johnny walker

Major news on the home front – we’re connected to mains water!! To celebrate the event, and make sure any emergency plumbing could be done, I took a few days off work. The Wednesday when the job was meant to start arrived and so did the workmen – who then pointed out that because our road is national speed limit they have to put up boards for road works at 600yds, 400yds and 200yds, as well as traffic lights – all of which they had failed to bring with them… I was not happy! Apparently this would mean contacting the local council and giving them 5 days notice before work could start. I was very unhappy! A small rant at an unfortunate girl in the contractor’s head office meant that the head honcho would call after 9:30 when they got into the office. The weather was great so I decided to climb a mountain instead of waiting – Paula didn’t fancy a mountain so she could deal with the water people!

I set off for Snowdon, map printed, GPS route downloaded – I was going up the Miner’s and coming down the Pyg. Not a route I’d done before and it would look cracking, with plenty of snow around once you got a bit of height. Paula got Sami sorted out – Megan couldn’t come because she had just come into season – while I packed lunch. We set out arriving at the Pen y Pass car park just after 10, to see the last space get filled. The day was not going well… I loitered with intent for a while but people seemed determined to stay and enjoy the day so I sulked and drove off. There was no way we were just going home – Sami sulking as well would have been unbearable, so I decided on Moel Siabod instead.

Siabod is our local mountain – you can see it from the field below our house – and it’s the 8^th highest in the Snowdonia range at 872 metres. It’s set apart from the rest of Snowdonia so you get some great views from the top, assuming the weather is clear enough, and the Lledr valley is classed as part of Siabod’s own range.

I parked up near Pont Cyfyng, opposite to some spectacular waterfalls that kill at least one muppet rock diver every summer – making it easy to spot because of all the “Private – No Entry” signs.

Once across the bridge you go past a couple of houses and then head up to your right over the first cattle-grid. Cattle-grids offer no worries to Sami as her harness turns her into a small carrier bag, although she’s not too keen on being picked up. This is where the hill starts and it’s harsh but once you get out of the trees and pop out above the farm, the views start. Once you’ve got about a mile from the carpark the path starts to flatten out as it goes into the sheep fields. Siabod starts to loom above you with Dyffryn Mymbyr and the A4086 on the right and the Lledr Valley and the A470 on the left. Over Dyffryn Mymbyr is the ridge I walked both dogs and blogged as Another Snowy March – no snow this time though.

As the flattish path ends it feels like you have reached the mountain proper – the Western ridge starts but I’m not taking a dog up that way! This is also the first of three mini lakes on the way up and this one isn’t too steep around the edges so once Sami’s checked with me she is straight in.

It’s not much good for stick throwing as there aren’t any trees around but chasing a bit of heather is always fun… and the huge splash as she jumped in scared the life out of a fellow walker sitting just around the corner.

With my breath caught back it’s time to set off up hill again – through the disused quarry and its slag heaps – but you do get a cracking view down over the valley, with Capel Curig beneath us, that even Sami seems to enjoy.

After another couple of hundred metres you get to the second lake, which sounds easy but it’s a steep couple of hundred metres. It’s the smallest on the way up but it looks the deepest and although they’re a bit hard to see in the photo it has a couple of decent little waterfalls.

Now the climbing starts again – pretty unrelenting until you reach the final lake, which I tend to give a fairly wide berth as the ground all around it is boggy unless it’s the middle of summer and it hasn’t rained for at least a few weeks, so in mid-April it’s going to be boggy. The path around it is fairly easy to follow though and on this walk it was our first proper view of the snow to come.

Once you get past the top lake the obvious path runs out and you have to start picking your own route although the sheep know the best paths and there are usually a few foot prints to follow. By this stage you have come right around the mountain and you have views overlooking Dolwyddelan.

It’s a hard and continuous climb from now on, with many stops to rest for a minute – you can’t get too tired here because you’re generally picking your way over boulders and this time round there was a fair bit of snow. Ideal opportunities for snacking and taking in the view, even if Sami just wants to keep going.

The snow wasn’t too deep so it didn’t really slow me down, not enough for the Yak-Traks to come out – Sami just thought it was great as usual but the pace she goes over the rocks is very disconcerting. From the start of the snow we were probably only three hundred metres (quite a bit of hands and knees climbing though) from The Fence – the first sign that you have nearly reached the top and I always feel sorry for the blokes who had to lug all the posts and wire up to erect it… Once over The Fence it’s just a few more hundred metres to the top but it’s all quite flat compared to what we’ve just been up! The snow was knee deep in places by now and the wind always picks up as you approach the summit – so it was freezing cold and the first time I’d needed to wear a jacket the whole way up.

