Walking

[Hugo]

Today we decided to do the Machno Falls walk described in Carl Rogers book "Walking in the Conwy Valley" and started from the car park at Cwmanog Isaf by Fairy Glen.   We followed the stagecoach road that was built by the Capel Curig Turnpike Trust in the early part of the 19th Century.  It is fairly narrow in places with steep wooded slopes that go down to the Conwy River,  ok for walking on but it must have been difficult and dangerous for the coaches. When Telford built the A5 in 1815 the road became redundant.  The track emerges on the A5 near the Conwy Falls café and care is need for about 150 yards as there are no pavements on the road.  At the café we followed the road to Penmachno stopping briefly to look over the bridge on to the River Conwy.  Just before the village of Penmachno we turned right and  walked over the old stone bridge spanning the Afon Machno.    To the right is an even older stone bridge known locally as "Roman Bridge" but in all probability is a medieval packhorse bridge
The Woolen Mill on the left was built in the 1830's and remained a family run enterprise until the 1960's when it turned into a craft centre but sadly looks like it is disused now.  Continuing along the forest road we deviated from Carl Rogers' walk and took the path to the right which followed the raging waters of the River Conwy and we came across the Salmon Ladder which helps the fish overcome the obstacles of the waterfalls in this steep section of the Gorge.  The views of the river from this side of the river were breathtaking and I'm sorry but photos cannot capture the rugged beauty of what we saw today.  The lane eventually crossed over another lovely stone bridge and emerged out on to the A470 where we turned right and followed the road passing what looked like the ruins of an old Toll House on the way until we returned to the car park.  We had a quick look at the Fairy Glen but the highlight of the walk was undoubtedly the views of the River Conwy from its western banks.

[Hugo]

Machno Falls Walk

[Merddin Emrys]

Another interesting walk and with good pics again! 

[hollins]

I had a fabulous walk today from Sidmouth to Ladram Bay and back. The scenery is dramatic and the weather was lovely.
All was going well on the  health and exercise front until I returned to the hotel and a melting middle hot chocolate pudding presented itself to me!

[Hugo]

That looks like a lovely walk Hollins and I hope that you weren't too tired to finish off that delicious looking chocolate pudding.     

[hollins]

Don't worry Hugo, it was well and truly demolished!

[Hugo]

Yesterday, we decided to have a walk in Cwm Eigiau one of Snowdonias wildest Cwms and Pete drove the four of us up the hairpin track until we reached the small car park near Llyn Eigiau.   We started the walk at about 10.45am ( unlike Jack who gets there at the ungodly time of 7.00am!    )    The view is immediately impressive as we head up the valley and our first stop is where the dam wall collapsed in 1925 with the torrent of escaping water  killing 16 people in Dolgarrog.  Looking at the wall now you can't believe how they were allowed to build a dam like that.   This area is littered with the remains of derelict and abandoned cottages but as we headed towards Hafodty Y Rhiw, the only cottage that appeared occupied we saw a Sea King rescue helicopter going around in circles above us and it landed near us.  One of the crew got out and we thought that he was coming to see us but he then ran behind the dam wall so we presume that it was for a comfort break!
Heading on down the valley we came to another unoccupied cottage and stopped for some refreshments and it was nice to see a number of the wild Carneddau ponies grazing in the valley.    Sadly though when we looked behind the cottage there was a dead pony which may have fallen or suffered from the severe Winter weather they had up on here the mountains.  A little further on we also saw a skeleton of a pony.        Following the tramway we carried on until we reached  the main quarry at the head of the valley and had a look around the barracks and ruined buildings.    After resting there for a while we headed up a steep incline over marshy grass and it was difficult and energy sapping.   I think we all found it difficult reaching the plateau at the top but we took our time and finally made it.    On the plateau we saw those strange peat formations that Jack mentioned previously and then looked down on the two lakes of Melynllyn and Dulyn before dropping down the slope to walk along the Waterboard road to the car park.  What we also noted on the plateau was  Frogspawn in the many pools there and it seems to have been laid much later that normal which we found strange as the severe weather came after the spawn is normally laid

[Hugo]

Cwm Eigiau walk

[DaveR]

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.

We did a similar walk on Saturday, the weather was glorious. We started out in Trearddur Bay and walked along the Coastal Path as far as Rhoscolyn (and a well deserved drink at the White Eagle) before heading back across farmland. Funnily enough, there was a pair of goats sunbathing in that exact same spot on the cliff face!

[Merddin Emrys]

Great pics, Hugo and Dave, I especially like the Bentley pic, where was that Dave?

[DaveR]

Great pics, Hugo and Dave, I especially like the Bentley pic, where was that Dave?

It was at the White Eagle pub at Rhocolyn, there was some sort of classic car rally going on. The White Eagle is apparently a favourite eating out place of Wills & Kate, as it's not that far from where they live. The food there is certainly lovely and there's a large balcony for sitting out.

http://www.white-eagle.co.uk

[Jack]

Hugo glad you found the round peat formations, they are quite spectacular.  I was up behind Aber Falls today and sadly there were a couple of bodies of Carneddau ponies up there too.  They really have had a rough time this winter.

[Hugo]

We couldn't work out how those peat formations were formed Jack and they are quite tall,  Wayne is 6 foot and they tower above him.
It's possible that in times gone by they used peat as a fuel and did systematic excavations and that ceased when the cottages and the quarries were abandoned, but that is only a guess.
There was a plane crash at Craig Yr Ysfa in 1940 and some remains of the WW 2 Bristol Blenheim remain in the area, I did make a note of the coordinates for the various wreckages the night before our walk but then forgot to take them with me!       
It's sad to see the bodies of those ponies on the mountains, there is no shelter for them up there and the weather has been atrocious.
The skeleton of the pony we saw had been picked clean and it's hind legs were missing but we found them some distance away and we started to wonder what animal living up there would be able to do such a thing!
Whatever creature did that, at least we won't have to worry about the animal as early birds like yourself will have frightened them away by the time us OAP's get up there.   

[Ian]

Perhaps the private health should be left to boob jobs and other non-essential cosmetic stuff.

The ponies have a well established pattern whereby they come down from the higher reaches in late December and early January to foal and to avoid the worst of the weather, and they remain down until late March, as I'm sure you know.  This year, however, the heavy snows in April caught them out, just as they were moving back up to the Carneddau peaks.

[Jack]

Hugo, I did find some debris of the Bristol Bleinheim and one engine.  The second engine I believe is still at the top of Craig yr Ysfa stuck fast in the cliffs.  It is amazing how the aluminium debris blends in with the scree, the easiest bits to pick out were in the wet, reedy area at the bottom of the cliffs.