Category: Trip Ideas
Introductions and reintroductions
31st July 2011 July hasn't been too unkind to us this year though that is far from being the case always as anyone with a memory can tell. That has meant a fair few weekends away for me and this one introduced me to Swansea and the Gower (the non-usage of the word peninsula is deliberate). Though were white skies instead of blue ones, the few hours spent around Rhossili were pleasant enough to leave me pondering a return when there are blue skies and sunshine. The coastline that I saw certainly was sufficiently alluring to deserve a return and one reconnaissance outing can be the starting point for more.
Speaking of starting points, I travelled to and from Swansea this past weekend via the Heart of Wales train line to see what the countryside surrounding it is like and what the railway has its supporters. Grey skies didn't show things at their best but there were shapely steep-sided hills on which to set eyes but it looks as if a little more homework is in order before this part of Powys starts to see me exploring it. Much of the countryside looks lush with tree-lined fields so it can be difficult not to think it dramatic enough for further attention. In fact, it took the second journey through there for me to start to see the potential that exists for hill wandering and travel plans will need careful thought too. As things stand, this will remain a work in progress for now.
Last weekend also saw me head to Wales. This time, my attention centred around the Menai Strait with visits to Caernarfon and Bangor together with a little time to savour the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path between Beaumaris and Glan-yr-afon. Following a public footpath and a spot of road walking extended the trot to Llandona and a stroll over Thomas Telford's bridge over the Menai Strait was fitted in too. It was the prospect of viewing the hills of Snowdonia from afar that drew me and could do so again. It was a weekend of hot sunshine and blue skies, which was a bonus though hydration and avoiding sunburn were items needing attention too.
With all the gallivanting in recent weeks, there is a pile of trip reports needing writing and they include those earlier escapades from the Easter and Mayday bank holiday weekends too. Nevertheless, the one for my Easter visit to the Vale of Llangollen is nearing completion with photos and final edits needed before it appears on here after what feels like quite a delay. Also, it is around this time of year that I have been known to take a longer trip away but I have no idea what's going to come of such a venture this year. There are ideas in mind but weather is looking a bit uncertain so it'll be a case of telling what happens after any event rather than following any fixed notion. If anything does happen, it'll add to that backlog but that is a non-complaint with what getaways do for the mind and spirit.
Movement
16th July 2011 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.
Glorious fresh green growth
20th April 2011 After a little break, I am back cycling to and from work again. In the mornings, it is possible to revel in the way that everything has come to life over the last few weeks. That we have what feels like summer weather only can have helped. This year, it seems that the display of cherry tree blossom is better than ever. Whether this is because I wasn't looking in previous years or this is a bumper year is hard for me to say. Regardless of that little triviality, there certainly are plenty of trees in bloom for many of us to enjoy. Regardless of whether flowering trees are putting their display for a while, it is the freshness of the green foliage at this time of year that always delights me, especially in golden morning light.
These are sights that soothe the soul and induce a certain reverie. They also draw thoughts of walking and cycling trips into the mind and the fact that there are a series of long weekends coming our way offers opportunities for doing just that. So far, no firm decisions have been made though Cowal and the Isle of Man have come to mind when I left my mind wander earlier today. Not being a royal watcher of any sort of fervency should help me to get away when many eyes are focussed on televisions. Trains and buses may even be quieter away from London but the day itself will tell its own story.
While it sounds simple to say that it's just a matter of making plans and then making them happen, it's been something of a weakness for me in recent months due to one very big distraction in my life. For instance, I had designs on heading to Caernarfon and Beaumaris in Wales last weekend but it never came to pass. In the event, I contented myself with an hour or two on my bike wandering around Sutton and Langley. Sights of surrounding hills were taken in and the low level of Bottoms Reservoir noted, a consequence of a largely dry March and April this year. With good things on your local patch, it's easy to feel consoled.
Saying that, going away somewhere is good too. Last year's Easter Sunday walk from Baslow to Bamford had me wishing that I'd booked somewhere to stay so I didn't need to leave for home that evening. With the prospect of savouring the countryside between Buxton and Ashbourne that is something that applies to such a venture too. While on the subject of past Easter escapes, there was a stay in Leeds that allowed me to fan out into the Yorkshire Dales. While I am sure that you wouldn't have chosen that base for those purposes, it did what I asked of it. Both of these trains of thought are revealing possibilities for getaways that aren't so far away from home and they have their place too. Then, there still is that aborted trip to Caernarfon and Beaumaris too. Ideas are queueing up for anything, not a bad state of affairs at all. Time needs to made for planning so that something can happen.
