Mid Wales travels

Over the last few years we have been making our way up Offas Dyke. Our Offa's Dyke trips
This year we decided to make a side trip to the Brecon Beacons.
 


On Friday night we stayed in the YHA hostel at Danywenallt. Next morning we drove along the side of the reservoir to a small car park at Taf Fechan Forest. It was a beautiful bright day but a bit cool in the wind. When we got to the main tracks at the top it was fairly busy, as always, but the high winds added some excitement. We reached the top via Cribyn and then followed the swooping ups and down to Pen-y-Fan and Corn Du. We left the southern ridge at a large cairn on the rocky path which drops back down to the valley.

That night we stayed at Llwyn-y-Celyn, known in our family as the Falklands Hostel. As my Dad and I stayed there the day in April 1982 when the conflict in the South Atlantic started. This is a proper hostel with big tables in the dining room, strange utensils in the kitchen and an ever present whiff of damp coats. Not a wine list in sight.

The next day we headed north to see what else mid Wales had to offer. Our next stop was the River Ifron near Abergwesyn. A beautiful spot where the river narrows and then opens out into a large pool before the ford at The Wash Pool

Our trip continued north towards my latest ebay purchase, more on this later. The last stop was at Red Kite Centre to watch the afternoon feeding. It may not be seeing them in the wilderness but it was inspiring to see them so close and in such numbers.

Sport Relief - What a relief

I have got a bit of a blogging backlog going on. My sense of order means I have to write up one of our previous adventures first.

Will’s challenge for Sport Relief this year was to swim 400 metres, Bike 40 miles and run 4 miles from South Dorset to Somerset (where his grandparents live).

We had to delay this event due to illness a couple of times. Eventually the plan was set for a Sunday in May. The weather forecast was high winds and heavy rain. The weather forecast was right.

Well we decided to set off anyway and see how it went. The swim went well, Bridport leisure centre kindly let him swim during Adult only lanes session because it was a special event.  The first bit of the bike leg to Axminster was hilly and wet and cold. We struggled and I thought this would be the end. But we were saved by our support vehicle (Mum and sister) with hot drinks, dry kit and cake.

As we got nearer to the Somerset border we were turned back twice by flooded roads.After meeting up with the support vehicle a couple of times we eventually made it to the start of the run.

What could go wrong, well nothing until we were a mile from the finish. The fields around the River Tone were flooded and we struggled to even wade through the water to get to the bridge. A great effort and a great day.

Cerne Giant 30

This new LDWA route starts in Cerne Abbas, heads east through villages like Plush and Cross Lanes before reaching Bingham's Melcombe. This is a beautiful 16th century manor with immaculate gardens. We tried not to make too much noise on the gravel paths. From here the route turned west to follow the Wessex Ridgeway north of Cerne Abbas to Sydling St Nicolas. The climb up Shearplace Hill, the final hill, returns to Cerne Abbas.

Walkers started at 8 and runners before 9. We set off just after 8 to allow the field to spread but to gives us enough time to get round and enjoy refuelling at the checkpoints. It was a beautiful day with great views over the Dorset hills.

At the half way point we were passed by a couple of runners who had obviously started long after us and were still full of running. I was pleased to find out afterwards that one of them was Jez Bragg, who went on to finish first.

As always the Dorset LDWA put on a wonderfully friendly and well organised event. At the main checkpoint in Buckland Newton, Simon and I were talking to another runner who said "you don't want to eat too much as it can sit heavily on your stomach". As we watched them leave the checkpoint we shock our heads sadly. They seemed to have missed the point. Now fruit cake or lemon drizzle or both, silly question - both. Our advise if you are concerned about eating too much is slow down, have another sandwich or sausage roll or cake and walk for a bit.

I have not run since and have been working too much, so plans for the next big run have been delayed. Luckily there are some great plans for canoe and biking trips on the horizon.

Sourton run

As a bit of a test run for an upcoming event Simon and I went down to Dartmoor for a run out. We had originally planned to do a some of the Chagford Challenge route but as the weather was clear I decided we should head for open moorland.

We set off from Sourton and followed the steep path up past the church to join the Dartmoor Way below Sourton Tor. Here we spotted our first Ten Tors group in their traditional spring plumage of massive rucksacks.  From here we dropped down to one of my favourite spots, West Okement Valley, and then struggled up to Black Tor. The weather was cold and clear for most of the day but as we headed to High Willhays we entered mist which had settled on the summit.

Lints Tor

From here to Amicombe Brook the going was hard with boggy, clumps of grass slowing us down. I did see a nice camp spot for a small tent SX 583861.

