09 April 2020

Find the zigzag

The first time I went into Cwm Caseg I noticed  a strange zigzag on a hillside. (I don't mention it in the blog post but I seem to remember I saw it. And I most certainly have seen it many times since.) The valley was almost completely empty! What was that zigzag doing there? There was the odd sheepfold but otherwise, nothing. Why bother make a zigzag in the hillside? It looked like a path. But where too?

Then years went by and I learned a lot more about the surroundings. And one day Chris and I went to look at what this zigzag lead to. There was a mine hidden in the gorge! And we found paths following the isolines on the flank of the hill. That very hill. And we wanted to visit the mine on the other side too so we didn't look for the zigzag. But as I now like to get my landscape kicks in the weekends, but close to home and not on difficult terrain, I decided to go and have a look. Interestingly, the Carneddau are open to the public as usual. The mountains on the other side of the valley are not. The ridges with Tryfan and Snowdon etcetera on are now off limits, but, probably because they rarely attract crowds, the Carneddau are deemed fine. But I still felt like it would be wrong to do the ridgy bits. Hills like y Drosgl you can't fall off even if you try, but closer to Carnedd Dafydd and such you surely do have bits you could fall off if you tried. Not that I would want to. But you get my drift! Best stay in the tamer bits. So off to the zigzag I went.

I know it can be hard to find landscape elements when you're right on top of them. But soon I spotted  a line on the hill. It was the zigzag! And once on it, it looked rather mundane. But I enjoyed finally walking on it! I followed it all the way down. And then headed back. An industrial relic ticked off the list!
On the way there


Spot the zigzag!

In case you didn't spot it


What it looks like if you stand on it!  

On the way back


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