That just left the peak to do – and to have a bit of lunch, which is always shared with Sami (and Meg if she’d been there). It always surprising how many people are at the top considering I only saw one fellow trekker on my route up but it was even more surprising to get to there and find a stream of squaddies virtually running up the other side of the mountain doing an orienteering course, especially as they were only wearing trainers, shorts and t-shirts while I was in full hiking gear with a pack on my back. It took me just under two hours to get here from the car park so I must be getting fitter!

It was quite cloudy when we reached the top, which is always disappointing after that sort of climb but luckily by the time we’d eaten the clouds had floated off and it cleared up.

That just left the trek back – going down the easy route although I did slip and go A over T three times on the way down so maybe a stick would have helped after all… This is where you see loads of people on their way to the top – it’s a long climb but quite gradual and safe, not half as fun as the route I took up and you only get to see one side of the mountain.

This route takes you down the Capel Curig side of the mountain –looking over Dyffryn Mymbyr valley again.

There are some very soggy bits so Sami’s help in finding them saved me getting any wetter than I already was, although she did get seriously muddy.

Although with the view of Snowdon in the background it made a nice photo. I didn’t have the route plugged into my GPS because I had anticipated doing Snowdon so I can’t be too accurate about my placement on the ordinance survey map but this is about where the path appears. There’s a couple of stiles to get over – quite steep ones so I usually catch Sami on her way over and plonk her on the floor – she’d prefer to leap through the air but it goes right through me when she’s jumping from above my head-height!

As it starts levelling out you go into the woods on the opposite side of the lake from Plas y Brenin National Mountain Centre and you’re on the Forestry Commission paths. There are a few routes to get you back on to the road (A5) but if you keep taking the right hand forks on path splits you keep going along by the river, meaning Sami didn’t have to go on her lead until we reached the road where we initially crossed the bridge by the car park. Before then though there was just the little matter of getting Sami cleaned up.

And that was the walk done, one I highly recommend, Dad introduced this route to me a couple of years ago. You need to be reasonably fit but if you take your time rather than going as fast as possible (it took me just over and hour to get back to the car from the top) you get to enjoy great views from all sides of Siabod.

By the time I got home Paula had dealt with the water people who did manage to turn up the next day, although, after digging up both sides of the road and not finding the water supply, they realised they didn’t need the lights and signs because the main was right next to the house.

Another snowy day but we knew it wasn’t going to last so we set out early. This is one of our favourite and most regular walks, setting off from our local village, Dolwyddelan, and walking around the valley leading up to Foel-fras. One side is based on an old Roman road, that’s now the drive-way for the couple of houses up there, and the other side is a wide Forestry Commission track so it’s one of Paula’s favourites as well.

We normally leave the car in the train station car park, go over the bridge and down past the station house. There is a small parking area on the right and then the start of the path. The path up the valley starts with a hill that isn’t all that steep but does go on and on and on. But once that’s out of the way it’s pretty much flat – which makes it a popular walk with lots of people so we nearly always see someone else on this one. This is about the highest point on our walk, guess where Paula is standing!

The walk is about 5 miles in total and usually takes about 2 hours – we’re in no rush. There are quite a few paths to take but the most obvious are the two that follow right around the edge – one at the bottom of the valley and one about two thirds of the way up. This time we were lazy and did the lower path – it still looks great from the furthest point up the valley though.

Our way back was down the left hand side of the valley in the photo above and just before the excavated site (Elan’s house, I believe) we cross back over to the other side of the valley using the foot bridge to get over the river. There are two reasons for this, the dogs stay off their leads for longer because we don’t walk through the village and this river is one of Sami’s favourite swimming spots – hours of fun can be had for her chasing sticks as they float off. Today was a bit flipping cold for all that messing around though – even if most of the snow had melted by the time we got here!

With Easter so early this year, it was a bit strange having some snow around for the Bank Holiday, even if it did mean trekking up the mountains to get to it. It was the first big trek out for Megan, she’s well-trained enough now but still much younger than when I first trusted Sami on a Black Label route.

I started from Capel Curig, using the car park behind the shops where the A5 splits to go off to Bangor or towards Snowdon. The map figured the trip was 5.3 miles and would take about 3 hours to complete but with decent snow I added an extra half hour to my estimate as I was meeting Paula and the in-laws in a nice little hotel at the other end for lunch.

