Author Topic: [TR] Moelwyn Bach  (Read 5649 times)

cpjmathieson

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[TR] Moelwyn Bach
« on: 09:40:41, 23/12/17 »
Here's my walk to Moelwyn Bach this month, a great walk and disaster rolled into one! Still I'm alive but I doubt I'll walk the mountains alone again!



http://myadventures3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/moelwyn-ba.html

Welsh Rambler

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #1 on: 22:01:12, 23/12/17 »
Interesting report Chris and glad you eventually got back safely. Your example of the phone dying and not being able to get a bearing is a good reason to get a waterproof GPS even if it's a very basic model. I use an Etrex 10 and consider it cheap insurance  8)


I tell my wife before I go out walking that I will call her during the day but I may not have a signal so don't panic  :)


Regards Keith

cpjmathieson

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #2 on: 22:26:20, 23/12/17 »
Interesting report Chris and glad you eventually got back safely. Your example of the phone dying and not being able to get a bearing is a good reason to get a waterproof GPS even if it's a very basic model. I use an Etrex 10 and consider it cheap insurance  8)


I tell my wife before I go out walking that I will call her during the day but I may not have a signal so don't panic  :)


Regards Keith


I intend in the new year to get a etrex 10 maybe even a 20 depending on how good the sales are

fernman

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #3 on: 09:31:25, 24/12/17 »
Interesting report, and you got some very atmospheric photos particularly those with the mist swirling around the hills. But it is very concerning how you got lost. You obviously have some stamina to have kept going like you did, I think many lesser souls would have become MR casualties, and it is worrying to think that might have become your fate. How much of the 17.9 miles would you have walked if it had all gone to plan?

Some other comments: I don't usually contact my wife during my walks, nor she when she is is away. We operate on the no news is good news principle. On my last trip I reached the top of a hill and found I had the first signal for ages, and I called her. But when I phoned the next day, back in civilisation, all I got was, "Oh did you get down the mountain alright? You didn't call me to say you were OK."

My Jazz engine management light often comes on the day after I have driven 235 miles to North Wales. One of my sons is an auto electrician, he says it's either a bit of S-H-one-T on the sensor, or it's because I usually drive about in the suburbs like an old granny trying to save petrol and the car's not used to a good run.

P.S. Hope you didn't tell your wife you shared a room with two girls  ;)
« Last Edit: 09:43:14, 24/12/17 by fernman »

adalard

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #4 on: 10:15:24, 24/12/17 »
Glad to hear you got back safely. It must have been quite an alarming experience.  O0


And I share your pain, re: the bog - I went waist deep in a marsh a month or so ago. Fortunately, it was right at the end of my walk but it wasn't pleasant each of the two occasions I sank or when I then fell flat on my face it the water trying to extricate myself. At least it makes for a talking point in the pub or over dinner, I suppose...


Really enjoyed the TR and the pictures. As Fernman says, the photos are very atmospheric. I've never been there and it looks interesting, though perhaps I'll wait for less bleak conditions if I'm going to explore.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #5 on: 18:29:26, 31/12/17 »
Why on earth doesn't the National Park paint half of Stwlan dam the right colour to match the rest of the granite.
Passing it this afternoon, the thing sticks out like a sore thumb for miles around.
Give me the paint, i will do it for them.


The above photographs i can assure you, do not do it justice, it looks terrible, almost deliberate, guaranteed to shock drivers on the road below.


The left side of the structure looks like its been heavily cleaned with a karcher, and the right side is dark Granite colour.


Sticks out terribly, most annoying when driving into Tanygrisiau.
« Last Edit: 18:35:28, 31/12/17 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

Mel

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #6 on: 19:03:36, 31/12/17 »
Great read Chris!


I'm glad you are okay after your adventure (it was an "adventure" now you're back safe and sound). 


I'm unfamiliar with the area but it looks a really interesting area to walk, even in the murk and mizzle.


Could the "falling tourist" sign be from a concerned local rather than an unfriendly one?  After all, a dead tourist ain't gonna spend money in the village  :D 

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #7 on: 19:12:01, 31/12/17 »
Apart from the very Welsh river side caff who do serve a rather good breakfast , there's no reason to stop in either Tanygrisiau or Blaenau.
I know i shouldn't say it, but there's nothing to stop for, very poor shops, and when its raining, which Blaenau is famous for, you cannot wait to get out of the place.

I travel through the place roughly eight times a week, my sympathy with the local natives, unemployment extremely high, few if any jobs, and all this is reflected in some of the lowest house prices in this part of Gwynedd.

Stunning views, if you can excuse the millions of tons of slate deposits piled higher than many a lesser mountain of Mid Wales, but if you have little or no prospects in the area, what's the point of a lovely view, it will not remove the drudgery of life in Blaenau.

