Price comparison - multiply by 2.28 for 2023 equivalent
The Cambrian Way is a mountain walk from Cardiff on the South Coast of Wales to Conwy on the North Coast. It was originally put forward by the Cambrian Way Committee in 1971 but, after a number of objections from various bodies concerned with footpath erosion and mountain safety, the scheme was abandoned in 1982. There has, however, been renewed interest in making it into a National Trail with pressure from The Ramblers' Association following the televised walk of the route by Janet Street-Porter. The Ramblers' Association have supported the idea from the outset, but the added publicity of the television series may help to sway the opposition.
The first guide book to be published in 1984 was 'A Cambrian Way' by Richard Sale, but this book is less of a practical guide book than a book filled with interesting facts and historical information about places on the way. Some time later, Tony Drake produced a much more pocketable and practical guide book with a route that differs somewhat in places, to take advantage of certain land acquisitions and permissive paths that came along after Richard Sale's book was published. 'Cambrian Way', subtitled 'A Mountain Connoisseur's Walk', by A.J. Drake has now reached its 5th Edition (ISBN 0 9509580 4 2) and is highly recommended to anyone planning the walk as it contains a lot of useful information with regard to the distances, ascents and relative difficulty of the terrain, as well as a list of accommodation along the way.
Note 2023: The Tony Drake guidebook was superceded by 'Walking the Cambrian Way' published by Cicerone in 2017. Some route changes and more accurate calculations show it to be approximately 298 miles (479km) with 74,000 feet (22,500 metres) of ascent on the main route.
Compared to most other recognised walks in Britain, the Cambrian Way is much more challenging in that its route runs over most of the highest mountains in Wales. It is 275 miles in length and involves an ascent of 61,540 ft (18,742 metres) with a considerable amount of difficult terrain, so should not be undertaken by the faint-hearted. When taking account of the extra distance walked for accommodation stops, getting lost (which is all too easy), additional sightseeing etc. the total distance is unlikely to be less than 300 miles. The mileage calculated is purely that taken from map measurements and this does not take account of the difficulty of some of the terrain. Wainright's guide to the Pennine Way adds an extra twenty miles to the map distance to take account of difficult sections, and these are nothing compared with the difficulties of the Cambrian Way. However, I still prefer to work on map mileage, making my own allowances for the terrain, as any other measurement tends to be rather subjective.
Planning and Preparation
My first attempt at planning the walk was based on Richard Sale's book, which I borrowed from the library in 1996. I had asked for all seven relevant 1:50,000 O.S. maps for a Christmas present and marked them with the route from the book. I worked out a schedule of overnight stops in Youth Hostels and B&Bs and was all set to do the walk in the summer. However, my circumstances took a turn when I was made redundant early in 1996 and I felt that it was better to spend my time trying to find employment and to conserve my money than to spend three weeks time and several hundred pounds on a walking holiday. Having found a contract which lasted for over three years, pressure of work prevented me from taking on any long walks until the summer of 1999, when I managed to fit in a seven-day walk of the Cleveland Way. When this contract came to an end just before the Millennium, I was unable to find any other work and, eventually, my wife and I decided to sell our house and buy an hotel. The purchase of the hotel was scheduled for late July so it left me with the opportunity to fit in a walk before we took over.
At first I intended to follow the itinerary that I had worked out previously, but then found that five of the Youth Hostels where I had intended to stay had been closed. I started looking on the Internet for B&B accommodation when, by chance, I came across a mention of Tony Drake's guide book and managed to order a copy of the latest edition, which had just been published. This made a great difference to my planning, as I found that his recommended route varied somewhat from Richard Sale's route and seemed to be a better one. The book also gives a very good accommodation list as well as much practical advice, which enabled me to plan a slightly different schedule taking twenty days. One of the big advantages I found was in the very difficult 20 mile section over the Rhinog mountains from Barmouth to Trawsfynydd. This had caused me so much of a planning problem previously because there appeared to be no accommodation at all without making a detour of several miles, and the terrain seemed too difficult to enable this section to be walked in one day. Tony Drake's book gave details of a farm house at Cwm Nantcol, only two miles off the route, which I was able to use, saving me the much larger detour to Llanbedr Youth Hostel, which I had previously planned to make.
When planning the walk I had tried to take account of the difficult terrain on some of the sections and also of the large amount of ascent involved. I never like to have days with twenty miles of walking at the best of times, but sometimes these are unavoidable. On this walk I was even more aware that such days should be avoided, if at all possible. Some sections over the highest mountains were kept to very short distances indeed, both because of the ascent and also to allow more time to enjoy the scenery and to allow for any diversions that I may like to make.
After many telephone calls, I finally managed to get all of my accommodation booked, although it was not without one or two difficulties. I had hoped to stay at the Llanddeusant Youth Hostel, but this was full with a school party, and there seemed to be no other accommodation nearby. However, the warden at the hostel put me in touch with the Black Mountain Caravan Park, who agreed to hire me a static caravan as well as some bedding for the night. Llyn-y-Celyn Youth Hostel in the Brecon Beacons was also full and this made me use one of the alternative routes to stay at Ystradfellte Youth Hostel instead. Bryn Gwynant Youth Hostel at Nant Gwynant was also full, but I was able to book bunkhouse accommodation in a log cabin at Bryn Dinas, which was actually better in some ways, as it was closer to the main route. All in all, Youth Hostels tend to be a problem in June, as it is a very popular time for school parties, who often block book a whole hostel to the exclusion of normal Y.H.A. members. However, I tend to find this a good time of year for walking, so I just have to put up with having to find other accommodation.
I had taken advantage during my time out of work, to do a lot of walking, so I did not need to do much extra training to build up for this walk, although I knew it was going to be very strenuous. Shortly before the start, I did a couple of steep mountain walks in Snowdonia, just to get myself into the more strenuous walking that was going to be involved. I was quite apprehensive about the prospect of bad weather, as much of the walk is in the high mountains which are likely to be covered in low cloud for quite a bit of the time. In addition, as this walk was not officially recognised or waymarked, route finding was likely to present problems, especially in poor visibility.
From the point of view of safety, it would have been a great advantage to take a mobile phone but, looking at the route and the very poor network coverage offered in most of the areas, there seemed little point in carrying the extra weight as I would only be able to use it in a few places. I would just have to rely for security on a survival bag and the fact that my wife would raise the alarm if I failed to arrive at any of my scheduled stops.
My equipment was much the same as on previous walks, keeping the weight down to a minimum level, whilst not leaving myself short of any essentials. I intended to do the walk in shorts despite the fact that there may be some rather cold periods on the mountaintops. Shorts give more freedom of movement, and legs tend not to get too cold whilst they are working and generating heat. It is also easier to wash and dry muddy legs than muddy trousers at the end of the day so, on balance I find shorts to be preferable.
Day 0 - Tuesday 30th May 2000 - Home to Cardiff via Docks and Castle
Distance: 6 miles
Accommodation: YHA Cardiff - Dinner, B&B and packed lunch £22.50
I took the 9.15am coach from Doncaster to Cardiff via Nottingham, Birmingham, Ross on Wye and Newport in beautifully sunny weather for most of the way, arriving in Cardiff at 15.45pm. The journey was uneventful, but I was heartened by the fine weather and hoped that it would stay that way. The route in Tony Drake's book starts at Cardiff Castle, but he says that he intends to extend it to the docks in his next edition. Having a reasonable amount of time to spare, I decided to walk down to the docks for the sake of making it a complete coast to coast walk, and then head back up the Taff Trail as far as the nearest point to the Youth Hostel at Maindy, thus saving a walk back in the opposite direction to the starting point the next morning.
Bute Docks Co. Building - Mermaid Quay - Cardiff
Cardiff Castle from Cathays Park - Start of Cambrian Way
The dockland area around Cardiff Bay has been redeveloped and is the home of, amongst other things, The National Assembly for Wales. However, the most impressive building, to my mind, is the fine old brick building of the Bute Docks Company, which is being renovated to its former glory. I spent a little time around the waterfront near Mermaid Quay in the pleasant sunshine before heading off along the Taff Trail, which either starts at, or passes by, the quay and then follows the river up past the huge National Stadium to Cardiff Castle, then along much the same route as the first part of the Cambrian Way. The castle is an impressive building, but appears to have largely been rebuilt in recent times, so is not so historically important as some of the other castles in Wales. It was closed by the time I got there so I did not go in, not that I would have had time to have a proper look around as I wanted to get to the Youth Hostel in time for an evening meal. From the castle onwards, the route follows the river through Cathays Park by the Taff. Very soon it feels as if the city has been left well behind. Even though the built up areas are not far away, it is remarkably peaceful and quiet along the riverbanks, sheltered from the noise by trees. About a mile north of the castle I headed off in the direction of the Youth Hostel near Roath Park and arrived there at 6.35pm.
The walk down to the docks then back to the Castle and on to the Youth Hostel was further than I thought - when I checked on the map it was about 6 miles. I had been walking in a cheap pair of trainers, with little cushioning in the soles - I took these because of their light weight, but they were only intended for evening wear and not for walking very far. With the extra weight of my pack, my feet were already starting to feel a bit sore.
The hostel is a new style one with cafeteria service from 6pm to 7.30pm and it even had a pay-computer for Internet access. When I arrived, there was nobody at reception, as they were all serving meals in the cafeteria which was completely full and had a queue still waiting for tables, so I phoned home and then joined the queue for a meal. With the cafeteria service it is possible to have either the full three-course meal at the fixed price of £4.80, or to just pay for what you have if it is less than that. I had curried chicken with a glass of wine (yes! things have changed in the Y.H.A.), ice cream and coffee. The hostel was mainly occupied by a party of Dutch teenagers plus a few Dutch adults. This is typical of city hostels, which tend to be popular with foreign visitors, who are using them purely as a cheap way of staying in the city, and not as a means of pursuing outdoor activities. I was in a four-bunk dormitory, although there was only one other chap in there, and he didn't enter into much conversation.
After dinner I took a stroll around Roath Park in the pleasant evening sunshine before setting off in search of a pub. Even though the area is well populated I had to walk quite a long way before I came across the Albany Hotel. There was a quiz going on at the time, but it was a pleasant pub and served some good Brain's bitter, a local Cardiff brew. On the way back from the pub I met the chap who was sharing my room, but he arrived back at the hostel after I had gone to bed.
Although it is logical to start this walk by the coast, the first part of the walk, though pleasant, is not the mountain walk that the Cambrian Way is all about - that would have to wait until a little later.
Day 1 - Wednesday 31st May 2000 - YHA Cardiff to Risca via Rhymney Valley Ridgeway and Mynydd Machen
Distance: 17.6 miles - 2,022 ft ascent
Accommodation: Darren Inn, Risca - B&B £17.50
There was a lot of noise from the traffic and trains in the morning, as I got up at 7.30 for breakfast at 8.00. I was the first one there, as the other Dutch groups were going in at 8.30, so I was able to get off to an 8.50 start, leaving the chap who was sharing my room still in bed.
River Taff Cardiff from The Taff Trail
Tongwynlais - Castell Coch is on Hillside
I retraced my route back to where I left the Taff Trail, passing all the busy rush-hour traffic for a mile or more and getting back on the route by 9.15 at about one mile from the present starting point at Cardiff Castle. It was already very warm and sunny, and the path alongside the River Taff gave some welcome coolness under the trees, which also blocked off the traffic noise, leaving only the sound of birdsong. The walk by the river was easy and pleasant but I missed a turning to go along by the canal. It was not essential to turn back, but I did not want to start deviating from the route at this early stage, so I retraced my steps for about a third of a mile to the turning. The canal was very picturesque, as it was overgrown with water lilies with dragonflies hopping from one to another. There were also lots of irises in a lovely wooded setting which was very tranquil right up to the busy M4 interchange. It was hard to believe that this calm and secluded place was right next to a busy motorway. Even the route across the motorway intersection, through underpasses and over footbridges, was well sheltered from the busy traffic, and I even noticed a spotted orchid growing by the wayside.
After negotiating the motorway intersection, the route led through Tongwynlais, which is overlooked by Castle Coch up on the hillside. This was the first hill on the route, so I now started to feel that the walk was properly under way. There was very little breeze and it was very warm as I stopped for a drink and a snack by Castle Coch. It was very pleasant in the wooded surroundings apart from the distant roar of traffic. Quite a few people were visiting the castle, which was built as a folly, and many were sitting around enjoying the sunshine.
I set off again at 11.50 climbing up the path through the trees. It was hot work climbing upwards despite the coolness offered by the trees, so I soon stopped to take off my top. Unfortunately, though the trees give some welcome coolness, they also block out all of the view and, what started off being rather pleasant, soon started to get monotonous. Eventually, near Thornhill, the trees thin out affording views across the valley towards another ridge running parallel. One section of the woodland was completely carpeted in white with wild garlic to the almost total exclusion of any other vegetation.
