Category: Community Groups

CELEBRATING THE NEW YEAR

 

newyear01

All countries have their own customs and traditions for celebrating the arrival of another year and most of them involve food, wine and fun. Here are some of the more interesting events that take place in Europe and Wales.

In Estonia, people decorate villages, visit friends and prepare lavish meals. Some believe that people should eat seven, nine, or twelve times on New Year's Eve. These are lucky numbers in Estonia; it is believed that for each meal consumed, the person gains the strength of that many men the following year.

A Finnish tradition is to tell the fortunes of the New Year by melting "tin" (actually lead) in a tiny pan on the stove and throwing it quickly in a bucket of cold water. The resulting blob of metal is analysed, for example by interpreting shadows it casts by candlelight. These predictions are however never taken seriously.

In France, New Year's Eve (la Saint-Sylvestre) is usually celebrated with a feast. This feast customarily includes special dishes including; foie gras, seafood such as oysters, and champagne. The celebration can be a simple, intimate dinner with friends and family or a much fancier ball. You would expect nothing less of the French!

New Year's Eve in Greece has many traditions. During the day, children sing the New Year's carols to be given money or treat. Then, it is time to have family lunch or dinner. In the evening, people cook a pie named "King's pie” (Vasilopita), which is a cake flavoured with almonds. They put a coin wrapped in aluminium foil inside the pie. After a fireworks show, they cut the Vasilopita and serve it. The person that gets the wrapped coin is the lucky person of the day and he or she is also blessed for the rest of the year.

In Hungary, many years ago, some people believed that animals were able to speak on New Year's Eve, and that onion skins sprinkled with salt could indicate a rainy month.

In Italy an ancient tradition involves eating lentil stew when a bell tolls midnight, one spoonful per bell. This is supposed to bring good fortune; the round lentils represent coins.

In Portugal the New Year celebration is taken very seriously. The tradition is to drink champagne and eat twelve raisins – one for each month of the year, making a wish for each.

Here in Wales we have the ancient tradition of Calennig which originally meant giving gifts of money on New Year’s Day, though nowadays it is customary to give bread and cheese. In Cardiff crowds enjoy live music, ice-skating, funfairs and fireworks. Many of the celebrations take place at Cardiff Castle and Cardiff City Hall. If you are going there from Wenvoe make sure you have a lift home as taxis and buses may be scarce.

In the valleys New Year's Eve is marked with the Nos Galan road race over 3 miles, which is held in Mountain Ash. The race celebrates the life and achievements of the runner Guto Nyth Bran who was born in 1700. It is run over the route of Guto's first competitive race. Guto was born in Llwyncelyn near Porth. It was said that his sprinting first came to be noticed as he was helping his father herd sheep, when he managed to chase and catch a wild hare. One legend has him running from his home to Pontypridd and back, a total distance of 7 miles before his mother's kettle had boiled. Another tale is that he could blow out a candle and be in bed before the light faded.

We all have ways of celebrating the New Year whether with family or friends, but at this time of year let us remember those who are alone and perhaps call on a lonely neighbour to wish them well. Finally for anyone in Wenvoe without a plan there is always the recently refurbished Wenvoe Arms where the landlord – Digby – will be pleased to welcome you.

 

happynewyear

 

 

 

scroll04

November’s Book Choice

 

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.poirot01

Agatha Christie’s first novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” was published in 1920 and introduced a new literary character in the form of Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective who became the central figure in more than 30 of her novels.

The unfolding story line is narrated by Captain Hastings, a guest of Emily Inglethorp, the owner of Styles. Hastings has pretentions of becoming a detective and solicits the help of his friend Poirot to resolve the mystery of the subsequent death of the owner. The book is thoroughly enjoyable with the introduction of several intriguing characters, a page turning plot with numerous clues and red herrings which kept the reading group guessing as to the murderer until the final denouement.

poirot02

 

The prose is relatively naive with one or two unexplained clues emerging and all agreed that in our imaginations we continually saw Poirot as portrayed by the television actor David Suchet However this did not deter from our enjoyment of an easy and relaxing novel which was awarded an overall mark of 7.5 out of 10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

scrolltan

 

 

 

 

November’s Expeditions

 

Abercarn to Mynydd Llwyd 

Our drive to the beginning of this walk was very promising as we climbed quite a way, passing narrow terraces in Abercarn, to arrive at a parking area in the forest near Llanfach. It was a misty day, no rain but we were surrounded by light clouds.

