Walks and Dates December 2017

Happy Christmas Everyone

Advanced Notice
Change of Walk Day.
I have decide that starting in January 2018,
I will be switching the mid-week walk day 
from 
Thursday to Wednesday.
The reason for changing the day is to give my knees an extra day to recover before the Saturday walk.
It also means that our Annual Meal will also be switched to the Wednesday.
Advanced notice.
Harris Hikers Annual Meal 2018.
Probable Venue: The Red Fox, Thornton Hough. 
This is another Brunning and Price hostelry.
Date: Wednesday 7th February 2018.
I haven't approached the Red Fox yet, and won't do so until early in January 2018, so if you prefer another venue, I am open to suggestions.

I will contact everyone by e-mail in December to check how many are interested in joining us for the meal.
Saturday 2nd December 2017.
Postponed.

Pincyn Llys from Bontuchel.
This walk will now replace the Gwydir Forest walk originally planned for the 9th December.

Walk stats: Distance: 8.9 miles. Climb: 2187'.
Start Forest Car Park near Bontuchel Grid ref: SJ08165708.
To get to the car park at Ruthin follow the through route and at the rugby club roundabout take the B5105 road towards Llanfwrog. Just after passing the church and the narrow bend in the road, take the right turn signposted to Bontuchel and Cyffylliog. At Bontuchel turn left immediately after crossing the bridge over the river. Follow the road uphill. The Forest car park in about half a mile up the road on the left.
This walk is taken from Dave Berry's book "Walks Around Hiraethog Moors and Lakes." However his walk starts at Cyffylliog, but parking there isn't easy. Starting from Bontuchel allows to get round that problem, but does involve walking along a about a mile to link in with the described walk. The walk explores the undulating upland pastures and forest between Cyffylliog and Clocaenog as well as following open side valleys and forest around Pincyn Llys.
 This has always been a favourite walk for the group, but I do like to include it now and again. It is four years since we last did this walk.

Thursday 7th December 2017.

St. Cwyfan's Trail and More.

Distance: 9-10 miles. The main part of the walk is taken from Dave Berry's book "Walks in the Clwydian Hills
Start: Roadside parking in Llandyrnog on the Llangynhafal road (Gladstone Terrace) . Park on the wider part of the road after Nant Glyd. Grid ref: SJ109650.
Leave Chester at 09-00 a.m.
The main part of the walk is taken from Dave Berry's book "Walks in the Clwydian Hills" and the extension is around the lower slopes of  Penycoddiau along the Clwydian Way.
It is described as a delightful walk in the countryside North of Llandyrnog and visits the smallest church in the Vale of Clwyd.

Saturday 9th December 2017.
Pincyn Llys from Bontuchel. 
Postponed - Billy no mates again!
See 2nd December 2017 for details.
Gwydir Forest From Llanwrst. Cancelled.

Distance: 9 miles. Climb: 1200'.
Start: Llanrwst car park, behind library and PC. Grid ref: SH796616.
Leave Chester at 08-30 a.m.
This walk is taken from Carl Roger's book "Walking in the Conwy Valley. It is described as a moderately strenuous walk with some sustained ascents, mainly on good forest tracks. it explores the Eastern section of Gwydir Forest with its numerous lakes.

Thursday 14th December 2017.

Burton and Parkgate.

Distance: 8-10 miles. Climb: 500'.

Start: Roadside parking on Denhall Lane next to benches overlooking the marshes. Grid ref: SJ301747.

Leave Chester 9-00 a.m.

The Burton circuit is taken from Jen Darling's book "Walks in West Cheshire and the Wirral". This walk is just 5 miles, but we will extend it. Last time we did this walk trying to find the exact path through Burton Wood to Mill Lane proved to be a challenge, it may be this time too!  
 The extension will involve some road walking through Neston to link up with the Wirral Way and onto Parkgate. The return route will use coastal paths as much as possible and pass Neston Old Quay and Denhall Quay on the way back to Denhall Lane.
There is an option to miss out Parkgate and shorten the walk by about 2 miles and the climb by about 100'.
The 27' / 8.2 m high tide is around  08-15, so we shouldn't have any problem using the coastal path as long as it isn't flooded for other reasons.
 It is possible that we may see Marsh harriers and Hen harriers hunting over the marsh, soit may be worthwhile bringing binoculars with you.

