TR: Mynydd Langorse

"AC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Nice couple of days off (school hols innit) and took
youngster up and around the Blorenge yesterday - stopping
at the Punchbowl for a nice

little

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picnic whilst he caught some frogs in the pond!

Two minutes before we left the home I had a nice little
delivery through

the

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door - a digital camera. Nothing quite as elaborate as you
lot on here,

just

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a nice little point n shoot thing from panasonic. Didn't
have time to read the instructions so plugged the
batteries and memory card in and pressed

the

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buttons at regular intervals. When I got home found out I
had the setting

at

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the lowest resolution.

Today little un was booked into the Activity Adventure
place at Langorse

for

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a spot of Rock climbing etc so as the weather was holding
out til the afternoon took the opportunity to stroll up
Mynydd Langorse. I would have liked to make a long walk
out of it but didnt want to tire youngster out -

I

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shouldn't have worried, he sprinted up, did 2 hours
climbing then came

home

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and run around like wild thing in the pouring rain at
footie training! -

He

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is still awake watching the footie as I type! (our team
are getting slaughtered so can't watch much more, *groan*
no5 has just gone in)

Anyway, took some shots of the lake and nearby Mynydd
Troed which I walked last year in conjunction with the
Langorse mountain but the mist was down

a

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bit so the Black mountains weren't really visible.

Not a bad week in all - I did Pen Y Fan (with a couple
other thousand or

so)

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last Sunday - I just need to get a biggie walk in now. Not
sure what the weather is like tomorrow but as wifey has
gone out to Cardiff tonight she aint going to be in a
*shopping* mode tomorrow so might get another

Saturday

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out, fingers crossed!

A Day later.........

The phones rings at 8am this morning and before I can get
to answer it wifey picks it up downstairs. Are you going
walking today she shouts up the stairs in a very pleasant
manner. Yes I say with a smile on my face - that means I
can get out for the 5th time in 8 days I think to myself. I
then take the call and arrange to pick up Al about 9.30. We
have decided to start at Llanthony Priory but as yet not
sure what route. We arrive about 10am ish and the car park
has about 20+ cars there already. The weather forecast is
fine until late afternoon we are told. Alan has a book by
Frank Durden & Roger Thomas entitled Walkers Companion -
Wales and he picks out an 8 mile route that takes in the
Offa's Dyke path and heads north before dropping down by
Capel-Y-ffin. We follow out of the Priory and head up the
muddy field towards the mountain. Following the path signs
up through a wood we stop to look down towards the ancient
remains below. I take the opportunity to take a picture
from Loxidge Tump with my new camera.

Once on the top we head north along a VERY muddy Offa's
Dyke path. We stop to speak with an American couple heading
back down the mountain. They are from California and have
been visiting the UK for 3 weeks. They have stopped off on
their way to Oxford - they have been to visit friends in
the Snowdon area. The clouds start to break up but it gets
a bit windy and a little colder - the jacket stays in the
sac. At a trig point we stop for a bite to eat - well I
eat, Thommo admires the flat lands towards Hereford. Moving
further north and the path now has become more *canal* as
we jump from one side to another. A mile or so and a
waypoint marks our way downward towards Capel-y-ffin. Half
way down we see a dead cow. The winds die down and soon I
take my sweat shirt off - the weather has turned glorious.
We head South on a tarmac path and pass Vision Farm - the
place author Bruce Chatwin stayed whilst writing the novel
"On the Black Hill" For once it was nice to not be on a
windy ridge and in the peace and solitude of the valley -
we both agree on this!

Just after passing a small campsite - some rich bugger had a
brand new Mercedes parked next to their tent, the two things
just didn't seem right to me - posh car and *roughing it* so
to speak? More mud as we follow a path that is used as a
pony trekking path as well as for walkers - I literally
hopped from one side of the path to the other. We stop off
at the river bank for a break and I take a few shots of the
stream - I think "now how would PS take a shot like this" !
(lol !) Then it's back to the mudpath and finally back onto
tarmac that takes us back to the Priory. The route was
marked as 8 1/2 miles but I was later to find out we had
only done 7 miles - we went straight up Loxidge Tump instead
of turning right and zig zagging up before turning north -
we had lot 1 1/2 miles! We have a look around the remains
and then it's time to head back. I have periodically turned
on my mobile for messages but have been unable to get a
signal all through the walk - before anyone frowns I was
awaiting news on a sick friend.

