1 to 3 March 2014 – A Trip to Wales

Last weekend saw us enjoying a break at Bodelwyddan Castle with Robert and Lyn. 

Saturday came with bright sunshine and a light frost above 300 metres. Sue and I left the others to their bikes and were 'soon' (if 11 o'clock is so defined) above that height at the Moel Famau car park.

It was our first daytime walk together for some time, and what a cracking day for it.  In a few minutes we were on the 511 metre summit of Foel Fenlli, admiring views towards the coast and to Snowdonia's magnificent (but distant) snow clad summits.

Ambling down to the Offa's Dyke footpath to our south, we encountered a grumpy looking lady who was labouring a long way behind her partner – he had no doubt absconded from the marked LDP (Long Distance Path) route in order to bag this fine little summit. 

What a contrast to the friendly mountain bikers and the elderly lady we met as we continued over surprisingly dry ground before leaving the national trail and popping up to the 467 metre summit of Moel Gyw, where the raised platform of an ancient hill fort appears to house the highest point. Here I am, approaching the trig point, with the true summit behind me.

We lazed here, under a cloud, for some time, slightly envious of those sunbathing on Foel Fenlli, pictured behind Sue. 

A sharp descent to the north brought us to an amiable path with mewing buzzards on which we paused for lunch - a bar of Green and Black's dark chocolate with crystallised ginger, and a banana, between us. 

That refreshed us for a mini adventure in the wood south of Ffynnon-y-berth. Here the path had been obliterated by recently fallen trees. It must have been a bit breezy! We laboriously bush whacked a way through, only to discover that we could probably have avoided the chaos by hopping over a fence and across a field. That wouldn't have been so much fun though. 

The jungle experience turned out to be a one off, as the rest of the woodland we passed through on this trip seemed hardly affected. 

I picturesque cottage at Wern sported a pretty glade of Snowdrops.

Our next obstacle was the frequently experienced 'Welsh Footpath Problem'. Various signs near Four Crosses required us to ignore our allegedly incorrect map and take to the lanes for a while in order to circumvent a few metres of a linking path that some Welsh peasant (probably an English expat) has taken possession of. 

After that we managed to regain and more or less continue along our planned route back to the car park below Moel Famau, noting that certain paths marked on our map don't actually exist on the ground. 

It's best to keep to the waymarked routes, we decided, especially the good paths near the fleshpots of Loggerheads, where we enjoyed the last of our tea. 

Grey wagtails, fine beech woods that reminded us of the Apennines, and a fine old bridge were highlights of the latter phases of the walk, as well as a well constructed new path through the woods to Bwlch Penbarras.

The walk was 20.5 km with 800 metres ascent, taking us about 6 hours including stops.

Sunday saw us waking to the sound of rain after Saturday night's entertainment from a 'tribute band' - The Karpenters. Apparently they are hot acts in China and in Toronto, as well as in St Asaph city.

Lyn had been unwell* since yesterday afternoon, so we left her in Robert's capable hunting for birthday presents hands and headed back to the Offa's Dyke path.

From the car park to its south, the iron age fort at Penycloddiau is easily accessible. Today the views from the Offa’s Dyke path were a little muted.

We soon reached the 440 metre summit, from where Moel Famau was clearly visible through the showers to the south.
 

Fighting dogs and three jolly mountain bikers featured on the descent. 

This demanding walk along the Offa's Dyke path was all of 3.5 km in distance, with a stupendous 150 metres of height gain. A good way to spend an hour or so between showers.

 

A short drive then found us in a lay by with red kites in the shadow of Mwdwl-eithin (532 metres), the highest point in the neighbourhood. So we went up it. An easy direct ascent over soft grass. Rather easier than the expected peat hags. Good views from the summit, with the snow streaked Berwyn Hills conspicuous to the south east.

There was nobody around for miles, or so it seemed, and a convenient break in the showers left us dry after an enjoyable 5 km with 140 metres ascent, taking about an hour and a half.

