Llanasa, Gop Hill and Sea Views 3rd August 2022

Saint Asaph and Saint Cyndeyrn, Church, Llanasa.

The first climb of the day.

Tumuli that we only spotted because Rober (Bob) Harris mentioned them in his book, "Walks in Ancient Wales.

At the toposcope, north east of Treawnyd - still warrenting discussion.

Mike nearly missed a chance of stopping for elevenses!

The joy of being allowed to stop for elevenses!

The path through the gorse o the south side of Gop Hill.

The wild flowers planted at our lunch spot in Gwaenysgor.

Inside St Mary Magdelene's Church, Gwaenysgor.

St Mary Magdelene's Church, Gwaenysgor.

Views towards the Great Orme from the Offa's Dyke Footpath.
Walk stats.

Distance: 7.9 miles. Climb: 1135'.

Time: 4 hours 46 minutes.  Walking average: 2.1 m.p.h. Overall wal average: 1.6 m.p.h.

Temperature: 21.2 Celsius at lunch. 22.8 Celsius at the end of the walk.

Baufort Wind Force: 1 - 3. Mainl a light breeze and very occasionally a welcome gust rising to a gentle breeze (9.1 m.p.h.).

Group: Martyn, Fran, Mike and Ed.

This was a superb day for walking, a little on the warm side at times, but breezes helped  to reduce any discomfort.

Distant views were rather hazy, but we could easily make out the Clwydian Hills (Moel Famau). the Great Orme and some of the high tops in Snowdonia (Moel Siabod).

We se off a little later than usual, so we missed out visiting the top of Gop Hill in favour of taking the path south of the top, hoping to get to Gwaenysgor for lunch before 13-00.

As usual, we took advantage of the large bench in the Gwaenysgor Memorial Garden, now with its patch of wild flowers on display.

After lunch I paid a visit to St Mary Magdelene's Church,. This is the first time I noticed it had been open.

The surprise of the day, was along Offa's Dyke Footpath, where new fences and gates had been erected.  A notice informed us thast in the near future sheep would be grazing on these slopes!

Golden Groves vwas no longer visible as it was hidden by the trees that had grown much taller since our last visit.

Birds seen or heard today included: Ringnecked parakeet, Carrion crow, Raven, Rook, Herring gull, Moorhen and Barn swallow.

Oveall a very enjoyable walk, celebrated by a visit to the Blue Bell in Halkyn.  Lees Bitter went down well as Fran indulged us, allowing us to have a second pint as she sipped her glass of Coke!

 

A Clwydian Trio from Pentre-celyn 11th September 2021

 

The Vale of Clwyd from Garreg Fawr.

View towards Waen -grogen from Offa's Dyke Path near Nirse Gorlan.

Llyn Gweryd from the Offa's Dyke Path, south west of Moel y Plas.

The ascent of Moel y Plas - didn't realise it was so windy!

"We made it - Moel y Plas conquered!".

A delightful section of the Offa's Dyke Footpath across the western slopes of Moel Gyw.

A Common kestrel hunting over the north west slopes of Moel Gyw.

Looking south east towards Moel Gyw from he Offa's Dyke Path.

The track through Coed Plas-y-nant.

 WalkStats:

Distance: 10.0 miles. Climb: 1657'. 

Time: 5 hours 10 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.4 m.p.h. overall walk average: 2.0 m.p.h.

Extra stats (Nigel and Mike) : Distance: 11.0 miles. Climb: 2574'.  Onthe move alking average: 2.3 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.)

Max temperature: 22.0 Celsius. Min temperature: 16.7 Celsius.

Beaufort Winf Force: 0 - 2 (Calm to a light breeze).

Group: Martyn, Nigel and Mike.

We arrived at Pentre-celyn just after 09-00, so we were on our way at about 09-15, hoping to complete our walk by about 15-00.

The weather wasn't brilliant, quite muggy at times, the only real rain experience was at lunch time - not what we wanted!

Nigel and Mike opted to do the optional extensions to the summits of Moel y Plas and Moel Gyw whilst a gently ambled along the Offa's Dyke Path, letting them catch up with me at Pen-yr-Allt, my planned lunch spot.

Distant view were good at times, but at times it was easy to spot where the rain was falling and allowed us to guess if it would miss us or not.

After lunch, there was always a dampness in the air, but never enough to demand the donning of our waterproofs or raising unbrellas in anger!

Birds seen or herd today included: Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Raven, Barn swallow, Meadow pipit, Common buzzard and Common kestrel.

Overall a very enjoyable walk, celebrated with an excellent pint of Purple Moose's Snowdonia Ale at the Druids Inn at Llanferres.

Around Moel Maenefa and Coed Cwm 18th August 2021

 

A felled and cleared wood just outside Tremerchion, with n unusal way of stacking most of the cleared cuttings  at least 12' high on one side of the former wood.

