Outdoor Discoveries

What originally was a news section for the rest of the website soon became a place for me to write about human-powered wanderings in the countryside. Photography inspires me to get out there, mostly on foot these days, though cycling got me started. Musings on the wider context of outdoor activity complete the picture, so I hope that there is something of interest in all that you find here. Thank you for coming!

A return to Gower

30th December 2012

The last weekend of July 2011 (a month of five weekends, incidentally, and each of them were spent away from home too) saw me make my first-ever visit to the Gower in south Wales. Though the sun gamely attempted to break through on occasions, grey skies were the dominant feature of the trip that saw me use the Heart of Wales railway line for part of my return train journey between Macclesfield and Swansea. Even without the sun, the day was a warm one with plenty of folk around too.

However, it was not a full walking trip like others that I undertake. Even so, I trotted out towards Worm’s Head and returned to Rhossili, making a short loop featuring the coast as I did so. Then, I was lured up Rhossili Down towards its trig point before I scotched the brainwave of making another circuit from there in favour of a quicker return to catch a bus back to Swansea again, pondering a return as I did so.

Worm's Head from Rhossili Down, Rhossili, Gower, Wales

Unlike Pembrokeshire where it took me just over six years to make a return, the Gower was to see me sooner with a visit in early August of this year. Unlike the previous trip, this was a walking outing and there was more sun about too. The hiking started off where I last left off too, with a trot over a windy Rhossili Down that completed the circuit that tempted me before. As I did so, the sun went into hiding on me behind clouds. Even so, there still were better views towards Worm’s Head than in 2011.

Other folk were making the effort to gain height as I was doing so and I played with the idea of avoiding the trig point but revisited it upon reconsideration. From there, it was a matter of picking my way over Sweyne’s Howes and Bessies Meadow before dropping down to Hillend Burrows.  Rhossili Down is access land and seems to see a lot of footfall, so there were more paths on the ground than on the OS map, so keeping to the right of way would involve some effort if so desired; there was a strong wind so staying upright was more of a concern.

Once down a steep incline (the Down may be low, but that’s never to say that it isn’t steep-sided as so many are), I picked up a bridleway at Hillend Burrows for returning to Rhossili again. Initially, this went by a caravan park, but that was soon left behind me and boggy sections were set to be found too. In fact, there were none of these on the hilltop so it must have been the shelter that sustained them. The sun began to emerge from the clouds again and the heat of a scorching summer day could be felt; it left me wishing for the cooling buffeting that was my lot up high.

The path was a narrow with deviations from the main track when things got really muddy. Once past the caravan park, I began to build up some pace even with others using the right of way at the same time; the deviations came in handy for this. Once by the Old Rectory, I could see my destination was coming nearer and it was reached in less time than I had grown to expect.

Rhossili Bay and Rhosilli Down, Rhosilli, Gower, Wales

The heat of the afternoon was the cause of my visiting the National Trust shop for some ice cream and a drink. While I was there, some souvenir items for others were purchased too before I sat outside to enjoy the ice cream with views back along Rhossili Bay with Rhossili Down on the right-hand side. Though I stayed a little while, it was later in the day than I had anticipated it would be. A delayed arrival due to traffic congestion and the Rhossili Down circuit perhaps taking longer than expected were contributors to this so I needed to get going again.

Port-Eynon was my next destination and I started by making my way out the busy promontory towards Worm’s Head. The time of day precluded any more serious efforts to make photos of Worm’s Head beyond the hazy ones that I got on the way up Rhossili Down. In fact, it was those views north along Rhossili Bay that yielded the best results for me.

My itinerary was to take me south-east and away from the terminus of the Gower Way. Another development since my last visit to Gower was the instatement of the Welsh Coast Path, though it has been in place long enough for some of the signage to have fallen prey to the elements, so careful use of a map is needed in places too. Some of its course already had been sampled on my Rhossili Down circuit and there was to be more to come. Being along the coast gained me a cooling sea breeze that was strong enough for kite flying and some enthusiasts were making the most of the conditions on offer.

Mewslade Bay near Pitton, Gower, Wales

Passing them, I began to see some of the coastal scenery that I was to pass after leaving Worm’s Head behind me. From reading guidebooks, I knew that this was worth walking and it reminded me of that previous visit to Pembrokeshire some years before. Such is the indentation of the coastline that the sights of Rhossili and nearby Middleton weren’t to leave me so quickly. There was a path diversion due to erosion too and recent coastal landslips due to all the rain that we have been seeing make me wonder if more have been needed since then.

