Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

Weatherwise, 2012 started like a lion in some parts with Scotland getting a particular battering. Before that the second day of the year saw me crossing hills to pop over to Buxton. That act planted in my mind the prospect of exploring more of Macclesfield’s hills this year. However, the following weekend was a quiet one for me.

The weather have been offering in others but a prior commitment was the cause of my staying close to home and not getting out among hills in parts like Shropshire or even wandering along the streets of somewhere pleasing to the eye like Edinburgh or even Shrewsbury. That’s not to say that I wasn’t doing some more playing with ideas for outdoors outings though.

While adjusting albums in the photo gallery, thoughts were drawn to revisiting places where I haven’t been for a while. The online photo albums that attracted my attention were that for the Pennine Way and the Scottish Southern Uplands and Borders. The refresh involved adding photos were added, removing an old one rewriting a few descriptions. The trip ideas that came to mind while adjusting those photos included a stay in Peebles to explore the surrounding hills as well as getting to walk more of the Pennine Way or even the Southern Upland Way. Old and not so old photos act as reminders for me of past glories and lure me back to where I found them before.

Last weekend’s cold frosty sunny weather was enough to draw out among hills again on Saturday. It was a day when any part of Britain’s hill country would have delighted and I did play with a walk around Sedbergh that involved an out and back yomp into and onto the Howgill Fells. Looking a bus timetables caused me to leave it for later in the year. Remembering how stiff I felt after a trot about Church Stretton’s hills before Christmas was a factor too in not deciding not to set my sights too high. Thus, I opted for a hike from the Cat and Fiddle Inn to Buxton that mainly followed the Dane Valley Way with a deliberate diversion or two. After all, the prospect of seeing the Three Shire Heads bridge in full winter lighting was too good to miss; it may have added to the distance covered but proved to be well worth that. If all goes to plan, more will be said about the walk sooner instead of later.

Though our settled spell of weather is leaving us at the time of writing, there are promising signs for the coming weekend too. While limbs were stiff on Sunday and Monday, I take that as a cue for trying to get out a little more often then last year and January 2012 isn’t over yet. What I am not planning is anything as frenetic as this month last year when I walked successively in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Pacing oneself is no bad thing either and quiet moments are needed for collating more ideas too. A recent catch up with a article from one of last year’s issues of TGO has me wanting to sit with it and pore over maps while ogling the contained photos of splendid Lake District hill country. Wandering needs forethought at times.

Today came as a lovely sunny if chilly day around Macclesfield so thoughts turned to a little trip out of doors. A certain lethargy meant that I couldn’t muster up enthusiasm for a wander on foot through the countryside so I went by bus through the hills to Buxton instead. Looking through the bus windows, I was reminded of just how much hill country there is between Macclesfield and Buxton. It looked resplendent with the sun shining on it too so I am reminded again of what lies on my doorstep so I need to do more with it.

What surprised me was the amount of snow that remained wherever as sheltered spot could be found. The covering may have been light but there has been a green and grey Christmas and New Year for much of Britain and Ireland so I wasn’t expecting to see so much. An overnight frost did whiten some of the hillsides too though much of that was gone by the time that I passed the way. Sightings of the white just proved what a little height does sometimes so it came as little surprise to learn that Scotland was getting more of the white stuff with a front passing over that country, even while I was out in dry weather around Cheshire and Derbyshire.

There were a good few folk around Buxton with some taking in the dry sunny weather and more surveying the winter sales. When the clouds obscured the sun, I must admit to doing some of the latter too. Nevertheless, I get to savouring a little of Buxton Country Park too with a short walking idea for around there collected for possible future use. A potter to Grinlow Tower or Solomon’s Temple sounds tempting, as does following another part of the Dane Valley Way, and I recall one occasion when I walked from Buxton to the Cat and Fiddle Inn with part of the journey taking me through the said country park when a snow shower came the way. It was magical enough passing through snow-covered woods for the first time in my life without that so the memory gets reinforced. Beyond them the air cleared and it was patchy snow coverings that I met for the rest of the way. Maybe I need to revisit some of that again. It became a day for collecting walking ideas while still never far from humanity.

Travel Arrangements:

Bus service 58 between Macclesfield and Buxton.

