After an appalling night’s weather with incessant rain, seven of us met at the Village Hall and set off in two cars for Pentyrch. We parked at the base of the Garth Hill and set off at 11am.
After a steep walk to the trig point at the top we were rewarded with a fantastic 360-degree view, taking in Flat Holm, Steep Holm and the north Somerset coast to the south and northwards beyond Pontypridd.
A gentle slope down the other side before we joined the road into Efail Isaf and a welcome refreshment at the Carpenters Arms where we also ate our picnics sitting in the sun.
We then followed a footpath alongside a small stream before crossing and climbing uphill through a farm. One of the photos shows the herd of deer which were seen on the recce but sadly invisible today.
The walk now contoured around the west side of the Garth before entering the forested area past an old limestone quarry and up a long steep hill though the forest until we emerged onto a sunny grassy spur. We soon crossed a narrow lane and up once again onto the slopes of the Garth until finally we dropped down steeply back to our cars.
The whole walk took just under 4 hours, and the distance was approx. 7 miles. Feeling thirsty we called at the Gwaelod Pub in Gwaelod y Garth for a welcome beer.
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