The start of our walk today.
The path leading to the hidden tunnel.
The start of the hidden tunnel.
Looking back into the hidden tunnel.
The entrance to the hidden tunnel with he railway embankment above.
Part of the track leading nor7th from the hidden tunnel.
One of the derelict building next to the track.
At a crossroads checking the route.
The through the Tref-y-nant wood leading to Tower Hill.
One of the fields of buttercups.
The King William 11 Tower (Trevor Tower) near Garth.
The delightful path descending through Tower Wood to Garth.
Horses grazing in fields of buttercups near Garth.
Another tunnel through the railway embankment.
The Pont-Cysyllte Marina.
The female Mandarin with er brood.
Red valarian on the roadside on the way to Newbridge.
Mallard ducklings not like the attention of the male Mallards nearby.
Mandarin ducklings going for a swim.
A blue dragonfly not yet identified.
Heading acoss the Pont-Cysyllte Aqueduct for the second time.
Canoeing across the aqueduct.
A good day for fishing in the River Dee!
A part of the Llangollen can seen by me for the first time.
More of the Llangollen Canal system seen by me for the first time as I approached a birding experience I don't want to be repeated.
Walk Stats:Distance: 9.3 miles. Climb: 876’
Time: 5 hours 21 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.7 m.p.h.
Temperature: 17.1 Celsius at the start. 22.1 Celsius at lunch. 19.1 Celsius at the end of the walk.
Beaufort Wind Force: Max 3, just Light breeze now and as much as an 8 m.p.h. Gentle breeze as we crossed the Pont-Cysyllte aqueduct.
Group: Martyn and Ed.
The weather forecast today was pretty good, not much sunshine, but with only a chance of rain around mid-day.
In fact, the weather was better than expected and we had warm sunshine for most of the day. Although we had forgotten our Factor 50, we did remember to bring our sunhats and whenever possible we took advantage of the shade provided by trees and high hedges.
The main objective was to explore the “secret tunnel” that we had read about that could be accessed by a path on the west side of the Duke of Wellington at Acrefair.
The purpose of the tunnel itself seemed to be to allow a path to continue over a stream under the embankment of the railway line above. A little underwhelming, but well worth seeing.
After the tunnel, we explored the area to the north west of Acrefair, initially along a wooded track that was quite pleasant, despite it being quite muddy.
The most interesting part of the was visiting Trevor Tower. The current owner informed us that it was built by G.H Walley, possibly as a folly or as a Hunting Lodge. G.H Walley was Welshman and also an M.P for Peterborough. It was built in1827 and originally named King William II Tower. G.H Walley died there in 1878.
The fields of buttercups also stood out on this walk in the Garth area as ell as the smell of garlic whenever we went near woodland.
Lunch was taken at the very popular Pont-Cysyllte where we took advantage of one of the many picnic tables. We chose one in the shade. This is the starting point for many people hiring narrow boats or going on day trips along the Llangollen Canal, so there were lots to entertain us as we d lunch, especially if you liked to indulge in a bit of people watching.
The plan in the afternoon was return to Acrefair via the canal, Newbridge, Ty Mawr Country Park and Cefn-mawr.
Alas our plans were to be thwarted, the road at Newbridge was closed and that included pedestrians as well as cars. We had no other choice and ended up having to retrace our steps back to our lunch spot and take a more direct route back to Acrefair. However, it did allow us to explore a short section of the Llangollen Canal system north east of our lunch spot that I hadn’t explored previously.
Alas it was on this section that I was attacked by an unknown bird, a very large bird judging by the amount that decided to deposit on me as I walked next to a tree. Thankfully I had a complete change of gear back at the car. I was very grateful that none of the deposit went in my hair despite it getting on my arm, on my shirt an in my trouser pock and on my GPS and its case. One of my handkerchiefs didn’t come clean even after washing!
It took me nearly half an hour cleaning myself up before I dared sit in Ed’s car or go into the Pant yr Ochain for a refreshing pint of Purple Moose’s Cwrw Eryri (Snowdonia Ale) and Titanic’s Plum Porter.
Overall, an enjoyable walk despite the fact that we had to a there and back after lunch.
Birds seen or heard today: Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Black billed magpie, European robin, Common blackbird, Common chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Winter wren, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Common starling, House sparrow, Common pheasant, Greenfinch, Mallard and Mandarin.
No comments:
Post a Comment