July turned out to be a month when I was away for four weekends in a row and I decided that the same would apply to the fifth one to make a clean sweep. As it happened, August became a quiet month for hill wandering even if I had a few days off from work at the end of it. Then, a busy working life meant that any taking of the fine weather that was around for much of it took the form of local cycles with a call to Alderley Edge and Hare Hill featuring on one of the Saturdays. That has planted in my mind the idea of a walk taking in both of these for when I only have a few hours to spare.

On that last weekend in July, I headed to Gower via the Heart of Wales railway. That in itself has me mulling over the prospects for multi-day trips due to the travel practicalities involved; the train service is limited to just a few services each way every day. Stations such as Cynghordy and Sugar Loaf seem to offer easy access to the countryside round about there. Former spa towns such as Llandrindod Wells, Llangammarch Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells all are near stations on the line while Builth Wells is a little further away and may be better accessed using a Trawscambria bus from Newtown on the Cambrian Coast line. Though the appearance of the countryside wasn’t helped by the cloudy skies that lay overhead as I passed through it, thoughts of exploring hilly parts that are new to me sounds appealing. After all, the Elan valley is not so far away from Llandrindodd Wells either. All of these trip ideas need more work to make them happen but it’s great to have the possibilities regardless of this.

Swansea had the sun trying to break though the cloud cover without a great deal of success when I arrived and that was set to continue until I left too. While I have no doubts as to the scenic attractiveness of the Gower coastline, it was being afflicted by a lot of haze when I got to Rhossili. That may have limited whatever could be done with a camera, but I still enjoyed my potter around there anyway.

First, I walked out towards Worm’s Head, a famous spot featured in many a photo that graced the pages of magazines such as Outdoor Photography. Being owned by the National Trust meant that I wasn’t the only one heading that way though the crowds petered out the further along I went. The tide was in so I more than contented myself with seeing the rocky formations from the mainland. In any event, I am not so sure that crossing a tidal causeway sounds too appealing me even if there’s a coastguard station nearby. That tells its own story so I think it best to stay on the mainland anyway.

My next steps took me south along the rocky coastline for little while before I turned inland again to negotiate a few public rights of way to return to Rhossili again. Having a little time on my hands before I needed to make my way back to my base for the night, I fitted in a climb to the top of The Beacon on Rhossili Down where moorland was to be found. Any designs on a circular walk were put on hold in the interests of time but this was a good introduction. The need to gain a little height also meant that I’d found a quieter corner of Rhossili too. In fact, making a full a circular walk over and around Rhossili Down sounds like a perfect excuse for returning to that part of the world.

Apart from Rhossili, there are places in the Gower that sound as if they are worth visiting too. A trot from Oxwich to Port-Eynon to Rhossili sounds promising and a visit to Mumbles could be interesting too although it looks very built up on the map. Apparently accommodation can be tricky to organise on the Gower during the busy season so a little forethought might be in order. Getting weather that works wonders for the appearance of the coastline would help too. Sunshine may have been in short supply while I was there but the excursion really opened up ideas for me so I am not complaining.

Travel Arrangements:

Outbound train from Macclesfield to Swansea with changes at Stockport and Shrewsbury, the latter being for the train going down the Heart of Wales line. Return bus journey on X18 between Swansea and Rhossili. Return train trip from Swansea to Crewe via the Heart of Wales line and having a change in Shrewsbury. Bus service 38 from Crewe to Macclesfield.

The third weekend in July brought plenty of bright sunshine. It was enough to get heading to northwest Wales, albeit with a later start that got delayed further thanks to a problem on the West Coast Mainline around its Trent valley section. Nevertheless, my plan to revisit Caernarfon after an absence for quite a few years was far from stymied. Then, I based myself there on a weekend that took in some of the countryside around Llanberis and some of that surrounding Beddgelert. Both took the form of reconnaissance trips and I do recall enjoying the latter more than the former. Maybe it had something to do with my poking around slate mine workings near Llanberis instead of seeing less scarred parts. While I cannot be certain of that being how that weekend’s trip there went, such can be the format of first visits that you end up looking at the wrong side first. Since then, I have explored the more appealing sides of the hills surrounding Llanberis and neglected those around Beddgelert. It’s amazing what turns things can take and it would be no bad idea to return to Beddgelert again.

The next morning saw me head to Anglesey to gain a flavour of its coastal path after spending a night in Bangor. My starting point was Beaumaris so I took advantage of the morning sunshine for making some photos of its castle, one of the famed antiquities of North Wales. With possibilities well used, I left after me those planning on spending more time around there to continue northwestwards along the coastal path, all the while looking across towards the hills of Snowdonia.