We started out on good forest tracks, as usual heading uphill. After a while we came to an area where some extensive tree felling had been done. The track was totally covered by wood – branches, sawdust and twigs – making the going quite hard but at least there was no mud. In view of the tree felling it was decided to alter our plans and stay on the main track rather than branch off onto a footpath. A good decision as the footpath was very steep!

dec-f-img_5956smAll morning we walked uphill along Nant Gwyddon, through some glorious autumnal colours yellow from the larches, browns and oranges from beeches, oaks, and other species. One tree drew our attention as we debated which animal it most resembled – an elephant from one side and a stag from the other. The route continued up Craig y Trwyn and then northeast to the edge of the forest. Although cloudy it was a warm day for November and we became pretty warm ourselves.

As we emerged onto moor land visibility was quite low, so we decided to take advantage of a line of pylons to guide us and walked towards the nearest one before turning east. A track followed the line of pylons which made the going easy and at last we were on level ground.

When the pylon line changed direction, the shape of the pylon arms changed to carry the tension of the power line as it turned the corner. Just beyond here was a radio mast on Mynydd Llwyd which indicated that we should turn south and then southwest back towards the woodland. On this stretch we could see sunlight shining over the land in the distance and the clouds around us dispersed as they lifted but it remained overcast where we were.

Before re-entering the woods, we stopped for lunch on a grassy bank, overlooking a valley of autumnal colour. The ground around us was covered in tiny examples of several different types of fungi, which could only be seen because they were so close.

Now it was downhill through the forest and we could see our morning path across Craig Pant-glas. As we continued a slight breeze stirred the air and it appeared to start snowing – the fine larch needles drifting in the same way as snowflakes do when they first start falling. It created a lovely atmosphere and brought a smile to our faces.

Returning to the cars we had walked 8.8 miles and climbed 1300ft (so much for thinking we were doing most of the climbing by car at the start). We drove down to the visitor centre in Cwmcarn for a cup of tea, at 90p a cup or £1 a large cup – very good value. Map 166.

 

bootprintline

Efail Isaf and the Garth

We parked in Efail Isaf on a bright morning and set out on good paths towards the Garth. A steady climb across open land allowed us to arrive at the trig point on the top of Garth hill surprisingly easily – much easier than the steep climb from Gwaelod y Garth which we had done in the past. Garth Hill burial mounds are four early – middle bronze age (around 2000BC) dec-f-img_5942smround barrows, the area is within the parish of Pentyrch. A brief stop for a summit photo and we were descending towards Soar.

The sun was shining and now and again, as a gust of wind blew, a scattering of leaves fell from surrounding trees looking like a golden rain shower. There were some fine fungi covering an old tree stump being used as a gate post and also lots growing at our feet.

We made our way northwest and north past Gwaelod-y-garth towards Coed y Gedrys, passing what appeared to be an entrance to a drift mine. Now the forecast cold wind started to blow and the temperature began to drop. We had lunch in an open area overlooking an Industrial Estate to the east in the Taff valley and open land to the north. We really appreciated the heat of the sun as the wind cut into us.

We headed generally east towards Tonteg Unexpectedly we came across a cardboard cut out figure high up in a tree – reminiscent of Boris Johnson’s zip wire ride.

dec-f-img_5944-2sm

 

Returning to Efail Isaf we walked through a large number of rather nice new houses before getting back to the start. Another 8 miles and 1300ft walked. We went to Arthur Llewellyn Jenkins on the way home, where we had huge pots of tea – very refreshing. Map 151.

 

bootprintline

 

 

Cosmeston and Pen y Fan

Cosmestonfootsteps01

It was 20 years in October since the first outing of Wenvoe walking group. To mark the anniversary 14 people joined Bert and Gwyn at Cosmeston on a sunny afternoon. We explored its outer circuit and then headed for Penarth, returning via the cliff tops and housing back to Cosmeston. John and Jacky (also founding members of the group) were with us and Jacky had made a delicious celebration cake which we all shared. They also produced their photo album showing the group over the years – some people looked so young! At the end we visited the much improved café on the site and relaxed. Distance covered 2½/5 miles.