Further along the view opens up more to give a view overlooking Caerphilly as well as the radio masts on Mynydd Machen which I would pass a couple of miles from the end of the day's walk. I stopped by an old quarry for lunch in the warm sunshine but it soon clouded over and was not so good for sunbathing as I had thought. I had ordered a large packed lunch from the Youth Hostel, as the standard ones are often not substantial enough to satisfy the needs on a long day's walk. After an hour airing my feet with my boots and socks off, I set off again on my way. After Castle Coch I had seen very few people around apart from golfers, some workmen and a girl on a pony.
After another mile or so offering a hazy view I was back into trees again for most of the way into Machen. The odd short stretch of forest or woodland can be pleasant on a walk, but this part of the walk has too much for my liking. I doubt whether there is really any better alternative route over this section, but I do think that the Forestry Commission have a lot to answer for when it comes to destroying views from hilltops.
Quickly passing through the former mining village of Machen, I started the ascent of Mynydd Machen, the first real summit of the walk. There was quite a steep path up through forestry followed by an even steeper path up the open hillside. There were good views all around but spoiled by the weather which was now overcast with a cold wind blowing at the summit. By walking a little way from the rounded summit, it was possible to view a number of the mining valleys such as the Ebbw and Rhymney valleys, which were once the centre of a huge mining industry, when the whole region, including all the hillsides, was covered in coal dust. Now that all of the coal mines have been closed down, they have gradually been replaced by lighter industry giving rise to a much cleaner environment, but the area still retains much of the industrial character of former times.
Spoil Heap from Mynydd Machen looks like huge burial mound
Ebbw Valley from Mynydd Machen
One interesting feature to the west of Mynydd Machen is a spoil heap in the form of a long ridge on top of the adjoining hillside and looking somewhat like a huge ancient burial mound. Now that it has been covered by vegetation it is a rather a fine addition to the landscape rather than the eyesore that it no doubt was in former days.
As I started to make my way down towards Risca it started to rain a little. The route down presented some slight difficulties as the footpath at one point had disappeared in a field of crops, and the continuation through the forest was rather overgrown, but it was worthwhile taking this route rather than the road as there were still lots of bluebells in flower along the path.
After crossing the Ebbw River and following a short stretch of the Brecon Canal, I arrived at the Darren Inn at 18.00 and had a relaxing soak in the bath before going down for a meal. Unfortunately, they only did bar meals at lunch times and Thursday to Saturday evenings, trade being very slack earlier in the week. They were, however, selling some good Buckley's IPA at only £1.20 a pint. There were a number of other pubs down the road but none seemed to be doing any food either, so I ended up having fish, chips and peas from the chip shop. I then returned to the Darren Inn for another pint before going off to watch some television in my room and then have an early night ready for the next day's walk.
Day 2 - Thursday 1st June 2000 - Risca to Abergavenny via Twmbarlwm, Pontypool and Blorenge
I woke to a morning with rain and mist. The weather forecast gave some improvement in the afternoon, but with a wet morning at least. I appear to have been the only one staying at the Darren Inn, as I had breakfast on my own in a large function room. It was a substantial meal with sausages, bacon, egg and beans, and enough to last me until Pontypool, where I could get something for lunch.
I set off at 8.50 into the rain and mist, having tried to pack everything so that it would keep dry. There was a steady climb up a road followed by a steeper path to the summit of Twmbarlwm, which is the site of an ancient fort with a small defensive area at the top and another circle of defence further down. A long ridge walk followed, with visibility down to about 100 yards at first, opening up to a couple of miles after a while. Even in the rain and mist, I preferred this walk to that through the forests on the previous day. At least I felt that I was up in the hills and out in the open rather than being boxed in by tightly packed trees.
I was not quite sure whether I was keeping to the recommended route as there were few landmarks, but I wasn't worried as the main path I was on would lead me to the summit of Mynydd Maen, which was not far off the route. It did, in fact, lead me to the radio mast not far from the summit, so I was able to get my bearings and head off in the right direction to pick up the remainder of the route. In clearer conditions the recommended route would have been preferable, as there would have been more of a view, but in these conditions it made little difference. By this time my feet were getting rather tired, as I had not been able to find anywhere with sufficient shelter for a rest in the eight miles since Risca.
The GPS mileage figure is what I recorded from accommodation to accommodation, and includes any small detours, meandering around, and errors in route finding. In general this is about 5% to 15% greater than the mileage calculated from a map, depending upon the type of terrain, but in some cases is considerably more.In Pontypool I was able to buy some hot pies from a filling station right by the route, rather than having to make a detour into the middle of town. The weather had improved somewhat and there were even occasional glimpses of sunshine between the mist and cloud, so I stopped in the entrance to Pontypool Park to eat my lunch and have a rest.
When I set off again, I chanced taking off my waterproofs, only to find that it started raining again after about a mile or so. It made for pleasant walking over Gern Wen and Mynydd Garnclochdy with lots of undulations and grass close cropped by the sheep, even though there were no real view to be seen. The only problem apart from the visibility was having to dodge round puddles left by the rain. After Mynydd y Garn Fawr the grass changed to heather moorland - very flat and monotonous. There was a well defined path but it suffered from a mixture of soggy peat and very stony ground - in the first instance it was difficult dodging round the worst of the puddles, and in the second it was difficult missing the sharply angled stones. The landmarks provided by the radio masts and the grave of the famous horse Foxhunter assured me that I was on the right route as I started the ascent of Blorenge. It has only a gentle incline from this side and is not much higher than the route of the past few miles.
The summit of Blorenge was not very spectacular, but I took shelter in a ring of stones before starting the descent. At first the descent is gradual but eventually a very steep edge is reached which, I am sure on a clear day, would give some fine views across Abergavenny to Sugar Loaf and the Black Mountains beyond. A round-about zigzag path avoids the steepest slope on the way down but still involves a few steep stretches. The path eventually descends to a tunnel underneath a house and canal. It looked pitch black on first entry until I had gone down far enough to see the light at the other end, but even so it was quite difficult to see in there. After a little way along roads I reached the centre of Abergavenny and found Ty'r Morwydd House where I was booked for the night.
Ty'r Morwydd House is actually an environmental study centre, which also can be booked by parties, as a hostel. It just happened that on the night I wanted to stay there was a party of ramblers booked in and I was able to join them, otherwise it would not have been available. It is a very good hostel with a Wales Tourist Board 3 star rating. It offers a higher standard than Youth Hostels with proper beds rather than bunks, bathrooms rather than showers, and better meals but, of course, is more expensive. They had laid a separate table for me apart from the ramblers, and the portions that they gave me were far more than the normal portions that were being shared out between eight on each other table. I was feeling rather bloated as I left the table, although I was sure that I would soon work it off the next day.
I did a lot of washing and hoped that it would dry on the radiator which was only slightly warm, then had a walk round the town and the outside of the castle before calling for a couple of pints of not-so-good Bass and then to bed.
Day 3 - Friday 2nd June 2000 - Abergavenny to Capel-y-Ffin via Sugar Loaf and Chwarel y Fan
Distance: 14.2 miles - 3,913 ft ascent
Accommodation: YHA Capel-y-Ffin, Dinner, B&B and Packed Lunch £21.45
I had a good night's sleep and woke at about 7am but drifted off again until 7.50. I was not sure whether breakfast was at 8.00 or 8.30, so went down at 8.05 to find it was already in full swing. I was also not sure at which place I was supposed to sit, as my place from the previous night was being used for tea and coffee. It ensued that I was to have breakfast with the manager of the centre, at a table laid for the two of us. We had a good chat about the walk and several other topics before I left to pack my things and set off into town to get something for lunch and to post back the first of my seven maps. The maps don't weigh a great deal, but it is something of a symbolic gesture to post them back as each section is completed. I looked all around Tesco's but couldn't find any sandwiches, so I got a few other things and queued at the checkout. When I eventually reached the checkout the lady there said "You could do with some nice sandwiches to go with that" and pointed out where they were. Unfortunately, I then had to queue again to pay for them but, as I had only about fourteen miles instead of the previous day's nineteen and a half miles to walk, I was not in too much of a hurry.
I set off from town at about 10.10 with cloud hovering at about 1,000 ft but as yet, no rain. There was a fairly steep ascent up a road and path onto a ridge, then a much more gentle ascent most of the way until the final steep ascent onto the summit of Sugar Loaf. The latter part of the climb was in cloud and, therefore, with some drizzle but not really enough to class as rain. The Trig Point on the summit had a sign saying 'Adopted by Longtown Mountain Rescue Team'. These days the Ordnance Survey use 3D aerial photography and other such techniques to produce maps so Trig Points have no practical use. Nevertheless, they serve as good navigation guides to walkers, so it is good to see that some of them are being preserved in this way.
On the descent of Sugar Loaf I seemed to be going too far off to the right so I stopped to check my compass, which is something I very rarely have to do, as I can generally see where I want to be by the lie of the land. I found that I had missed the path, so had to backtrack and regain a couple of contour lines to regain the route. Further down I had some consternation when my compass showed that I was going in the opposite direction from where I should be. After a mild panic, I then found that I was looking at the wrong end of the compass needle - perhaps I should use it more often!
I stopped for lunch just below the cloud level on the descent of Sugar Loaf, and was pleased to find that my feet and legs were still feeling fine, apart from a little soreness from a couple of small blisters. Quite often, on a long walk, a feeling of lethargy sets in during the first few days, making it very difficult to get started in the mornings. This generally wears off a few days later as the system adapts to the extra demands being imposed. On this walk, however, I seemed to have escaped most of that, possibly because I had done a few strenuous walks in the previous couple of weeks and had gone through that stage then, rather than on the main walk.
Vale of Ewyas towards Sugar Loaf from Bal Mawr
Vale of Ewyas N from Chwarel y Fan
Chapel at Capel y Ffin on YHA route variant
Coming though Fforest Coal Pit, named from charcoal production rather than coal, and climbing onto the next ridge, I found that the cloud had lifted from Sugar Loaf and most of the hills around. There was still some cloud around but at least there was a reasonable view. The ridge along the west side of the Vale of Ewyas makes a very pleasant walk with a grassy track and good views to both sides. Further along there were even a few patches of sunshine and even better views across the beautiful Vale of Ewyas. The ridge to the west is marred, in parts, by forestry plantations, but otherwise would look just as good as that to the east. At this point the walk follows the adjacent ridge to the Offa's Dyke path, although the views from that ridge are supposedly not as good. After the fairly gentle ascent of Chwarel y Fan, the route drops down steeply from the ridge to the pretty little village of Capel-y-ffin (meaning Chapel on the border). My destination was the Youth Hostel about a mile further on, along a 'hostel variant' of the route which meets up with the main route again at Twmpa or Lord Hereford's Knob.
It is possible to follow the road, which is very narrow, to the hostel but, as this presents some danger from vehicles, it is better to take the recommended route, which starts by climbing steeply up a path on the hillside for about 250 ft. This, however, takes a bit of effort at the end of a day's walk. The path then contours round the hillside and eventually drops down to the hostel. Unfortunately, the path was badly churned up by horses in places, even though it is not a bridleway, and was, hence, very muddy and not quite as good an option as it might have been.
I arrived at 17.25 at this lovely, traditional hostel, which has a friendly atmosphere, and is geared up for outdoor pursuits. I was in 'The Barn' which can sleep about twenty, but there was only one other sharing it with me that night, the rest being in the main building. My feet were aching somewhat, as is common on long walks, and was probably a build up from the long walk of the previous day. I had also been having some trouble with my left foot which I had twisted slightly on the first day, and this gave me quite a bit of pain from time to time. On the plus side, however, the soreness that I had suffered earlier caused by the base of my rucksack rubbing on my back was now much improved after I had adjusted the straps to lift it higher up.
There was a good oil-filled radiator in the dormitory, so I took advantage of it to dry out some of my previous day's washing which was still damp and I also did some more washing before going to dinner. In traditional fashion, this hostel had communal tables which encourage conversation with other hostellers. One group were from a local riding stables and they appeared to use the hostel regularly as overflow accommodation when their own place was full of guests. There was also a family with two young children, who were camping there, and an elderly Canadian couple who were walking the Offa's Dyke path. They had retired to a remote island where they had to generate their own electricity and had to haul all of their supplies half way up a cliff. They had still kept their normal home, which they had been renting out, and were considering returning there in a year or two, as they were now finding the primitive lifestyle rather difficult with increasing years.
Dinner was very good and I had onion soup, pork chop and spotted dick.
When I mentioned to the warden that I was walking the Cambrian Way, she pulled out a book that had been provided by Tony Drake in which walkers were invited to enter details of their start dates and planned finishing dates etc. It started in 1991 and there were typically about 20 people a year who had made entries in the book, although not all of those were doing the complete walk in one go. Obviously there are quite a number of others who would not have stayed at the hostel but it still doesn't indicate a large number of people doing the walk, which went along with my suspicions, having not yet met a single person who was doing it.
Day 4 - Saturday 3rd June 2000 - Capel-y-Ffin to Crickhowell via Lord Hereford's Knob and Waun Fach
The weather was wet in the morning - it had started raining the night before. Breakfast was at 8am and I could see low cloud hanging around most of the hills, but not completely covering them. At 9.25 I set off up the path from the hostel and decided to take a path straight up the hillside rather than make my way back along the very muddy path to meet the main path up onto the ridge. It was a good grassy path at an angle, so was not too steep and joined the main path at the top. It was not far before I entered the cloud and the visibility then dropped to about 100 yards.