I take a slight detour on my way home through a valley that
I have never visited before - the road between Stanton &
Crickhowell - stopping off to take a few pics of the
Sugarloaf, from the side I don't normally see. As we pull in
the phone comes back to life and 3 answer messages and 2
texts later we are back travelling through Crickhowell and
up onto Mynydd Llangynidr to take us home. The Black
mountains on the other side of the valley are really clear
at this point and I take the camera out one last time.

A good week of getting out and about for me with not one but
two added bonuses - first the camera and yesterday I also
got to watch "Touching The Void" (on DVD) for the 1st time.

I have just put a few pics on this site if anyone wants to
have a peek - truly amateur stuff mind!

groups.msn.comOnmyDayOffOpen ↗

AC said:

"AC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Just after passing a small campsite - some rich bugger
had a brand

new

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Mercedes parked next to their tent, the two things just
didn't seem

Past a caravan on the motorway, as I passed the car towing
it I noticed an old lady sitting in the front passenger
seat doing the knitting, old fellow driving, the car was a
Rolls Royce 🙂

--
Don`t Worry, Be Happy

Sandy
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AC said:

Following the path signs up through a wood we stop to look
down towards the ancient remains below. I take the
opportunity to take a picture from Loxidge Tump with my
new camera.

Loxidge Tump eh? I had an eventful night camped there once.
That was where my stove turned into a flamethrower and
nearly set my tent alight.

Did your pics look anything like these? wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk/pg/bm/lps75.jpg wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk/pg/bm/nyg75.jpg

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Once on the top we head north along a VERY muddy Offa's
Dyke path.

Isn't it always like that? More a 10m wide bog than a path.

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At a trig point we stop for a bite to eat

That would be the trig point that doesn't really mark
anything.

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Thommo admires the flat lands towards Hereford.

That would be the flat land to the right of this pic of
Black Hill? wilderness-wales.co.ukbh75.jpgOpen ↗

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We stop off at the river bank for a break and I take a few
shots of the stream - I think "now how would PS take a
shot like this" ! (lol
!)

Well I'll show you...

Actually I didn't realise you had a photo online when I
read that. But having seen yours I can assure you that I
wouldn't take it like that. I have in fact taken a photo of
a stream in the Black Mountains (Grwyne Fawr actually) so I
can show you exactly how I photographed it, once I dig the
photo out...

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we went straight up Loxidge Tump instead of turning right
and zig zagging up before turning north

Did you pass the spring that is the source of a stream that
pours down the hillside near there? I'm sure it's not marked
on the map but I recall passing it and thinking it was a
brilliant spot to pitch a tent (if only I'd found it the
night before).

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I have just put a few pics on this site if anyone wants to
have a peek - truly amateur stuff mind!

groups.msn.comOnmyDayOffOpen ↗

The priory pic is quite nice.

Paul
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photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

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AC wrote:

Loxidge Tump eh? I had an eventful night camped there
once. That was where my stove turned into a flamethrower
and nearly set my tent alight. Did your pics look anything
like these? wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk/pg/bm/lps75.jpg wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk/pg/bm/nyg75.jpg

How do you get the pictures to be so red and green?

Once on the top we head north along a VERY muddy Offa's
Dyke path.

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Isn't it always like that? More a 10m wide bog than a
path.

So I am told - I was an offas dyke virgin wannit :o)

At points on the track big paving type stones have been laid
down - to try to prevent wider erosion I would think.

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That would be the flat land to the right of this pic of
Black Hill? wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk/pg/bm/bh75.jpg

Ye but am I right in thinking that in the distance there are
views of the Malvern Hills?

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We stop off at the river bank for a break and I take a
few shots of the stream - I think "now how would PS take
a shot like this" ! (lol)

Well I'll show you... Actually I didn't realise you had a
photo online when I read that. But having seen yours I can
assure you that I wouldn't take it like that. I have in
fact taken a photo of a stream in the Black Mountains
(Grwyne Fawr actually) so I can show you exactly how I
photographed it, once I dig the photo out...

Hope you didn't think I was being rude - I was just having a
little fun :o) As I said purely amatuer point and shoot
chappie is I.

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Did you pass the spring that is the source of a stream
that pours down the hillside near there? I'm sure it's not
marked on the map but I recall passing it and thinking it
was a brilliant spot to pitch a tent (if only I'd found it
the night before).

Didn't notice a sping as such but plenty of water and soggy
areas about.

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groups.msn.comOnmyDayOffOpen ↗

The priory pic is quite nice.

