Up North and Out West

The journey to Sheffield passed smoothly enough and the tram delivered me to Penny's on a damp grey evening where we dined with her brother - a senior bod in renewable energy. 

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend ensued with a good cycle ride round the surprisingly rural 'Wakefield Wheel' on Saturday and a very sociable ramble in the Worksop area on Sunday. The security system at a scrap metal dealer's rural property was perhaps a little OTT.
A cold drizzly Monday convinced us to do a bit of shopping before seeing the tense 'Argo' at the pics. Less tense and rather more farcical was the 'Sheffield Ghost Tour' led appropriately by Mr P Dreadful - we escaped alive despite rapidly losing the will to live less than half way through the tedious monologue.

Passing through Coventry en route to Brecon we tackled some overhanging trees at my parents before I crossed to Bristol to have the other suspension bushes replaced and a repair done to the van cushions courtesy of the talented Sue. Bill was busy on the final stages of a kitchen renovation and we all enjoyed a good meal that evening with their lad who is completing an eco build in Dorset.

I then headed north for a very pleasant weekend near Llangurig staying on the simple but excellent site off the back road to Nant Rhys bothy - open all year with hook up available and very reasonable rates - the campsite not the bothy : contact Ms Sue Pope on 01686440232.

3G, phone and a TV signal makes this a very useful winter stopover and there are plenty of good walks in the area . 

We completed a circuit along the Wye Valley Walk, in to Nant Rhys bothy (which was in excellent order)and back along the lane on a dry day. A sharp overnight frost was enjoyed not endured courtesy of the heater and much improved van roof before we walked at Nant Y Arian as over 30 red kites circled above.

Sunday night was spent at the top of the Elan Valley Estate from where two stalwarts had already walked in and pitched tents at the new bothy project : Lluest Cwm Bach. Monday morning saw Alec and his team of estate workers join us and by 9am we were hard at work. Scaffolding planks, shovels and wheelbarrows had already been taken in to this remote spot about a mile from the tarmac through bog with the final approach along a better track. 

Thought to be last occupied in the 1950's we had first inspected the ruin in December last year - for me that was a minor milestone as I had just one week previously been in cardiac intensive care and had only been permitted to drive the day before. On that snowy day the project looked daunting although a photo later this year looked more promising - see link to photos.

An impressive amount of graft by equal numbers of EVT and MBA volunteers in muddy wet conditions soon revealed a quarry tile floor, a bread oven and a few artefacts such as old auger bits, a tea pot lid and a few bottles.

Lunch was enjoyed on a mound of sheep dung more than a metre deep in the tin lean-to that offered some shelter for the weary workers.

The afternoon saw the removal of an elder tree lodged in the wall, yet more rubble and the sludge filling what seems to have been a rudimentary water supply for the dwelling.

A start was made on the muck pile and the debris used to level out the old yard and create a drop site for the delivery by helicopter of an estimated 30 tons of material next year when the project begins in earnest.

A few hardy souls camped alongside as the rest of us walked back out to campervans and cottages on a mild but windy November evening.

Fresh faces joined us for Tuesday so that by lunchtime we had completed all the site clearance, prevented livestock from entering and undoing all our good walk and departed leaving the winter rains to wash down the tiled floor, perimeter paths and soften the landscaping.

It was a remarkable and heartening team effort ; many thanks to Alec and his team, Tony and Frank from the MBA with their team and the weather gods for letting us off lightly.

I now head indirectly to Langdale for two weeks indulgence before departing for Spain, Portugal, Spain again and Morocco with a return now planned for Easter as my GP wants to keep a close eye on me (best not mention all the digging then). I then plan to return to Scotland for a couple of MBA work parties and then aim to complete a summer circuit of Scandinavia before returning for the 2013 Beast at Brecon. 

Whilst it is very early to be looking at this event if you would like to be involved with preparation and marshalling please underline Sunday September the 8th 2013 and the few days before and after if you can!

