River Wye - on Paddleboards from Glasbury to Hay-on-Wye

With unseasonably warm weather and not a breath of wind, it seemed only right to spend the day floating about on the paddle boards.

In the late 1990s, I paddled this section of river quite a few times with groups, but have barely been back since. Last time was with you Mo and Dudley! 

Setting off from Glasbury, the river was in perfect condition. T-Shirt weather and a nice mellow speed.

Where the river slowed, we just sat down and watched the birds as we drifted along. 

Didn't see a Kingfisher, but plenty of Herons, Egrits, Oyster Catchers, Sand Martins, Swallows, Swifts, Comerant, Canadian Geese, Wagtails, Kites and Buzzards among others.

You're not allowed to stop on the single banks of this section due to nesting birds, but there are a couple of river braids, with large islands, which made for a perfect lunch rest as well as more stone skimming.

We spent so long on the lunch island, that we almost forgot that river paddlers have to be off the water by 16:00, to allow fishermen (and women presumably), to have access without a conflict of interests.

The final section, just before Hay-on-Wye, involves a small rapid. It is easy to inspect on the bank before going, and usually just about 'sneak past-able' on the river right. It brought back some good memories of the Longtown days...

The intention at Hay-on-Wye, had been to catch a bus back to Glasbury, but having miss-read the timetable, we either had a two hour wait, or a 35minute jog to get the van. I chose the jog and arrived back about 45 minutes later with the van glistening with sweat from the absurd March heat. While Clare packed the boards, I had to dunk in the freezing river to cool/wash off! All of this added exertion, meant that we were just in time for last orders at the ice cream parlour in the village! Phew!

Even though everything was closed and we couldn't go book shopping, it was lovely walking around the deserted streets. And more incredible to be there at 18:00 in a pair of shorts and sandals! It felt like we were in some quirky French village on a cycle tour!

Even with the sun gone, the warmth stayed out, as did we, until it got dark again. 

Mynydd Troed (609m)

The banks of the River Wye are home to some excellent stone skimming rocks! A fine way to start a day in a new area of Wales. 

After checking out the river for future paddle boarding explorations, we made an ascent of our local peak and ridge. The weather is unbelievable. Suddenly summer after climbing in a cold mist yesterday!

There is a great view of the 'lowlands' from the summit. We had come prepared with binoculars and picnic, so settled down in a hollow and surveyed the land over a long lunch. We could even see the 'Little Donkey Cottage' where we are staying down below.

Summit Scenes on Mynydd Troed.

We followed the ridge for a few kilometres without seeing anyone, but returned that same way rather than doing the circular walk we had planned as it was so nice being up high and on our own.

When we arrived back at the van, the temperature was reading a staggering thirty degrees!

We rolled down the tight and winding roads with fingers crossed that we would not meet an oncoming tractor (thankfully we didn't), then called in at Llangorse Lake. We were half tempted for a quick paddle board, but a breeze had just picked up (and it turned out that there was a launching fee of £20 which really put us off!).

Instead, we carried on to our place, where we got an ice cream in the village and then relaxed in the garden until it got dark! Magic!

The Getaway - Climbing in Central Wales

And we're off! First time away from The Cottage this year and while we really love The Cottage, it's been unbelievably refreshing to be somewhere completely new. We still have to stay within Wales, so have had to be a bit creative compared to our usual plans, but we have been able to find some new places to visit. 

Despite there being a decent sized guidebook for the Central mountains of Wales, there's not really much 'good' climbing to be had - especially when you are coming from Snowdonia! However, after picking up a copy of the book from our local shop (ordered online and picked up form the backdoor - thanks V12Outdoor in Llanberis!), we set off in search of somewhere new. The weather was dreadful and we were buffeted by wind and rain as we headed south, with the promise of a nicer afternoon.

We found the small quarried cliff of Chwarel Ponterwyd in the Pumlumon area after passing by over twenty sets of tempoary traffic lights!! It's always a slow road though mid-Wales, but the council end of tax year spending on roadworks was quite incredible. We passed another ten sets before reaching our accommodation near Brecon later on!

As mentioned in the guide, the rock was 'friable' and we broke off two handholds while climbing there for an hour or so! There was still a bit of a misty drizzle in the air, but the breeze it looked just about dry enough? Clare got the rope up on a fairly bold lead as it was not as dry as it looked! We did the two driest looking climbs. Left of us there were some more, which were well bolted, but covered in green slippery slime. The rock really doesn't get many customers out here it seems!