Saturday 16th December 2017.

Deganwy Castle and the Great Orme. 
Postponed.

Distance:10 miles; Climb:1900'.

Start:Roadside parking near the Public Conveniences on the West shore of Llandudno. Grid ref:SH773819.

Leave Chester 9-00 a.m.

The main walk today is the Deganwy Castle walk taken from Dave Berry's book "Walks on the North Wales Coast". Sections of this walk have been known to be muddy in the past.

The extension to the walk , after returning to the car, will involve most of the circuit of the limestone plateau on the Great Orme, including a visit to the trig point and descent via the Monks' path to the toll road. There are plenty of options to shorten the walk if required.

Thursday 21st December 2017. 
The original walk has been changed. 
The New Walk is described below

Ysceifiog-Caerwys and More.
This will be our last walk on a Thursday before our switch to a Wednesday.
Last we sampled the fruit cake that I made a couple of months ago, but there is still enough left, so I will be bringing some again this week. 
Make sure you let me know that you are coming so that I know how many pieces of cake to bring.

Distance: 8 miles. Climb: 1500'.

Start: Ysceifiog, park adjacent to the children's play area. Grid ref: SJ152715.

Leave Chester 9-00 a.m.

  in view of the considerable amount of rain/snow we have had recently, I have decided to change the walk as in the past we have found the original walk to be very muddy where cattle have been grazing.
 This new walk is based on a walk taken from the Liverpool daily Post around 1955 and is described as a ramble exploring woodland scenery, sylvan paths and pretty lanes. Our walk start at the tranquil village of Ysceifiog and heads for the interesting small town of Caerwys.
 The described walk is linear a it assumes that people are using buses, so we will complete the walk by exploring paths and lanes on the South side of A541.
 Much of this walk attempts to avoid the mud, by using quite lanes, but if we feel we the urge to slip and slide across muddy fields there are plenty of opportunities if we so wish!

Saturday 23rd December 2017.

No walk.

A Ysceifiog Round 21st December 2017

Our first encounter with Ysceifiog mud!

Local residents checking that we leaving their field.

Where is the footbridge? It's there somewhere!

The view from my lunch spot!

The village of Ysceifiog seems a long way off.

Moel y Parc from a bridleway South west of Ysceifiog.

Walk stats: Distance: 6.4 miles.Climb: 1083'.

Time: 4 hours 27 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.0 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.4 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn, Sue and Michel, Roger, Jim and Mal.

The weather today was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the low teens Celsius. Overcast and with little wind to cool us, my glasses frequently steamed up.

 Although the walk had been changed to try to avoid known muddy sections, it wasn't long before we encountered the worst of the mud as we entered a field after crossing a footbridge at the East end of Ysceifiog Lake.

  The next part of the walk was along a pleasant path on the West side of Ysceifiog Lake to a road that went past Ddol Nature Reserve.

 We decided to take a short cut along a wooded path to the Caerwys road, unfortunately this path didn't quite go to the road and ended at farm building. This was pointed out to us by the landowner, who still kindly allowed us to continue rather than forcing us to retrace our steps.

 On arriving at the B5122 Caerwys road, we soon realised that this was a much busier road than the 1955 walk description suggested.  We decided to miss out the climb to Caerwys and instead headed South towards Afonwen. It was our intention to extend the walk on the South side of the A541 to compensate.

 This we did by following a path that took around the South side of Bryn yr Eithin to link up with our planned route near a footbridge over the Afon Disgynfa.

 By now it was lunch time, but as yet we hadn't come across a suitable place to stop, so we plodded on up hill again and decided that  the grass verge near Plas Gwyn was the best we would get. Thankfully as we ate our lunch no vehicles went past us on this narrow road.