Photos of the Big Dig appear here and as ever my whereabouts lie here.

Bristol's Boats, Brighton Rocks and the Beacons Beckon

After dropping the van off for a new clutch I headed in to Bristol for the day to visit the SS Great Britain. This turned out to be fascinating and impressive - well worth the slightly steep admission fee. Whilst exploring the  reconstructed interior a couple of calls came through from the garage who had found a couple of issues with the gear box. However they were able to fit new input shaft bearings and syncromesh rings and skim the fly wheel and assured me that all would be well by late afternoon.
After completing my tour of Brunel's iconic vessel I took the Bristol Packet that runs through the docks for an interesting perspective on the flourishing waterside developments. By mid afternoon I was back to collect the old bus and settle a bill rather larger than initially anticipated but at least the work done should avoid any problems whilst over in Europe - other than the replacement roof this is the first serious money spent on the old girl in 7 years and 140,000 miles so with 257k miles on the clock I am more than content.
A weekend in Frome produced a very sociable pub session in Bath on the Friday night and two good walks in the surrounding countryside despite some heavy snow first thing Sunday and rather saturated farmland.
On Sunday I headed over to Farnham to see a long standing friend and his family as I felt it unlikely that I would be that far east again before heading south. His elder lad had an early flight one morning so we dropped him at Gatwick and headed down to Brighton on a crystal clear day. Simply seeing the Channel stirred my travel desires - December the 20th will see me crossing from Portsmouth to France on the next adventure. The temporary Eye observation wheel provided good photo opportunities before we enjoyed breakfast in a sun drenched cafe on the front.
Later I returned to Brecon with the van seemingly back on good form and settled down in the town car park as the fun fair filled the streets with neon and sound. A good walk on the Beacons today included meeting a few others on the summit of Pen y Fan from all corners of the globe : London, Bath, Vancouver and Nepal! Well done all of you for pushing on despite the summit mist. A few National Trust volunteers were maintaining the path over Cribbyn whilst far below in Cwm Sere a hunt was quartering the woodland and mountain flanks.
A short break oop north begins tomorrow after a brief GP check up so meanwhile enjoy the piccies here  and keep tabs on my location here

Autumn's Onset

Following the energetic weekend of mountain biking I took it easy for a few days with a potter round Hay on Wye's book shops, the restored flour mill at Talgarth and Bronllys Castle. A misty and tranquil walk round Llangorse Lake included a climb up Allt yr Esgair for surprisingly good views of the surrounding Beacons and after badminton in Brecon on Wednesday I drove up to Coventry for a sign on interview with the practice nurse. 
In an effort to rejuvenate the van I changed the fuel filter plus oil and oil filter which seems to have done the trick. A disintegrating  fan belt was spotted and later replaced whilst down at Bristol. During this work I spotted a badly worn suspension bush and arranged for it to be replaced on the Tuesday thus imposing on the hospitality of friends for longer than planned. With my MOT only a month old this was an alarming oversight on the tester's part and highlights the shortcomings of these safety inspections.
Good weather and access to a few tools enabled me to give my bike a much needed clean and service, exchange the waste tank tap for one with a larger bore and continue to transfer my various settings to the new netbook. 
Saturday saw us walk along the bank of the Severn to the original crossing on a crisp and sunny day whilst the poor weather on Sunday saw me scanning a decade of farm photographs on to a memory stick and then disposing of the bulky and rather tatty old albums. I was pleased with the results and will deal with the remaining dozen or so other albums covering the 1980's over the next few weeks. Around 2000 slides also need attention but that will be an even more labour intensive task which may keep me occupied whilst down in Europe this winter.
I plan to leave in late December and head to Spain over the Christmas/New Year period and then slow right down once it warms up.
As part of the pre trip preparation the excellent PC Motors (01179424746) in Bristol will be asked to replace the same bushes but on the offside and do a cam belt - much easier to have this done early here in the UK than over on the continent. The last change was done in Auckland!
A new clutch is being fitted this week after which I travel to Sheffield by train for a long weekend, return south for the bothy muck digging and then have two cosy weeks up in the Lakes.
It is good to be drawing all the various loose strings of the last year together and I am looking forward to setting off once more with a rough route but no timetable - just how I like it!
A few piccies here cover the last week and these here look at a few highlights of my smallholding experiences.
Errant locations via the Spot here.