In the initial stages, there were a good few folk around, but there was to be more in the way of solitude later on in the walk. Many of these may have been on circular strolls and those can be left behind to go their own way. So, it appeared after passing Fall Bay and doing the same for Mewslade Bay meant an inland deviation and attendant loss and regain of height that reminded me of a hike from Newgale to St. David’s that I did on that Pembrokeshire trip; this yomp was to have less of that, though.

With the last of the undulations behind me, it was onto steady field crossing on the way towards Overton. Cloud had arrived from the west to put an end to the sunshine and gave a sense of close-down to the proceedings as well as a warning of what rain was to come. As I continued in the dullness, there seemed to be more footpath signs than my OS map gave me to expect and I have not been able to see where the paths were leading since then.

In time, field crossing was to be replaced with rocky shoreline walking as the Welsh Coast Path lost height to go under Overton Cliff and along Overton Mere. This section felt wilder and more dramatic than any other part that I had passed all day and would make a worthy excuse for a return sometime; Port-Eynon seemed very away at this point. There was a bell to be heard too and I thought it to be a church bell in that village but I was being deceived. It was but one atop a buoy bobbing out in the sea that could be heard all around. An outsider with easily disturbed slumbering would have some acclimatisation to be doing. That apparent reassurance that I was really near my intended destination had been but a mirage.

In fact, I wasn’t that far away either; one last ascent was to prove that to me. Though I needed to keep going, curiosity had me surveying a monument erected by the Gower Society to commemorate efforts to preserve the surrounding coastline. From there, I then dropped down towards the YHA hostel and trotted across the beach to the roundabout at the Port-Eynon end of the A4118. Following the road from there, I found my bus stop with a few folk waiting there, one of them being a Welshman wearing a kilt!

Having others waiting at the bus stop was comforting because it meant that I hadn’t missed a bus, but the wait was to be a long one that extended into dusk. The earlier traffic congestion that I met on the way to Rhossili was the cause of delaying bus services even more by the time that I was going away again. There even was a call to First Cymru to make sure that buses still were running and it was just as well that I had a mobile that worked in Port-Eynon; O2 and Vodafone didn’t while T-Mobile and Orange did. That bus did arrive before any rain though and that was just as well since thunder and lightning arrived around midnight and stayed for most of an hour in the sultry early hours.

Even with any traffic congestion, the Gower remains alluring for me. Seeing what is around Port-Eynon again with some sunshine would be a good thing and there’s Oxwich Bay and Three Cliffs Bay (the latter’s near Penmaen) to be savoured too. As well as this, catching Worm’s Head at a better time for photography would be another draw and there’s the Gower Way and other parts of the AONB to be experienced too. All in all, there are ample excuses for making a return sometime. Let’s hope one actually happens.

Travel Arrangements:

Return train journey from Macclesfield to Swansea, with a change at Bristol Parkway on the outbound journey and at both Cardiff Central and Birmingham New Street on the return one. Bus service 118 from Swansea to Rhossili and travel on the same service from Port-Eynon to Swansea.

Why go elsewhere when there are good things nearby?

9th October 2012

The past few weekends have seen me enjoy walks through local countryside. For instance Sunday saw me drop from the Cat and Fiddle Inn into the Goyt Valley before walking along its length as far as Whaley Bridge. Skies may have filled with cloud as I went and much mud may have been encountered but that reminder from last January while on another walk from the same starting point that landed me in Buxton at its end was set to prove its worth and I wouldn’t mind having another hike around there either.

The Saturday of the previous weekend came up sunny too and I used the afternoon for a walk from Bollington back to my house that took in the Saddle of Kerridge and Tegg’s Nose Country Park as I revisited parts that I should frequent more often than I do. In fact, that was a thought that occupied my thoughts as I took in my surroundings. With so much on my doorstep, I have been wondering why do I not get out there more often.

That may get corrected on the evidence of the Saturday before that again when I followed part of Macclesfield Canal while en route to Lyme Green Retail Park on a shopping errand. A short snippet like that neatly fits into a life with other things that need doing. Little outings often have their uses in getting out of doors to build up to bigger ones and that certainly has been happening over the last few weeks.

During that time, thoughts of wandering around Teesdale from Middleton-in-Teesdale has surfaced more than once only for working week fatigue to put paid to the scheme. The same thing has defeated a trip to Abergavenny to go up and down Sgyrryd Fawr. Another is playing more of a part now as well: local attractions. That’s quite a change given how delights that were further away once blinded me to what lay nearby.

