Walking

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Hawarden walk

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Yesterday, we had a linear coastal  walk from Greenfield to Flint Castle.  We started the walk from Greenfield Dock  and took the coastal path which is a wide tarmac track lined with masses of Daffodils that have been planted alongside it . The old factories that once thrived here have now been demolished and much of the stone reused to create modern sea defences.    Normally you would  be rewarded with panoramic views across to Hilbre Island and the town of Hoylake on the opposite bank but yesterday was misty and unfortunately the visibility was poor.
It wasn't long before we came to Milwr Tunnel  which is very impressive to see with millions of gallons of water flowing out of it daily  The tunnel  is an outfall built in the early 1900s to drain the former mine works in the Halkyn Mountain near Holywell and stretched for 10 miles and drained over 50 veins, creating a labyrinth of over 60 miles of interconnected passageways.
At the remains of Bettisfield Collier we kept on the coastal path and came to Station Gutter. it's hard to  imagine now that the inlet, now silted up, used to be a very busy quay, exporting goods from the area around Bagillt where lead smelting, coal mining, brewing and rope making all took place.  At its peak, up to 30 ships a day would land here carrying lead, coal and copper as well as passengers from Liverpool on their way to Denbigh and Flint.
As we walked along the embankments there were numerous varieties of seabirds on the marsh land and inland we were lucky enough to see a few Bullfinches, long tailed Tits, Lapwings and Curlews as well as a host of other birds. Before we got to Flint Point we stopped and had our refreshments and afterwards continued along the track passing a small wooded area of Silver Birch trees.  The track continued to the point  and we followed the winding river around the inlet and made our way to Flint Castle.   This magnificent castle was the first of a series of castles built during Edward I’s campaign to conquer Wales and known as the ‘iron ring’. It was built in a strategic position only one day’s march from Chester and easily resupplied by boat. It’s had a colourful past, being attacked by Welsh forces under the command of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, brother of Llewellyn the Last and attacked again in 1294 during the revolt of Madog ap Llewellyn.
During the English Civil War, Flint Castle was held by the Royalists and finally captured by the Parliamentarians in 1647 after a three-month siege.    Oliver Cromwell later ordered the castle to be destroyed to prevent its reuse and the ruins are what you see today.
Sadly for us the castle was closed and Tellytubby said that he said that he had never seen it closed before.   So we headed off to find a cafe where we all enjoyed a nice hot latte while I felt guilty about being the only one to have a cake there.         
Then it was time to get our bus passes out and catch the bus back to Greenfield. 
 

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Greenfield to Flint Castle coastal walk

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 A few weeks ago we were doing the Llanystumdwy to Criccieth circular walk but had to abandon it in Criccieth due to the gale force winds and driving rain.  Yesterday though was a completely different day, cold but dry, no rain and good visibility so we decided to go back and do a linear walk from Criccieth to Llanystumdwy and catch the bus back to Criccieth.     The approach from Porthmadog is the best way to appreciate the stunning location of the town and we stopped to take some photos on the outskirts before parking the car on the Promenade by the Lifeboat house (free parking- how refreshing)
We then proceeded uphill passing the castle on our left and then descending down past the large Victorian houses on our right.   I couldn’t help noticing the wooden groynes all along the beach and started to wonder why Llandudno did away with theirs.     In no time at all we got onto the coastal path and shortly after we did,  a  Weasel ran along in front of us before going back into the hedges that line the cliff edge.  This path leads you to Cefn Castell, an ultra modern building that has been featured on Grand Designs.   The house is surrounded by a beautiful high stone wall and it is quite close to the cliff which is eroding quickly. After passing the house we dropped down and walked along the beach until we came to the Dwyfor Estuary and then followed the river along the coastal path to Llanystumdwy.  This area is marshy and prone to flooding but the raised boardwalks ensure safe and easy walking but we spend a lot of time watching the varied wildlife that you can see along the banks of the river.    After turning inland we noticed a pregnant ewe in some distress so we headed to the farm and let the farmer know about the animal.    When we arrived at Llanystumdwy we went to see Ty Newydd which was David Lloyd George’s last home and is now the National Writers Centre for Wales.    After looking around we headed back to the village with bus passes at the ready and had our refreshments in Criccieth on a bench above the Promenade.
Once that was finished we headed uphill again but just to get to Cadwalader’s Cafe where we enjoyed a latte and a piece of cake.  If anyone is in Criccieth I would recommend that they visit the cafe which has unobstructed views over the sea to Harlech and the mountains beyond as well as having friendly staff and nice coffee.   
A truly great walk of just under 5 miles and then we were off home, just stopping briefly on the way in Penygroes

