On My Day Off

AC said:

Looking at some of the photos I took whilst I was in Dan
yr Ogof caves with my youngest and wifey last week I have
taken a picture of a peak on the other side of the valley.

I have looked on my maps and believe it is Fan
Gyhriych....would this be right?

Yep.

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't mind at some time in the future treading up there
- looked worth a stroll. Where would the best place to
start a walk from to the top?

My preferred route is to start from Penwyllt Quarries.
There's a car park to the right at the top of the road just
before the climbing club buildings.

Follow the dismantled railway north, turn right up through
the forest and bear left as you exit the forest to follow
the track up to Fan Gyhirych. Good tracks all the way up,
but you have to turn left off the track to reach the summit
because it doesn't lead there. Follow the edge of the north
eastern cliff face, great views up here, then head SE for
Fan Fraith, a silly little bump that ranks as a Nuttall.

From there, follow the wall south to Carn yr Onnen. You are
now in limestone country. There are some excellent examples
of those small sharp axe head shaped rocks I mentioned next
to the track here. Head southwest to the summit of Carreg
Cadno. The going gets rough here, crossing rocky heather
covered land, still limestone with shake holes.

Do you have a GPS? If not your navigation will need to be up
to snuff to locate the summit. There are a lot of different
crags around here of similar height and it's not at all
obvious which one is the summit. The do orienteering around
here apparently. A GPS will save you the hassle of trying to
identify the summit by triangulation, or you could simply
stand on top of every crag to make sure you got there.

Once you reach Carreg Cadno you're in millstone grit
country. At this point you could head due west to join the
ROW which leads easily back to the caving club, passing an
excellent example of fenced off limestone pavement enroute,
or you could stay up high and head SW to the impressive
millstone grit crags of Carreg Lwyd
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Further south there's a stone row called Saith Maen, but I'm
not sure of the exact location of this and I don't think
I've ever been there. From Carreg Lwyd you can pick your way
down between the crags and head NW back to the caving club,
passing a huge sink hole enroute. Penwyllt Quarries is of
course in limestone country again.

Quoted message said:

Oh aye, there are some shots inside the caves on this site
- for those who might want were discussing the geology of
the area

Nice. That'd be limestone...

Paul
--
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"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My preferred route is to start from Penwyllt Quarries.
There's a car park to the right at the top of the road
just before the climbing club buildings.

Paul, you know its the caving club building, why you keep
typing climbing club? :-)

Quoted message said:

Further south there's a stone row called Saith Maen, but
I'm not sure of the exact location of this and I don't
think I've ever been there.

The Saith Maen Stone Row located at SN86101457 though
whether its worth the bother to find it is debatable, not
very photogenic. There are other Bronze Age antiquities in
the area (and I'm not referring to myself) namely the Saith
Maen Hut Circles at SN86871470 and the Carreg Lwyd Hut
Circles SN86701510. "Prehistoric houses were usually
circular in shape. The walls were made by building a low
bank of earth and stone, particularly in upland areas.
Although the wooden parts of the building do not survive,
these banks do, leaving distinctive areas of level ground,
marked by a hut circle".

Quoted message said:

From Carreg Lwyd you can pick your way down between the
crags and head NW back to the caving club, passing a huge
sink hole enroute.

See, you can do it ;-)

--
Gwyn Reply to:- urw(dot)mail(dot)gwyn(at)xoxy(dot)net

Ferlas Mor said:

Paul, you know its the caving club building, why you keep
typing climbing club? :-)

LOL! I don't know! Some of my synapses must be mixed up. I
have a climbing friend who keeps referring to the place so
maybe it's a problem of association...

Or maybe I'm confusing them because they both start with
the letter C?

Quoted message said:

The Saith Maen Stone Row located at SN86101457 though
whether its worth the bother to find it is debatable, not
very photogenic.

Oh, a challenge!

Quoted message said:

There are other Bronze Age antiquities in the area (and
I'm not referring to myself) namely the Saith Maen Hut
Circles at SN86871470 and the Carreg Lwyd Hut Circles
SN86701510. "Prehistoric houses were usually circular in
shape. The walls were made by building a low bank of earth
and stone, particularly in upland areas. Although the
wooden parts of the building do not survive, these banks
do, leaving distinctive areas of level ground, marked by a
hut circle".

Sounds like a good spot to pitch a tent. Thanks!

