Walk #36 Ivinghoe, Hertfordshire

View from the top of Ivinghoe Beacon.

Walk 22 out of 100
Walk #36 - Ivinghoe

Hertfordshire

Overall Rating - ✪✪✪✪

Suggested Difficulty - Challenging

My Difficulty Rating - ✪✪✪

Suggested Time - 5 hours

Actual Time Taken - 3h 42m

Distance in book - 16km
Map my walk Distance - 16.42km

Near Tring station Start/Finish.

Been a bit rubbish writing these up lately, when I completed this walk it was still 2019... Oh well, determined to crack on and do more walks in 2020 instead of doing them annually! The climb up Ivinghoe starts at Tring station, you can park there but you have to pay, I found a spot round the corner for free because you know, I'm tight and stuff!

Overall, this walk has a nice bit of variety, it starts with a hill climb, then goes through woodland which leads to a pretty little village before completing the walk alongside a canal. I've only given it a 3 star difficulty rating as the climb wasn't too tough and it didn't take anywhere near as long as the book suggested.

The first section of the walk gradually leads uphill gradually before reaching the Pitstone and Ivinghoe Hills. You get some fantastic views along the ridge line before reaching panoramic view at the top of the beacon. One problem I did have with the beacon is that it is obviously a very popular walk in the area so me being selfish, I wished there were fewer people around!

On top of the Ivinghoe Beacon.

After climbing down from the top of the busy summit, you end up in some rather nice woodland. Nice and easy to walk on the footpaths but still quite busy as you end up at the Ashridge Visitor Centre and Bridgewater Monument.

Bridgewater monument.

Aldbury.

The final section of the walk takes you through the pretty village of Aldbury before heading along a stretch of the Grand Union Canal back to the start of the walk.

I would recommend this one if you need to get away from the big smoke of London. The views at the top are decent, the route is pretty straight forward to follow, but be prepared for a busier walk than what you might want.

Thanks for reading.

Stef.

Here's the link to the walk on 'Map My Walk'

And follow me on Twitter @stefanvilla1991

Walk #83 Pontneddfechan, Powys

Walk 21 out of 100
Walk #83 - Pontneddfechan

Powys

Overall Rating - ✪✪✪✪

Suggested Difficulty - Challenging

My Difficulty Rating - ✪✪✪✪

Suggested Time - 5 hours

Actual Time Taken - 4h 47m

Distance in book - 15km
Map my walk Distance - 15.93km

The Angel Pub Start/Finish

I may have accidentally forgotten to publish this one back in August... Oops! So here's part two of my walking in the Brecon Beacons. Don't ask me how to say it, but the small village of Pontneddfechan is the starting point for a walk through "waterfall country". Opposite the Angel pub, there is a small parking area which is free. 

Overall this is a fabulous route through wonderful woodland, stunning valleys and spectacular waterfalls. I've given this a four for difficulty which might be a bit much but there are lots of slippery rocks to manoeuvre and a few steep sections with some pretty ropey drops to the one side into the valley.

The first section of the walk follows the river upstream past plenty of beautiful waterfalls in some very picturesque woodland. The best bit of the first half of the walk was that I didn't see another living soul except for a couple of sheep. Most tourists tend to stick to the waterfalls in the second half of the walk and particularly around Sgwd yr Eira.

Inside Porth Yr Ogof looking out.

The first half of the walk ends when you get to the impressive Porth Yr Ogof which, at 17m wide and 5m high, is the largest cave opening in Wales. You need to walk down some steep steps slightly off the route but it's definitely worth a visit. You can wander in as far as you dare before it gets too dark and dangerous! 

 

Outside Porth Yr Ogof looking in.

 Once you've visited the cave, the highlight of the rest of the walk is the impressive waterfalls. Clun Gwyn and Sgwd yr Eira being the most spectacular. This part of the walk is where you get some step drops down to the river and some slippery rocks to add to the fun.
When you climb down the valley to Sqwd yr Eira, it's great walking behind the waterfall to continue up the other side of the valley. This section gets quite busy but you can understand why!

Clun Gwyn

Sgwd yr Eira

Behind Sgwd yr Eira

Dinas rock

 I would highly recommend this walk just to see the waterfalls, even if you don't fancy the whole five hours, park up at Porth yr Ogof and walk down to Sgwd yr Eira.

What a great couple of days walking, both very different but both very rewarding.
Thanks for reading.

Stef.

Here's the link to the walk on 'Map My Walk'

And follow me on Twitter @stefanvilla1991

Walk #93 Black Mountain, Powys

Walk 20 out of 100
Walk #93 - Black Mountain

Powys

Overall Rating - ✪✪✪✪✪

Suggested Difficulty - Challenging

My Difficulty Rating - ✪✪✪✪✪

Suggested Time - 7 hours

Actual Time Taken - 6h 30m

Distance in book - 20.6km
Map my walk Distance - 3.31km + 15.89km + ??? = oops!

Tafarn-y-Garreg pub Start/Finish

So onto walk 20, a fifth of the 100 done. This is part one of two days walking in the Brecon Beacons, South Wales. The Black Mountain (range) is in the West of the Brecon Beacons National Park and is not to be confused with the Black Mountains in the East or the Black Mountain peak near Hay-on-Wye, very confusing!

