Llantysilio Mountain Traverse

Members: Mark Garrod, Michelle Harvey, Iain McCallum, Christine Beeston, Dave Wylie, Bob Kelly, Sandy Gregson, Jim Gregson.

Guests: Laura Collier, Julia Partington, Katie Harvey, Julien Bodard, Ding Koy.

The day was beautiful, to match the area so it was an enjoyable eye-opener for those who had never walked in the Llangollen hills before. After an abrupt start we went smoothly over Velvet Hill, peering down on Valle Crucis Abbey (now sadly closely neighboured by a hideous caravan park) then up the road past the Britannia for a bit of collar work to get back onto the hills. A suitable pause allowed the heat to dissipate then on in leisurely fashion to intersect the Horseshoe Pass at Cwm Oernant before crossing over to contour into the Ponderosa for morning coffee. All of our rucksacks did not cut quite so much of a dash as the ranks of gleaming motor cycle machinery worth many thousands of pounds but we had the moral high ground of having walked there.

Another leisurely stop for lunch was made before a saunter along the Llantysilio Mountain ridge took us west with sundry ups and downs, enjoying a superb panorama of nearly all of North Wales' high mountains (only Cadair Idris refused to show) with a few snow remnants on the Carneddau. Those new to the area were suitably impressed with this outlook. Just after Moel Morfydd we dropped off the ridge to follow an intricate route through varied rural surroundings to eventually approach the banks of the River Dee in very warm sunshine. Yet another halt was called by Horseshoe Falls, and within minutes those in the party who were obviously Charles Kingsley fans (Literary allusion for the well-read) were stripping off and desporting themselves in the gently flowing waters of the river. It would be true to say that all these were naiads (mythological allusion for the very well-read) as the male contingent of the party confined themselves to a spectating-only role.

When the ladies were sated of water we decamped the short distance to the car park at the end of a very pleasant day's walk, leaving Dave to go urgently in search of diesel in the fleshpots of Llangollen. [NOTE: There is currently NO FUEL to be had in Llangollen! WebMaster.] The meet was well-supported so thank you to all who came for splendid company.

Jim Gregson