Paul
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In article <[email hidden]>, Paul
Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

LOL! I don't know! Some of my synapses must be mixed up. I
have a climbing friend who keeps referring to the place so
maybe it's a problem of association...

Or maybe I'm confusing them because they both start with
the letter C?

And end with an...ing!

So why not a Cycling club :-)
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

W. D. Grey said:

Quoted message said:

Or maybe I'm confusing them because they both start with
the letter C?

And end with an...ing!

So why not a Cycling club :-)

Or a calming club, or a cooling club, or a crafting club, or
a calculating club, or a...

A down to earth influence as ever Bill.

Funnily enough I have cycled past the caving club, June
1985, I've got photos. Very hazy.

Paul
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In article <[email hidden]>, AC
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Btw, I bought a cheap pair of the binoculars from Aldi
t'other day - a little larger than my broken Praktica 8x21
- these are 10x25 - but German made on the box it says and
so far I am impressed with them. My gauge was looking
across the valley towards Carn Y Cefn at the golf course on
the slopes of the mountain and must say they are pretty
good. I also bought the poncho and trousers but haven't had
a look at them yet - just thought I would chuck them in the
bottom of the sac for emergencies?

The test of a "better" class of binocular is to see how
close they will focus. A good pair should get down to about
15 ft. or closer.
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

W. D. Grey <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, AC
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Btw, I bought a cheap pair of the binoculars from Aldi
t'other day - a little larger than my broken Praktica 8x21
- these are 10x25 - but German made on the box it says and
so far I am impressed with them. My gauge was looking
across the valley towards Carn Y Cefn at the golf course
on the slopes of the mountain and must say they are pretty
good. I also bought the poncho and trousers but haven't
had a look at them yet - just thought I would chuck them
in the bottom of the sac for emergencies?

The test of a "better" class of binocular is to see how
close they will focus. A good pair should get down to about
15 ft. or closer.

That was one of my main criteria when I bought a new pair of
Nikkon Travel Lites (9x25). The field of view angle is
better than the ancient 8x30s I already had, and they are
light enough to always have with me on walks, but quick
alignment is tricky for birdwatching.
--
Gordon

In article <[email hidden]>, AC
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Always handy thing to know for future - cheers.

As a test I focused in on something on the landing about 12
- 15ft away and they just about managed it, so had the
thumbs up from me - and at that price I am well pleased. If
there was a bird that close to me it would have flown the
nest by now though.

Pretty decent I'd say.

Quoted message said:

Talking of birds I was at the bottom end of the Neuadd
reservoirs last year

(Please rephrase this 🙂 ;-)

Quoted message said:

and am pretty sure I spotted a Red Kite on the top of a
pole - as we got closer it flew into the trees but I
couldn't make out the tail to be sure? It was pretty big.
Does anyone know if this is one of the places that they
might be spotted?

The are much more common these days and I wouldn't be
surprised to see one at Neuadd. They tend to be further west
though in areas generally west of the Swansea Valley.

Driving from Penderyn to the Beacons reservoir, one flew
over us - this is not that far from Neuadd. This was a week
or so ago.

--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul
Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

AC said:

Talking of birds I was at the bottom end of the Neuadd
reservoirs last year and am pretty sure I spotted a Red
Kite on the top of a pole - as we got closer it flew into
the trees but I couldn't make out the tail to be sure? It
was pretty big. Does anyone know if this is one of the
places that they might be spotted?

Yep, red kites are becoming more common in the Beacons now.

Paul
--
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I saw my first Red Kite about 24 years ago in the area of
Llanddeusant. Nowadays there is a feeding station near the
Cross Inn at Llanddeusant.

During the winter they feed at 3.00pm each day and it is
possible to see in excess of 25 birds there at that time -
marvellous.
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, AC
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Great ! Almost sure it was.

You know the next question then...? Or don't you do
wildlife.

Can you remember the wing shape? A buzzards has rounded
wings, the Red Kite has more angular wings. This helps if
you fail to see the tail.
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Do you have a GPS? If not your navigation will need to be
up to snuff to locate the summit. There are a lot of
different crags around here of similar height and it's not
at all obvious which one is the summit. The do orienteering
around here apparently.

Possibly the best area for orienteering in Wales.... Its
fiendishly difficult

Richard Webb

"RJ Webb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do you have a GPS? If not your navigation will need to be
up to snuff to locate the summit. There are a lot of
different crags around here of similar height and it's
not at all obvious which one is the summit. The do
orienteering around here apparently.

