Trawden Camping Barn    September 2008

We arrived at this camping barn in Lancashire after driving around in the dark for a while looking in vain for signs to it. Paul managed to scratch his car in the process. The barn was very impressive – a massive 17^th Century building with an oak beamed roof, a wood burning stove, a wooden gallery and a stag’s head named Rodney! The brown peaty water in the toilets and some of the taps was a bit off-putting though.

We woke up to rain on the Saturday but by the time we had had a leisurely breakfast the rain had stopped and it stayed fine for the rest of the weekend. We climbed to the top of Boulsworth Hill and had some good views of the South Pennines. The ground was very boggy and wet and it was hard work negotiating our way through it. In the afternoon we visited Wycoller, a lovely tourist village with a ruined 16^th Century hall, a clapper bridge, a packhorse bridge and most importantly a teashop. After tea and cakes in the sunshine, we did a detour up to the Panopticon “Atom” – an egg-shaped modern structure that acts as a viewpoint and shelter. The views were stunning so we stopped to enjoy them for a while. We then returned to Wycoller and to Trawden where we had another break at the Sun pub for a swift half before heading back to showers and clean clothes at the barn. It wasn’t long though before we were walking back down to the Sun for our evening meal. We had a good evening although Ian was forced to send his beer back twice and the waitress was so flustered by her dealings with us that she delivered a meal destined for another group to Paul by mistake!

On the Sunday 3 of the party left us to do an easier walk because of blisters acquired the day before. The rest of us took a very steep path up Pendle Hill. It was a real struggle for me but it turned out to be a short sharp route so it wasn’t too bad in the end. We walked along the ridge for a while and then took the long route down past Upper and Lower Egdon Reservoirs. We reached the cars before 2pm so there was plenty of time for a visit to a café before heading back home.

This was a new area for me. There seems to be so much good walking country in the South Pennines on the Yorkshire/Lancashire border. It makes a good alternative to the Peak District.

Rhossili                   12^th-13^th July 2008

There was a good turnout for this seaside weekend with 11 of us staying at Rhossili Village Hall Bunkhouse, in Middleton, and 3 camping nearbye. By incredible coincidence, the other people staying in the bunkhouse were a group of golfers from Malvern and Colwall, including one of the dentists from my surgery. At 1.15 in the morning one of them managed to set off the fire alarm by mistake, waking us all up. Some of us didn’t exactly rush to evacuate the building though. They managed to shut it up eventually and we all went back to bed.

 On the Saturday we set off towards Port Eynon along the coastal path. In Port Eynon we found an excellent cafe/fish and chip shop and even though it was just before lunchtime I had an ice cream and a coffee and welsh cake. Susan left us at this point and we took a very overgrown path up out of the village. Those with shorts on ended up with very scratched legs from the brambles. It opened out onto fields eventually and we stopped for a second lunch break. It was not very summery in the afternoon – there was a cool wind and it was trying to rain so we didn’t hang around for too long and headed back to Middleton. The sun came out in the evening and some sat outside waiting for dinner to be prepared. The meal was up to our usual excellent standards – 4 main courses and 3 puddings.

On the Sunday we drove to Millwood Car Park near Penrice Castle and walked up over the hillsides overlooking Oxwich Bay. 3 members of the party diverted to Arthur’s Stone – a Neolithic burial stone. Apparently Henry V11’s troops made a 128 km detour to visit it but we were just too lazy to do a fraction of that so carried on to Three Cliffs Bay. This proved to be a really nice sandy beach and the sun was shining so 5 of us went in for a swim or at least 4 of us did. We couldn’t persuade Paul to let us teach him to swim but at least he did get his orange swimming trunks wet (they matched his rucksack perfectly – he’s not normally so colour co-ordinated!) The other 3 from the Arthur’s Stone detour found us eventually, and John went for a quick swim before we set off again up and over to Oxwich Bay. We found Susan there relaxing in the sun and we continued with her to the car park end of the beach, where there were a lot more people and lots of boats and jet skis in the sea. We stopped at a teashop but it was not nearly as good as the one at Port Eynon the previous day. We returned up through woods to where the cars were parked. We made a short detour to Penrice Castle and nearbye 18^th Century house where we met the owner (?) out walking with his cute young Lakeland Terrier.