That left plenty of time for a leisurely motor back to the castle and an exciting game of indoor bowls with Robert and Lyn when they returned from Bodnant Gardens. 

Monday saw a return to the fine spring weather for our long journey home.

Before that, a wander around the site, table tennis and swimming, etc, ensured that we gained full value from the venue…

The castle…

Trees in full blossom in the garden…

An aviary crammed with Zebra Finches from Australia…

That left time for another short stroll from the viewpoint at Waun y Llyn.

Pleasant grassy fields took us to the raised trig point at the 330 metre summit of Hope Mountain, with views back to the Clwydian summits we’d traversed over the weekend, and to the north, Cheshire’s Central Ridge.

Another 4 km with 100 metres ascent, taking little more than an hour, enabling us to return home for a late lunch.

A pleasant little break. The full (50+ image) slideshow is here, although you’ll have to look elsewhere for pictures of Robert and Lyn…

* Lyn - I remember that day, many years ago, when my birthday first made me feel ill. It happens every year now. Perhaps you have now passed a critical age and have this debilitating illness to look forward to for the rest of your days!

A GR10 Slideshow for SWOG

Last night we were kindly offered the opportunity to re-live last summer’s trip to the Pyrenees by way of a slideshow for Stockport Walking and Outdoor Group (SWOG).

It was standing room only as around forty folk squeezed into our room at Hazel Grove Civic Centre. Thanks go to Mick and Gayle, and also Andrew, for boosting the attendance. Thanks also to the handful of people who bought a copy of my book. There are still a few left if anyone out there wants one.

A most pleasurable evening – we hope some of those attending are inspired to visit this easily accessible and wonderfully scenic part of the world.

The above picture shows Sue at Lacs de Madamete on 9 July 2013, perhaps a more agreeable image (it was second choice for the book cover) than a routine photo from the Bridgewater Canal, which is just about as far as I have ventured in today’s spring sunshine.

An XXL Club weekend in Newtonmore

I had debated whether to join friends at the XXL Hillwalking Club’s weekend at Newtonmore, but the weather forecast didn’t warrant the trip.

I’m pleased with the decision, as one of the members who is renowned for going off on his own on tough days in his bid to climb all the Munro (3000 feet) summits during the winter months, came to grief.

Here’s the relevant entry on Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team’s Facebook page:

We had a 10 hour epic day yesterday with a shout for a climber who had fallen through a cornice on Beinn Eibhinn to the north of Corrour. Our guys fell through cornices at least 4 times themselves and were avalanched while trying to locate the climber. Conditions were atrocious with total white out conditions and very high winds and heavy snow. The guys were having to navigate around the edge of cliffs and gullies in visibility that was not even the length of your arm. Although we say it ourselves, "The Team" did an absolutely fantastic job putting both life and limb on the line to get to the guy who was recovered safe and well.
We would like to thank Philip and his staff at Corrour Estate for providing ATV's to transport guys and equipment part of the way up the mountain and for allowing use of the of the community centre and providing refreshments for the guys when they finally got off the mountain. As usual much appreciated as the helicopter had to be grounded due to a mechanical issue.
The conditions in the mountains this year are some of the most extreme we have ever experienced. Virtually every rescue has had a very high element of risk involved and this is not just in Lochaber but for all teams operating in the Highlands. We are quieter than normal with only 11 call outs so far this year but the conditions have been putting considerable demands on us and other teams across Scotland.
If you are heading to the mountains enjoy but stay safe. If you use the outdoors support mountain rescue in what ever way you can.

I don’t think anyone else on the weekend got up anything very much, and their Saturday evening may well have been spoilt as they waited for news of David, who ended up spending the night at the mountain rescue base.