Heads down and we arte on our way and it isn't even 10-00 yet! 

Views towards the coast from the path heading towards St. Buenos.

The talkative "twins"  making their way through a field of almost ripe oats.

Lunch time at Rhuallt - seats and even better under a Victoria Plum tree with fruit ready to eat!

A friendly Shield bug that wanted to share our lunch spot.

Views towards the Snowdonia hills as we descend Offa's Dyke Path towards Rhuallt.

Nigel watching the flow of traffic on the A55.

Looking at the exhibits at Bryntirio Farm

More exhibits at Bryntirio Farm - close the gate Harris Hikers Are here!

Distance: 10.0 miles. Climb: 1600' (only 1300' on my old GPS, but my legs felt the my new GPS was nearer the mark!).

Time: 5 hours 38 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.2 m.p.h. Overall walk aveage: 1.8 m.p.h.

Temperature: 21.1 Celsius at lunch in Rhuallt.

Beaufort wind force: 0 at lunch, Calm but nothing more than a light breeze at any time.

Group: Martyn, Sue and Michel, Fran and Nigel.

We set off with waterproof jackets on, knowning that the forecast said it should be dry within an hour. Thankfully both the Met and the BBC got it right and we most of the walk was almost perfect for walking.  

Distant views towards Snowndonia were there, but the real high tops were in cloud, just reminding us we would get superb views on this walk, but you will just have to co me again!

 Lunch was taken early today, not because anyone was whinging, but because no-one could think of a better spot had we continued on the walk.

Fortified fruit cake was provide in celebration of my birthday earlier in the week.

After lunch, we did more road walkling than we would normally like, but at least it was quiet country lane only used by polite motorists!

On one of these quiet roads we passed Bryntirion Farm and its surprising collection models of animals and even people.

At one point I had to stop to change my batteries, while the rest of the group carried. Eventually they noticed and I got a phone call from Nigel, just as I as about to catch up with them.

Birds seen or heard today: Raven, Common buzzard, Goldfinch, Common blackbird.

After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Britannia Inn at Halkyn, where the Lees bitter went down well. Unfortunaly I forgot to take my carry keg with me, so arriving at home I just had to enjoy a dram of Jamesons (one of my birthday presents!

Another bonus arriving at home was to find my boots clean, even the soles.

Any errors in thi posting are entirely due to Jamesons!

 

Around Fron Hen, Loggerheads and the East Side of the A494 6th March 2019

Looking towards Fron Hen from the start of the walk.

Bryn Alyn from the track  around the East side of Fron Hen.

Walking through ........

Llanferress from the track  around the East side of Fron Hen.

Following this path for the first time.

Another new route for HH's walks.

Daffodils on the voadside as we approached Loggerheads.

Blossom on a trees next to Loggerheads Country Park Entrance.

The first new path after lunch new path for HH's walks.

Llanferres from the path South west of Mount Pleasant.

The car is somewhere up there!

Walk stats: Distance: 8.3 miles. Climb: 1304'.

Time: 4 hours 36 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.4 m.p.h. (2.6 m.p.h. on my newest GPS). Overall walk average: 1.8 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn , David S and Celia.

This turned out to be a better day for walking than we were expecting, although we were forced to put on waterproofs for about an hour. Even so it wasn't heavy rain and thankfully it wasn't as windy as the forecasts had predicted. when the Sun managed to escape from behind clouds it felt quite warm.

 This was a varied walk using paths on both sides of the A494. Distant views were good, particularly from the higher points of the walk.

 as usual the muddiest section was on the track South west of Fron Hen farm  where many sheep had trodden around feeding troughs.

 We decided to have lunch at Loggerheads Country Park Visitor Centre, where we were able to sit in the warm sunshine, taking advantage of one of the available picnic tables.

 After lunch, it wasn't long before we were faced with the main climb of the afternoon, up a path running from the A494 along the West side of he Colomendy Outdoor Centre.Grounds.

 This walk was one suggested by David S, and it included 9 sections of path and roads that I hadn't previously used on walks, and we even went past one or two more that could be included in new walk in the future.

 This was the biggest climb for some time, so most of u arrived back at the car with tired legs, thankfully still dry and looking forward to celebratory refreshments in a nearby ostelry.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Dunnock, Blue tit, Great tit, Black-billed magpie,House sparrow, Common blackbird, Woodpigeon, Common buzzard, Winter wren, Eoropean robin and Song thrush.

  After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Druids Inn at Llanferres, where Purple Moose's Snowdonia Ale went down well, and there was even a suitable lager on offer for Celia, posh crisps too!

 This is becoming  a very pleasant hostelry, well worth supporting if you can get there earlier enough to enjoy your drink as it promptly closed at 15-00.

 Overall a good day out on a day we thought we might have to stay at home

A Cilcain, Coed Du and Gronfoel Round 29th June 2017

On a new to us path between quarries.