Pen y Fan

To get to the start of this walk we drove up the A470 past the Storey Arms and Brecon and through some pretty woodland to a National Trust car park to the north of Pen y Fan.

We donned our boots and immediately after starting we were heading uphill. Soon the climb was steep and a keen wind was blowing, the temperature dropping as we rose. We passed a footstepsimg3smcol at Allt Du where the wind was particularly strong and walked along the ridge of Cefn Cwm Llwch. Now we entered into the clouds which helped us forget that the ground was falling steeply away on both sides but also made it difficult to see each other at times. Even up here there were sheep and a couple of people behind us who had let their dog off the lead and had some difficulty in getting it back when it became interested in the sheep. We continued upwards at a pace we could maintain and were pleasantly surprised to find we had arrived at the summit (886 metres) as it suddenly appeared in the clouds. It was like Picadilly circus, there were so many people – lots of nationalities and school children amongst them having arrived by different routes. We stopped to take our summit photo and were awed to see a spectacular view as the cloud lifted slightly and we could see the surrounding ridges appear and disappear again as the clouds moved in waves. It was difficult to draw away and continue our walk.

Now we had a choice of whether to return via Corn Ddu or Cribyn, we opted for the latter as a few of us hadn’t been there. This meant quite a steep descent along Craig Cwm Sere in a south easterly direction along a paved path which continued up the steep climb to Cribyn (795metres). The cloud had cleared completely from Pen y Fan and we looked back at the route we had walked – amazing views and a real sense of achievement. It was 13.30hrs so we descended slightly to take some shelter from the perpetual wind and eat our lunch. On each of the summits we were surprised to see a few people wearing shorts and even footstepsimg2smone person in T-shirt and shorts as he was running.

Time to descend, there is a steep uneven descent from the top of Cribyn on its north side and looking back it looked like a pyramid.

We had very little company now as we continued our steady path downwards along Bryn Teg for some time. Nant Sere was in the valley between us and the ridge we had climbed in the morning. At last our descent was more gradual and we were crossing pasture land at Cwm Cywyn and our first stile of the day onto a lane. From here we kept to lanes and roads to walk around the base of the ridge that had taken us up to Pen Y Fan.

We were very happy to reach the cars and head home via the Bull in Libanus where we enjoyed some very welcome refreshment.

This was an excellent route, we had walked 7miles and climbed 2700ft – twice what we would normally climb -giving us a feeling of achievement and satisfaction even though we were tired; not bad for a group of 7 people whose total age was over 450 years! (Map OL12)

 

scroll03

 

 

 

 

“Persuasion” by Jane Austin

Our novel “Persuasion” was written in 1815 and published in 1817 six months after Jane Austen’s death. It was her last novel, and is still in print.persuasion

Through the eyes of the heroine, Anne Elliot, we learn of the intricacies of domestic and family lives involving her family, their friends and relations. The Elliot’s who enjoy the status of landed gentry live in Kellynch Hall, and are having financial problems because of Sir Walter’s vanity and spiralling debts. They socialise with the Musgroves whose son, Charles, is married to Mary Elliot, Sir Walter’s youngest daughter. Anne enjoys the company of the untitled and warm friendly Musgroves and their two daughters Henrietta and Louisa. Sir Walter is forced to rent his estate to Admiral Croft and Mrs Croft the sister of Captain Frederick Wentworth, to whom Anne was briefly engaged eight years earlier. She was advised and persuaded to break the engagement with Wentworth who was a naval officer at that time and of a lower status. Something she later regretted.

All human emotions (love, sadness, worries, joys) are experienced by Anne’s observations of the landed gentry, the landowner, and the naval families.

Bookclub review:-

Settled comfortably, we took ourselves back to the eighteen hundreds. This was not difficult with the help of Jane Austen.

With the beautiful language and long descriptive sentences we found that we were forced to read slower than usual and with care at first, but it did not take long to picture the locations of the events whether in Lyme Regis, where the group enjoyed the sea breezes, or Bath for the socialising and shopping.

Anne’s meticulous observations soon made us familiar with the interesting characters. Ann’s father and her older sister who were so preoccupied with class and the ‘right connections’ were outrageous and almost the opposite of the warmth, wit and comic situations of the Musgroves and Croft families.

Love was in the air for the young but Anne’s was not blooming at all.