I’ve always been impressed with the emphasis on safety shown by most members of this club, as you would expect from people who in the main earn their living from the North Sea oil industry. This event must come as quite a shock… but if it was going to happen to anyone… At least he was equipped to cope with around six hours of waiting high on a mountain in dire weather before he was reached by the Mountain Rescue Team.

‘A thought for all of us’ comments Chairman Bill.

As the header picture, featuring a wiser David who now winters in the sunshine, shows – winter walks in Scotland can be wonderful. For those who don’t recognise it, this is the iconic view from Sgurr Mhor on Beinn Alligin, taken on 19 March 2009.

I’m told that the snow that blankets the Highlands of Scotland is currently melting fast, with rivers in spate. I’m not minded to visit them for a week or two. Or more.

Saturday 22 February 2014 – A Therapeutic Bike Ride

I was planning to take part in the 5 km Parkrun at Wythenshawe today, but a visit to a friendly physiotherapist left me concluding that running would be unwise. It transpires that the ‘muscle problem’ from which I’ve been suffering for the past few months may be a form of sciatica (as per my original self diagnosis), with referred muscular pain. Spondylosis ‘is quite prevalent among older runners’ I’m told, and the process starts when, as a result of wear and tear on the spine, the discs lose some of their fluid and compress, the side effects from which can result in the space for the nerves becoming smaller. The result of impact activities like running can then put pressure on the nerves resulting in leg pain.

So I need to be careful about running, and it wasn’t advised after treatment from the physio.

Before I could change my mind, I volunteered to marshal at the Parkrun, only to discover that it had been cancelled for the second week running due to tree debris on the course following last week’s blustery weather.

Cycling is lower impact, but off road it’s muddy at present, and I dislike cycling on roads. So it’s not a particularly convenient way of exercising compared with popping out for a short jog. But a cobbled together route from home involving surfaced towpaths, the Trans Pennine Way cycle route, and an assortment of quiet roads, did the trick, although the bike did need to be hosed down afterwards.

It was 27 km, with minimal ascent, as below. A perfectly acceptable route given the constraint that it started from home, and a most pleasant morning on which to enjoy the bike ride.

The short ‘there and back’ to the Swan with Two Nicks (at the bottom left of the route) did involve a very muddy section of towpath, but was included in order to visit a crocus field, pictured above, just near the pub. It’s a field that we failed to notice when we passed it on Thursday, densely packed with an assortment of crocuses that have all blossomed at the same time. Well worth the visit. Thanks go to Merian for alerting me to this picturesque corner of Little Bollington.

Thursday 20 February 2014 – An Evening Walk to the Swan with Two Nicks

Thursday provided a warm starlit evening for an 11 km stroll along the Bridgewater Canal’s muddy towpath to the Swan with Two Nicks in Little Bollington. Graham and Andrew joined us for this little romp, with a pleasing pause in said hostelry for tasty refreshments from the local brewery.

On the way, we passed Budenberg Haus, pictured below, which always seems to provide interesting reflections as you pass under the A56 road in Altrincham.

We were told that it had been ‘quite windy’ whilst we were enjoying our Canadian ‘beach holiday’, and this was confirmed to us as we headed on towards Altrincham through the golf course. The path was blocked by a tree so large that I was unable to climb over the trunk, my efforts to do so simply resulting in my clothing acquiring a layer of green algae/moss/slime. All over, such were my efforts to avoid failure, but eventually I gave up and bushwhacked through the foliage like the others.

Here’s our route, after which we returned home via tram.

A most pleasant evening. Thanks for your company, everyone.

Dunham Massey

After an easy journey home, albeit having to spend seven hours in Philadelphia airport (planned, they have comfy rocking chairs) we were home by 9am on Tuesday. Sue went straight to work, but I had the pleasure of a trip to Dunham Massey with Kate, Simon, Jacob and Jessica.

This time Jacob managed to negotiate the mud, and he also failed spectacularly to fall in a giant puddle. Jessica was unmoved by the whole experience.

