A heavy dew overnight and calm conditions made for soaking tents come morning. However a brilliant sunrise soon saw the tents becoming much drier.. The weather looked promising, dry and warm. Unanimously we set off in shorts and tee shirts. Steady walking saw us crossing over Vivod Mountain and onward to Moel Fferna.
. The ground around Moel Fferna was deeply rutted were a tractor had ploughed through the heather
A narrow path that led through dense heather led us over Carrig Coediog. With Mike's careful map reading we continued on toward Careg-Y Caws.
. Mike had suggested a direct descent off Moel Sych down to Llyn Lluncaws. taking him at his word, I began to thread my way down through craggy rock outcrops and very steep ground. Unfortunately JJ was less than amused, he is not keen on very steep ground. My apologies JJ.
Mike went for an early morning paddle. However he found the water very shallow and the bottom covered in a mixture of slippery stones and mud. My hope for a swim were cancelled.
Our route for the day saw us ascending a short, sharp uphill bit on to a broad, grassy ridge by Moel yr Ewig and then a gradual climb up and over Godor. As we left our camping spot we spotted a pair of red kites quartering the opposite ridge.There was no public right of way off Godor. Thus as we made our way down through rough pasture, there was a little trepidation as we approached a farmer mending fences. JJ put his public relations skills to the fore and the farmer proved friendly. A steady descent down to to Tyn y Ffridd and then a section of road plodding over Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog. This was a hard bit of walking, steep climbs uphill and with the shimmering heat reflecting off the road surface. Our reward was to find a friendly pub in the village where much needed liquid refreshments were partaken off.
The following morning we were up and away early. A descent down to the road, a short uphill bit of road walking took us over by Tan y Foel. Here we turned off and then a steady walk up through open moorland that was slowing fading in to it's autumn colours. This led us up to were we had camped on the Monday evening. It was then a case of retracing our footsteps back down Llangollen. The hot weather had brought folk out by the score. The town was heaving with people. We made our way to the railway station, a preservation line run by volunteers. There was a bustling cafe here and we indulged in egg /sausages and chips. Large quantities of tea were also quaffed. For entertainment as we sat at a table on the platform, was a steam engine doing steam engine things, puffing and huffing, letting off steam and tooting its whistle.
A delightful few days on uncrowded, indeed mainly deserted, hills. All in excellent company too. Amazingly we returned deeply sunburned!