Category: Community Groups

Wenvoe

The progress of Wenvoe


I took a stroll the other day,
And passing Wenvoe on my way
Was pleased to see such progress made,
As it is always good for trade.
I mean the village is so changed,
New houses built and well arranged,
The gardens and the walks so clean,
Which proves that some one lives within.
Ten years ago this village look'd dilapidated,
And men forsook the place,
And went to other soil
To get their bread by honest toil.
But now its progress is so great,
New houses built in every street,
That every man can work who will
According to his strength and skill.
Tis quite a treat for those who ride,
In brakes and traps to the seaside,
To pass this place, with meadows fair,
And peace and beauty everywhere.
The Church is getting much too small
To seat the people when they all
Come as they ought on Sunday there,
To spend the time in praise and prayer.
The tower is low, it has no pride,
But scaffolding now stands by its side,
And workmen soon will point its face
And raise its head to grace the place.


                  J.B.


Barry Dock News, 21st July 1893

 

 

Reflecting on the change and development of Wenvoe since 1893 you may wish to consider the poem's relevance to the village as it is today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All The Light We Cannot see” by Anthony Doerr

All The Light We Cannot see” by Anthony Doerr 

"This is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer whose sentences never fail to thrall" The Guardian.

Remarkably our whole group concurred with this quotation and during our discussion we ran out of superlatives to describe this brilliantly written book. The story is set in Nazi Germany where we follow the story of Werner Pfenning during his years in an orphanage with his sister Jutta and subsequently, having displayed exceptional talent for wiring electronics Werner wins a place at an elite but brutal academy for the training of The Hitler Youth. It is at the academy that he befriends Frederick who as a gentle character is bullied and finally brutalised.

Doerr cleverly intertwines Werner’s life with the story of a blind girl, Marie — Laure and her father, who live originally in Paris from where during the Nazi Occupation they flee to her uncle’s home in Saint Malo. Her father is deported to a work camp in Germany and she is left behind during the intense bombing of Saint Malo following the D Day landings. Doerr’s commitment to detail to the travails of a blind youngster surviving the difficulties of relocating to a new area is quite remarkable and the group felt that her character gave us an insight into life for so many people in Europe in the later stages of the Second World War. It is in Saint Malo that the paths of the two main characters collide as they both struggle to survive the devastation of the war.

The only detrimental part of the story was Doerr’s over use of Americanisms and perhaps owing to an overuse of adjectives the book may be over long. Ten years in the writing this book deserved to win The Pulitzer Prize and having awarded the book ten out of ten we would recommend it as a real page turner.

As usual we concluded our meeting with great hospitality and superb ginger cake!

Wentwood Forest & Tretower

Parc Seymour and Wentwood Forest

Today our walk took us from Parc Seymour to Wentwood northeast of Newport.

There was a cold wind and it felt like winter again. But there’s only one word to describe this walk ‘Bluebells‘! We headed southeast and on the road passed a neat woodland, a donkey and a group of beautiful horses. Then a little later we spotted a couple of shire horses ploughing in a field of bluebells. Now we followed the lane northeast and a field of bluebells appeared on our right stretching into the distance. We couldn’t help but stop and take photos and Misty (a dog) frolicked. We walked amongst them for ages, they were so thick that even the lane was covered in them and we were unable to walk without treading on them. We emerged into woodland which had been cut back hard and replanted.

Heading west we passed Hill farm and then went northwest towards Cross Green. Now picking a zigzag trail travelling generally westwards through Wentwood forest.

We soon found a tree known as the ‘Curly Oak’ an old tree which has split down the middle so that you can walk through its trunk.

The woodland was filled with English bluebells so that we were surrounded. Trees of beech and oak were in new leaf and the lime green and yellowy tones provided a perfect counterfoil to the purple blue of the bluebells. We just drank the colour in, wonderful. Unfortunately because it was cold there was little scent from the bluebells, just a waft now and again.

We came down alongside Bertholau Graig in a southerly direction and as we came out of the wood could see the Bristol Channel in the distance. The colours of the trees here were reminiscent of autumn there was so much yellow. Our route now travelled west until we met a road where we turned south.

We passed an old farmhouse with a dilapidated VW van and as we continued saw at least 20 abandoned old cars and farm vehicles on the property. We entered a large field where a herd of bullocks took some interest in Misty but eventually ran off uphill. Back at Parc Seymour we saw 2 carved wooden chairs on the green one dedicated to the AD and the other AD2000.

We had walked 8½miles and 1100ft. Map 152/OL14

Tretower

We started at the Cadw site in Tretower on a lovely Spring morning.

Tretower is the site of a medieval fortified manor house and castle. The Picards and Vaughans were influential Welsh families who created sumptuous accommodation reflecting their high status as Welsh gentry. The Vaughans left in the 18thC and Tretower Court became a working farm. It is an interesting site and Cadw have created a suite of rooms as they may have been in 1470.