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Criccieth to Llanystumdwy walk

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Yesterday, I met up with a friend that I hadn’t seen for a while and we decided to have a  walk along the Menai Straits.     It was a short but very interesting walk that we started from the lay by opposite Ynys Gored Goch.    That's a small island in the Menai Strait situated in the stretch of the strait called the Swellies between Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge and Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge.  The island is occupied by the main house and the converted smoke house where the fish were processed.  Obviously access is only by boat.
We have done the walk a number of times but the board walks that follow the Straits to the Brittania Bridge make walking much easier especially as the area is tidal and can be quite boggy at times.   The coastal path then goes under the bridge and we followed the lane down to St Mary’s Church and back onto the straits.     We passed the statue of Admiral Nelson and continued along the coast to the picturesque Pwll Fanogl.  Pwllfanogl was once a busy little village  with its own little shipbuilding industry. It was one of a number of little ports along the Menai Straits and served a commercial purpose. During the 19th century you would have found a little pub here called ‘The Boat Inn’ and also a creamery and a working water mill,   Yr Hen Felin  is now a private abode  and is very impressive with it’s own moorings.    Sir Kyffin Williams moved to Min Y Mor which is next door to the mill (see white house in photo) and the view from his house is enough to inspire any artist.
With our walk finished we carried on  up the lane and crossed the main road and took a lane into Llanfair PG  where we enjoyed a welcoming hot chocolate at Pringles by the Railway Station.  It was quite quiet there when we arrived but then about 5 coaches arrived together so it was time to leave and walk back on the main road back to the car park. 

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Menai Straits walk

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Yesterday Tellytubby and I decided to do a local walk and drove to the RSPB reserve in Llandudno Junction and parked the car there.   The tide was low, but was coming in when we set off along the cycle track and there were numerous varieties of birds out feeding on the mudflats. We crossed over the Junction flyover and headed along the cob towards Conwy  and then walked along the quay and under the arch towards Bodlondeb because Tellytubby wanted to show me a boat that was in a sorry state.  It certainly needed a lot of TLC if it was to be seaworthy again.
After taking photos we climbed the steps to the top of the castle walls and walked the full length of them until we reached Llewelyn's Tower and then headed off towards Benarth.    Just walking along the steps made you realise the work that went into building the castle and walls and how intimidating in must have been for the local Welsh people.
When we got to the entrance to Benarth Hall it was time for refreshments so we had them there. While we were having our food Tellytubby was lucky enough to spot two Kingfishers.  The tide had now come in and the current was treacherous, but despite that, numerous canoes headed up stream on the incoming tide
After a drink and a bite to eat we came back into Conwy by the castle and were lucky enough to find that we could walk over the Telford suspension bridge which we did.  We took a few photos from there as it's many many years since I last walked over the bridge. More years than I care to remember.   We traced our steps back to the RSPB reserve and back to the car.    It was a circular walk of just under 5 miles, full of history and interesting things to see and shows that you don't have to travel far for a good walk.

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Conwy walk

[Blongb]

Yesterday Tellytubby and I decided to do a local walk then walked along the quay and under the arch towards Bodlondeb because Tellytubby wanted to show me a boat that was in a sorry state.  It certainly needed a lot of TLC if it was to be seaworthy again.

Just type Grey Lady into the search box when on the every thing to do with Conwy Page and the whole sad saga of the Grey Lady is revealed.

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Thanks very much for posting that Blongb I found it very interesting and will pass it on to Tellytubby.     

