Wales Mountain Walks and Walking for Wildlife

You may or may not be aware that we now have Wild boar (wild pigs) back in the British countryside after an absence of over 400 years. This raises questions for some people who may be worried about having these large and potentially dangerous animals back in the wild, others may be just looking for an easy opportunity to get to see them in the wild. Either way this is a wonderful opportunity to learn all you need to know about the ecology benefits and disadvantages of having them back. You may also like to know that I have many years experience studying and watching Wild boar in France, Belgium, Slovakia, Turkey and Kazakhstan, also various other wild, or feral pigs around the tropics. In Wales Boar are to be found in the Lady Park Wood area of the Wye Valley, and I can lead you along some lovely Wye Valley walks to look for them. However I usually lead my Wild boar walks in the Forest of Dean just up the road and over the border in England. I've spent two years studying the Boars in the Forest of Dean, and I now know their history, movement patterns, characteristics, and just where best to find them. On this walk I'll inform you of all the interesting facts and information about this wonderful mammal's return to the Forest of Dean and other locations in the British Isles.

Wild boar are normally secretive, and largely nocturnal so these walks are conducted during evening and night-time. We normally arrive in the afternoon when I provide an introductory briefing as we start our walk. We will see some of the many Fallow deer and if we're lucky, Roe deer and Muntjac as we start our walk. It's during the late afternoon and evening that we stand our first chances of seeing Wild boar in the forest on Dean. We can also walk during the complete darkness of the night using expensive thermal-imaging night-vision equipment if you should wish to.

Accommodation: On your own. Because this is an evening walk I usually combine this walk with other walks in South Wales like the Brecon Beacons. For this we travel on in the late evening and usually stay in south Wales. Try ebookers.com to find hotels near Merthyr Tydfil.

The classic tourist route to Pen y Fan but made into a loop - The Brecon Beacons are Wales' second highest mountain range and Pen y Fan, the highest peak in southern Britain is the most popular climb, but this horseshoe walk from Taf Fechan to the four neighbouring peaks of Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y Big is by far the most spectacular route to take and for me much more rewarding than a simple up and down along a crowded path to Pen y Fan from the Storey Arms. This is a hard climb though but definitely one of the top 10 walks in Wales. It's 10.7 miles in a circular loop and will take us about 6 hours.

Because that walk can be done in 6 hours we have time to visit Henrhyd Falls in Graig Llech Woods on the same day - The highest waterfall in South Wales is tucked away on the western edge of the Brecon Beacons. Plunging 90ft (27m) into a wooded gorge, Henrhyd waterfall is a spectacular sight and the surrounding Graig Llech Woods, which due to rare mosses, liverworts and lichen the area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Merthyr Tydfil.

The Brecon Beacons are the mountains used for extreme training by the SAS. They are also the place I did my expedition training many years ago. So this is a walk of about 12 miles in the western Brecon Beacons where you're not likely to see any other people. We can also do this over 2 days if you wish and wild-camp in tents if that's what you'd like to try.

Accommodation: Wild camp in tents, or on your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Merthyr Tydfil.

The best waterfall walk anywhere in the UK - So this is a reasonably technical circular loop in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons. A distance of about 15 miles and requires about 8 hours, with numerous spectacular waterfalls to be seen in valleys of ancient deciduous woodland. The main waterfalls path beside the River Neath (Nedd Fechan) is quite popular, rightly so! But the return path down beside Afon Mellte is is seldom walked, but in my view this is the better walk of the two, and this is the path I would choose for expedition wilderness camping in hammocks if that's what you'd like to try. In which case the time of arrival determines when we make camp and therefore the direction we walk.

Accommodation: Wild camp in hammocks, or on your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Merthyr Tydfil.

This is one of those mountains that you've seen many times and each time is just asking to be climbed. It's not a big rugged mountain, it's more like a large rounded grassy hill. It stands alone isolated from the giants of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains which neighbour it. But it makes a nice 11 mile, 6 hour circular walk and is well worth it just for the views. To make the walk circular we start from Abergavenny and from there the walk skirts the south west slopes of Sugar Loaf on roads, along tracks, through woods and beside rivers to Llangenny before the ascent of Sugar Loaf begins. A steep ascent from the west with an easy walk down the east slope back to Abergavenny.

Accommodation: Wild camp in tents is possible. But best done as a single day walk and maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Merthyr Tydfil.

A lovely walk including Pen Twyn Glas, Pen Allt-mawr, Pen Gloch-y-pibwr, Pen Cerrig-calch and Table Mountain. - The walk is a hard climb up and down but then it is essentially a ridge walk with exciting views and visiting all five peaks in a circular loop of about 5 hours, 8.7 miles. The Black Mountains are often neglected due to the popularity of their near neighbours, the Brecon Beacons. But these are essentially just as thrilling as walking in the Brecon Beacons, but with fewer people around.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Merthyr Tydfil.

Central Wales - Central Wales is not renowned for mountain walking, but there are some fantastic walks there and I'm finding more and more the more I look! This is a great location in the Radnor Hills of Powys, the heart of Red Kite country. I devised this 9 mile circular loop as a mid Wales hammock expedition. The route up is great and I use this section for wild-camping in hammocks, so depending on what time we start determines which way round we do the walk. The views from the top of the Radnor Hills are great in all directions. The walk through the heather moor to Vron Hill is not the best, as there are no defined paths and the going can be a little tricky, but the long descent down from from there is a lovely gradual one.

This can be a one-day or two-day walk with the hammock wild-camp, so can also be combined with an afternoon of Red Kite watching (See Gilfach and Red Kites below).

Accommodation: Wild camp in hammocks, or on your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels in mid Wales or north to Snowdonia.