After crossing the top of Tavey Cleave we headed back to via Hare Tor and Great Links Tor to Sourton. This side is more popular than the central section, according to Simon this is because sensible people don't like running over trackless boggy ground. Apparently he is not that keen either.

Are we ready for the Cerne Giant 30? Probably not but we will find out on Sunday.

As you can see I have been using Social Hiking a bit. There is a nice feature where you can overlay a route (where you plan to walk) over the top of a track (where you actually walked). I have also found it useful when your phone battery dies halfway through your trip.

Of mice and drybags

The Llanbder horseshoe is a great long day walk in the Black Mountains.  As I was there for an overnighter I decided to add a bit and cover some other unclimbed hills.



I walked through the village of Llanbedr down a muddy track to the river and up to Crug Mawr. It was still relatively early despite the long drive from Dorset. I was passed by a couple of runners just before the top, the only people I would see all morning. After a short side trip to the nearest top I headed down to the valley through Mynydd Du Forest.

The path down to the valley cut straight through the pine trees directly across a couple of forestry roads. The top section of the path is either very overgrown or I missed it completely. If you get lost in the same place can you pick up my glove that I lost bashing through the trees. After crossing the first forestry road the path is much clearer. The reservoir road was bit of a plod but I was soon off the track climbing through the wood on the other side of the valley.

Chwarel  y Fan

I had made a side trip to Pen Twyn Mawr and it turned out to be a dull mound of a hill. I also double back on myself to Chwarel  y Fan and it was a very worthwhile trip. A classic Black Mountains grassy ridge topped with a summit path through the rocks.(Apologies for the fuzzy phone camera picture in this post, my camera is broken)

I heading back north along the ridge before reaching the small bothy in the valley. It is a tiny one up one down structure with just enough room to refold a double sided OS map. I spent a cold night on the sleeping platform listening to a quiet scratching noise downstairs. As I was preparing breakfast I found something had been through my rubbish bag and one of my dry bags. Although my favourite dry bag had no food in it my new found enemy had nibbled a hole in it. My food bag was untouched. Not happy.

Bothy etiquette says you should leave enough fuel for the next visitor. I didn't really feel I had done this so I  packed up some of the rubbish others had left instead. It was a sad sight as I left in the morning carrying a bag of rubbish and an empty whiskey bottle, sobbing gently. "It was my favourite dry bag as well".

I followed the path up the valley before turn back towards the south. This side of the valley the hills are quiet a bit higher and were covered in a thicker layer of snow. This ridge is what I love about the Black Mountains, open hills with great views.

He has started again

After a long period of very little running I am, at last, getting out a bit more regularly. Sunday was a great early morning run over North Hill. I am also getting out on the bike most weekends thanks to my son and his new road bike. Why this new found enthusiasm? Well, if don't run for a long period of time it is very difficult to get started again, once started don't stop. Also the Cerne Giant 30 is only 79 days away. This is a new event in familiar territory, the plan is to walk/run (how much of each, we shall see).

Cheese rolls in the mist

Most of my backpacking trips are short weekend trips. These normally comprise a circular route back to the car with a camp in the middle. The aim this time was to go from A to B.

I left my car in Talybont and took the early bus to Brecon. After a quick shop for some more food and a laminated map. This proved a vital purchase. I then caught the bus to Crai.

Grey morning with small patches of blue over to the east, the last I would see all day. I followed a wide bulldozed track towards Fan Gyhirych and then climbed to the top of Fan Nedd. I sheltered from the wind behind the cairn before the summit where I had my lunch.

As I dropped down the hill to the large car park at the rain started to come down hard. The rain dripped off my hood, sleeves and nose but seemed to sit happily on my glasses.

On the other side of the valley I joined the Beacons Way and immediately got misplaced as the cloud became thicker. With quite a bit of wandering about and standing in bogs I climbed the hill to Fan Llia. I followed the ridge north the wind and rain increasing all the time. A couple of times the wind knocked me over. About 3 o'clock I started to look for a sheltered spot to camp. The ground was wet and steep, I could not see the wind and rain stopping. I finally decided that, although I had brought my camping kit, I was going to head for the youth hostel.

The next morning was brighter and cold. Today's route followed the Beacons Way back to Talybont. I slowly plodded up the hill to meet a crashing wind as it came over the ridge. A beautiful bright day ideal for walking along a ridge.

The central section of the National park is the most popular and there were a lot more people out today. I climbed the three main summits (Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y Big) of the ridge before heading down to Talybont reservoir. This was the brightest part of the day and I enjoyed the quiet tramp through the woods and tracks.

I was a bit disappointed to miss out on a camp but next time. In case you were wondering the are no verbs in the title of this post.