Walking

[Hugo]

Thanks for posting that Jack.   Last night I was arranging another walk with a friend and mentioned the plane wreckage and Geraint said that we have seen wreckage in a gulley at the top of Craig Yr Ysfa some years ago when we were walking to Carnedd Llewelyn.
I can't remember seeing it but I'll have another look for it when I go up there next.

[Hugo]

Yesterday was such a lovely day that my friend Geraint and I decided to do a walk from the beautiful village of Rowen to the Iron Age hillfort  of Pen Y Gaer.  It's a long and moderately strenuous route over the lower slopes of the eastern Carneddau of about seven and a half miles according to the book but with our navigation skills it seemed a lot  longer.    We started opposite Swan Cottage and walked over a bridge crossing the Afon Ro and just as we were preparing to take a photo of the river, a large Heron flew off to another feeding ground.    When we entered the field a farmer was driving a quad bike down the sloping field followed by dozens of sheep and their lambs as they knew that it was feeding time for them.  After the severe cold spell in March it was refreshing to see so many of them together.   The walk took us up alongside the Afon Ro with its steep wooded banks until we came to the lane going to Bwlch Y Ddeufaen.   We turned left here and after about 150 yards went up a long straight tarmac lane that runs directly up the hillside.
At the top of the lane we had a break and our refreshments and then turned left to follow the wall towards Pen Y Gaer.   Along the way we saw an unusual rock formation of hexagonal columns that reminded us of of the ones in the Giant's causeway in Ireland.
We soon reached the Hill Fort of Pen Y Gaer and one unique feature of the hill fort is the use of pointed stones in the sides of the fort that was hardest to defend,    The views from the top were stunning and we could see Llandudno to the north and the Conwy Valley to the south.    Cwm Eigiau where I went last week was clearly visible too.
We skirted round the contours of Pen Y Gaer, crossing fields and ruined buildings on route and descended down various woodlands including Gorswen Nature reserve until we eventually arrived back at the start of our walk.   A well earned pint awaited us in the Ty Gwyn and we just sat in the warm sunshine outside recapping the walk and promising to do it again soon

[Hugo]

Rowen to Pen Y Gaer

[hollins]

I have enjoyed reading about your walk again Hugo. I'm glad you have been making the most of this wonderful weather.
I have been down in Devon for a few days walking the South West Coast Path.
They have got real problems with landslips down there. There are many diversions on the coast path and lots of homes are in danger of falling in to the sea in places.
I must say though that of the various resorts I visited there were some beautifully maintained cliff top gardens.
It made me realise, I'm sorry to say, how the pride seems to have been lost in much of the Three Towns area.
 There were also clean and accessible public toilets everywhere.
They still seem to have the same seagull problems though. I'm not sure what can be done about that.
Anyway it was great being by the sea in such lovely weather. The last photo is me taking a well earned rest at the end of my walk in Exmouth.

[Hugo]

Those boots of yours have certainly travelled Hollins and now you are down there in a beautiful part of England.  Lyme Regis is a nice little town and it's very hilly around there but has some stunning views.
It's a pity the CCBC can't learn from other resorts and improve the facilities etc that we do have.

[Nemesis]

Re seagulls :-
Not many around at the Alice Tea party today.

[hollins]

A'h, that's the answer then! Fabulous photo Nemesis.

[DaveR]

Re seagulls :-
Not many around at the Alice Tea party today.

Nice to have a chat with you at the Tea Party today.  I also had the pleasure of a quick chat with Wrex, who was taking a brief break before the Extravaganza setup starts in earnest.

[Jack]

Haven't had much chance to get out walking in the last few weeks and the forecast today wasn't promising so I decided to stay relatively local and do a section of the North Wales Footpath that I hadn't walked before.  I know that Pendragon and I think Hugo have done this walk so I won't go on too much!!
I parked in Penmaenmawr and took the steep grassy path that rises above Graiglwyd Hall and gives panoramic views of Pen and the Great Orme.  At the top this path links with the NW Footpath which is also the Wales Coastal Path (Upland) walk!.  From this junction you can either go to Llanfairfechan or as I did Conwy. 
It was pretty miserable on the tops, cold and windy, but there were a few buzzards and wheatears around and a herd of Carneddau ponies too.  The path takes in the top of the Fairy Glen above Capelulo and then brings you out on the Sychnant Pass close to Pensychnant house.
After crossing the road here the path takes in Alltwen before you descend down Conwy Mountain with great views down towards the castle and beyond.
The path comes out close to where the old hospital was in Conwy and I then walked to the Morfa and followed the Wales Coastal Path (Lowland) back to Penmaenmawr.
It was the first time I had been on the new path through the sand dunes that runs parallel to the A55.  I did once go the old way which was to walk on the pavement with the traffic coming at you at 70 odd mph and quite frankly it was not at all pleasurable so the new route is preferable.
Stopped at the cafe on Penmaenmawr prom for a quick brew before climbing the hill back to the car in the car park behind the Spar.

I know I walked 18.06km in 2 hrs 55 minutes cos my new gadget is a Garmin GPS and it told me so 

[Hugo]

That's a good walk on a day like today Jack and a big pull up to the top of Penmaenmawr and that time is very good in these conditions.
Which Garmin GPS have you got?    My neighbour has a basic Garmin GPS but  it tells you nearly everything which is quite handy.
Keith a friend of mine has just e-mailed me photos of a Carneddau mare and her foel which he saw on the Sychnant Pass road today and they looked good which is nice to see after this severe Winter.  I hope he posts them on here for everyone to see.

[Jack]

Hugo, it is the Garmin etrex 10, it was the cheapest in the range and I got it from Cotswolds in Betws and got the 'locals' discount so it was about £70.  It doesn't have the map facility like the expensive ones but personally I like an OS map to navigate with.  It is great tho - tells you where you are, altitude, speed, how far walked and you can program it with waymarking points if you want to do a specific route or find something specific.  Like I say I prefer a map and compass for navigation so it is a bit of fun really.

[Hugo]

Thanks Jack,  I'll have a read up on that model.   

[Hugo]

Yesterday we enjoyed a few short walks in the area starting with a circular walk through the Llangystenin Woods.  We started from by the Church and walked uphill through the woods passing many Badger Setts on our way.  The Bluebells were there but looked past their best but we were lucky enough to see wild garlic in flower as well as a lot of wild orchids and other flowers. Pete rattled off the names of each variety of plant but I'm afraid that I have forgotten the names of them.   Walking back down it was nice to see so many rabbits running about in the fields.
Our next walk was from the National Trust car park in Maenan to the viewpoint at Cadair Ifan Goch.  It's a short linear walk along a good path and through a Bluebell Wood which far surpasses what we had seen in Llangystenin.  At the end of the walk we sat on a bench enjoying the panoramic views across the Conwy Valley and had our refreshments until the weather closed in and we returned to the car.
We then drove through to Rowen and just stopped by the Afon Ro as Pete was hoping to take photos of the Dippers that can sometimes be found there.  He didn't see any of the birds but did spot this unusual thing hanging underneath a bridge and we can't figure out what it is.    Next we travelled to the Dutch Pancake Barn and had a walk around the lakes and the Nature Trail.  It's well worth a visit and we were kept amused by the antics of three little Otters  named Harry, William and Kate.  We finished off another good day at the Pancake Barn by having a nice Latte but unfortunately didn't have any room for those delicious looking pancakes. 

[Hugo]

Bluebell Walk

[Hugo]

Bluebell Walk