Reassembled
11th August 2011 After last weekend's bout of madness on the web hosting side of things, this place is more or less back together again. Along the way, there may have been a lot of poking around backups to get things sorted but there are also were reminders of places where I haven't been for a while as various entries saw reinstatement. In some cases, I ended up asking myself if it really was that long ago when I last was in some areas. The Brecon Beacons is one such hill wandering destination that hasn't been savoured for quite a while and Pembrokeshire and Perthshire fall into the same category as does Galloway. Maybe I should poke around here more often whenever I run out of ideas though the likes of TGO should keep replenishing them, especially as I am catching up with a few issues of the magazine at the moment.
These inadvertent reminders have had me recalling how things were when I first started out blogging and how far things have moved since then; those early postings were more pithy and there may a point in returning to a little bit of that, especially if it means that you hear from me more often. There was a lot of talk about motivation and hibernation even in those days and those haven't gone away though interruptions by work and family life make their intrusions known too. In one respect, seeing what I have already written should stop me repeating myself too often but being confronted by unfinished business is another counterpoint to those occasions when it is too easy to say that I have seen enough of hill country. After you, there always are new sights to see even if it is different light falling on a familiar location.
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.
A New Look for TGO
4th June 2011 While the weather did its best yesterday to lure us into thinking that a heatwave was in progress, today has proven that it wasn't to last long at all. In fact, there's a stiff north-easterly wind to take the edge of the temperatures. While some may bemoan the cooling down, it does make things better for those who plan enjoy the outdoors in a more active way. This evening saw me take my bike for a short cycle and that wind certainly didn't make temperatures feel at all icy and I wasn't long getting up some heat of my own making.
Before all that, the latest issue of TGO arrived on my doormat this morning and it looks as if the magazine has got a dramatic overhaul. To someone like me who is amazed by what is being done to computing interfaces in the world of technology, it was a reminder of the period of change through which we are going at present; I even spotted copies of TGO on a shelf in my local Sainsbury's too! Some changes have to be fought and these include the mad experiment that is onshore wind farm technology or daft political moves like selling off Forestry Commission land and other such crazy countryside-wrecking initiatives instated by our current U.K. government. However, some change require adaptation and even embracing. It might be said that the alterations to TGO are an example of the latter.
So TGO now sports a brighter look with the sort of full binding that we haven't it lost a few years ago in favour of using a staple binding, now the more expensive option if you believe the editor of Photography Monthly. That change in presentation brings bigger pages and larger photos. With regard to content, there seems to have been a wholesale reorganisation with Wild Walks coming near the back now. It does seem that much of the usual stuff is in there though you might wonder if it is in danger of getting lost given the other changes. However, there's now a hill skills section and Jim Perrin's column is a single page affair focussing on works of outdoors literature that have inspired him rather than a double page spread of his ruminations drawing on various works of literature. That distinction may no sound so clear but it is how I see it.
While witnessing a restyle like that done to TGO does make you wonder if it is in danger of losing its soul, it's in the reading that you only can assess matters such as that and I have yet to give this month's issue more than an initial inspection. Nevertheless, there seems to plenty of continuity in terms of articles on walking and gear reviews. Those devoted to the types of related matters such as a photo essay on Patagonia or an interview with a landscape painter are not all that new to the magazine either. Big rearrangements can unsettle us but it does seem that nothing has been lost along the way in this case. Maybe I need to get reading and add to my list of trip ideas then...
Weekends away
5th May 2011 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.
