30 November 2017 – Benimeli Aerials

Last year we had 19 on this walk making it the best attended walk of 2016.   Today we had 20, making it the best attended since we started the Thursday Explorers.

This has always been one of our favourite walks, and it looks like it is a firm favourite with the group as well.

We were again very lucky with the weather.  After a cold, wet, grey and miserable Wednesday this morning was sunny and bright.

However it was also very cold, and everyone was dressed accordingly

This is one of our shorter walks, and we always like to spend a little longer than usual admiring the scenery on our banana and picnic breaks

And with views like this it is not too much of a chore to do so

Despite the sun, and the view, it was too cold to stop for long

I had hoped that the satnav would help with the next section, which is not very well marked.  But if anything it confused more than it helped.

I have been using my satnav for almost a year now, and am still struggling.  I am sure it is more me than the satnav, but I can’t seem to master it.  I understand how it works, but it does not seem to help me navigate any better than looking for familiar signs.

Despite my satnav problems we all managed to reach the top ok

Everytime we do this walk I take a photo at the aerials.  It is interesting, if a little depressing, to see how we how much younger we looked on the earlier ones.

After the climb it is really pleasant to walk along the ridge

We were also sheltered from the wind, and some had started to remove layers

The most suitable spot for  lunch on this walk is also well known to be exposed to the winds

We dispersed to find what shelter we could from the wind, and added as much clothing as we could – including water proofs

Due to the short banana stop we arrived at 12 noon, a little early for lunch.   But the view convinced us to opt for an early lunch

However again the cold winds prevented us from taking an extended stop, and we were soon off again

Too late I found that it would have been better to have had our lunch closer to the aerials

We stopped again just before the descent to Benimeli, but again it was too cold to hang about for long.

However it was a sun trap in the square and we all enjoyed our well deserved end of walk drink.

Despite the cold wind it was a lovely walk which again lived up to our expectations

Stats

Time – 4 hours

Distance - 7 kilometres

Total Ascent  - 410 metres