Bethlehem - not that one, the village in Wales
Today we drove the Western edge of the Brecon Beacons national park for a 9 mile walk. The walk was to take in the 2 hill forts - Y Gaer Fach & Y Gaer Fawr - overlooking the village Bethlehem.
It was a hot and humid day when the group of 15 walkers started out from the car park on the edge of Pen Arthur woods. From the car park we followed a footpath rising through the woods to one of the main forestry tracks. There was already quite a distance between the front of the group and the end of the group and we had only been walking for 5 minutes!
The morning break was taken earlier than usual after the walk, within 45 minutes, this was due to the long drive that we had made. It was in a clearing overlooking the valley below. We could make out the disused creamery outside Llangadog, about 4km from us. Unfortunately there was a heat haze so the views to the far hills were obscured. This in when I noticed that one of the group had brought their i-pod. Why? When you have the peace and quite of this remote and calming place. I could understand listening to music while walking in a town or even if you were on your own but in a group walk. Struck me as a bit anti-social.
After a leisurely break we continued on our upward climb to the edge of the wood where we saw the remnants of where a car had been burnt out. After leaving the wood, we walked a fairly flat footpath keeping 20-30 meters below the top of Pen y-Bicws.
As we entered our next parcel of forestry our leader was worried about the footpath being overgrown with bracken and bramble. They were right to be as they beat they way through the bracken and bramble we followed getting scratched by gorse, brambles and stung by nettles. The path was so overgrown that we missed the correct path and ended up having to join a forestry track higher than we wanted to be. It was surprising that the path was overgrown as its now part of the new Brecon Beacons way. We rejoined our footpath and walked to a road junction where we could see Carreg Cennen Castle in the misty distance. From here we walked the road to the car park below Y Gaer Fach.
By this stage the group was starting to moan about wanting their lunch break. The leader said it would be at the second fort but thought better of his decision when we reached the first. Both forts have good views and the heat haze was starting to lift.
After lunch we made our way to the second fort and then onto the road to the east of the forts. The road led us to a footpath in woodland where there is a nature reserve that has 25 types of fungus growing in it. This footpath then led into an old sunken lane that also gave us some shelter from the sun. The sun was now getting stronger as we trekked onto a lane that would reach the road back to the end of the road. The party was once again split into 3 groups. Two groups rejoined as one and made there way along the road to the car park.
I'm not sure that the walk was nine miles we had been walking for 5 hours and seemed to stop for long breaks and also my legs we not feeling any tiredness in them.
It's a nice walk. It's a long way for us to travel with a third of that distance on minor roads to navigate through.
It was a hot and humid day when the group of 15 walkers started out from the car park on the edge of Pen Arthur woods. From the car park we followed a footpath rising through the woods to one of the main forestry tracks. There was already quite a distance between the front of the group and the end of the group and we had only been walking for 5 minutes!
The morning break was taken earlier than usual after the walk, within 45 minutes, this was due to the long drive that we had made. It was in a clearing overlooking the valley below. We could make out the disused creamery outside Llangadog, about 4km from us. Unfortunately there was a heat haze so the views to the far hills were obscured. This in when I noticed that one of the group had brought their i-pod. Why? When you have the peace and quite of this remote and calming place. I could understand listening to music while walking in a town or even if you were on your own but in a group walk. Struck me as a bit anti-social.
After a leisurely break we continued on our upward climb to the edge of the wood where we saw the remnants of where a car had been burnt out. After leaving the wood, we walked a fairly flat footpath keeping 20-30 meters below the top of Pen y-Bicws.
As we entered our next parcel of forestry our leader was worried about the footpath being overgrown with bracken and bramble. They were right to be as they beat they way through the bracken and bramble we followed getting scratched by gorse, brambles and stung by nettles. The path was so overgrown that we missed the correct path and ended up having to join a forestry track higher than we wanted to be. It was surprising that the path was overgrown as its now part of the new Brecon Beacons way. We rejoined our footpath and walked to a road junction where we could see Carreg Cennen Castle in the misty distance. From here we walked the road to the car park below Y Gaer Fach.
By this stage the group was starting to moan about wanting their lunch break. The leader said it would be at the second fort but thought better of his decision when we reached the first. Both forts have good views and the heat haze was starting to lift.
After lunch we made our way to the second fort and then onto the road to the east of the forts. The road led us to a footpath in woodland where there is a nature reserve that has 25 types of fungus growing in it. This footpath then led into an old sunken lane that also gave us some shelter from the sun. The sun was now getting stronger as we trekked onto a lane that would reach the road back to the end of the road. The party was once again split into 3 groups. Two groups rejoined as one and made there way along the road to the car park.
I'm not sure that the walk was nine miles we had been walking for 5 hours and seemed to stop for long breaks and also my legs we not feeling any tiredness in them.
It's a nice walk. It's a long way for us to travel with a third of that distance on minor roads to navigate through.
posted by rwr at
9:53 pm
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