Over the mountains.

Today, I took a short cut, using one of my favourite roads. It rises to 1,400 ft and the last part of the ascent is avoided by the road being sunken into a cutting - thus, the area is known as The Cut.

There is a recreation area either side of the summit of the ridge which has become world famous over recent years, not so much because of its scenic aspect, nice though it is, but largely because of the unique font that has been used on the sign.

 

On the ascent from the north, I only met one other vehicle, at around the 1,000 foot mark - an old boy on a mobility scooter.

On the descent, the only vehicle was a full-bore Escort Mk 2 rally car, being driven with due care, presumably learning the road for an organised event at some point.

 

A rather remarkable and isolated bridge was necessary on the southern side, to allow the road to proceed in a reasonable manner.

 

The woods have matured rather more than might be expected in a 'plantation' setting, as some trees are difficult of access on the steeper slopes.

 

The small stream that flows under the stone bridge is quite cute.

 

In the foothills, I passed Lacca Church - and it's rather excessive gateway into the woodland across the road.

 

Can anyone else see a dog face in the rock outcrop in the first picture? Something like an adult Cane Corso?

 

That is actually the roots of a fallen tree - and rather bigger than it looks - those trees are proper huge...

 

Sucking some more pictures out of the camera today, I discovered that I had failed to include the picture of the actual cutting on the ridge summit.

 

Over the Mountains of the Moon
Through the Valley of the Shadow

 

These mountains are in an area largely devoid of lakes, but they do have a really odd lake, rather off the beaten track. Odd, in that it's almost exactly circular and within a few feet of the top of the ridge. I've never been to it before, but this morning looked like a good time to make the effort. The only large scale map of the area I have is from 1912 and doesn't show the lake, it isn't really visible from anywhere on the Earth's surface more than a few yards away, so the authorities of the time may have been unaware of its existence, or it may not have even been there then? Because this map has never been folded, I elected to make the attempt with a map in my head, and the assistance of a watch and a reasonable prospect of knowing the Sun's position.

The first half of the journey was fairly easily followed, being forestry roads.



Here, the initial 'good' road gave way to a 'reasonable' one, that was actually rather nicer to walk on.




This went on for some way, in a most pleasant manner.




Some of the trees were monstrous specimens.

 

Eventually, I arrived at the end of the 'Reasonable Road'.



Looking back from the end...




...and looking forwards - from here on, my Mind Map was going to be tested.




I passed a cairn that gave me some confidence that I had guessed right - so far.

 

The path requires the crossing of a few valleys, that reminded me of the start of Aguirre, Wrath of God.

 

I crossed the ravines with minimal casualties and began to feel that I had 'done well so far', but with a subsiding confidence in the accuracy that I was achieving.



Then, I found evidence of Viet Cong activity in the area - I did check for remains, but there were none to be seen...




Eventually, I emerged from the tree line - and decided to remember the Dead Bush, in case I needed to find my way back in, if I had to wander about along the ridge to find the lake.

At this point, it was necessary to determine a line to follow over the heather, in the hope of getting close enough to the lake to see it.

As I started to approach the summit of the ridge, I was deciding that I must have passed the lake by now, and it 'should' be somewhere on my left.

Then.



In less than perfect weather, you could easily walk into it.

 

It's a very strange place - about 30 metres across,






It's known as Clear Lake, but I imagine the water is quite peat-stained - there is no visible 'bottom', even around the edge.

 

I presume it is some sort of natural phenomenon - a sink-hole or similar? If it was man-made, I would expect a spoil heap to be noticeable nearby, and there is no grazing at this height, just short of 1,700 feet.

 

The skies were nice - it's not a place to go on a windy day....







I made it there and back intact, which was useful, as I didn't see a single person after I left the tarmac...

 

I also found a fairy grotto.




Although, they could have tidied up the mess they'd made on the road...

 

Yep !


I've only just noticed this thread after a month .... Some lovely and interesting photos @Gramaisc

 

It's thirteen months since the first instalment...