More pondering than wandering
29th March 2011 The last few months have been hectic at work and that has impeded any incursions into the outdoors during what has been a lengthy spell of settled weather. That isn't to say that I haven't been out at all. After all, I got away to Ireland over the weekend. In a change for me, I swapped my usual air destination of Dublin for the quieter one at Shannon near Limerick.
That was the cause of allowing me to revisit the city of Limerick after having not been there for quite a few years. It has its landmarks of medieval antiquity too with thoughts of seeing King John's Castle on the banks of the Shannon in good if hazy sunshine being the cause of drawing me out on a trot between connecting bus services. For a place that was my county town for much of my life, it could come as a surprise to you that I had never gone and explored the walkways and parks that Limerick City Council has set in place along the banks of what is Ireland's longest river before. Last weekend saw that set to rights but seeing the likes of Bunratty Castle and the village of Adare were reminders not of the unexplored but of places that I wouldn't mind seeing again. The fact that they caught the sun really well as I passed nearly made me want to stop and stay a while but for the need to keep going.
It wasn't all about enjoying delightful sights of man-made constructions because a trip into Limerick's tourist information centre revealed some long-distance walking options too. In there, I spotted a guide to the Lough Derg Way along with those for the Mid-Clare Way and the East Clare Way. While I was in the heart of a city, these discoveries were reminders that wanderings in greener surroundings weren't all that far away. It's all very well savouring the more delightful parts of places like Limerick or, as I did at the start of February, Oxford, but losing yourself in empty open countryside, even for a short while, is unbeatable.
Turning those thoughts of more natural spaces a little wilder, I also recently happened on a leaflet extolling the virtues of Sleat as a base from which to explore Skye. Though it's seen more of my attention than the hinterland of Limerick city, a few years have passed since I last ventured up there as part of a Hebridean adventure a few years back. With the frenetic pace of my working life nowadays, being able to find in a short amount of time a convenient base from which to fan out to sample more views like those of Skye's Cuillin Hills sounds good to me. While I may have been cycling through the Cheshire countryside to and from work a lot over the last few weeks, it is starting to look as if planning a longer stretch away from the madness of modern life is opportune.
Restoring Reasons for Visiting
20th February 2011 A few weekends ago, Scotland drew me north for a weekend around Fort William. As it happened, the overnight journey had me leaving a very foggy Crewe to go to an equally foggy Fort William. Though I am well aware of temperature and cloud inversions, the lack of visibility was sufficient to get me questioning my plan to go to Glenfinnan for another look around its surroundings. After all, a previous visit to Morar showed me how fog can linger in glens around there.
Adding to the confusion was what I saw out the train window on the way to Fort William. On arising north of Bridge of Orchy, I lifted the blind to be greeted by a stirring view over Loch Tulla towards the Black Mount. Last time I travelled on the Caledonian Sleeper, I was looking the other way, but this was what was on offer on my first-ever Sleeper journey more than five years ago. This time, the loch was still and the white-capped hills utterly majestic. If I had thought of cranking up the ISO rating on my Pentax DSLR, I might have tried to record what lay before me like I did with Loch Treig later on as you can see above. It was this clarity of air that caused my quandary in Fort William on my arrival there.
In the event, all that was needed was patience because the fog eventually cleared as the time came for me to head to Glenfinnan. The reward for my perseverance came in the form of a sunny start to my second ever visit to the place. Unfortunately, I was to find that cloud cover was to snuff out those rays of sun all too soon. Nevertheless, I was decided on enjoying my wandering regardless of that development.
The sun stayed long enough for me to get from Glenfinnan's train station to Loch Shiel. My first visit to these parts came on a cloudy day in August 2001, in times preceding any vestige of hill walking in my outings, and it brought home to me the distance between the train station and the loch. While I was more laden back then, I still didn't hurry along the roadside footway on this year's trip either. A few walkers passed me in the opposite direction, but that was the limit of human incursion into my reverie until I got beyond the Jacobite memorial.
It was as I neared that monument that I got my only rain of the day, and it was far from being a deluge. There was a final decision to be made at this point in the day: either exploring the glens to the north or going along the track along Loch Shiel. An unexpected discovery that steered me towards the latter was a walk through woodlands over duckboards that included a bridge crossing over the Callop River. The well-kept state of the path had me asking if anyone else had found this, but two developments changed my mind. First, there was a child's red glove dropped on the ground and there was a group of relaxed cyclists coming after me while out on a loch-side bimble. The fact that I was saved a round trip involving road walking was very welcome.
