Walking the central Brecon Beacons
6th November 2006 The naming of the Brecon Beacons National Park is a plausible source of confusion because it is named after one of the several mountain ranges occurring within its boundaries. From west to east, the mountain ranges are: Black Mountain, Fforest Fawr, Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains. The first and last on the list are another source of confusion, especially when guidebook writes get them mixed up. In addition to these, there are other attractions such as the town of Brecon (which hosts a jazz festival every year) and the Usk Valley around Crickhowell and Abergavenny.
The last of these is where I have been on my previous visits to the national park. The first of these saw me walk from Abergavenny to the summit of Sugar Loaf and back. On the other visit, I walked the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal between Abergavenny to Crickhowell, from where a bus returned me to the start of my walk.
Abergavenny has always been my entry point because of its being a stop for train services travelling between Manchester and Cardiff. However, remaining in its vicinity has always felt as if I was away from the heart of the action and tricky public connections stopped me going east until last Saturday when I visited the central Beacons, the Bannau Brycheiniog proper.
The useful X43 got me from Abergavenny train station to Storey Arms between Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil. Storey Arms is a popular starting point for walkers, as I discovered, and that was even with Cardiff playing Australia at the Millennium Stadium: the Welsh follow their rugby closely. Next time, I might start from somewhere quieter because I found it difficult to relax with people both ahead of and behind me. In fact, I have seen Storey Arms described since as a honeypot.
My walk took me over Y Gyrn on my way to Corn Ddu and then Pen y Fan, the highest hill in the national park. Cribyn was a tempting proposition, but for the amount of up and down that would be incurred to reach its summit: I decided to leave it for another day and picked up a path on its southern slopes that took me to Bwlch ar y Fan. The steep sided Fan y Big presented itself there, and I was tempted by a partial ascent of Cribyn from its less steep side before returning to the aforementioned pass (bwlch is the Welsh for pass, just as bealach performs the same function in Scots Gaelic) and made my way to Brecon before dark. I now realise that ascending Cribyn and descending its northern spur was a distinct possibility, but I decided to play it cautious on my first visit to these hills.
After some good walking on a clear, sunny day, I left Brecon on the X43 to Abergavenny with a view to returning: there is a good deal to experience here. From Abergavenny, rail got me home by 21:00 with a train to Stockport for a connection to Macclesfield, an early finish; the start was early though with a 06:10 bus departure to get me to Crewe for the 07:18 train to Abergavenny.
More on Transport Arrangements
There was a time when getting to Brecon from the north by public transport was not such an easy task. Apparently, connections were possible from Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil but would have added to the journey length. The ideal situation would have been the provision of sensibly timed buses from Abergavenny train station to Brecon; these have, in fact, materialised in the form of the X43 Abergavenny-Brecon-Merthyr Tydfil-Cardiff service run by Sixty Sixty Coaches. Sadly, it does not run on Sundays, but this is an improvement on what was previously available. Nevertheless, it has allowed me to travel from home, walk from Storey Arms over Pen y Fan to Brecon and return on the same day (not as long a day as you might think…).
Exploring the Pennine Way
3rd November 2006 Last Sunday was not the first occasion that I walked along part of the Pennine Way; I already been along different sections at different times and in no particular order. Given that its southern terminus is at Edale in Derbyshire, not that far from where I live in Cheshire, my acquaintance with the long distance trail should come as little surprise. Last Sunday took me from Torside reservoir towards the Snake Pass but a sunny Saturday in September 2005 saw me journey along the Way as part of a walk from Edale to Glossop. Before that, I journeyed from Marsden in Yorkshire to Hadfield in Derbyshire, taking in another part of the way on a day that started out glum and ended up glorious.
While all that means that I trotted along most of the way between Marsden and Edale, there are other short sections on which I have been as well. For instance, in July 2002, I walked from Hebden (near Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales) to Malham via the Dales Way, Mastiles Lane, other paths and, of course, the Pennine Way. That meant that section between Malham Tarn and Malham has been visited by my boots. Another short Yorkshire section that has received attention from my boots is that around Pen-y-Ghent in Ribblesdale: the Way goes right over this member of Yorkshire's three peaks (not ideal for tired legs at the end of the day, then).
