Long Walk meet, Cambrian Mountains

Meet Report: 21-23 June 2024.

The weekend following the Summer Solstice saw eight members head to Mid Wales for the Club’s annual long walk.

The meet got off to an inauspicious start for one club member. After leaving a sunny 26°C London, five and a half hours of blindly following Google maps and a 14 degrees drop in temperature, navigation declared a right turn ahead. There was no road, only a steep grassy track, with huge divots and concrete blocks. Less than two miles from the hostel and yet so far! It was close to an hour’s diversion to get the hostel via Tregaron. Note to self: next time read the meet instructions.

Others had better starts to the weekend, with Helen and Michael walking part of the Kerry Ridgeway and Panty Hill near Newtown on Thursday, and Harvey staying a night at the South Wales Caving Club hut. Tim stopped off at Coed y Brenin near Dolgellau and cycled a recently opened 40km gravel circuit which proved well worth the effort.

Our base for the meet was the Ty’n Cornel hostel. The 19th century former farmhouse provided comfortable accommodation with a friendly warden and a well-equipped kitchen. It claims to be the “most remote hostel in Wales”. I’ve not fact checked this statement but can confirm it was remote, with no phone signal and access via a long, rough track.

Mick designed a long walk for us of 55km, made up of a 40km Northern loop and a shorter Southern loop. Tackling it in a clockwise direction, the route started with a 2km stretch back down the track we had driven up the day before. Turning right off the track this was the last time my feet would be dry for the day. On paper we were on the Cambrian Way but on the ground there was just an indistinct ATV track over grassy tussocks and boggy ground, hard going. Passing sheep and little else we got to the first summit of Esgair Cerrig (490m), soon followed by the high point for the day of Garn Gron (541m). We passed by the Google Maps highlight of Nant Y Cwr Phone Box. To give it its due, the pillar box red against the green backdrop of the Welsh hills did make for a nice photo. We passed though boggy woodland before descending down to the remains of Strata Florida Abbey which has stood on the banks of the river Teifi since 1201. It didn’t have a tea room and so it was swiftly passed.

A small amount of road walking and we were onto a well-established track. The easy going soon came to an end. The track followed the River Towy and at some points it was hard to differentiate between the two. The 4WD off-roaders’ track was flooded and the detours around the edge were boggy. There was zero chance of staying dry and on two occasions the water was well over knee level. A boggy (surprise) grass path and a bit more road walking took us to Soar-y-Mynydd Chapel. A beautifully simple place of worship. Also, the site of my non-existent road discovery the night before, a time when I could have used some calm.

With just 20km left to go there was a fair stretch on forestry tracks and then, in my opinion, the highlight of the walk. The Cambrian way took a narrow but well defined (and dry) path up the Doethie Valley. The sun was out and the valley looked lush and green with the sound of the river below. This took us basically back to the hostel.

The long walk lived up to its name. I measured 56km and 1500m of elevational gain. Fiona and Andrew both completed the route on Saturday, in 9.5hrs and 14hrs respectively. Michael completed it over two days, the Southern loop on Friday and the 40km Northern loop on Saturday.

Mick set off from the hostel and followed the Cambrian Way as it traced the infant Afon Doethie downstream with the views getting better and better. Small heath butterflies were enjoying the sun, and colonies of orchids and foxgloves added some splashes of colour. He headed north from the Doethie’s confluence with the Afon Pysgotwr Fawr, thankful for the diagonal track up the steep hillside at the end of the Pysgotwr Gorge. At the top the view looking back up the lovely Doethie valley was particularly impressive with the crags of Craig Ddu overlooking the river. The standing stone at Cefn Cnwcheithinog was underwhelming but a good track headed across the moorland to the farm at Bryn-ambor and the Nant Gwernog plantation where the bridleway had been swallowed up by tussocky grass to finally join the outward route and back to the hostel.

Helen and Tim set off to see how far they would get. They followed the Cambrian way until about an hour or so short of Strata Florida before turning back as they didn’t intend to walk the whole route. On reaching the telephone box again (no telephone, the farmer has repurposed it as a free range egg shop, no eggs either), they followed a quiet lane down to Capel Soar y Mynnydd. This old chapel, built in the early 18^th century is a lovely tranquil place with its plain walls and iconic box pews, well worth a visit. They then cut across to drop into the Doethie valley about halfway up before returning to the hostel. About 25km in total.

Harvey cycled the rough track to Tregaron and back, breaking at a small caffi.

Stuart looked after us well and spent the day preparing an excellent sausage and lentil stew befrore making the most of the afternoon by walking to the Chapel and back up Doethie Valley.

It was a dry day with lots of cloud, perfect for a long walk. There weren’t many other walkers around, six spotted in total. We did share the route with three old school Defenders and a group of friendly men on scrambler bikes.

After a sociable evening and the discovery and destruction of a few unwelcome guests (ticks), Sunday dawned wet and midgy. Due to this, most headed straight home with the Smith’s stopping off at Devil’s Bridge and Chirk where they explored the aqueduct, tunnel, and town.

A challenging day’s walking and an opportunity to explore a new bit of Wales for many in the group. Thank you to all those who helped with the organisation.