Tretower is on the Agincourt Wales trail which tells the story of the people and places across the region that played a role in Henry V’s famous victory. It starts at Trecastle and visits Brecon, Tretower, Abergavenny, Raglan, Monmouth and St Briavels before ending at Caldicot.

Having seen Table mountain and Sugarloaf in the distance we set off walking south east towards Cwm-gu and then northeast to Cwm. We were soon high over Tretower and had an excellent view of the castle.

On the moor land we followed the Beacons Way and soon realised why it’s so called as we spotted Pen y Fan and its neighbours to the west. After reaching Cwm we headed generally northeast towards Llewenau Draw and Llewenau.

We were delighted to hear a cuckoo at 3 separate times and then spotted it flying across the valley, confirmed as the sound of its call came from behind us now. Unusually the hawthorn trees in this area had mistletoe growing on them.

A flock of sheep (mostly ewes with their lambs) were grazing ahead of us on the path and as we arrived they kept moving ahead of us despite the fact that there was a large open hillside above. Eventually most of them moved to the side but still some continued until we stopped for lunch when they ‘gratefully‘ stopped for a good munch of the grass.

 

 

At lunch we sat on the hillside and gazed at the vast range of mountains around us. Then we noticed a large bird swoop into the field below; it had a distinctive red glow and black markings on its wings; the forked tail confirmed that it was a red kite. We watched as it swooped to ground level and back up again, all the time working its way down the valley. Wow!

Continuing towards Llewenau we could see the Dragonsback mountain ahead of us and as we got closer spotted the iron hill fort which forms the dragon’s head. We turned southwest towards Cil-helyg.

This walk had been designed with the aim of visiting an ancient oak tree which had been found last year. According to the ancient register of trees it is possibly the oldest in South Wales. Now as we walked along a country lane most of us walked straight past it while distracted by a horse in the opposite field. The tree is huge (its trunk must have a diameter of about 12ft) and awe inspiring.

At Cil-helyg we turned north for a while before heading towards Cwmdu and picking up a path leading in a generally southerly direction towards Tretower.

What a wonderful walk full of the awe which nature inspires.

The walk was 7.5miles and 1400ft. Map OL13

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

 

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

The Doughty Family lives on the oddly named Scribbly Gum Island, a short ferry ride from Sydney Australia, and so called after the Scribbly Gum Eucalyptus trees that grow there.

The Island and the family becomes famous because 70 years previously, teenage sisters Connie and Rose Doughty had found an abandoned baby girl whose parents Alice and Jack Munro had mysteriously vanished. It created a media sensation which captivated Australians, and turned sleepy Scribbly Gum Island into a tourist attraction offering guided tours, cream teas, souvenirs and a carnival atmosphere. In time both Rose and the baby, who had been named Enigma, get married and have children and eventually grandchildren. The dynasty which becomes very wealthy but rather inward looking is held on a tight reign by matriarch Connie. The scene changes when Connie dies and bequeaths her beautiful home to Sophie Honeywell, an outsider, who she had met just twice. Family infighting starts and traditions begin to unravel.

The book was given a high score and enjoyed by one member. Another thought it readable and interesting as alongside the saga of the unconventional Doughty Clan, Moriarty allows us a peep into their thoughts, fantasies and secrets, giving us a somewhat surreal understanding of their characters.

However, this was not the opinion of the majority of the group who variously claimed it to be boring, written for teenagers, compared to an Enid Blyton children’s adventure story, naïve, rubbish, lightweight, predictable, with characters floating around disconnectedly. The average score was a miserable of 3 out of 10.

The evening was sweetened with a lovely fresh raspberry tart.

April Walks

 

Margam Park:- We parked next to the lake just outside Margam Park and made our way along the main track towards the deer park. Marshals stood near a stream, there was a run across the park and the runners were expected to go through this stream not once but twice; good job we were only walking!

We followed a woodland edge emerging onto the Ogwr Ridgeway walk and entering more open countryside we saw people doing the run. One circuit involved carrying a tyre uphill and over a high A frame before returning downhill. Continuing upwards, more obstacles appeared including a water slide (that looked good fun until you slid off the end onto rough ground) and a high-sided box. Far below we could see the starting point.

As we climbed we turned back to see Port Talbot steel works in the distance, a herd of deer were outlined on the hill in the foreground. There were a number of places where food had been put out for the deer and invariably nearby were ‘deer toilets’ trudging through one of these was not a pleasant experience!

Turning right we entered the forest to the north of Moel Ton-Mawr and spotted frog spawn aplenty – in any available water. Below was a clearing in the woodland where scrambler bikes raced, we stood well clear when they passed us . We continued in the forest for some time turning west northwest to cross the Ogwr Ridgeway walk.

