hiking

Half Man Half Biscuit – Castleton….Again!!

The last concert I went to before all the Covid madness was in Castleton to see Half Man Half Biscuit.
I stayed at the Swallowholme campsite.

My first concert back after all the Covid madness was in Castleton to see Half Man Half Biscuit.
I would be staying at the Swallowholme campsite.

I’m a creature of habit!

MSR Elixir tent at Swallowholme campsite Bamford Derbyshire

I had the same plan as I did back in 2019, pitch the tent (this time I’d be taking the MSR), walk, dinner, gig, sleep, walk. At least this time around the weather forecast was good.

The campsite doesn’t officially take tents, but the friendly owners were happy for me to pitch up in a lovely little spot. My own picnic bench was an unexpected luxury.

After a quick cuppa, I headed out of the campsite and up the road towards Water Lane, from here the route to the Lady Bower reservoir was very easy to follow along the Thornhill Trail. I took the turn off towards Sheffield Bridge so I could cross over the dam and hopefully get some good photos of the reservoir and it’s famous plug holes. Unfortunately, there’s been a lot of dry, hot weather recently and the water levels were low. No plug hole action. There was still plenty of interest for us AvGeeks though, this area was used to train up the Dambuster Lancaster bomber pilots.

I bimbled around the woods a little before heading back.
It was still fairly early so extended the walk to take a peek at Bamford itself. I was surprised to find a busy road filled with impatient drivers who enjoyed the sound of their own horns a little too much. A footpath took me away from the village and up to Bamford Filters. This sounded more interesting/romantic than the water treatment works that it actually is.

Back to the campsite via the petrol station to pick up a couple of beers from the local (ish) Bradfield Brewery. Started Christmas early with their lovely winter warmer, Belgian Blue.

I’ve uploaded the route (along with an extension to the petrol station!) to OutdoorActive

So, on with the show!
As I did last time, I walked up to Castleton.
I gave myself plenty of time for the walk which Google said would take around 90 minutes.
Despite being alongside the road, the views were nice. I also managed to get some childish giggles from the road signs!

I arrived just after 7. It was rather quiet in Castleton and there weren’t too many people around the entrance to the Devil’s Arse Cave either. I grabbed a bottle of water and made my way right to the front to the side of the stage. People already ‘claimed’ front and centre and there was an odd collection of chairs further along, but I was happy with my spot for the evening.
By 7.30, nothing much was happening. At around 7.45, bassist Neil popped on the stage. Perhaps we weren’t getting a support act. I really should have paid more attention to the schedules!

At 8pm a bloke at the side of the stage uses his phone to signal with three flashes, then comes a cry of “Hello Speedwell”
Since the last gig, Half Man Half Biscuit brought out what I think is their best album yet, The Voltarol Years. The album ends the greatest song ever written, ‘Oblong of Dreams’ (no comments please, I won’t be argued with 😉 ) There’s not too many songs about Wirral, fewer still about the estate I grew up on.
I always get a bit of dust in my eye, “Over the Fender and under the bridge. Estate memories all good, sunbeams on my childhood” Tonight was no different!

The set list was something along the lines of:

Joy in Leeuwarden
Renfield’s Afoot
Awkward Sean
Fred Titmus – which had become Fred Flintstone this evening
Vitas Gerulaitis – with a snippet from The Best Things in Life
Bob Wilson, Anchor Man
Light at the end of the the tunnel – very appropriate given the many Peak District references.
In a Suffolk ditch
Rock and roll is full of bad wools
99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
Little in the way of sunshine
Vatican broadside
Big Man Up Front – another fave off the new album.
Part-Time Punks – a new one for me, I later discovered it’s a Television Personalities cover.
San Antonio foam party
When I Look at My Baby – yet another new one and great live
Left Lyrics in the practice toom
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
PRS Yearbook – has this ever been played live before? A bit of a rarity!
National S**** Day
For what is Chatteris
Trad Arr Tune
Everything’s AOR
Midnight Mass Murder – another new one which works well live
Trumpton Riots
Every time a bell rings
……………………………………..
Oblong of dreams
20th Century Boy (another cover)
Joy Division oven gloves.

We also got a little bit of Lan Ganley stance, or should I say, John Ganley. A chap in the audience who may have had one shandy too many, shouted for it several times. It was later concluded that John was the brother who “did the table tennis”.

The walk back only took an hour, I was tempted to get the last bus but it was a lovely, starry evening and my head was full of tonight’s tunes. Such a shame I made the school girl error of leaving the head torch in the tent.