At a cairn that I took to be the top of Lord Hereford's Knob, I stopped for a snack. When I set off again I soon realised that this was not where I thought, as the summit was about half a mile further along the very flat topped ridge, which suddenly drops steeply away after the summit. Despite the poor visibility, it was not too difficult to find the route and it was only in one or two places that I had to check my compass. In one case I had gone about a quarter of a mile down the wrong track and had to retrace my steps, but otherwise it all went well.
The weather was alternating between drizzly mist and rain, and the ground was saturated. A couple of chaps from Bristol were going the same way as me, and I walked with them for a couple of miles to the summit of Waun Fach, where they went off in a different direction. Chatting to them helped to pass on the time during some fairly monotonous walking through the rain. The most annoying thing about this part of the walk was knowing that there must be some magnificent views from this ridge walk, if only the cloud would lift. The summit of Waun Fach was a huge quagmire, with a sea of peat surrounding the trig point, so I skirted a good way round all of it to the path leading along the ridge.
Further along I stopped in the shelter of a cairn for my lunch and a couple of other walkers stopped to join me. It was a Saturday, so there were still a number of walkers about despite the bad weather. They were taking a different route than me, but were eventually going to end up in Crickhowell, where they planned on having a meal in the Bear Hotel and they suggested that I might join them there.
From the start of the day I had been wearing my waterproof top but not my leggings and, by the time it started to rain properly, my shorts were so wet that there hardly seemed any point in putting on my leggings. Consequently, by the time I reached the end of the ridge and descended onto grassy tracks, my legs were so splattered with peat that I decided to stand in a stream to rinse off the worst of the dirt from my legs and boots. My boots filled with water, but they could hardly get any wetter than they were already, after squelching along for the last several miles.
Table Mountain and Crickhowell just below the cloud
Crickhowell and Table Mountain - Bear Inn is at end of street
Just above Table Mountain I finally dropped below the cloud and was able to get a view both of Table Mountain itself and Crickhowell down beneath. It was a great relief being able to see around me again after about fourteen miles of mist and rain. I reached my B&B at about 16.50 and it was wonderful to be able to change out of my wet things, have a shower and get warm.
After a rest, I set off in search of something to eat and decided that I would call in the Bear Hotel to see if I could see the walkers I had met earlier. However, I felt very much underdressed in there, as most of the diners were dressed up for dinner, so I just had a quick pint and went in search of somewhere a little more down-to-earth. This was not as easy as it may seem in that many of the pubs only served meals at lunch time and not in the evening. Eventually, I found the Six Bells, having been directed there from another pub. Crickhowell is not a cheap place and most of the bar meals were £6.50 or more. I decided on Lamb Rosemary, which was very good, but the meal was not without some problems as I was asked to move from my table into another bar so that some others could sit there.
I went back to my B&B to watch television for a while before going to bed. I am not one who normally needs a lot of sleep, but with all the strenuous walking I needed the rest, even if I did not sleep all the way through.
Day 5 - Sunday 4th June 2000 - Crickhowell to Talybont-on-Usk via Mynydd Llangattock
Distance: 13.3 miles - 1,808 ft ascent
Accommodation: Abercynafon Lodge Near Talybont-on-Usk - B&B £25
Bridge over Usk at Crickhowell
Despite the forecast of bad weather for the next few days, I woke up to bright sunshine and lots of blue sky. It was perhaps a bit premature to think that the forecast was wrong, but then you need to be an optimist in this game or you would soon pack up and go home. Anyhow, the day's walk was not at such a high level as that of the past few days, making it less likely that I would be in cloud.
My left foot was still painful at times and I could now see some bruising, but once I got going I could often walk for a few miles without much pain, then have a few miles where it was very painful, only to find that the pain went away again for a while. I had a very good breakfast and then went into town to get a few things for lunch and send off some postcards. The bright weather earlier had now given way to a lot of cloud but not yet rain. At about 9.30 I made my way across the River Usk towards the Llangattock Escarpment where it started raining, making me resort to waterproofs. I took a wrong path up the escarpment and ended up scrambling through bracken and fallen trees until I eventually found a gate and regained the proper path, which then climbed steeply up the escarpment.
There are numerous caves in this area and I took a look at some of the entrances but did not go in, as they were all very wet. By this time, the rain had eased off to occasional drizzle and the cloud was above 2,000 ft making the summit of Sugar Loaf visible but not the Black Mountains ridge of the previous day's walk. I had a very pleasant walk along the escarpment bringing back memories of 30 years ago when I had visited the area with my brother and explored a few miles of underground passages in Ogen Allwedd, a very extensive cave system.
As the weather improved it was so good to be able to take off my waterproofs again and dry out a bit. After dropping down from the escarpment towards the road I decided to regain some height earlier than the route suggested by following a track up the hillside. This was a bit of a mistake, as I eventually ended up on open moorland and the only real option was to follow a faint track to the highest point, then another faint path and sheep tracks over the open moor to the trig point. The only thing I achieved was to gain a slightly better view by seeing a full panorama a little earlier, but I had to contend with slower and harder going and about an extra half-mile of walking for the privilege.
Chartists' Cave used to store arms
Now that the cloud had lifted and broken up even more, there were some very good distant views, with Ebbw Vale and Tredegar to the south, the Black Mountains to the north east and the Brecon Beacons to the west. There was a good path from the trig point westwards and I was taking great care so as not to miss the Chartists' Cave which, according to Tony Drake's book, was easy to miss. When I thought I was in the right area I stopped to take compass bearings, then walked twenty yards further on where I found the cave entrance right by the side of the path and almost impossible to miss. I can only assume that it has become much more of a well-trodden path since the book was written. The cave was used by the Chartists, as stated on a plaque by the entrance, to store arms prior to the uprising of 1839.
I had not made rapid progress, having reached the cave at 2.45pm , but I had been taking it fairly steadily knowing that I did not have a very long distance to walk that day. When planning the walk, I had decided against trying to walk the length of the Brecon Beacons the same day and instead settled on an accommodation detour to Abercynafon Lodge near the head of the Talybont Reservoir, to make two easier stages. This was all the more necessary when I found that the Llwyn-y-celin Youth Hostel was full, necessitating a further seven mile walk to Ystradfellte the next day.
From the Chartists' Cave, I followed the well-defined path for a while until I realised that it was taking me too far south and I had to follow a number of sheep tracks to take me down to meet the road and rejoin the proper route. A short walk along the roadway led to an old tramway round the head of a valley, with lovely views down its length now that the weather had much improved. Unfortunately, the tramway degenerated into a quagmire with little opportunity for avoiding the mud. It continued like this for some distance before improving, and eventually joined a forestry track up onto the ridge and down to the next valley containing the Talybont Reservoir.
Talybont Reservoir near Talybont on Usk
Just when everything seemed easy, I reached the point where there should have been a bridge across the river, only to find that it still had not been rebuilt, having been washed away in 1999. There was no option but to walk across with the water well above my boot tops ensuring that I ended the day with soaking wet feet.
I received a very warm welcome from the couple at Abercynafon Lodge. There was a pot of tea with cake on arrival, my wet and dirty things were taken away to be washed and dried and, despite of the immaculately cared for accommodation, walkers are made to feel extremely welcome. The owners have to generate their own electricity and, apart from their next door neighbours, are three and a half miles from the nearest habitation in the village of Aber. They used to do evening meals but found that it was getting to be a bit too much for them, so they now offer free lifts to and from one of the pubs in Talybont-on-Usk, about five miles away. I was taken to the White Hart Inn which had a good selection of real ales and good bar meals and, on my return, was offered another pot of tea.
The weather had steadily improved throughout the day, culminating in a beautiful evening, and this had made up for the foul weather of the previous day, although higher up in the Black Mountains the cloud had only lifted by mid-afternoon. I was also pleased to find that my left foot had been generally less painful - previously it had been quite painful when I started to walk on it in the evening, but now it was not giving much trouble at all, so it looked like it was on the mend. No doubt a doctor would have prescribed plenty of rest for it, but that was hardly possible in the circumstances - the only worry with such things is whether the lack of rest could have resulted in making matters worse.
Day 6 - Monday 5th June 2000 - Talybont-on-Usk to Ystradfellte via Brecon Beacons
Distance: 15.8 miles - 4,440 ft ascent
Accommodation: YHA Ystradfellte bed only £8.10
Abercynafon Lodge really was first rate. In the morning I had a superb breakfast at 8.30 with marmalade and jam served in cut crystal pots and with bone china crockery. As well as washing some of my things, my boots had also been cleaned and even the laces had been washed. At £24 for bed and breakfast, this is more expensive than many places, but Mrs. Carr would not accept any extra payment for the lifts to the pub and the washing. With all that and the exceptional quality of everything else it was very good value.
I set off at 9.35, by which time a band of cloud had obscured the beautiful sunshine at breakfast time. However, it stopped me from getting too hot on the steep climb up the road and up the Torpantau Pass onto the Brecon Beacons. There were quite a number of people out walking, as this is a very popular area. The dark cloud gave way to lighter cloud with sunny patches as I walked up the ridge of Craig y Fan Ddu, and I was so absorbed with the beautiful view down into the valley that I forgot to head off left towards Craig Cwareli, so added about a mile by going along Graig Fan Las. However, the walk and the views were so marvellous that the extra distance didn't matter. The walking was generally easy ridge walking but with a few steep ascents and descents between major peaks.
Cribyn and Pen y Fan from Fan y Big
Pen y Fan (highest summit of Brecons at 2,906 ft) and Corn Du from Cribyn
Cribyn from Pen y Fan
Corn Du from Pen y Fan
I stopped on Cribyn for lunch at 12.45 looking across at Pen y Fan and Corn Du, with views for miles in all directions. After the steep descent and ascent of Pen y Fan, the panorama was complete with views opening up to the west from this the highest point in the Beacons. The cloud thinned out to add much more sunshine to the landscape and to highlight the rock strata which protrudes through the steep grassy slopes and is characteristic of the scenery of this area. After the distinctive summit of Pen y Fan, which does not quite make it into the 3,000 ft league, comes the slightly lower but equally distinctive peak of Corn Du, followed by the descent to the Storey Arms. There have been a lot of problems with footpath erosion, as in many popular walking areas, but many path repairs have already been undertaken, and more are in progress. I descended via the Tommy Jones memorial, as recommended in the book and then down to the Storey Arms, where I had a refreshing cup of tea from a van in the lay-by.
Lower down it was very hot in the sunshine and, after a short rest, I started to make my way up the last real ascent of the day to Rhos Dringarth. The route here is not defined and it is just a matter of heading over the moorland towards the far side of the valley by the best track, if any, that one can find. The book shows a route fairly high up the head of the valley and I assume that this is because there are several streams to cross and, therefore, the higher up they are crossed the easier it becomes. Several small paths run here and there but most of them are sheep tracks which, whilst making walking a little easier, do not always lead in the right direction. There are good views of the Ystradfellte Reservoir from the head of this remote valley and, in fact, all the way along. I was very glad when I eventually reached a proper footpath for the last mile or so into Ystradfellte as it is quite wearing following poorly defined tracks for several miles.
Ystradfellte Reservoir and Dam looking NE towards Fan Fawr
At last I reached the village and passed the pub where I was planning to have a meal. The Youth Hostel, which I reached at 6.20pm is about half a mile further on and is self catering, so I was relying on the pub to get something to eat and possibly buy a snack for the morning. However, as I booked into the hostel I asked the warden if they would be doing meals in the pub, only to be told that it was closed as the landlord gone down to Plymouth because of a family bereavement. This put me in a bit of a quandary as I had not brought any provisions for self-catering and there wasn't a shop anywhere nearby. Very kindly, the Warden's wife agreed to make me an evening meal and also breakfast, so that saved me from my predicament.
After my meal I had a short walk down to Porth yr Ogof cave which has a huge horizontal entrance, one of the largest in Europe, into which the river runs when in full flow. The bed is often dry, but there was a lot of water flowing in when I was there. By the entrance I met a chap from Castleford who was waiting for a party of youngsters to return from an expedition into the depths of the cave. I chatted for a while before returning to the hostel, leaving him there still waiting for them to return.
Day 7 - Tuesday 6th June 2000 - Ystradfellte to Talsarn via the Carmarthen Fans
Distance: 17 miles - 3,500 ft ascent
Accommodation: Black Mountain Caravan Park - Static Caravan £16
I had breakfast at 8am and got everything ready to be off by 8.45 but the rain started coming down in stair rods, so I delayed my start a bit to see if it would ease off. By 9am it had improved somewhat and I set off wearing my waterproofs, which I took off after about a mile as it seemed to be improving. However, after another mile I had to put them on again and they were most definitely needed for another five miles as the rain became quite heavy.
