Some Welsh Walks

Just come back from a very pleasant week in the Abergavenny region. The weather was perfect and the scenery was stunning. Wherever you looked from Abergavenny you saw beautiful vistas, a very nice town with all the things a walker could need (and non walkers too!).

We were staying in a cottage to the NE of the town towards Grosmont and on the Sunday afternoon I decided to go for a random amble along some of the local public footpaths. Well that was the plan! It seems that very few of these footpaths seem to exist on the ground. In fact I only found one public footpath sign in about 5km of walking. Even this one was buried under a mass of brambles and the path itself ran across a field of crops with no ploughed out line visible. The other paths did not exist on the ground at all, one vanished into a field of sweetcorn eight feet tall while the others just died out at farm properties. 

More successful were walks on Skirrid Fawr and Blorenge. 

A very straightforward walk up and along the ridge of the Skirrid culminated in sumptuous views across the Brecons with Sugarloaf and Blorenge surrounding the town of Abergavenny. A very popular walk yet there was space for everyone and it didn't feel crowded. The last part of the climb along the ridge is one of the nicest walks I've done for a long time as there is no worries about getting lost and the views to either side are stunning. 

Harry P. Otter on the summit of Skirrid Fawr

 

Nice and peaceful at the summit, that is until a low flying RAF fighter jet flew below us, around the southern end of he ridge then along the valley towards and beyond Sugarloaf. 

Also nearby is a very fine craft centre which is well worth a visit as the quality of art on display is very good. They also serve a welcome cup of tea and cold drinks. 

 

The walk on Blorenge has the highest view to effort ratio of any walk I've done. A gentle climb from a car park (not the Foxhunter one but the one slightly further along from the masts) to the summit gives you brilliant views across to Sugarloaf.  Lots of kites and kestrels soaring and hovering over us as we walked in the late summer sunshine.

Many more walks to do so we have to come back, soon.

 

 

Capital Ring: Section 12 & 13 - Highgate to Hackney Wick

Weather: Mainly sunny with a short sharp shower at the end

Playlist: Last FM Playlist

Time: 3 hours 30 minutes (including a lunch stop in Stoke Newington)

Decided to do some of the more remote (yeah right) sections of the Ring as double headers to maximise the walk/travel ratio. For once the tube gods were with me and the outward and inward travel links were as good as gold.

Each leg of the walk seems to be better than the last, this can't continue! This month the walk started along the Parkland Walk, a disused railway line lined with trees. Halfway along there are the disused platforms of Crouch End station with a surprising resident! I must admit even though I was expecting it I still jumped when I saw it!








Further along the route winds through Finsbury Park - another of London's green lungs. We are so lucky to have so many beautiful parks on our doorsteps. After this the New River wends its way along the contours providing water for London, even though it is neither new nor a river.

Saw numerous brown and blue dragonflies on this stretch which was very peaceful despite passing a large housing estate. Sight lines open up as the path goes past two large reservoirs where I had to cautiously pass seven preening cygnets who had taken up residence on the path. A disused pumping station in the form of castle (got to love those wacky Victorians!) brought a smile to my face though I don't think I'll be using the climbing centre that has been built inside!

Stoke Newington was a bit of a revelation - though I don't know what I was expecting - lots of nice coffee shops and an ideal place to take a break. I chose the Spence Cafe and was not disappointed, good coffee and BLT bagel combo set me up for the second half of the walk.

Abney Park cemetery was wild and eerie with overgrown and canted monuments on every side.

The main part of the rest of the walk from Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick was alongside the Lee (or Lea or Ley) Navigation. Industry on one side and open marshland on the other. Like all of this walk the going was easy as was the navigation. Lots of canal boats moored up on the navigation, many being fettled before the winter. The route gets a little grimmer towards the end especially the link from the canal to the station.

All in all a very enjoyable walk and I can't wait for the next walk in the sequence - another double header that will take me to and under the Thames.