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When? Started: 1993 Who? Started with staff and friends from U H S, Chester. Organiser: Martyn Harris We walk every Wednesday and Saturdays, New Years day and May Day. How many walk? Walks take place as long as there are at least 2 wanting to walk on that day. More walk on a Wednesday than on a Saturday. Most ever: 29. Current group size walking: 2-10 in mid-week and 2-4 on Saturday. Where do we walk? Saturday: Anywhere in North and Mid-Wales, Peak District, Shropshire and the Long Mynd and as far North as the Trough of Bowland. Thursday: Anywhere within about 40 miles of Chester. Type of walk: Distance: 6 – 14 miles (but usually under 10 miles). Climb: up to 4000’ (but usually very much less!). People involved on walks in 2020:- Martyn Harris, Fran Murphy, Sue and Michel Pelissier, Mike Dodd, David Savage, Wendy Peers, Celia de Mengle, Wendy and Ian Peers, Roger Smith, Paul Collinson, Ed Meads, Nigel and Elaine Taylor, Celia de Mengle, Sue Pearson.

Sunday 28 August 2016

Llyn Caer Euni from Llandderfel 27th August 2016

Garth Wood - where we first saw a Red kite in the sky above.
The first patching up time.
The Arans in the distance.
The location of Caer Euni hill fort.
Tyddyn Tyfod and the Lleidiog Valley- only just visible from the bracken invaded track.
The Lleidiog Valley from the moor North east of Llyn Caer-Euni.
Llyn Caer-Euni from the east.
Llyn Caer-Euni from the South.
Walk stats: Distance: 9.0 miles. Climb: 37'.
Time: 6 hours 22 minutes. On the move walking average: 1.9 m.p.h. Group: Martyn and Celia.
This turned out to be a good place for walking today, no rain, not too much sunshine and in the main not too humid, except when we were battling through head high bracken.
 Our normal parking area by the stream in the centre of Llandderfel was already full, so we ended up parking on the roadside next to an old chapel, in fact a better place to park.
 The walk started with a two mile road walk to Bethel, quite a pleasant walk with intermittent good views on both sides of the road to distract us. Indeed it on one such occasion that we spotted a Red kite in the sky around Garth (wood).
 Much of the hill side above Blaen Cwm had been cleared, but the work had made the path more difficult to negotiate, vegetation had encroached too.
 This was the location when brambles meant that Celia had to stop for road repairs. Soon after we had our first trial by bracken, having to push it aside to keep are position on the path.
 In fact most of the walk today was on paths that in reality couldn't be seen on the ground, but amazingly we only deviated slightly when we saw a very large bull in the field ahead.
 We were stopped by a local farmer, who reluctantly agreed the path we wanted was along the fence in the next field and crossed the fence half way down.
 The next section was a delightful path on the edge of an old woodland as far as Tyddyn Tyfod.
 The next section, on what last time was a very pleasant climb up to the moor, proved to  be a nightmare head high bracken encroaching the path for nearly half a mile. What a relief it was to emerge on to the moor and escape the bracken.
 Lunch was taken immediately, a little later than usual at about 14-00, so we were ready for it.
  After lunch we decided to head for Llyn Caer-Euni, I'd forgotten how boggy the paths in that area were, but we plodded on regardless, eventually descending down to Bethel and the road back to Llandderfel.
 We arrived back at the car with tired legs, having a a good and overall enjoyable walk with more challenges than we had at expected.
 Birds seen or heard today included: Wood nuthatch, House sparrow, Barn swallow, House martin, Blue tit, Common buzzard, Red kite, Raven, Collared dove, Wood pigeon, Common blackbird, Carrion crow, Common pheasant, Meadow pipit, European robin, Herring gull and Lesser black-backed gull.
 After walk drinks were enjoyed at the Crown Hotel at Llandegla, where the locally produced Rosie's Cider went down well.

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