I lost my way towards Blaen-nedd-Isaf whilst navigating round fields and stiles and ended up, as it turned out, about a quarter of a mile further north than I should have been when I reached the river. Instead of a footbridge over the river there was a ford. At this point in time I was not sure of where I was, except that I knew I needed to cross the river so, having looked for better crossing points and not found any, I decided to make a dash across the ford with the water lapping over the tops of my boots. My feet were going to get wet anyway so it didn't make much difference - it just meant that they got wet sooner and they didn't even get totally saturated because I crossed very quickly.
Soon afterwards I was able to find my bearings and realised that I had missed one of the checkpoints of the way, but I think I could be forgiven for this minor deviation from the route. I soon regained the path that I should have taken, which turned into a well-defined track over the moors. Visibility was poor but I don't think that I missed too much in the way of scenery, as this was moorland without too many features about.
As I dropped down into Glyntawe I could see brighter weather in the distance and it wasn't too long before patches of sunshine began to appear enabling me to take off my waterproofs at last and start drying out. As I approached the Tafarn-y-Garreg roadside tavern, I was tempted and went in for a pint of Usher's, which I drank sitting outside in the much improved weather. I don't often drink beer in the middle of a day's walk as it tends to sap the will power when facing the next steep climb but it looked as if the ascent of the Black Mountain (not to be confused with the Black Mountains earlier in the walk and comprising most of the Carmarthen Fans) was fairly gradual and that one pint would not do much harm.
Correction - the ascent is not gradual - the first several hundred feet are steep and then it becomes gradual, so it was a good job that I only had one pint. However, there were some marvellous views, especially further up where the escarpment gets very steep - the visibility was very good all round with clear views across to the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains.
I met a couple of other walkers on the way to the trig point on Fan Brycheiniog - they were just going to the summit and then retracing their route back down. I made my way onto the rounded hill of Fan Foel, the most northerly point on the ridge and, as I then made my way round to the west, the most breathtaking mountain view came into sight with Picws Du to the left and Llyn y Fan Fach surrounded by steep sided ridges with all the stony outcrops highlighted in the sunshine. I waited on the edge of the hill in a strong and bitterly cold wind hoping that I could capture the best lighting conditions for a superb photograph. Unfortunately, although patches of sunlight kept racing across the scenery they didn't quite fall everywhere that I wanted so I had to make do with a couple of photographs that were not quite as good as I had hoped for. All the way around the ridge there were stunning views until I finally dropped down past Llyn y Fan Fach and thence down the access road to the lake. The views were still very good but lacked the bird's eye perspective of the previous ones.
Glyntawe and Carmarthen Fans (Fan Hir can be seen from this viewpoint)
Picws Du and Llyn y Fan Fach
Picws Du looking West
Carmarthen Fans from Talsarn Fan Brycheiniog left, Bannau Sir Gaer right
The rest of the way was an easy walk down the track and minor road to Llandeusant - I had tried to book into the Youth Hostel there but it was full with a school party, so I had to go about a mile further on to Talsarn where I had booked a static caravan for the night at the Black Mountain Caravan Park. Unfortunately this involved a steep drop down into the valley followed by a steep ascent up the road at the other side - never a good thing at the end of a day's walk.
The owners of the caravan park were very friendly and helpful - they had reduced the normal price of a night's caravan hire from £24 to £16 as I was on my own and they also loaned me some bedding as I was not carrying a sleeping bag with me. They had a small shop where I was able to buy things for my breakfast and they even gave me a few slices of bread and butter to save me having to buy a loaf. The caravan was quite spacious and had everything that I needed including a shower.
After washing out a few things I went to the pub next door for a very reasonably priced meal of steak pie, chips and peas accompanied by some very pleasant Buckley's dark beer. It had now turned into a very pleasant evening and there was a fine view from the pub car park of the Black Mountain several miles away.
After a rather bad start to the day it had turned out to be a really good walk, all the more so because I had no idea that there would be such magnificent views to be found. I had barely heard of the Carmarthen Fans before and, therefore, assumed that they would not be particularly impressive, so it was all the more gratifying to find what, to my mind, is one of the most breathtaking mountain views in the whole of Wales. The steep mountains rising above the lake have strata of red rock protruding through the greenery, and this was highlighted by the sunshine. There were also dark clouds hovering around to make the view even more dramatic. It is true that many other parts of Wales offer a more spectacular panorama of mountain scenery whereas the best of the view here tends to be mainly in one direction, but this still does not detract from it and it was all the better for being so unexpected.
Day 8 - Wednesday 7th June 2000 - Talsarn to Rhandirmwyn via Llandovery
Distance: 16 miles (+ 3 miles lost) - 1,600 ft ascent
Accommodation: Nantbai Mill B&B
I had a good night's sleep and was up at 7.45 to make myself breakfast of bacon and a tin of beans with 'plastic' sausages, which I think must be made in a synthetic rubber factory, as they bear no relationship to anything that could be described as a sausage. However, on a walk like this it does not pay to be too fussy about what food is available; you just have to be glad that there is something to keep you going - anything better is a bonus. I even had enough bacon left over to make a bacon sandwich for lunch, so I was well prepared for the day ahead.
After packing and tidying the caravan I made a start at 9.20 on a very pleasant and hot sunny morning. The scenery now was much more gentle, with none of the high mountains of the earlier and later sections of the walk. The first couple of miles were along the road to meet up with the main route near the head of the Usk Reservoir. There are family connections with this reservoir, as my wife's uncle, John Matthews, was its chief engineer when it was built and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in August 1955.
The Carmarthen Fans were very prominent to the south, but are far less impressive from a distance than from up on top. After leaving the road, the route meanders over undulating moorland to give views of the reservoir and of the source of the River Usk before leading down to the road and into Myddfai. As it was so warm, I took off my shirt but decided that I would have to take care that my shoulders didn't get too much sun, as it can be very unpleasant carrying a rucksack on sunburnt shoulders. I stopped for lunch just past Myrtle Hill and lay sunbathing for a while. When I resumed my walk it was not long before I ran into difficulty finding the right route. Despite Tony Drake showing sections of map at six inches to the mile, I still could not find the right path at Pant y Gaseg Farm and I ended up too far west, eventually meeting up with a track that was leading in the opposite direction. Rather than trying to backtrack I decided that it was easier just to follow this track down to a minor road that allowed me to join up with the route half a mile further on.
Head of the Usk Reservoir, not far from source of River Usk
N towards Myddfai and Llandovery - Much gentler scenery here
Ruins of Llandovery Castle
North towards Rhandirmwyn
There is over five miles of road walking from Llandovery, albeit on little used minor roads which gave pleasant views but there were none of the spectacular views of the previous few days. Eventually the road section gave way to tracks over the moor. I got hopelessly lost trying to follow the route and was unable to match it up with the guidebook. What made matters so much worse in this area was the poor signposting of footpaths and bridleways, so it is difficult to know which is a path and which is a farm track. Eventually, after checking with my compass, I found that I had wandered too far east, although I was not quite sure how far. The best thing I could do was to head roughly north to meet up with a road where I could then get my bearings. I did eventually find a road but, by this time, I was about a mile and a half north east of where I should have been.
It was a relief at least, to know where I was, even though it meant that I had added about two and a half miles of walking together with all the frustration that goes with being lost. Even though this day's walk was not excessively long, it was getting rather late because I normally pace myself for the distance I know I have to walk, so if I think I am going to have plenty of time to spare I take it easy along the way and have longer stops. If I had lost my way earlier in the day I could have easily made up for lost time, but doing so near the end of the day meant that I was bound to be rather late getting to my destination. I was, at least, able to press on quickly towards Rhandirmwyn and then to Nant Bai Mill, which was where I was staying for the night, but it was still 7.35pm before I arrived. I had a nice, relaxing bath and a large pot of tea with scones, which I ate outside in the pleasant warmth of the evening. This was followed by a very good home cooked meal of trout with courgettes and tomato with a thick cheese topping and a jacket potato followed by apple pie with ice cream.
My feet were suffering quite a bit, and this had not been helped by the last stretch of rapid road walking trying to make up for some of my lost time. I was not looking forward to doing nearly twenty miles the next day, so I decided against walking down to the pub and, instead, had an early night to give my feet as much of a rest as possible and a chance to recover, after bursting a few of the blisters.
Day 9 - Thursday 8th June 2000 - Rhandirmwyn to Pontrhydfendigaid via the Doethie Valley
Distance: 18.3 miles (+ 1 mile lost) - 2,500 ft ascent
Accommodation: Red Lion Hotel, Pontrhydfendigaid - B&B £18.50
I had breakfast at 8am and set off at 8.50 with my feet feeling much improved - it is surprising what a night's rest can do. The main problem with my feet seemed to have come about because of the almost constant saturation that they had undergone since the start of this walk. The thick skin of my soles went into large wrinkles with the wet and this caused some deep-seated blisters to form under the folds. The blister on my right foot, despite having been burst, still seemed very swollen, which probably meant that it had become infected.
Towy Valley near Dinas Nature Reserve
The beautiful Doethie Valley
Lake near road towards Nantymaen
The first part of the day's walk was along the River Towy and then along the beautiful Doethie valley, where the river winds its way down a steep sided valley with a number of waterfalls, and with craggy outcrops of rock high up the valley sides. This is one part of the walk where the route has been chosen for the scenery down in the valley rather than mountain top scenery. My feelings are that one of the important things about a long distance walk is a good variety of scenery and, although I tend to prefer seeing things from up high, this is one example of where it is preferable to take a low level route. The easy walking and the marvellous scenery took my mind off the problems with my right foot for a while. Further along I had a short break to doctor my blister by cutting off some of the dead skin and putting antiseptic cream on it to try to counteract any infection.
Further up the valley the route climbs up the valley side and over to a minor road, which is the only right of way for the next four miles. The scenery is less spectacular away from the Doethie valley but still very pleasant. At the point where the path joins the road there is a tiny chapel called Soar y Mynydd which is miles from anywhere, making one wonder where the congregation came from.
As I started walking along the road, I could see a lone walker with a rucksack some way ahead. I gradually caught him up and, when I asked him where he was headed for, he replied "Conwy maybe". He was not walking the whole of the Cambrian Way, as he had walked much of the first section previously, so he had started from Llandovery, but he did hope to get to Conwy. He was taking a year out from work and had walked all over the country doing several National Trails and was also intending, possibly, to walk down through the Pyrenees to Spain. He tended to walk at a fairly steady pace and, as he was carrying camping gear, was able to stop more or less wherever he pleased. If the weather turned bad he would just stay put in his tent until it improved. I eventually went off ahead of him and then stopped for lunch at about the halfway point for the day with a buzzard flying overhead.
I set off again at 13.30 and stopped again to check the route carefully at 14.40, when I was surprised to see that I had only about five and a half miles to go to reach Pontrhydfendigaid. I had written down the day's mileage as 19.7 but it was, in fact, only 18.3 measured from Nant Bai Mill, so I had the bonus of being able to take it easy for the rest of the way. All was going well until the descent from Garn Gron towards Pontrhydfendigaid where I wasn't sure which was the right path. I met up with a track, which I could see on the map, but then turned too early and got confused as to where I was. Eventually I decided to follow it, as I would then know where I was when I reached the road. All of this probably added the mile back on that I thought I had gained but, nevertheless, I got to the Red Lion Hotel at 17.50, rather footsore and weary, but otherwise alright.
My room was very large with an en-suite shower which I was glad to get into. I washed out a few things, as usual, phoned home, rested my feet for a while and then went down to see about a meal. I had a chilli con carne for £4 and a couple of pints of Hancock's bitter before retiring to my room to watch the news and weather and then had an early night, as I was feeling rather weary.
Day 10 - Friday 9th June 2000 - Pontrhydfendigaid to Devil's Bridge via Strata Florida and Teifi Pools
Distance: 15.2 miles - 2,000 ft ascent
Accommodation: Devil Bridge Stores B&B £16.50
I woke to the sound of rain dripping outside. I was still feeling weary and footsore and the option of staying in bed all day, or even all week was very tempting. However, a hearty breakfast improved my wellbeing and the rain seemed to have eased off a bit. Fortunately the central heating had come on at 7am, which meant that my wet clothes were almost dry by the time I was ready to set off.
I called at the Post Office to buy a few things for lunch and also to post my fourth map - there were only three more maps to go now! At 9.30 I set off along the minor road to the ruined abbey of Strata Florida, rather than along the footpath as the smooth surface was a bit easier on my poor feet. This was very unusual for me, as I normally prefer a footpath to a road wherever possible, but consideration for my feet made me give way to the easier option. The route followed a road past the abbey for a couple of miles before heading steadily up a track to Teifi Pools. The scenery around about was very good but somewhat diminished by the dreary drizzle, although I was thankful that I was not in the cloud and was still able to see a reasonable distance. There were numerous craggy outcrops interspersed with lakes and the whole landscape gave the feeling of being wild and remote.
I stopped in the shelter of Claerddu, an old shepherd's cottage which has been kept as a refuge hut. By keeping up a steady plod, trying to be as gentle as possible on my feet, I managed about six miles by 11.45. Continuing onwards the walking was a lot rougher with a number of boggy areas and the visibility worsened with mist. However, route finding was not as bad as I expected - by keeping on the high ground it was possible to see some of the lakes as landmarks and then the high point of Domen Milwyn, which looked like a steep sided mountain through the mist but, in fact, only rises about 100 ft above the surrounding land.
