File:The entrance to Hafren Forest at Panty-yr-esgair - geograph.org.uk - 1113022.jpg

English: The entrance to Hafren Forest at Panty-yr-esgair. After a break of nearly two weeks, I at last managed to get out for another walk in the Welsh countryside (see 1093960 for details of me previous walk). This time I was attracted to a block of un-Geographed squares in the southern Hafren Forest, about 5 miles west of Llanidloes and all in 'SN Land'. This remote location forced me to gain access by car again I'm afraid - no public transport here!

The walk that I planned was just short of ten miles but given the number of tracks and paths within the area, the possibilities for longer or shorter walks are endless. My route took me through the Hafren forestry area, emerging onto the moorland at Blaenbidno, onto some of the tracks which form part of the Sweet Lamp motor sport complex, and then to return back through Hafren. I parked in a large lay-by near the forestry entrance at Panty-yr-esgair (GR SN875949).

Photo subject matter on a walk through a forestry area is often limited to forest tracks and dark sitka spruce woods, so lots of those from this walk I'm afraid. There was, however, the advantage of some lingering snow on the forestry roads to provide some contrast.

Navigating through forestry areas can be quite a problem as they are continually evolving, so maps become out of date as some tracks are created and others planted over. In my experience, Explorer maps are particularly poor in depicting paths and tracks in forestry areas. Rights of way are not sacrosanct either. In one case on this walk, a waymark directs you straight into an impenetrable plantation so some detours from my planned route were inevitable! The next time I venture into a large forestry area, I might experiment with taking prints from Google Earth.

There were no 'spectacular' views on this walk and some of the 'industrial' forestry areas are downright ugly, with soil churned by tracked machines, and rendering some walking routes somewhat treacherous. However, the open moorland at Blaenbidno and around the Sweet Lamb area does provide some very pleasant upland landscapes. Overall a challenging walk that provided an excellent 'work-out'.