Category: Community Groups
Pontrhydyfen & Llwyn-Onn
Pontrhydyfen & Llwyn-Onn
Pontrhydyfen
We parked at Rhyslyn, Afan Forest Park in late spring, and set off on the Richard Burton birthplace trail soon spotting clumps of cowslips.
Crossing the viaduct towards Bethel Chapel we looked down on the river and over to a second viaduct. As we turned the corner of the chapel, we noticed that high up in the stone wall was a gap filled with a different material; bees had obviously made this their home and were busy coming and going.
It was a lovely day, and we walked in dappled sunlight beside trees. This was yet another walk where we were able to see bluebells (one of 6 this year). A long line of at least nine bee hives sat along the edge of a field. Next, a line of caravans and motor homes were awaiting their summer excursions. A donkey and a horse took an interest in us and our equine lovers said hello.
As the day progressed it warmed and lambs could be seen gambolling in the fields. We had an early lunch sat amongst the roots of an old hedge line which also provided shade as the ‘hedge’ had grown to a line of trees. The view was a pastoral idyll of green fields, rolling hills and sheep with just a few houses in the distance.
At one point we could see Port Talbot steel works in the distance, quite odd as there was no smoke and no sign of activity. Since then, one of the main Tata steel cylinders has been demolished.
We were at the highest point of our walk and came across a bench with a heart-shaped dedication to a dog – ‘always by my side, forever in my heart’. It was now hot and the views expansive. The wall of a property totally overgrown with greenery had several pottery animals dotted about – a horse’s head, a pig and some sort of bird.
The return was a pleasant walk along the river and another bench with a dedication ‘Sit with me and watch the world go by’ – this time for a 26-year-old.
Before long we were back in Pontrhydyfen, and wandered over to the Bethel chapel café, where hot and cold food is available. ‘In 1984, hundreds of mourners, including locals, fans and A-list stars gathered here to bid farewell to Richard Burton.’ The place is full of memorabilia as well as some pithy sayings such as ‘skinny people are easier to kidnap, stay safe and eat cake’. So, we did as it was someone’s birthday and we sat outside in the balmy air to enjoy it.
As we walked back to the cars a friendly local chatted to us and pointed out the house where Richard Burton was born, rounding the day off nicely.
Walk 6.8 miles 1000ft Map OS165
Llwyn-Onn
We parked in the Forrest holidays site, west of the reservoir where a wooden sculpture of the BFG stands. This was an excellent route for a hot day with plenty of shade.
Although we were circumnavigating the reservoir, we could not see it for most of the walk. Birdsong accompanied us all day and there were bluebells once again but at the end of their display. The paths were edged by many orchids – early marsh, common spotted and others. An unusual yellow flower turned out to be common cow wheat and buttercups covered fields. White pignuts were plentiful in one area.
We sheltered in the cool shadow of a tree for lunch and were swamped by swarms of midges – some of us suffering for days afterwards with the resultant bites.
The old Taff trail proved very difficult in parts where the trees and shrubs were reaching across the path with a barbed wire fence on the other side. Towards the end of the walk the footpath disappeared so we changed route and walked beside the reservoir, stepping into it where gentle waves lapped the path.
At Garwnant visitor’s centre, information boards cover the geology of the Brecon Beacons and information on an arboretum. It was a beautiful hot sunny day and the walk ‘a bit of an adventure’. When we told a ranger at the visitor centre the problems on the old Taff trail. he said, ‘he wouldn’t go down there these days.’
We enjoyed drinks here and many of us also had ice-cream!
Walk 7 miles 1000ft Map OL12
Strange Greyish Formations
“The Names” by Florence Knapp
“The Names” by Florence Knapp
The book describes 3 parallel universes where a boy’s character is affected, partly by his name, but as much by the malevolent presence of his father and the effect he has on his mother and sister as well. Navigating through the sequencing of three stories was often confusing and was a challenge for some!
Is it our name that forges our identity or living with decisions made by ourselves and others and the consequences they have on our personalities? Many Page Turners thought the book was more about the effects of the horrific domestic abuse that the mother had to endure, rather than the names the child was given. Indeed, many readers thought the descriptions of the abuse were overly graphic and extremely upsetting.