For instance, Sunday offered choices that I struggled to decide between them. One possibility was a walk that took me from the Cat and Fiddle Inn, over Shutlingsloe and then onto home. It was one that would have been my choice but for the sight of cloud advancing from the south. Reprising the Gritstone Trail between Bollington and Disley was another and there’s walking along the Macclesfield Canal between Macclesfield and Congleton in mind too. Then sun shone and decision needed overcoming to get out the door. The Goyt Valley may have got my vote on the day but the others remain tempting though and would make ideal walks for shorter days too.

However, that isn’t to say that walks have been discounted because the list of trip reports that need writing include a range of destinations: Loch Ericht and Glen Tilt in Scotland, Cumbria’s Howgill Fells, the Gower in south Wales and Pembrokeshire in west Wales. Of these, I scarcely have made any mention of those August visits to Wales. The Gower saw me walk from Rhossili to Prot Eynon and its a hike that I can recommend. On a long deserved return to Pembrokeshire, I sampled part of the coastal path between Strumble Head and Fishguard. Cloud may have filled skies on both of these – is that becoming something of a feature for me, I wonder? – but the walking was good and that’s all that I ever ask.

So, I have some sharing to do and more ideas on places to be exploring and revisiting. The shortness of some of my designs should mean that the shorter days of winter should not be an excuse for hibernation. Getting in (at least) one longer walk every month has become my target and it seems to happening so far. It’s a habit that I wish to continue.

Coincidences or mind-reading?

20th August 2012

Last week, I picked up a copy of the latest edition of Country Walking and it features ideas with which I have been toying for a while. High Cup Nick and Teesdale on the Pennine Way are among these as is a circular walk from Ingleton that takes in Twisleton Scars and Ingleborough, yet another route that I’d like to reprise. Even, nearby Shutlingsloe and Tegg’s Nose get a look in too so Cheshire’s hill country does not get neglected either.

The week before, the current edition of TGO arrived on my doormat and it features two places that I have visited recently: the Howgill Fells and Gower. The latter of these only saw me again last week and I enjoyed a circular walk taking in Rhosili Down and a pleasant stretch of the Welsh Coastal Path between Rhosili and Port-Eynon. The TGO route differed from these coastal ambles but going inland and uphill for much of the way. Gower is not big but it attracts a lot of folk of a sunny day and the roads cannot take the traffic so that’s worth bearing in mind. That also has the effect of severely delaying buses as I discovered. Sensibly, I decided to overnight in the area rather than trying a day trip so the delay caused no mishap and I was indoors before a weather drama featuring lightning, thunder and heavy rain unfolded. Looking along that coastline again is causing me to conjure up yet more walking ideas.

TGO’s Howgill Fells route is an overnighting affair too and explores hills that I only glimpsed from atop The Calf. While a day walk would be more what I am after, it has made me think about approaching these hills using somewhere other than Sedbergh, again using the 564 bus service between Kendal and Kirkby Stephen. The Llyn in Wales is another walking possibility of which this month’s TGO has reminded me and there’s the prospect of a circular hike into hills from Achnashellach train station on the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh line too for pondering, especially as I have played with using an out and back train journey along that railway to occupy a day when the weather isn’t as favourable for going out of doors.

While the overlap between my thinking and what’s to be found in walking magazines may seem uncanny but it could also be that I am just ranging over so much of Britain when playing with possibilities that overlap with what others are thinking is inevitable. Then again, they may be reading my words on here too…

A look back at 2011

26th December 2011

For me, 2011 will have to be seen as one when work very much got in the way of hill wandering. Even if it did, I did get out on quite a few excursions over its course and some of them took me places where I hadn’t been before then. Also, there was a sense of unfinished business with a few of them and that always produces ideas for new trips into the outdoors.

January

January started out well with a few trips away. The first was to Wales when I walked from Roman Bridge station on the Conwy Valley railway line to Pen y Pass. A grey start became a glorious afternoon and repaid the nuisance of going through a forestry plantation where the right of way felt unwanted. Slipping on a branch into the wet didn’t help either but it soon forgotten with the pleasure granted soon afterwards. Sometimes, it is worth overcoming any ardour.

The January trip took me north to Fort William. This time, sunshine was in short supply and Fort William was so foggy that anyone would need to ask themselves why they had travelled overnight to get there as I did. Crewe was very foggy when I left it too so this was a general feature and not just a local Scottish one. Nevertheless, a trot down the banks of Loch Shiel was not fogbound and I was pencilling in plans for a return that have yet to be fulfilled. Glenfinnan saw a little sun too though it didn’t last but thoughts of explorations on a longer evening beguile. There’s thoughts of a shorter stroll around Cow Hill near Fort William that too could act as a lure yet.

