A Stag Do

No, this was not a day of debauchery but a walk through Martindale with the hope of seeing and hearing the stags.

Route

We caught the boat from Glenridding and travelled to Howtown.

Cloudy tops

 From here we walked into the village and onto the path under Steel End and joined the minor road by the Parish Church, St Peters, leading to Martindale. At the next church we read about the deeds in the area.

Coffee Break

By the time we reached Dale Farm we had seen a stag up on the hills towards Beds Fell and from there on we could hear them becoming increasingly louder as we neared the end of the valley. With strained eyes we saw more of them.

High St in the distance

 Our route now took an increasingly steep and narrow path to Heck Crag and then to Angle Yarn.

Our route followed the wall to the pass

Looking back into Martindale

Angle Tarn

From here we headed downhill following the public footpath to Boredale Hause, Side Farm back to Patterdale

Around Sheffield Pike

Our first full day in The Lakes and the kindly " Navigator" was clearly concerned about my sciatica and proposed a walk which would not be too arduous. We would walk from base, visit Glenridding, onto Seldom Seen and back via Lanty Tarn.

Route

Place Fell

Boats at Ullswater

Ullswater from higher up

Seldom Seen

As it was going well a decision was made to basically walk around Sheffield Pike and home via Lanty Tarn.

Ullswater

We had lunch by the quarries at the back of the hill and then headed down Glenridding where we watched a group having fun canyoning in the river. 

Lunch time

Looking down to Glenridding

Looking down to Youth Hostel and our route above the wood

We then found a nice contouring path which eventually led us to Lanty Tarn and the back of Patterdale Estate. Ignoring an arrow we "meandered" back to base.

Looking back to the disused mines

Does it keep going?

Lanty Tarn in need of water

BOYS WEEK IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

The "Navigator" and I spent a week in the Lake District from 12th to 19th October based in Patterdale. Our base was a comfortable chalet at Patterdale Hall Estate.

Home for the week

Ullswater from near the chalet

Overall the weather saw little use of our waterproofs although there was little sun with cloud frequently hiding the mountain tops.

Cloudy Tops

 However with sciatica problems, ticking off the tops was not on the agenda and even low level walks in the lakes are not to be missed.

Hopefully the lack of words will be made up by the photos. Read on.

Pembroke and Pembroke Dock

The Sunday evening chat with the "Navigator" resulted in a walk in and around Pembroke and Pembroke Dock.

Route

We parked adjacent to the Princes Trust Adventure Centre almost under the Cleddau Bridge.  The parking is free and for those with boats a number of free slipways into the Mildford Haven Waterway.  The centre also has a cafe and toilets.

Our route took us south heading towards Pembroke. Unfortunately as we were putting the world to rights we (him) overlooked a turning but we'll gloss over that.  We spent a little time trying to recover this error but all we did was explore a council estate.

Would this be true?

An executive decision was made and a more direct route was taken and we were soon at the battlements of Pembroke Castle.

Pembroke Castle

.

Fungi possibly sulphur tuft

Sorting the fat from the thin

Billy Goats Gruff

A coffee break was had before continuing our walk along the Pembrokeshire Coast path towards Pennar where we interrupted someone's game of golf and then onto the beach.

We were joined here by a huge bumble bee who took a fancy to the "Navigators" blue rucksack.

Where's the pollen?

Following lunch we walked along the stony beach, passing the first of a number of Martello Towers, into the area of Victorian dockyards and a number of interpretive panels depicting the history of the area.

Martello

The dockyards

Somebody should!

We had our afternoon break on a promenade and watched the Irish Ferry head off for Ireland before heading back to the car.

Next Saturday we are off for a week of walking based in Patterdale and I am hoping my sciatica problem eases or I might just become the "Navigators" shuttle bunny!

Cwm yr Eglwys

With the navigator and myself back from our respective holidays it was time for the usual Monday outing.

I returned from my holiday with sciatica and the Navigator with a less than perfect back - old age doesn't come alone!

However we manned up and decided on a walk in Pembrokeshire, partly coast and partly inland with the base at Cwm yr Eglwys.

Route

We were soon in shirtsleeves and heading around Dinas Island with lunch on Aber Bach beach.

Large Fungi

 We met up here with a husband and wife from Australia who had already walked across England, walked the coast in Cornwall and were now on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and they were of the grey brigade and so there is hope for us all.

Always found just after a stop!

Because of our aches and pains  we decided against going inland to Mynydd Dinas but stayed low wending our way on road and bridle ways back to Cwm yr Eglwys.

Cwm yr Eglwys

Arty shot through the remains of the church

We have one more Monday before our trip to Patterdale and hopefully fit and able.

Llechrhyd to Patch (Canoe trip)

Yes, I know it says "Random Walks", but at least today the trip did involve some walking as the river levels and tide were low.

With the weather looking good for Saturday (31st August) I thought I would introduce Paul to canoeing but the shuttle aspect with one car is a non starter.  However Nigel another canoeing buddy phoned to suggest a trip on the Teifi and the shuttle problem disappeared.

Route

We met up at Llechrhyd bridge together with Nigel's wife Sue, his daughter Isobel and Bonnie the bearded collie.

Nigel and I drove to Patch and left his van there and hightailed it back and launched. The river was very low, which with the lack of rain recently was only to be expected.

I should add that this was Paul's first long paddle and so far he was doing well.  We had a coffee break under Cilgerran Castle before paddling on. The water was mirror calm with lovely reflections but sadly no otter sightings.

Nearing Cilgerran

Coffee break

Bonnie

As we approached the first small rapid Paul was instructed to kneel and we bounced through and even managed some ferry gliding. Bonnie was quite non-plussed in Nigel's boat as they played in the moving water.

Ferry gliding

Getting the angle right

Made it

And now back again

We stopped for lunch just downstream and then carried on to the next rapid adjacent to the Cardigan Wildlife Centre.  This braided rapid can be shallow in normal levels but today I had to walk the boat part way down.

The calm conditions now changed as a strong wind made the paddling that much harder as we entered Cardigan. This was the first time I had seen the recent renovations taking place to Cardigan Castle

As we entered the estuary the wind was much stronger and as the tide had not made its entrance it was very shallow with again some walking involved.

Approaching Cardigan

With hindsight an exit at St Dogmaels would have been a better choice, but the van was down in Patch and we struggled on.  This was a bit of a baptism of fire for Paul, but I can report he is still talking to me and seems none the worse for the experience.

The start of the estuary

Sue rustled up a nice pot of tea to help us all recover and the day came to a good end.