It’s impossible to have a bad Biscuits gig but this venue is special, I’m already looking forward to a return visit. First though is Biscuits in Birmingham!

August 23, 2022 0

Valks on Tour!

A footballing trip to Mallorca

I’d loved football from a very young age. I would sneak in to Prenton Park to watch the last few minutes of Tranmere games or I’d be kicking a “flyaway” ball around the garden but, “football wasn’t for girls”.
I begrudgingly put the ball away as I get older and turned my attention to other things.
By the time I’d hit my late 30s, there was little point in considering any sort of football career, until I saw a flyer for “Mumball” in the window of a local sports shop.
I wasn’t a “Mum” but met the other criteria and off I went for a friendly kick around with a handful of like minded women in Birkenhead High School.
Fast forward a few years, the Wirral Valkyries squad has expanded to 33 members and 13 of us, plus one with a broken ankle, were heading off to Santa Ponsa in Mallorca.

This certainly wouldn’t be a destination high on my list to visit but, I’d cobbled together a few walking routes to keep me amused. This resulted in some rather unusual packing; football boots, walking boots, football kit, Viking hat(!)
We later discovered that some found the hat and club badge rather offensive given that we were an English team. Perhaps I should have pointed them in the direction of a Widnes based rugby team or Yorkshire T20 cricket…..

Anyway, I digress. Our hotel, the H10 H10 Casa del Mar hotel was very nice. I was fortunate enough to have a newly renovated room and my neighbours were my other team mates who also booked single rooms. The food here was better than I expected. Lots of seafood and a surprisingly good paella were the highlights. I also got to try another Spanish concoction kalimotxo. Equal parts Coke and red wine. Not an experience I’ll be repeating!

We had the first full day of the trip free so a few of us took the bus to the nearby town of Andratx. The bus journey was simple. Beep a credit/debit card on the way on and off the bus. Screens show the next stop on the route.
The town itself was quite small. We wandered around some side streets, up towards the old church then stopped for a very reasonably priced drink. A morning was more than enough time to get around but it was nice to see some of the ‘real’ Mallorca. It may have been interesting to get back on the bus to see the port area too, but perhaps that’s better left for a longer trip or a return visit.

Back at Santa Ponsa, I put my walking shoes on and headed out. At this point, the mercury was hitting around 35 degrees C (95 in old money) and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The walk up through town to the old mill was a warm one!
Once at the mill I had intended to follow the Torrent Walk. There was little information about the route online, but, one website said it was well signed and started behind the mill. I circled around and saw no signs, at least nothing for the torrent route.
There were several tracks dotted around but nothing obvious. I zig zagged around a few before deciding to head down towards the archaeological park. Looking on the map, there were several paths here, many leading to viewpoints, or miradors as they’re known in Spanish.
The park was so peaceful. A contrast to the bars and tourist traps below. The climb in the heat was well worth it for the views below. I hoped at some point in the trip to catch the sunset here, sadly I never found the time to.
The route I took can be viewed on Outdoor Active.

View from Santa Ponsa Archaeological park viewpoint

The next day was an early start, our first game kicked off at around 8am. This suited us as it was before the temperatures rose too much.
I pulled on my gloves and came to the conclusion after several cold, wet games between the sticks in Cheshire, I was now preferring the more sedate role of goalkeeper in this heat.
To my surprise, we won the first game! We went on to draw others. We’d only gone and made it to the quarter finals!

The matches were to be played on the Sunday morning. Sadly we were beaten by a team who had won the previous three tournaments but we certainly gave them a game!
It did mean that the afternoon was free. While the others headed for the beach or pool, I ventured off on another walk. I wandered up towards Paseo Calvià, a cycle and footpath which took me up to Peguera. The route was flat and easy to follow. I turned off at a roundabout just before town and headed toward the beach below.

I really was surprised how pretty this area was and decided to continue deeper in to the woodland. The smell of pine was beutiful and the shade welcome as I wandered around. I had no paper map (not sure where i would find one!) but I had a digital map on OutdoorActive. I figured if I kept the sea to my right hand side i couldn’t go far wrong and there were a few markers dotted along the way.
The woodland paths stopped just outside a very expensive looking housing area. Higher than Santa Ponsa, the route I followed along the roads had great views. I stopped for a short while at Bella Vista before slowly making my way back down hill to the hotel.
This route is also available to download.

All in all, this was an enjoyable trip and the team is already discussing next year’s tournament. I’m not sure it will have the same magic at the first European cup games but it was certainly a great trip in unexpectedly pleasant part of the world.

August 18, 2022 0

New boots, new app, new route.

