Outdoor Discoveries

A look back at 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.

Not the end of the matter

It often happens to me that relating an outdoors outing can bring forward ideas for more. In this regard, my recent trip report for an Easter outing to Llangollen was typical. For one thing, it revealed what parts have yet to see my footfall, but there’s more to it than that. Also, I took the opportunity to freshen up the Denbighshire album in the photo gallery that you can find on here. That act revealed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with photos that I already have in my collection, especially from those times before the arrival of digital photography swayed me from the use of film. Addressing a perceived need for better photos often is sufficient for getting me revisiting places already frequented.

Speaking of returning to come away with better photos, Derbyshire’s countryside has been one such target that has lain in my mind for a while but it now has been joined by a few of Denbighshire’s delights. Walking the Offa’s Dyke path from Trefor to Ruthin is just one of the brainwaves that have come to me because there is the Clwydian Way and the Dee Valley Way to keep me busy too. In fact, these could help me identify the hills in the above scene that I captured from amid the ruins of Castell Dinas Brân over six years ago. That point was driven home to me even more by an inability to figure out which top is which in photos of those hills captured last April while following part of the North Berwyn Way, yet another trail with more potential for hill wandering. After all those possibilities, there’s the Clwydian hills by Ruthin and Denbigh to be sampled too. This time last year may have seen me run out of both energy and ideas, but that at least the latter doesn’t seem to be recurring a year later. Hopefully, there should be a bit of ambling this autumn, not that I am one to wish the year away just yet and I wonder if too many are doing exactly that at times.

Revisiting Llangollen

Though there were a few years when I made a good number of visits to the area, Llangollen seems to have slipped off my radar in recent times. What made those earlier attentions come about were some designs on exploring the hills surrounding Dolgellau that began to come into my mind at the start of 2004. When first attempts to make that happen in the spring of 2005 proved to be abortive, I consoled myself with a few Sunday day trips to Llangollen instead. What caused Llangollen and the countryside surrounding it to come to mind was that my preferred route to Dolgellau passed that way and drew my attention to what lay undiscovered around there.

That set in place a pattern that dominated subsequent walks around there afterwards. Both Valle Crucis Abbey and the Llangollen Canal have been part of those various trots, but that hasn’t been all. The idea of walking from Llangollen to Ruthin (Rhuthun in Welsh) even sprang to mind and resulted in a hike along Offa’s Dyke Path as far as Llandegla before sense intervened on that summer evening to send me to Wrexham instead. The rest of the way remains undone and the prospect of approaching the Clwydian Hills is another lure. Alternative transport arrangements may make this happen yet but it stays in my ideas bank for now.

That’s not to say that all of my visits have taken my north of the Dee, though, because January 2007 saw me walk from Chirk to Llangollen using a few paths and bridleways. Sunshine was scare and Chirk Castle further away and better hidden than was photographically ideal, but the walk was a good one nonetheless. The Ceiriog Valley is another prospect that I merely sampled a little at this sitting and it’s one that I won’t rule out for further investigations either.

Even though it was immersed in a period laden with energy sapping demands being made of me by my working life, the long Easter weekend demanded that I head away somewhere even if it only was for a short break. My resolve was strengthened by my having to abandon a planned trip to Caernarfon and Beaumaris before that. Even so, the first part of the weekend was so chilled out at home that I questioned why I was truncating that to get away at all. However, my efforts were rewarded with some alluringly sunny weather for a stay away from home that punctuated the way things had been going until thing. After all, that’s why these escapades get called breaks and one certainly was needed.

Easter Sunday

It was a late departure that got me away on Easter Sunday but I still had a golden evening to enjoy after arriving in Llangollen and checking into a hotel there. Making a booking was easy, though there were a fair few folk around Llangollen when I got there. While I am not certain that you get the most from the surroundings by remaining stationary in the town, it does seem to be a well-frequented honeypot with most folk doing exactly just that. Like other such fleshpots, leaving the assembled collection of humanity is an easy affair: just head up a steep sided hill and the one hosting Castell Dinas Bran was more capable of doing just this.

My trot up to Castell Dinas Bran was the start of a stroll that retraced some of those steps taken on earlier outings. While very little of the castle actually remains, it is the panoramic views that are the real draw here, as they were on my first trip to the area. With all the glorious evening light, the scenery was made to look even more alluring again and it was no surprise that more than me were lured away from the banks of the Dee. In fact, I was spotted using my DSLR and asked to take a photo of a few folk that were relaxing in the middle of the antiquity. It was a task happily fulfilled despite my own misgivings about not doing much in the way of people photography; hopefully, the photos turned out all right. After that deviation from my more usual subjects of landscapes and buildings, I soon enough returned to capturing a little of what surrounded me.

