Walk on Wales

Fundraisers are calling on walkers to join in a mass charity ramble along the Wales Coast Path on the 25th of August in aid of Welsh War Veterans.

The "Walk on Wales" will cover the entire 870 miles of the route, divided between 11 relay teams who'll pass on a silver baton inscribed with the names of the 50 Welsh Guardsmen who've died in action since the end of the Second World War.

The aim is to raise one million pounds for the Welsh Guards Afganistan appeal to support soldiers suffering from combat stress and bereaved families.

To find out how you can join one of the teams, go to www.walkonwales.org or telephone 0808 1295444.

Fighting Ash Dieback

Tree dying back from the branch tips.

With the trees being bare over winter, the problem of chalara, better known as ash die back, has slipped out of the new s recently, but it still threatens our beloved native ash trees. Ash is the third most common species of tree in the British Isles, and losing them would be even more devastating to our landscape than the Dutch Elm disease of the 1970s.

An infected young sapling 

You can help to prevent the spread of the disease by reporting infected trees to the authorities. Symptoms of infection include dieback of shoots and twigs at the periphery of the crowns. Dense clumps of foliage often appear further back on affected branches as the tree tries to compensate for the loss  of its leaves. Bark lesions can often be seen at the bases of infected branches.

Bark lesion

For more information on ash dieback, visit www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara. To find out how you can help stop the disease, tel: 01476 581111 or visit www.treedisease.co.uk. You can report the location of infected trees by visiting www.ashtag.org, or telephoning 08459 33 55 77.

Mystery Walkers

The Ramblers Association have a new initiative for people interested in maintaining a good environment for walkers.

The "Mystery Walker" project (see http://ramblers.org.uk/support-us/volunteer/ways-to-get-involved/mystery-walker.aspx) allows people to adopt a grid square and check it for path obstructions and other problems. These can then be reported to the Rambler's database to help build a picture of which areas are best for walkers, and which areas require help.

You can submit your details on the Ramblers website who will be in touch when they have allocated an area for you.

Peter has volunteered to do this for an area near Aberdaron, and he'll be making regular progress reports to let you know how he's getting on.

Green Bench Event...

... at the Ugly House, Saturday 23rd February. How to construct natural wooden benches from lying timber.

Come and watch a local craftsman at work – on Saturday 23rd February there will be a demonstration in the woodland at the Ugly House, of how to construct ‘natural’ wooden bench seats using lying and standing timber from the trees in the woodland.

Bob Cole will start the demonstration, which will continue throughout the day, at 10am. The nature of the demonstration will be that you can watch all day or come and go as you wish but you will get the most from it if you can arrive for the start at 10am.

The tea room will be open and as usual there will be plenty of work throughout the woodland and grounds for keen and active volunteers. Bring warm clothing and suitable footwear. Booking not necessary but it will be helpful to know if you will be attending so that we have an idea of numbers. Please email info@snowdonia-society.org.uk

The Bala Challenge: 11th May 2013

The Bala Challenge is the premier walking event of Southern Snowdonia. The event is a Charity Walk, organised by the Bala & Penllyn Rotary Club, which raises funds for beneficiaries such as the North Wales Air Ambulance, Mountain Rescue Service & local good causes. Participants can raise funds for their own good cause or just enjoy the walk.

The first event was held in 2005 and the number of participants has increased each year to over 250. The event has raised over £14,000 directly and taking into account participants own sponsorship it is estimated that some £50,000 has been raised.

Features of the event are:

• Marvellous scenery of southern Snowdonia
• Choice of route of various distances
• A serious walk of 20 miles, over 4,000 ft
• Family walk with return by steam railway
• Feeding station & refreshments at the finish
• Circular walk or transport provided

The 9^th Bala Challenge Charity Walk will be held on Saturday, 11^th May 2013

This will be an opportunity to experience the outstanding scenery of southern Snowdonia, North Wales, with views of the largest natural lake in Wales, surrounded by three mountain ranges (Berwyn, Aran, Arenig) and a possibility to observe the natural wildlife including Buzzards and Red Kites. The route has been chosen to maximise the views over a variety of terrain including farmland, moorland and forest.

Individual walkers or groups representing societies or clubs may also seek sponsorship to raise funds for a good cause of their own choice.