Apart from a handful of walks and a couple of camping trips, I’ve hardly left the Wirral peninsula since early 2020, but, to quote Half Man Half Biscuit, “Everything I want is here, and everything I need is here”. I’ve become content with walks on the Oblong of Dreams.

Although still remaining on the peninsula for this walk, I was venturing across the border in to Cheshire. It is less than 15 minutes drive from my house to the starting point from where I’d planned a 12 ish mile route from the Hadlow Road car park further in to Cheshire, towards Burton.

It was a walk of firsts;
* I was finally getting to try out the Scarpa Crux approach shoes I got at Christmas. Lack of annual leave and several storms meant little opportunity to get them out of their box.
* Now that ViewRanger had finally been turned off, it was time to see what Outdoor Active could do.
* I was covering a number of new footpaths for me on this route.

I’d already planned the route on my laptop using the Outdoor Active website. It was easy to do and the ‘snap to’ function worked reasonably well for most of the walk, however, when I picked a path it didn’t recognise, I was sent on a long detour.
An easy fix is to click on the magnet button on the bottom tool bar (see image on left)
After setting this to be ‘route’ and not just a ‘plan’, it appeared on the phone app and I was ready to go (a plan being an initial ‘rough sketch’ of the walk) .

After getting the car in the last parking spot, I changed in to the Scarpas.
I’d owned the Scarpa Epic shoes previously. They had lasted well but were not as grippy as other footwear I’ve owned.
The Crux were so comfy as soon as I put them on. They share a similar design to the Epic. The Epic shoes are very blue with bright yellow bits. whereas the Crux are a more subtle dark grey with sky blue trim and laces.
Sorry, ‘shark and blue radiance.’
The ‘Vibram Megagrip’ sole design was slightly different too and, I soon discovered, worked well in the slippery muddy conditions.

I fired up the walking route on my phone and clicked ‘Start’. The tracking started automatically. So far so good, although I still had the OS Map app running in the background, a paper map in my sack and tracking running on my watch, just in case.

I started down the easy to follow Wirral Way, past Leahurst Veterinary School then took a left on to Cuckoo Lane. The route briefly took me to the side of a housing estate before passing a playground on the path down to the Dee Marshes.

Once at the marshes, the path became slightly busier. It was a Friday morning in February so I expect it could get very busy on a summer weekend. I was soon turning off though, taking Station Road up to Burton, a lovely village filled with thatched cottages, an old church and woodland area. It gets a mention in the Doomsday book and apparently, back in the day was a rest stop on the journey between Birkenhead and London.

The Outdoor Active app was also behaving itself. On previous tests it would often display a black screen with no information on it. No such problems today. The tracking was accurate and the OS mapping clear. Maybe it was finally winning me over! *

Looking at the map, I’d noticed “Burton Point”, the site of an Iron Age fort. While I was here, it made sense to go and check it out. There were paths just off the road out of Burton.
Entering the woods near Puddington Lane, I passed a ‘Welcome to the RSPB Reserve’ sign and continued on through to the car park.
From there I headed towards a building. Three people were sat outside.
“Hello” calls one, “Are you just here for a wander round?”
I was, and was charged £6 to do so.
I was rather taken aback, I was literally passing through and hadn’t noticed any other signs mentioning an entry fee, although it is mentioned on their website.

Everyone else here had binoculars, large camera lenses, tripoded monoculars or a combination of all three. They’d stop dead in the middle of the path and turn their gaze to a dot in the sky.
Three men were discussing a particular ‘spot’,
“I saw it first!”,
“Yes, but I identified it”.
I felt like an away fan in the home end.

The views over to Wales were lovely although there’s little to see of the fort now. I noticed another footpath out of the reserve but that was padlocked. I may have climbed over if it wasn’t for the older couple sat next to it. So, I turned and went back the way I came.

To be fair, if you go to look for wildlife it is worth the entrance but I wouldn’t recommend it for the walk to the fort. **
I retraced my steps to the village but took Mudhouse Lane to the A540. After crossing, it was footpaths right the way through to the Wirral Way and back to the car.

This route is available to download from Outdoor Active as a GPX file

*The love of Outdoor Active was short lived. The following week I took another walk. The route vanished three times and the tracking only recorded 5 of the 12 miles

** Sadly, shortly after I started to write this post the area was ravaged by fire causing concerns for the wildlife. The reserve probably needs all the support it can get – go visit!

March 22, 2022 0

Cows, cows, cows

The original plan was to go to Chipping Norton and join several Abarth owners for a meet at Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm. The locals didn’t like the idea so it was cancelled leaving me with an entire week off and no where to go.