Almost all in the group thoroughly enjoyed this novel giving it a score of 9 out of 10.

 

scroll06

 

 

 

 

IRON AND COPPER

 

 

wye-bridgesmThis year; 2016, saw a number of engineering anniversaries impacting on Wales, most of which concerned bridges, the 200th anniversary of Chepstow Wye Bridge was celebrated on 24th July with a number of events including a re-enactment of the 1816 opening ceremony. Designed and built by John Urpeth Rastrick FRS (1780-1856) it was opened on the 24th July 1816. A bridge with five spans, 372ft (113m) long, it was the third longest cast-iron arch road bridge in the world when built and it is now the largest survivor from the first fifty years of iron bridge construction. A civil and mechanical engineer Rastrick is remembered today as a railway pioneer. He built the first steam engine to run in the USA, chaired the Rainhill Trials for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1829, and built numerous railways in Great Britain.mayor The iron arches were cast at the foundry of John Hazeldine at Bridgnorth in Shropshire where Rastrick was the engineer. On the 24th July 2016 a procession was led over the bridge headed by engineers, as it was in 1816, with the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers; Sir John Armitt, leading the way. Until 1989 it carried the normal road traffic through Chepstow and across the Wye into England and still carries road traffic, subject to a 7.5T weight restriction, today.

 

 

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERANot quite as old, the Severn Bridge also celebrated a 50th birthday this year, on 8th September 2016. The 5,240ft (1,597m) long bridge was world’s first major suspension bridge to be built with an aerodynamic road deck it was also the lightest, and set the standard for future long span bridges, such as the Humber Bridge. Many people remember using the car ferries; Severn King and Severn Queen, to cross the Severn before the bridge opened. The Second Severn Crossing also celebrated a milestone this year, being opened on the 5th June 1996 – 20 years ago. At 5,134m long it is not a suspension bridge but a cable stayed bridge similar to the Wye (M48) Bridge – which also opened in 1966.

 

 

 

Another form of communications impacted on Wales 150 years ago with the successful completion of the laying of the Atlantic telegraph cable in 1866. On 27 July 1866 the quite Pembrokeshire bay of Abermawr became part of a trans-Atlantic

communications network with the laying of the fifth, and ultimately successful, telegraph cable between Valentia in Ireland and Trinity Bay in Newfoundland by Brunel’s Great Eastern steamship – the only ship big enough to take all the almost 2,000 nautical miles of telegraph cable required. Messages could now be transmitted from New York to Newfoundland and through the Atlantic cable to Ireland and across to Abermawr, being taken on to London via the SWR and GWR’s telegraph wires. Copper refined in Llanelli and Swansea provided the conductive core of the cable through which messages would be transmitted.

The former telegraph hut at abermawr01Abermawr, now a holiday cottage, actually predates the successful laying of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable by some four years and if we go back some fifteen years before that to 1847 we find that Isambard Kingdom Brunel had chosen Abermawr as the western terminus and port for the South Wales Railway. This was never carried out but the rural setting of the beach made it an ideal landing point for an underwater telegraph cable from Wexford, Ireland in 1862. Fear of German sabotage of the cable during the first world war saw soldiers being stationed on guard duty at Abermawr.

In 1866 the transmission speed of the transatlantic telegraph system was eight words per minute, by 1900 transmission rates of 120 words per minute were being sent reliably between continents. It was a system for business and governments, for example a ten word transatlantic message from the USA to Great Britain cost $100 or about £76 (today’s values about $2,600 or £1,980). The speed of cable borne news can be gauged with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, then the news took 12 days to reach British newspapers, When President James Garfield was shot in 1881, and it was reported within hours. Some 25 telegraph cables would be laid across the Atlantic by 1922 – the year that the Great Storm washed away the shore ends of the cable at Abermawr and the telegraph station closed.

Stephen K. Jones 6

 

 

 

Offa’s Dyke

WHO WAS KING OFFA AND WHAT WAS HIS DYKE FOR?

offaYou have probably heard about Offa’s Dyke – but do you know who King Offa was and why he had a dyke built? Well – Offa was the King of the Mercians, a warrior tribe from central England, from 747 to 796 AD. He had seized power during a time of great unrest caused by friction between Wales and England in the border region. Offa was determined to quell the unruly Welsh and impose his authority and this he did by building one of the most remarkable structures of its time in Britain. It marked the western border of his kingdom and was to act as a defence against the Welsh.

