Following on from the previous Doorstep Adventure I continued the theme of following the waterways that passed through the place I live.

Looking at my OS Maps I decided to follow the River Dee starting in Eccleston Ferry, just ten minutes drive away. I have been here many times to walk the dog but tend to follow the river in the direction of the city, going with the river’s flow. I had yet to follow it in the other direction, for no other reason than I had never got around to it.
 
Parking in the small car park I headed towards the river taking the path to the right, instead of the left as I would normally do. The path entered a wooded area whose trees wore subtle hints that autumn was on its way. It still felt like summer though, with warm temperatures, blue skies and bright sunshine.

The path follows the river’s edge so I would often stop to watch the river slowly drift passed, waving to canoeists and people in small boats on the water. Walking through the woods I was surrounded by an array of beautiful birdsong and beams of light that shone through the high canopy. Further along the path passes behind Eaton Hall, its wrought iron fences coming into view. Here the stretch of the river feels quite wild with its banks overgrowing with vegetation and the wildlife was in abundance!

Meandering on, the path eventually left the riverside and took a curve inland passing a large field at the Crook of Dee. Passing by a lovely house on the edge of the Eaton Hall Estate it soon re-entered the woodland and took care on the muddy path that began to narrow. It eventually led to an access road where I joined it to cross the beautiful bridge over the river, re-joining the path on the other side.

It was evident that the path along this side of the river wasn’t used as much as the one I had come from as it was pretty overgrown in parts and I often had to duck under low hanging branches, using my walking pole to bushwhack through the thicket (a reason why I always carry a single pole with me). After a short while of feeling like I was in the jungle I came to a small cove on the river where I sat to have my lunch, watching the fishes in the shallow water. As time wore on, a couple of canoeist passed by and having given them a wave I packed up my flask and ventured on. Fortunately you can leave the overgrown path and follow it parallel at the edge of a field behind the village of Aldford. This made it much easier than trying to fight through overgrowing brambles.

Passing through a gate the path continued through woodland with the river still in sight before it opened up to a large area of lush green pastures. It was a lovely sight and I could see a tractor carrying out the harvest in the next field, followed closely by a flock of birds.

Here I sat down for a while to watch the natural world go by and enjoy the sun’s warmth on my face. I could have easily stayed there for hours but looking at my watch I decided that it was time to head back.

I retraced my route, enjoying being immersed in the natural surroundings. Passing through the woodlands, through the jungle and over the bridge I followed the path all the way back to where I had started, stopping to chat with some people along the way.

This was a few free hours on a Sunday very well spent and I promised myself that I would do the route again, this time walking all away to the village of Farndon. It really is easy to take for granted what you have on your doorstep and I have really enjoyed exploring areas around my hometown. There certainly is so much to see and experience!

It was Friday evening and the forecast was looking good for the weekend so a last minute plan was hatched to take in a welsh mountain that I hadn’t yet got around to experiencing. Poring over the OS Maps for inspiration and referring to my personal ‘Welsh Peaks to Do List’ the mountain was soon decided. I have often see the Moelwyns whilst on other hills in the Snowdonia area. It is a prominent feature and one I always make a mental note of doing next time I’m in the area. However, with such a plethora of beautiful mountains, ridges, routes and wild terrains that often took preference over the years, the Moelwyns always seemed to be the next mountain I would climb but it never actually materialised. I think this is often due to the fact that throughout the spring and summer when the weather is fair, I tend to stay away from the more popular areas of Snowdonia as they are often incredibly busy. It’s not that I am an anti-social sort of person, but I do like my wild places and solitude, where you can truly connect with nature knowing that you can walk for long periods without seeing a soul. Far from the madding crowds as it were.

With a route to Cnict from Beddgelert which I have done previously, I know that it can get busy on this mountain. As there is an onward route to Moelwyn Mawr I have always figured it would be a well-trodden area, not quite queues at the summit, but busy enough to prevent that feeling of walking through the wilds of Wales. On this particular occasion it soon became obvious how wrong I could be.

Looking at the map and having done a spot of research of the area, a route was soon plotted. I decided to start in Croesor, a small village where I have never been, nestled in the countryside with a single track access. From here the plan was to ascend Cnict from the south west, descend from the north and continue on to Moelwyn Mawr 8 Moelwyn Bach, passing disused quarries and Llyns along the way. Here there was the option to ascend Moelwyn Mawr, retrace the ascent route and head to Moelwyn Bach before taking the path that led back down to Croesor. A lovely circular route inclusive of 3 summits that was estimated c. 14km.

 A quick message to my friend Jason asking what his plans were for the following day and the sharing of the proposed route via OS Maps software, the next day’s adventure was sorted. Onward to the Moelwyns.