My first thought was a camping trip Monday to Tuesday, but the forecast was poor (although it actually turned out not as bad as predicted)
Maybe try Tuesday to Wednesday, but the forecast was awful (although it actually turned out not as bad as predicted). So Wednesday to Thursday it was.

The weather has brought some heavy rain over the weekend and at the end of the previous week, so the ground would be muddy or boggy. I took this in to consideration when I was wondering where to go. I noticed that not only did Cae Dai Wilderness Adventures have a separate, paved car park it was also as wild as it gets for a paid site.

I do like wild camping but it’s had some idiots giving it a bad name recently, also, sometimes it’s nice to have comforts like a compost loo and drinking water. I dropped them an email and got a friendly reply saying not only was I booked in but I could turn up as early as 9am!

After parking up I was free to choose my pitch.
There was the main field which was lovely, but, just over a wooden bridge was the woodland.
To the left was a nice spot, a smaller grassy patch surrounded by trees and the river, but I fancied something a bit more ‘wild’ .

I wandered the woods and found a few possible candidates, then I dropped down a rather muddy path to a spot next to the river.
Perfect.
I pitched the MSR Elixir with the door opening out to the stream. then off I went on a walk.

I’d planned a fairly long route that would take in the castle and hopefully give me a peek at the gliding club, I’m a sucker for anything aviation!
It was nice to see so many gliders in the skies today. The purest form of flying and, having only flown powered aircraft, I admire those pilots a lot.

The walk started easily enough, following a path to the south of Denbigh, then below the castle.
I was very soon looking at some very beautiful scenery. I wondered why it had taken me so long to reach this particular part of the world.

I joined the road for a little while and continued under a tunnel towards Brookhouse Pottery. This Denbigh pottery, by the way is in no way related to the similar sounding Denby pottery!

I was soon back on a footpath which followed a river.
All very pleasant.
It did become rather over grown at one point with large leafy plants that reminded me of rhubarb but it wasn’t difficult to get through.
On reaching a stile, I checked the map. It would he a straight walk to the road on the other side.
There were are few cows dotted around but they were keeping themselves busy, munching on the grass.
All was well.
Then one looked up and started heading my way.
I marched on.
Another looked up, but, this one bounded, like an excited puppy.
Very soon there was a line of large cows and the smaller cowdog moving towards me, slowly at first but gradually gathering pace.
I stopped. They continued.
Maybe I could head to the opposite side of the field to my left and pass around the side of them.
They moved to their right.
The exit was closer than the entrance. Maybe these were friendly cows, cowdog certainly looked a loveable, bouncy character. But, there was more of them and they were rather big.
I turned and headed back to the entrance, quickening my pace.
I crossed the stile, they gathered on the other side.
A few lost interest and went back to eating lunch.
I hid just around the corner for a few minutes and popped my head round to see if they had grown bored of this strange human. They hadn’t.

Oh well, I’d abandon this walk, grab a coffee at camp then head in the opposite direction to see Dr Johnson’s house which, at the time, Google Maps amusingly described as a nightclub.

This route took me alongside corn fields and up to Gwaynynog , the setting for a number of Beatrix Potter books.
As for Dr Johnson’s house…….well, I managed to walk past it!
I decided to ditch the OS map and fired up Google maps, at least then there would be a pin in the right place to find this ‘nightclub’
I returned to the stile bordering the field containing hundreds of grouse and there it was, hidden amongst the trees with a wire fence running around it. To be honest, there wasn’t much to see.
Just prior to the hunt for the house, I took a right at the junction in the woods to look for the monument, however, those pesky cows were at it again. This time three of them gathered on the narrow footpath. I decided it wasn’t really worth trying to pick my way past for a chap I only really knew from an episode of Blackadder.

As it was still fairly early, I continued past the campsite and on up to the castle.

I do like a visit to a castle. Castles and waterfalls are two things I like to hunt down on trips.
Unfortunately, this one was locked up, I later discovered it’s always closed on Wednesday.
I did manage a wander around the outside though and get a few photos.

Returning to the campsite, I’d passed a house selling eggs so dinner consisted of a hard boiled egg, cooked in the Jetboil, and a Firepot Posh Pork and Beans. Nicer than it sounds!

After dinner, I sat down with a can of Brew York beer and listened to the stream. Work seemed a million miles away. No phone signal, no light pollution, no noise.
Bliss

Having the entire site to myself meant the night time was pitch black and as silent as it gets, all I could hear were the owls hooting. It was a real shame it was overcast as I imagine the stars would be amazing.

