Rhuddlan to Rhyl Using Paths on Both Sides of the River 15th January 2025

The way to Rhyl along the west bank of the Afon Clwyd.

Mute swans on the flooded field west of the Afon Clwyd.

Snow still evident on the mountain tops.

Great cormorants, Oystercatchers and gulls on the bank of theAfon Clwyd.

Greylag geese on the west bank.

Lapwings in flight.

Waders take to the air.

The Foryd Road Bridge.

An Oystercatcher resting while tide goes out.

Pont-y-Ddraig and Rhyl Harbour.

Pont-y-Ddraig.

Looking towards Rhyl from Pont-y-Ddraig.

Six out of 30 Mute swans on Rhyl Marine Lake.

Fran giving a Welsh lesson.

Distant view of Rhuddlan Castle.

"Let's make it a better place."

Nigel doing just that!

Tufted duck on Brickfields Pond.

A Moorhen on Brickfields Pond.

Brickfields Pond from the south.

St. Mary's Church, Rhuddlan.

The view from the steps at the Britannia Inn, Halkyn

Distance: 8.1 miles. Climb: 125’
Time: 4 hours 27 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.7 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.7 m.p.h.
Temperature: 9.2 Celsius at the start. 11.1 Celsius at lunch and 12.8 Celsius at the end.
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 – 1. Mainly Calm, but occasionally we just about felt something (Light air.
Group: Martyn, Mike, Nigel and Fran.
This was a superb day weatherwise, wall to wall blue sky, little or no wind a feeling pleasantly warm.
On this occasion, we decided to complete the walk in a clockwise direction. This meant we headed to Rhyl following the path along the west side of the river and returning to Rhuddlan along the tarmac path on the east side of the river.
Distant views were crystal clear, including the snow-covered tops of Eryri.
Lunch was taking next to Rhyl Marine Lake, where used one of the many picnic tables. It was a very pleasant 20 minutes or so, basking in the warm sunshine as we ate out lunch.
Our only disappointment was lack of birds on the Brickfields Pond, but over 30 mute swans on the Marine Lake made up for it.
Birds seen or heard today: House sparrow, Dunnock, Jackdaw, Common blackbird, Pied wagtail, Oystercatcher, Herring gull, Black headed gull, Great cormorant, Common starling, Collared dove, Great black backed gull, Jackdaw, House sparrow, Mallard, Teal, Lapwing, Carrion crow, Mute swan, Greylag goose, Goldfinch, Canada goose, Common redshank, Wigeon, Common coot, Moorhen, Tufted duck, Common starling, Woodpigeon, Great tit, Collared dove, Black tailed godwit and Goosander.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable walk, especially for those wanting to do a bit of birdwatching at the same time.
Doing the walk this way round had the disadvantage that the bright sunshine made getting clear views of the birds on the river difficult in the afternoon.
After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Britannia Inn where two of us were able to sample the excellent Lees bitter.