The dyke was constructed at the end of the eighth century and consisted of a great defensive earthwork, with a ditch on the Welsh side and a high bank on the English side. It ran for 140 miles from the banks of the River Severn in the south to the mouth of the River Dee in the north. Because it was built so long ago there is very little known about who actually did the amazing amount of work and what it really looked like. But we do know that it was customary for the English to cut off the ears of every Welshman who was found to the east of the dyke, and for the Welsh to hang every Englishman whom they found to the west of it.

offasdykeParts of Offa's Dyke can still be seen in many places. The town of Knighton in Radnorshire has stretches of the dyke on both sides of the town, and at Kington in Herefordshire, there is a well-preserved section of this earthwork. The nearest part of the dyke to Wenvoe is around the Chepstow area and between Chepstow and Tintern. It is only about 40 minutes from Wenvoe to Chepstow by car on a good day, and just another 10 minutes to Tintern so it is an easy day out to go and walk along part of the great Offa’s Dyke. If you do so you will find many good pubs and cafes around that area and in the Wye valley.

If you have the time and energy you may wish to walk all of the Offa’s Dyke Path. It is a long-distance footpath following closely the Wales–England border. Opened in 1971, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout the world. Some of the 177-mile (285 km) route either follows, or keeps close company with the visible parts of Offa's Dyke. There are many miles where the dyke was not constructed as the geographical features such as rivers and cliffs made it unnecessary.

Traveling south to north, starting by the Severn Estuary at Sedbury, near Chepstow, and finishing at Prestatyn on the north coast, the walk will take an average walker roughly 12 days to complete. Following a man-made border and ancient monuments, rather than natural features, the dyke path crosses a variety of landscapes. The route crosses the Black Mountains, the Shropshire Hills, including the many ups and downs of the 'Switchback', the Eglwyseg Moors north of Llangollen and the Clwydian Range.

It is of course not necessary to walk it in one long hike, but rather one can break it into bite sized chunks by walking three offasor four days at a time. There are plenty of high quality B&Bs to stay at overnight on the way, with a room costing on average £65-80 for two people with breakfast. With a little planning one can take the train from Cardiff to various places on the route, walk for a few days and then take the train home again.

Walking through mid-Wales is particularly pleasant and quiet and it is possible to travel for a whole day without seeing anyone at all. If you do think about doing this walk it is best to go in a dry period so that the ground is not so muddy as to make it hard work. With good waterproof clothing you will not get wet but very muddy boots are heavy and that make it less fun. So make a plan for a long summer hike and remember that walking is very good for body and soul

 

 

scroll03

 

 

Love Running #Wenvoe

 

runners03runner01

In the early summer a group of people, many who had never ran, before became a popular sight in the village as they did their group raining runs around the village and playing fields on Monday nights. The plan was they were eventually going to run the Cardiff 10k race. In the first month or so it felt like a tall order. How could people who had never run further than the garden gate complete on of the biggest distance races in Wales?

oct-run-2We discovered that if you could walk that with the right training everyone could from “couch to 10k” in 10 weeks! There is a saying that friendships are formed in adversity and it is true that many who didn’t know one another became great friends as they gradually ran further and sometimes faster each Monday. Whether people would admit to enjoying the experience of running, It was certainly the case that there was a sense of achievement after a run.

In seemingly no time race day arrived. With group leader, Gary Smith, conveniently sporting a badly sprained ankle, all other members of oct-run-1the club turned up for a group photo with the Love Running Cardiff group before joining the thousands who were running the race. At the sound of the starting pistol, the weeks of training kicked as the runners raced around the capital and through the parks for a 6+ mile experience of a lifetime. As they crossed the finish line, the sense of achievement was evident. With medals around their necks, water being gulped and high fives being offered at every opportunity the smiles and conversations continued all morning!

