A Walk From Lledrod.

Looking out this morning we were greeted with sea mist. We could still see across to the village but the steady drizzle forced me to sit just inside the door with my (not so) early morning cuppa. By mid-day it was warm and looked as if the sea mist was about to lift. I hoped that inland the sun would be shining but as can be seen from the photos it stayed grey with light rain falling every now and then.

Today's walk started by the church of St Michael's Church in the village of Lledrod by the River Wyre.

The church is 19thC built on the site of a medieval church which may have been built on a pre-Christian site. 

Our route took us through the church grounds (more photos in the next post) passing yew trees that must be hundreds of years old.

Coming out of the graveyard we walked through a stunning wildflower meadow and into a wooded valley.

Looking back at the meadow from the trees.

There was an intriguing elaborate tree house built on the side of the valley. Some of the group went down to have a look but I stayed back with those who thought we shouldn't be intruding upon private property. 

Instead we pondered on how this beech tree has some sheep fence going right through the middle of it. Looking at it more closely I don't think the fence is old enough to have had the tree grow around it and I suspect that two sections of the fence were nailed into the tree on either side and the bark has grown around it making it look as if the wire fence goes right through the middle of it.

Down in the valley we crossed over the River Wyre (Welsh rivers like some mountains can be considerably smaller than expected.)

Coming up the other side of the valley we could see a large farm complex which on closer inspection turned out to be a free-range chicken unit. And yes, we could smell it too.

Turning our backs on the industrial farming we made our way up an ancient farm track,

which led us up to an old farm which is in the process of being restored. I've found a survey that states 'Berthdomled was a carefully planned farm of 1870' with the courtyard of farm buildings being referred to as 'stables'.

From Berthdomled we followed a track to the main road which we followed briefly.

Leaving the road we continued uphill through farmyards and sheep fields before sitting on the remains of a stone wall for lunch.

From there we could see right across the valley to an iron age hill fort. Apparently it has impressive ramparts on the far side but there is no public access. The previous owner would probably have been amenable to granting us access but his son is said to be vehemently opposed to anyone coming onto his land.

It was wetter on the last leg of our circular route so my camera was put away safely in my backpack. On my way home I called in at one of my fellow walker's as she had forgotten to bring along the tomato plants she had offered me. I only needed two more to replace two that had not thrived and it's fun to have some different varieties. I also came away with some grey leaved sedum for the shingle garden and some orange hawkbit (fox and cubs) to go where I took out the montbretia. If it grows the bright orange flowers should blend nicely with the yellow Welsh poppies and red fuchsias in that corner. In return I gave my friend plenty of groundcover sedums and stonecrop.