I was up and out early the next day, which was a shame but, despite the walks not going as planned, it was a lovely trip and just what the Doctor (Johnson?) ordered!

Glider over Debigh, North Wales — I’d have loved to have been up there!!

September 25, 2021 0

Lockdown, a year on.

It’s now been a year since all this Covid malarkey first really kicked in and a very strange year it’s been.

All the plans made in 2020 were cancelled or postponed and the most excitement has been a couple of camping trips and day walks in the summer.
On the one hand, I’m so glad I managed to get out on the few walks I did in the Clwydian hills and Snowdonia. On the other hand, I wish I’d done more.

Our freedom was short lived and so soon we found ourselves back under more stringent lockdown rules. Wales was closed to us once more.

I’d been bimbling around, close to home. Watching the sunrise in the local woods and taking country lanes to see where I’d end up.
I did one such walk on a day off in November and, rather naughtily, I crossed the border in to Cheshire.
It was a painless experience and I found myself in Neston.
Despite being walking distance (ish) from home, I’d never been before. The closest I got was Ness Gardens where, as a kid on a school trip, I fell head first in to lake trying to catch tadpoles.

Neston is a nice enough place. The usual shops but with an old market town feel and plenty of little nooks and crannies to explore.
The walk round the back of the church is pleasant and leads on to the Wirral Way with great views over to the Welsh hills.

The Wirral Way would be a possibility to get home but my return leg was mostly on pavements alongside the roads.
I did manage to get off road for a shore while walking an extremely muddy bridleway.
Most of the quagmire had been caused by cyclists. I’ve been cursing them a lot this past year.

Those that would have been riding around the tracks of Delamere or Llandegla were now turning their attention to footpaths.
At best, you find a route unwalkable. Fat bike tyre marks cutting though narrow footpaths At worst, a Lycra clad granddad on an over specced and over priced bike comes hurtling downhill towards you and the old couple walking their dog and small grandchild….
…..but I digress.
I was on a bridle way so I can’t shout at them this time.

By December, things had eased a little and once again, we were allowed back across the border in to Wales.
As soon as the restrictions were lifted, I booked two days off work. Surely one of those days would have decent weather?
One did, the other was atrocious!

On the nicer of the two days, I went to one of my favourite spots, Moel Famau
I’d been here many, many times in the past but, after so few walks in 2020, it was so good to be back.
I parked up and spotted a large group of older people heading up the main path, I headed in the opposite direction.
My route took me around the hill, initially heading East, walking towards the little village of Cilcain.

The weather was beautifully sunny and I soon wishing I’d worn lighter layers but, the paths were very wet. Thick gloopy mud covered my boots and worked my way up my trousers. I did manage to wash much of the mud off as I waded through what used to be little brooks but were now quite fast moving streams.

This route is available to download as a GPX file.

We managed to have a fairly normal family Christmas day but by the new year we were back in lock down and walks were back to ‘roam from home’.
It’s tough to find the motivation especially on the cold, dark mornings. To give me an extra kick I signed up for the Lancaster 500k Challenge. This celebrated 80 years since the first flight of the Avro Lancaster. As a pilot myself, I’m keen to support such events. I managed to complete the challenge in 2 months, despite being stuck in Wirral. I’m feeling rather smug about that 🙂

I walked around the streets, woodland and country lanes a few miles from my font door.
Boots and hiking gear were the most commonly worn items on the local residential streets and most of us had become masters at zig zagging across the roads to avoid others, Unfortunately though, once again, I was sharing pavements and footpaths with cyclists.
On one occasion, I was about to unleash my wrath while pointing at the ‘No Cycling’ sign, or, more likely, shake my head and tut loudly but, as I approached the wooden post, I noticed the sign had been prised away. At this point, I was imagining the Lycra clad chapter of Hell’s Angels appearing in the dead of night, armed with tools from their puncture repair kits removing anything that may prevent them from riding wherever they fancied.
This particular cyclist continued his ride along the pavement towards a woman pushing a pram…

Generally though, early mornings were cyclist free and were a time to appreciate what was on my doorstep and explorer previously undiscovered spots.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel…maybe….

March 21, 2021 0

Capel Curig Camping

Bad weather is guaranteed when I book time off. It’s well known amongst my work colleagues, it’s well known amongst the flying club, but 2020 really is a strange year. I had fantastic weather for my first camp since lock down eased and the weather looked just as nice for the three days I had booked off in September.
This was another trip for my new favourite tent, the MSR Elixir 1.

