Worms Head

After much pre-planned faffing over the time of the tides and an exceptionally early morning delivery of furniture for the Earl of Pigs Alley, it was a full compliment of nine brave souls who departed for the Gower Peninsula remarkably punctual at the agreed time of 9.30am. Although the weather forecast was promising we were all delighted to see the cloud cover gradually parting to reveal clear blue skies by the time the convoy entered the outskirts of Swansea.

Arriving at the required destination in Llengennith we bagged the two best parking spots in the village, directly opposite the Kings Head before embarking on the walk at 10.40am.



Leaving the lanes of this typical Gower village behind us we tackled the gentle climb over White Moor to reach the top of Rhossili Down above Sweyne's Howes, for our first glimpse of the arc of golden sands that stretched out below which was to ultimately dominate the scenery in every direction throughout the rest of the day. This also provided us with our first panoramic glimpse of Worms Head itself.



Following the wide path across the Downs we made our way to the trig point which is the highest part of the Gower Peninsular at 193 metres above the Old Rectory nestled in the bay below, before descending from the ridge into the village of Rhossili and a refueling pit-stop involving some ice-creams (Solero's and Magnum's were the choice of the majority). Soon after this mini-break Mike's group were really fortunate to witness a Kestrel snare a helpless Field Mouse for his or her lunch!

The next unorchestrated stop was at the Coastguards hut on the promontory of the headland where a display board confirmed the time when it was appropriate to return to the mainland. Dropping down onto the first section of the causeway the going was tricky underfoot because of the jagged knife-edged nature of the rocky outcrop leading to the string of tiny connecting islets that thrust almost defiantly out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Historically named 'Wurm' by Viking invaders, Worms Head is actually derived from the Old English, Orm, which means dragon or serpent. The headland is one mile long and is owned and protected as a National Nature Reserve by the National Trust and Countryside for Wales.



On safely reaching the first section of land called the Inner Head after crossing the causeway, the two groups reformed for the next stage involving the scramble over another rocky outcrop called the Low Neck and then the exposed Devils Bridge crossing (see photograph above) before arriving at the final cliff stack called the Outer Head. Just off-shore two grey seals inquisically poked their heads above the surface of the sea to check what all the fuss was about as we made our way deeper along the head-land.

Unfortunately, in respect to the nesting birds, we were prevented from travelling to the final stack and a splendid lunch consisting of sandwiches, cheese, pickles, sausage rolls, crisps, bananas, welsh cakes and a variety of other delicacies was taken on the grassy bank near to the the cliff's edge. However, the highlight of the lunch break were the strawberries and Carte Dor ice-cream provided by Mr. Brown! Absolutely lovely. Mr T, Greg and RD all tucked into seconds and in some cases it was third helpings!!



During lunch we watched the colony of Razor Bills and Gulls that have built their nests on the inaccessible north facing cliffs, athletically depart and return to feed their chicks - anyway the fledglings that may have already hatched.



After a well earned rest period when nearly everyone was on the verge of falling asleep, Steve decided it was time to depart this really special part of the Gower coast line (which in 1957 was designated Britain's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

Even a young Dylan Thomas made the mistake of falling asleep on the Inner Head and missing the tide: "I stayed on that Worm from dusk until midnight, sitting on that top grass, frightened to go further. Then the tips of the reef began to poke out of the water and, perilously, I climbed along them to the shore". Taken from his short story 'Who do you wish was with us'.



Despite the threat of the in-rushing tide the return over the causeway seemed much easier than the outward journey. After all that hard work it was definitely time for a well deserved refreshment break in the Worms Head Hotel, where the House Martins dipped above our heads mimicking a ride on a roller coaster. The view from the beer garden looking over Rhossili Bay was breathtaking.



Of all the beaches stretching along the Gower Peninsular, perhaps none are quite blessed with the magnificent splendor of Rhossili Bay. It's sweeping golden expanse of sand at low tide runs for over three miles from the headland at Worms Head in the south to Burry Holms to the north. The whale back of Rhossili Down high above runs almost parallel to the full length of the beech.

Leaving the hostelry we all made our way down onto the almost deserted golden sands and dipped our feet in the foaming Atlantic surf for over a mile.

On the beach are the 'disappointing' remains of what is left of the Helvetia, which was driven into the shallow water of Rhossili Bay by gales on the morning of 1st November 1887, with 500 tons of oak as her cargo. The area was not a stranger to profit from shipwreckers or smugglers and previous centuries had witnessed the violence of the Rhossili Wreakers, who lured unsuspecting ships to be smashed against the rocks.



Perhaps our only regret was the lack of a surf-board to ride the waves or a bat and ball to play an impromptu game of cricket on one of the flattest wickets you would see anywhere!



After this leisurely stroll an executive decision was made at 5.00pm to leave the beach through the gap in the sand dunes past the camp site and head for the Kings Head back in Llangennith, were everyone eat a well earned supper. The smiling glowing faces told the story of the day and would have produced more energy for the National Grid than any solar panels!



This particular walk was 16km (9 Miles) with a link to the map of the route here. A truly spectacular days walking that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

All of the photographs taken on this walk can be viewed here. Select 'slideshow' for automated viewing.

The tide times on this particular day were - High Tide 6.08am and Low Tide 12.13pm.

