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| Cribyn from Pen y Fan |
For a variety of reasons, it had been over two months since I'd managed to make it onto a
Tiger Bay Ramblers walk. But last Sunday at last I was free and keen to go. Only one problem - there was no walk on! And so it transpired that I led a walk up Pen y Fan and the nearby peaks of Corn Du and Cribyn, starting and ending near the Neuadd Reservoirs north of Pontsticill.
This was only the second time I'd led a walk for the group, and the contrast in preparation with the first time around couldn't have been greater. Before that walk in the Rhondda Fawr in April, I'd recce'd the route twice during the months before - adjusting the route after it became clear the original one was too long, too boggy and just too knackering! On this occasion there was no time for such careful preparation and so I just plotted a route on a map, did a flyover on GoogleEarth to check that the paths actually existed, and invited anyone else who dared to come along.
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| On top of Pen y Fan |
One other thing I did was to map out the intended route using the
MapmyHike website, primarily to try and get a fairly accurate idea of the distance. This was the first time I'd used this tool. Since getting my first iPhone last December I have experimented with several different GPS apps, but without much satisfaction. MapmyHike is certainly the best one I have come across so far, combining as it does the ability to plan routes in advance using the website and the
app itself which uses GPS to record and map the walk as you do it. You can also edit and save the walk details afterwards, again using the website. Over time then, using the app and website together, there is the potential to build up a significant archive of routes and walk information.
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| Corn Du and Pen y Fan from Cribyn |
As it happened, seven other hardy souls turned up to join the walk, and we were rewarded with a predominantly dry and sunny day though we did get a couple of short but sharp drenchings near the peaks. The walk included several steep ascents, particularly near the start as we climbed quickly to get onto the ridge itself and then near the halfway point between Pen y Fan and Cribyn. The final descent from Craig y Fan Ddu too was particularly punishing on those knees whose best days are unfortunately behind them. The views were spectacular throughout however, and there was even a band perfoming on top of Pen y Fan, which was about as busy as Cardiff's Queen Street on a Sunday afternoon.
One result of not having done a recce was that I'd underestimated how long the walk would take, and so we took a couple of shortcuts towards the end of the walk that shortened the original route by about a mile and cut out another steep hill. As a result we got to the beer garden of Pontsticill's Red Cow Inn in time to enjoy a pint of
Butty Bach in the afternoon sun.
The original intended route can be seen
here, and the actual walk as undertaken
here.
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