The last weekend in January saw me use up a ferry booking that was a contingency for getting to Ireland during the pre-Christmas freeze of 2010 but got deferred so as to allow its cancellation and refund. That latter intention got set aside and  I got to have an enjoyable yomp around Howth Head near Dublin. There again was a quota in operation regarding the amount of sunshine but I got enough for photos of Ireland’s Eye and Lambay Island. It would have been nice to have kept it for rounding the headland itself but there was no detraction from my enjoyment apart from the need to return under cover street lights before it became too dark. Finding such a quiet haven so near Dublin was a pleasure and looking across Dublin drew my eyes to the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains. From a previous escapade, I could pick out Great Sugarloaf near Kilmacanogue in County Wicklow. Viewing twinkling street lights from a quiet corner was a contrasting experience too. It’s amazing what Dubliners have on their doorstep.

February & March

The only trip away during these was one that took me to Oxford at the start of February. That certainly wasn’t a waste of a good day and I might be tempted to return again. In fact, it has me wondering about more urban walking destinations now that I recall it. Cambridge certainly has come to mind but there’s more than those with more humble destinations like Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Lancaster and Carlisle all coming to mind briefly once in a while over the last few years.

April, May & June

In another year, the good weather in February and March would have drawn me out in the countryside on a few weekends but 2011 was to see the next chance taken to await the start of April when I walked from Bollington back home while taking in the Kerridge ridge and the White Nancy. It may have been local but became an escape into peace in its own right. It was a reminder that there are places on my doorstep that needed frequenting more often.

It was to take until latter half of the Easter weekend for there to be another trip away from home. Then, it was a return to Llangollen after a gap of a number of years and this was to be my first trip there that involved an overnight stay in the town too. The peace of Easter Sunday evening wasn’t lost on me though it meant leaving the crowds of Llangollen after me and a commotion of bleating to die down once a large party had passed a flock of ewes and lambs. The paths that I was walking were being retraced rather than being trodden anew but that did nothing to detract from the fact that the everyday hurly burly felt a world away. That there was no need to rush home was a blessing too. The next day saw me wandering through countryside where I hadn’t been before and part of the North Berwyn Way for part of my walk. Not planning to cover too much in the way of distance meant that it was an unhurried hike and they always are best. Those who hang around Llangollen without exploring the surrounding countryside really are missing out even if that leaves it quiet for those of us fancying an escape from the frenzy of our working lives.

The Mayday bank holiday weekend immediately followed Easter this year and was extended by a royal wedding too. That encouraged me to head to Cowal for the weekend and it was a worthwhile venture too with three walks on two days. The first took me by the shores of Loch Long and Loch Goil while en route from Ardentinny to Carrick Castle. That was followed by another on the same day: a section of the Cowal Way from the shore of Loch Goil to Strachur. It was all good quiet replenishing fare for the spirit and in a part of the world that must get overlooked a lot as well.

The weather in May wasn’t so encouraging and June was a busy month for me too though it too had its interludes of sunshine. One of those drew me out early one Sunday morning on a cycle from my home around by Pott Shrigley. A January encounter from a few years back had me wondering if some photography when the rhododendron bushes were in flower might be worthwhile. However, I hadn’t bargained on the obscuring power of trees when they are in leaf so I am not so sure about the results evening if the sun was in the right part of the sky. Maybe a trot to the top of nearby Nab Head might end up being more productive.

July

July saw a bumper crop of outings with the first taking me along sections of St. Cuthbert’s Way. That weekend started with a hike from Wooler to Kirk Yetholm whose length left me tired but with a feeling that I have made a real start on exploring the landscape though which I had passed. The next day saw me walk from St. Boswells to Melrose while taking in both Dryburgh Abbey and the Eildon Hills. Lastly, I got to spend a few hours around Melrose Abbey in the summer heat.

The Isle of Man was my next port of call with a walk along Raad ny Foillan from Port Erin to Port St. Mary and then to Castletown. Apart from single shower, I seemed to have managed to pick a single sunny day in the middle of an unsettled spell of weather. It was sunny weather too that drew me to castles and coastline about the Menai Strait. Apart from revisiting Caernarfon and its famous castle, there was Beaumaris Castle and a section of the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path to be savoured too. That weekend finished with a sunny crossing over the Menai Bridge. It was a contrast to the damp weekend spent in Ireland that preceded it. The last weekend in July saw me pass through mid Wales on the way to Gower. Conditions may not have been perfect or photography either along the Heart of Wales railway or in Gower but these first tastes may be followed later with more.

Remainder of the Year

Autumn had its sunnier interludes too but a busy working life limited my use of them to local cycles. One Saturday, I headed to Hare Hill and Alderley Edge and that has put an afternoon walk between the two into my mind as a future possibility. Others were similar and there were midday walks during a stretch when I worked from home too.