 After lunch we decided not to explore the Waen-dymarch path and instead to stick to the road to the Sarn fisheries. 

 We did manage to explore two bridleways that we hadn't used before that led to the Ddol-Yscefiog road.

 We arrived back at the car a little earlier than expected but still with legs letting us know that a reasonable amount of climb had been involved.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Carrion crow, Mallard, Tufted duck, Coot, European robin, Treecreeper, Great tit, Long-tailed tit, Black-billed magpie, Common starling and Sparrowhawk.

 As this was the last walk planned for a Thursday, it was thought appropriate to go to the Britannia Inn at Pentre Halkyn for after walk drinks as this was the hostelry that we visited after our first Thursday walk in Autumn 2005.

 As ever, the Lees bitter was excellent.

 We can look forward to visiting the Britannia Inn again in mid February after scheduled refurbishment starting in early 2018.

Burton and More 14th December 2017

St. Nicholas' Church, Burton.

On the path through Burton Wood.

Are we still on the right path through Burton Wood.

Moel Famau from the Burton to Neston Road.

Looking across the Dee estuary towards the Clwydian Hills from the Burton to Neston Road.

Lost sheep?

The Sandstone track leading to the Wirral Way.

A delightful new lunch area on the Wirral Way East of the Neston Cutting.

On the Dee estuary path from the Old Quay heading towards the Harp Inn.

The Harp Inn - chosen location for after walk refreshments.

Walk stats: Distance: 8.0 miles. Climb: 414'.

Time: 3 hours 58 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.0 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn, Roger, Sue and Michel, Mal, Jim and David S.

Today looked like being a good day for walking, although we were expecting it to feel pretty cold with strong cold winds gusting in. Once again, we were lucky with plenty of warm sunshine and only the occasional cool breeze to keep us cool.

 In the past we have always been unsure about which path to take through Burton Wood, but today we had success and kept to the described route throughout.

 As on previous walks, Mill Lane from Ness proved to be busy with traffic, but all vehicles slowed as the passed us.

 The second bonus today was finding a new area of seats made out parts of tree trunks arranged in a circle around a large piece with a carved bear on one side. This was a perfect lunch spot and being in the warm sunshine was another bonus.

  This was the last walk before Christmas for some of the group, so the traditional fortified fruit cake was provided.

 The muddiest part of the walk was dropping down from the Wirral Way to the Old Quay where the access to one of the gates was surrounded by water that looked too deep for our boots, we had to climb over the nearby fence with two horses looking on.

 Sections along the estuary were a little waterlogged, but nothing that we couldn't cope with. As we passed the Harp Inn, we noticed that its new opening hours were Noon to 11-00 p.m. each day, so we decided to return later for our after walk refreshments.

 We arrived back at the car, having had a really enjoyable walk, missing out on all the bad bits that had been in most forecasts for the area.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Woodpigeon, Common buzzard, Little egret, Black-billed magpie, House sparrow, Eurasian curlew, Common blackbird, Goldfinch, Carrion crow, Common chaffinch, Fieldfare, European robin, common kestrel, Lapwing, Grey heron, Teal and Black-headed gull.

 On returning to the Harp Inn at Ness, one side (the one with a roaring fire) was too full, but thankfully there was room for us in the other room. Holts' Bitter was the beer of choice, but Mulled wine with a mince pie went down particularly well. Two types of coffee were sampled too.

St. Cwyfan's Trail and More 7th December 2017

"Is this really the way?"

Not the easiest stile to get to or get over!

Moel yParc and Pencloddiau.

On the way to Aberwheeler.

Moel y Parc and Pencloddiau.

Looking towards the Vale of Clwyd.

The sky as the Sun starts to go down.

St. Cwyfan's Church.

Last ,look at the Clwydian Hills before descending to Llandyrnog.

The Sun going down above the creamery at Llandyrnog.

