run for the hills

Couple of smallish photo galleries - both from walks I've taken myself off on on the last couple of weekends. Nice though it is to have a couple of weekends at home after the various gallivanting around we've been doing over the last month or so, I get a bit stir crazy if I can't go and burn off some energy by climbing a hill.

• Firstly, Mynydd Machen; this is a mile or so south of Risca, which in turn is about 4 miles west of Newport. I parked at the car park for the Sirhowy Valley Country Park, just off the A467 here. From there I walked up the hill onto Mynydd Machen, via some interesting old mining spoil heaps and a section of the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Footpath - the summit has an unexpected trig point on it; unexpected to me anyway as my OS map doesn't show it. Details here, photo here. Full photo gallery is here.
• Secondly, Mynydd Margam - this is over near Port Talbot, just off junction 38 of the M4. Hazel had an assignment photographing people doing the Go Ape! challenge (in aid of the Stroke Association) at the new course in Margam Country Park, so I tagged along and fired off up the hill like a loony while she was doing that. Unfortunately it rained most of the way up which was a bit of a pain; in addition to that the trig point on top of Mynydd Margam is far from easy to find, being as it is a couple of hundred yards off the forestry track in the middle of a treacherous wasteland of half-concealed ankle-breaking logs, grassy tussocks and pine saplings. You know that kind of shit isn't going to stop me bagging it, though, any more than the persistent horizontal drizzle is going to. Details here, photo here. Full photo gallery is here.