A few days booked away from work in December offered their chances too. The possibilities lined up in form of excursions to Church Stretton, Abergavenny and even Edinburgh. In the event, only the first of these happened and it was a pleasurable outing too with sleet showers doing nothing to dispel any sense of reverie. The leftovers can do for other occasions so I need not be annoyed that they didn’t happen. It’s better not to be greedy.

Looking to 2012

Some years can be more predictable than others, especially when it comes to working lives. There were a few for me when they came close but unpredictability is back again for me. 2012 looks to be a largely open book after a busy 2011 and a 2010 of two halves. Life away from work always is unpredictable so there’s no point attempting to see around all the corners.

On the hill wandering front, there aren’t any big plans for me in 2012 although there is a good number of ideas that are available for turning into real escapades. A little is needed for making that happen and that perhaps is one of the main lessons of 2011. If you cannot plan for an excursion and be ready to get away, then it just won’t happen. A ready supply of ideas and a ready rucksack might turn those ideas into outings and confront any desire for torpor on the way out the door.

Going to Gower

25th December 2011

July turned out to be a month when I was away for four weekends in a row and I decided that the same would apply to the fifth one to make a clean sweep. As it happened, August became a quiet month for hill wandering even if I had a few days off from work at the end of it. Then, a busy working life meant that any taking of the fine weather that was around for much of it took the form of local cycles with a call to Alderley Edge and Hare Hill featuring on one of the Saturdays. That has planted in my mind the idea of a walk taking in both of these for when I only have a few hours to spare.

On that last weekend in July, I headed to Gower via the Heart of Wales railway. That in itself has me mulling over the prospects for multi-day trips due to the travel practicalities involved; the train service is limited to just a few services each way every day. Stations such as Cynghordy and Sugar Loaf seem to offer easy access to the countryside round about there. Former spa towns such as Llandrindod Wells, Llangammarch Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells all are near stations on the line while Builth Wells is a little further away and may be better accessed using a Trawscambria bus from Newtown on the Cambrian Coast line. Though the appearance of the countryside wasn’t helped by the cloudy skies that lay overhead as I passed through it, thoughts of exploring hilly parts that are new to me sounds appealing. After all, the Elan valley is not so far away from Llandrindodd Wells either. All of these trip ideas need more work to make them happen but it’s great to have the possibilities regardless of this.

Swansea had the sun trying to break though the cloud cover without a great deal of success when I arrived and that was set to continue until I left too. While I have no doubts as to the scenic attractiveness of the Gower coastline, it was being afflicted by a lot of haze when I got to Rhossili. That may have limited whatever could be done with a camera, but I still enjoyed my potter around there anyway.

First, I walked out towards Worm’s Head, a famous spot featured in many a photo that graced the pages of magazines such as Outdoor Photography. Being owned by the National Trust meant that I wasn’t the only one heading that way though the crowds petered out the further along I went. The tide was in so I more than contented myself with seeing the rocky formations from the mainland. In any event, I am not so sure that crossing a tidal causeway sounds too appealing me even if there’s a coastguard station nearby. That tells its own story so I think it best to stay on the mainland anyway.

My next steps took me south along the rocky coastline for little while before I turned inland again to negotiate a few public rights of way to return to Rhossili again. Having a little time on my hands before I needed to make my way back to my base for the night, I fitted in a climb to the top of The Beacon on Rhossili Down where moorland was to be found. Any designs on a circular walk were put on hold in the interests of time but this was a good introduction. The need to gain a little height also meant that I’d found a quieter corner of Rhossili too. In fact, making a full a circular walk over and around Rhossili Down sounds like a perfect excuse for returning to that part of the world.

Apart from Rhossili, there are places in the Gower that sound as if they are worth visiting too. A trot from Oxwich to Port-Eynon to Rhossili sounds promising and a visit to Mumbles could be interesting too although it looks very built up on the map. Apparently accommodation can be tricky to organise on the Gower during the busy season so a little forethought might be in order. Getting weather that works wonders for the appearance of the coastline would help too. Sunshine may have been in short supply while I was there but the excursion really opened up ideas for me so I am not complaining.

Travel Arrangements:

Outbound train from Macclesfield to Swansea with changes at Stockport and Shrewsbury, the latter being for the train going down the Heart of Wales line. Return bus journey on X18 between Swansea and Rhossili. Return train trip from Swansea to Crewe via the Heart of Wales line and having a change in Shrewsbury. Bus service 38 from Crewe to Macclesfield.