Glyndŵr's Way - Day 12, Tuesday 4th April, 2017

So yesterday we enjoyed a day off - really it being a while since we had walked that we thought we might be a bit achy, but in fact we were ok! Yesterday was another brilliant day so it was spent in the garden....and then today, off we set once more. This time in slightly overcast conditions to start the day with even a bit of rain as we left...The car was parked at the Cann Office Hotel in Llangadfan. The hotel's name is apparently derived from Cae'n y Ffos, castle with a moat, and there is an old earthwork in the hotel garden... Mach Taxis duly delivered us back to Llanbrynmair, taxis cost is getting a bit expensive out here as taxi companies are a bit few and far between so they have to make long trips to deliver us now!

So off we set - uphill, as I said in my last blog - I was really hoping this climb would bring us to the tops as it was REALLY steep! Kites were following us overhead...

It really was a hard climb - and I forgot to say that this morning had started with sun at our home but as we started our walk it was quite cloudy and a bit chilly.

Once on the tops we had impressive views back across the Dyfi and Pennant valleys and very soon to our left was the Mynydd Cemmaes windfarm and Moel Eiddiew.

We headed parallel to the heights of yesterday, soon walking the length of the well defined slopes of Mynydd Rhiw Saeson. The only trouble with the cloudiness was that Cadair Idris was lost under it so I was glad I had got such great photos of one of my favourite mountains the last walk. It did get a bit chilly up here for a while as we rounded the hills, Banc y Gorlan but soon we headed into forest.

It was a pleasant enough walk through the forest tracks, about 2 miles of it so that was easy going even though we had few views of course.

As we emerged from the trees it seemed really bright! And indeed the sun started to appear and once more we had those great panoramas to enjoy across the Gam valley.

It was also very boggy today!!

And as we carefully plodged our way we were once more accompanied by windfarms to the left of us, windfarms to the right - so many of them up here...

We headed through the bogginess down to the valley bottom where we passed a big group of walkers having a lunch break, about a dozen of them. We walked then along a quiet road through the pretty Gam valley - the road just serving the few outlying farms. Towards the end of the valley once we had crossed the river Gam, we left the road and headed past one of these farmsteads, Dolwen with its many cows! I have also been a little pleased that these winter walks mean that the cows are in the barns!! We left the farm on another old track passing puddles full of tadpoles!

And also passing the hill Moel Ddolwen - with its fort on top! Very soon we could see the Breidden hills peeping through ahead of us - our destination at Welshpool is getting closer now!

We had a break as did the following group of walkers ....

....so as we waited for them to set off once more,

we counted the turbine revolutions on the hill alongside Moel Ddolwen!

Then we were crossing a large stretch of common ground with many wild ponies - and very much bogginess!

The views in the now very blue sky were just tremendous. Soon we began our descent once more down into a pretty little valley, crossing boggy fields and then we could see Llangadfan ahead.

These apparently well manicured fields are really still quite saturated - intended for sheep, not crops in these parts of mid Wales that's for sure!

We wound our way slowly through the little village and crossed the river Banwy making our way to the hotel. We had tried to spot the church but it is in fact a little way past and south of the hotel. It is named after St Cadfan who arrived here in the 5th century and became the first bishop of Bardsey Isalnd off the Llyn peninsula.

Another simply wonderful day - when we were up, we were indeed up! 11 miles further....