Leaving early doors on Saturday morning I was well on my way following the usual route into Snowdonia. As I approached, the objective of the day came into view. There, standing proudly was Moelwyn Mawr. I eventually followed the single track to Croesor which delved more into a wild landscape, popping in and out of the car to open and close gates as I went. I arrived in the car park to meet Jason and as the sun shone, we followed the track towards Cnict, leaving the lovely village of Croesor behind us.

Now I have often said that I think September is the best month of summer. For the past number of years my weekends spent on the hills in September have had much better weather than those spent in August (which have been known to be a bit soggy). Granted, this summer in the UK has been great but it came as no surprise that the day was set to be a lovely, warm, sunny one as the clouds began to lift in throughout the morning.

As we made our approach to Cnict we decided to skirt around to the west of it to visit an interesting feature on the map. It was a cave, one of the many things I have a fascination with so we had to explore it! This meant that we didn’t take the more direct route to Cnict via its south-western saddle, but it was well worth the detour. Not only was the cave considered as a 4 star Hotel (see photo), but we also passed by the most beautiful Llyn.

So far we had not seen anyone else but as we looked up we could see a few people heading to the summit of Cnict from the route we were originally going to take. Continuing on, the path was pretty none existence in parts so a bit of map & compass and OS Map App were done to ensure we kept on track. We ascended over undulating ground and craggy spots before reaching the ridge that leads to the summit of Cnict, stopping frequently to take in the stunning view that were laid out in front of us. The sun was beaming and the surrounding summits were all clear, albeit Snowdon who had its mid-morning veil caressing its head.

Just before we attempted the final push to Cnict’s summit we met a father & son who were enjoying a day out on the hills, so stopped for a brief chat with them (see…told you I’m not anti-social!). The view from the summit was incredible and it soon became clear that this vast area, dotted with Llyns big and small, was wild terrain. It was not in fact an area covered by hundreds of people out for a Saturday stroll, but an area that you could spend days emerging yourself in nature with a few wild camps here and there. Why had I not ventured here before I questioned myself.

Onwards we travelled making our way to Rhosydd Quarry, crossing the diverse landscape, huge boulders where I wondered how long they had been there, Llyn Cwm-Corsiog and a rather splendid waterfall, nestled in a nook. After a few auditions for the next Herbal Essence advert we made our way following the stream to the Quarry, and what a fantastic place it was.

I love coming across ruins and crumbling buildings whilst out in the British hillsides as it is an interesting reminder of how these areas were used by people years ago. These are the types of places I like to explore and imagine what life would have been like for those who passed through the stone building doors or worked the land and quarries here. This place blew me away. It was almost like something out of a film set, perhaps even a spooky movie, but in a good way. You could almost hear the murmurings of the miner’s chatter and the sound of slate being hit. I could have sworn I heard a whistle blow and the sound of the miners opening their lunch boxes as they took a break from the arduous work. It was certainly huge and there was also a tunnel that we investigated but decided not to venture in without climbing helmets for protection. Next time though, especially as I have been told about the old mine tunnel somewhere around here that goes all the way through.

After a good amount of exploring we continued up to the next disused quarry, Croesor Quarry. Though not as big as Rhosydd Quarry, the old underground slate mine produced an interesting contrast against the mountain’s flanks. The old Croesor Tramway was evident as it meandered away from the quarry towards the village. From here we navigated by taking bearings over the pathless landscape before meeting up with the path that leads up to Moelwyn Mawr summit.

Once again the views were phenomenal, with Snowdon completely clear now she had shaken her summit shroud and all the other wonderful high and low peaks of Snowdonia standing in all their glory. As we had mooched about a bit, stopping for photos, putting the world to rights and getting into a walking rhythm that complimented the last, lazy days of summer, we decided that we would not blast up Moelwyn Bach this time but continue to the summit of Moelwyn Mawr, heading down its flank which also eventually led back to Croesor.

We stood at the trig point with a stunning 360 panoramic view of all the beautiful natural landscapes North Wales has to offer: The coast, the mountains and the stunning, rich landscape. It felt like I was home.

After leaving the trig point we headed across the spicy-looking ridge that eventually led to a fairly steep descent, again passing evidence of the area's industrial history in the form of an old miners building. We followed the path that eventually led to the flat track and continued on towards the car park, passing lovely farm houses along the way featuring fences made from large pieces of slate. Before returning to our cars I took a last look behind us to see the mountains that we had climbed that day. Fantastic mountains in a wild area that would be unforgiving and a hard navigational challenge in pea soup conditions, but on this day it was an experience touched by history and a glorious, natural landscape.

As we made our way back to the campsite where we were staying that night I could have kicked myself. This is my perfect terrain: quite, wild and teeming with incredible natural features and points of interest. One for many future visits and multi-day adventures that’s for sure. Next time I’ll be carrying my tent/tarp and look forward to submerging myself in this piece of welsh wilderness!