First Snow of Winter

After continuous rain for almost a month, a window of opportunity and the first dusting of snow on the Beacons tempted a solo visit to Pen-Y-Fan on Friday 4th December 2009.

Leaving the car park south of the Storey Arms visibility was good enough to see Corn Ddu rising in the distance as the steady climb to Bwlch Duwyrit began.



Passing a few walkers on thier way down, the hillside was relatively quiet for a late morning on a Friday in near perfect winter conditions.

The only other walkers encountered on the elbow of Corn Ddu was a small party of sixth formers who were debating whether or not to make the final push for the icy summit.

With poor visibility and a strong cross wind blasting across the top of Pen-Y-Fan, a quick bite on a banana and the trek back down the mountain began.



This blew away the cobwebs of the month since our last walk in October.

TRIG Pt 642

With a relatively low turn out (half a dozen of us) and a distinct lack of vehicles, it was public transport to the Storey Arms before climbing the Y Gryn route to the elbow of Corn Ddu.

With Mark Crimmings in charge of navigation we headed south-east down Craig Gwaun Taf in relatively good conditions until we arrived at trig point 642 high above the Upper Neuadd Reservoir - and that's when the problems started!

The cloud dropped very quickly and we couldn't see anything, including the outline of the right path to take.

Making our way down Bwlch Gwyn the extremely boggy conditions in the open ground forced us to the edge of the Taf Fechan Forest and after some dificult scrambling through waist high grass at one point we eventually emerged in open ground above Pontsticill Reservoir as a relieved Steve remarked on seeing the Boat House "We've had a result!".

Rather than head for the B road to take us to our destination, Mark decided to seek out the wooden bridge on the far edge of the forest to complete our walk to Pontsticill and a well earned meal in the Butchers.

Cefn Cyff

Any circular route or 'round' is a really good way to get under the skin of a range of hills, the spectacular views afforded down into the Cwm Owegwm valley are definately worth the effort.

The actual prospect of some fine weather during a period of non-stop rain tempted an all-day venture at short notice to the foothills and high points of the Beacons.

Starting at Tyfry Farm (075258) our route followed the banks of the Nant Menasgin west from the village of Llanfrynach and through open fields for 2 kilometres to Rhiwiau at (057242).

Our prospective horse-shoe ridge walk towered above us in the distance as we approached Pen-Y-Heol before the start of the hard graft!

After leaving a rough bridle path with an avenue of trees lining the route, we emerged onto the lower slopes of Cefn Cyff. It's always good to get the main climb out of the way early and a steady pull through 400 metres of ascent in less than 3 kilometres, saw us arrive at Fan-Y-Big, for the brief but obligatory stop at the 'diving board', a magnetic gathering point for most walkers on a pleasant Summer's day.

The 2.5k ridge walk around Craig Cwmoergwm above the stunning glacial valley of Cwm Oergwm to Craig Cwareli around to Rhiw Bwlch Y DDwyallt, before we started the descent down Rist Wen to eventually leave the mountain and return to Llanfrynach by 3.00pm just as the White Swan was closing it's doors to deny us the opportunity of a well deserved beer.

The Brecon Round

It must have been the thought of visiting the Cathedral, the remains of a Roman Fort and ending up in the Boar's Head that encouraged a very good attendance for this particular excursion led by the thumb of HRH Mike Thomas.

After a brief nose around the ecclesiastical heart of the diocese we were greeted by a blustery gale and driving rain at the summit of the walk through open fields to trig. point 331 at Pen-Y-Crug to the North-West of Brecon.

The descent led us to Cradoc before we continued with a visit to the village of Battle. Turning south HRH then took the group through a working farm yard to visit the remains of Y Gaer Roman Fort. Leaving in an easterly direction some of the females (Janet and Carolyn in particular) were scared stiff by a herd of charging cows!

A pleasant lunch was taken on the banks of the River Usk in the Coed Fenni Fach forest opposite a splendid country home in Llanspyddid with lawns leading down to their own stretch of the river - I suspect with full fishing rights thrown in!

We returned to Brecon on a muddy bridle path that led us to the Boat House, where we passed Welsh Centre Jamie Roberts (who was with an extremely attractive young lady!) prior to his Man of the Series performance with the British Lions in South Africa.