Well that was Sunday 11th September and by Monday 12th, regardless of muscle ache and pain they group were back running around the village pledging to continue throughout the winter!

oct-run-3To Join Love Running #Wenvoe just turn up outside the Village Hall, 8pm Mondays

For further information visit www.valevillagechurch.org.uk or call Gary Smith on 07782 305738

 

 

scroll03

 

 

 

Wye Valley – Tintern, Brockweir & Tidenham Chase.

hiking-boots

We parked at Tintern Abbey and started by walking across the bridge at Abbey Mill over a full river Wye. The Abbey Mill’s old water wheel was made around 1870 and ran until 1951 when oct-walk-img_5475electricity replaced water power. The mill paid an important role in the industrial history of Tintern. Originally a corn mill to Tintern Abbey, it later became an iron wire works and finally a wood turnery and sawmill. The Abbey mill still stands after 870 years of change and the Wheel, lovingly restored in 2009, turns again.

Good paths took us on a steady climb up to Brockweir in brilliant sunshine. Still climbing we crossed a field towards Madgett Hill which we shared with a herd of cows and as we got higher realised there was also a herd of goats, and sheep in the field to our right.

At the top we arrived at a campsite on Beeches farm – barbeques were distributed around the site as well as a central washing area and small shop. We chatted to the farmer who pointed to his gateposts; a dragon for Wales on one side and lion for England on the other, the campsite is on the border of the 2 countries and Offa’s dyke. We avoided the Offa’s Dyke path from here, missing the Devil’s pulpit, as we knew it would be busy on such a lovely day. Instead we walked along the access road for the farm which was straight for an amazing distance – several kilometres to Tidenham . This is Miss Grace’s Lane, presumably originally built to reach Miss Grace’s home. Interestingly there is a 4 Km caving system between Brockweir and Tidenham named after the road, which took a number of years to locate as it is very deep. This is the largest cave in Wales.

oct-walk-img_5493At the main road, we turned right onto another road which led to a path through tunnels of trees offering shade from the intense heat of the sun which was much appreciated. The edges of the path were covered in a profusion of wild flowers and buddleias as well as some magnificent grasses. The sides of a quarry towered above us near the end of the path.Now we headed back towards Tintern along an old railway (of which no signs remain) and the banks of the Wye providing easy walking, again in the shade of trees. A surprisingly large rock sat in the middle of the path at one point. All of a sudden we had a superb view of Tintern Abbey through a gap in the trees. On arrival at Tintern we had walked 7.5miles and climbed 800ft. There was a large group of bikers, who had stopped for an ice-cream. We headed to the pub for a welcome drink, sitting near a lavender hedge, humming with the sound of bees (honey, white bottomed and orange bottomed). The bikers roared off, as we sat and relaxed.

 

 

Goodrich and the River Wye

Another beautiful day, starting in Goodrich we passed the church and headed uphill via Coppett Hill common, a nature reserve to Coppett Hill. The views were clear for miles across a relatively flat landscape and the church and the ruins of Goodrich castle stood out. We walked south catching occasional glimpses of the meandering River Wye in the distance.

Near Baynhams, a modern folly has been built together with a ha-ha – very impressive. Following a path around the edge of a wood we had our first close view of the Wye with canoeists paddling in the sun. We needed to cross the oct-walk-img_5537river via a rusty old railway bridge with a sign ‘Bridge Closed’, the footpath on its right-hand side was sturdy and we gained the other side with no problem. (To cross at the next nearest bridge involved a 5 mile detour)

We emerged into sunshine passing Stowfield Business Park, a police notice appealed for ‘witnesses to an incident on 22nd June’ and we could see a police car positioned there. We approached Lower Lydbrook, crossing Offa’s Dyke path. At Stowfield farm we spotted a sign ‘Please shut the gate after dark to prevent entry of wild boar’. After crossing a field where a large flock of sheep sheltered under trees from the heat, we joined the Heritage trail – a good path with the Wye below. At a clearing we stopped for lunch, the River Wye spread below us and in the distance we had views of the vertiginous Symonds Yat Rock; in the sky above us birds of prey made their high pitched calls.

Descending to the river we followed its southern bank and passed a sign for ‘tunnel beat’, one of the numerous stretches of water used by anglers. At the foot of Symonds Yat rocks were steep steps up to the rock and we joked about ‘popping up for an ice-cream’. Still following the river we were now on its west bank, emerging from woodland we walked along an open stretch of the river until we reached a road. Here we took a road bridge across the river and made our way back to Goodrich on paths across fields and through the churchyard.

A most enjoyable walk of 8miles and 1000ft, rounded off with a refreshing cup of tea. (Map OL14 for both walks)

 

 

1 … 37 38 39 40 41