I have walked along part of the disused railway track from Prestatyn to Dyserth many times but I have never actually walked on the section of the line that goes from Prestatyn to the St Melyd Golf Course. So when I met Tellytubby on Wednesday it gave me the chance to walk that section of the track.
At the start of the walk we could see the original signal box which is now fenced off to the public and for about 200 yards the original track is overgrown but it then becomes an excellent tarmac path that is perfect for walkers and cyclists alike. On a very small section of the path the rails are still visible which was nice to see, The second road bridge that the railway ran under was a fine example and typical of Victorian architecture and the arched brickwork was a credit to the workmen.
After a short stretch the path straightened out and went behind a number of large expensive houses before reaching the St Melyd Golf Club. We then left the track and turned left and walked across the course and then went up a steep hillside in Bishop's Wood until we reached the Fish Cave. It's actually an old lead mine and the area is littered with these lead mines. It's known that the Romans mined here for lead nearly 2000 years ago. I went inside the mine for about 40 yards but didn't explore any further as there was a lot of water flowing inside and my waterproof trainers seemed to be letting some water in.!
The it was onwards and upwards until we came to the ruins of Pant Y Fachwen, which was built over 200 years ago and was home to the miners who worked in the nearby lead mines.
The views from the ruins are breathtaking and we could see the coast from Prestatyn to Llandudno as well as the scattering on snow on the Carneddau mountains.
We sat in the ruins and had our refreshments there until it was time to move on and we took a diagonal path downhill and ended up in a lane in the area called the Bryniau. On our way down from there, a magnificent looking Buzzard flew overhead and landed on a telegraph pole but it didn't stay long enough for either of us to take its photo.
Towards the end of the lane we came to a bridge where the old railway used to cross it and we left the lane to do the return journey back on the disused railway track. Some people may recognise the bridge as the one that featured on the film On the buses but Tellytubby has a special memory of it as he was sitting on his garden wall which was nearby as they were filming the double decker bus. He also revealed to me that his mother had told him that Reg Varney had called at his house and asked to use the toilet!
From the bridge we had an easy walk back to Tellytubby's house and we passed another old railway building on route and part of it has been converted into a very nice cafe but we didn't stop for a coffee as we had noticed very dark rain clouds heading our way. Luckily the rain held off until I got into my car so the timing was perfect.
It was a very nice walk but more importantly friends getting out together again.