Catherine Lees

Cockermouth 11-14^th April 2008

Catherine, Paul, Mike, Ian, Markella, Ben, Sheila, Anne, Wendy, Carol M, Peter, Jean, Rachel

This weekend's destination was Cockermouth, NW Lakes. The hostel was a rare survivor from old hostelling days with less emphasis on hand towels & more on local character.

Saturday's walk started from the car park at Langthwaite Wood, Crummock Water. After an easy tootle through the woods & around the north-west tip of the lake we struck a steep path up the side of Mellbreak & had elevenses near the top, looking over Crummock Water. Markella's marmalade cake went down well.  The route south off Mellbreak gave good views of Buttermere, before heading west past Mosedale, around Hen Comb & across a wide pathless & wet valley with Loweswater Fell to our right. A couple of stream crossings & skirting the top side of Holme Wood, we came to Loweswater. No ice cream van. The "A" party split to finish the day over Darling Fell & Low Fell, while the "B" party took a more leisurely route around Loweswater through the woods, spotting red squirrel, nut hatch & swallows. A rendezvous back at the cars finished the walk. Saturday evening was a food fest with a good selection of desserts, & enough to feed the hostel warden. Grumpy old men hovered on the fringes, not much impressed with a jovial group in their midst.

Sunday's walk saw an "A" party climb up Skiddaw from Bassenthwaite. A steady plod took us up Ullock Pike, with snow starting around 600m. The route up the flank of Skiddaw to the summit was a bit of a challenge, with fairly thick snow limiting the path to snow steps. A bit hairy for a while, with a nice smooth slide off the mountain to the left if a wrong step was taken. But blue sky, white snow and good views to Blencathra and Scotland in the distance made it worthwhile. Man on the summit making that essential call home on his mobile. A fast romp through the snow brought us back down on the north side via Blakestall and the Whitewater Dash waterfall where we hit soggy grass again and a very pleasant walk through fields of lambs along the Cumbria Way back to Bassenthwaite. Sunday evening found us in The Bitter End pub in Cockermouth for excellent food all round. Grumpy outburst from grumpy old man in hostel later.

Monday's walk started from the car park at Rannerdale on the east side of Crummock water, with a lovely stretch by Rowantree Beck among bluebells. Only we had to imagine the bluebells as they weren't yet in flower. A sharp left turn took us steeply up to Whiteless Breast & onto Whiteless Pike. Stiff cold winds prompted an early lunch in a sheltered spot with good views down the Sail Beck valley. We were buffetted by a hard icy wind along the ridge of Whiteless Edge, sufficiently bad to make us gallop down to the relative shelter of the col at Wandope before ascending Crag Hill & Sail. An easy diagonal & sheltered path brought us down into the upper reaches of Sail Beck valley with good views of the watershed of Sail & Rigg becks. Saying cheerio to Ben & Sheila as they headed up again for Knott Rigg & then the Western Isles, the rest of us took an easy cruise along the gently descending valley side path to round the bottom of Whiteless Breast & the wood & waterfalls of Mill beck. Tea & cake in Buttermere & a stroll back to the cars finished the day.

Camarthan Fan Bunkhouse   19^th-21^st October 2007

Ben and Sheila, Catherine, Susan, Peter, Paul, Carol M and Carol P, Jean, Richard, Janet, Anne and John. (you forgot me! Rachel)

Our destination for this October weekend was a bunkhouse near Sennybridge owned by Dulwich College. It was very spacious and well equipped. Some of us opted for the “luxurious” bedrooms obviously designed for the teachers for an extra £2.50 a night. Three of Ben and Sheila’s cycling friends were also staying there but they did there own thing so we only saw them in the evening.