There is a choice of walks:

• The Bala Challenge is a strenuous circular walk Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid), including part of the Aran ridge, starting and finishing at the Penllyn Leisure Centre, in Bala. The walk is 20 miles (32 km) long with a total ascent of 4,100ft (1,250m).
• The Bala Lake Circuit is a circular walk around Bala Lake starting and finishing at the Penllyn Leisure Centre, in Bala. The walk is 14 miles (23km) long with a total ascent of 2,700ft (800m).
• Bala Lake Walk: suitable for family groups, is a linear walk along the south-east side of Bala Lake starting at the Penllyn Leisure Centre in Bala and finishing in Llanuwchllyn. The walk is 8 miles (13km) long with a total ascent of 1,700ft (510m). Return to the start may be by steam railway or provided by the organisers.
• Guided Walk circular of 2 hours with a local expert who will provide information on wildlife.

There will be an opportunity to take a break en-route at the Eagles’ Inn, Llanuwchllyn. Light refreshments are also available at the Bala Lake Railway Café, Llanuwchllyn.

Further information:                                                                 Gwybodaeth bellach:             

Peter Cottee Tel: 01678-521782                                             Cyswllt Cymraeg:

E-mail: petercottee@hotmail.com                                           Gareth Griffiths            01678 521855

Web: www.abercelyn.co.uk

Weatherman Walking

There was another excellent episode of Weatherman Walking, starring Derek Brockway on BBC Wales last night. Derek visited Llanberis, but instead of following the herd up Snowdon, or taking the lazy way up using the steam railway, he decided to head north east from the village into the old quarry workings. He was accompanied by former punk rock musician Rhys Mwyn, who now works as a guide sharing his passion for Welsh history with visitors to the area.

Llanberis is only 7 miles from the coastal town of Caernarfon, so is easy to reach via the A55 from the north of England. The paths up Snowdon itself are some of the busiest in the UK, but as Derek found there are some equally spectacular walks to be had nearby with far less foot traffic.

Rhys took Derek first to Dolbadarn Castle. This circular tower was built by one of the last of the native Welsh Princes Llewellyn the Great, before passing to Llewellyn the Last, from whom it was captured by the forces of Edward the First of England. The tower is in an imposing position controlling the pass into the heart of Snowdonia.

The two then moved on to the National Slate Museum, this was a working quarry until 1969, and it still feels as though the workers have just downed tools and left. They then passed the water filled Vivian Quarry, which has now become a popular spot for outdoor pursuits such as climbing and diving.

Derek and Rhys then crossed the bridge over the Lake Railway and visited the quarry hospital, which was built in the 1860s to treat some of the horrific injuries that the quarrymen often suffered.  Although it seems primitive today, the hospital was actually the state of the art during its lifetime, and contains one of the world's first examples of an X-Ray machine.

Next stop was one of the last remaining fragments of the Royal Forest of Gwynedd composed of Sessile Oaks. These trees are a stunted form of oak that survives in harsh conditions on poor soils. They have survived the clearances that have affected the rest of Snowdonia due to the steepness of the slope on which they were situated. The thick carpet of moss over their branches gave the forest quite a primeval feel.

The Anglesey Barracks were next on the itinerary, so named because they were accommodation for men from Anglesey who lived there during the week before heading home at noon on Saturday for some precious time with their families before returning early on Monday morning. The cramped single storie buildings were home to 4 men each, before they were declared unfit for human habitation by the board of health and abandoned.

The last section of the walk took Derek and Rhys back to Llanberis down the steep incline that used to hold the Tramway that carried raw slate down to the workshops.

The entire walk is available as a pdf map here.

St Dwynwen's Day

The 25th of January is St Dwynwen’s day, the patron saint of Welsh lovers. Recently a tradition of celebrating St Dwynwen’s day as our equivalent of St Valentine’s has become established. St Dwynwen herself was an early Celtic saint who lived in 5th Century Anglesey.

There are a few variations in St Dwynwen’s legend, but the most common one is as follows:

Dwynwen was a young woman who was in love with a young man named Maelon, but Maelon betrayed her trust by forcing himself on her. After praying for assistance, an angel provided her with a potion, which enabled her to forget her love for Maelon, and which punished him for his crime by turning him into a pillar of ice.

Taking pity on Maelon, Dwynwen then prayed for three requests. Those three requests were that Maelon be released; that, through her, God would look after all true lovers; and that she herself should remain unmarried. She then retreated to the solitude of Llanddwyn Island off the west coast of Anglesey to become a hermit until she died, in about AD 460.

A rather sad tale for a patron saint of lovers.

Llanddwyn Island itself is in a beautiful location on the south west corner of Anglesey. The island can in fact be walked to from the mainland at low tide, and is the site of a small church. There are lovely views across the sea to Snowdonia, and a charming little lighthouse nearby, which was used as a location for the (rather indifferent) Demi Moore film “Half Light”.

The area is a good base for walks.