Last walked 27th August 2012
The title of this page was going to be ‘Hafren Forest sucks!’ ….. my thoughts after nearly 9 hours on my feet, soaked to the skin and one forest track looking like another and in a pattern bearing no resemblance to that shown on the map. But now a day later, washed, dry and comfy on the sofa it already doesn’t seem as bad. And it was pretty STUPID going out without a compass or GPS….
The Sarn Sabrina is a way-marked route of approx 25 miles from Llanidloes in Powys along the shores of the Clywedog reservoir to the soggy peat bog where the mighty river Severn starts and back. The route can be walked at anytime but every year in May an organised walk takes place and I have done the walk a couple of times. As a 21 mile walk was on the cards as part of the LMH training, it seemed a good idea to modify it slightly, starting at the dam, keeping the long up hill slog to the source and then add a further loop through the forest.
The outward leg was no problem although it is uphill all the way it is not steep but noticeable and unrelenting. Still we easily made well over 3 mile an hour all the way to the source. The weather was wet with frequent showers and sadly as the forest after CwymBiga is now clear-felled there was little shelter. We came off the peat bog pretty sharpish as by now it also blew a gale.
At the picnic site we left the Sabrina route and went off into the forest. Almost immediately the trouble started. Although we had a map, many new tracks have been put in. Bridleways and footpaths were either overgrown, not marked, used as extraction routes or washed out stream beds. The pictures don’t do it justice. Slippery, muddy, deep gullies, all very hard work.
After totally going off course, at least half an hour in the wrong direction and with by now torrential rain morale hit rock bottom. Eventually by stubbornly matching contours, re-entrants and the terrain with the map we worked out where we were. By pure determination, through bogs, mud, standing water, tree brash and nettles we managed the walk out via the most direct route back to the dam (well almost as right at the end we once again made a navigational error). A total of 20 miles in 10 hours. Not a great time and much was lost staring at the map and working out where the heck we were.
A very hard walk both physically and mentally but as they say ‘what doesnt kill you makes you stronger’.
Here is a map of the route and below a few pictures of the scenery and (non-existent) paths.
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