Therm-a-rest compressible and Exped inflatable pillows

Something new to try on this trip too. I normally use an Exped inflatable pillow. It weighs virtually nothing, packs down tiny and can be inflated with the same inflation tool as my Exped mattress.
It’s a great design but, for me, a front sleeper who likes a squishy pillow, it just doesn’t quite work. On this trip, I also packed a Therm-A-Rest compressible pillow.
The difference in size is quite obvious in the photo, but there’s little difference in weight. Would I pack a bulkier item for a better night’s sleep?
I packed both pillows and headed off down the A5 towards Capel Curig.

There is another site a short distance from mine. A nice looking site but just a field, my site had plenty of little nooks and crannies. Places to pitch that felt a little wilder.

MSR Elixir tent pitched near Capel Curig, Snowdonia

I left the car near the facilities block, grabbed my rucksack and made my way to the far end of the site. I found a lovely little spot next to a stream. As there was no wind at all and none forecast, I could position the tent whichever way I wanted. I turned my back on the rest of the campers and pointed the door to the stream.
Beautiful.

I wandered back to the car to pick up my day sack containing a flask, digital SLR camera and a few lenses (a benefit of car camping, multiple rucksacks!) I then headed out for a bimble.
A path runs from the back of the campsite towards Capel Curig. I followed it to the first turn off to the left which led me to the A5.
The path continued on the opposite side of the road. It was initially easy to follow, heading up towards a building then crossing a stream. The path soon became less well defined and the surface was quite boggy.
At one point I got knee deep in mud. Typical! I had no spare pants. Knew I should have packed the gaiters.

Once I’d reached another stream, The Leat, I took a right and followed it before taking the path up to Llyn Cowlyd reservoir.
This was social distancing!

I sat on a rock for a while. The sun was hot and the sky clear. I couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The only thing which could have improved the day was some plane spotting. I could hear what I assumed to be Hawks from RAF Valley but nothing came into view.

Bridges on route back to A5, Capel Curig, Snowdonia

I returned back to The Leat, turning off to follow the path back down to the A5.
There were a few little wooden bridges over some patches but these only served to prove I was on the right route, the boggu ground surrounding them was full of mud and large puddles.

Back at the road, I crossed to walk on the the narrow pavement heading towards Capel Curig.
Around the back of the Joe Brown’s shop is a footpath which led straight back to the campsite.

This route is available to download as a GPX file.

After a cup of coffee by the tent, I returned to the path towards Ogwen Lake. A wander around the lake was very tempting but my stomach had other ideas. It was definitely getting close to dinner time!
After a few photos around the lake I headed back to camp. I’d timed it so I’d be on my walk during sunset. I sat on a rock and watched as the day light came to an end.

Dinner was a Wayfayrer Pasta Bolognese. It was surprisingly tasty, but I was glad I had a couple of slices of home made bread to fill me up.
Maybe I’m just greedy!
Another benefit of car camping is the ‘luxury’ extras you can take. My little folding camping table proved very useful although my dining chair was a rock!

I sat on a rock by the stream for a while, drinking a beer looking at the stars. It doesn’t get much more relaxing than this.

When it came to settling down for the night, I unrolled the Therm-A-Rest pillow. It so comfortable. It also reduced the ‘electric shock’ hair I often had in the morning.
Snug in the tent, I soon fell asleep.
Sorry old inflatable pillow, you’re relegated. Maybe it’ll make a good cushion for next time I’m sat on a rock.

I woke around 6.30 and popped my head out of the door. The sun was rising over the misty fields. It looked as if it was going to be fine weather again.

Sunrise Gwern Gof Isaf campsite near Capel Curig

I sat by the stream, brewed a coffee in the Wacaco (my little camping luxury) and make an Oat So Simple porridge.
I definitely had brought my appetite with me. Deciding that one porridge just wasn’t enough, I made another espresso coffee and a second pot of porridge.

After breakfast(s!), I packed the camping gear away. The outside of the tent was wet, I assume the rain they had back home in the day reached me overnight. Inside the tent was bone dry though. The tent has two vents each end and they obviously did the trick at eliminating condensation.

Everything packed up, I drove to Capel Curig. From the car park, I headed over the road and took the path next to the church. The route soon changed from fields of sheep to woodland. The path was fairly easy to follow and not challenging, some times, that’s exactly what you want!
The views were both beautiful and varied; mountains, lakes, streams.
A lot of the return leg is along a road but this is a quiet road, only two vehicles passed me during the walk.
This route is also available for download.

I returned to the car full of mud, sheep poo and other unmentionables but happy. A fantastic couple of days and just what was needed. To round the trip off the roof went down on the Abarth 124 for a very enjoyable blast around the Welsh roads.

September 20, 2020 2

First hill walk of 2020!