Steep slopes do keep the less determined away by requiring energy to be expended on the ascent but it’s on descending where they really take their toll. In this regard, the way down from Castell Dinas Bran on its eastern side was completely typical. Having negated to bring a walking pole, I needed to depend totally on my legs to keep the pace steady until the gradients eased; this was an unladen saunter with just a map and a water bottle having come with me.

Much to my amazement, I noticed a large party out for a stroll and they were heading in my direction. Thankfully, I was on the level when we passed, but the sheep weren’t too happy about what they saw, though. There were plenty of young lambs about and the size of the walking group really caused quite a commotion with ewes and lambs filling the air with a cacophony of bleating that shattered the peace of the evening. It is the sort of experience that starts you thinking that animals are in distress and makes you wonder if those causing it realised what they were doing. Now that I ponder it, I would counsel against large walking groups going through fields where there are sheep until later in the year.

With the air finally clearing of bleating, I made for a lower level path along the northern slopes of Dinas Bran to embark on a course that was set to drop me on a single track road. When I first came to these parts, this would have been a case of stitching together a few rights of way to make a walk from them, but a look at a current OS map reveals that I have been a user of part of the Clwydian Way, a long-distance trail that seemingly has come into place in recent years. Even on tarmac, I still was following its course as I walked past Dinbren Hall. Like the trail, I took a right turn onto another road that is signed for World’s End before leaving that for the bridleway that was to carry me closer to Valle Crucis Abbey. Retracing some old steps had me following a trail that I never noted before.

As it so happened, that track was to bring me past the old priory ruins as it hugged the lower slopes of Fron Fawr. It was at Abbey Cottage where I reset my direction of travel to use a footpath leading towards the abbey and the caravan and camping grounds that surround it. Whatever designs I may have had on photographing the attractive ruins amid their surroundings were stymied both by the lowering sun and the number of folk that had come camping for the weekend. A pleasant evening’s walking ensured that there was neither disappointment nor disgruntlement at this outcome. An upshot might be that I come this way again and I hope that I do.

With the sun now really declining for the day, I made for the Llangollen Canal by road. In hindsight, I think that I may have overshot my rendezvous with the canal by a little, but there was no point dwelling on that easily corrected triviality. Familiarity with where I was going meant that there was no rush in my stride as I closed in on Llangollen again. In the past, there have been a few times when I have trodden the towpath in a rush because I was making for a bus. This time, I was heading for a nearby base for the night, where getting something to eat and hitting the sack could be allowed to come along in their own good time. It was another reminder of why I was basing myself here for a springtime getaway.

Easter Monday

Easter Monday turned out to be a contrast to the day before in a number of respects. Firstly, it started out cloudy after the clear skies brought by the preceding evening. Secondly, I decided to spend a few hours exploring more of what lay to the south of the Llangollen. Before that though, I whiled away a little time dawdling in Llangollen itself to take in what the morning sun might do for the place, whenever it got out from behind the clouds. Once satisfy with any photographic endeavours, I set off in search of the North Berwyn Way.

It takes more effort to scale the southern slopes of the valley where Llangollen resides than it takes to reach the attractive countryside to its north. This is what I discovered after making my way out from the town and leaving tarmac after me for a few hours. The work was sweaty too, a hint of the heat that visited us sporadically in April. After crossing two fields, I picked up a bridleway skirting Cae-Madog Wood and this track was to carry me for a good share of my trot too. Though most of the steepness was past me on reaching that wood, there was some ascent left before reaching a crest near The Brow.

Gradients grew kinder after that point and the pastoral nature of my surroundings was a contrast to what I was seeing to my north and where I was the previous evening. It was if everything was flatter once you had made the ascent from the valley floor. In fact, you have thought that this was the natural level of the area were it not for the whistle of steam trains beneath. Being of a mindset that I was seeking peace and quiet made me understand John Ruskin’s irritation with the idea of trains travelling over Monsal Dale in Derbyshire. Usually having little dislike for trains, I was surprised at how all that whistling was perturbing me an and how its subsidence was welcome.

With peace restored, my progress was to bring through a varying landscape that contained a mixture of pasture, tillage (oil seed rape was in flower in one field) and grouse butts. There was a single-track road crossed too and some silly sheep around Ffynnon-lâs Wood who took a while to realise that I wasn’t driving them along the track too; thankfully no bleating this time but a little running before they left the track to get away from me.

