A Walk To Pen Dinas Gorddu.

Another day of sunny, warm weather with a good breeze to dry my dressing gown hanging out on the line. Peter went out rowing in the afternoon and I went off walking with the group.

Our walk today began in the village of Bont Goch only about 20 minutes drive away. First though I stopped off to collect a fellow walker as part of our informal lift sharing.

We began our walk by following the road out of the village eventually turning down an old farm track which is now a bridleway. The track almost doubled back along the road but lower down in the valley. Later we were to change direction again so that our route resembled long hairpin bends.

This brought us to the Leri which we crossed by the wooden footbridge (top left). Before that we stopped to admire the water rushing down an almost vertical stone face that was at least 10 ft high. On the far side of the bridge the river was much shallower and there was a ford for vehicles and horses. On the return journey I noticed some droppings on the bridge which when I later compared my photo (I will spare you the sight) confirmed my suspicion that it was otter spraint. Not as good as seeing an otter but nice to know they were around.

As we worked our way up the third bend we could see right back to the village and by zooming in with the camera could even see our cars.

The track led us past the ruins of stone built farm buildings while on the other side were the remains of the farmhouse. Like the barn it was roofless and empty. 

Onwards and upwards we went until we reached the first of a series of wind turbines. It was good to see an alternative source of power rather than one using fossil fuels. Many times I've heard the argument that 'the wind isn't always blowing' or 'the sun doesn't always shine' and thought that the tide goes in and out twice a day and is so predictable they can write year long books of tide times. But previous governments decided to support wind power (and their cronies no doubt) and declined to support research into wave and tide power. Which for a nation surrounded by the sea seems very short sighted.

Looking inland we had the most incredible views over the hills. It was so exhilarating standing there with so much wilderness around us.

We found that we had missed the official footpath so instead of backtracking to where there was a proper stile we crossed the barbed wire fence using these two large stones which must have been put there for that very purpose. A stone age stile?

This brought us to a small pond that appeared to have a man made bank or dam on the lower side with a large boggy area on the inlet side that was home to a pair of Canada geese. We walked around the pond and found a rocky outcrop that sheltered us from the strong wind while we  ate our lunch. As we rested and enjoyed the warmth of the sun I suddenly heard the sound of a skylark singing high above us. What a treat.

After a suitable break we carried on through that field and back over the fence this time using a fairly well maintained wooden stile.

And there to the north was the outcrop (centre of the photo) that once was the iron age hillfort of Pen Dinas Mynydd Gorddu (settlement/city at the top of the overcast mountain is my best translation).  It is the largest hillfort in Ceredigion and was built by the iron age Celts around 400BC and occupied until the Romans arrived in Ceredigion around AD 70. Out on the left we could see the sea and Aberdyfi at the base of the next headland. Nothing remains now apart from humps and hollows showing where structures once were. We spent some time at the top admiring the view before making our way down through the gap in the ramparts (just above the single sheep on the left) which would have been the gateway into the fort. From there we retraced our route back to Bont Goch. According to one person's phone we walked just under five miles which is very good going for us.

It was after 5.00 by the time I got home so there wasn't much time to do more than fetch in the washing, sort out the photos and do the last of my three daily exercise sessions. I'm up to 70 squats in each set now but at least they don't take as long as the thread-the-needle stretches I was given to do at my first physiotherapy session.