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Yesterday, we had an early start for our walk in Rhosneigr.  Early for me anyway as we wanted to get to the beach before the low water time of 10.05am.  Tellytubby and I had seen a photo of the Norman Court which ran aground on the 29th March 1883,  it was visible on the rocks at certain low waters and the only reference that had been posted was that it was on Ynys Feirig.
When we arrived at Rhosneigr, the weather was so cold and windy that we had to put on all our Wiinter gear before going on to the beach.  Rhosneigr has a lovely sandy beach and is littered with many rocky islands, each one seemingly to have it's own Welsh name and we could see Ynys Feirig, the largest of the islands just across the bay about half a mile away.  The only problem was that the Afon Crigyll flows down the beach and is too deep to walk through so we had to go the long way around, over the wooden bridge and through the sand dunes until we arrived at the group of islands which were now accessible at low water.
We checked all over the bay towards Rhoscolyn and as we couldn't see any signs of the wreck we then headed for Ynys Feirig and scrambled across the slippy  rocks but couldn't find any trace of the wreck.  The only thing we did find was a massive iron chain that must have come from some unfortunate vessel.   We weren't on the island for long because the tide was coming in and was starting to cut us off from the beach so we left before we became trapped and then retraced our steps back over the dunes.
The rugged coastline and reefs around Rhosneigr have claimed a large number of sailing ships in the past,  the tea clipper "Norman Court" (sister ship to the famous Cutty Sark) being just one..
However, some ships came to grief in a more sinister way... In the eighteenth century, the wreckers of Crigyll looted wrecked ships which they lured onto the Crigyll rocks  using beacons and lights, simulating the harbour lights of Holyhead, near the mouth of the river Crigyll  . During the day, they were respected members of the community. They included landowners, farmers, tailors, a weaver, a fuller, housewives and even children. At one time, a number of Calvinistic methodists were looting a wreck and were surprised by one of their elders!
By the time we arrived back at Rhosneigr the weather had changed completely and it was sunny and very warm and not finding the wreck didn't disappoint us as we had enjoyed a nice walk of just under 6 miles.   On our way home we stopped at Newborough Forest and I showed Tellytubby the impressive stepping stones that go across the Afon Briant  we had a coffee and cake at Aber on the way back before returning home.
 

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Rhosneigr

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Yesterday, Tellytubby, Geraint and I decided to revisit the Dinorwic Quarry above Llanberis.  The Dinorwic Slate Quarry  was the second largest slate quarry in Wales, indeed in the world, after the neighbouring Penrhyn Quarry and covered more than 700 acres,  consisting of two main quarry sections with 20 galleries in each and a number of ancillary workings. Extensive internal tramway systems connected the quarries using inclines to transport slate between galleries, 
We were concentrating on the upper section and especially the Australian level  which is not as popular as the lower sections by the lake but this is where the real exploring begins. the first place we always visit are the old tunnels ( you can hear dinorwic powerstation buzzing underneath you once inside) and then going onwards and upwards past the quarrymen's rest room and the various workings that still remain there. The next level takes you up to Australia level and the first stop was the compressor room before carrying on to the very impressive saw mill with all the machinery just rusting away.   We had our refreshments there but didn't linger too long as it was getting cold and windy. The visibility wasn't very good but we could see small pockets of snow on the northern slopes of the surrounding mountains including Elidir Fawr which loomed above us.
We continued upwards and over the biggest quarry (Twll Mawr)  and walked along the ledge that is immediately above the quarry.   To take photos we crawled to the edge of the quarry rather than look over it as there is a sheer drop of hundreds of feet and we didn't want any mishaps.    It was quite a sobering thought that years ago the workers would do the same journey either on foot or on the train that ran along this ledge.   I would estimate that we were about 2,000 feet above sea level at this point but then it was down hill all the way after that.  On our way down we took the longer but easier winding track and passed many old buildings along the way.
One thing we did miss though was the suspended rail track but we'll be back again to find it.

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Dinorwic Quarry Llanberis