Possibly the best area for orienteering in Wales.... Its
fiendishly difficult

Richard Webb

I didn't have a digital camera when I started reading this
newsgroup - come to think of it I came on here asking about
a jacket n boots......suddenly I am thinking " I really
want a gps" !

Talking of boots I stupidly ordered a pair of Merrill Summit
boots from CCC for £39 the other day - I did not heed the
try on before you buy advice so often given out. Anyway,
bought a pair half size bigger then my normal shoe size and
although they fitted ok 30 mins of walking around the home
told me I should have bought at least a full size bigger - I
think they are a little narrow for my feet n'all....oops.

Btw, I bought a cheap pair of the binoculars from Aldi
t'other day - a little larger than my broken Praktica 8x21 -
these are 10x25 - but German made on the box it says and so
far I am impressed with them. My gauge was looking across
the valley towards Carn Y Cefn at the golf course on the
slopes of the mountain and must say they are pretty good. I
also bought the poncho and trousers but haven't had a look
at them yet - just thought I would chuck them in the bottom
of the sac for emergencies?

"W. D. Grey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, AC
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Btw, I bought a cheap pair of the binoculars from Aldi
t'other day - a little larger than my broken Praktica
8x21 - these are 10x25 - but German made on the box it
says and so far I am impressed with them. My gauge

was

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

looking across the valley towards Carn Y Cefn at the golf
course on the slopes of the mountain and must say they
are pretty good. I also bought the poncho and trousers
but haven't had a look at them yet - just thought

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

would chuck them in the bottom of the sac for
emergencies?

The test of a "better" class of binocular is to see how
close they will focus. A good pair should get down to
about 15 ft. or closer.
--

Always handy thing to know for future - cheers.

As a test I focused in on something on the landing about 12
- 15ft away and they just about managed it, so had the
thumbs up from me - and at that price I am well pleased. If
there was a bird that close to me it would have flown the
nest by now though. Talking of birds I was at the bottom end
of the Neuadd reservoirs last year and am pretty sure I
spotted a Red Kite on the top of a pole - as we got closer
it flew into the trees but I couldn't make out the tail to
be sure? It was pretty big. Does anyone know if this is one
of the places that they might be spotted?

AC said:

Talking of birds I was at the bottom end of the Neuadd
reservoirs last year and am pretty sure I spotted a Red
Kite on the top of a pole - as we got closer it flew into
the trees but I couldn't make out the tail to be sure? It
was pretty big. Does anyone know if this is one of the
places that they might be spotted?

Yep, red kites are becoming more common in the Beacons now.

Paul
--
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"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

AC said:

Talking of birds I was at the bottom end of the Neuadd
reservoirs last year and am pretty sure I spotted a Red
Kite on the top of a pole - as we got closer it flew
into the trees but I couldn't make out the tail to be
sure? It was pretty big. Does anyone know if this is one
of the places that they might be spotted?

Yep, red kites are becoming more common in the
Beacons now.

Paul

Great ! Almost sure it was.

You know the next question then...? Or don't you do
wildlife.

:o)

AC said:

You know the next question then...? Or don't you do
wildlife.

Nope, I don't do wildlife A completely different
photographic discipline.

Paul
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"W. D. Grey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, AC
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Great ! Almost sure it was.

You know the next question then...? Or don't you do
wildlife.

Can you remember the wing shape? A buzzards has rounded
wings, the Red Kite has more angular wings. This helps if
you fail to see the tail.

The flight was very quick and too short for me to really
make it out to be honest.

In a recent message
<[email hidden]>, W. D. Grey
<[email hidden]> wrote.

[...]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and am pretty sure I spotted a Red Kite on the top of a
pole - as we got closer it flew into the trees but I
couldn't make out the tail to be sure? It was pretty big.
Does anyone know if this is one of the places that they
might be spotted?

The are much more common these days and I wouldn't be
surprised to see one at Neuadd. They tend to be further
west though in areas generally west of the Swansea Valley.

[...]

I've seen Red Kites every time I've been out walking
recently, in the Chilterns, on the Berkshire Downs, north
Hampshire and the Wiltshire Downs. We even have a pair where
I work at Woodley, near Reading and I've seen them in park
at the bottom of my garden, here in Caversham.

Regards, Nick.
--
Nick Hopton and Anne Hopton Caversham, Reading, England
<[email hidden]