Morfa Conwy, Conwy, Deganwy and Cerrig Duon 6th October 2018

Our first view of the Great Orme as we set off along the beach from Morfa Conwy to Conwy.

Looking across the estuary towards Deganwy Castle .

Conwy Marina.

Great cormorants and Oystercatchers on a pontoon on the Conwy estuary.

Conwy Castle ahead as we passed Bodlondeb Wood.

Looking out to sea from the Conwy Bridge (road and pedestrian).

Common redshank  South east of Deganwy Marina.

Valerian in bloom.

The story of a shelter, its demise and rebuild.

The shelter fully restored, but very good if it is breezy as it was today!

Panorama from Cerrig Duon Breakwater with Ed heading along the beach towards Deganwy.

The view from our lunch spot in one of the old wind shelters built to last!

A Eurasian curlew on the Conwy Estuary as the tide ebbed.

Conwy Castle from Deganwy.

Approaching the Conwy Suspension Bridge and Toll House.

On the Conwy Suspension Bridge.

Conwy War Memorial.

Final views of the Great Orme from the beach at Morfa Conwy.

Walk stats: Distance : 11.2 miles (12.2 miles on my newest GPS). Climb: 370'. 

Time: 4 hours 32 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.7 m.p.h. (3.2 m.p.h.  on my newest GPS). Overall walking average: 2.4 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn and Ed.

This walk was a last minute change from the original planned walk.  The weather forecast for the Dolwyddelan area wasn't good and Conwy offered us the best chance of a walk that didn't end up with us getting soaked.

 We made a good choice, overcast and with a cool breeze in the morning, but bright sunshine in the afternoon, but still with a cool breeze towards the end of the walk.

  we set off from Morfa Conwy along the beach, but it was just about at high tide and we only had the rocky pebbles to walk on, so it wasn't long before we headed for the Coastal path behind the dunes.

 As we approached Conwy Harbour, we could see that the hilltops in the distance were still in low cloud/mist, confirming once more that a coastal walk was a good choice.

  It was pour intention to walk around the coast for 5 miles, but this occurred just after passing the shelter at Deganwy, and it was still only just after11 a.m.

 We continued on the Coastal path alongside the Golf Course as far as the Cerrig Duon Breakwater where we dropped down to the now exposed sandy beach which we followed back towards Deganwy.

 Even so it was still only 11-50 when we decided to have lunch in one of the shelters, using one of the benches available. the view from our lunch spot towards Conwy Mountain and North west towards Puffin Island and Anglesey beyond was pretty good.

 However our presence having luch seemed to attract the attention of every dog that was walking by, but thankfully they were all very friendly despite not being given any food.

 On our return journey, I decided that I would like to cross the old Conwy Suspension Bridge and through the centre of Cponwy and ended up going past the Conwy War Memorial to the path on the West side of Bodlondeb Wood.

  As the tide was now far enough out we decidedc to walk across the sands The Beacons back to the start.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Carrion crow, Oystercatcher, Great cormorant, Mallard, Teal, Meadow pipit, Goldfinch, Pied wagtail, Common redshank, Eurasian curlew, Common blackbird, Mistle thrush, House sparrow, Jackdaw and Little egret.

 Overall a very enjoyable walk, despite the fact that repairs to the Conwy castle walls meant our plans were thwarted slightly.

  After walk drinks were enjoyed once I got home.

 One sad point, as we walked along the beach, we saw a couple with their dog lying flat on the beach. We overhead the lady telling some other walkers that it had died and that she was going to get help to recover it from the beach!

  

Coed y Fron-Wyllt, Bontuchel, Cyffylliog and Ysgebion 3rd October 2018

The delightful path South of the hide in Coed  y Fron-wyllt.

The footbridge that completes the circular walk on both sides of Nant Melin-dwr.

looking across the Nant Melin-dwr from Bron-y-gof.

"The path we want here somewhere".

This looks like a good parking place.

An unusual arrangement of weirs on he Afon Clywedog West of Bontuchel.

The Hiraethrog Trail along the road out of Cyffylliog.

A  pleasant stroll across the field on the Hiraethrog Trail.

Which way is the Hiraethrog Trail?

Looking Eastward towards the Clwydian Hills.

Looking Southwest towards Clocaenog Forest.

The path leadingSouth easst from the Clocaenog Road to the footbridge over Nant Melin-dwr and the car park in Coed y  Fron-wyllt.