Still, we had a great time and we back at the van without getting wet, having got ourselves up a couple of new climbs in a new place, so were happy with that.

After driving the remaining hour and a half, we were delighted when the clouds finally lifted and the Black Mountains came into view.

The later afternoon (and now evening, now that the clocks have changed), felt like a completely different day in a completely different country. Not dis-similar to our usual Christmas trips when we arrive from wet and windy wales into the windless blue of a Mediterranean village.

We're staying in a village called Talgarth, on the edge of the mountains and after a brew in the garden as the final clouds cleared, we went for a walk around our new neighbourhood. 

There's an ice cream parlour, bakery and pub, but only the ice cream place is open. Fine by us. There's also a Coed y Parc!

A magic finish to our first 'day away'! More plans to be made....

Chwarel Ponterwyd:

- The Milky Bar Kid, 5

- The Man Who Sold the World, 6a+*

Tre'r Ceiri and Yr Eifl

With unrestricted travel within Wales allowed, we ventured slightly further afield onto the Lleyn Peninsular. I've been meaning to visit this peak and Iron Age hill fort for quite a few years, but never got around to it. It's not a big hike, so seemed well placed for a convalesce leg stretch.

It wasn't a big hike, but it sure was a windy one! One of the reasons, we'd headed there was because it looked like it might stay dry (which it did), but the wind chill made it a nippy walk. We need not have worried about it being busy either as there were only a couple of other cars in the car park and no one on the mountain. Good views back along the coast and over to Anglesey from the shelter of the summit cairn.

As we were so well wrapped up, we called over for tea and cake at a friend's house in Menai Bridge on the way home. We toughed it out in their sheltered garden for as long as we could, before retuning home to thaw out! It was worth it though to have a chat with real people in real time!

Early Season Slates

Big new today in Wales! As from tomorrow you can travel anywhere* (*in Wales)! That's certainly better than no travel, so we'll have to get some plans together. Since leaving University, I think that it's quite possible that I have not stayed in the same bed/place for more than six weeks at a time, so this lockdown thing has been quite a disruption to my usual lifestyle. Expeditions, camps and travels have been so prolific - I'm certainly looking forward to seeing somewhere new and getting back on the move.

After hearing the news, we took a gamble on the weather this morning and went over to the slate quarry with the hope of getting a quick route in before the rain arrived. The 'weather window' was only supposed to last an hour or so, but someone obviously forgot to shut it and it stayed dry until late afternoon. Bonus!

Temperatures have taken a nose dive though and the mountain tops have been given a fresh dusting of snow over night. It looked lovely, but with the strong wind, made it very cold!

But when the sun shone it felt great to be out. We stayed in the sheltered areas as much as we could to avoid the wind chill.

Having woken up to torrential rain, the slate had dried very fast. Some of the routes were still wet, but there are plenty there to choose from. After three good climbs, in three different areas, we beat a retreat back to The Cottage for a rest. Felt good to be on some steeper routes, especially when the sun shone.

Llanberis Slate Quarry:

- Fresh Air, 6a***

- Seamstress, VS (4c)***

- Steps of Glory, 5a*

The Fisherman's Gorge

Ropework and rope management was the theme of the day along with a bit of reconnaissance of a gorge that I'd heard a lot about but never visited. 

Hidden in the depths of a valley, is a short but impressive gorge, that for reasons unknown to me has, many many years ago, had a short walk-way installed. Not dis-similar in style to the enormous one we've been on in El Chorro in Spain. It's much smaller, but the basic principle of a rickety walk way above a river in a tight gorge is the same!

There's even a nice girder to balance across.

In places there are still some wooden boards, but in other bits, just a rusty ladder to stand on.

I kept my eyes closed setting off!

On this bit, the ladders flexed quite a lot, requiring you to think light thoughts. The sun was out and the water looked inviting, but neither of us fancied a dunk!

The end comes far to soon and a final rusty ladder gets you back up and out of trouble.

Back at the bags, we had lunch in the sun and then promptly fell asleep. Guess I'm still recovering then!

After a go on the nearby swing, we headed home. We had a look at a couple of crags on the way home to refresh our brains, but decided not to climb a route because it was colder and much windier out of the shelter of the gorge and also, so not to 'over do it' (doctors orders and all that). 

Even if briefly, it was nice to be out and about and getting the feel of the ropes (and a bit of sunshine) again.