Well thank you - I have others I will add to that site as I
go along - feel free to give me any advice you might think
would help me - please don't tell me to get a better camera
though - I have only just got this one! Btw, I have just put
a picture of Carn Y Cefn on there - taken from my son's
bedroom window. I just hope I will see one of those lovely
sunrise pictures soon.

:o)

AC said:

How do you get the pictures to be so red and green?

Well the red is due to the sunrise light on the dead bracken
and the green is due to the er, grass. But I presume you are
referring to the intensity of the colour. For a start it was
taken with slide film, Fujichrome 50 probably (the
forerunner of Velvia), which gives a lot more punch than
negatives or digital images. Even so, much of that punch can
be lost during the scanning so it needs to be put back.

Scanned images, like digital images, can often look a bit
flat. Some people assume the answer is to boost the
saturation but that usually looks horrible. The trick is to
boost the contrast, using either Levels (easy) or Curves (a
bit more tricky but better). When the contrast is boosted
the colours become more intense. If the colours still aren't
rich enough then a little saturation boost might be
required, but always done sparingly. When processing a slide
scan I like to have the slide on the light box next to me so
that I can use it as a reference to get an accurate copy.

Digital images tend to look flat because the wider dynamic
range compresses the light values. Boosting the contrast
expands the light values to better match the dynamic range
of a computer monitor or a print.

Incidentally, I've always found it very difficult to
reproduce rich greens from slide film.

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Ye but am I right in thinking that in the distance there
are views of the Malvern Hills?

Yep. Checking Anquet they are approximately 30 miles away in
a direction of roughly 80 degrees. Can't actually see them
in the Anquet 3D view, they are beyond the maximum distance
visible. Likewise in real life you'd need good light to see
them clearly.

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Hope you didn't think I was being rude - I was just having
a little fun

Not at all, but you did specifically remind me of a
photo I took of a stream there once, still haven't
located it though.

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Did you pass the spring that is the source of a stream
that pours down the hillside near there? I'm sure it's
not marked on the map but I recall passing it and
thinking it was a brilliant spot to pitch a tent (if only
I'd found it the night before).

Didn't notice a sping as such but plenty of water and
soggy areas about.

What I remember was that there was a lovely piece of flat,
dry, green grass right next to the spring, just large enough
for one tent. Quite unusual actually to find such a nice
spot of green grass surrounded by all the boggy tussocky
[censored], that's why it sticks in my mind. Unfortunately I
didn't have a GPS to mark the spot at the time.

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The priory pic is quite nice.

Well thank you - I have others I will add to that site as
I go along
- feel free to give me any advice you might think would
help me - please don't tell me to get a better camera
though - I have only just got this one!

What camera did you buy exactly?

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Btw, I have just put a picture of Carn Y Cefn on there
- taken from my son's bedroom window. I just hope I will
see one of those lovely sunrise pictures soon.

Oh, you're that AC! I didn't realise it was you. I still
haven't answered that email you wrote, but I haven't
forgotten. You haven't done that walk yet have you?

I'll check your new pic later.

Paul
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AC said:

Quoted message said:

Loxidge Tump eh? I had an eventful night camped there
once. That was where my stove turned into a flamethrower
and nearly set my tent alight. Did your pics look
anything like these? wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk/pg/bm/lps75.jpg wilderness-wilderness-Open ↗
wales.co.uk/pg/bm/nyg75.jpg

How do you get the pictures to be so red and green?

They were taken at sunrise. The red colour is due to the
warm morning light lighting the dead bracken. The green is
the colour of the grass! They were taken on Fuji slide film
which boosts the contrast and saturates the colours - more
than a digital camera does. Digital cameras often produce
very flat looking pictures but if you boost the contrast
that will also saturate the colours.

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Ye but am I right in thinking that in the distance there
are views of the Malvern Hills?

Yes. I checked that in Anquet but they are quite far away.
May not be visible at all on a hazy day, and when they are
they wouldn't look very big.

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We stop off at the river bank for a break and I take a
few shots of the stream - I think "now how would PS take
a shot like this" ! (lol)

Well I'll show you... Actually I didn't realise you had a
photo online when I read that. But having seen yours I
can assure you that I wouldn't take it like that. I have
in fact taken a photo of a stream in the Black Mountains
(Grwyne Fawr actually) so I can show you exactly how I
photographed it, once I dig the photo out...

Still haven't dug the photo out....

Quoted message said:

Hope you didn't think I was being rude - I was just having
a little fun

Not at all.

Paul
--
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wildwales.fsnet.co.ukwildwales.fsnet.co.ukOpen ↗
photosig.comuserphotosOpen ↗