Walking

[Pendragon]

Love reading your posts...

Aah thanks Fester. What a nice thing to say. you darlin. That's made my day. We'll have to make an arrangement to go for a walk one day with a few of us. God I am getting old, never in my life did I ever imagine I'd be asking to arrange a rambling club. 

[DaveR]

There used to be a walking group on the original Llandudno Local forum.

[Nemesis]

Remember the debate about Grandmother's Chair?

and Judy's Historic Walk-- that was good.

[Pendragon]

Afternoon peeps, well I went up Conwy mountain today in search of the Roman fort. Took some photos of the view from the top, y'see this is why I love Conwy, never again will I take such beautiful surroundings for granted. Socs has really opened my eyes.  It's a very steep climb, I think I must have broke the pain barrier a 100 yds up. I've always thought I was quite fit, how wrong was I.  I remember my Dads advice "breathe in through the mouth and out through the nose" or was it the other way round? Well I tried both and I'll tell you now, neither makes any difference. I was still gasping for breathe, my nose running a half marathon due to the cold and didn't see any signs of a piggin' Roman Fort. My thoughts then turned to my son and how I was going to render him homeless when I got home for it was him who told me "No really it's not that far up honest". He must be laughing his pants off now I thought.
I finally dragged my sorry ass to the summit, virtually on my hands and knees, red in the face, exhausted, and due to the blustery wind looking like the Wild man of Borneo. 
As I stood at the top, panting like a dog, I admired the view and I thought so what if there's no Roman Fort  the sense of achievement I had made it all worth while.  Well it did until I turned round and to my horror there was a guy waving at me, who the hell was he?  I'll tell you who, only Nicky Mod (Jones) I had a crush on Nicky all the way through school. He was the best looking lad in Aberconwy I kid you not Adonis galore. The one guy you don't want to see on the top of a mountain, looking like you've just been dragged through a bush backwards, that's who
To be honest we've always been really good mates, he was up there with his Dad, my Dads best mate.  He's just come back from Scotland and he's staying at his Dads in Llandudno for a month or so. Its always a pleasure to see him.  I told him my aim was to find the Roman Fort but had given up and was probably a bit lost Laughing he said: "that's it there" pointing towards a pile of rubble a 100 yds away. Now don't get me wrong it's not like I was expecting statues of Nero or anything but to say I was disappointed was an understatement. We said goodbye and off I went to take some photos.  I hope your more impressed than I was. Well at least my lad was forgiven I've decided he can stay put for now

[Fester]

Angie..

While you have this temporary hiatus from full time work,  I think you should write a book.
Perhaps your autobiography?  I would buy that!
Your writing style, imagery and humour are superb... and I end up reading out everything you write on here to Mrs F.

Descriptive and hilarious......always

[suepp]

I agree, great stuff Angie!  I like "the rough guide"  style 

[brumbob]

yes it was rough 

[Pendragon]

Hey Bob as I explained earlier it was no walk in the park mate 

[Pendragon]

I like "the rough guide"  style 
Oh let me tell ye now it was rough, came home lookin like a bag of spanners 

[suepp]

reminds me of the time I walked up Moel Arthur to watch the sunset, it too kme so long to go up, it was pitch dark by the time I got there

[Pendragon]

J'know I didn't say earlier but when I was walking up the mountain today I could see a woman walking towards me on crutches and I thought "your havin a laff lady, what kind of a person walks up and down a 1 in 4 hill on crutches for gods sake, tut tut" as she got closer I realised she had those power walking stick thingys. 

[Trojan]

Remember the debate about Grandmother's Chair?

and Judy's Historic Walk-- that was good.

Yes, My Grandmother's Chair. Remember RetroRoxxme, or Kate? She posted the walk on her blog, which is still in existence, however, there's been no activity for some time so I copied a part of it in case it disappears.

http://llandudnowalks.blogspot.com/

As it nearly killed me walking up the second part of Nant-Y-Gamar Road the first and second time ( despite being thoroughly shamed by a more mature lady who whizzed up the steep hill like she had wings on her heels ). I took the executive decision to start the walk in reverse.

Rightyho, here we go....

Start the walk from Fferm Lane off Fferm Bach Road, the entrance to the lane is next to the rear access of Lady Forester's ( North Wales Medical Centre).

Walk up the lane and onto the footpath that will take you to a stone wall stile. For the less agile, you can slip around the edge of it, ( I can't, my bum's too wide and my belly's too big lol) follow the footpath onwards, and you will come to a farmhouse on your right. To the left of this is a stone structure which is, or should I say was, a Lime Kiln and next to it is an old limestone quarry that is partially railed off and is known as the Donkey Pit, because of the awkwardness of its site, Pack animals were used to load the lime and one poor beast actually fell into the quarry workings, hence the name.

Keep following the path and you will see the farm - Fferm, which dates from the 17th century, and is connected to the house you have just passed.

When you get to a fork in the path, go left up the hill, part way up on the right next to the wall,is an old stone water trough, which my dogs thought was FAB! and they dived in for a slurp and a paddle.

Follow the stone wall on your right, up the incline and head towards the iron kissing gate at the top, go through this and you are now on the footpath that runs around the edge of Gloddaeth Woods, now known as Coed Gaer.

A little further up, on the right you will see a black & white house, this was the laundry house for Gloddaeth Hall (now St.David's College) and although it looks Tudor, it is in fact Victorian. Carrying on along the path, you will come to one of the entrances to St.David's College (formerly Gloddaeth Hall) parts of the building date back to 1584 and was for 500 years, the residence of the Mostyn's. The motto of the family is "Heb Dduw, he ddim, Duw a digon" which apparently translates to "Without God, without all ; God and plenty." Sadly the house and grounds are no longer open to the public.

