Helen

I was still not feeling 100% after the shingles jab and a busy week, so last Saturday I drove us to the car park near Ganllwyd and we did a favourite walk in the forest that doesn't commit you to doing a particular distance. If I felt wobbly, we could turn back at any point. However, after walking for a while I felt much better so we walked up one side of the Afon Gain and back down the other side.
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The Afon Mawddach which enters the sea at the spectacular Mawddach Estuary is much smaller nearer the source. This is looking upstream and shows the first signs of autumn colour.



And this is looking downstream. Both shots taken from the same bridge.



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As usual, we drove to a car park before starting our walk. However, this time we drove a little further and parked at the car park for Morfa Mawddach station which is on the Cambrian Coast line. Morfa Mawddach is just a halt or request stop as they are now called. As the train approaches, you have to indicate to the driver that you want the train to stop -- basically stick out your hand. If you are on the train, you need to ask the guard to let the driver know you want to get off.

Looking towards Barmouth at the foot crossing at Morfa Mawddach station. As you can see, the line is single track with occasional passing places.


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I did take one photo of the estuary on the way back. The weather stayed dry, though the sky was threatening, but we could see that Barmouth was bathed in sunshine. The photo shows the view across the estuary to Barmouth. The Fairboune miniature steam train can just be seen in the distance in the centre of the photo, just above the three sheep. If you click through to Flickr, you'll be able to see the full size version.



The whole walk was 5 miles, which felt comfortable. Tomorrow the weather forecast is grim. Heavy rain and strong winds, so we won't be going anywhere.

On the second day of our holiday we caught the train to Port Talbot Parkway where our son met us and drove us to his house. We admired the new loft conversion they've had done and had a good catch up chat over teas and coffees. Then we went for lunch at a new restaurant on the sea front and called, appropriately, The Front. Tasty food and large portions meant that we needed a walk along the sea front afterwards.

For once, I only took one photo. As you can see, the weather wasn't as nice as the previous day. Even so, there were people on the beach. The distant cranes belong to the steel works, part of which is closing and making a lot of people redundant. We'll no longer be able to make steel from iron ore once this steel works closed, though there will still be steel produced from scrap metal.



After our walk, our son dropped us back at the station and we travelled back to Cardiff. We didn't need another big meal so we just got some soup, cheese and crackers from the M&S food shop by Central Station.

Some months ago I somehow allowed myself to be persuaded to be the Local Expert on the Quaker walk organised by the Barmouth Walking Festival. I have just done a lot of walking while away in South Wales, so I'm fit and I've done the walk with a couple of people already this year, so I know the route works.

Having said that, initially I thought that Steve (one of the festival organisers) would actually lead the walk and I'd just explain the sites when we reached them, but it turned out that he thought my route and suggested direction (anticlockwise) would work better than the route he'd been given, so I ended up leading the way.

I've been worried about the weather because we've just had a dry week and that's quite a long run of dry days for NW Wales. However, the forecast was good and though it was a bit humid and clammy as we descended the final hill and the sky was looking a bit threatening, it didn't rain until I was safely home.

As I was doing the last minute preparation yesterday, I went to print out my notes with reminders of the sort of things I forget, e.g. dates, names of people. Annoyingly my printer gave up the ghost with an error message about a problem with the cartridge and gave me a link to buy some more. I said "Not likely!" (it is 10 years old) but then wondered how I was going to take my notes with me. I solved the problem by reformatting the document into a narrow column down the middle of the page, exported to PDF, sent a copy to my phone and then with the phone in landscape orientation I could enlarge the print so I could read it while wearing my distance glasses. It worked well and was more discreet and professional looking than clutching a sheaf of papers.

I walked into town in good time to meet the walkers who were coming by bus from Barmouth. The start ended up a bit chaotic, but once we got going everything went smoothly. The problem was two people who were coming all the way from Hereford and who had somehow got the wrong start time. The walk was supposed to start at 10.00, but they thought it was 11.00. I was tempted to leave them behind, but Steve felt guilty as he might have been the person who told them the wrong time. So we waited. I also nipped to the Spar to buy some sandwiches and a Kitkat because I hadn't realised the walk would be long enough to need a packed lunch.