Fond Oz memories epitomised below.

Beacons Biking

A picture perfect journey on a sunny autumn day through Wales' finest scenery had me in Talybont by lunchtime to meet Bill and Dale with time to walk in to Brecon along a combination of canal towpath and footpaths with just enough time to get the last bus back followed by a few pints in the Star.
Saturday saw the team assemble with the arrival of Nick and Dale and in perfect conditions we headed off up the Talybont Valley. The long climb brought us to Torpantau Tunnel after which we followed much of the 2012 Beast route across the moor and down the rocky tracks of Cwm Callan. At Pontsticill we split in to two and 3 of us headed over the Gap Road to enjoy the swooping descent towards Brecon culminating in a blast down the green lane in to Brecon itself where Dale picked up some much needed front pads at Biped Cycles. 

A less conventional crossing of the Gap can be seen by clicking the above link.
A steady spin back along the canal finished an excellent day's riding and justified a guilt free feast and more ale at the Star once more.
Early mist on Sunday morning soon burnt off as four of us drove round to park in the shadow of the Sugar Loaf and begin the long steady climb up the Grwynne Fawr reservoir - the crisp air, bright sunshine and stunning colours showed off the impressive dam at its finest . Lunch at the bothy saw us fit to continue to the ridge with wonderful views across Radnorshire before we headed south towards Waun Fach along a broad ridge that at times got boggy leading to a spectacular face plant by Bill. Almost never ending views across to the Carmarthen Fans were our reward as we kept up a decent pace to ward off the surprisingly fresh easterly wind.
The fast descent down an old pack horse route to Hermitage put smiles on all our faces and a weary return through the lanes had us back to the vans after two thoroughly rewarding days.
Given the tough terrain and long distances the bikes and bodies all held up well - thanks for turning out guys - must do it again!
This week I am seeking advice on a perceived power loss combined with increased fuel consumption that may require some professional intervention - these issues relating to the van not me - and next week I travel to Sheffield for a few days.
Photos of a memorable weekend here and locations here.

A Windy Week in North Wales

After the successful bothy related activities I took advantage of clear conditions to complete a circuit of the Carneddau with a return via the small shelter on Foel Grach that I had failed to find 25 years ago on the first night of a memorable off - road, north to south cycling traverse of Wales. It was a stunning day with very strong gusts enhancing the exposure on the short scrambly ridge and clear views to the surrounding peaks. 

A look round Conway Castle and the town walls was followed by the coastal drive round to Caernarfon where I was to spend a week at a smallholding with three horse and two cats for company. The horses could  clearly detect fear but kindly didn't take advantage whilst the cats could spot a soft touch and took full advantage settling themselves on and around me during evenings in front of the wood burner.
Whilst the rain generally confined itself to the nights very strong winds blew for most of the week deterring me from heading for the tops. However a day in Llanberris visiting the impressive Electric Mountain  Pump Storage Power Station built almost entirely underground and the National Slate Museum was well worth it. The collection of skilfully crafted wooden patterns for the foundry was a highlight for me - especially as many of the finished cast products could be seen in use in the buildings and machinery. 
Crossing over to Anglesey on the Britannia Bridge gave me a good view of Telford's Menai Bridge whilst at Holyhead the walk from the breakwater quarries to South Stack included seal sightings, a view of the Wicklow Mountains near Dublin and the Isle of Man, and spectacular sea cliffs. 
Beaumaris Castle was impressively solid but high tides prevented me from following the coast road north so I headed instead to the dramatic scenery of Parys Mountain where huge deposits of copper provided boom times many years ago for nearby Amlwch. The gaping hole with its many hues and barren outcrops reminded me of the iron ore mining in Western Australia and the site provided an interesting couple of hours exploration.
Caernarfon Castle's impressive bulk finished off a varied and informative week and tomorrow I head south for a weekend of mountain biking near Brecon.
Photos here cover the highlights and stalkers can find me here.

