The Long Mynd

Saturday 25th July 2015

Last summer I wanted to do a walk outside of the county, but I didn't feel like driving anywhere to get there. In the past I have driven to the Lake District or Snowdon for a day's walk and then driven all the way back home again the same day, but I didn't want to do that now. After much deliberation I decided that I would visit an area of the country that I'd never been walking in before: the Shropshire Hills. I have driven past these hills many times when driving to Snowdonia, but now I catch a train to the small town of Church Stretton at the foot of the Long Mynd. An early start to the day had enabled me to get to Church Stretton soon after nine o'clock leaving me with the whole day for the ambitious walk that I had planned.

Once I got off the train I walked through the quiet town onto a narrow road that climbed steeply out of town and onto the heather-covered hills above. At this point I came off the road onto a bridlepath that skirted the side of the hill gradually descending into Carding Mill Valley. The weather was fantastic so that I had warm sunshine and stunning views up this gorgeous steep sided valley. After passing the National Trust visitor centre the landscape became even more desirable prompting me to do some exploring instead of just staying at the bottom of the valley. I took a path that climbed a steep, craggy ridge that is later named on maps as Cow Ridge until at a temporary levelling of the gradient I took a path that veers to the right onto a tremendous terrace route back down to the valley bottom.

At the point where I rejoined the main path there was a junction of valleys and the side valley to my left looked fun so I headed up this deliciously narrow valley along a slender footpath that led me all the way up to a blockage of rock. This is Lightspout Hollow and a waterfall called Lightspout pours over the blockage. Although the rock step wasn't big I had a little fun trying to scramble up to the top where the path continued in less dramatic surroundings to the top of the moor. Rather than making my way across the moor to the hilltop path I turned right to cross the top of the Carding Mill Valley where I rejoined Mott’s Road, which is the  main path coming out of the valley and followed this up to the the main path that crosses the top of the Long Mynd.

This was a fabulous start to the walk, but unfortunately from then on the walk was a series of disasters so I would later look upon the Carding Mill Valley with affection and longing. For now I just headed along a wide path through the heather moor observing that although the heather was not generally in bloom there were some early flowers. The broad path continued across the moor until eventually I reached the trig point at the top of the highest point on the Long Mynd: Pole Bank. A short distance from the summit brought me to an unfenced road, the same one I had left at the beginning of the walk to descend into Carding Mill Valley. There now followed a lengthy walk along the road with little change in the views around me until eventually I reached the edge of the Midland Gliding Club.

A permissive path goes around the airfield, and on the other side I resumed my walk along the top of the ridge until my way was blocked by a barbed wire fence. Just as I was contemplating my options I saw two men approaching me and when I'd joined them one of them asked “Are you lost?” He then informed me that I was walking on private property that was actually an active airfield. After they had escorted me off the airfield I rejoined the path that I should have stayed on and keeps to the edge of the escarpment. I shouldn't gone back up to the top of the ridge. I was very embarrassed by my mistake and practically ran along the path over Black Knoll and down the hill at the southern end of the Long Mynd. I was desperate to remove the memory of my trespass by getting off the hill as quickly as possible.

After crossing a main road and the River Onny I followed the route of the Shropshire Way, which I thought was going to be a straightforward and quick route, but was anything but. After going the wrong way in Plowden Woods I eventually managed to find my way to the village of Edgton by taking a permissive path from edge of the woods up to a road not far from the village. The path out of Edgton was rather special as it involved climbing steeply through woodland to the top of a hill that afforded me with memorable views of the undulating landscape of Shropshire. On the other side of the hill I crossed a road and continued to follow the path through many fields until I eventually realised that I had once again gone wrong, as not only was I not following the Shropshire Way, but I was not on a footpath. I was trespassing again!

Retracing my steps I managed to find the narrow gap in the hedge that I should have passed through earlier and resignedly continued on this footpath that I had mistakenly taken rather than trying to retrace my steps all the way back to the Shropshire Way that I should been on. I was still having difficulty keeping to the footpath and reflected that the signage in Shropshire is very poor. I was longing for the clear yellow-topped posts that mark footpaths in Leicestershire and make following a footpath so much easier. I was now descending towards the village of Hopesay, but just before reaching the village I passed through a steep-sided wood where I spotted a badger before it scurried off into the undergrowth. I had never seen these shy, nocturnal animals in the wild before so felt privileged for my albeit brief view.

On the edge of Hopesay I joined a branch of the Shropshire Way to climb the bracken-covered slopes of Hopesay Hill upon whose top I finally rejoined the Shropshire Way that I should have been on earlier. By now I was really fed up with the difficulties I was having with navigation, and in the time that it was taking me to cross this undulating terrain. I had planned to continue the walk to Wenlock Edge, but by the time I reached the town of Craven Arms it was too late in the afternoon to keep going so I caught a train from there to begin my journey home. This walk had started with so much promise in Carding Mill Valley that I wish I'd spent the day in that area exploring the gorgeous valleys that lie on the eastern slopes of the Long Mynd. If so I would have avoided the navigational problems that plagued me later in the day.

