Two Moels and a Mountain.
The early morning Moon and a bright neighbour.
HM trig point o the horizon.
A Common kestrel resting on the pylon.
Distance: 8.1 miles. Climb: 720'.
Time: 4 hours 14 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.4 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h. (obviously too much time taken over lunch with no-one around to encourage me to get going again!)
Group: Martyn.
The day started well when the early morning sky showed the Moon and a bright body near by (probably Mars) . I have never seen the crescent moon visible with the rest of the moon still visible at the same time.
Hence the reason for including a picture of the Moon, even though it wasn't rwally part pf my walk.
I arrived at my start, the common land opposite the Blue Bell at Halkyn at 09-15 and was ready to get going just after 09-15.
At this time it was still a bit misty, but at least it was dry with a gentle coolish breeze, enough for me to start wearing a lightweight jacket.
In fact distant views were misty all day, although by the end of the walk it was possible to see across the Dee estuary as far as the Wirral and Liverpool beyond.
It wasn't long before I hasd reached the trig point on Halkyn Mountain (HM) , but unusually it wasn't possible to see Moel Famau today.
The power lines are undergoing some major work in this area, with netting placed below the cables whereever they crossed roads.
Shortly afterwards, I decided I needed to fee some empathy with the rest of the group (walking on country lanes in Cheshire) , so used the country lanes to return to Rhes-y-cae , a distance of about 2.7 miles.
Regrettably I decided to take the most direct route up Moel - Ffagnalt, I had forgotten how unpleasant steep grassy slopes are!
Reaching the Millenium viewpoint was my lunch spot, and thankfully the Sun came out and it was pleasantly warm.
After lunch I headed for my second Moel, Moel-y-Crio, before heading back over Halkyn Mountain back to the start.
Birds seen or heard today included: Redwing and Fieldfare, House sparrow, Black billed magpie, Common starlng, Goldfinch, Common blackbird, Common pheasant, Winter wren, European robin, Collared dove, Woodpigeon, Common kestrel, Peregrine falcon, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Rook and Raven.
Once again I was able to celebrate a really enjoyable walk with a pint of Lees bitter at the Britannia Inn at Halkyn. they may be new landlords, but they still keep an excellent pint of Lees bitter.
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