It was fascinating watching a pair of kingfishers 'bombing' at considerable speed up and down the river bank opposite the Boat House.

The post-walk entertainment in the Boars Head was excellent and just as we were all enjoying the 'live' band it was time to leave - it's always the same when you don't want to go. However, HRH led the way on the mini-bus journey home with his rendition of specific rugby national anthems in an authentic japannese singing style! It was as wierd as it sounds!!

Lake District - May 2009

All of the arrangements had been organised well in advance, although as with most outdoor activities we were at the mercy of the weather on our four man expedition into the hinterland of the Central Fells.

We left the pearl of the valleys mid-afternoon in glorious sunshine on route for our digs at Windermere - had the weather peaked too early? I had my doubts that it would last until dusk!

The journey along the A465, M50, M5 was relatively uneventful until we arrived at the services after 2 hours when my mobile rang. Greg's wife was almost hysterical (his phone had been left in the car!) relaying the fact that Matthew had suffered a knee injury playing cricket and they were on the way to Prince Charles Hospital. It could only happen to us!

After some discussion and tricky negotiation we countinued our journey to the M6. Half a dozen phone calls later and Matthew was back from the hospital but in serious discomfort and basically unable to put any weight on his leg......Greg decided that his loyalties were divided but he urged us to press on and if necessary he would get the train back to South Wales the next day (wishful thinking?).

The approach to the edge of the lake district left us in awe as the scenery was spectacular. We found our hotel (thanks to the satnav and some basic manual directions), were allocated our rooms and hit the night life. Only problem there wasn't any - at least not in Windermere itself on a Sunday evening. The lively part of the town is in Bowness, about 2 miles away on the lakeside.

Food was the main priority (for Greg anyway) and we found the only resturant open, an Italian (that's debateable when you saw the staff!)- Greg raved over the food but I refused to return for a further visit the following night!

We were served at breakfast the following morning by the same member of staff who greeted us at reception the night before! Greg asked for toast; fruit juice; porridge; cornflakes; grapefruit; boiled egg; a full english breakfast including black pudding, fried bread and hash browns plus the usual bacon, eggs, tomatoes and baked beans; a pot of tea and yogurt (oh yes!!) - in fact he went through the menu to the amusement of the waitress who we later discovered was the daughter of the owners and was also serving behind the bar when we returned from the mountains later that evening - talk about multi-tasking!



Incredibly the weather conditions on day two were absolutely fantastic, a clear blue sky and not a breath of wind. The walk started in Langdale, before we passed through the middle of Stool End Farm yard and crossed the Oxendale Beck to begin the strenuous almost vertical climb to Brown Howe. A brief stop at the waterfalls before following the path upward to Red Tarn and finally rounding Great Knott. Reaching the approach to the first of the Crinkle's we were able to see Scafell and Scafell Pike (photograph below) across the valley, Morecombe Bay far in the distance, the coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Steve came a slight cropper on the descent of the last Crinkle and he suffered a nasty glancing blow on the chin for his efforts. A brief walk to the foot of Bowfell provided us with an opportunity for a rest and afternoon cup of tea (using milk and sugar obtained from the services the previous day!), before we scrambled up the almost vertical scree slope on the approach to the mighty Bowfell, passing the Great Slab on the way to the summit.

Leaving Bowfell we turned south at Ore Gap to descend down towards Angle Tarn before climbing Rossett Pike to eventually leave the mountain by Rossett Gill and join a flat stretch of Cumbria Way running alongside the glimmering waters of Mickleden Beck. We arrived back at Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in the early evening after a full days trek when we climbed 1,086 metres.



A cool refreshing pint before we left Langdale was the order of the day and another swift one by the side of Lake Windermere in Ambleside on our way back to base camp at the Applgarth Hotel. A quick shower, change of clothes and then a taxi to Bowness for a proper Italian meal at Villa Positano. A nightcap in a pub accross the road from the hotel with a cross-section of the 'locals'(!) ended a splendid day on the hills.

The following morning it was the youngsters Selly and Stevo who were struggling to get in and out of the car because of their aching limbs, not the old un's who were ready for the visit to Bowness before travelling home!!

Can't wait for next year's visit to Cumbria.