Day 05 Landegla to Llangollen

From the quaint village of Llandegla, a steepish climb up into the Llandegla Forest. On the way out of town, we met an old man who lived in a horse box ( he looked and smelled like an old man who lived in a horse box). He said he wanted to go to Australia and do the whole thing. We were charmed - the joys of doing a slow walk.
A mostly spruce forest feeding the local paper mill. Also plenty mountain bike trails. But nice to be among the trees again after days of treeless sheep paddocks. Trees thinned into an upland moor, the path paved with large slate slabs. This area is renowned as a black grouse breading area, but we saw none - they hide in the heath.
The weather varied by the minute - warm and humid in the forest to windy and chilly on the moors, the occasional shower of rain to liven things up.
The path descended into Eglwyseg valley or Worlds End, a steep valley with limestone cliffs on one side, old limestone kilns and the odd medieval castle ruins along the way. We got lost due to some dodgy map work ( their fault not ours) and ended up climbing a tree to get over a barbed wire fence.
Back to Llangollen a pint of bitter (B&P Original) and a roast pork dinner at a table overlooking the Dee River.

Stats: 16.4 km; 5:30 hrs; 482 m alt gain; HR 77 so an easier day.
Orthopaedic/podiatric report is goodRead more