The new Visitor Centre is open and the old entrance to the grounds has been blocked off, forcing visitors through the new centre, presumably in a bid to get them to spend money. Yesterday that involved a trail of mud through the room from the hordes of push chairs and toddlers’ wellies. A diversion was required to feed the ducks, and a new pathway was completely flooded. The centre was late opening and looks a mess, as was staffing at the old but still open restaurant area, where there were longer queues than usual, perhaps due to theft of some of their staff by the new café area near the Visitor Centre.

Aside from these teething problems it was nice to be able to enjoy a warm, sunny and very green day, with crocuses lining the canal towpath as I walked home from Broadheath.

Sunday 16 February 2014 – R&R and Mooney’s Bay

Cold and sunny today – minus 18C including wind chill.

We are on a Beach Holiday, so after a morning of R&R, a trip to Mooney’s Bay seemed in order. We did a couple of circuits – about 9 km – before heading back to Quinterra Chalet.

Where we enjoyed food appropriate to this excellent Beach Holiday.

So that’s it for this year’s North American sojourn. All being well, the next entry will be from the environs of sunny Timperley, leaving Ken and Helen to get on with their lives, though we should be seeing them again soon. We do thank them for putting up with our foibles for the last couple of weeks.

Saturday 15 February 2014 – Trails 52, 50, 55 and 51 and the Taylor Lake Loop

On a warmer day, Ken left at 7am to complete the 51 km Gatineau Loppet in 4 hours 49 minutes in excellent conditions. The point to point course took him all the way across the park from P17 to P2. I wish I’d entered.

Helen dropped Sue and me off at P17 (Wakefield) over an hour after the Loppet had started, and we headed along freshly groomed trail 52, a gorgeous trail, to join the Loppet route at the junction with trail 50 after about 8 km. All except one person on the Loppet had already gone through, but the trails in the opposite direction were in great condition despite the fact that about 500 skiers had just sped through on them.

The weather was brightening all the time as we reached Renaud cabin for lunch and rendezvoused with Helen, who’d skied in from P19 (Philippe).

Trail 55, the Taylor Lake Loop, is one of the most scenic in the park. It passes several yurts, like the one shown below, and a number of camp sites. All seemed to be in use by various groups, mainly youngsters, enjoying the outdoor life.

The three of us continued around the lake, passing a turtle breeding area.

After about 6 km, the scenic loop rejoins parkway trail 50, but a much better route back to the P19 car park at Philippe is along trail 51, which after the long ascent on which Sue and Helen are pictured below, sweeps majestically down for the best part of 2 km.

This 22.5 km route (Helen’s was about 5 km shorter) completed the majority of Gatineau Park’s major routes for me and Sue on this trip. We’ve probably covered around 150 km of different trails since we arrived. It’s a brilliant venue in that respect.

Ken was quite tired after the Loppet, so it was just as well that I’d dug a path to the barbecue on which he cooked our traditional end of trip steaks. Not that it’s quite the end of this trip…

Friday 14 February 2014 – Retail Therapy

We were planning to ski today, but waking to 10+ cm of fresh snow, with more coming down, we decided to leave that plan in favour of our annual visit to MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op), where a few worn out items, but not Sue’s Paclite trousers, were replaced.

Bridgehead, vouchers courtesy of Helen, provided coffee, and after lunch at home, Sue and I decided to break trail down by the river. We’d brought our snow shoes all the way from Timperley. With 15+ cm of fresh snow, now was the chance to use them.

It’s just a 5 km stroll, but good fun nevertheless and quite warm in the snowy weather. Sue romped ahead looking very proud of her technique.

But sometimes putting one foot in front of another can be tricky, even for a would be paralympic athlete!

So she went home and iced a cake.

Thursday 13 February 2014 – Rideau River and Canal

After six days’ skiing I fancied a rest.

Skyping with Kate, Jacob, Jessica and Oscar provided an entertaining start to the day.

