Llangollen to Llandegla

Our first goal was the hilltop with the ruins of the 13th century Castell Dinas Bran. This was a Welsh castle, which is different from most of the castles in Wales, which were built by the English or Normans. The castle itself was fun to roam around in, and the views from there in all directions were excellent -- of farmland, of fields with hawthorn borders, of Llangollen, and of our next stretch of walk, the scree covered sides of Eglwyseg Mountain. We went down from the hill and joined the "Panorama Walk", a very scenic small road. After a mile or so, we left the road and started across the scree slopes. Apparently this used to be a dangerous section in bad weather, but over the years the path has become well-worn. I think it would now be fine in almost any weather conditions, but in any case, we had a beautiful day. The scree was fun, and the views were superb. For the first and only time on the trip, we unzipped our long pants legs and wore shorts. We caught up with our teacher women, who had also stayed in Llangollen, and had a good visit with them. As we parted, we asked each other where we'd be staying that night. They said they were going just 9 or 10 miles, to Llandegla. I was surprised, thinking we were going 12 miles, also to Llandegla. We pulled out maps, and they were right. Somewhere I had picked up the 12 mile distance. Suddenly we had a very short day in front of us!

After the scree section we went down, and then up along a forestry road. Men were hauling off recently cut trees, in enormous trucks. Then we were out on open moor. This is another section that has been improved for walkers. Most of the boggy parts are now covered with board walks. While we sat on a board and ate lunch, the sun disappeared, and we got chilly and zipped the pants legs back on. That was the end of our wearing shorts!

After the moor there was a big forestry plantation. Some of the paths were pretty muddy, but the way was easy to find. We arrived at our B&B in Llandegla in the fairly early afternoon. Mike Byrne greeted us, as Sheila was off shopping in Llandudno for the day. They're both school teachers, and were enjoying their half-term holiday. Mike fixed us tea, and we had a very enjoyable conversation, sitting in their back garden. Later, after we showered, watched the 6:00 news, and read for a while, we set out for the Crown for dinner. Mike suddenly appeared and very kindly offered to drive us, since it was raining. The pub was fine, and we walked back, ending a very enjoyable day.