Reviewing this uncoordinated series of visits has got me thinking: what about a concerted effort? I am not talking about doing it all (or the parts that I have yet to encounter) in one hit but planning to complete it in sections rather than the hotchpotch approach that I have taken to date. For instance, I have been looking a hill day staring in Marsden and heading to Littleborough, Todmorden or Hebden Bridge, depending on how fit I feel and the length of the day. Another thought is to have a look at the northernmost sections around Bellingham and Kirk Yetholm, its northern terminus. Both are reasonably accessible with regular bus services. Then there is everything in between; Terry Marsh's Pennine Way (published by Dalesman) and a good deal of travel planning will help to make inroads on that front. This venture would take me into areas where I have to encounter and some that where my encounters have been so fleeting that they may as well not have happened at all. Alfred Wainwright (of Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells fame) may not have liked this long distance trail but the idea of completing it all or just seeing more of it seems an appealing prospect to me.
A Pennine Way Stroll
1st November 2006 Last Sunday, I did get out to enjoy the unseasonably mild sunny day that was on offer. My journey by bus and train (bizarrely, the first train service to Manchester from Macclesfield on Sundays is 11:26: a fact that must have filled up the 09:05 Arriva 130 service that I used) took me to Hadfield in Derbyshire, where my walk started.
From Hadfield train station, I proceeded along the somewhat disfigured Longdendale valley to pick up the Pennine Way. Flooding what must have been a pleasant dale to create a series of reservoirs might be forgivable these days, but setting a line of pylons marching along it seems a contemptible notion. In the days when electric coal trains plied the now defunct train line, they might have thought that few would have noticed, especially given the presence of the busy A628. Now that the line terminates rather untidily at Hadfield, the former railway now forms the Longdendale Trail, part of the Transpennine Trail. Even with the apparent diminution of the place, the old rail-bed is used by many walkers, cyclists and horse riders who must be able to see past the blights littering the landscape. While photography is a tricky proposition with the wires and the pylons, I have to say that I can see the attractions too.
Once I picked up the Pennine Way, I headed more or less south from then on. The path climbs up beside Torside Clough before swinging west to Bleaklow before turning south again to follow Hern Clough and Devil's Dyke. However, along the way, I made an unintentional diversion, but it was nothing that a sight of the Wain Stones couldn't fix. This really is featureless moorland country and a GPS would make a useful safeguard, especially when clag comes down. When I got back on track, the stone waymark posts of the Pennine Way served a very useful purpose, particularly around Bleaklow Head and when hopping over and back across Hern Clough (the proofing of my boots was well tested).
I continued along the Pennine Way until it met the Doctor's Gate footpath that took me to Glossop before the light had faded too much. This right of way is classed as a bridleway, but I cannot see anyone cycling along it for a lot of its length, and I suspect that the same may apply to horse riding. In some places, attention is needed due to landslips, particularly on the section right next to Shelf Brook, though there is a section high up the valley that makes one think. Nevertheless, none of this stopped me reaching the pleasant town of Glossop and its train station, where a waiting train conveyed a tired but satisfied Irishman to Manchester Piccadilly for his train back to Macclesfield and home.
Postscript: Winter has arrived...
After a period of very mild weather, a spell of winter chill has arrived on cue for the first day of November (Irish primary schools used to teach that this was the first day of winter; I am not sure what happens these days). This is the type of weather that makes me look for my Karrimor Polartec gloves and think about making use of my excellent North Face Nuptse down jacket; the latter was purchased from Blacks earlier this year ahead of a business trip to Lund in Sweden. October had its share of wet weather but cheered up at its close with weather that wouldn't disgrace a summer day. Now, we have a seasonal cold dry spell to return us to reality, but the walking continues: I was wondering what to do at the weekend. The days may be shorter, but walks can still be done even with the change from summer time to winter time last weekend, a sharp shock if ever there was one.
Travel travails
20th October 2006 Here are some stories from my experiences with transport mishaps. It goes to prove that not everything works like it should.
An Eventful Journey
Getting from Macclesfield to Stockport, they're only 10 miles apart, should be a straightforward affair. On Virgin trains, the journey is 10–15 minutes long and takes 20 minutes on the stopping local Northern train service. In addition, there are hourly buses operating daytime on weekdays, with just three services each way on Sundays. Buses take 60 minutes to reach their destination, so most use the more frequent trains.