It was after Ffynnon-lâs Wood where I reached the access land that was to come in handy for setting a more freestyle course without making anyone cross about it. Views to the north took in hills that I have yet to really explore and figuring out which is which will need a future excursion because the countryside looks like a complex mix of gradients on an O.S. Explorer map. Things looked simpler where I was, and any inclines weren’t too steep either, though a healthy carpet of heather meant that some forethought was needed before heading off on a very independent course. After wondering if anyone goes wandering around these parts, I was to encounter a few that were out and about, even passing a few words with one woman who had come up from her home in the nearby Ceiriog valley to the top of Vivod Mountain.

That was the first hummock that took my fancy and it is very flat topped too. In hindsight, that crossing that I made over the heather to reach it could have been avoided, but these are the things that you learn by actually going somewhere and not just exploring it on a map. Though the position of the sun limited any photo opportunities for them, rockier hills could be seen further to the west as if to remind me that my previous incursions into this part of the world in reality only scratched the surface. Reasons to return were mounting steadily.

After a circular route of my own devising had taken me to Vivod Mountain, I returned to the track that I now realised was what probably brought that lady up from the Ceiriog Valley. Y Foel was the next hummock that took my fancy so I plied another route of my own devising to get there while cutting down on the amount of heather jumping that was needed. It helped that some patches had been burnt recently to encourage fresh growth for the grouse. There was some time for lunch too before I reached the top of Y Foel, a benefit of not taking on too much at one sitting. Once on that top, I was left wondering what the O.S. were marking when they inscribed Biddulph Tower on their Explorer maps. Apparently, there once was a tower here but so little remains now that you’d mistake it for a rocky outcrop nowadays. It’s curious that a name that I’d associate with Staffordshire is to be found around this part of Wales.

Whatever about any curiosity, I needed to return to Llangollen and start my journey home. First, I left the hill to drop down towards Finger Farm and re-enter more pastoral countryside. Some road walking was ahead of me but I had chosen one with signs highlighting its later unsuitability for vehicles at the crossroads where I joined it. It did take a good while for that forewarned roughness to materialise but soon did after a sign for a turning area ahead of it. The tarmac gave way to a rough and steep track that left you wondering what if any vehicles could negotiate it. Quad bikes and other ATV’s should manage it but what about conventional tractors? Something tells me that they must go this way to get to the fields too.

What my knees were telling me was that this was a steep descent to get to Llangollen, but that probably was hard to avoid anyway. The roughness of the track accentuated the desire for a kinder walking surface but it was a case of being patient and letting steady progress do the needful. For some reason, I have stronger memories of the heat of the day at this point than the temperatures that I met higher up; maybe there was a cooling breeze that is lost to my recollection now. A cloudy morning had transformed into a hot sunny afternoon and a repeat of the previous evening’s weather may have happened but I was unable to stay longer to find out if that was the case.

The track eventually grew less steep and the surface changed to tarmac. There still was more height to be lost, but this had become less strenuous and I was lured into the Denbighshire county council managed property of Plas Newydd, a Tudor-style building reminiscent of Gawsworth Hall and Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire. While I may not have stayed there very long, it was a useful rest for tired limbs before continuing on to catch my bus home, satisfied by a good if short break from everyday hurly-burly. That there are reasons for going back is an added bonus.

Travel arrangements:

Train journey from Macclesfield to Chester with a change in Stockport, Arriva bus service 1 to Wrexham and Arriva bus service 5A to Llangollen. Arriva bus service 5A from Llangollen to Wrexham and by rail back to Macclesfield from there with a few changes of train along the way (think they might have been at Chester, Crewe and Stockport but my memory is getting a little hazy now; should have started writing this piece earlier).

Movement

Since I have been adding musings regarding the delights of exploring the countryside on hear for over five year, I an pondering a little relocation. Recently, the part of the website that used be called the miscellany has been refashioned into travel jottings and correspondingly moved to a new home on the website. It was that spot thinking that got me looking at the possibility of doing something for my outdoors musings (replacing "blog" with "outdoors" in the address is what I have in mind) albeit with a good deal in the way of redirection for regular visitors. That's because I wouldn't want you to miss anything.