Walk stats: Distance: 8.9 miles. Climb: 1063'.

Time: 4 hours 48 inutes. On the move walking average: 2.4 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn and Roger.

 It was a good job that we did this walk today as the road was being closed at 8 pm tonight for three days during the duration of the Wales Rally.

This was a good day for walking, overcast at first and feeling pleasantly cool, and warming up considerably as the Sun emerged from the clouds after lunch. No rain and very little wind.

 We started by exploring the forest Coed y Fron-wyllt and discovered that a good path continues past the bird hide, eventually crossing a footbridge over the Nant Melin-dwr to a forest track on the East side of the river.

 Exploring the forest clocked up 3.5 miles, so we decided to take the minor road from Bontuchel past Derwen Fawr to Cyffylliog.

 Lunch was taken sitting in the bus shelter at Cyffylliog, causing the local bus to stop to see if we were waiting for it.

  It ha been soquiet that we didn't realise that the primary school behind the bus shelter was still open until at 12-30 the children were let out to play in the yard. it was now time for us to set off on the Hiraethrog Trail!

 Once the trail had left the road, it wasn't long before path finding became difficult. in fact the final section through a wood that according to the OS Map wasn't there, the path was so overgrown that we turned back and linked up a another path that took us to the Bontuchel Road.

 This was a pleasant road, desceding  to Bontuchel, afording superb views towards the Clwydian Hills on one side ant Clocaenog Forest on the other, 

 The final new part of the walk was taking the path from the Clocaenog Road a cross the Nant Meli-dwr footpath to link with the forest track back to the start.

 Birds see or heard today included: Common buzzard, Common blackbird, House sparrow, Pied wagtail, Gre wagtail, Wood nuthatch, Black-billed magpie, Eurasian jay, Grey heron, Common pheasant, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Rook European robin, Woodpigeon and Common chaffinch.

 Overall a very good walk, but one that will probably never be repeated in exactly same way again!

  After walk drinks were again enjoyed on arriving at home.

Chester to Shotton Along the North Walws Coastal Path 29th September 2018

First sight of the Higher Ferry footbridge.

Looking towards Queensferry from a point near the Higher Ferry Footbridge.

Moel Famau above the A380 Barge Terminal.

The Queensferrry Blue Bridge.

Hawarden Bridge in the distance.

Looking towards Queensferry from Hawarden Bridge.

Looking across the railway lines towards Connah's Quay from the Hawarden Bridge  footbridge

Walk stats: Distance: 7.5 miles. Climb: 114'.

Time: 2 hours 51 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.7 m.p.h.  Overall walk average: 2.6 m.p.h.

Group: Marty and Jim.

This turned out to be a very pleasant leisurely stroll on the river between the Sealand Road Cop to Shotton. Warm sunshine hardly any wind.This was a walk only marred by the frequency of cyclist, especially hose that failed to give a audible signal as they approached. I think we heard just one bell used by a cyclist out more than fifty that we saw.

 Distant views of the Clwydian Hills were good, and being in Flintshire it was no surprise to see Moel Famau on the Skyline.

 We arrived at the the Central hotel about 12-15, a rather busy time, and it took us some time before were were served and able to enjoy a refreshing pint of The Finishing Line brewed by thev loacal Hafod Brewery at Mold.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Grey Heron, Mallard, Gre4at cormorant, Blue tit, Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Lesser blac-bak gull, Black-headed gull, Carrion crow, Common buzzard, Common kestrel and Canada goose.

 An enjoyable walk, culminating with a couple of refreshing pints and a meal that went down well too, and finally home again by public transport.

Llandegla, Llanarmon-yn-Ial and Llyn Cyfynwy 26th September 2018

Setting off from Llandegla along what is now an enclosed path.

The way ahead around this stubble field.

Looking towards the Llantysilio Range.

It was the right way, but we couldn't find the path on the other side of Cefn Coed!

First views of Llyn Cyfynwy from its North western dam.

A good view, but what is missing?

Panoram rom our lunchspot at Llyn Cyfynwy and again with something missing!

Preparing to leave our lunchspot on the dam of Llyn Cyfynwy.

Looking North over Llyn Cyfynwy.

Looking South towards Llandegla Moors.

Inside the St. Tegla's Church at Llandegla.

Welcome signs at Llandegla's St. Tegla's Church.

Walk stats: Distance: 8.5 miles. Climb: 856'.