The book covered some interesting themes, including the maturity of the sister in protecting both her mother and brother in a maternal role, even though a child herself and a mother’s need to protect her children at all costs. But the violence Cora endured was the overarching memory of the book.
The overall score was 3, with scores ranging from 0 to 5. Not an easy read.
How Green Are My Valleys?
WENVOE FORUM
Considering Tomorrow Today
After 27 Years – How Green Are My Valleys?
Wales has a new government elected in an unfamiliar political landscape. This is not going to be a political piece, don’t be concerned, it just seems a good moment to take a look at our green credentials here in Wales not only at our valleys, but mountains, rivers, the sea around us, urban landscapes, post-industrial sites and more importantly what we the people of Wales do to improve or damage our own surroundings.
It’s fair to say that most of the world’s developed societies have used the wonderful resources that the planet and its nature provide as free gifts, contributing to economies built on the growth of wealth. There has been little consideration for the whole picture, the ecosystem. Some types of bees, for example, have been farmed and exploited for their honey but bees in general have no economic value, with their contribution as pollinators disregarded, their habitats destroyed and only recently the impact of their decline on our ability to feed the world’s population acknowledged. It’s been much the same with most of nature’s wonders.
Gradually those who have for decades been warning of the dangers of overfishing or campaigned for the return of beavers to the countryside or those who construct hedgehog highways have made their voices heard and slowly things are changing. Here in 2015 the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act was in the vanguard in making sustainable development a central organising principle for government.
It seems that it has made a difference, household recycling by local authorities in Wales was over 65% in 2022-23, a world leading rate and household carbon footprints fell by 37% between 2001 and 2020. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OEDC) and other international bodies reviewing evidence found that this overarching approach has resulted in improvement in health, education and wellbeing for the people of Wales. The 2015 Act inspired the UN Declaration of Future Generations based on sustainable development.
Currently Wales is considered an exemplar. Let’s hope it stays that way.
A Message from Sian Hops!
Hi – I just want to reach out to all of you fellow hop growers.
Our Hops haven’t materialised yet, even though I have planted my seeds in a pot after following all the instructions. We keep trying with the hope of having something grow when the harvest is due. Usually hop picking is around 5th September or maybe 12th depending on what sort of weather we have this Summer.
So far, it’s cold and windy. We are all hoping for some warmth for ourselves and our plants.
I hope we will have a get together in September and share a drink or two. I will be in touch nearer that date. If there is anything I can help with in the meantime, please let me know.
Sian
P.S. I wish WWO was in colour, for you to see the springlike bright green of neighbours’ hops.
(P.P.S From the editor of WWO.
If you know Sian, tell her that her wish has been granted. As readers of this are aware, all the illustrations are in Glorious Technicolour on the Web Version of the WWO)
To join our Facebook group, please ‘friend up’ with the GwenFo account @ https://www.facebook.com/gwen.fo.1 and then jon the Wenvoe Forum @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/635369267864402
Some further information and updates, blog site https://wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/. Any Wenvoe community member is welcome to join the Forum meetings, via Zoom, which are normally held 19.00 on the second Thursday of each month. E-mail gwen-fo.forum@gmail.com if you wish to join
Love To See You There!
Valeways Walks June 2026
“The Wonder” By Emma Donahue
“The Wonder” By Emma Donahue
One review described this book as, ‘Absorbing, truthful, beautiful’. Another as, ‘Powerful, compulsively readable.’ One member of our book-club described it as – ‘Dark, dismal, disturbing.’
It is fair to say that most of us found the book compulsively readable rather than beautiful!
The story is set in post-famine Ireland and follows an English nurse, Lib and an Irish nun who have been commissioned to watch over, rather than ‘nurse’, a supposedly miraculous 11-year-old girl, Anna, who has survived without sustenance for four months. It appears that certain local people wish to claim her as some kind of miracle. Lib and the nun are to provide independent evidence. There is an unexpected ending to the story.
As with Emma Donahue’s most famous novel, ‘Room’, most of this story is set in one dark room in Anna’s house and indeed the impression of most of the novel is of darkness; the bedroom, the weather, the peat, the lack of artificial light – an old lamp has to be requested in order to ensure surveillance during the night as well as the day.
A film has been made of the story, and this too gives an impression of general darkness in the way it was filmed.