The weather was looking promising as we started up onto Camarthan Fan, also known as the Black Mountain, on the Saturday morning. We saw none of the crowds you see on Pen y Fan but it was just as spectacular. We walked along the ridge and stopped for lunch at Lyn y Fan Fach where Paul, reading from Sheila’s guidebook, regaled us with the legend of the Lady of the Lake. After lunch we headed back down and returned to the bunkhouse via the new Beacons Way, for route see here (requires Google Earth). The weather had been kind to us - sunny but cold – just right for an energetic 14 miles (approx). We had our “AGM” in the evening, deciding next year’s programme. Then after the usual excellent home-cooked meal we went upstairs to the TV room to watch the Rugby World Cup final. Seeing England win would have been the perfect end to the day but it wasn’t to be.

On the Sunday morning, we walked along the river past Craig y Nos Castle which used to be the home of a 19^th Century Opera Singer Adelina Patti and has been converted into a hotel. We walked up onto the open hillside above the Castle and past a limestone quarry. We could hear the roars of “dinosaurs” from the Dan yr Ogof show caves below us. We did a circular tour of this very wild and remote plateau and hardly saw any other walkers. There were few paths but lots of interesting features- rocky outcrops, shakeholes and a swallow hole. Ben and Sheila’s son Tom who had joined us for the day, went inside the swallow hole with his headtorch on but he was soon back out again. The region is sometimes known as “The Grand Canyon of Wales”, it is however somewhat smaller than its better known cousin, but perfectly formed... The route back was easier - along a track. We ran into the B party – Susan - and walked back to the bunkhouse with her. Some of us went to the tea shop (lean to) at the Castle to finish off the weekend.

This is a lovely area for walking – I hope we’ll be back soon.

Catherine Lees

Exford         21st-23^rd September 2007

After several cancellations, only 6 of us turned up at Exford hostel for our September trip. This was the first hostel that I stayed at with the group in 1990 so I was feeling quite nostalgic this weekend.

On the Saturday morning the weather was looking promising as we headed over open hillsides and through ancient woodland towards Tarr Steps a popular crossing on the River Barle. As we had our lunch we were entertained by 4 wheel drives, horses, children and dogs crossing the river. After lunch we retraced our steps a short distance along the path by the River and then continued on the Two Moors Way. We kept to the riverside as the map suggested but the going started to get rather difficult and we had to scramble along a rather tricky steep stretch. We soon rejoined an easy track and discovered the Two Moors Way must have been diverted. At Withypool, we did a short detour into the village and couldn’t resist the temptation of the teashop in the centre. Our route back to Exford took us over Room Hill and down through a series of gates which were being used for a gate closure survey by the Exmoor National Park. Each gate had a different type of catch with a description of its pros and cons eg difficult to maintain or too high for wheelchair users. We started at number 7 and examined each one as we went through it. Unfortunately there were no survey forms left when we reached number 1 but I took down the email address of the National Park so I could let them know our favourite – the Fortecue (an ingenious catch which is local to Exmoor).

We had an excellent meal in the hostel in the evening. There was a large group of rather “elderly” BMW bikers in the dining room and we retreated to the lounge as their after dinner quiz was about to start.

On the Sunday morning we parked in the centre of Winsford and set off over fields and along ancient tracks. We went through Bridgetown and up onto Court Down where we found the Trig Point (eventually!) The drizzle was fairly continuous by this point and after eating our lunches sheltering under a tree, we decided to take the direct route of 3 miles back to the cars - instead of extending the walk. The cars were parked next to a teashop so it seemed only natural when we got back to round off the weekend in traditional style, with various cakes and ice-creams and clotted cream teas.

In spite of the mixed weather we had 2 good walks this weekend. Unlike Dartmoor, there is not much traditional moorland on Exmoor but the green lanes, ancient woodlands and riverside paths make for some interesting and varied walking.