Time: 4 hours 31 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.3 m.p.h. (2.6 m.p.h. on my newest GPS). Overall walk average: 1.9 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn, David S, Roer, Sue and Michel.

The weather today, turned out to be really good for walking, a pleasant, cool temperature whenever the breeze got up and intermittent sunshine.

 The start of the walk across fields to Pontytyllod is often quit boggy, but today we found the path was dry and had a barbed wire fence constructed to enclose the path lose to the stream.

 We have walked in this area many times on a variety of routes, unfortunately today we tlking too much and ended up on auto, but unfortunately unintentionally took the Llanarmon-yn-Ial Path.

 Once we arrived by the Motte at Llanarmon-yn-Ial, we had to navigate how we would get back on track. We decided that the best option was head for Llyn Cyfynwy and miss out the Graiarhyd part of the planned walk.

 This had the bonus that the Pelissiers stayed with us for the whole walk, rather than head back to the start sooner than the rest of us.

 After encountering a route finding issue at Cefn Coed, we retraced our steps and used the road to take us to the Llyn Cyfynwy Path.

 Arriving at the dam end of Llyn Cyfynwy it was quite breezy, but we found a sheltered spot at the Western end of the dam with convenient places to sit for lunch.

 The views in all directions were superb, but like many places in the countryside, the views were marred by electricity pylons.

 After lunch we only had a couple of miles left to do. By now, the Sun was shining and route signpost were pretty good, except when we came to cross the last stubble field, when one more signpost would have been helpful.

 As we descended to the A5104, we had superb views across the Rifle Range to the moors beyond. Unfortunately arriving at the gate, it was locked, and we couldn't spot a stile.  Thankfully we were still all sprightly enough to be able to climb over it.

 It was still quite early when we arrived back at the cars, so two of us decided to see inside St.Tegla's Church, spurred on the very welcoming notice relating to walking boots being welcome.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Common pheasant (lots of them unaware that they were on their last few days of safety), Common buzzard, Carrion crow, Wood nuthatch, Great crested grebe and Black-billed magpie.

 The Pelissiers head off to do grandparent duty, and three of us headed to the Red Lion at Penyffordd for after walk drinks.

 Unfortunately they had run out of real ale, so for the first time on record, we all had non-alcoholic drinks, orange squash and coffee being the order of the day. Nevertheless all the drinks were enjoyed, particularly the coffee, which was a much appreciated good sized full cup!

 Overall a good walk, once again giving us the opportunity to explore some paths that we had never used before.

Lake Views Upland Pastures and Around Cwm Glyn from Llangower 22nd September 2018.

First views of Llyn Tegid and the Arreniga.

Looking across Llyn Tegid towards the Arrenigs.

Pleasant green tracks on the way to Bala.

Llyn Tegid and the Arreniga.

First views of the Arans.

"Are you sure this is the path?"

One of the pleasant paths through the woods.

The summit of Arrenig Fawr finally clear as we descended towards Llangower.

The cascading Afon Glyn North west of Glyn Mawr.

Llangower Station at the end of the walk - train due at 16-40, but it didn't arrive on time, so we headed for home.

Walk stats: Distance: 10.2 miles. Climb: 1943'.

Time: 6 hours 46 minutes. On the move walking average: 1.9 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 1.5 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn and Roger.

We set off quite early from the Llangower Station Car Park and the paths seemed clearly waymarked. Some of the views over Llyn Tegid towards the Arrenigs were superb, but wisps of cloud lingered on the summit of Arrenig Fawr.

 Too early for lunch by the lake, we climbed through Ffridd fach-ddeiliog before having lunch.

 After lunch there was a dampness in the air that encouraged us to put waterproof on.

 Good views of the Arans were seen as we approached Cwm Glyn.

 Route find around Cwm Glyn between Ffridd Bach and cae'r hafotty required plenty of pondering over the map to decide the best way to go, and in places only having the GPS mapping got us out of jail!

 Probably are best view of Arrenig Mawr was seen as we descended on a green track toward Glyn Mawr.

 We reached the road near Cae-glas, and followed the road Northwards to Llangower and the start of our walk.

 We arrived back at the car having had good walk, with legs quite tired from the higher than usual climb and trekking across some quite boggy and challenging terrain.

 Birds seen or heard today included: Great tit, Carrion crow, Raven, Common buzzard, Wood nuthatch, European robin, Winter wren, Woodpigeon and Common buzzard.