Dropping down from Domen Milwyn, which I reached at 1.15pm, I joined the track down into Cwmystwyth. From there onwards the route avoids the road to Devil's Bridge by heading up towards a forestry plantation. After a short way it was not easy to see which was the correct route, as footpaths in this area are very badly maintained and signposted. I eventually found the right route over some horribly boggy ground with thick tufted grass before ascending the hillside, with a few broken stiles along the way. The next bit of the route started off well with a signposted path through the forestry, but after a while, I seemed to lose the route and ended up on a forestry track somewhat lower down than I should have been, but still leading in the right direction.
The weather turned wetter and colder as I covered the rest of the way into Devil's Bridge along an easy to follow footpath. I reached my B&B at the Devil's Bridge Stores at 16.40. This is not in Tony Drake's book, as they had only just started doing bed and breakfast, but I was put in touch with them by another place that was full.
I had not been rushing at all throughout the day, as I was trying to make it as easy as possible on my feet, but I was still early arriving at my destination. Because of the poor weather I had not rested for very long, so had made good progress. The owners of the Stores, which is also a cafe, were very helpful - they dried out my wet things and phoned the local pub to see if they were doing meals - it turned out they weren't because there was a function on. Although their cafe had closed earlier, they made me a meal from their menu, which was only a snack menu, but I was nevertheless very grateful. I had spaghetti on toast and a piece of sponge cake.
Later in the evening I called in at the pub for a couple of pints of Tanner's before returning to doctor my feet and go to bed. The blister on the sole of my right foot had been giving me a lot of problems, as it was very deep seated and had become infected, I think. I cut away a lot of dead skin around it and also cut a hollow in the insole in my boot to try to relieve the pressure. I was hardly able to stand on it, but hoped that it would improve by the morning, as I had a fairly long walk ahead of me.
Day 11 - Saturday 10th June 2000 - Devil's Bridge to Dylife via Plynlimon
Distance: 18.2 miles (+1.5 miles lost) - 3,900 ft ascent
Accommodation: Star Inn Dylife B&B £17
The weather was much better in the morning, as I went down to breakfast at 8am, and the forecast was also quite good. My foot was somewhat better, but I would have to see how it fared when I started walking on it. I set off, and within a short distance, it was starting to give me a lot of pain, so I stopped to make a few modifications to my insoles and that made it a lot better. I was now able to hobble along more evenly, with a blister on my right sole balancing out the blister on my left heel! Normally blisters, once burst to relieve the pressure, improve after a few days but the one on my right foot seemed to have gone from bad to worse, with some of the inflammation spreading into my toes.
Devils Bridge Gorge
Rheidol Valley, Devils Bridge from near bridge at bottom of gorge
To start with, the route goes down into Devil's Bridge Gorge, past the narrow gauge railway, and down to a bridge over the river at the bottom of the gorge. There was a lot of very nice scenery, although much of it was concealed by the trees, and the weather was very pleasant. The route along the gorge had been altered in the guidebook because of a landslide further along, but when I got to the point of the diversion, there appeared to be nothing to prevent me from taking the original route. I took the diversion as I thought that it might offer a better view across to the Devil's Bridge Falls, even though it added about a mile (I must be a glutton for punishment). However, when I checked the mileage of the route later, I found that it had not been altered in the book to cater for the diversion, so I was still only doing the distance that I thought I would be doing in the first place. The view across to the falls, however, is not particularly good, as much of it is obscured by trees, so I would have been just as well saving my feet from the extra distance.
I passed the Youth Hostel at Ystumtuen, which had recently been closed, like many other small and uneconomic hostels. This is most regrettable for walkers, as it makes it much more difficult when trying to plan routes using as many youth hostels as possible - what with closures, and hostels full with school parties, it is very difficult to use many hostels at all.
After a stretch of road walking, a path cuts off the corner towards Ponterwyd but, because of the usual lack of marking of footpaths around here and because of a rather confusing sketch map in the guide book, I missed it and took the road route, which adds about half a mile. As I joined the main A44 road into Ponterwyd it was very busy with weekend traffic, which made walking rather unpleasant in places, with traffic whistling narrowly by, so I was very pleased when I reached Ponterwyd and was able to cut off along a path and then down a minor road towards the Dyffryn Castell Hotel. All around this area there are numerous waterfalls, some of them spectacular and others smaller, but still attractive. I had to rejoin the busy A44 again for a short way but soon reached the Dyffryn Castell Hotel, where the path to Plynlimon commenced.
As I started off up the path above the hotel, it was a convenient place to stop for lunch, and I ate my ham and tomato sandwiches and bara brith, which I had got from the Devil's Bridge Stores. The weather was very pleasant for walking with light cloud and quite a bit of sunshine, but with a cool breeze. The ascent of Plynlimon was steady and quite well defined after a poorly defined start. There were good long distance views all around and, just before the summit, the view to the west suddenly opened up to reveal marvellous views of the Nant-y-moch Reservoir and the coast which looked surprisingly close, although it was still about twelve miles away. From the summit, the whole panorama opened up, with views of Cadair Idris and Snowdonia to the north, and the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons to the south.
Dyffryn Castell Hotel and view South
W from Plynlimon to Nant-y-moch Reservoir and coast
Source of River Severn
Bugeilyn and Snowdonian mountains
There was a very strong wind at the summit, so I sheltered in the cairn for a while. A couple of walkers arrived having walked from Dylife, taking five hours. As it was already 14.45, I hoped that it would not take me quite as long to get down there as it had taken them to come up. I made my way along the ridge, but was looking for the short detour to see the source of the river Severn. Seeing some white marker posts, I assumed that these may be pointing the way but, alas, after following them for quite a way, they led me somewhat off my route and I then had to make my way across rough moorland to regain the route to Dylife. On the way I stumbled by accident across the huge wooden posts, one in English and one in Welsh, marking the source. I then had to make my way across some very rough and boggy ground, eventually reaching a track near Bugeilyn lakes. I was heartily glad to set foot on a nice solid path but, after following it for about a mile, the route went off again over rough moors overlooking Glaslyn, which is a nature reserve, before dropping down over very boggy ground towards some of the old mine workings and thence on a better path into Dylife. Some of the scenery around there was impressive with very steep sided valleys and many remnants of the bygone era when it was obviously a hive of mining activity.
I arrived in Dylife at 18.50 as the good weather started to give way to rain, but there was not much of this before I was safely inside the Star Inn, my home for the night. It had been quite a hard day's walk, though very pleasant in the fine weather, but I could have done without my rambling detour trying to find the source of the Severn which must have wasted quite a bit of time and effort.
After resting my weary feet, I went down into the bar for a meal of very good cottage pie with some Marston's Pedigree Ale. The bar was very busy, as the remnants of a funeral party were still there - there had been a hundred in there earlier in the day. However, the service was very efficient, considering how busy it was, and it did not take them too long to serve my meal.
Day 12 - Sunday 11th June 2000 - Dylife to Commins Coch
Distance: 10.1 miles - 1,250 ft ascent
Accommodation: Gwalia - Dinner B&B and Packed Lunch £29.20
The rain had gone by the morning and the weather was reasonably bright but windy. I had breakfast at 8.30 and got some sandwiches for lunch with no hurry as I had only ten miles to walk that day. I had debated, when planning the walk, as to whether to do the stretch from Dylife to Dinas Mawddwy all in one day. I was now heartily glad that my wife had persuaded me against it, as I was really in need of some easier walking so that my feet would have chance to recover a little. At least the modifications to my insoles were working quite well, and the blister on my right foot, whilst not yet better, was no worse and was showing some signs of healing over.
Pleasant rolling countryside E of Bwlch Glynmynydd
I had a steady morning's hobble through some very pleasant countryside, with lots of rolling hills and with views of some of the higher mountains in the distance to the north. I had a few of the usual problems with route finding in places, although I never went too far off track, as I had plenty of time to stop and study the maps. There was a very cool north westerly wind blowing, but otherwise it was fine and sunny, and I managed to find a nice sheltered spot by the forest at Bwlch Glynmynydd to stop for lunch. The wind was whistling through the trees, but I was sunbathing with hardly a breeze for over an hour, by which time thicker cloud came along. The weather stayed fair to Commins Coch and up to my B&B at 'Gwalia', a mile and a half up the hill.
This B&B is vegetarian and was not my first choice, but it was conveniently near to the route, so I decided to give it a try. It was run by a couple who have a very high degree of self-sufficiency, with a goat and hens, and a considerably sized vegetable patch, as well as a large greenhouse. Virtually everything is home-made, and I had an interesting dinner of spaghetti, lentils, roast nuts and an assortment of other things, followed by rhubarb crumble with yoghurt. A couple from Worthing were staying there and I spent a pleasant evening chatting to them by a cosy wood fire.
Day 13 - Monday 12th June 2000 - Commins Coch to Dinas Mawddwy via Mynydd y Cemaes
Distance: 12 miles - 2,000 ft asent
Accommodation: Red Lion Pub B&B £18
I started the day at 8.45 with a breakfast of muesli, toasted home-baked bread, and a boiled egg, eventually getting off for a rather late start of about 10am, as I had only 12 miles to walk and the weather was rather damp and misty. My boots had, for once, fully dried out, having had very little bog-hopping the previous day, so I was able to give them a good waxing in the hope of keeping my feet dry for longer.
Climbing up to Mynydd y Cemaes with its vast wind farm, I was soon up into the cloud. At the top it was just a matter of following the access road along through the mist. The wind powered generators could be heard by their swishing and humming sound before their shapes came looming into sight. There was a very strong wind blowing, so the generators were probably running flat out, though several were locked in their parked position, which is done, either for maintenance, or when the wind is too strong for safe operation. It was a little frightening walking past the rapidly rotating blades, although I don't think there was any real danger of them flying off, though it has been known to happen. After the long line of more than twenty generators, the access road ended and I was back to squelching through wet grass and boggy ground along what are supposed to be footpaths in these parts.
After a while I found an extremely rare thing - a waymarked footpath. However, the waymarking ended where it was needed most and it was then back to heading in the right general direction, hoping to find some identifiable landmark. It took a little while for me to find my bearings, but eventually I found the main track around the hillside leading to Mallwyd and the Brigands Inn, where I was just in time to have a pint and a packet of crisps and some shelter from the drizzling rain which had persisted all day. I had kept on walking constantly, apart from a short lunch stop, as there had been no real place to shelter, so I had made good time and had only another two and a half miles to walk.
I arrived at Dinas Mawddwy by 16.30 and was taken by the large areas of pink rhododendrons on many of the hillsides adding a splash of colour to the scenery. I was staying at the Red Lion, which was not yet open, so I waited for a while on a seat outside where it was cool, but not actually raining any more.
After settling in, I had a bar meal of Welsh lamb and leek pie with chips and a few pints of Bass. My feet, particularly my right foot, had been quite good for most of the day but were hurting a bit by the end. It always makes matters worse when my feet get wet, which was happening quite a lot on this walk. My boots were nearing the end of their life, having done about 1,100 miles before the start of the walk, so they let in more water than usual, but even new boots let in water eventually when faced with constant soaking from wet grass and boggy ground.
Day 13 - Monday 12th June 2000 - Dinas Mawddwy to Penmaenpool via Maesglase and Cadair Idris
Distance: 15 miles (+4.5 miles lost) 5,526 ft ascent (+500 ft lost)
I got off to a fairly early start with breakfast just after 7.30 and I was off at 8.40. The weather was cloudy but showing signs of brightening up, as I started off up the steep track through the forest, with masses of rhododendrons in bloom. This led to a long track along the steep hillside which was not too easy on the feet due to the angle of the slope. After a mile or more, the head of the valley was reached at Bwlch Siglen, where there was a good view of the waterfalls tumbling hundreds of feet down the opposite side of the valley.
Rhododendrons above Dinas Mawddwy
Waterfall near Craig Maisglase from Bwlch Siglen
Dinas Mawddwy from Maesglase
Cadair Idris from Maesglase
I missed the path further along, which meant tramping through thick grass and heather to regain the ridge up to Maesglase. From the ridge there were some magnificent views, if a little bit hazy, of the valleys around Dinas Mawddwy and further on of Cadair Idris and the Rhinog mountains. I met a couple of chaps who were quite interested that I was doing the Cambrian Way and I chatted to them for a while. There was some fine ridge walking and I was beginning to feel in good form as my feet were improving, enabling me to walk faster than of late. After a period of very good progress, I started dropping down along a ridge and began to look for the path down to the A847 road, only to find that the road was missing. After studying the map for a while, I realised that I had missed the turning to Cribin Fawr and had gone about a mile and a half along Mynydd Dalgoed, which was the ridge running parallel and further south than the one I should have been on. Into the bargain I had also dropped down about 500 feet before I realised my mistake. I toyed with two options - either to drop down into the valley and then try to climb up through a steep forested slope onto the next ridge, or to retrace my steps back to the correct route. Rather than risk struggling where there may not have been a path, I decided on the latter option, but the episode had cost me an extra three miles and 500 ft of climbing on top of the 5,500 that was already on my schedule.