What may been apparent this year is that there have been less postings on here. The main reason for that is that work has been getting in the way of life more than used to be the case and I hope that things don't keep going like that. Saying that, there have been outdoors that been needing writing up too and the last few weeks has seen me add to that number. The first of these escapades had me sampling more of St. Cuthbert's Way, this time walking all of the way from Wooler to Kirk Yetholm. Having suffered reminders from my knees regarding what I'd done, it was just as well that the next day took an easier tack with a trot from St. Boswell to Melrose with some time spent around Dryburgh Abbey too. While there was a section taking me through the Eildon Hills, it wasn't too harsh at all. In fact, the heat of the day was reduced by the arrival of some cloud cover though it did break up while I explored the Eildons, taking in each of the three tops of what once was called Trimontium. Well, the Romans certainly didn't mess around when it came to naming things. The final day of my borders escape involved a bit more in the way of dawdling and, given the heat of the day, that was just as well and I got to see more of Melrose Abbey too.

A short visit to the Isle of Man came to pass too with another hike along the island's coastal path, Raad ny Foillan. Though the weather was a little on the temperamental side, there only was a single light shower during the time that I walked from Port Erin to Castletown and that was around Port St. Mary. This section is not as strenuous as the one between Port Erin and Peel. However, that is not to say that rounding the south-west  corner of the Isle of Man is not without appealing coastline because it happens to be one of those sections that gets good press and that's not without reason.

After those, what's needed is to process a few of the photos that came away with me from those trips without a full report and set to doing some writing. Given that the weather is being unsettled at the moment, I just need to set some time aside for doing just that. After all, there are visits of Llangollen and Cowal that deserve sharing.

Weekends away

This evening finds Macclesfield a damper place than it has been for a good while. In fact, it could be said that 2011 has been largely dry until now. Of course, that can change and an unsettled summer could be all that many remember yet. In fact, some are asking if we are getting a taste of summer weather too early. However, it's best to try to enjoy good weather whenever it comes so long as life allows you to do just that.

In the U.K., we also gained two four day weekends back to back. That very unusual situation came our way thanks to Easter, a royal wedding and the Mayday bank holiday. With a short working week between them, many made a longer break from working life out of those public holidays. While I wasn't one of those, the long weekends did allow me get out into hill country in parts away from where I live and work.

After last year's Easter Sunday trot from Baslow to Bamford that left me wondering why I didn't book somewhere to stay on what was a pleasant evening. That wasn't something that I repeated this year with an overnight stay sorted for Llangollen. Previous trips to the hills around there have been day trips so this was a departure from that and its proximity to Cheshire meant that a later than planned departure on Sunday did nothing to jeopardise my plans. As it happened, I arrived sufficiently early that I could enjoy an evening stroll that retraced steps that took me by Castell Dinas Bran and Valle Crucis Abbey as well as along the Llangollen Canal towpath. That allowed me to leave a busy Llangollen for a little while before retiring to bed on my return. The next day saw me head in the hills to south of the Dee valley while exploring part of the North Berwyn Way and other trails. That walk took me onto the tops of  Mynydd Vivod and Y Foel before returning to Llangollen to start my journey home again. The weather had been kind to me and the countryside alluring so I left for home pleased if tired.

Last weekend saw me head to Scotland after a busy few days at work. My destination was Cowal and my base Dunoon. While I am not sure what Glaswegians do when they go "doon the watter", there are plenty of hills around the town for exploration. Saturday saw me hike from Ardentinny to Carrick Castle and, following a bus ride, from Lettermay near Lochgoilhead to Clachan Strachur by way of the Cowal Way. The day was stunning though a stiff wind took the edge off the temperatures, a useful thing for walking though sunbathing is ruled out for those of that persuasion. The those hills in Wales the previous weekend, they were quiet around Cowal too and there was no sign of the wildfires that blighted other parts. A later start on Sunday had me settling on a walk from Hunter's Quay to Glenkin and back again. There were designs on using the Coffin Trail to reach Bealach na Srèine in order gain views over Loch Striven and beyond but I saw sense because of the time that I had. Still, it has left me with a brainwave of walking from Toward to Dunoon by way of Inverchaolain Glen and Glenkin and there's a forestry track alternative to this too. My first weekend in Cowal was kind to me and I have left with ideas for future trips to this overlooked part of Scotland too.

As is usual for me, I have every plan to write fuller accounts of those two trips on here. The destinations may have been lesser known but there was plenty of pleasure in my exploring them. Legs may have been left fatigued and there was soothing replenishment for the soul and spirit too. Hopefully, that thought will continue to draw me into hill country for the rest of the year, particularly with this blog having reached its fifth birthday over the past weekend.