Later I went with Helen for a potter alongside the river (below), whilst Sue caught up with some work. Some of the trees had been seriously dented by woodpeckers, but only chickadees, squirrels and crows were in evidence today.

It was sunny-ish, with a uniform sort of light blue tinge to the day, and around minus 15C.

Warm enough for a quick excursion after lunch to the Rideau Canal, which is more or less next to the river, and is pictured above. It was good to see the British Paralympic team honing their skills on the world’s largest ice rink.

We have better pictures of the canal on a sunnier day, so this brief entry from our relaxing ‘beach holiday’ is just to remind readers that we are alive and enjoying the excellent Canadian weather and snow/beach conditions.

We hope you survived the winds at home, reports and warnings of which were no doubt exaggerated as usual.

Wednesday 12 February 2014 – O’Brien and Meech Lake

Wednesday: Helen’s downhill ski lesson. So she dropped Sue and me at P11 – O’Brien – car park, from where trail 36 leads over a narrow undulating track with great tit like chickadees, sparrow sized woodpeckers and pigeon sized robins (or so it seems) to eventually reach the easy trail 50 to Herridge Cabin.

We turned around at the junction with trail 50, and then headed to Lac Meech for a cuppa. Considering we had woken to minus 24C, and set off skiing at minus 18C, it was a bit of a surprise to be able to lounge here in the sunshine without feeling cold.

Then it was back down the easy luges of trail 36, meeting a grooming machine whose fresh tracks had been obliterated by a snowmobile, and across the road to the steep trail that joins Fortune Parkway. I went very slowly up here as my wax seemed to have vanished and Sue was far ahead with the waxing kit. But she waited at the turn down trail 9, pictured below, which proved an interesting route to Camp Fortune to reunite ourselves with Helen and get some lunch after quite a strenuous 20 km on the skis, finishing with a very steep ascent and descent before Sue wiped out on the flat, much to the amusement of the occupants of the chairlift passing above her.

Tonight we enjoyed the company of Michael, who appears annually on these pages. Sadly he was unable to complete the ski marathon last weekend due to his lack of training, managing ‘only’ about 135 km of the 180 km course. Next year, perhaps.

Tuesday 11 February 2014 – Gatineau Park East

Today Sue and I headed off to P3, the car park at Gamelin, on the eastern edge of Gatineau Park. There are no cabins in this area, so we enjoyed a 21 km outing around the eastern trails, finishing at lunch time.

The trails in this part of the park are great, especially luge like trail 15 that is reached via trail 5, pictured below.

Our route today was based on the course to be taken by Saturday’s 27 km Loppet, give or take its warm up loop and a few other minor adjustments. We’ve decided not to take part in any of the races this year, for a variety of reasons – costs, crowds, fitness, etc.

We paused at P6 (McKenzie-King) for a cuppa and for Sue to re-wax her skis. Luckily the temperature had risen slightly from this morning’s minus 20C, but not by all that much.

Returning initially along trail 7, then Gatineau Parkway, despite Sue’s bid for freedom in the direction of Huron Cabin, we passed Pink Lake and headed on towards the outskirts of town.

There weren’t many people out today, possibly due to the cool temperatures, but we managed to stay warm, although we later failed to pay a visit to the Rideau Canal (a national treasure and World Heritage site – the largest skating area in the world - which we pass every day) due to my incompetence with driving in Ottawa and our inability to find somewhere to park. Never mind.

Monday 10 February 2014 – A Sunny Circuit from Chelsea

Whilst Ken went to work, and Sue and Helen ventured into Chelsea’s exclusive spa, I started my ski from P8 – the car park in Chelsea, after dropping off the two lazies.

Warming up on the Gatineau Parkway to P9, then slightly more energetically up Fortune Parkway, I found myself at the tempting start of trail 3, the Burma Road, a favourite, especially in this year’s superb conditions.