The consolation was that I was feeling fit, my feet were much better and the scenery was fabulous, so I didn't feel too bad about my mistake and I made my way back at a very good pace. I stopped for lunch at 14.15 on the descent towards the road, prior to the ascent of Cadair Idris, with seven miles and 2,500 ft of ascent to go. I was off again at 14.45, soon dropping down to the road, where I started the ascent at the other side. This started off up a steep slope which got even steeper. I met first one couple coming down, and then another couple who had been put off because the ascent looked too difficult. They were very wary of the dangers of the mountains and were concerned as to what may happen if the cloud descended on me if I carried on. I don't think that they could really contemplate that on a walk like this you press on regardless of the weather, otherwise you would never get anywhere.
The steepest part of the slope ran next to a wire fence, so it was possible to hold on to this for stability. Further up there was a rock face, which I think is what had put off the couple I had met, but there was a path skirting around a little so that the ascent was not too difficult, although definitely not one for the faint hearted. After a bit of a scramble over the rock face, it all became straightforward, with a steady ascent towards the summit ridge. The weather was still very good and there were good views all around, limited only by a little haze in the distance. I finally reached the summit at 17.00 and, after a short rest, I started to make my way down the stony but easy path, which is one of the most popular routes up the mountain. After about a mile, with some spectacular views down from the ridge, it meets the Pony Path, which drops quite steeply down the hillside. This was undergoing path restoration work and a lot of steps had already been built on the way down.
Summit Shelter on Cadair Idris
LLyn-y-Gadair from Cadair Idris
Cadair Idris from NW
I was so busy following this main route down that I forgot to look out for the turn to the left for a more direct route to Kings Youth Hostel, so I came out on the road about half a mile further east. Rather than walking along the road, I found from the map that it should be possible to take some tracks and footpaths to cut off the corner. All was going well and I was probably within a very short distance of the hostel, when I thought I must be going the wrong way after turning down the river. I was already nearing a wood and the map showed the bridge across to the hostel before the wood, so I turned round and went further upstream only to find there was no bridge that way. After a while I decided to cross the river over a fallen tree so that I would, at least, be on the right side of the river. Eventually, I found the small road to the hostel but I had covered an extra mile and a half coming in a big loop around. I had booked a meal at the hostel but only arrived at 19.00, when it was too late, as dinner was already under way.
All was not lost, however, as the hostel had a small shop, so I was able to buy a few things to cook for myself in the members' kitchen. A school party from Shrewsbury were in the hostel on their final night and the teachers were preparing things for a barbecue for them in the kitchen. Unlike many school parties, the children were very well behaved and the teachers were very friendly and pleasant, which made a refreshing change. The hostel had the most superb drying room, which was like a sauna inside, so I washed out everything I had that needed washing, knowing that they would be dry by the morning. The warden was telling me that he had applied for a job at Capel y Ffin hostel, but did not manage to get it. It was a hostel that he really liked, being in such a remote location and I agreed with him that it was a really very good, although Kings is also a good hostel, though not perhaps quite so remote.
Despite having made a few silly mistakes, which had increased the day's walk from 15 miles and 5,500 ft of ascent, to about 19.5 miles and 6,000 ft of ascent, I had still enjoyed a marvellous day's walking. This was particularly due to the good weather, the fine ridge walks, the generally good footpaths and the fact that my feet were not giving me much trouble. This was the sort of walking that makes the whole thing worthwhile and compensates for the periods of mist and rain and the pain from sore feet.
Day 15 - Wednesday 14th June 2000 - Penmaenpool to Cwm Nantcol via Rhinog Fach
Distance: 18.1 miles (+1 mile lost) - 4,118 ft ascent (+300 ft lost)
Breakfast was at 8.15 with the school party and with a cyclist who was sharing my dormitory. The rain was tipping down outside, although it did let up a bit from time to time. I needed to make a fairly early start, as it was going to be a long day, and managed to get off at 9.15 into the rain and low cloud. As I climbed up the path from the hostel and out of the shelter of the trees, I was faced with a very strong headwind driving the rain at me. I seriously started to wonder whether it was wise to carry on beyond Barmouth, as the wind at the top of the mountains would probably be strong enough to blow me over.
I decided to press on and see what it was like when I got to Barmouth. Although I did not want to alter my schedule, it would have been possible to stay at Barmouth for the night and then try to rearrange my accommodation for the rest of the walk, but this would only be a last resort if I thought my safety was in doubt. I battled on past Cregannon Lakes and then down by Arthog waterfalls, which were in full force from the overnight rain. Lower down the wind was not quite so strong although there were some violent gusts from time to time. The path running by the Mawddach estuary was very pleasant with lots of wild flowers including iris. The path crosses the estuary on a footpath beside the railway line and I assumed that I had to get on it at the far end, although it would have been possible to cut off the corner and save about half a mile, as the tide was out. I could see a steam train blowing his whistle across on South Bank but it did not set off. This was not on the main line but was the Fairbourne Railway, and it would have surprised me if there were many passengers.
As I reached the far side of the toll bridge and paid my 50p, the man in the booth was saying how busy it had been the day before and that he doubted whether there would be many people today. In Barmouth the wind was not quite so bad, but whether this was because the wind had dropped, or whether it was because it was more sheltered, I did not know. However, the first part of the route into the Rhinog mountains was up the sheltered part of the hillside, so I decided to press on and see what it was like when I got further along. The cloud was at about 200 ft, so I was into rather poor visibility straight away, and I didn't seem to be able to find a proper path for much of the way. I just kept heading in the right general direction and eventually reached the ridge, although not without some difficulty. There are a number of huge walls in this area with very few stiles or gates and the usual lack of footpath signs so, in poor visibility, it makes life very difficult if you stray off route. On the ridge, to my relief, the wind, although still strong, was not excessive and there was also a wall along the ridge to provide shelter.
I made quite good progress along the ridge stopping only briefly for snacks and water. Route finding was easy despite the mist, as it was just a matter of following the wall all the way to Y Llethr. From there on it was not clear which route I should take down to Llyn Hywel. The route straight ahead was alright for a while but then seemed to end up at the top of a cliff face with no visible route down. The only alternative seemed to be a very steep hillside to the east and this I managed with difficulty, although I still could not see where I was supposed to be heading. Eventually, after struggling down a steep rocky slope covered in thick heather, I was greatly relieved to see a lake looming ahead through the mist. After a short period studying the map, however, I realised that it was the wrong lake - this was Llyn y Bi, which meant that I had gone half a mile too far east and also dropped a few hundred feet lower down. They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case I found a small path (very rare in these parts), which led up a relatively easy ascent of Rhinog Fach, albeit via a rather indirect route.
From the summit I took the recommended route which was far more difficult than the route I had taken - it was not long before the path petered out and I had a difficult scramble down slippery rocks and through heather until I eventually reached a track which skirted the base of the mountain. Not wishing to sound ungrateful for finding a real path, but the trouble was that it also served as a fast flowing stream because of all the rain earlier. Progress was slow because of the need to avoid slipping on rocks, or stumbling over boulders hidden in the heather. Eventually I reached a stile by a river and this was obviously Bwlch Drws Ardudwy, the pass between Rhinog Fach and Rhinog Fawr, which I needed to take to my B&B at Maes y Garnedd. I looked at either side of the river to see which had the better path and, as I could see none at the other side, and there was a path of sorts at my side, I followed that downstream. The path I was on kept disappearing and led me over some difficult terrain with rocks and boggy patches, but eventually I dropped beneath the cloud and I could clearly see my destination. All seemed fine as I headed towards the farm until I suddenly realised that I was at the wrong side of the river and there was no suitable crossing point anywhere around. The river would have been difficult enough where I first joined it, but now it was a raging torrent and would easily sweep me off my feet if I tried to wade across.
I walked up and down stream to find some way of crossing, and eventually managed to find a place where there were trees with low branches straddling the river. With these to hold onto, I was able to wade across and then make my way through the farmyard. My feet had been completely saturated for most of the day, so the river crossing didn't make much difference to them - it just gave a clean change of water.
Maes-y-garnedd Farm in Cwm Nantcol
I eventually arrived at Maes y Garnedd at 19.30 - only half an hour later than I had estimated. Closer examination of the map showed that I should have crossed the river higher up - the path was a little way above the river, which is why I could not see it in the first place. At least the next day I might have a better route back up than the awful one coming down.
Everything I was wearing was soaking wet, which is the normal state of things in this sort of weather, although it had only been raining lightly in the afternoon. In prolonged wet weather it seems impossible to keep dry, as rain always manages to find a way in through waterproofs, and the sweat from the inside just adds to the problem. I could have done with a nice hot meal after such a bad day but, not being sure what time I was going to arrive, the farmer's wife had decided to give me a cold meal instead. However, at least I was safe and well, and had managed to avoid delaying the walk by a day, so I didn't have to change any of the accommodation bookings I had made for the rest of the walk.
Day 16 - Thursday 15th June 2000 - Cwm Nantcol to Maentwrog via Rhinog Fawr
Distance: 14 miles (+1 mile lost) - 4,370 ft ascent
Accommodation: Bron-y-Wern B&B £15
After a good night's sleep I woke to a far better day, with the cloud much higher, and no rain. I had managed to dry most of my wet clothes by hanging them on an ingenious construction of coat hangers above a slimline electric wall heater. I had breakfast at 8am and was off by 8.50, putting my nice dry socks into boots which still contained the remnants of the river that I had forgotten to empty out. Still, why not start out the day with wet feet, as they soon end up that way in any case!
I made my way up the proper path to the top of the pass - what a difference from the route I had taken coming down. It was a well constructed path with stones to help through the wet parts and, apart from a few small stretches, allowed rapid progress enabling me to reach the top of the pass in three quarters of an hour. The cloud was just hanging around the summits of the Rhinog mountains but blue patches started to appear in the sky. After a short rest, I made my way up a path which skirted round the east side of Rhinog Fawr, finally approaching the summit from a less craggy direction. Although it was more circuitous, it was a relatively safe and easy path all the way up. On the way up I could see Llyn Trawsfynydd to the north and this was not far from my destination for the night. The cloud was just hovering around the summit, so I only got half a view, but then half a view was better than no view, as was the case the previous day.
Once again I made an error in navigation as I took the larger lake Gloyw Lyn to be Llyn Du and headed in that direction, along quite a good path through the heather. Fortunately it was quite easy to take the path down from Gloyw Lyn to join the bottom of the Roman steps near Cwm Bychan and it was possibly an easier route. After the previous day, when I would have been quite happily never to see the Rhinog mountains again, I was now beginning to enjoy the charm of this wild and remote area. I arrived at Cwm Bychan at 12.30 and stopped for lunch overlooking the lake and across at Rhinog Fawr.
Cwm Bychan is the next road access after Cwm Nantcol but there is no accommodation there, only a camp site. It is a very tranquil spot surrounded by rugged mountains. I took the path up towards Clip and went off in the wrong direction for a while because I thought that Clip was the mountain further to the right which looked higher. It was only when I looked back after a while that I realised that Clip was behind me. That wasted about 25 minutes but, as I was making quite good progress, it didn't matter very much.
Gloyw Lyn NW of Rhinog Fawr
Cwm Bychan and Llyn Cwm Bychan
Llyn Trawsfynydd from Moelfryn showing dam
A scramble up Clip and a walk over to the summit revealed some very good views of the Rhinogau (the correct Welsh plural for Rhinogs), of Cwm Bychan and the estuary opening out into Tremadog Bay. To the north could be seen the mountains yet to be climbed - Moel Ysgyfarnagod and Diffwys(2). I made my way along the series of pavements and dips that are characteristic of this area. The guide book warns that it takes some time to find the best routes up and down these pavements, but in practice there is generally a path to follow along the easiest route up and down the huge shelves of rock.
Moel Ysgyfarnagod is much greener than most of the previous mountains and, from the summit, there was an amazing array of mountains going off into the distance to the south. To the north west I could see the full length of the Lleyn Peninsula albeit that much of the higher ground was covered in cloud.
From here onwards the route involves a number of scrambles up and down rock faces and ledges, before finally descending to Llyn Trawsfynydd, of which there were some marvellous views. Just when it seemed that all the hard work was over and that the rest of the way was easy, the route climbed back up again over a common - not a steep climb, but still a strain on the weary legs at the end of a hard day. From there the way goes over the Trawsfynydd dam and eventually joins a minor road into Maentwrog, which I reached at 18.30, feeling rather parched and weary. The weather had been warm and humid all day with little wind so, despite drinking lots of water, I was still very thirsty and welcomed the pot of tea I was given when I reached my B&B.
The day's walk had been only 16 miles or so with the extra distance added by losing my way but, because of all the scrambling up and down, it felt like 20 miles. However, with the gradually improving weather throughout the day and the fine views to be seen along the way, it was well worthwhile.