Central Wales - Gilfach is a nature reserve run by the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust. There are several nice little walks here, but what I prefer to do is a 2 hour circular loop up Wyloer Hill, back down toward the farm in the valley, then follow the Afon Marteg river back to the start through traditional fields and woods.

Because this walk is only a couple of hours it works well with a visit to the Red Kite feeding station just up the road, where every day in the middle of the afternoon a farmer throws out food in the fields where over 300 wild Red Kites come down to feed. A truly spectacular sight, but not easy to photograph, as the camera struggles to know which speeding Kite to focus on. I generally rent a photographic hide for our group where we stay until dusk.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels in mid Wales or north to Snowdonia.

Central Wales - This walk includes an 8.3 mile circular loop walk through lovely Ceredigion countryside climbing only to 726 metres and including a visit to a little known stone circle. Then through the small village of Ystumtuen before the route leads across more open countryside to the dramatic ancient woodland of the Coed Rheidol National Nature Reserve. The woodland is set on the steep banks of the Afon Rheidol gorge which is descended into, and after crossing the river is climbed out of to reach Devil's Bridge and the exciting finale with the Mynach Falls.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Porthmadog, or further north at Bangor.

Snowdonia - Mt. Snowdon, at 1085 metres is the highest mountain in Wales, and Mt. Snowdon is the most climbed mountain in the world. So you see I really don't like climbing it via the touristy route from Llanberis (I can do the Llanberis route if you'd like me to, but I'd rather not). This technical route via the South Ridge from Rhyd Ddu, and also my next route below are the quietest of the six main routes to the summit. You'll still see the crowds of people when we reach the summit but we won't see many on the way up. This is done as a partial circular loop - up the Bwlch Cwm Llan South Ridge, this crosses Clogwyn Ddu before joining Bwlch Main, but we come back down via the usual Rhyd Ddu Path down Llechog Ridge. Another way to do this would be to ascend the usual Rhyd Ddu Path up Llechog Ridge but descend the Rangers Path which is easier on the knees.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Bangor.

Snowdonia - So like the last route (above) we ascend Snowdon via the quite South Ridge, so again this is a difficult technical route. We get there by branching off left from the Watkin Path, which rises up from Plas Gwynant near sea-level, 8 miles and total ascent of 1045m which makes this the highest climb up Snowdon. Never heard any other mountain leader who does this route, I seem to be the only one! This makes a partial circular loop because we descend back down via the Watkin Path. The Watkin Path was named after Sir Edward Watkin, Liberal Member of Parliament in the 1890s. Edward Watkin created a path from the slate quarry to the summit, which was the first designated footpath in Britain and officially opened in 1892 by the Prime Minister William Gladstone. He addressed a crowd of over 2000 people from a rock on the side of the path, which is known today as the Gladstone Rock.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Bangor.

Snowdonia - technical and scramble route - This is to climb Mt. Snowdon by the hardest recognised route, via the serrated ridge of Crib Goch and the pinnacles of Garnedd Ugain. The route starts at Pen y Pass, follows the Pyg Track until we branch off at the red warning sign saying 'CAUTION ROUTE TO CRIB GOCH'. We first have to scramble up Bad Step. If that was not bad enough we now must begin crossing the knife edge arete top ridge of Crib Goch where many experienced mountaineers have died in the past. After the third pinnacle on Crib Goch we drop down to a grassy col at Bwlch Coch. From the col it is straight back up though to the ridge once more towards Garnedd Ugain. From the summit of Snowdon we head back via the Miners Path, because Crib Goch is too dangerous to go the other way. We start down the Watkin path then at Bwlch Ciliau take in the ridges of Lliwedd before descending onto the Miners Path back to Pen y Pass. Obviously we can only attempt this route with good weather.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Bangor.

Snowdonia - An exciting circular walk of Cadair Idris. Beginning from the south of the mountain at Minffordd the ascent is steep from the start as the path climbs through the woodland clinging to the sides of precipitous Nant Cadair Gorge where there are some impressive waterfalls. From the gorge the Minffordd Path circuits the glacial lake of Llyn Cau to the south and west, steadily gaining height as it progresses to Craig Cau and ultimately to the top of the mountain at Penygadair. From the summit of Cadair Idris the walk continues east while gently sweeping down to the satellite mountain of Mynydd Moel. Fantastic views are enjoyed throughout the time at height and continue to thrill on the descent to Moelfryn and back to the path walked earlier through Nant Cadair Gorge.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Porthmadog, or further north at Bangor.

Snowdonia - technical and scramble route - This is a route that I've done more than any other in Snowdonia. I used to have to frequently do it for army training years ago. It's a technical scramble up Tryfan from the car park by Llyn Ogwen lake. From Tryfan it's another scramble up Glyder Fach. Once on the ridge it is quite easy going along to Glyder Fawr. The descent from Glyder Fawr is by the path leading north off the mountain to Llyn y Cwn and Devil's Kitchen.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Bangor.

Snowdonia - A chance to hike in a part of the National Park that nobody else ever seems to go to. A 7 mile circular loop from Croesor up Cnicht, which isn't at all easy. This is followed by a stroll across the ridge of Cnicht towards Llyn yr Adar. The path skirts the east side of Craig Llyn-llagi. The hill acts as the barrier between Llyn yr Adar and Llyn Llagi. The north side climb down from Craig Llyn-llagi is the steepest part of the walk. The course is on a bearing near to true south-west for the next two miles over rough upland. There is a high six step stile to get over a wall. On to a pool then follow the stream back to my start.

Accommodation: On your own maybe try ebookers.com to find hotels near Porthmadog, or further north at Bangor.