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Cymdeithas y Cerddwyr yng Nghymru Ramblers Association Wales |
| Cerdded Cymru – the Welsh Walks Guide | |
Users' Help Page
Cerdded Cymru -the Welsh Walks Guide aims to record the walks of Wales for the use of local people and their visitors and to integrate these walks with the relevant maps or leaflets, topics of interest, accommodation and other matters including the availability of public transport. If you have followed a walk then you can also submit an online review of the walk or the usefulness of the walk instructions.
The walks are on public rights of way or other routes that are open to the public.
| In following any walk you should use footwear and clothing which is appropriate to the walk. For all but the shortest and simplest walks you should wear good boots and windproof clothing and also have available wet weather clothing. A map is always desirable in following a walk and getting the most interest and enjoyment out of it. For hill walking a map and compass should be regarded as essential. You should also take food and drink appropriate to the length of the walk. |
These walk descriptions and other information on this site are for people's
personal use only. The copyright of the information lies either with the
Ramblers' Association or with the original submitter of the walk, depending on
the walk concerned. Other than for personal use the information may not be
copied or stored in any way, electronically or otherwise.
You may only use the information on this site if you accept the condition that
you do so entirely at your own risk. The Ramblers Association do not warranty
or guarantee that the walks are suitable for any purpose or person or that the
walks information is correct and the Association does not hold itself liable
for injury or damage to persons or property which may result from following any
of the walks described on this site.
| A brief introduction to using the site |
| You use this site to search for a walk together with its associated details that you may wish to follow on the ground. |
|
There are two search pages, the normal search
page and an advanced search page accessible from the normal search
page. In the normal search page the basic grouping of walks is by the nearest
town. The nearest town is regarded as the nearest place with a population of
3000 people or more. In the normal search menu you chose a town from the drop down menu and click the search button. You will then obtain a summary of the walks which have been associated with the town with certain details of each walk. Also on this walk summary page there are links in blue which you click to obtain more information about a walk. You may print out the page(s) in which you are interested by clicking on file in the top menu of your browser and then clicking on print from the drop down list that opens up |
In the normal search page you can also search for walks by
interest topic and by grade.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I search for walks by nearest town, grade or
interest topic?
What is the advanced search?
What kind of searches can I do?
How are the walks graded?
How long will a walk take?
When I see the the list of summarised walks how do I
find out more details about the walk?
How do I actually follow a walk which is in Cerdded
Cymru - the Welsh Walks Guide
How do I find accommodation associated with a walk?
How do I find a list of maps to help me follow a walk?
How do I get to know about leaflets or other
literature for a walk?
How can I view the items of interest associated with a
walk without viewing the walk's details?
What about using public transport?
How do I submit a review of the walk itself or the
instructions for following the walk?
How do I read other people's reviews of a walk
How do I return to the walk information after viewing the
online map?
From the opening page http://www.welshwalks.info click on
- 'search for a walk for yourself, your family or a group' to open up the normal search screen.
You can use this screen to:
-
find a walk classified according to the 'nearest town'
select from the nearest town menu then click the 'Start Search' button to obtain a summary of each of the walks meeting the criterion
-
find a walk of a given grade of difficulty
seclect a grade from the search menu page then click the 'Start Search' button to obtain a summary of the walks available. If you have also selected a town from the nearest town menu then the walk summaries listed will be confined to those of the selected grade and the selected nearest town
-
find a walk with given topics of interest
select an interest item from the search page menu then click the 'Start Search' button to obtain a listing of the walks available. If you have also selected a town from the nearest town menu and/or a grade from the grade menu then the walks listed will be confined to those which meet the selected criteria of interest item, nearest town and grade
There is also an advanced search page accessible from the normal search screen which enables you currently to
- search for walks associated with a particular OS map or other leaflet in the menu
- search for walks by nearby towns and villages as well as nearest towns
(see also What Kind of Searches can I do?)
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What kind of searches can I do?
There are a number of criteria you can use to search for one or more walks. The primary classification is by the nearest town of over 3000 population. You may find the actual population criterion applied somewhat laxly in sparsely populated areas. All these 'towns' are listed in the drop down menu on the normal search page and you can search for walks in any town selected in the drop down menu.
All the walks have a grade of difficulty associated with them and in the normal search menu you can also search for the walks having a given grade.
Many walks have interest items associated with them though the fact some have none should not be taken as their being devoid of interest. It may merely be that the submitter has not yet found the time to input a considered description of an item of interest. Interest items are grouped into interest topics and in the normal search page you can use the drop down menu to search for walks with interest items within a given topic.
In the advance search page, accessible form the normal search page, you can currently search for all the walks on or partly on an OS map chosen from the drop down menu. Check out the maps listed for the walk itself as some walks may need more than the map on which you have searched.
Also, you will notice that for some walks there are listed Nearby villages or towns' as well as the Nearest town. These are usually villages which do not meet the 3000 population criterion but which are nearer the walk than the nearest town. They may also be towns which are not the nearest to a walk but reasonably near to a walk. Villages will not appear in the drop down town menu in the normal search page and, for towns, walks for which a town is not the nearest will not appear if the town is selected in the normal search page. However if from the advanced search page you Search for a suitable walking route from all the 'nearest towns' and nearby 'villages and towns' all walks will be shown regardless of whether a town is the nearest town or merely a nearby town. In this search you will find villages are also shown and if you search on a village there will be displayed all walks for which that village is a 'nearby village' .
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How are the walks graded?