I headed on up the Burma Road, pictured above and below, encountering just one person before reaching Ridge Road.

To reach Ridge Road, I took the easy back country short cut along trail 9. We don’t ski many of these back country trails. They are a bit hard for us. But this one is enjoyable, and relatively easy, albeit I did wipe out a couple of times, unable to curb my speed on steep twisty descents across bumpy ground.

Good fun though.

I reached Ridge Road shortly after the grooming machine had passed by. It was closely followed by the skate skier shown below, who rather inconsiderately and annoyingly was skiing over the freshly laid ‘classic’ trail, making the tracks somewhat lumpy.

Anyway, it was a lovely day, at around minus 10C not too cold, and after enjoying the trail 24 loop, and 1B, I reached Huron Cabin at around 1 pm. The fire was glowing red hot so my sandwich toasted in no time.

Then it was down the parkways to rejoin Ridge Road near Keogan cabin and follow it down to Gatineau Parkway, from where a quick ‘there and back’ towards P9 took my mileage for the day up to 30 km, and the time to a point at which I wouldn’t have too long too wait for Helen and Sue back at the spa, where apparently Dot had paid for their lunch. Up to that point I’d had no idea that my mother was on this trip!

PS Commiserations to Kate, who didn’t get the job. In fact, nobody got it.

Sunday 9 February 2014 – A Visit to Lusk Cabin

A holiday in Ottawa wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Lusk Cabin, which overlooks Lusk Lake, the scene of a Millennium mystery. On a dark and snowy night in January, a lone skier was seen crossing the lake. He or she was never seen again and neither skis nor skeleton have ever been recovered.

An entry in the cabin’s new visitors book seemed appropriate as a reminder of this mystery.

It’s an easy 12 km ski from the P17 road head near Wakefield, where the annual motorway extension work is in progress, easing the commute to Ottawa from the ever more distant suburbs that attract the middle classes of Quebec.

We arrived at the cabin to find it very hot inside, with a roaring fire. We were lucky, that’s not always the case here. Perhaps somebody was staying here last night – this cabin has six bunks and is one of a minority of cabins in Gatineau Park that can be used for pre-booked overnight stays. Ken and Helen have enjoyed quite a few New Years’ Eve parties here with select friends and haunting tales of the mysteries of Lusk Lake and Lusk Caves.

Today we simply paused here for 45 minutes with a few other folk for a convivial lunch.

The descent from Lusk back to Lac Philippe is a delight, especially in this season’s superb snow conditions. We all enjoyed that, and whilst Helen returned to P17 by the morning’s route, the rest of us took trail 53, adding about 2.5 km to our tally and enjoying some open scenery, albeit in rather overcast weather – but decidedly balmy at just minus 7C.

People known to us have been encountered regularly during the week, and today it was Sophie’s turn. Helen spotted her sunbathing on a bench near the #51/#53 junction, but the rest of us whizzed past without noticing her, the bench in question being on a rather pleasant downhill section.

Just to give an idea of the distances, speeds, timings and ascent statistics for these daily outings, here is my Garmin gadget’s report for today. The hour’s difference between the Moving and Elapsed times is 45 minutes in the cabin, when the gadget was paused, and about 15 minutes of short breaks taken on the trail.

Distance: 26.64 km
Time: 3:14:12
Moving Time: 3:01:22
Elapsed Time: 4:01:35
Avg Speed: 8.2 km/h
Avg Moving Speed: 8.8 km/h
Max Speed: 33.3 km/h
Avg Pace: 7:17 min/km
Avg Moving Pace: 6:48 min/km
Best Pace: 1:48 min/km (must have been the 33.3 km/h section!)

Elevation Gain: 467 m
Elevation Loss: 467 m
Min Elevation: 138 m
Max Elevation: 289 m

Finally, I’d just like to wish Kate (my daughter) good luck in tomorrow’s job interview. Good luck, Kate.