The Next Walks:
Meet: Wick Village Hall at 9.50 for 10.00 start, unless otherwise stated
Walk Details: Members are notified by email.
Dates: Confirmed walk dates/time, leader and anticipated walk distance are shown below:
Walk Schedule:
The Previous Walk:
Llantrithyd, 26th June
Seven of us set out from Wick on a very warm day. Fortunately the heat of the previous four days had largely dissipated. We drove to Llantrithyd and parked near the church. We firstly had a look at the ruins of Llantrithyd Place, once home to Thomas Basset, a member of the Basset family of Beaupre Castle. Thomas had inherited the Estate through his marriage to Ann whose grandfather had originally built the house in about 1440.
We clambered amongst the ruins marvelling at the lofty heights and beautiful stone work. Sadly the house was abandoned in the early part of the 1800’s when the owners moved to Boarstall Manor in Buckinghamshire. In 1832 the roof fell in and the house was allowed to fall into ruin.
Fortunately the door was open to the little old church of St. Illtyd’s, providing us with a wonderful opportunity to marvel at the extraordinary fine Basset tomb and wall monuments. The wall monuments above the tomb depict the kneeling figures of John Basset (died 1554) and his second wife Elizabeth. The figures on the coffin tomb are Antony Mansel in full armour alongside his wife Elizabeth with their seven children, the ‘weepers’ along the bottom of the tomb. Their daughter Mary inherited the Estate and married Sir Thomas Aubrey in 1586 whereupon the Estate remained in the Aubrey family until 1910.
Afterwards we looked at the ancient yew tree, reputed to be 3,000 years old, on the north side of the church before finally commencing our walk. We proceeded through the old gardens of the house and past it’s fish ponds and up the hill past where Llantrithyd Castle once stood. The first of many stiles took us out onto a narrow lane which soon joined the Bonvilston-Llancadle road.
Another overgrown stile took us into a large field of wheat but luckily there was a path through the middle. We dropped down into a dry stream bed and searched around for the stile which was well hidden. This took us out into two fields and eventually through a well laid out farm then down a steep bank to Llanvithyn Farm.
A sharp right turn took us over another stile and into a field where we sat down for our picnic. Now followed a particularly rickety stile then a couple more fields to the farm of Gowlog and an easy track to cross the Llancadle road and through a logging depot with landscaped areas all around. An overgrown path took us over two more interesting stiles and finally we dropped down through an old oak wood and across open fields, crossing the Nant Llantrithyd stream bringing us out onto the Llantrithyd-Llanmaes road at Tre Aubrey and up the road back to our cars at 2.30pm.
There was some discussion about the distance with conflicting apps, but the author used the old fashioned method of paper and pencil when he got home and came up with 5.4 kms or 3.6 miles. Although not a long walk the historical aspect and the ten different stiles made it into a very interesting and enjoyable walk.
Wick Wanderers, Summer Solstice Barbecue
Sunday, 21st June 2026
24 Wick Wanderers came to our garden on the longest day armed with all manners of food and enjoyed a very pleasant barbecue on a warm balmy day, but unlike last year, this year we were all seeking shade.
Festivities began at 3.30pm and continued through till 11pm sitting outside the whole time.
Robbie and Anne
Wick Wanderers 20th Anniversary
Wick Wanderers celebrated their 20th anniversary on Sunday 22nd February.
Nearly 30 members took part in an anniversary walk to mark the occasion, which retraced the inaugural walk from 2006. Several members of the original walking group are still members some 20 years later and took part in the event, as well as others who were unable to take part in the walk, but joined as special guests later on.
Before setting off on the walk, a photo was taken outside Wick Village Hall, which has been the traditional starting point of all walks and this replicated the photo taken on the original walk. The walk was approximately 3 miles, mostly on road due to the weather conditions, however the group did have to contend with some flooded areas en-route.
The enjoyable walk was followed by well-deserved refreshments of coffee/tea and cakes hosted at Wick’s own coffee house – The Nook. Delicious anniversary cupcakes were supplied by Chrissie’s Cakes & Bakes based in Porthcawl.
The event also collected funds for the Wales Air Ambulance by member donations, as well as a raffle, where a total of just under £225 was raised.
Wick Wanderers currently have 50 members from Wick and the surrounding areas of St Brides Major, Ogmore by Sea, Llantwit Major and Bridgend and walk around 3 times a month in local areas and sometimes further afield.
More details can be found on www.wickwanderers.com.
wickwanderers.com 