You can assess the ease or difficulty of a walk by looking at the grading which
has been attributed to the walk. The table below describes the grading system
used. You need to use a degree of common sense in following the gradings. For
example in assessing the ease or otherwise of a walk you should also bear in
mind the type of country followed by the walk. This is given in the summary of
the walk's details. Thus a 'c' grade walk in what is described as 'rocky hills
or mountains' is likely to be a different challenge to a similarly graded walk
in country described as 'fields and woodland'. You may also get a feel for the
difficulty of a walk by reading the description in the walk summary. You should
also remember that grading is not an exact science and take into account the
difficulty of maintaining a standard when quite a number of different people
have contributed walks to this site
| GRADES OF WALK | ||
| A | Strenuous. Experience of hill walking desirable. Will involve steep ascents and descents; mileages shown should not be taken as an indication of effort | (Also bear in mind the type of country covered by the walk, as shown in the walk summary) |
| B | Moderate. May involve steep ascents and descents, but not prolonged | |
| C | Gentle gradients. | |
| D | Flat
| |
| (the + in the grading letter you will find with some walks designates a midway grade. For example C+ indicates a grade mid way between C and B) | ||
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Sometimes the walk submitter will have inputted the expectedtime of a walk will take. When nothin is shown work on a rough average of two miles an hour plus time taken for breaks.When I see the the list of summarised walks how do I find out more details about the walk?
For any of the walks summarised click on the words show walk details which will be to the right of the walk title. This will open up a description of each leg of the walk together with a link to any items of interest associated with the leg. Sometimes the leg description will include the length of the leg and sometimes the map (grid) reference of the end of the leg. Clicking on the grid reference will bring up a map (be patient if you have a slow connection!) showing the location of the end point of the leg. Though the walk descriptions themselves are normally intended to enable you to follow the walk without a map, you will nevertheless find the downloaded map section useful especially if you do use a map. To close the downloaded map screen click on the 'X' in the top right hand corner of the screen.
The description which is part of the walk summary will also show the map reference of the start of the walk which if clicked will also show a map with an arrow pointing to your grid reference point.
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How do I actually follow a walking route which is in Cerdded Cymru -the Welsh Walks Guide
The basic intention is that you will be able to follow the walk from the walk description you can access from the walks summary page by clicking on the show walk details link. You can print out the descriptions of each leg of the walk from your browser and you can take the print out with you on the walk. However, though we try our best to achieve it, describing a walking route unambiguously is not as easy as one might think especially in mountain and moorland areas. To help you further Cerdded Cymru - the Welsh Walks Guide supplements the walk descriptions with the following features:-
For each walk we have associate the map or maps that you will find helpful in
following the route. You should in any case always carry a map and compass if
you are following a route in the uplands. You will probably be able to trace
the route on the map after studying the walk descriptions.
-
The individual legs of a walk often have grid references shown against them. If
you are able to follow grid references (see XXX for an online tutorial) then
you can plot these on a map to further your understanding of the route you will
be following.
-
If you are online then clicking on any grid reference associated with a walk
leg will bring up a map with the exact point of the grid reference circled.
This can be plotted directly on your map or printed out for further use in
combination with the walk descriptions.
-
Where they are available for our use we have associated sketch maps of the
route which can be printed out and used with the walk descriptions
- For each walk there is a review facility. Anyone who has followed a walk can comment upon it using the review facility. These comments can include views on the walk description and may of course be used to suggest an improved form of words for a description. Walkers are encouraged to make use of this facility for the benefit of others who are contemplate doing the walk. Thus if you are considering a walk click on Read reviews of this walk to see if there is any helpful information in any review which has been submitted.
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How do I find accommodation associated with a walk?
For a walk shown on the walk summary page click on the link titled Accommodation from Rambler's Handbook. This will bring down a list of accommodation establishments from the Ramblers' Handbook ordered according to their linear distance from the start of the walk. Where the establishment has email or a web page then this information is shown
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How do I find a list of maps to help me follow a walk?
On the page showing a list of summarised walks click on Helpful maps to the right of the walk title. If no maps have been associated with a walk you will see faded wording telling you so.
Though the walk descriptions within the database are intended to enable you to
follow a walk without other aids a map will always be useful as of course will
be your obtaining any leaflets available.
It should be said that it will be important to have a map and compass for
upland walks as no amount of verbal description will enable you to find your
way on a moorland in cloud.
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How do I get to know abut leaflets or other literature for a walk?
On the page showing a list of summarised walks click on Available literature to the right of the walk title. If literature has been associated with a walk you will see faded wording telling you so.
How can I view the items of interest associated with a walk without viewing the walk's details?
On the page showing a list of summarised walks click on the words Items of interest to the right of the walk title.If no items of interest have been associated with a walk you will see faded wording telling you so. This latter does not of course mean that the walk is uninteresting! It merely means the submitter has not associated any particular items with the walk for what may be a number of reason unconnected with the interest level of the walk
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What about using public transport?
On the page showing a list of summarised walks click on the words Public
transport to the right of the walk title.
If no public transport has been associated with a walk you will see faded
wording telling you so.
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How do I submit a review of the walk itself or the instructions for following the walk?
It is most helpful to us if you submit a review of a walk after you have
walked the route. This can let us and others know where the instructions may
not be clear, where some unexpected obstruction has been met and of course your
general enjoyment of the walk.
On the page showing a list of summarised walks click on the words Review this
walk to the right of the walk title. Then follow the online
instructions. Your review will be abailable online as soon as it is entered but
the administrator reserves the right to edit or delete any review.
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How do I read other people's reviews of a walk?
On the page showing a list of summarised walks click on the words Read reviews of this walk to the right of the walk title. If the words are not shown then there will have been no reviews submitted for the walk.
How do I return to the walk information after viewing the online map?
Click on the 
button in the top right hand corner of your browser. Its actual colour may vary
with the browser version you are using.
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