Walking

[Hugo]

Thanks   TM  they are quite shy birds so anyone is lucky if they ever see one. there is a Nature Reserve by Penrhyn Castle called the Spinnies and I think one of the pools is called the Kingfisher Pool on account of the birds being there.   I've been there but never seen one yet but I'll go back again soon.   

[Yorkie]

Whilst doing a bit of Googling today, I came across this web site/ blog that is a wonderland for nature lovers.  It is well worth a visit for the photographs alone!

http://theresagreen.me

Enjoy.

[Hugo]

That's a fantastic site for everyone, a really good find.     

[Hugo]

Today my neighbour and I went to Dyserth for a short circular walk in the area.  We started from the car park at the end of the High Street and made our way down to the fast flowing Afon Ffyddion and followed it down stream.  We hadn't gone far when we disturbed a heron that was wading in the water and it slowly rose up and flew away probably to another feeding area where it wouldn't be disturbed.    Continuing along the route we came to the caves and the unusual rock formation,  the Guneras had all died by now but it's still an impressive sight to see and especially for my friend who hadn't seen it before.  Soon we could hear the thundering roar of the waterfall and it was in full flood as we passed over the bridge in front of it.   We had a quick look at the Church of St Bridget before having a steep pull up the lane and onto the old disused railway track.    By then it was time for a rest and a drink which we had on one of the Memorial benches situated along the track.   We then followed the track to Meliden passing the many old lead mines of Talargoch on the way and soon ended up at the old railway yard in Meliden.  From there we took the footpath which went steeply up to Graig Fawr and when we arrived at the top we were ready for another rest and finished off our refreshments sheltering from the cold wind at the trig point.   From there it was downhill all the way and we followed the lanes until we picked up the old railway track and followed it back to Dyserth and the car.   

[Hugo]

Dyserth walk

[Tellytubby]

  that's a great walk Hugo one of my favourites while walking my dog Jess and of course it's my old home ground.

[rhuddlan]

For those that might be interested, there is footage of a 1968 rail journey from Prestatyn to Dyserth here....
A bit of nostalgea,particularly for tellytubby!
Prestatyn to Dyserth Branch Line in 1968

[Hugo]

Yesterday we met near the White Horse Inn in Cilcain and then drove down the lane towards Pantymwyn and parked our cars by the lovely River Alyn.  We then crossed over the little bridge, barely wide enough for modern day traffic and walked up the hill in the direction of Pantymwyn.  Before the brow of the hill we turned right and took the Leete Path which was to take us all the way to Loggerheads Country Park a distance of about 2 miles.     The path is an excellent walk through mature Beech woods and follows the contours of an old leete along  Alyn Gorge with the fast flowing River Alyn below.
The Leete was built in 1823 by John Taylor of the Mold Mines Company, it was originally 6 foot wide and 4 foot deep and was designed to carry water along to power waterwheel driven mining machinery in the valley.  It was abandoned in 1845.
A short time into the walk brought us to the Devil's Gorge, a legacy of the lead mining carried out all along this valley and a footbridge takes you over this deep gorge.  Pete and I walked down to the bottom of the gorge and had a look at the mine working down there before returning to Keith and Ian who were waiting on the bridge for us.   Carrying on we passed a half buried remains of a small bridge that once spanned the leet.    As we came nearer to Loggerheads the path dropped down to the river and we followed it into the Country Park and had our sandwiches and drinks sitting in the Autumn sunshine.    For our return journey we walked along the road and took the footpath through the woods that took us to the top of the cliffs overlooking the park and we took some more photos before continuing through the woods onto a lane which brought us out by the Alyn Kennels.    There was a river ford below the Kennels which looked a bit deep for ordinary vehicles but we didn't have to cross the footbridge so we returned back to the Leete Path and followed it back all the way to our cars.   This was an excellent walk along the Alyn Gorge and for anyone wishing to do it then it's a must to drop down to the Devil's Gorge to appreciate the rugged beauty of the area.    A takeaway Latte from McDonalds completed a memorable walking day out.
 

[Hugo]

Devil's Gorge walk

[DaveR]

I've been walking a few times in the Loggerheads area recently. What's interesting is that there's a sinkhole in that river, so the water vanishes completely during the Summer months and then reappears further along.

[Hugo]

That's interesting Dave because my friend Pete who was on the walk mentioned that in the Summer the river is sometimes dry,  so that explains the reason why it dries up.

[Hugo]

I've just read this about the River Alyn

One of the major tributaries of the Dee, the River Alyn (Afon Alun) crosses the Carboniferous Limestone from Halkyn Mountain and runs down through the Loggerheads area before making its confluence north of Holt. Throughout the length of the Alyn there are numerous swallow holes and caverns and during the summer months long stretches of the river bed run dry. These caves include Ogof Hesp Alyn and Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau. A significant part of this lost flow re-emerges in the Milwr Tunnel, a man-made tunnel, entering the west bank of the Dee estuary and carrying 12 million imperial gallons per day (600 L/s). This tunnel was originally constructed to drain metal mines in Halkyn Mountain

[DaveR]

Since we were staying on Anglesey this weekend, a walk along Newborough Beach to Llanddwyn Island was almost a must! The car park on Newborough Beach has been completely rebuilt this year and new facilities like Toilets have been added - a great improvement. There's also a new boardwalk platform viewing area.

As we headed along the beach towards the Island, I noticed that the tide level was pretty high. The storms of last week had taken a massive chunk out of the sand dunes along the beach, the level of erosion was very noticeable. We got nearer to the Island and could instantly see that a walk over to the Island itself was not going to be possible, as the normal footpath was under several foot of seawater, making Llanddwyn a true island for a few hours at least! That was disappointing, but we decide to carry on along the beach towards the Malltraeth estuary for a while and then turned back. The whole area is so peaceful and scenic.

Then we headed over to the Oystercatcher at Rhosneigr for lunch in the downstairs Wills Bar.

Photo 1- Oystercatcher at Rhosneigr.
Photo 2 - Rough seas at Llanddwyn Island
Photo 3 - Heading towards Malltraeth
Photo 4 - Llanddwyn Island lives up to its name for once. The area in the foreground is usually sand.

[Merddin Emrys]

Very good Dave, one day we will pay a visit to Llanddwyn!

[DaveR]

Very good Dave, one day we will pay a visit to Llanddwyn!

It's a great place, ME, well worth a visit.