Autumnal Activities

The last few weeks have provided a remarkable variety of activities based largely around Wales where the transitional Autumnal colours have been providing a changing back drop.

A visit to Coventry and across to Shropshire to see family and inspect an impressive new wood chip boiler system at my brother's cottage included the spreading of many tons of stone chippings to tidy up his drive. This was followed in South Wales by assisting in the spreading of 8 cubic metres of concrete at a friend's latest project.

A trip to the informative Deep Pit mine at Blaenavon followed by the adjacent blast furnace remains provided a fascinating glimpse in to Wales's historic industrial heritage.

Further evidence of this was apparent on my cycle along the canal towpath from Abergavenny to Newport - very well worth doing with a number of surprises along the way. Long term plans to reopen the waterway seem ambitious but it would be good to see the flights of disused locks functioning once more. 

After a social event in Brecon I returned to Coventry once more to register with a local GP and then took Crad to an outpatient appointment where progress seemed satisfactory. Later that week we headed over to West Wales on a trip for him down memory lane to the Cliff Hotel near Cardigan. I picked up my old slides and photos whilst there which provided me with an opportunity to look back more than a decade to early life on the farm, my caving days and even life as a student nurse in Hampshire over 30 years ago.

A good meal at the Penycae Inn in the Upper Swansea Valley with a friend from my smallholding days was a chance to visit this comfy pub which is much changed from the days when it was a rather more basic affair. I also picked up a new netbook as this machine is showing signs of age after several years of trouble free performance - said replacement will just sit tucked away until things crash permanently.

Our planned re roof of Nant Rhys bothy in mid Wales fell foul of new asbestos handling regulations but we all met there anyway for our Autumn Area Meeting where progress on other projects, new possibilities and current issues filled a constructive evening. The proposed new bothy in the Elan Valley seems likely to go ahead next year as planning permission has been granted - our initial involvement will centre around the shovelling out of many tons of sheep sh*t in mid November - can't wait.

We all then migrated north to Dolgellau to stay at Penrhos bothy and walk some of the local hills  - 3 of us recreated 'Last of the Summer Wine' scenarios on a couple of gentle but jovial jaunts.

To make use of booked leave and willing volunteers we again moved north to isolated Dulyn bothy in Snowdonia at the back of the Carneddau. An excellent meal in the local pub provided fuel for the hour's walk in which Chris and I neatly avoided by kipping up at the car park. At the bothy the stove required major work as much of the flue and exit pipe had corroded away. Given the remote location and distance from the roadhead we were fortunate that the hydro electric scheme workers were inspecting the adjacent reservoir and valve house and were willing to haul out said stove on their tracked load lugger and Land Rover. Phil and Mike then dashed down to civilisation to effect repairs, returning safely late on a frosty Tuesday night.

On Wednesday the power workers again provided much assistance with the stove, cement, ply and coal and after a busy day by all the bulk of the work was completed along with external pointing, internal painting and a new chimney cap and cowl.

Today heavy rain has sent me down to Llandudno for supplies and a catch up as next week I will be over near Caernarvon where house sitting and keeping an eye on three horse will leave me time to explore some of Snowdonia's tops or if the weather closes in the many attractions of Anglesey and perhaps the Lleyn Peninsular. 

Photos here capture some of the highlights of a busy 3 weeks since my last musings and Spotty Spot here will enable monitoring of my whereabouts.

Slides top right return to Japan as a marked contrast to my current location!