The Grapes Hotel was just down the road from my B&B, so I went there for a bar meal of pork rib at £6.50, described as 'black but not burnt'. It was delicious and very filling and went well with some good Director's bitter. I then retired for an early night, as the past three hard days were making themselves felt.
Day 17 - Friday 16th June 2000 - Maentwrog to Nant Gwynant via Moelwyn Mawr and Cnicht
Distance: 16 miles - 3,617 ft ascent
Accommodation: Bryn Dinas log cabin bunkhouse £6.50
I woke to a beautiful morning, with a clear blue sky, had breakfast at 8am and set off at 8.50. The things I had washed had not dried much overnight, so I wore them so that they could dry out on me as I walked along in the sunshine. The air was very still, the humidity was quite high, and the temperature was climbing rapidly, so it made walking and particularly uphill walking exhausting.
The first ascent was up through a nature reserve to the line of the Ffestiniog Railway. My legs were protesting after all the work they had been doing, but eventually they succumbed and carried me up there. One thing I had found with my legs at quite a number of points throughout the walk was that, when faced with an incline after a spell of walking on the level, they would go on strike after the first few yards - every muscle ached and they felt as if they would not go a step further. However, after pausing for a rest for only about half a minute, I could set off again and carry on uphill without too much trouble - somehow the aches disappeared and they were given a new source of energy. It was as if my legs had made their protest, it had been overruled, and so they relented and carried on until the next time, when they would stage another protest.
I had hoped to see a steam train, but none came along during the half hour or so that I was walking near to the railway, past Dduallt Station and over to Tanygrisiau Reservoir. This is the lower part of a pumped storage system for electricity in which, at times of low demand, water is pumped to Llyn Stwlan several hundred feet up the mountainside using power from the nuclear power station. At peak times the water generates electricity as it drops back down again.
Tanygrisiau Reservoir and Power Station Lower Part of Pumped Storage System
Llyn Stwlan and its dam Upper Part of Pumped Storage System
Cnicht with Snowdon behind from summit of Moelwyn Mawr
The route went steeply up to Llyn Stwlan and I started finding it very difficult. The heat made me very thirsty but, even after drinking a lot of water, my body just did not want to take me up to the top. I stopped for numerous short rests but still found it very difficult to carry on and started to feel rather unwell. After struggling along for what seemed an eternity, I started to pick up a bit of breeze higher up and this improved matters quite a bit so that, as I went up past the dam of Llyn Stwlan, and then further up towards the summit of Meolwyn Mawr, I was feeling somewhat better. At the summit, which gave beautiful panoramic views of the high mountains all around, I felt much better and can only assume that I had been suffering from heat exhaustion. A rest at the summit to admire the scenery completed my recovery, but I still felt that this had been the hardest won summit of the whole walk so far, although the views from up there made all the effort worthwhile.
Llyn Cwm-corsiog Northwards - between Moelwyn Mawr and Cnicht
Llyn y Biswail and Western Snowdonia from ridge leading to Cnicht
From Moelwyn Mawr, the route drops down by a number of old slate quarries, where I passed by a large group of walkers who had stopped there for a break. From then onwards there is a fairly easy ascent, past a number of small lakes, to meet the ridge leading to Cnicht. I stopped there for what lunch I had, namely a roll left over from the day before and a melted chocolate biscuit, as I had not found anywhere along the route to buy anything else. This is excellent walking country with fine views both near and far along a route that is not too demanding. I could see stunning views of Snowdon and, with binoculars, could just make out people moving about on the summit about five miles away. This was one of those rare days when there was not a cloud in sight around Snowdon - generally, even if everywhere else is free of cloud, Snowdon has some around its summit.
Cnicht from SE - The 'Welsh Matterhorn' Not quite on the same scale as the one in Switzerland!
Moelwyn Mawr and Moelwyn Bach from descent of Cnicht
Llyn Dinas and Nant Gwynant - Bryn Dinas is just beyond the lake
Even the ascent of Cnicht is very gradual from this direction, except for a little scramble near the summit. Earlier, my progress had been very slow because of problems with the heat, but now I was able to make much better speed with fewer rests and hence make up some of the lost time. From Cnicht a steep but not too difficult path leads downwards, revealing the view back towards the mountain for which it is most famed, giving it the somewhat grandiose title of 'The Welsh Matterhorn'. After a while, the path gets less steep and joins an old road leading towards Nantmor and Aberglaslyn.
Aberglaslyn belongs to the National Trust and provides a beautiful riverside walk leading to Beddgelert. I was very hot again now that I was lower down and walking at a brisk pace, with very little breeze, but at least there were very few ascents to contend with, as the route followed the valley. I was tempted to call in Beddgelert for a drink or an ice cream but decided to make do with a drink of my rather warm water and press on to my destination. Lovely views over Llyn Dinas and the surrounding mountains rounded off the day and I reached Bryn Dinas at 18.30.
The Youth Hostel at Bryn Gwynant was full, so I had booked into Bryn Dinas, which is a bunkhouse with several log cabins. The couple there had kindly agreed to provide me with an evening meal, breakfast and a packed lunch as well as hiring me a sleeping bag for the night. They do not always provide meals, as they sometimes hire out the main house and do not then have the space to do so, but it was not let when I was there. I had steak pie with new potatoes, peas and carrots followed by apple pie with ice cream. There were several other walkers there, but they were self-catering in the kitchen near the cabins.
It was still pleasantly warm in the evening with not a cloud in the sky, and forecast to be good for the next few days. I was very glad of this as the last three days of the walk would be over some of the highest mountains in Wales and could be unpleasant and difficult in bad weather.
Day 18 - Saturday 17th June 2000 - Bryn Dinas to Pen-y-Pass via Snowdon.
Distance: 6.8 miles - 3,590 ft ascent
Accommodation: - Pen-y-Pass YHA Dinner, B&B and Packed Lunch £21.45
A group of people staying at Bryn Dinas were doing the Welsh Three Peaks of Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen y Fan, so were up at 3am to get started. It was another lovely day and I only had a short distance to walk, albeit over Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, starting from near sea level. I did think about combining this and the next section together but it would have meant rather a lot of ascent, even if the mileage was not so great. I also thought that, if the weather were fine, I could make the best of the views and make a few detours if I felt like. Equally well, if the weather were bad then I would appreciate not having to climb two high mountains in one day.
Waterfall near The Watkin Path - Start of the Snowdon ascent
Snowdon Mountain Railway Summit Station Diesel Locomotive on Rack and Pinion Track
Llyn Llydau and Miners' Track - Crib Goch Ridge is to Left
I set off at 9.15 heading up the Watkin Path past a series of lovely waterfalls. In the shelter of the valley it was very hot again and, even with the steady ascent for the first 1,000 ft I was soaking wet with perspiration. Rather than following the Watkin Path all the way, the route heads up onto the ridge to the west, which gives better views on the way towards the summit. The ridge, being exposed, provided more of a welcome breeze at first and, as I neared the summit, the breeze turned into a strong wind. Keeping cool was no longer a problem and, as so often happens on Snowdon, cloud started forming around the summit, even though there was none elsewhere, just proving that Snowdon makes its own weather.
I was pleased to see that the mountain railway terminal and cafe near the summit had been given a face-lift and was no longer the eyesore that it used to be. As might well be expected with the good weather, it was very busy in there, but I thought I would take advantage of the facilities by having a pint of Guinness, which is not generally available on most of the mountains. The train waiting at the summit station was not one pulled by one of the steam engines, but a more modern diesel engine so did not have the same appeal. However, after that one departed the next to arrive was driven by steam. One may be forgiven for thinking that the hundreds of people on the summit are there by virtue of the mountain railway, but this is not in fact the case. These days a return ticket requires the passenger to return half an hour later using the same train that they came up on. This means that there are only about sixty or so passengers at the summit at any one time. Everyone else up there has had to walk, even if they only walk one way, having bought a single ticket. Unfortunately, with so many people on the mountain it creates a completely different feeling from the usual one of remoteness and solitude and there was no real pleasure in remaining at the summit for any longer than it took to finish my drink.
Whilst I was at the summit, the cloud came down a little further to obscure the view, although there were occasional breaks in the cloud as I made my way along the ridge towards Crib Goch and I could get a view of the lakes below. The popularity of the mountain is such that large pathway repair programmes have taken place and this has had the unfortunate consequence that the view below looked like Spaghetti Junction, which is a pity as some of the views are quite spectacular. The route in the book follows the Pyg Track down to Pen-y-pass but, as I had plenty of time to spare, I decided to take the more hair-raising, knife-edge ridge of Crib Goch. Progress was slow as there was a very strong wind gusting and I made sure that I always had good handholds to steady me as I made my way along the more difficult parts. It was interesting to see, when the mist occasionally cleared, that everywhere else was in bright sunshine with hardly a cloud in sight, and that the cloud swirling around Snowdon dispersed as it blew down towards Pen-y-pass. These brief breaks in the cloud revealed some fine bird's eye views, but most of the time visibility was down to about fifty yards.
All of the scree slopes around Crib Goch had the appearance of being trampled by an army of walkers and the whole area looked badly eroded and far worse than I remember it being even a few years previously. Pathwork does help but it still doesn't stop people from scrambling around everywhere that they wish. At the end of the Crib Goch ridge was a steep and difficult descent, although pathwork was in progress to improve the situation and to reduce the erosion caused by people like myself finding other ways down. Lower down, below the cloud, some fine views down to Pen-y-pass and across to the Glyderau, the route for the next day, were revealed.
Snowdon is not one of my favourite mountains, although it is good to make an occasional visit. My preference lies in some of the other less populated mountains which, whilst not being able to claim that they are the highest, nevertheless afford some spectacular views and fine walks, without being spoiled by hordes of people.
I arrived at Pen-y-pass at 16.30 and wrongly assumed that the hostel would not yet be open, so I sat on the hillside and treated my boots, which for once had managed to dry out, to a good waxing. They were showing serious signs of wear, with a lot of deep cracks going most of the way through the leather and making them far from watertight. They had now done well over 1,300 miles in eighteen months and would be put into retirement at the end of the walk, having served me very well. As I sat there, I noticed the large number of parties who were doing either the three, four or five peaks challenge walks. These consist of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon on the mainland with the fourth and fifth peaks being the highest mountains in Northern Ireland and Eire. This was a popular time for these walks, as it was very close to the longest day, but it still surprised me just how many were undertaking them.
I booked into the hostel and, after a shower and a phone call home, went along for dinner. I have never known such a disorganised shambles - there was a school party having dinner as well as the rest of the hostellers. Whenever we joined any of the queues for food we were turned back and told that the school party had to be served first but not told how we should know when to come. Eventually, after several people had been snapped at, everyone just sat down and waited to be called, not daring to try again. There was a similar confusion with each course and further confusion because I had not been given a food voucher like everyone else, but it did all resolve itself in the end.
I was not quite sure what to do for the rest of the evening, but then noticed on the map that there was an hotel about a mile away and decided to head there for a couple of pints. It was a very pleasant evening and the strong winds of earlier in the day had now died away. There was still quite a bit of daylight left as I set off back up the road at 10pm, and this is one of the advantages of walking near midsummer.
Day 19 - Sunday 18th June 2000 - Pen-y-Pass to Ogwen via Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach
Distance: 4.8 miles (+1.3 miles detour) - 2353 ft ascent (+300 ft detour)
Accommodation: - Idwal Cottage YHA bed only £8.10
It was another beautiful day as I went down to face the same shambolic lack of organisation for breakfast - all I can assume is that, because this hostel only opens at weekends for much of the year, the staff are either temporary or not very well trained. Why they did not just specify two different meal times - one for the school party and one for the rest of us, I just cannot understand, as it would have avoided all the problems.
As I set off at 9.30, the car park was already nearly full of walkers' cars, with most of their occupants heading for Snowdon. I began the ascent of Glyder Fawr in hot sunshine. Pen-y-pass is over 1,100 ft above sea level, so that gave me a head start and made it slightly cooler than it would have been lower down, although it was still quite hot until I neared the summit, where the wind made it more pleasant. By keeping up a steady plod I reached the summit by 11.00. I was in no hurry, as I had all day just to get over the mountains and drop down the other side, but I preferred to get all the hard work over with early so that I could then just have a leisurely stroll around in the beautiful weather.
Crib Goch to Left, Snowdon to Right from ascent of Glyder Fawr
Llyn Idwal and Nant Ffrancon Route of the A5 Road built by Thomas Telford
Castle of the Winds - Snowdon to Left, Glyder Fawr to Right
Snowdon was far clearer than the day before, with no cloud at the top and there was a superb panoramic view, with just a touch of haziness limiting visibility to about 20 or 30 miles. The vast difference from yesterday was the lack of people. I passed three on the way up, but at the summit I had the place to myself for about half an hour before one or two others wandered by. After spending a while at Glyder Fawr, I made my way across to Glyder Fach. This involves a certain amount of scrambling over large slabs of rock and is not difficult when it is dry, but requires a great deal of caution in the wet, as the lichens make them very slippery.
