but in 2012 conservation work took place on the Engine Hose, funded by grant aid from WREN ( Waste Recycling Environmental) and CADW.       Dyserth - Clive Engine House   
After a good look around we headed uphill over the leet and came to the tarmac track of the old Dyserth – Prestatyn Railway where we sat on a bench and watched the world go by.     I was fortunate on the walk because this is Tellytubby’s old stomping ground and he was able to point out things of interest to me that I would never have known beforehand.   He is old enough to remember the trains that once ran along this line and admitted to chasing them in the past and hitching a free lift on the back of the train.   Naughty boy Tellytubby!   
After having our refreshments we headed back to our cars, across fields and unintentionally disturbed a large Buzzard who had his eye on the many rabbits that were out in the field enjoying  the Spring sunshine.   A very nice and easy walk and one I’ll do again soon

[Hugo]

Dyserth walk

[Hugo]

We have walked in the Llanberis quarries many times but having seen the quarry from the other side of the valley we decided that we must explore the top section of it.   So yesterday Tellytubby, Uncle Albert and myself met at the car park at Deiniolen and walked along the path to the quarry.   Just past the large building on the left we headed upwards towards the Australian levels and this is where the real exploring begins as you get to see places of interest that the public normally don't see.    We must have been on the third level when we followed the narrow gauge railway track into a tunnel and half way along, the tunnel divided and each tunnel ended up on the sheer face of the massive quarry.   It was strange walking through the tunnel as you could hear the Dinorwic power station buzzing away underneath you.
We then headed up to the next level which is where the quarrymen's rest room was and only two items of clothing hang on the wall now and a few pairs of workmen's boots remain on the bench.   Apparently the wild goats that roam these mountains have eaten some or parts of the coats that were on these walls.  At this level there were lots of interesting things about including a Blondin which remains attached to it’s cable. A Blondin was a type of aerial crane, named after the first man to tightrope across the Niagra Falls. In some quarries, the Blondin could be lowered at any point, but the Dinorwic Blondins had stops fixed on the rope – men had to crawl along the rope, above the huge drop, to fix the stops in place.   A metal ladder was bolted to the side to reach the next level but we chose to use the safer option and used the footpath instead.  We kept walking up until we came to what we had been looking for, the slate cutting mill.   The railway runs into the cutting mill and each circular saw is driven by a belt coming through the wall from a large drive shaft behind the partition.  After a good look around the mill we followed the railway track to a building where we sat and had our refreshments while enjoying the view to Snowdon.   We could see the weather closing in so we finished the walk and headed downhill and back to our cars.  We were a bit wet when we arrived at the car park but it didn't spoil a fantastic and interesting walk and Tellytubby had seen a Ring Ousel for the first time so it made it that much special.

[Hugo]

Dinorwic Quarry

[Hugo]

Dinorwic Quarry