Those cyclists were to go ahead in front of me, and I took the chance to hop up on a hump in the name of adding to my views of what surrounded me. Tree cover meant that what lay across the A830 from me was easier to see than any sights down along Loch Shiel. On retracing my steps to rejoin the vehicle track, I inspected the signpost that had been erected. Callop was one option, and I would have passed by there if that welcome path hadn't been put in place. Polloch was the other, and I was to set in that direction, though time meant that I never was to cover all the distance to that place. Looking at a map while setting down these words, I spotted a hilly single track road leading from Polloch to Strontian and has caused my mind to ponder cycle touring around Ardgour, a prospect that excites me a little so long as I could get a bike around there. Could I hire out a bicycle for a few days rather than having to take my own that far north? It certainly would be handy if I could, but some investigation is in order beforehand.
That pondering is for the future and never came to mind at the time, though I could have wondered where those cyclists were going. My being intent on savouring my surroundings to a stop to that. The sun may have been staunched by the clouds, but I have out among Scotland's hills often enough to see the possibilities. They almost demand a return on longer days, with even the ca. 19:00 train back to Fort William having its place in my deliberations. Now that I think of it, later departures to Mallaig are beginning to feature in my thinking. There was nothing wrong with the brown hillsides that surrounded me, and magic came in the form of wisps of low cloud that appeared for all the world to be affixed to those too. As if that were insufficient, I also came across a deer eating silage from a creep feeder. There was no move in this antlered beast as I stopped to gaze on a normally elusive creature at relatively close quarters. Maybe hunger during a lean winter dispelled any fear momentarily.
While the weather constrained any photographic opportunities, I still sensed that this was a special part of the world. Well, the lack of a breeze brought a stillness that soothed the spirit. As with all out and back loch-side walks, the tricky part was deciding when to turn back. Similar trots beside Loch Eilde Mor near Kinlochleven come to mind here. The first one saw me needing to await a later bus to Fort William on a murky midge-infested August evening after missing an earlier departure. In contrast, my second trip there saw me leave too early and left some spare time in Kinlochleven. In the event, I got it about right with Loch Shiel. As it happened, the cycling party themselves had turned earlier and were coming back against me before I reached my pre-appointed turning point. Even so, my return was relaxed and steady rather than frantic and rushed, though light was starting to fade on me.
Knowing exactly you are going stops any panic if you find the end of a day approaching, and so it was with me beside Loch Shiel. So relaxed was I that I popped up onto another elevated vantage point for one last peek around me rather than rushing ahead. What was to be spotted was a streak of light in the sky, with spouts of sunlight lighting part of the loch as the sun dropped towards the horizon. While light really was failing on my reaching the A830 again, I shared a few words with a fellow Irishman going to see a monument that drew his curiosity. By this point in the day, it had been lit up, though it was difficult to make such lighting apparent in any photos. Even with an eye on the time to catch a train back again to Fort William, there was no way that I would not pass a polite Asian asking me of the whereabouts of the "Harry Potter bridge" (the Glenfinnan viaduct, of course). Suitably directed, he turned his car to get a glimpse of the movie icon. Glenfinnan's train station had more human activity than I had met during my whole walk, with some folk awaiting trains to Mallaig and to Glasgow. The words "Haste Ye Back" seem to sum up my afternoon around Glenfinnan and I hope that they ring true.
That Scottish saying was to crop up again in spirit if not in mind before I left Fort William to return home. There was a brainwave regarding a circuit around by Cow Hill that would have taken me into Glen Nevis before reaching the bus stances where my southbound journey was to begin in earnest. My reason saw to it that I wasn't to try rushing about before leaving Lochaber. What I did was to gain height by going up Lundavra Road and looking out over Loch Linnhe and towards Ben Nevis and Meall an t-Suidhe too. A reprise of the circuit was left for another time, and the weekend reminded me that there are plenty of reasons to return to these parts. Even retracing old steps has its appeal, and memories of old escapades are flooding into my head now. Who knows what could come from them?
Travel Arrangements:
Bus service 38 from Macclesfield to Crewe, Caledonian Sleeper from Crewe to Fort William. Return train ride from Fort William to Glenfinnan. Scottish Citylink service from Fort William to Glasgow, National Express service 538 from Glasgow to Manchester, train from Manchester to Macclesfield.