Lock down is tough.
I’m lucky, I’ve had a fairly easy time compared to many but; all trips abroad and a city break cancelled, concerts postponed or cancelled, no camping trips and unable to access the hills for months.

I have tried to average around 30 to 40 miles a week doing local walks (I’m determined to still complete the ViewRanger 1000 mile challenge!).
I’m lucky, I live near woods and quiet country lanes but Wirral is flat, very flat so, as soon as it was announced that Wales was opening it’s borders, I booked some time off work.

I’m very keen to try out the new MSR tent but I’m holding off any overnight stays at the moment as only self contained units (things with their own loo) can be used for overnight stays.
At least, I think that’s the current rule.
To make matters worse, on the drive up I passed signs saying Welsh Covid rules apply.
I don’t fully understand my own country’s rules!

The weather forecast was brilliant. A bonus blast around the country lanes in the Abarth with the top down perhaps.
Needless to say, the weather forecast changed considerably the day before and, to quote Half Man Half Biscuit, the cloud base was low on the Clwydian hills but, to quote HMHB again, no storm warning was going to stop me setting out again.

I parked up in my usual spot in Llanferres and walked through the Druid Inn car park to Rectory Lane. Just past the last house, I headed up hill.
Only a few minutes from the car and the views were lovely.

It’s strange how Covid-19 has changed normal activities. Previously I’d think nothing of opening a gate. Now, it was a well planned manoeuvre involving one ‘dirty hand’, a foot and a squirt of hand sanitiser. Other than though, everything was as it has always been.

The first part of this walk was a route I knew well. Up Foel Fenlli and down towards the Bwlch Penbarra car park. The second part was (surprisingly!) new to me. I stayed to the west edge of the foot of Moel Famau then headed to the north of Coed Ceunant.
Shortly after joining a narrow road, I had planned on cutting across a field towards Llanbedr hall.
After crossing a small stream, I noticed a number of cows in the next field. They seemed content enough, munching away on their lunch.
I glanced down at the map, just continue in the direction I was heading, towards a gap in the fence.
I altered my route slightly to give the cows a wide berth.
They noticed me and started heading closer.
I moved further to the right, they started to group.
They were congregating between me and the gap in the fence which I discovered, led to another field of cows.
I wimped out and turned around and crossed back over the stream.
I knew the road would lead me down to the road in to Llanbedr and from there, I could get back on track.

As it turned out, this wasn’t a bad decision. I headed up the track towards old St Peter’s Church.
After a good look around at the gravestones dating from the 17 and 1800s and getting the obligatory photos, I headed to the back of the grounds, through an old gate and on to a path.
I’m not entirely sure I should have been there, but it got me on to the lane where the cow field would have led to.

It was now getting close to midday. The temperature had increased and it had become rather muggy. I was glad of the drizzle to cool me off as the route slowly climbed back to Fenlli.
I stayed on the lower path around the hill before following the path I’d taken earlier to the car.

This route (with the cow detour!) is available to download as a GPX
I’ve also added a Relive Fly Through.

Tuesday was another walk, this time near Ruabon.
Not as hilly and not as scenic but a pleasant walk, despite a detour along the roads. A farmer had decided to grow the world’s biggest and thickest corn right across the path.

Wednesday was back to the realities of Covid, spending over two hours negotiating a full refund for another cancelled holiday, but the hills are back!

July 20, 2020 2

Trovat Advanced High GTX Boot Review

My old trusty Brasher Hill Master boots had walked their last mile. Even on fairly dry days, my feet would end up soggy after walking through the shallowest of puddles.
Brasher became part of Berghaus and continued to produce the Hillmaster. These boots get some very good reviews but, I fancied a change and started reading up.

My ‘go to’ walking shoes are my Mammut Convey GTX approach shoes. Comfortable and reliable on most walks, but, I like a more robust shoe for more challenging weather and conditions.

Many years ago, my first pair of approach shoes were by the Swiss brand Raichle. These were fantastic shoes and we covered many, many miles together. Now, like Brasher, the brand has been re-badged and has now come under the Mammut umbrella.

I was drawn to the Mammut Trovat Advanced High GTX Boot
At £185 this was above what I was looking to spend, however, I had a £50 voucher for Snow and Rock which made the price rather less daunting.
These brown nubuck leather boots with rubber heel and toe protection have a slightly more ‘old school’ look than many modern boots but, unlike the ‘old school’ boots, these are instantly comfortable.
The nappa leather and memory foam help make these boots very easy to wear.
They certainly look built to last.
There’s a little bit of Raichle still retained too, their logo is displayed on the inside of the tongue.