While we waited, I explained the locations in the centre of town, namely the square where George Fox preached, the hotel whose basement was once the gaol where Quakers were imprisoned and the narrow street of old cottages where Marion Eames's historical novel Y Stafell Ddirgel / The Secret Room begins.

I had just explained about the gaol when we saw that on the other side of the road, Steve was being interviewed by a camera crew.



After a few minutes, they crossed over to us and explained that they were looking for "hot singles" to take part in a future reality show. I'd seen a post about this online and asked if they were S4C (the Welsh language channel) and the woman doing the interview said they were. So they actually wanted Welsh speaking "hot singles".

Anyway, this took up some time, so by the time we returned to the main square, the latecomers were only two minutes away. They actually were something of a nuisance because not only were they an hour late, but they also had a hyper border collie and a not very well behaved rescue spaniel. There were two other dogs on the walk who behaved impeccably and didn't bark at all. The pair of canine delinquents often barked when I was trying to explain something. But I managed to make myself heard.

Once we got going, the walk went very well. Possibly too well? I have a feeling they'll be asking me to repeat it next year. Oh, dear... I will have to see.

We visited all the other sites of interest and I managed to get a better photo of the farm where Quakers used to meet. Previous times I've been there the sun had been too bright and in the wrong position for good photos.



From there it's just a long plod back down a quiet lane to the town. I am now very tired, but I cooked some chicken yesterday, so all I have to do it bake a couple of potatoes to go with it.

A few years ago my husband wrote and self-published a book on the geology of the NW of Wales. We'd already given a copy to our local library but a friend had asked us to get her a copy. Then covid happened and the friend stopped coming to Quaker meeting so I didn't see her any more to give her the book. I also never got around to driving up to where she lives to take the book to her. And then we forgot all about the extra copy until I found it in a cupboard recently. I did email my friend about it and also linked to where the information is available on G's website for free. We didn't hear back, so I assume it was the information she wanted, not the physical book.

So what to do with the spare copy? Then G had the idea of donating it to another local library and emailed them to see if they wanted it. They did!

Hence yesterday we had a quick trip to Barmouth. After calling in at the library and handing over the book, G set off to walk home over the refurbished railway bridge and along the Mawddach Trail. I went for a wander around the shops. The little market was there and I bought a diary for next year and some new tea towels. I then failed to buy a new sweater for the cooler autumn days, but did get a reel of blue sewing thread and some slate coasters before driving home.

The roads are much quieter now the schools are starting back. As I drove to the Co-op this morning I saw some secondary school kids in their brand new school uniforms crossing the road to get to the playing fields, and on the way up to M's house, the junior school children were playing out during their morning break. As is usual, the moment the schools reopen, the weather improves. After some cool days, it's been hot today with a cloudless blue sky. I doubt this return of summer will last long. There are just the first hints that the trees are starting to change colour as we head into autumn.

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Doing the big shop yesterday meant that I didn't have much to do this morning. I drove to the Big Spar, bought a few things that the Co-op don't have. Also bought M's copy of the i Paper, then drove up to her house. It was change over day for her carers so S was preparing to leave and new one Z was expected after lunch.

I haven't done much else today. I have polished a few of my earrings. All through covid and since, I've just been wearing small gold sleeper earrings so the holes didn't close up. But I decided recently that I wanted to start wearing some of my other earrings. Of course when I looked into the box where I keep them, they were rather dull so I bought some new silver polish (the old bottle had been pretty much empty and had dried up) and now they're all shiny and clean again.

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We're getting a mixture of dry and occasionally sunny days, separated by wet and (over the weekend) very windy days. However, yesterday was dull but the forecast said it would be dry so we went for a walk.

Because it was the Bank Holiday Monday we avoided the tourist hotspots like the Mawddach Trail. We didn't drive anywhere either because the roads are busy and the car parks likely to be full. Instead we did a 4½ mile circular walk round some local back lanes. I didn't take my camera due to the light being very blah, but I took a couple of snaps with my phone.

The lanes are quiet because they don't go anywhere, just looping round to provide access to a few scattered houses, a campsite, a small caravan site, a holiday cottage and holiday chalets and a new cluster of glamping pods. We rather liked the sign for "The Herd" which is new since we last walked this way. If you click through to the full size, you might be able to see that above the words is a small herd of cattle.



