Walk B, CONWY , 11th November

Walk lead by Pat Guy, 7.5 miles, 1,300ft of climbing.

 

We will start this month's walk by walking down to the quay just to visit the toilets (free). Then we shall walk through the town to pick up the path at the foot of Conwy Mountain and follow this lower path all the way along to the Sychnant Pass. After crossing the road we follow a path passing a small lake on the way to Llechwedd and on to Groesffordd. We will then cut across a holiday park and fields and head into Conwy passing a mast and some woods. After all the recent rain the paths are wet and muddy in parts.

Walk A, CONWY , 11th November

Walk lead by Brian Thorne, 11 miles, 1800ft of climbing.

 

This is a fine, circular walk which requires a brisk pace to be kept throughout.

Leaving the coach, we begin with a sharp initial climb, up through the woods south of Conwy. Field paths and a little road walking lead us up to and around the Iolyn Park caravan site and on to the village of Henryd.

Climbing up through the woods of Parc Mawr on a steadily increasing gradient, we are rewarded for our efforts with stunning views of the Conwy valley and surrounding mountains, before joining the Pilgrim's Way and reaching our lunch stop at Llangelynnin old church.

A steady walk along high ground on the North Wales Path leads us to the top of Sychnant Pass and then on to the now almost obligatory, "Sting in the tail," our final climb, up Conwy Mountain and then down, to well-earned refreshment.

 

 

Walk C, CONWY , 11th November

Walk lead by Gwyn Jones, 5.5 miles

I had planned to take the ‘C’s’ up onto the slopes of Conway mountain to obtain the views across to Anglesey but on the recce there was so much mud and water that I am now keeping, as much as possible, to firmer ground (although there are still some muddy patches on the walk). We start along the riverside as far as we can and then divert onto Mountain Road.  Here we make a steady climb before dropping down to cross the Sychnant Pass road and head up to the old Golf Club House. From here we enter a field  and take  a path up to join a lane which takes us downward to Conwy. There are a number of upward slopes but nothing strenuous and there are no stiles. 

Walk C, GRASMERE , 14th October

Walk lead by Mark Stanford, 6.36 miles, ascent 500ft.

The Coffin Trail, Rydal Hall, St Mary's Church, Rydal Water, Grasmere & St Edmunds Church.

6.36 miles. 500ft of ascent. Terrain: mostly well-made paths and mettled roads, there's one section of rocky path (approx. 200 yards) on the Coffin Trail where we will take care and time.

 A C party favourite, we'll enjoy a coffee in Grasmere before heading off at 11am. Care will be needed as we cross the

A591 before heading up to the ancient Coffin Trail, once we've gained the height, we follow the contours to Rydall.

The path offers spectacular views of Grasmere and Rydall Water with Silver How and Loughrigg forming the backdrop. We'll enjoy walking through the formal garden of Rydal Hall before finding respite under the Yew tree at St Mary's where we stop for lunch, making sure to leave time to explore the Church.

We'll hopefully set of around 1.30pm recrossing the A591 with care again. We cross the River Rothay before heading to the shoreline of Rydall Water and then crossing the shoulder of Loughrigg with great views across the lake towards Nab Scar and the Fellfield Range. The route now heads down through woods to a higher stretch of the Rothay flowing from Grasmere. Crossing the bridge, the path takes us towards a second crossing to the bank just below the weir marking the lake's circumference.

The final section follows the wooded shoreline before heading up to the lane for the final mile into Grasmere, we'll stop to look at St Edmund's Church and Wordsworth's grave. We should be back for 3.30pm leaving time to queue for gingerbread and find refreshments. Grasmere, in my opinion, is rather better served by tea shops than decent purveyors of fine ale, although Gwyn tells he knows a place!

Walk B, GRASMERE , 14th October

Walk lead by Pat Guy, approx 8.5 miles, ascent 1400ft.

The objective of this month's walk is a circuit around the bottom of Loughrigg Fell passing Loughrigg Tarn. We start by walking through Grasmere village and taking the road near to Grasmere Lake for about 1 mile before taking a path through Red Bank Wood, shortly after this we walk through an Arboretum for a short while before taking another path to Loughrigg Tarn (one of the many gems of the Lake District). We then follow an undulating path around the bottom of Loughrigg Fell to a quiet road for just over a mile to cross the River Rothay and the A591 then a short climb to Rydal Hall. We then take the Coffin Route all the way back to Grasmere passing Dove Cottage on the way. The walk is about 8.5 miles long with about 1,400ft of ascent.

 

 

Walk A, GRASMERE , 14th October

Walk lead by Peter Hitchcock, approx 9.2 miles, ascent 2500m.

This serious but scenic route will be a narrow horseshoe from Grasmere up to Fairfield and return via Stone Arthur.  Cloud permitting, the views will be classic, however, the 9.2 mile trek with gradual then steeper ascent to 2500m above the town will be challenging but worthy of an ‘A’ grade walk!

For a slightly easier climb ratio rate, we shall walk the route clockwise setting out from Grasmere (with its 50p toilet charge at the car park) through parts of the town you may not have seen before to take the Patterdale/Coast-to-coast path, (after about 800m walk along the road), up a glorious glacial valley to House Gap, just abeam Seat Sandal Hill and adjacent to Grizedale Tarn.  This will be quite a long but durable section. From there it is just a short, sharp hike up to the top at Fairfield.  After admiring the magnificent views, we shall return via Great Rigg and Stone Arther peak back down a lot of stone slab steps to the village passing some magnificent properties you would just die for!!

[Leader’s note:]  If the coffee breaks are short, we should get back in time for a nice relax before the journey home.

Walk B, LLANBERIS, 9th September

Walk lead by Mike

The walk begins and finishes near Padarn lake. It is a seven and a half mile walk with some spectacular views. It is mixed terrain with walking through the woods, across open fields / moorland and on road at times. There are both ascents and descents on the walk with some level ground walking in between to give you a breather. We pass some lovely streams and waterfalls which add to the beauty of this walk. There are a few tricky bits of the walk where it could be slippy and the descent from the slate quarry viewpoint back into Llanberis is a little steep down the old slate rail path and some large steps.