Malham

'No summits but plenty of sights'

Date: 12 August 2012                                       Start time: 11:22

Start point: Yorkshire Dales Visitor Centre, Malham - SD899626

Walkers: Mark Illingworth, Emma Lever

Distance: 11.67miles                                       Time: 5:05:54 

Route: Turn L out of Visitor Centre car park then cross road R opposite pub and follow 'Pennine Way' S out of village. After kissing gate, follow path L into National Trust wooded area and up around Janet's Foss waterfall all the way to road. Turn R on road, walk past lay-by and take gate L into campsite. Follow path N through camp site to Gordale Scar. Retrace steps back to road, turn R and take path behind lay-by through gate. At wall, head through gate R and go uphill to stile at gap in wall. Continue N up steep hillside then follow top E to steps at top of N chamber of Gordale Scar. Descend steps down to see upper chamber then retrace up steps and take wall stile on path NW. Follow path NW through field to intersection of walls. Head over wall stile and take stoney track N towards Great Close Plantation. Take path around N of plantation towards Malham Tarn. Follow 'Pennine Way' S-SW to car park for tarn. Cross road, head to gate R then follow 'Pennine Way' S to Ing Scar Crag. After descending to valley below, follow path SSE to Malham Cove through gate stile. Turn R and walk over limestone pavement to top of stepped path down. At bottom, head L through gate to see face of Malham Cove before picking up obvious path S away from cove to meet road. Follow road back through village to car park.

Weather: Blustery though not cold. Overcast with the odd very light spot of rain. Blue sky was rare. Immediate visability was ok but long rang visibility was hazy and poor.

Notes: The Country Walking Magazine route we followed was called Malham Cove, but that takes something away from the rest of the natural wonder you walk through, by and over on this walk, so I felt a wider name was deserved.

The first stop is Janet's Foss Waterfall (Foss being the Nordic for Force). A fairly powerful downfall in the midst of a pleasant National Trust maintained wood. The pool at the bottom was a family gathering area - an enthusiastic dog splashing was more enjoyable than the noise of children though. Possibly the ruining feature of this site is its too near a road. Families, lazy people, and even pushchairs can get there. But I shouldn't let that cast a shadow over an impressive natural feature. The waterfall has a strange 'wall' behind it that looks like mineral deposits that have built up. It prevents you from standing under the fall where the fairy Janet apparently resided in a cave.

Gordale Scar deserves the star treatment it gets on the OD Explorer map. Having never been here before we weren't sure what to expect as we head through a campsite, on to a clear path, that disappears round a corner into a limestone crevasse. What we saw was a massive WOW moment. Sheer and overhanging rock faces narrowing and channeling to a water forged drop with waterfalls stepped one on top of the other. Climbers head up the beyond vertical walls of the scar. Adventurous walkers could scramble through the waterfall to the upper chamber. I sat and watched a couple of guys do it. I consider myself an adventurous walker, but this looked beyond me with all the water. I'd blame it on my heavy lunch and waterproofs loaded backpack or on Emma's lack of skills, but really, I think it looked a bit dicey and I was scared off the idea. A steep hill climb and quick stepped descent was our was to the upper chamber and this way you got great views down into Gordale Scar from high up. The limestone valley at the top was equally wonderous, if not as striking as the scar below.

Malham Tarn is a national nature reserve, but obviously not a reserve for fish because we saw a few boats out there fishing - I didn't know you were allowed to fish in a nature reserve. It would've been better if you could shoot the ducks, they were annoying me. People must feed them often as a couple of them approached us repeatedly after out sandwiches, but we managed to shoo them away. We couldn't shoo away quickly enough the puppy handled by a family of absolute clownshoes as it climbed all over Emma. We sat on the eastern shore of the tarn, which is where the footpath goes, but maybe not the best for views. Especially in the dull hazy weather with no distant visibility. We had Highfolds Scar to the north in the corner of our eyes but Great Close Hill behind might have made a more interesting visual backdrop to our picnic stop.

Ing Scar doesn't get the star treatment on the map. Its a little smaller than Gordale Scar and the dry little limestone valley it creates down to Malham Cove might well be missed by most visitors to the area aside from Pennine Wayers and those particularly keen to walk up to the tarn. This is a shame as it is no less wondrous than the rest of the limestone creations nature has given us in this corner of the Dales.

Malham Cove rounds off the walk of wonders we went on and does so in spectacular style. This place, remarkably, lies off access land, but you wouldn't know it. There are people everywhere. And its clear why. The limestone pavement is the finest high level example of this type of scenery around. It isn't completely clear of grasses and certainly feature plenty of plant life in it's cracks, but the rocks are pretty bare and a little other worldly. The touristy path up, the amount of children and non-walkers would annoy me in many places, but this place isn't just a 'highest peak' like the Ben or Snowdon, its a real natural wonder. People should come and see it - all sorts of people. That's just on the top too. When you get to the bottom you get another WOW moment when you look up at the white chalky limestone cliff face. You might be lucky enough to see a falcon or two in the right time of year as well.