Catherine Lees

Marloes Sands

Three of us (Myself, Peter and Katheryn) arrived at Marloes Sands on Friday after a rather worrying trip through pouring rain. Rachel should have been with us, but had accidentally double booked herself, so was absent. We were greeted by Anne, Jean, Susan, Wendy, Ben and Sheila. The last two had had decided to fit us into their crowded schedule at the last minute, while the others had gone to Manorbier for Thursday night so that they had an extra day in Pembrokeshire. However, because the weather on Friday had been terrible, they did not get much benefit from that day! Later that evening Carol P joined us, traveling separately so that she could stay on after Sunday. Soon after we arrived, we discovered an interesting aspect to the sleeping arrangements. The men were in the Cowshed (a male dormitory), Sheila was in the Henhouse (a female dormitory), but the other six were in two rooms in the Farmhouse, which was a luxury annexe with its own toilets, showers, kitchen, and TWO lounges! Normally there would have been an extra charge for this, but somehow Anne had managed to fix it for them to have all this at the normal rates! Saturday morning dawned with fine weather, and Ben suggested that we catch the bus from Marloes village to Dale, and walk back to the Youth hostel along the coast path. Everyone was happy with this idea, especially as the late bus time (10:20) meant that I had no reason to bully them into an early start! We set off from Dale, a pleasant coastal village, and I started off chatting to Susan and Wendy at the rear of the party. However, after Ben had managed to completely miss the turn off at one point, it was decided that I (as the only one with a map actually ready to read) should lead from then on. The weather continued to be remarkably sunny (considering our experiences over recent months) and the superb views were only slightly marred by the towers of the Milford Haven oil refineries visible in the distance, and by the occasional rusting supertanker anchored in the vicinity. After lunch it became apparent that we were making better progress than expected, and there was a divergence of views as what was best to do with the free time. Susan and Wendy decided to take things easy,with frequent stops for photography, chatting to passers by, etc. The rest of us continued up to the point of closest approach to the hostel, where we split up again. Ben, Sheila, Peter and Jean pressed on to the end of the Marloes peninsula, while I returned to the hostel with Carol, Katheryn and Anne. There swimming costumes were retrieved, and we all went back down to the beach. There we met up with Susan and Wendy, and we all stayed at the beach for a while. Most of us paddled in the sea, but Katheryn and Carol went all the way in, and had a good time playing with the surf - there were reasonable size waves about. Later that night most of us retired to the Lobster pot - the inn in Marloes, when excellent portions were served - some would have preferred a greater variety of vegetables. On Sunday, in spite of the dodgy weather forecast, the day started overcast, but dry. We split up into two groups, with Peter, Ben and Sheila on the ambitious plan to reach Little Haven, while the rest of us aimed to visit the closer village of St Brides. In each case we would catch the same Bus back to Marloes. In the event, the weather remained good (there were only a few drops of rain all day). Th B party made excellent time, and reached St Brides nearly an hour before the bus was due to arrive. Because we were only two miles from Marloes, we decided to complete the journey on foot. Then there was time to visit the local tea shop, and tuck into drinks with cakes, before the A party arrived in the bus. We did allow them to partake of the tea and cakes before leaving. This was a good weekend, in a pleasant simple hostel, with weather which an improvement over the forecast and a great improvement over the recent conditions at home! Paul T

Kettlewell          25-28^th May 2007

The Saturday of this weekend was supposed to be the only dry day so we were determined to make the most of it. Both A and B parties set off up Buckden Pike, the highest hill in the area but it is a gentle stroll compared to some of the more serious climbs we have done recently. It wasn’t long before we reached the top and then headed back down to the river. We called in at the Buck Inn in Buckden and had a very relaxing drink in the sunshine – so relaxing that I almost fell asleep at the table outside the pub. We continued along the Dales Way to Starbotton and then on to Kettlewell. This was a surprisingly easy walk considering Peter was leading it but the Dales seems to lend itself to gentle walks. We arrived back at 5pm while the B party who had done a shorter walk arrived back at 6pm. I think that Wendy had been photographing lots of wild flowers as usual.

