Two trigs walk above Littondale, N. Yorkshire, England

Posted on by

For my third walk of the week, (after everyone had departed), I decided to walk up the valley to Foxup and Halton Gill, (you have to love those Yorkshire names!). Then it was up and along the moorland ‘ridge’ and back down to Litton. With sheep all around and lambs being born in the fields, I did wonder whether I might spot a birth in action and I was close… The rather large lamb in picture 9 had just arrived as the farmer was tending to it and encouraging the mother to bond as I approached.

Another highlight was spotting several lapwings near the single track, moorland road over to Settle. (See pic 12). This was swiftly followed by a flock of golden plovers. (Sorry about the bad pic, 13, but that’s as close as I could get, even with the zoom).

I’m not sure what it is about trig points, but whenever I see them on the map, I’m compelled to seek them out. In this case, the two in question were not on the marked paths, so I had to detour about 400 and 150 yards respectively to take their photos. (See pics 20 and 30).

The route along the top, for the most part, followed a drystone wall which seemed to go on forever. (See pic 27). Inevitably, it was wet and boggy in places, but I couldn’t quite fathom the purpose of the structure in picture 28. The ‘sausages’ were stuffed with what looked like wool and they were held down by metal spikes. There were maybe 10 of these, of various shapes and sizes, in the space of about half a mile and I’d be grateful if anyone has any suggestions as to what they might be for. I can only assume it’s to stop further erosion of the soil and to allow the various grasses and heather to regenerate.

Aysgarth Falls from Fremington, Yorkshire Dales, England

Posted on by

The Yorkshire Dales region is not for nothing more simply referred to as “The Dales”. There are smaller dales, which join up with larger dales, which then feed into the main dales, like Airedale, Wharfedale and Swaledale.* Most are named after the becks, streams or rivers which run along their valleys, but the river which runs along Wensleydale is called the Ure. I mention this exception as the river has a series of waterfalls at Aysgarth, which can be just a trickle in the summer, but a raging torrent after a prolonged downpour. And we know what the weather has been like in the UK recently!

So it was that I decided, for my second walk, to go from our cottage in High Fremington, in Swaledale, over the moorland, to Aysgarth, in Wensleydale. On the way, I discovered an area that even I, as a relative ‘local’ and regular visitor to the Dales, had never heard of, called Apedale. (See pics 10-13). There’s even a hill to the north of it called Gibbon Hill! (See centre of the Route map).

With my thanks to Bugwoman for the identification of the Lichen in pic 7 and my wonderful wife, Jude, for coming to pick me up. 👍👍😊

* Wiki tells me, if my counting is correct, that there are 51 differently named dales in total, 37 have water flowing east to the North Sea and 14 that empty west into the Irish Sea.

Ceunant Cynfal (Gorge) Walk from Llan Ffestiniog, N. Wales

Posted on by

It didn’t take me long to check out the route which I posted yesterday, (since it was only about a mile long), so I also went to look at another, slightly more varied route, just down the road at Llan Ffestiniog. I’d seen that there was a nature reserve and waterfall marked on the map, but I didn’t expect to come across a rainforest… As the information board describes, (see pics 8, 9 & 10), the ancient woodland in the gorge is of international importance, being home to over 150 mosses and liverworts and rare lesser horseshoe bats. I also discovered that the river eventually flows into the river Dwyryd which runs right past our house. 😊

Just a note regarding some of the Welsh/English naming in both the title above and image descriptions below… I often see signs written in Welsh and English, like Rhaeadr Cynfal Falls. Now you might think that the Falls are called the Rhaeadr Cynfal Falls, but no… They save a bit of repetition and ink by putting the two languages together, since, in Welsh, most times what it is, like a waterfall (or rhaeadr), comes before the actual name, like Cynfal. It’s actually Rhaeadr Cynfal (in Welsh) and Cynfal Falls (in English). It can get very confusing, so, I’ve tried to simplify things by using the Welsh where I can, like Ceunant Cynfal, but put the English translation in brackets (in this case, gorge) afterwards.  I hope it helps! 

Coed Cymerau Isaf Walk

Posted on by

“Where have you been?” I hear you all saying. 🤔 (And a big THANK YOU to those of you who did contact me to ask if I was OK. I was genuinely touched by your concern). But, the truth is, I’ve not been anywhere, very interesting anyway. That’s why I’ve not really had the opportunity to take any photos. OK, Jude and I did go to the County Show towards the end of August (and I may yet post some pictures of that), but otherwise it’s been a case of playing golf and looking after a new addition to our family, called Tomos…

Jude and I have been considering having a dog for a while but, as we’re always going here, there and everywhere, we’ve never really found the ‘right time’ or had the opportunity. However, last summer, we bit the bullet and chose Tomos from a litter of 9 English springer spaniels. As you can see from the pics below, he’s grown somewhat in the past 6 months… And, as any dog owner will tell you, when they’re young, they do take up a lot of your time. 