My route was going to take me up Cefn Y Capel, across Bwlch Goleuni and straight over the top of Y Foel Goch, coming down the Miner’s Track and into the Pen Y Gwryd Hotel. We would basically go across the top of the right hand side of the valley if you are looking towards Snowdon, with Moel Siabod on your left.

We were walking in slushy snow from the beginning, with intermittent spells of ankle-deep mud – which is where the dogs come in to their own, if they sink you know to avoid that bit! Half a mile of continuous climb and we were in the snow.

With the first hard climb done it levelled out and gave me a chance to get my breath back – the dogs just seemed pleased I was finally picking the pace up a bit… The wind was howling by now but the views were stunning.

The next climb was a bit harsh and I had to get out the Yak-Traks to keep my footing, the dogs just thought it was great because the snow was getting deeper and they could dive right underneath it! But by the time I reached the top, visibility was quite low because the wind was whipping up so much snow and ice – with my jacket fully zipped up I was OK but the dogs were less impressed with their ears streaming behind them and their eyes just little slits – I didn’t have to mention walking to heel once! Having the map as well as the GPS was invaluable as I could pick out the path and know what was coming up ahead; you could see the path because the snow was very even rather than broken up with the heathers on either side. Even so, I relied on the GPS more than once to know exactly where we were going. We eventually hit the Miner’s Track and then it was all down hill.

You might have noticed the harnesses the dogs are wearing. They aren’t fashion accessories, or even to keep them warm, they essentially mean the dogs have a handle on their backs so they are easy to pick up and they also have a lead loop so you can attach them without getting soaking wet! If you’ve ever tried to put a lead on a wet spaniel you’ll know what I mean… They were especially useful at the end of this walk – towards the bottom of the Miner’s Track there is a footbridge over a small river, it’s a grated metal effort, half a metre wide, with a hand rail. I went straight over it without thinking only to turn round and see both dogs staring at me as if I was mad and may have just levitated across the water. Sami loves a bit of water and after a moment’s thought dived straight into the river and swam across. Megan on the other hand loves a bit of water but only if it has a lot of mud involved and she doesn’t actually have to do any swimming – so I went back, picked her up by her handle and carried her over, during which time Sami was back in the river, out the other side then back in again, thoroughly confused but very pleased with herself.

That just left the Pen Y Gwryd for a well deserved pint, roaring fire and roast beef with all the trimmings – huge portion so plenty for the dogs to join in! Happy spaniels must be one of the greatest aids to floor sweeping any human has ever witnessed.

We’ll definitely being doing this walk again but I’ll be waiting for some sunshine so I can properly appreciate the views and show that there aren’t always grey clouds in Snowdonia!

As I add walks to this site I’m going to start dividing them in various arbitrary sections – to start with Red Label and Black Label. Red will be walks that require effort but are ones that Paula is willing to have a go at – no steep heights on small paths, minimal mud, mostly on nice wide Forestry Commission paths unless I think I’ve spotted a sneaky short-cut. Black Label will be unknown before I set off, usually planned on the mapping software so I have a vague idea of where I’m going and then downloaded on to the GPS. They are often the most fun but it’s generally just me and the dogs – I can almost guarantee at least ankle deep mud (or knee deep snow) to go with really stunning views!

This was the view a couple of years ago on the way to the top of Snowdon – a dozen of us idiots set off and it was awesome – definitely a 20 year old single malt of a walk though… but no dogs, it was scary enough looking after myself! We started at Pen Y Pass and went up the Pyg. With no crampons I had to dig in with every step – my legs were killing me for a few days afterwards – I now use Yak-Traks!

As this is my first post on my first blog you will have to bear with me until I’ve got the hang of it!

I’m lucky enough to live in the middle of Snowdonia National Park with a wonderful “other-half” and two idiot Springer Spaniels – all of whom love trekking about the hills and valleys enjoying the fantastic scenery. We can go out for a three hour walk and never see another soul, which is great in terms of tranquillity but seems a bit of shame that nobody else is enjoying the views and so that is the point of this blog – as well as letting my dad (another keen walker) know what I’m up to and feel slightly jealous because he only has the Purbeck Coast and New Forest to play with until he (and mum, walker – not quite as keen) come up to stay with us for a holiday.

So, enjoy the photos and I’m afraid you will have to put up with dogs in action shots because I think they are more interesting than just great scenery!