The story is perhaps most about faith versus science and certainly generated a very lively discussion on many fronts. Overall, the group scored it at 7.
St Briavels & Allt Yr Esgair
St Briavels & Allt Yr Esgair
St Briavels
St Briavels is in the Forest of Dean and on the Agincourt Wales trail which tells the story of the people in the river Wye /Forest of Dean area that played a role in Henry V’s victory at Agincourt.
Early in the walk we found ourselves in woodland surrounded by English bluebells, the scent heavenly. The contrast of the new green leaves on the trees and the light purply blue of the bluebells is one of nature’s annual treats.
An open stretch of ground led us past a majestic avenue of trees and near the river Wye. The pretty, white, single track road bridge came into view just above Bigsweir. We entered Cadora woods, a term used to describe a series of woods which form a continuous line of woodland covering the slopes of the lower Wye valley.
The path led us through a tunnel of bright yellow gorse. A bench had a sweet dedication ‘This bench was made by Jack for his fiancé, Scarlett. She’s not dead she just really loves this view.’
We followed a stream through woodland. Two of our dogs played a bit of a game. A spaniel went into the stream, and the other dog patrolled the bank stopping the spaniel from getting up the bank, then suddenly backed off. We relaxed for lunch in the woodland above the path.
The stream widened, and its banks were blanketed with the white flowers of wild garlic, even rocks in the middle of the stream were smothered in it. Steps appeared in the stream, these were tufa. Tufa is formed when calcium and carbon dioxide in fresh water rises to the surface and is exposed to air. Carbon dioxide evaporates; calcium precipitates and the minerals coat organic material.
Returning to St Briavels, a cricket game was being played on St Briavels centenary playing field where there is a memorial to the fallen of the two world wars. As we walked through the village the air was scented with lilac, purple and white, and wisteria. Wild roses, ceanothus, and Queen Anne’s lace hydrangea were all in full bloom. It was close to May 4th, and in a window, we saw Yoda (of Star Wars).
Walk 6.5miles 1100ft Map OL14
Allt Yr Esgair
In the words of the walk proposer ‘A surprisingly lovely walk up Allt yr Esgair to the east of the river Usk with good cake and the option to go to Talybont to have tea and stroll along the canal to view the osprey nest.’
Allt yr Esgair was a Bronze age burial site (4,000 years ago), an Iron age hill fort (2,500 years ago). Esgair means ridge in Welsh and Allt yr Esgair is a 2km long sandstone ridge with panoramic views of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains.
We parked at the Venison centre with permission of the owners and took the Roman Road, a solid track which climbs gradually uphill with no steep sections. Either side of the track was a stunning display of white stitchwort with deep indigo bluebells, the air was heavy with scent.
Emerging into more open countryside gorse bushes appeared still surrounded by bluebells. The views were amazing Llangorse lake to the east, Pen y Fan and other hills to the west and the oxbow in the river Usk below us. Speedboats raced across Llangorse lake and later sailing boats appeared.
Llangorse is the largest natural lake in South Wales. Formed 11,000 years ago when the ice retreated, it would have been larger spilling over into the Usk valley at Bwlch. Mynydd Troed and Waun Fach dominate the skyline beyond the lake.
We met five different groups of Duke of Edinburgh award youngsters. An ancient hollow ash tree stood close to the path. Two people left us to look at the Osprey nest. We walked a circle at the top of the walk and then stopped for lunch choosing our favourite view – the lake or Pen y Fan. The return was along a path parallel to our outward route.
A woodpecker could be heard above us and someone with eagle eyes (and binoculars) spotted it, we stood still and watched for a short time. A kite flew high in the sky.
We experienced birdsong throughout the walk; it goes down as one of our best walks. At the venison centre, a welcoming team provided pots of tea and beer/soft drinks and cake. It is a farm shop and amongst other things they sell venison from their deer herd. A lovely way to round off the day.
Walk 7 miles 1300ft Map OL13
A Stroll with Derek
LIVING WITH CANCER STROLLERS
A Stroll with Derek
Living with cancer strollers, Cosmeston Valeways President, Derek Brockway joined the strollers at Cosmeston on a gloriously sunny day. Our Weatherman Walking brought along beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures as we enjoyed our walk around the lakes. Thanks, Derek, for joining us on our festival walk…and organising the sunshine.