The path first crossed fields before taking me along a roadside footway. All at this point felt like light work and Beaumaris and its attendant daytrippers seemed a world away. However, the course of the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path eventually drew me onto a stony beach and passage along there was both slower and required much more effort. At the time, it seemed more like drudgery and I welcomed the brief return to tarmac when it finally come. In fact, there was one more beach crossing before I finally was on the minor road headed for Trwyn Penmon, Penmon Point in English.

With only a few cars passing the way, this road walking wasn’t lacking in pleasure. The remains of Penmon’s ruined priory looked modest though there was a nearby dovecote too. Also, I was tempted to explore a path leading away from the road but left it in favour of ensuring my making a bus back from the end of my walk. As it happened, I would have had the time but preferred to be sure than sorry.

A man was out collecting tolls from any passing cars for this was private land. Penmon Point would be a lure and there were a good few folk about when I got there. Before then, there was more peaceful road walking. When I got there, I was to find that public convenience marked on my O.S. map wasn’t as publicly available as I had hoped it to be; it was for patrons of the cafe only. Another feature of the cafe was that it seemed best set up for sit down customers and not those who wanted any sort of take away service. Even picking an ice cream from the freezer and taking it to the till for payment wasn’t been encouraged. With a journey ahead of me, I kept going and the place lost a customer, unlike its counterpart near the Calf Sound on the Isle of Man.

From Penmon Point, I had earth underfoot and not tarmac. That more usual state of affairs was more amenable to me as good progress was made under blue skies and strong sunshine. Though not far from the sea, the warmth of the day was unmissable too. Glan-yr-Afon was where I was going to take my leave of the coastal path and a search and rescue helicopter was to be seen as I weaved my way there. Sirens could be heard too so it appeared that a rescue was ongoing though I learnt no more about it since then.

Dropping into Glan-yr-Afon, I picked up a right of way that was leading to the right and towards Llandona. Due to bus connections, I was wondering if ending my walk would be practical and it was in Glan-yr-Afon that I finally decided that it was. Going through inland fields instead of coastal ones was a departure yet the hills of Snowdonia and the sea that came between them and me both returned to my line of sight. The heat of the day was more noticeable at this point as well and especially so when I returned to tarmac again.

The last stretch of the hike took me through Llandona’s common land. It was unusual to again glimpse heathery moorland after all the travel through pasture. While another time might have seen me explore a little of it, this wasn’t to be one of them. On the last stretch of the way into Llandona, I saw a bus turning while on its way to Beaumaris and this was the one that would return to take me to Menai Bridge. While awaiting its return, I pottered about the village to if it had a shop but, finding it with none, I returned to the bus stop again. The wait there was the cause of reddening my hands due to the strength of the sun but another would be passenger join me, providing reassurance if I needed it.

My initial intentions might have been to go all of the way from Llandona to Bangor but visions of the azure waters of the Menai Strait had me get off at Menai Bridge instead. There followed a short but slightly unsettling trot over the bridge after which the village got its name. Before leaving for the bridge, there was a chance to to top up on refreshments that was very welcome. The bridge crossing allowed for a photography session of sorts and the whole venture usefully tied in with a convenient passing bus to Bangor’s train station.

The weekend had been one of many contrasts and I suppose that it shows that a few little visits pulled together can become a satisfying whole. That is not to say that I haven’t left without an excuse to return sometime because I’d like to see the hills of Snowdonia from Anglesey in pleasing evening light. There’s only so much that can be done with light from earlier in the day and I have the efforts of others. That they turned so superb makes the lure of making my own images all the stronger.

Travel Arrangements:

Train journey from Macclesfield to Bangor with changes at Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe and Chester. Bus services: 5 between Bangor and Caernarfon; 58 from Bangor to Beaumaris; 58 from Llandona to Menai Bridge; 44A from Menai Bridge to Bangor. Train from Bangor to Macclesfield.

The change of plans that affected the previous weekend gained something of a silver lining: some extra time away from work. The result of that was another weekend on the Isle of Man to follow the one over twelve months before. In fact, it was near enough to the second anniversary of my first ever excursion to the island. The rain-soaked reception that I then received did nothing to deter me.

As Raad ny Foillan occupied me for much of the 2010 Mayday Bank Holiday Weekend, it was to do the same for this visit too. However, it was another section of the long distance path was to take me south from Port Erin towards the island’s answer to Land’s End before continuing to Port St. Mary and then to Castletown. Though the walking was less strenuous this time around, the coast that I followed had its own drama too and I escaped with just a light shower and what otherwise was an  unsettled weekend as I discovered on an stroll out to Marine Drive from Douglas the evening before.