This truly was a walk of wonders and worth tripping around despite the crowds in places.

Aberdaron Lands End

'Holiday walk No.1'

Date: 5 July 2012                                          Start time: 10:56

Start point: Dwyros Campsite, Aberdaron - SH167265

Walkers: Mark Illingworth, Emma Lever

Distance: 11.58miles                                     Time: 6:04:27

Route: Take lane opposite campsite. Follow this past two houses then take small bridge L opposite third house. Follow clear path S, ignoring path L that drops to beach. Continue S keeping Sea and cliffs on L, fence and fields on R. Pass through kissing gates and descend steps to Porth Meudwy slipway, then ascend steps on opposite side and follow clear but slightly more overgrown than before cliff top path. After short distance, just after you round a well foliage covered crevasse and pass through a kissing gate, the path splits. Take the higher path to rocky outcrop and follow over rocks and it drops to meet the lower path before a stepped ascent. Continue on clear path keeping sea L to Pen y Cil. Path climbs up as you turn W then N a short way to a gate and briefly out of National Trust land to cross the R side of field in W direction. Head back into National Trust maintained land. Follow clearest path ahead, first going SW to earthworks then NW away form them, following coast line shape but from a short distance from cliff edges. Follow path with fields up to R above and sea below L over the back of Porth Felen and across a small stream. Go uphill between Trwyn y Gwyddel (on L) and Mynydd y Gwddel (on R) to dip in land with stream contained. After crossing stream drop down L on path to St Mary's Well and then return back to coastal path. Head NW and uphill towards hut circles shown on OS map. Head into straight gorge and climb out to R of opening, then turn L and head uphill over concrete foundations and up man made steps to the observation hut atop Mynydd Mawr. At end of wall line, follow faint path to clear path leaving road on R. Take this L away from road and along top of cliff line. At the end of this path, follow faint path down in E-SE direction and across sea facing side of Llanllawen Fawr into fields that leave National Trust land. Path drops to spring/stream and you cross a small wooden bridge. After bridge, turn L to pebbled beach at Ogof Goch. Head back to bridge but don't cross it and take path ahead that winds uphill and L. Follow this path through gates, with fields on R. Path rises along W side of Mynydd Arelog. You reach stone wall on R with small house further R. Continue past the wall on to wide track. When track turns R follow in this direction past small house L through gate, into farm yard. Head into field to your R in front of farm buildings. Follow fence on L of field and turn L through gate. Here you should take R edge of field, over the dyke, to small gate with overgrown path that leads to the road (we were concerned by the overgrown path so headed L in field and went up farm drive to meet road). Follow tarmac road for about 1/1.5 miles back to entrance of campsite.

Weather: Warm and humid, particularly where foliage was fully grown over pathways. Dry, more sun than we realised and barely any wind to speak of. Still damp and often very muddy in patches underfoot on paths. Visibility was very good except for brief sea mist on higher parts of W end of headland. In-land, you could see almost all of the peninsula clearly and views extended to the peaks of Snowdonia and the Cambrian Mountains.

Notes: The views across Aberdaron Bay and back to the village itself during the first section of the walk were brilliant - an idyllic crescent bay. The path has now joined with the Wales Coast Path and is largely well maintained. After the slipway on the first section, it does become more overgrown. It was a shame sections were so muddy as this did take some of the enjoyment away, with it causing concerns about footing and diversions of the path at times. 

As well as making things more colourful and humid, the weather combined with foliage seemed to really encourage the crickets out into son - particularly in the National Trust maintained areas, and most notably on the east edge of the headland. You could really hear the crickets' song, although as I'm no Sheldon or Howard I wasn't able to identify the particular species.

All around the headland the various coves were spectacular and interesting. All were a little different, with some playing home to seabirds, others being thick with plant life, some having little stoney beaches, and others with steep rock faces and sharp jagged rock formations breaking the sea. The ones you could get down to didn't offer a great feeling of peaceful retreat or isolated beach cove, but did give you a different perspective on the rocks and cliffs around you, helping you to appreciate more of the way the sea shapes the land. The water in the coves was an almost tropical green-blue, particularly in the south of the headland. One interesting feature was what looked like a man made outcrop, possibly a sea level well or turret, between Porth y Pistyll and Hen Both, but this like so much else would need to be fully investigated form sea level - an option not open to us.

As mentioned in the route description, much of the headland is maintained by the National Trust. We did donate some change in one of the many honesty boxes along the route. The signs and posters describing the work done to maintain the land kind of guilts you into donating, but the National Trust does some great work and helps provide on of the most interesting features on this walk - the observation hut atop Mynydd Mawr. It used o be a coast guard look out until 1990. It was also used to look out for threats during WWII. Now it seems mostly used for bird watching. The rather poor looking concrete foundations on the way up Mynydd Mawr were also set to house WWII observation points, but it seems they were never completed, or the buildings have since come to pass. These sites do serve as a reminder of our nations history.

