HW Walk Part 1.

Today has been dry but with a clammy dampness in the air that felt quite chilly. Driving home in the afternoon I could see that the sky had the slightest wash of pale blue between the strips of almost white clouds. Once I reached the brow of the hill above Borth the view across the bog to Snowdonia was veiled by a light mist that turned each layer of hills a paler shade of grey much like a Japanese painting.

Today's walk was very interesting so here is the first part where we walked in the nature reserve in Coed Penglanowen, the woods around Plas Nanteos. Eight of us met up by one of the entrances to the nature reserve though later one left early for another engagement and three went home via a path through the woods.

 

Our path took us along the Nant Paith which flowed through a woodland planted up with specimen trees by one of the former owners of the mansion. They were mostly deciduous trees but Bob, one of our group is a knowledgeable woodsman and was able to point out many interesting features.

Bob and his wife live in woods just over the hill and has done a lot of work both in the reserve and around the mansion including building this stunning bridge. He built it around 20 years ago using the trunk of an oak tree for the base and handrails with the main joints being fixed by dowels.

This is a specimen redwood. There was a sign nearby which said that it is one of the tallest redwoods in Wales. We have seen similar sized redwoods in the grounds of other mansions as it was quite the fashion at the time to have one in your arboretum.

Some early snowdrops. We saw many clumps of green shoots of snowdrops, daffodils and crocus in the woods and around the mansion hinting at a carpet of colour in the spring.

We crossed the Nant Paith by a much more recent bridge. There was much discussion and examination of the method of construction. The bridge was at least redeemed by the curve which gave it a slightly oriental look as opposed to the basic straight over construction of yet another bridge over the stream.

On our way back to the cars we passed an entrance to  the reserve which although showing signs of age was immediately identifiable as Bob's work.

Our walk also included the grounds and walled garden of Plas Nanteos, photos and information to follow.