The Tafarn-y-Garreg pub was the start of the walk and also provided my camping spot for the night, would recommend.

Overall this is up there with the best walks I've done so far, stunning hillwalking and miles of ridgetop walking surrounded by beautiful scenery. I've given the walk the maximum difficulty rating because the full walk is over 20km, the paths can be indistinct at times and some of the climbs are tough. I may have had a slight technology issue with tracking my walk... At some point I must have accidentally ended the walk on the app so I now have 2 logged walks with a big gap in the middle, face palm.

So one of the reasons why the app may have stopped working is because I went off track and instead of going backwards, I decided to scramble up the steep hill before it turned into a full on cliff face! Not recommended... The picture left shows the steep hill in question once I'd finally reached the top. Try to stay on top of the ridgeline! 

The long ridge of Fan Hir 

The sheer drops to your right as you walk along the ridge are quite spectacular, but if you were to do this walk in bad weather I'd steer well clear! For a brief moment, the hill fog surrounded the highest point of the walk at Fan Brycheiniog which was A. annoying and B. potentially dangerous. I was very pleased when the fog cleared in the afternoon.

Lyn y Fan Fawr

Views gone! Fan Brycheiniog (802m)

Top of Picws Du, Fan Brycheiniog in the background (now clear!)

First sighting of Lyn y Fan Fach along the Bannau Sir Gaer ridge walk. 

Looking back at the peaks and ridgelines completed so far. 

Clear to see the impact of a hot, dry summer.

One of the satisfying parts of the walk was being able to see where you've been. Reaching the shore of Lyn y Fan Fawr was a real treat after all the hill walking and a great place to stop. The final stretch down the valley back to your starting point is still surrounded by great views.



Overall a great days walk, if you can't commit to the time or the distance there are 2 options to shorten the route so don't be put off, it's a great place to visit.  

Lyn y Fan Fawr

Thanks for reading.

Stef.

P.S. join the dots on the maps to work out the route!

Here's the link to the walk on 'Map My Walk'

Here's the link to the walk on 'Map My Walk'

And follow me on Twitter @stefanvilla1991

Walk #5 Ironbridge, Telford & Wrekin

The River Severn from the Iron Bridge

Walk 19 out of 100
Walk #5 - Ironbridge

Telford & Wrekin

Overall Rating - ✪✪✪

Suggested Difficulty - Moderate

My Difficulty Rating - ✪✪

Suggested Time - 4h 30m

Actual Time Taken - 3h 52m

Distance in book - 14.3km
Map my walk Distance - 15.62km

Dale End Road start/finish

So now the sweltering 2018 summer has finally cooled down a bit, I decided to head to Ironbridge for a walk through the beautiful, historic town. The route was supposed to start on the longstay car park, but as it was quiet, it was easy to park on Dale End Road next to the primary school!

Ironbridge

Overall, I've given this a 3 star but I think I was being a bit generous! The history around the town is great, the gorge is very picturesque but the walking up into South Telford is a bit... boring! The Route is very easy to follow as most of the paths follow alongside the river or main roads. All of the inclines are very steady and the paths are so good, I did the whole thing wearing trainers! The substantial distance was the only reason it didn't get a 1 star difficulty.

Looking back at Ironbridge across the River Severn.

Ironbridge August 2018

 This is my chance to be a real history nerd now, so feel free to skip this part if you're not interested!
Ironbridge is a world heritage site and it is really hard to believe whilst you're walking around the small, pretty town that by the end of the 18th century it was the most technologically advanced area in the world!

A key moment in the history of the industrial revolution came about in 1709, in the village of Coalbrookdale (also part of this walk) where Abraham Darby had pioneered a new method for smelting iron. His cheaper method involved producing pig iron in a blast furnace using coke as the fuel instead of charcoal.
The town was named after the world's first ever cast iron bridge, designed by Thomas Pritchard. It was built in 1779 with construction overseen by Abraham Darby III. The ambitious project used 378 tons of cast iron and cost £6,000 to build.

Ironbridge December 2016

As you can see from the picture, the iron bridge is currently undergoing some major surgery! The ironwork has had to endure the weather, ground movement and even an earthquake over the centuries. I have attached a picture I took from a visit to the gorge in December 2016 so you can see what it usually looks like!

All through this walk you see the evidence of the areas industrial past. You spend a large part of the walk strolling along disused railway lines with all original bridges and tunnels mostly in tact.
The Museum of the gorge, Jackfield Tile museum, Tar tunnel and Blists Hill Victorian Town are all accessible from this walk for those of you wanting to explore more of the fascinating history.

Jackfield Tile Museum

Coalport Bridge

Madeley Court

So overall, I would say the first half of the walk is great, but if I'm honest, the rest isn't. I would recommend you walk from Ironbridge to Coalport and back instead of doing this full loop.
I can't however fault the museums and the delightful town of Ironbridge. If you are interested in the history, you can pick up an annual museum passport for a very reasonable price which allows you to visit all the museums. If history isn't your thing, visit the town, take in the views, eat good food and explore the shops!

Thanks for reading.


Stef.

Here's the link to the walk on 'Map My Walk'

And follow me on Twitter @stefanvilla1991