Walk stats: Distance: 9.2 miles. Climb: 1038'.

Time 5 hours 21 minutes. Overall walk average: 2.2 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.7 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn, Sue and Michel, Jim and Mal.

This was a day that we weren't sure what to expect weather-wise. High winds were likely and temperatures were expected to drop significantly, but at lest we knew it would be dry! In reality the 40 m.p.h gusts of wind didn't materialise and the temperature didn't drop much either. At times it was very warm in the mid-afternoon sunshine, almost too warm!

 One or two stiles were a problem and in need of some TLC.

 Finding a suitable lunch spot wasn't easy, particular after a perfectly good bus shelter was turned down, and on this occasion it wasn't Celia.

 We ended up having lunch on  grassy slope with good views over the Vale of Clwyd towards Aberwheeler and beyond.

 Overall this was quite a varied walk, with more ups than some of were expecting and we certainly got the best of the day, as driving homeward we went through hail and then sleet.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, House sparrow, European robin, Common buzzard, Wood nuthatch, Collared dove, Common pheasant, Collared dove, Woodpigeon, Rook, Carrion crow and Jackdaw.

 We arrived back at the cars with tired legs, having had a very enjoyable walk and looking forward to refreshments at the Dinorben Arms at Bodfari. Each of us sampled different beers today, but all went down well. They included: Brews from Facers (Northern Star) Caledonian (Deuchers IPA) and one from the Conwy Brewery.

Gadlys and Nant-y-Fflint 30th November 2017

A Common buzzard resting ahead of us on our route to Gadlys.

Common buzzard disturbed by  a Savage.

On the woodland path in Nanty-Fflint.

A cottage in Nant-y-Fflint.

Another stream entering Nant-y-FFlint.

Flint Castle and the twin towers.

At least you can get though the fence now.

In the past there was just a stile, blocked by the fence.

The Dee estuary seen from the path North west of Flint.

Looking East towards Flint.

Walk stats: Distance: 8.7 miles. Climb: 1266'.

Time: 5 hours 17 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.1 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.6 m.p.h.

Group: Marttyh, Roger, Jim and David S.

This turned out to be a good day or walking, although on the cool side, especially when we were exposed to the cold Northerly wind, but the warm afternoon sunshine made up for it.

 There had been one or two changes since the last time we had done the walk. One path South of Bagillt, had been re-routed slightly, making it much easier and avoiding having to cross old footbridge. All went smoothly as we went through the delightful woodland path in Nant-y-Ffrith, although we didn't find a suitable lunch spot as we had hope we would.

 Lunch was taken at the entrance to Maes-gwyn-mawr farm, where took advantage of a stone wall to sit on as we had lunch. Thankfully we were in sunshine.

 After lunch we set off across the field East of Maes-gwyn-mawr farm, but unfortunately a young bull decided to be a little too friendly and we had to make a retreat.

 This meant that we had to change our route to get round the said problem. We ended up goung along the road to the outskirts of Flint and taking Cornist Lane to reach a path that linked up with our original route.

 The last part of our route back to Bagillt was on field paths and involved crossing a good number of stiles, some of which weren't easy to cross.

 At this point the views across the Dee estuary to the Wirral and beyond were superb.

 We arrived back at the car, having had a good walk and looking forward to after walk refreshment in a local hostelry with a real fire. On this occasion we visited the Britannia Inn at Halkyn, where once more the Lees bitter was in excellent condition. We had were warmly welcomed by the landlady and shortly after arriving, the chef brought out a bowl of prawn crackers for everyone in the pub. A nice gesture, making us all have a positive feel for the venue. We also found out that the Brit would be closed from 4th January for a five week refurbishment. Worth remembering when we may be looking for a suitable local for after walk refreshment on Wednesdays in the New Year.

 Birds seen or heard today included: House sparrow, Common chaffinch, Common buzzard, Common blackbird, Song thrush, Fieldfare, Herring gull, Carrion crow, Woodpigeon, Common pheasant and Grey wagtail.