These are a big boot, my size 8s just fitted in my boot bag although at 1,240g they weigh only a few grams more than the old Hillmaster boots.

As I started loading the car for my first walk in the new boots, I realised I was wearing Mammut pants and a Mammut jumper. Along with the Mammut boots, I would risk looking like a bad catalogue picture. Luckily, as it it was raining so I grabbed my Arcteryx Waterproof to break things up a bit! Perhaps I was over cautious but I threw my approach shoes in the car, just in case.

The weather forecast fluctuated between dry, drizzle and large down pours – pack for everything!
Driving down the A55 with lights and windscreen wipers on suggested this wasn’t going to be the dryest of walks! At least it would be a good test of the Gortex and the Vibram MT Traction II sole.

My original plan was to park up in Moel Famau and head up a few hills but, as the road to the car park was closed, I turned back towards the car park in Loggerheads for Plan B.
After parking the car I change from my Addidas trainers in to the boots. Yes, they are heavy but so comfortable. Not sure I’d want to be wearing them on a hot summer day though.
I tighten the laces, assuming that I’m going to have to change the tightness a number of times until I got it right but, I struck lucky first time.

The first test was a very wet wooden bridge. So far, so grippy! My route continued through muddy woodland and over wet stones, none of which caused any problems. These are boots you can feel confident wearing.

I always pack a spare pair of socks. I’ve needed them on walks even on dry days wearing the Brasher boots, one puddle and that was it! In my Mammut boots, however, I was bone dry despite the persistent rain and walking through some long wet grass.

If you look after your kit, your kit will look after you. These boots are very easy to look after. A quick wipe down with warm water and a soft brush and they were as good as new.

In conclusion, the Trovat Advanced boots are on the high end of price points but you do get what you pay for. I’m really impressed with these boots and they certainly seem to cope well with any terrain thrown at them.

June 6, 2020 0

Terra Nova Wild Country Zephyros

I’ve a nice, growing collection of tents, the large Vango, the cheap and cheerful Coleman and the current favourite, the Robens Arch.
Two of these are two person tents weighing in at around 2.3kg.
The Wild Country Zephyros is a smaller, lighter (1.5kg) one person tent (note this is a review for the earlier, model not the 2020 compact version)

The Zephyros is a cheaper version of the sister company’s Terra Nova Laser. The Terra Nova tent is a lot, lot lighter but also several hundred pounds more expensive (RRP £170 and £450 for the current models in April 2020).

Back pole and the ventilation. Curtains closed!

Pitching the Zephyros is easy. The fly and inner go up together which is great when pitching in bad weather.
One long Superflex alloy pole runs across the middle of the tent and two smaller poles sit at the top and bottom ends to give structure, stability and help provide ventilation.
It can be put up in around 5 minutes or so.
On the subject of poles. the tent comes with a repair kit which includes a sleeve for fixing a damaged pole….alternatively, it makes a great pea shooter!

Outside, the tent is a nice green colour, nothing too garish! The flysheet has 4000mm hydrostatic head flysheet,it has fully taped seams and a 6000mm groundsheet.
The guy lines are reflective which is a nice touch for when you’re wandering back to the tent at night.

Inside, there is plenty of room. I’m about 5 foot 11 and I can sit up right. There’s not a huge amount of space in the porch area but a 75l rucksack can be tucked in to the side and it’s not too bad for cooking. I’ve also found you can extend the porch by popping the door up with a stick or walking pole to make a basic shelter.
There’s a few other little nooks and crannies for putting boots etc but, unlike many tents, there’s no handy pocket on the inner for leaving say, your mobile phone or head torch etc.

A cute little feature is the ‘curtains’ at either end. Well, OK they are really covering the ventilation but, providing there’s enough air circulating elsewhere, it does help keep things a little darker. These can be opened and closed from inside the tent.

Colour coded poles, reflective guy lines Wild Country — Colour coded poles and reflective guy lines

The bath tub inner is not very deep compared to my other tents but I’ve not noticed that being an issue yet. One slightly strange design feature is the outer door rolls back in to the inside of the tent which can make the inside damp if opening the door after a rainy night.
While we’re discussing negatives, it is a little bit susceptible to condensation, nothing too bad but more than my other tents. I imagine this is to be expected in a smaller tent.

This is a very popular tent, so there’s loads of videos, forums and reviews for this tent.
You can pick up this model for under £100 (April 2020) if you hunt around , and for that price, it’s not a bad bit of kit!

May 2, 2020 0

Black Pudding Gaiters

Hiking, travelling, gear

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