Ysgyryd Fawr

An imposing landmark situated just to the north-east of Abergavenny that looks down on the A465 as it trundles below. The 360 degree views from the summit are well worth the climb through the woods from the foot of the mountain.

Leaving a small but equally convenient parking area at the side of the B4521 you walk through a hedge-lined track until you come to a gate to join the Beacons Way. The hardest part of the climb comes at the very beginning of the walk as you make your way through dense woodland, that provided a protective shadow from the fierce sun.

There was an abundance of Cabbage White butterflies in the hedgerows, while Wagtails and Meadow Pipits were also evident.



The welcome breeze at the higher altitude was enjoyable when leaving the wooded slopes after the hard uphill slog, to emerge onto the exposed upper elevation of the mountain that on a clear day can be seen from (another Country!!) over 20 miles away as you leave the outskirts of the city of Hereford on the west bound A465.



The walk along the cats back ridge to the trig point at 486 metres was the final climb before the panoramic views included Grosmont, Hereford and the Malvern Hills in the east, the Black Mountains and the Vale of Ewyas to the north, Abergavenny and the Sugar Loaf to the west. Plus dozens of brightly coloured fields full of Rape Seed in all visible directions.

The mountain has long been referred to as the Holy Mountain. It has a distinct shape formed by a landslip on one side dating from the Ice Age. The evangelical importance of the mountain was marked with a small medieval place of worship, dedicated to St. Michael, and squeezed onto the narrow summit. Years of mountain top weather have taken their toll and only the outline plus two small standing stones that form a doorway now remain.

Skirrid Mountain, as it is commonly known, was a favourite walk of Rudolph Hess, Deputy Fuhrer of the Third Reich, when he was detained in Maindiff Court Military Hospital (located near to Wern Ddu Farm) during the Second World War, after being captured when his plane crash landed on the way to Scotland.



The thermal currents that create an up-draught around the steep sides of Skirrid make this an ideal environment in which to para glide and while near the summit three 'twenty somethings' literally 'threw' themselves off the edge of the ridge as they launched the huge canopies 'whooping and hollering' to ascend gracefully into the clear blue skies, before circling silently to hundreds of feet above the mountain in a spectacular display. It was definitely an 'I was there' moment in time.

Sirhowy Skyline

The day after the Lib Con coalition was announced, a brief telephone call the night before confirmed that Mike had identified the route for the walk the following day in the Sirhowy Valley - perhaps this demonstration of decisive leadership can be an example to Nick Clegg and David Cameron! However, finding the start of the walk probably proved to be a little bit more tricky than any political alignment, however long it may last!

Deciding that we didn’t need to actually go into Cwm itself we ended up back-tracking our way from Llanhillith, when we realised that we had gone too far. A steep hill climb from the A4046 eventually led us to the entrance to Pen-Y-Fan Country Park. A big thumb’s down to Caerphilly Council for the extremely poor signage.

The walk started from an old canal feeder pond, (the best preserved and last complete example in Wales). Built between 1794 and 1796, the reservoir was initially tasked with feeding the Crumlin arm of the Monmouth and Brecon Canal.



Leaving the Country Park we traveled west through Ty’r Sais Farm before deviating from a country lane onto a way marked path (the actual sign was lying in the adjacent field hidden from view! Something for Caerphilly Council to rectify perhaps?) to enter an area of stunning woodland.



With a view of Markham nestling on the furthest western side of the valley and after a brief altercation over the correct route to take, we continued to Ton y Gross where there was evidence that nature was winning the battle of the scarred landscaped caused by the recent hill fires that hit most area's of South Wales. No sign of the volcanic ash from Iceland.



The main climb of the day saw us ascend from 200 metres at the foot of Twyn-gwyn up a very steep stony path to over 350 metres at Gelligoediog, which Mike's dodgy back negotiated without any problem, before a pleasant walk into the picturesque village of Manmoel (Inhabitants of 175 est).

Although only 2 miles from Ebbw Vale as the crow flies the industrial revolution must have by-passed almost unnoticed to the inhabitants. We decided to take a well earned tea break in a local park at this northernmost point of the walk. Leaving the peaceful sleepy hamlet of Manmoel was similar to walking out of a village like Llanfrynach, such was the impact of the glorious countryside that was totally unexpected on this particular walk!

The road then led us past Tir Y Pentre Farm to Twyn Y Bleiddiaid before we reached the highest point of our trek - the trig point at 409 metres at Mynydd Pen Y Fan, where we could see on the horizon in the far distance the distinctive outline of the large peaks of the Brecon Beacons range Corn Du, Pen-Y-Fan and Cribyn. In other words we could actually see Pen-Y-Fan (Brecon Beacons National Park) from Pen Y Fan (Sirhowy Ridge)!! See the evidence for yourself in the image below.



The downhill section returned us relatively quickly on the last part of the walk back to our starting point at the Country Park.

We ended the evening at a Wetherspoons in Tredegar (recommended from previous visits by Mike!) where the local Curry Night saw the hungry trekkers demolish a Jalfrezi, Bhuna and Madras washed down with an excellent pint of Rhymney Breweries ‘Hobby Horse’, while receiving abusive text messages from the vicinity of Llwydcoed in the Cynon Valley.

The walk was 7.5 kilometres and took just over 3 hours to complete (including a compulsory rest period).