One year on.

The successful completion of the Brecon Beast Event a fortnight ago marked the first anniversary of our return from the two amazing years in the southern hemisphere. Generous sponsorship from friends and family has raised £500 which will go towards new facilities for the Brecon Ambulance Station Crew rest room. The  professional approach and reassurances provided by the paramedics during my memorable transfer over those same mountains in December were so very much appreciated at the time and I am delighted to be able to thank them all in this way - thank you again to all those who kindly chipped in.
The last 12 months have seen as most of you know some profound changes but also produced some very happy memories. Proving to myself that good health has returned has involved gradual exposure to the levels of activity I enjoyed over previous decades and I feel as fit as ever - 5 hours in perfect conditions on the Wall and White's level trails at Afan Argoed yesterday was a part of that.




Last weekend's get together near Brecon to celebrate Jan's final summit as part of a birthday challenge was a happy and sociable occasion - not in my case marked by photos as I managed to lose a second camera during the walk. Thus I also lack pictures of a recent ride in to Moel Prysgau bothy which is looking in top condition and reflects the great efforts put in over the last couple of years by the Maintenance Organisers Chris and Frank ably assisted by the Welsh Area members and other volunteers. In a fortnight we begin a week long project to reroof Nant Rhys bothy - volunteers welcome and details available from myself or via the MBA website here. For a flavour of what to expect check out the video.

En route to Bristol I dropped in to Neville Hall hospital to visit Crad who the previous day had had an unfortunate incident whilst returning from a hack - his stirrup caught on a gate fixing causing a nasty fall that resulted in a fracture of his left collar bone and fibula plus severe ligament damage to an ankle already weakened by an incident 17 years ago. Recovery will be slow and possibly frustrating but even just 24 hours after the event he was in typically upbeat and determined mode - good on yer cobber!
The trusty van was submitted for an MOT in Bristol and required the same temporary fix to the front brake caliper as I had undertaken on the rear ones last June in the dusty outback of the Pilbarra in Western Australia. The use of Dale's drive for the fix and then Ian's barn for fitting new parts (and as a precaution new rear discs and pads) was very much appreciated. With 255k miles on the clock and at 13 years old apparently there is little else of concern so I hope to get many more years service out of the old girl yet - if only everything was as reliable as a Volkswagen as they used to say!!
A quick trip to Coventry enabled a catch up with my parents, attention to paperwork re finances, van insurance and the impending divorce resolution plus an unexpected and much welcomed meeting with Penny who was visiting family in Warwickshire.
Wednesday saw us all travel to Bishop's Castle to inspect the seemingly rather complex systems behind my brother's new wood chip boiler system - several tons of stone chippings were spread around his drive to smarten the place up and as ever my nephew and niece were charmingly sweet and entertaining.
An energetic session of badminton left me as ever more bushed than the Beast event and Brecon town car park provided the usual secure and peaceful accommodation.
Life on the road suits me very well as I have so much freedom and flexibility - I have enjoyed the last year back in the UK but the reports and tales on other travel blogs continue to inspire me and I will be pleased to set off again on the 20th of December once all outstanding matters are finally resolved. These revolve around  moving my GP care to Coventry followed by a review and reduction of medication (I hope to ditch the beta blockers, move to over the counter statins and aspirin leaving me only the ACE inhibitor on prescription - which will make long term travel easier), finalising the divorce and associated details and I hope entertaining a number of friends over the fortnight of 24th November to 8th December in Cumbria - let me know if you can join in for a day or two.
Today I am tucked away as wind and rain lash the land once more - it is a 12 tealight day and I am as snug as a bug with internet signal, TV reception and my weekly dose of iron in the shape this time of two lamb cutlets to look forward to.
I have put together a selection of photos here recording some of the highlights of a memorably unpredictable year and will by next time have mastered the new camera with its various features. Locations via SPOT will appear here and the the slideshow top right covers time in Southern Oz.