Another pointer to the history of this land was the ancient earthworks and field edgings. Its unclear what exactly was here to my untrained eyes, but its something worth looking into. (Google didn't help me much.) 

Animals and insects need noting further - mainly my lack of fear shown to them. There were lots of birds, some coming near to us and most of them hovering around with a predatory look to them - but I barely flinched. Similarly, Emma barely took notice of the many creepy crawly little friends we made every time we stopped for a snack. Also, it being Wales, there were lots of sheep. One sheep served to irritate and then entertain us in equal measure as it had separated itself from its friends, but seemed reticent to pass us when not receiving any replies to it's many bleats. Eventually it summed up the courage, or remembered it's sense of direction, and passed us to return to the flock, who collectively gathered around on its return - we speculated that it was either to hear the tale of woe experienced, or to take the mickey.

Talk of animals brings me to my most negative and frustrating note - the farm and the hidden path. The farm yard was full of dogs and chickens which were so noisy and distracting we missed the path in front of the barn and were rudely instructed by a farmer lady sat in her car to go the right way, and she never did anything about the dogs snapping towards us. We calmly dealt with this and accepted our fate of having to go through a field hosting cows and ducks. Again, we calmly negotiated this, overcoming our collected fear of cows from events of walks past. We just about left this field before the cows came looking for us, more out of curiosity than menace I assumed. Now we had to figure out how to continue on our way but the Country Walking Mag directions weren't great at this point. We found a gate but what lay beyond it was so overgrown I couldn't believe it was the path, and if it was, I wasn't sure how to get through. We made quickly for the farm exit and did so as swiftly as we could before the rude farmers spotted us. It wasn't a pleasant five minutes or so but thankfully it didn't ruin the walk.

So as not to make the last noteworthy thing of this walk be a negative point, I've held off discussing the islands you see throughout the walk. Ynys Gwylan-fawr and smaller Ynys Gwylan-bach in Aberdaron Bay and Bardsey Island / Ynys Enlli off to the south west. The Gwylan pair are seen throughout the first part of the walk. They don't have any man made feature on them and are probably quite a haven for sea dwelling birds. At Pen y Cil you turn and start to leave these two behind as Bardsey comes into view. The ruins of the old abbey, the destination of pilgrims in years past, are visible from the mainland even for the naked eye. Further round the headland you get views all across the little island right down to the lighthouse on its south end. The cottages you can stay in on the nature reserve island weren't clear to make out - its a nature reserve due to the birds that call this island home, so I couldn't see myself staying out there.

Notes on Aberdaron: The village had two shops. The Spar shop was particularly useful, and a couple of gift shops were there too but we didn't go in these. The Spar had a store mascot of sorts - a four foot tall heron that sat on the roof during opening hours. There was also a bakery and a post office, and two cafes - Hen Blas Cafe we didn't go in, and Y Gregin Fawr (The Big Kitchen) where pilgrims used to stop and eat before crossing to Bardsey. The staff were nice, the building was clearly old and had low wooden beams supporting the low roof in a small upstairs dining area. The tea, cakes and lunch were all very nice. It seemed pricey to me, but it was probably normal cafe prices - which I always feel are expensive for what you're getting.

There were two pubs - The Ship Hotel that had decent beer and was quite well decorated to a nautical theme, with the bar shaped like the hull of a ship, and Gwesty Ty Newydd (The New House) that also had very nice beer and a balcony/beer garden that sat right out over the beach. The drinks prices were reasonable in both but the food menu prices looked a little expensive, although the specials were more reasonably priced so maybe they just have to operate that way out on a limb as they are. The beers I tried were all Welsh ales - the Peninsula's own brewery proving to be my favourite. It was amazing to sit on the balcony of an evening watching the tide come in. The small waves had a really clean break all along the beach in this almost perfectly shaped wide cove - some looked to get over 2 feet high before breaking, surfing for beginners maybe.

Alongside, there was St Hywyn's Church - a tiny church building with a nicely kept graveyard rising up the cliffs from the beach.

Two rivers met in the village centre, and were at full flow when we arrived. Up the rivers you could see rich green valleys that were almost hidden from view other than at the river joint. The rivers met and flowed through the beach into the sea, a sea that has clearly shaped this landscape and to the east of the village were some naturally formed caves that we didn't get chance to explore.

The Dwyros campsite was very good - £12 per night for tents, with good facilities in a fairly new looking toilet block. Improvements were ongoing but I didn't feel that much needed doing. a reasonable sized camping field had the best views over the bay from high up above the village. The site had a decent sized caravan field, largely occupied by season-ticket holders who've left their unmanned caravans in situ and a number of staic caravans were available for rent from the site.

Speaking of 'for rent', that brings me to another observation of Aberdaron. It seemed that at least half the village property was available for rent as a holiday let, including the very grand appearing old post office building in the village centre. 

Finally, the primary school bus looked just like the bus in Fireman Sam, so this clearly is an accurate cartoon depicting small town / village life in Wales.