Padarn Country Park and Snowdon

Tuesday 1st September 2015

Following the fantastic weather at the end of my previous day's walk, it was to very different weather that I started the next day, and on this occasion it never really improved throughout the day, but I was still able to have an enjoyable walk. My initial plan for this holiday was for me to take new routes up the familiar mountains of Snowdonia, but later I had the idea to also visit the tops of all fifteen mountains in Snowdonia that are over three thousand feet high. Sometime after that I realised that this would mean I would have to go up Crib Goch, the knife-edge ridge beside Snowdon, which terrifies me. Every time I have been over Crib Goch I have not enjoyed it as I’m not great with heights so the thought of going up again just so I could complete a list was not pleasant. I’d already devised a new route up Snowdon and it didn’t involve going over Crib Goch. For many years I have been frustrated by the lack of walker’s paths in Nant Peris, which is an area of awesome rock scenery abounding in climber’s routes, so I had hoped to try and forge a walker's route up, but in the end it was the weather that had the final say.

Near Nant Peris, and Llanberis, is the Padarn Country Park, which is a predominantly wooded area on the slopes above Llyn Padarn in an area of disused quarries. The weather didn’t prevent me from exploring this fascinating area of old quarries so first thing in the very damp morning I passed through Llanberis and past the National Slate Museum into the country park. The first notable feature that I saw was the remains of Vivian Quarry; a huge scar in the hillside like some enormous digger has scraped away the earth from the side of the hill, and is a feature that cannot be missed from Llanberis. This is now a diving centre, but I was happy to walk around it so I took a path that steeply climbs the hillside beside the old quarry past many fascinating, old mining buildings until I reached a barrier that proclaimed that due to a collapsed retaining wall the path beyond was closed. The diversion took me along an excellent old miner’s path along the side of the hill through the woodland until I eventually climbed above the trees and doubled back on myself towards Vivian Quarry.

This was a delightful little walk despite the rain that fell briefly while walking through the wood, but had stopped by the time I passed above the top of Vivian Quarry. Near Padarn Country Park is a vast area of old slate quarries with a public footpath that passes through the old workings and I had long wanted to walk along it. I had an awesome experience walking through the shattered landscape that, despite patches of heather and gorse, nature seemed to be unable to reclaim. For safety reasons the wide track of my route was carefully restricted with high wire fences that proscribed a winding route past the gouged rock faces and piles of slag. Underneath these old slate quarries is now an enormous pumped storage power station generating hydroelectric energy from the reservoir two thousand feet up on the side of Elidir Fawr. I had been at the top of this mountain the previous day and seen the reservoir that feeds the power station, and now I was walking across the mountain's lower slopes past the high-pressure shafts that carry the water down to the turbines.

The sun made an attempt to peep out from behind Snowdon as I made my way down the winding track providing me with a stunning view up Nant Peris, but by the time I reached the bottom of the valley it had started to rain again and this time it would be hours before it stopped. I abandoned my original plan of trying to find a route up the steep sides of Nant Peris and just walked back into Llanberis. On the outskirts of Llanberis I diverted left to the start of the popular Llanberis Path up Snowdon. This is the easiest route up Snowdon, but I can’t remember the last time I went up it. I think I went down the Llanberis Path in bad weather in 2009, but I think you may have to go all the way back to early 2004 when I climbed Snowdon with a group. Now, the rain didn’t stop during the whole duration of my walk up Snowdon, but I actually quite enjoyed the climb. There were many other people climbing Snowdon, despite the poor weather, and I had to wonder how cold they were going to be when they got to the top as many of them seemed to be totally unprepared for the conditions.

I was able to enjoy my slow amble up the Llanberis Path with almost no wind for most of the climb until I reached Bwlch Glas, not far from the summit, where a bitingly cold wind appeared that prompted me to put my gloves on and wrap up warm for the final stretch to the top. I used to go up Snowdon at least once a year but after 2012 I stopped coming so I was happy to be able to finally renew my acquaintance with an old friend as I reached the summit of Snowdon for the seventeenth time. I didn’t stay at the top for very long but soon started to make my way back down coming off the Llanberis Path at Bwlch Glas turning left onto the Snowdon Ranger Path. I have been on the Snowdon Ranger Path many times before, and quite liked it, but I’ve never been all the way down to the Snowdon Ranger Hut at the bottom, and I didn’t on this occasion either. For many years I have wanted to use this particular route as a means for going to or from Llanberis so in the vein of doing new routes up familiar mountains I set off down the north-western ridge of Snowdon.

On reaching the edge of the open access land I turned right uphill to Bwlch Maesgwm onto a good, clear bridlepath that led me into the valley of Maesgwm. The weather on this walk was very different to the one the day before, although as I emerged below the clouds I could see that there was some astonishingly good weather on the surrounding hills. Despite this I felt like I’d made the most of the weather with an enjoyable walk through the quarries and I felt like I had met an old friend again in going up Snowdon. The weather was clearing towards the end of the day, even on Snowdon, with views across the valley to the Llanberis Path and the Snowdon Mountain Railway that gave me a pleasurable walk back down to the Llanberis Youth Hostel. The following morning I drove to the foot of Tryfan, but when I got there it was pouring it down with rain. After sitting in my car for several minutes I decided that I didn’t want to climb Tryfan in that weather, so I started the engine and drove all the way back home. Despite the wet end to this holiday and failing to climb all fifteen tops, I think I had an enjoyable holiday.