As we tend to do these days, we stayed in the hostel for a meal.

The forecast on the Sunday was terrible but the rain was easing off as we set out from the hostel. We walked up out of Kettlewell and then down to Hawkswick – a lovely Dales village by the river and along to Arncliffe where the pub was not yet open so we were unable to stop for a drink. We left Mike here – he was not feeling well so decided to take a shortcut back to the hostel. We carried on along Littondale towards Litton and had lunch under some trees, sheltering from a heavy rain shower. We continued to Litton and had a drink in the pub. We had a laugh afterwards when Paul called out in a loud voice to Carol P who was finishing off her drink sitting on the other side of the pub. “Don’t rush Carol, I’m going outside to take my trousers off! “ He meant of course his waterproof trousers but the barman couldn’t help commenting. We had to climb up to the top of the ridge to get back to Kettlewell and unfortunately this coincided with the heaviest rain of the day so Paul had to put his trousers back on. When we reached the top and walked along the ridge it was like going back to winter after recent warm weather. I put on a woolly hat and gloves. As we continued down into Kettlewell it started to rain again. It seemed a good excuse for 4 of us to head into a teashop in the town so we parted company with the others who wanted to get back to the hostel.

We had another meal in the hostel in the evening with mixed results.

On the Monday we had an even easier walk to Bolton Abbey along the river following a sculpture trail which was much better than the non-existent one near Bristol in January. After a visit to the Abbey and a teashop soon after lunch we stopped at the Strid a narrow fast flowing section of the river which is a magnet for tourists even on a changeable day like this one. As well as the sculptures there were lots of wild flowers to admire so we didn’t make very fast progress. This was a lovely walk and a very relaxing end to the weekend. The weather was altogether much kinder than the forecast had led us to believe. It had been a complete washout in Worcestershire apparently. I like it when that happens!

Pirth y Pia February 2007

We couldn’t get into Capel y Ffin hostel for our February weekend so we booked into a luxury independent bunkhouse instead. It was up a very steep track above Llanbedr near Crickhowell – an area in the Black Mountains with much potential for good walks.

On the Saturday morning we went straight up from the hostel to Table Mountain, a hillfort with earthworks and then along the ridge to Pen Allt Mawr and then on to Mynydd Llysiau. Just before lunch, Janet suggested that it might be a good opportunity for some of us to extend the walk and to continue onto the Black Mountains Roundabout via Waun Fach and Sugar Loaf – 9 miles and lots of climbing. At first I was considering joining the A party being keen to improve my fitness at the moment but as we approached the turn-off point the wind increased and the tops started looking rather misty. Suddenly everyone went off the idea and we all headed down along a gentle valley path to the bunkhouse. What wimps!

We had plenty of time to relax before cooking our evening meal in the well-equipped kitchen/dining area in the bunkhouse. The furnishings were more stylish than we are used to in YHA hostels/barns and there was even a dishwasher.

On the Sunday the weather looked brighter and we were joined by Steve for his annual visit. We headed towards Sugar Loaf via some attractive lanes and tracks. The start of the walk was very easy going but eventually we had to face the climb up Sugar Loaf. Most of us decided to take a steep shortcut up the mountain. It was hard work and there were a few grumbles on the way up but it wasn’t long before we were heading along a gentle ridge resembling the Malverns that led to the summit. There wasn’t much of a view from the top but occasionally there was a break in the clouds and we saw some sunshine. We were joined by the 3 who had taken a slightly less steep route up and then after lunch we headed back down through some nice countryside and over the river to Llanbedre, then up the steep track to the bunkhouse. We then drove into Crickhowell where we found an Italian/Welsh teashop that served very good Bara Brith and cream teas.

An excellent weekend! We may use more of these independent bunkhouses if they are all as good as this.