It was thanks to Tomos that yesterday I went to ‘reccy’ a short walk around Coed Cymerau Isaf (wood). As you can imagine, he likes to run free, off the lead and I was looking for somewhere a bit different from the usual fields and beaches nearby. Key elements are a relatively enclosed path with a lack of sheep or other animals for him to chase and this walk looks to be perfect. 👍👍😊

The Dee Way, Part 2, Day 5 (of 5), Parkgate to the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake

Posted on by

When Dave Berry created this route and wrote his book, I don’t suppose he envisaged a golfer doing it in reverse, as a sort of pilgrimage to the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Well, that was more or less what it was, especially with The Open taking place there this year. Though I have to say that I was slightly disappointed upon arrival, as the course was not as ‘awesome’ as I’d imagined, partly perhaps because it was still covered in stands which were gradually being dismantled. (It looked just like a building site, with official entrance and exit gates for all the comings and goings of the articulated lorries).

The last ‘leg’ was also pretty boring because much of it followed an old, disused railway track, now turned into a recreational path cum cycleway, which is good, but, with trees and bushes almost all the way alongside, there were very few ‘views’ to speak of – apart from the odd glimpse of another golf course. (See pics 8 & 11). 👍😊

By the time I ’emerged’ at West Kirby, the wind had got up and it was nice to see a lot of people taking advantage of the various water sports now on offer. Though why the guy was running where he was (see pic 19), is completely beyond me! 🤔

My apologies for the quality of picture 14. I saw 4 or 5 similar looking dragonflies during my walk but it was the only photo I managed to get!

The Dee Way, Part 2, Day 4 (of 5), Chester to Parkgate

Posted on by

As I looked out of the window before setting off, on what was due to be the longest section of the whole route at 15 miles (or 24km), the rain was pouring down (as was forecast for most of the day). So I donned my waterproofs and set off… To my amazement, as I stepped out of the B&B door, it had stopped and it didn’t rain again all day! 👍👍

The initial part of the route left Chester via a section of the city walls and along the Shropshire Union Canal. It then meandered through Saughall before crossing the A494 and A550 and reaching the parish of Shotwick, where I had lunch on the ‘2000’ bench and took a small detour to see the church. (See pics 7 to 20). From there it went through the delightfully named village of Puddington and past some beautiful houses in Burton. (Check out the bus stop shelter in pic 22, which not only had a bench with cushions, but also books to read while you waited for the bus!) From then on the path hugged the east side of Dee estuary, where I noticed hundreds of sheep grazing on the marshland. (See pic 27).

The Dee Way, Part 2, Day 3 (of 5), Farndon to Chester

Posted on by

Day 3 of my walk had the best weather forecast and the route pretty much hugged the river Dee, on one side then the other, all the way to Chester. For the most part the going was very easy, apart from one particular section, where the usual nettles and brambles made life difficult. (See pic 15).

After donning my waterproofs to get through, worse immediately followed, as there was absolutely no path to be found alongside the field, planted with 7ft high maize. (See pic 16). There was only one thing to do and that was walk between the first two rows. (Pic 17).

As I approached Chester, I was pleased to see that people were taking advantage of the, now much wider, smooth flowing river, some in canoes, some on paddleboards and others by boat.

I think I even spotted a Roman centurion in the Amphitheatre… 🤔

The Dee Way, Part 2, Day 2 (of 5), Bangor-on-Dee to Farndon

Posted on by

Not only did I have to contend with quite a few overgrown paths, gates and stiles, (see several pics below) but things got even worse when I came across locked gates. (Pics 5 and 9 are two good examples). Add into that a bit of rain and knee length grass, soaking your boots, and you can maybe forgive me for taking the ‘easy’ option down the road sometimes. I think it made it slightly longer, but much more pleasant!

It’s not all bad news though… My accommodation in Bangor-on-Dee had been, almost literally, between two good pubs, serving real ale and it was much the same in Farndon, where one pub was opposite my B&B (though it was closed on Mondays) and the other about 50 yards down the road. A further 10 minute walk took me across a bridge into the village of Holt, where another 2 pubs awaited (again though one was closed on Mondays). Well, you have to keep hydrated! 🍺👍😊

The Dee Way, Part 2, Day 1 (of 5), Chirk to Bangor-on-Dee

Posted on by

Following on from my rather wintery walk along the Dee Way back in March, last week, Jude dropped me off in Chirk under overcast skies. Thankfully, it barely rained all day. What wasn’t so nice was the condition of the path, which was incredibly and annoyingly overgrown (with nettles and bramble thorns) in many places. As you will see from some of the pictures below (and there’s more in the days to come unfortunately) much of the route could not have been walked very often at all.

The highlight(s) of the day proved to be 10’s of Speckled Woods and possibly even more Gatekeepers, with the occasional Green-veined White thrown in for good measure. Quite surprising on such a dull day.