The Trim Rock Quarry.

An unusual tree sign.

An unusual lunch spot.

A Melton Mowbary pie - but to be shared!

Some have already escaped from the dreaded by-way that leads South east from Siamber Wen.

looking across the fields towards Moel Evan.

Walk stats: Distance: 5.7 miles. Climb: 761'.

Time: 3hours 43 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.1 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.5 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn, Sue and Michel, Phil, Jim and David S.

We arrived at the parking place West of Cilcain with a distinct dampness in the air, so we all donned our waterproofs right from the start. Although we had them on for the whole of the walk, it wasn't much more than dampness and the absence of any wind meant that we never felt cold.

 The nearby tops of the Clwydian Hills were all in low cloud, so we decided the full walk going round Moel Plas-yw would not be a good option.

 Consequently we decided to shorten the walk and took the option of exploring  a section of path that started South of the Trim Rock Quarry and then went North along its Eastern side to join the path that we usually take from Nant Alyn.

 Choosing a lunch spot was always going to be a problem today with everywhere being wet after the continuous rain of the last few days.

  Unexpectedly we came across a few stones under trees along the track that we were able to take advantage of, as well as shelter from the dampness. We weren't the first to have had lunch at this spot as they had left sweet wrappers behind - they are no longer there!

 Later on we saw some youngsters on their D of E that weren't exactly sure where they were on the map. we pointed out where they were on their maps and left them heading for Moel Famau via Cilcain.

 As we were leaving we saw them again, but this time one of their teachers had caught up with them.

 The uneven by-way leading South west from Siamber Wen is not one of my favourite tracks, but today is was the most obvious one to take on the way back to the car.

 Birds seen or heard today were few and far between, but included: House sparrow, Barn swallow, Woodpigeon, Carrion crow, Common blackbird, Winter wren, Common chaffinch, not forgetting David's Kestrel.

 We arrived back at the car having had an enjoyable walk despite the weather and agreeing that our shorter than usual walk today was the right one for today.

 The only problems we encountered was the many wooden stiles that had very wet slippery wooden steps. Avoiding wet tree roots and one or two limestone rocks  were two other things we needed to step carefully around.

 After walk drinks were enjoyed by some at the Glasfryn at Mold, where Prple Mooses brews Snowdonia Ale and Dark Side of the Moose went down well.

 I was a little disappointed that they had run out of teapots and only brought me a single cup of tea when I was looking forward to one or two more!

Moel Famau - Not Twice, but Thrice 30th July 2015

The Red route or is it the Blue route to Moel Famau.

The first visit to Moel Famau Jubilee Tower.

Looking back along the route that we used to climb to Moel Famau for the second time.

At the Jubilee Tower for the second time.

The second path to be explored on the way to the Moel Famau summit for the third time.

Guess who is in the lead!

At the Jubilee Tower for the third time.

Which way down?

Just to prove that I did make it to the Jubilee Tower view point.

A last look towards Moel Famau, showing the path used on the first ascent (right) and the path used on the final descent (left).

The forest road down to Bwlch Penbarra with the Arans on the skyline.

This thistle must be special attracting three bees!

Walk stats: Distance: 6.4 miles. Climb: 1890'.

Time: 4 hours 16 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.0 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.5 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn, David S and Phil.

A very select group today, and despite the forecast, we set off in in what might be described as "spotty rain" and it wasn't long when I had to bite the bullet and put on my waterproof jacket which I kept on until lunchtime - not because it was raining all of the time, but the North westerly wind was quite cool once we had climbed above the forest or what was left of the forest!

 The views today were quite good, but not exactly crystal clear, but Beeston Hill could be seen as could most of the high tops of Snowdonia.

 Lunch was taken on arriving at the Jubilee Tower for the third time, where we sheltered in one of the recesses in the tower base.

 We were surprised to see how much work had been done centre of the tower view point, with new stone work creating a convenient place to sit and new brass plates giving direction of the major peaks that could be seen as well as information about the tower itself.

 We decided to head for Bwlch Penbarra via a forest road as soon as we could escape from the main Offa's Dyke path  that was like a busy "motorway"!

 Birds seen or heard were few and far between but included: Common kestrel, Common buzzard, Raven, Carrion crow, Meadow pipit, Woodpigeon, Black-billed magpie and winter wren.

 David and Phil also saw was a Weasel.

  The final descent from Bwlch Penbarra to the lower car park was along the path that went parallel with the road. This had largely significantly improved by putting slate flakes, making it a very mud free route. This path was lined with lots of thistles and yellow flowers that made it an avenue that attracted lots of different bees and other insects.

 We arrived back at the car, having found two little used paths that were quite pleasant and could be used as alternative paths to some of the more unpleasant stone paths leading to Moel Famau summit.

 After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Glasfryn, Mold, where Purple Moose Snowdonia Ale went down well as did one of the brews from Bear Town Brewery.