The old stone wall that runs along the outside of the college has been witness to many a tryst between local lads and lasses.

In the woods on your left you will see, covered in ivy, a tower, this was the water tower that supplied Gloddaeth Hall and held spring water before the Hall was connected to Llandudno's water mains in the 1880's.

Moving on, at the end of the path you will come across another gate at the end, go through the gate and out into an open field. Keep to the left following the line of the woods til you reach another gate, that will take you into Gloddaeth Woods, the variety of flora in here is wonderful at this time of year.

At the end of this path you will reach the open grassland of Nant-Y-Gamar, so through yet another gate and from here you can either go straight up the hill toward Hen Dwr or around to the right towards the rocky limestone outcrop that looks out over Craigside , you can quite clearly see Villa Marina (Condover House) in the background, which was built by Birmingham architect Harry W.Weedon in approx.1936 and the Little Orme. It was on top of this hill that we (Craig, my OH and myself) sat and had our lunch in the blazing sun, wafted by a gentle breeze, and discussed where exactly we thought My Grandmother's Chair was. Craig had several ideas as there were plenty of rocky outcrops to choose from and also a couple of dips in the grassland in front of us. I however, wandered around the back of Hen Dwr to discover what I thought was MY version of MGC, a wooden bench situated right at the top lol :oD

The views from up here are absolutely out of this world, and on a clear & sunny day everything stands out in all its glorious, natural beauty. The sky was the brightest blue with only the occasional wisp of white cloud, whilst the Little Orme stood out proudly in its coat of beiges, browns, greys and vivid greens surrounded by the deep blue of the sea.

On this, towards the sea is a limestone ledge which i spent a fair bit of time trying to leap around like a mountain goat in my quest, and found that below this rests My Grandmother's Chair , hidden away from prying eyes. This is the PROOF !!! The views as you sit on the chair are superb, you can see both Ormes and have a clear view of the North Shore, Llandudno and its Pier.

Heading back towards the top of the rocky Limestone outcrop you should be able to eventually see Hen Dwr, which has a tower like structure to the far side. This was originally a windmill and was built for Sir Roger Mostyn in the first half of the 17th century, the mill house that was attached to the windmill was demolished when the tower was renovated. Head towards the house and you will find the roadway that will take you back towards the tarmac road of Nant-Y-Gamar.

Confusingly there are two buildings named Nantygamar, and I took the one mentioned in my book as Nantygamar Farm to be the one closest to Hafod-y-Bryn, this farm dates from 1870 and was originally known as Quarry Cottage, as the earlier residents worked the quarries near by.

Further on down the road on your right, you will see two more stone structures, these two lime kilns date from the early 18th century. The signs of past quarrying can also be seen. Work at these quarries started around the middle of the 19th century and continued until 1953.

Moving on you will reach Nantygamar Cottage, parts of which date to around the 1850's and also Tegfryn, which started life as an army hut in Kinmel Camp near Prestatyn. Tegfryn was moved, which saved the building ,as the other huts at Kinmel were smashed and burnt by Canadian troops, when they mutinied and rioted in 1919, and erected here in about 1920.

Just before the junction of Nant-y-Gamar,Tan-y-Bryn and Bodafon Road crossroads, there is on the right set into an old stone wall a beautiful wrought iron gate, blink and you'll miss it as its already being claimed by the ivy. Is this an old forgotten back route into Tan-y-Bryn ? I wonder...

Past the gate you come to a row of cottages on your left. These are Quinta, Rose Cottage and Trevena and were converted from a Coach house, stables and grooms dwelling that were built near the end of the 19th century by Charlton Hall, but more from him shortly.

Turn left at the crossroads and immediately right, on the corner is Bryn Gwynedd, i've not managed to find anything out about this building yet but it does have a rather interesting plaque on the front. A short walk on from there you will reach Tan-y-Bryn which was originally run as a boys school by Charles Felix Visnier Hall. Charles Hall was actively involved in the research, exploration and mapping out of the legendary lost lands of Llys Helig. At the entrance to the drive, one of the pillars has a plaque in memory of the old Tan-y-Bryn boys.

Amble gently down the road back towards Lady Forester's, to the gates and gardens of Rapallo House, a beautiful black & white building, which for more than 60 years was the site for Llandudno's local museum ( until the museum was moved to Gloddaeth Street in November 1995 ). Started by Francis E.Chardon, who was apparently a enthusiastic collector by all accounts, he left his home and entire contents to Llandudno Town when he died aged 60,in 1925. "Rapallo" was the maiden name of his mother after who, the house is named. Sadly this building too is no longer available for members of the public to view.

My partner and I, not forgetting our two dogs, were much relieved to reach the "ole Mint Imperial" ( my aging white Peugeout ) to collapse in various heaps as we recovered before setting off for home. It was a wonderful walk and one no doubt I shall repeat again as the scenary constantly changes and the views I never tire of, there is always something new to see.

And so ended my quest for My Grandmother's Chair.
  

[Merddin Emrys]

J'know I didn't say earlier but when I was walking up the mountain today I could see a woman walking towards me on crutches and I thought "your havin a laff lady, what kind of a person walks up and down a 1 in 4 hill on crutches for gods sake, tut tut" as she got closer I realised she had those power walking stick thingys. 

My other half uses those (cheap on Ebay) and I always wonder where the skis have gone!

[Pendragon]

I honestly think if I was to use them I would break my neck 

[Merddin Emrys]

they seem to help her in keeping up with me to some extent, although I still have to wait for her to catch up  I found using one of them a big help when we had all that ice on the pavements!