However, when I headed into Stockport for a new laser printer one night last week, the journey by train took 45 minutes. The reason is that I had the misfortune of catching a failing train; it was already an hour late. Around a mile north of Macclesfield station, the Virgin Pendolino from London Euston came to a halt just as the train manager was telling us that Stockport was only 10 minutes away. Thankfully, we were not in a tunnel at the time. 30 minutes of the train driver's tinkering followed, including the "resetting" of the train. That means turning the thing completely off and back on. Lights went out and doors stopped operating: I was thinking of the consequences if this went wrong. I suspect that windows would have to be broken with emergency hammers for us all to make an exit. Happily, this did not prove necessary, as the "resetting" resolved the problem and we were on our way. And I did get my printer, but train times were completely thrown out for the rest of the evening. The sight of pairs of Manchester-London and London-Manchester trains leaving Stockport was odd, to say the least.
M6 Chaos
In the past week, the M6 has been affected by a number of crashes. When cycling home on Monday, I encountered a tailback extended from Congleton, but I turned off on my way back to Macclesfield and left the queue behind. Today, though, has been much worse. Today's disruption was caused by a series of crashes on the M6 and when the M6 is subject to delays and congestion, the result is that traffic that normally plies the M6 ends up on Cheshire's trunk roads. Because it is an artery to Manchester and crosses the M6, the A34 usually is badly affected and traffic chokes the villages and towns like Alderley Edge and Wilmslow. Another town affected is Knutsford, not on the A34, but not far from the M6. And when the roads are choked, buses and coaches are brought to near-standstill too. The result, like tonight, is that I got home 20–30 minutes later than usual, and I was lucky; others had a 60-minute delay, and I was left waiting for 90 minutes one evening when a lorry turned over on the A34. Also, being the time of year that it is, we can expect road congestion like this on the approach to Christmas. Curiously, things tend to settle down after then.
Of course, when it comes to traffic conditions, it often pays to know things in advance and that is where these traffic sites come in very handy. The first of these was very useful today. They may even stop me having to stand out in the cold for too long.
Northumberland revisited
2nd October 2006 On Saturday, I got to revisit Northumberland and expand my knowledge of the county. The start was early but I did get to Newcastle-upon-Tyne by 10:40 and travelled north to Berwick-upon-Tweed aboard a rail replacement coach that very nearly got me there in time to catch the 12:00 bus to Wooler. Along the way, I caught glimpses of Bamburgh castle and Holy Island in the distance. I had plans to catch a bus back to Belford and walk to Bamburgh, and maybe beyond, before catching a bus back to Newcastle.
However, the call of the Cheviots proved too strong and I ended up in Wooler by 13:50 (a bit late, I know) after spending a little time taking in a little of what Berwick has to offer. In the glorious sunshine, everywhere looked fantastic but I had to choose between coast and hill and it was a difficult choice. After spending a few hours of exploring a section of St. Cuthbert's Way, I continued to Alnwick where I only spent minutes before continuing back to Newcastle on a bus that took me round by Alnmouth (where I had been in January), Warkworth (home to an enticing castle) and Amble before it made its way to Morpeth and its final destination. From there, it was the railway that returned me home after a worthwhile day that had its share of tight transport connections, especially on the way home.
Following my ramble, my ideas and plans for exploring Northumberland have firmed up a little more. For the Northumberland National Park, there are a number of gateways with reasonable public transport options: Haltwhistle, Hexham, Bellingham, Rothbury, Wooler, Kelso and Kirk Yetholm. Now that I have been to Wooler, I can continue my explorations at leisure (all going well). St. Cuthbert's Way, mentioned earlier, passes through the Cheviots on its way from Melrose in the Scottish Borders, before heading across Northumberland to its destination on Holy Island. The route reflects that taken by St. Cuthbert himself through his life. Alnwick, while home to historic Alnwick castle (home of the Duke of Northumberland), is also sited in hill country of its own and worthy a little more attention. Northumberland's coast remains an attraction with places like Amble, Warkworth and others worth revisiting. In addition, I have recently learned that a long-distance footpath following this coast and there is a good supply of cycle trails as well. With the land near the coast is reasonably flat as well, which makes cycling a viable option.