Llyn Bochlwyd and Llyn Ogwen from Glyder Fach towards Pen yr Ole Wen
Cantilever Stone on Glyder Fach - Safer than it looks
Tryfan from Glyder Fach - Carnedd Dafydd is on far Left
As time passed by there were more people about, but never enough to make it feel crowded, and I found a grassy spot with a marvellous view down Nant Francon to Llyn Ogwen where I settled down for some sunbathing. I did toy with the idea of walking further west along the ridge to take in some of the marvellous views from there, but decided against it as I preferred to conserve my energy for the long walk to the finish on the following day. Through binoculars I could make out groups of people looking like ants a few miles away on the summits of Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn along the next day's route. After a long time I made my way along the ridge towards the Miners' Track to the east and decided to go a little further along to Y Foel Goch, which is a rounded green mountain past some small lakes. It gave a good view back towards Tryfan and involved little extra ascent. Then, after another leisurely half-hour admiring the views, I headed back to the Miners' Track and down to Idwal Cottage Youth Hostel.
The hostel is run by a very friendly and helpful warden. It is self-catering, but has a well-equipped shop, so there had been no need to worry about taking provisions with me. The warden had met Tony Drake on a number of occasions and spoke very highly of him, as did others I met at various stops along the way. Even at the 1,000 ft level of the hostel, the temperature was quite high, so I hate to think how hot it had been in lowland areas. In the hot weather it is surprising just how much fluid is needed and it is very tempting to drink out of the clear mountain streams. However, I was told that the levels of E. coli can be ten times the recommended safe level because the water runs only on the surface of these hard rocks and none of the contamination from the sheep is filtered out. I must confess to having drunk a lot of stream water without coming to any harm, but there is obviously a risk in doing so.
I bought a beef curry with rice, and mandarin oranges and ice cream for my dinner after which I took a stroll up the track to Llyn Idwal, which was then in the shadow of the mountains. It was a perfect summer's evening and, as I sat by the lake listening to the water gently lapping over the rocks and watching the tiny fish swimming around I could not help but reflect on the walk that was now almost over. Despite some trials and tribulations it really had been a marvellous walk with all the ingredients that make a really good long distance trail; some of the best mountain scenery that Wales has to offer, a wide variety of scenery, a sense of purpose in heading from one end of Wales to the other, a minimum of road walking, very few boring stretches and for my particular walk some pretty good weather on balance.
The last of the walkers had now drifted down from the hills and a cooler wind started to blow down from the mountain tops, but I couldn't help thinking just how different the weather might have been for this stretch through Snowdonia. Only a month previously I had ascended Tryfan and Glyder Fach in rain, hail and a bitterly cold wind and came back down after a very short time soaked to the skin and freezing cold.
Day 20 - Monday 19th June 2000 - Ogwen to Conwy via Carneddau and Tal y Fan
Distance: 18.3 miles - 4,697 ft ascent
Accommodation: - Cadnant Park, Conwy B&B £16
I got up at 7am and, for once, I didn't have to drag myself out of bed, as the last couple of easier days had recharged my batteries. It says something about the nature of this walk when a day climbing the highest mountain in Wales from near sea level is considered an easy day!
I made breakfast from things I had bought from the YHA shop, and also some sandwiches to take with me, leaving the hostel at 8.30 for the earliest start of the whole walk. There was clear blue sky to the north but a layer of light cloud hanging over the mountains to the south, except for Tryfan which was sticking out majestically in front. The route up to Carnedd Dafydd avoids the very steep ascent opposite the hostel, but follows a path along the north side of Llyn Ogwen, then taking a somewhat less steep route to the summit.
Tryfan and Llyn Ogwen with mist over mountains behind
Llyn Idwal from Pen yr Ole Wen with cloud descending into Devil's Kitchen
SW from Garnedd Uchaf towards Elidir Fawr From here Elidir Fawr looks like a perfect mountain
On the way up towards the summit, there were some beautiful views of Devil's Kitchen and Llyn Idwal with cloud rolling down whilst the mountain tops around were poking out of the cloud into the blue sky above. I reached the first summit of Pen yr Ole Wen by 10.30 after making a small detour to get some better photographs of the view. A few people were out walking, but not so many now that the weekend was over. I took shelter in the summit cairn of Carnedd Dafydd for a short break as a vicious wind had sprung up. Fortunately it was coming from behind, otherwise it would have made it very hard work. There were some fine views from the edge, although the visibility was not too good for long distance views. A number of rock-strewn areas along the higher parts of the ridge made progress a little difficult, but otherwise it was possible to maintain a good walking speed. I was a little more conscious of progress, as this was one of the longer stretches of the walk with quite a lot of ascent, so I wanted to make sure I didn't waste too much time.
By 12 noon I had reached Carnedd Llewelyn, the highest point of the day's walk, and from there onwards it was downhill all the way, figuratively speaking. In reality it was like a roller coaster of ever decreasing hills. I made my way steadily along the ridge, much of which is 3,000 ft or more above sea level, assisted on the uphill stretches by the wind. I could almost lean back on the wind and let it carry me up, which was a great bonus. I did, however, reach a point where I had to walk sideways to the wind and it made the going very difficult for a short period of time. Some of the people I met coming the other way were really having a struggle when faced with an uphill climb into this ferocious wind. There were some very good views of the mountains that I was leaving behind, and there was a touch of sadness as I started to drop down from the high part of the ridge with them all behind me.
There is a tendency to think that, once the 3,000 ft mountains are out of the way, that the rest is easy. From way up high, the rest of the mountains look very small, but some of them are over 2,000 ft and can still present a challenge. After the drop down into Bwlch y Ddeufaen there is still a steep climb of several hundred feet to face, up to Foel Lwyd, and then a smaller one again up to Tal y Fan. The high temperature of the day was not so noticeable high up because of the wind, but lower down with more shelter it became very hot indeed. I had run out of water and had hoped to find some along the way, but the recent dry spell meant that there was very little surface water around. It was not until I approached Tal y Fan that I managed to find some, by which time I was getting quite dehydrated.
Llyn Anafon and Coast on descent of Foel-fras
Conwy from Conwy Mountain - view across the Conwy Estuary
Conwy Castle End of Cambrian Way The end of a magnificent walk
This final ridge of 2,000 ft mountains was a good vantage point to see across to the final destination of Conwy, with its fine castle coming into sight. After a few more miles the route joins up with the North Wales Path to cross the Sychnant Pass, leaving just a few more small ascents up to Conwy Mountain, the site of an old hill fort, before finally dropping down into Conwy itself. At 810 ft, Conwy Mountain is not very high, and is dwarfed by its 3,000 ft neighbours, but it still has that rugged appearance of a real mountain and gives some good views of Conwy, so is worthy of its name. All that was now left was the final, easy descent into Conwy and then a walk along the road past my B&B to the castle, which made a fine and majestic end to the walk. I phoned home to report my successful completion of the walk at 18.30 and then made my way back to the B&B for the night.
It was quite strange to be in a busy town after so many days in the wildest parts of Wales, with most of my overnight stops either in remote places or in villages. One of my first priorities was to get money from a cash machine, as I was running very short. The last machine I used was in Abergavenny and I had not seen one since, although I could, no doubt, have found one in Barmouth if I had detoured into town. I had been watching my cash dwindle down to just a few pounds but I calculated that I could just manage until Conwy, which I indeed did.
After showering and changing and having a rest at the B&B, I went into town thinking that I would have a good choice of places to eat. Unfortunately, although there are a lot of places selling food, most of them expect people to eat early. I had a pint in one pub, expecting them to do bar meals but they didn't. I had another pint in another pub that was advertising bar meals, but then found that I was too late and this was before 8pm! The landlord seemed to think that the only place I might find something to eat was in an Italian Restaurant further up town. I generally don't feel at home eating on my own in a restaurant, so I ended up having fish and chips sitting by the town walls, then returning for a few pints to celebrate the completion of the walk. By about 9.30pm. I was feeling tired as it had been quite a hard day, particularly with all the heat, so I retired for yet another early night.
Day 21 - Tuesday 20th June 2000 - Conwy to Llandudno, then Home
Distance: 5 miles flat walking
As the coach I had booked for my journey back home picked up in Llandudno, I had a little extra walking to do to get there. It was somewhat different from the walking I had become accustomed to, as it was all on the flat, following the coast round the Conwy Estuary. Nevertheless, it was very pleasant with good views back to Conwy and the mountains beyond, and a better option than taking the bus. The coach took an eternity to get me back home, calling in everywhere along the way but, apart from wanting to get back home, I was in no particular rush. With all the talk about the benefits of using public transport, it still made me think that my journey would only take two hours by car but most of the day by public transport.
I arrived back to a warm welcome from the family and would have been very happy to settle down and relax into an easy life for a few weeks to recover from the walk. This was not, however, possible as there were only another two weeks before we had to move out of our house, before taking over the hotel that we were buying in North Wales. After living at the same place for seventeen years, it is amazing how much rubbish one can accumulate, and most of this had to be disposed of and many other jobs done before we moved out. Instead of relaxation I was thrust into the full swing of the move and then, after a couple of weeks of preparation for taking over the hotel, I was flung headlong into the new venture and found that, for the first few months, my feet never seemed to touch the ground. Not surprisingly, I felt permanently exhausted and it was a long time before I had enough rest to feel fully recovered.
Thought at the End of the Walk
In some ways this is the mountain walk to end all mountain walks, at least as far as Britain is concerned. Most long distance trails do not follow such a high level route, so this walk is fairly unique in that it attempts to keep to the mountains as much as possible. This is what gives this walk the greatest appeal, as far as I was concerned, although this is also what creates most of the difficulties.
In undertaking such a walk it has to be expected that the going will not be easy and that, because of the remoteness of many sections of the walk, paths will often not be well trodden. What did appal me, however, was the total disregard for footpath signposting and maintenance along certain parts of the walk, particularly in Powys. It would appear that the vested interests of farmers and landowners, who control most of the councils, means that their statutory obligations to maintain footpaths are completely ignored. There was a special government initiative to have all footpaths cleared and signposted by the year 2000, and some councils took this very seriously but not, alas, councils in mid Wales where it would seem that they are postponing things until the year 3000 if not later. This does make route finding much harder and generally has the effect of causing more damage to fences and walls, as walkers climb over them when they are lost. The best way to avoid this is to signpost footpaths clearly so that walkers do not get lost and can keep to paths with the minimum of disturbance to the land they are crossing.
If the Cambrian Way were to become a National Trail then many of these problems would be overcome, as the whole route would be better signposted and the increased numbers of walkers using the footpaths would help to make them more clearly defined. I do not like to spend all of my time carefully studying maps, as I prefer to enjoy the scenery as much as possible, so better route marking would add considerably to the enjoyment of the walk. Equally well, I enjoy remoteness and solitude so I would not like to see this walk overused, as evidenced in some parts of Snowdonia. As the route is at the present time, I think that a GPS navigation device would prove extremely useful along certain sections and would take much of the uncertainty out of route finding.
One of my main problems on the walk was caused primarily by the amount of surface water in many sections of the route. This meant that my feet were almost permanently wet, and this considerably increased the problems I had with my feet. The situation was not helped by my well worn boots, which were far less watertight than they could have been, but then I have not yet found any boots that are able to resist constant soaking without eventually letting some of it in.
As a lone walker, it is nice to meet other walkers along the route and with popular walks such as the Pennine Way and the Coast to Coast, there are generally quite a few people doing the walk at the same time, making it a very sociable event. With this walk, though, I was very much on my own. Perhaps during main holiday periods there are enough people walking the route to provide some companionship, but at the time I did the walk this was definitely not the case. It is also rather unfortunate that there are not more youth hostels along the route, as these are places where walkers are more likely to meet similar minded people. It is most regrettable that so many hostels have been closed down in the last few years and also that others suffer from the problems of block bookings by school parties to the exclusion of ordinary members.
Certain parts of the walk were not as enjoyable as they could have been, because of the problems I had with my feet, but this is no reflection on the quality of the walk. Whilst doing a long walk there is often a tendency not to appreciate the quality of the scenery as much as one would on a single day's walk - a phenomena that I refer to as 'appreciation fatigue'. However, the quality of this walk has been brought home to me recently when I started to think of another walk to do in 2001. By comparison, nothing matches up to the Cambrian Way, and I am having great difficulty trying to think of another walk that I could do without being disappointed.
All I can say to Tony Drake, who seems to have devoted so much of his time and energy to the planning and promotion of this walk, is 'Congratulations on putting together such a marvellous route'. Even if there are a few difficulties along the way, Tony has done his utmost to ensure the very best high level routes have been used, and that the whole route is on accepted rights of way. It would be a very fitting tribute to his efforts if, indeed, the Cambrian Way were to achieve the status of a National Trail, and it would then make the route even more enjoyable.
Photography and Technology
Over the years that I have been doing long distance walks, camera technology, Internet technology and display technology have developed by giant leaps from 35mm colour slides that had to be scanned to produce low quality digital images for the website up to the present day with high quality digital photography, almost unlimited memory and super fast broadband,
The article in the 'Other Items' section chronacles all of this throughout my walks.