In contrast both to the previous evening and to the last time that I was there, I was to find Port Erin enjoying blue skies and sunshine the following morning. While not exactly rushing about, I set off shortening the distance to Port St. Mary. Knowing that I could shorten the walk wherever I saw fit meant that I could amble about Port Erin’s Lifeboat Station and develop more of a feeling for the route of the Isle of Man Coastal Path.

With those bearings established, I picked up the line of the coastal path to start gaining some height behind the Marine Biological Station. The energetic expenditure was rewarded by widening views of what surrounds Port Erin Bay, including both Brada Head and Port St. Erin itself. My  new vantage points were granting me another perspective of the start of my walk from Port Erin to Peel more than a year before.

That northbound had hike me feeling very exposed near steep drops into the Irish Sea at various points along its length but that wasn’t to the general feel of its southbound counterpart. That’s not to say that the coastline didn’t have its rugged parts because it did. In fact, when lured inland away from the route of the coastal path, I retraced my steps whenever I did so. That meant that no chance of seeing coastal drama got missed and one such occasion was just north of Aldrick and the time spent more well worth the time taken.

Approaching the Calf Sound meant that I was back sharing the sights with more folk again and for the first time since I left Douglas as well. Port Erin was quiet and I leaving it as was the coastal trail south from there. There were other folk out enjoying the scenery like myself and following the coastal path too but everyone had plenty of space. Having to walk a little further from an easy vantage point that well accessible by car. Being able to take in the sights from a cafe provided even more of a lure.

After getting an ice cream at the cafe myself, I found a quiet corner with a bench where I could enjoy it. All that was needed was a little along Radd ny Foillan in the direction of Port St. Mary. It never seems to amaze me how easy it can be to lose any vestige of crowding.

After the rest stop, I set off to go around Spanish Head (a name that reminds me of Spanish Point in County Clare in Ireland while having a very different character) and Bay Slacka. To ensure that nothing got overlooked, there was some toing and froing of the kind that I enjoyed more recently in hills near Church Stretton in Shropshire. Rushing just didn’t seem to be on the agenda.

After leaving the wilder countryside that is under the care of the Manx National Trust, it was time to make for Port St. Mary where a decision was to be made. Before reaching any conclusions, there was a need to revisit to a public convenience to retrieve one of my walking poles. There was a shower of rain too, the only one that found me on the day, that had me playing with ending my walk in Port St. Mary instead of continuing to Castletown. The shower faded and I chose the latter course.

Gansey Point was passed on the way towards the main road between Port St. Mary and my eventual destination. Due to geography, I needed to use a footway by the side of that road for a little while. Making god progress meant that it wasn’t long before I left it for a single track lane south to Pooilavaaish with views of hills behind me and to my my right.

The road’s end meant that a track took me through a farmyard and passing a quarry meant that I was following a right of way through fields. Any sheep that I passed didn’t seem to be too perturbed by my presence and careful attention to my map meant that no foolishness manifested itself.

In time, I was to find myself on the coastal side of a wall and in fields no longer. There now were views of Castletown, my destination for the day, along with sights of the effects of coastal erosion. From then on, I also was beginning to encounter more people again with a trail biking group among them; though I had misgivings seeing motorbikes going over rocky coastline, I decided on keeping my views to myself since it looked a big organised party. Dispelling what remained of the peaceful ambiance of the evening didn’t seem sensible when it might be an occasional event anyway.

Once past the trail bikers, I was back on tarmac again and steadily nearing Castletown. As I did so,I met with a father and son wondering if the way I had come was a quiet way to Port St. Mary. Since they were on bicycles anf I had crossed stiles, I put them going along the main road for sake of ease for themselves.

My entry into Castletown was accompanied by cloudy skies, putting paid to any ambitions of close up photos of Castle Rushen and its surroundings. That needs to be an excuse for a return and they always come in handy. After all, Castletown is a pretty spot and I have more of the Isle of Man to be seeing.

Travel Arrangements:

Return train journey between Macclesfield and Liverpool with a change at Stockport on the outbound leg and at Manchester on the return. A return ferry crossing took me from Liverpool to Douglas on the Isle of Man. Bus service 1 from Douglas to Port Erin and bus service 11 from Castletown to Douglas.