The lane meanders around and then rejoins the bigger lane that we turned off at the beginning of the walk. Looking back at all the signs to the various cottages we have passed.

The Herd
Tal y Waen & cottages (Owl and Buzzard)
The Pens
Tyn Llwyn
Graig
Gellilwyd Fach



Near the start of the walk it did start to spit with rain, but nothing came of it so we didn't need the waterproofs we were carrying in our backpacks. We were back in time to get a few things done before lunch.

I did get plenty of exercise yesterday because I mowed all the grass at the front of the house, but as it was fine this morning, I thought I'd walk part way to M's house for the Quaker meeting.

I drove round the by-pass to the old road (now a dead end at the old stone bridge) and parked in the little car park. I then walked up what we call the Golf Path and over the top of the hill to where the meeting is held.

Sheep problem 1a: Where I took this photo a few weeks ago, there was a small group of young sheep by the fence. One had its head through the sheep netting. I looked at it. The group were bleating, as though calling to the sheep in the field on the other side of the path and I wondered if the one with its head through the fence was stuck. However, sheep do put their heads through fences to eat the grass on the other side and I didn't want to be late for meeting, so I walked on by.

33/52 for the group 2024 Weekly Alphabet Challenge

This week's theme was: G is for Grasses

I passed this grassy field which I thought would do for the weekly photo.



Sheep problem 2: As I came over the top of the hill and started walking down the road towards the turning that leads to M's house, I was confronted by a group of five sheep walking up the hill towards me. It looked as though the had been heading down into town, then thought better of it and turned back. I didn't want to turn them again and send them back down towards the main road and I could see the entrance to a garden to my right. I thought that if I could slip in there, the sheep could go past me up the hill. Unfortunately, the sheep had the same idea and could run faster than I could, so they ran into the garden.

Feeling a little guilty that I had inadvertently herded a bunch of sheep into someone's garden, I continued to meeting. There were five of us and it was peaceful though time seemed to run slowly today. Perhaps because I was tired? Anyway, we had cups of tea and homemade cookies and caught up with one another's news.

A gate near M's house.



After meeting, heading back the way I'd come, I found the sheep were still in the garden and were busy nibbling the shrubs and plants as well as the grass. As the house seemed to be empty, I did briefly slip in through the gate and attempted to herd the sheep out, but only succeeded in moving them from one part of the garden to another. I gave up and left them to it. To be honest, even if I'd got them out, I had no idea where they'd come from and, even if I did know, I wouldn't have been able to herd them back on my own past various other open gates leading to succulent gardens.

Sheep problem 1b: Heading back down the footpath I discovered that the young sheep still had its head through the fence, so was definitely stuck. Fortunately I could just reach to put my hand on the top of its head and, after a bit of maneuvering, by pressing down and twisting slightly, the sheep suddenly found it could pull its head free. (Of course it had been trying to free itself by pulling straight back.) It gave a little bleat as it trotted off and I hope it was saying "Thank you!" in sheep.

I'm putting the photos from the walk down the valley in a separate post because there are a lot of them.

After entering the woods, the path descends quite steeply, cut into the valley side some way above the river.

We did this walk nearly two years ago in October 2022. Though it's summer now, there was about the same amount of water going over the falls as back then. One of the few advantages of a wettish summer is that waterfalls look more spectacular.

( A green valley with waterfalls and rapids... )

The path was a bit precarious in places. This is the path to the viewpoint where you can see the biggest waterfall.



And here it is looking splendid.



( One more photo here... )

Yesterday I drove us to the little car park at Arthog^[*] but instead of walking to the coast, we walked back towards town and then reached a path up into a part of the woods I'd not visited before. I therefore had different things to photograph.

View from the old railway bridge. This is the point you join the Mawddach Trail once you've left the car park. It is a small car park with only room for about six cars, but we were only the second car there when we arrived.

One of the many small rivers that flow into the Mawddach.



Early signs of autumn to come. All the rowans we saw were thickly covered in berries which are turning red.



( More about the walk here... )
The walk back along the trail was less enjoyable than the walk out. By lunchtime it gets very busy and cyclists were riding past all the time so we had to walk in single file right at the edge of the track. But we made it back to the car and thence home in time for lunch.

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^[*] My husband says that he always has the urge to add a W in front of the name Arthog. :-)

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