Keswick this certainly is not, but the River side cafe in lower Tanygrisiau has some magnificent food, so all is not quite lost.
« Last Edit: 19:16:31, 31/12/17 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

Mel

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #8 on: 19:20:15, 31/12/17 »
DA.  Aren't you glad Chris (the original poster) escaped his ordeal with nothing more damaged than his pride?


redeye

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #9 on: 19:23:40, 31/12/17 »
Apart from the very Welsh river side caff who do serve a rather good breakfast , there's no reason to stop in either Tanygrisiau or Blaenau.
I know i shouldn't say it, but there's nothing to stop for, very poor shops, and when its raining, which Blaenau is famous for, you cannot wait to get out of the place.

I travel through the place roughly eight times a week, my sympathy with the local natives, unemployment extremely high, few if any jobs, and all this is reflected in some of the lowest house prices in this part of Gwynedd.


Stunning views, if you can excuse the millions of tons of slate deposits piled higher than many a lesser mountain of Mid Wales, but if you have little or no prospects in the area, what's the point of a lovely view, it will not remove the drudgery of life in Blaenau.

Keswick this certainly is not, but the River side cafe in lower Tanygrisiau has some magnificent food, so all is not quite lost.
Oh I don't know. It has the Welsh highlands railway stopping there, the caffe, good walks, the bounce below and other attractions in the area to bring in the tourist and walkers and money. We've used the attractions and walks and the cafe. I understand how locals may feel but there is something going for it  

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #10 on: 19:28:34, 31/12/17 »
I ve walked the Moelwyns a few times, their easy enough to reach, but their a bit like the Rhinogs, not very easy to navigate in poor visibility.
The Welsh matterhorn known as Cnicht forms part of the Moelwyns, and its difficult terrain, when visibility is poor, there are not that many clearly defined paths, so attempting them in full winter, is only for the brave.

We are all glad no doubt, that he made it back safely, but due to the very close proximity to much of Tanygrisiau's huge slate waste, navigation in the Moelwyns is not easy.

The ridge adjoining Moelwyn Mawr and Fach, is challenging in bad weather, and its very exposed.

He made it back in one piece, that's the main thing.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #11 on: 19:38:30, 31/12/17 »
Try doing your local shop or buying a pressy for your folks at home, in Bleanau.
There is the Highland railway, bouncy trampoline inside Llechwedd quarry, and some great walks, but this is no Bettws Y Coed.

Before much of the fun and games in upper Blaenau was opened several years ago, there was no excitement for the casual visitor who mysteriously found their way into the main village of Blaenau Festiniog.

It has the Welsh Highland railway as its terminus, but i bet very few would spend the afternoon in Blaenau.

No fancy Edward 1 castle, no quality shops, and i forget how many average days of rain it gets, but its well above the national average.

Ive passed through Blaenau along the A470, for most of my life, its a place you pass through quickly, just to escape its clutches.

fernman

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #12 on: 20:14:32, 31/12/17 »
Give me the paint, i will do it for them.

Everyone on the forum is going to club together and buy it for you, Dai, aren't we, folks?

Don't knock Blaenau! Last time I drove through I saw the bookshop was still there; I have four very nice Gastineau prints of Snowdonia in my dining room, I bought them there for £4 each and framed them myself. And in 2014 I looked in a couple of estate agents windows in the town, there were several little terrace houses for £79k; where I am they are "character cottages" and "period properties" for which you wouldn't get much change out of half a million.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #13 on: 20:35:44, 31/12/17 »
I agree, the bookshop based in the old post office, is a rare exception, i ve even bought a rare Showell Styles book from them.
Since the closure of the quarries many years ago, Blaenau Festiniog has never recovered, both economically and socially.

The price of the property, most of which are built to very high Victorian terraced standards, is extremely low, even by Gwynedd standards.


I agree, you would pay a handsome sum for a similar styled property in the right area, but this is Blaenau Festiniog, not the Lakes or Llyn Peninsula.


Due to lack of available work, longterm investment, Blaenau is a place one drives through on the way to Snowdonia and the coast beyond, its not a place a city dweller living in the leafy SE would book a fortnights holiday in, maybe visit, quickly but that's all.

There is a strong sense of community there, and i bet the majority of long term habitants living there, would go out of their way to help their neighbour, but would you live there yourself ?.

Blaenau has been dealt the same blow as many of the South Wales mining valleys,  total neglect by those in Government, both Westminster and Cardiff,  and any decent work is only to be found miles from home, hence the lack of good shops.

Even some of the pubs have closed down, if that's not an indication of a depressed community, i cannot think of another.

Yes it has its Highland Railway station, fun and games in Llechwedd, but what else does it offer a tourist keen to explore North Wales.
« Last Edit: 20:43:12, 31/12/17 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

phil1960

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Re: [TR] Moelwyn Bach
« Reply #14 on: 20:45:33, 31/12/17 »
I’m sure someone is as popular in Blaenau Ffestiniog as he would be in the valleys  ::)
Touching from a distance, further all the time.

 

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