The
safety tips on this page refer to the walks listed on the Walesdirectory.co.uk.
If you are going to walk the high mountains or other more difficult trails
then you need to exercise more care than we are concerned about here.
Most of the walks I have included in the Walesdirectory.co.uk I would
class as easy to moderate.
To date the walks are either on metalled roads, country lanes, lowland
fields, cycle paths, forestry tracks, round the lakes, promenades and
beaches. None are too extreme although some roads can be quite steep.
That's the nature of the Welsh landscape!
Walking boots and a rucksack containing rainwear, an OS map and compass
are also advisable on the longer walks. A few sandwiches and a bottle
of water would also not go amiss on some of the longer walks, but in
my opinion none require emergency over night kit.
Where possible I have included facilities near to the walks, including
railway stations, car parking, refreshments, cafes, pubs and toilets.
If I had to give just one safety tip it would be to walk on the right
hand side of the road, facing the oncoming traffic, when walking on the
narrow country lanes. However it is not as simple as that. The country
lanes are very narrow with lots of twists and turns in the road and there
is usually just enough room for single file traffic. Whereas walking on
the right, facing the traffic, is OK on straight sections of road it would
be unsafe to walk on the right hand side when the road is hedged in and
bearing to the right. (The oncoming vehicle will generally hug
the hedgerow for it's own safety)
You will need to use your own judgment as to whether it is safer to cross
to the left side of the road to traverse some extreme right hand bends.