We were almost at the high point of our walk as we emerged to the edge of the wood, a keen wind blew and it started to rain heavily. Icy needles hammered into exposed skin and many of us put up umbrellas for a bit of shelter. As the rain stopped we made our way into the wood for lunch but there was no shelter from the wind; it was like winter again.

Now we were making our way, on good tracks, generally downhill and westwards to Craig Cwm Maelwg and southwest to Crugwyllt-fawr. There were good views of the steel works and we could clearly see flames as well as great plumes of steam, one of which seemed to be the face of a plump faced man. At one point a large amount of hay was piled with old farm machinery. Loose hay was caught in wire and blew in the strong wind making an unusually picturesque fence.

Our track led to a farm and a friendly woman chatted to us . We headed uphill to the ruin of a chapel, and then down to the cars passing spring daffodils and primroses. [The walk was 8.2 miles and 1350ft. Map 165/166]

Tylorstown Tip:- It was a glorious sunny day. The ancient parish of Llanwonno is thought to date from the 6th century when St Gwynno founded the church here. We set off making a quick visit to the grave of Guto Nyth Bran (Griffith Morgan), he was able to run 7 miles to Pontypridd and back before the kettle boiled. Every New Year’s eve his legend is celebrated in the Nos Galon race from Mountain Ash.

We headed southwest through woodland to emerge into open countryside with Tylorstown tip (an old mining spoil tip) standing proudly to our right. We headed to it and a few people opted to wait at its foot while most of us climbed to the summit. Here we were joined by scrambler bikes roaring up its steep sides. The views down the valleys were excellent. As we descended, one of the scramblers followed us down a steep gully and we scrambled up the side out of his way.

Now the group continued in a north-westerly direction through woodland to Carn y Pigwn where we turned east to arrive at the river feeding the Clydach reservoir. Followed the river southeast and gently downwards to the reservoir where we stopped for lunch. Continuing down the valley we could hear water below us and took a slight detour to descend to a waterfall (Pistyll goleu); very refreshing.

Climbing back to our path we took the track along the course of the river now travelling northwest until we found a footpath on our right leading directly to the road back to the cars (and the pub): some took a short cut along the road while the rest of us continued into St Gwynno forest turning southeast in the direction of Mynachdy.

There were wind turbines on the hill and we had some fun taking photos with the blades apparently emerging from people’s heads. We passed a farm with sheep and new born lambs as well as young bullocks, goats and a llama. We climbed past fields with expectant ewes and ewes with their lambs.

Now it was a short way back, passing above the official scrambler site, to the cars where our friends greeted us. [We had walked 8.25miles and 1400ft. Map 166]

History of a Wenvoe Farmer – Part 2

 

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TOWYN WILLIAMS – CONTINUED

Towyn went to Rhoose Primary School and joined the school choir which came second in an Eisteddfod in Cardiff. After 12 months in Rhoose School Towyn moved to the Grammar School in Barry. He left when he was 14 – Towyn said he did not so much as leave, he just stopped going and it was the happiest day in his life. Towyn worked at home for his father at Ford Farm and at this time he became interested in bell ringing at Llancarfan church until he became less keen when the Vicar suggested that he came to church!.

In June 1946 Towyn saw an advert in a London paper inviting farmworkers to work on the land in Canada. Encouraged by the stories of Towyn's parents, on September 8th he sailed for Canada on the S.S.Moralgia with his friend Jim Bryer, They travelled by train to London, flew from Notrtholt, put down in Shannon then to Gander in Newfoundland. Stopped for 6 hours for an engine change then to Toronto. The long last leg was without food or drink supplied – there were no Air Hostesses on this long and tedious journey.

Towyn worked on a dairy farm near Lyndsey, Ontario, before moving on to a lumber camp with Jim. They worked with all nationalities, including indians.. A day's work would be to walk three miles through three foot of snow, cut down 60 trees using a cross cut saw – no chain saws then.Jim and Towyn had Xmas dinner on a farm about 80 miles from the lumber camp. To return they caught a bus to Whittin about 15 miles from the camp. They decided to walk hoping to get a lift from a passing motorist. They were out of luck.When they were within a mile from the camp they heard and saw a pack of wolves behind them. Not daring to stop they kept going. Later the older men at the camp told them if they had stopped to rest that would have been the 'end of them'. They were so tired and frightened that it took them a week to recover.

Jim continued to work at the lumber camp until 1938 when he came home to work on a farm near Swindon. Towyn stayed on in Canada moving out west to Saskatchewan. The following Spring Towyn left Ontario to work on the Priaries in Saskatchewan He worked on the Homestead that his father had left 25 years previously. The Homestead now belonged to another family. Everything here was big. Huge tractors were used to plough fields a mile long and it was difficult to keep awake while discing and ploughing.

Towyn had the chance of a trip home on a cattle boat, from Montreal to Manchester. Living conditions onboard were primitive. His quarters were at the stern of the ship and it was quite peaceful – when the propeller occasionally stopped ! There were 250 cattle on board, heifers in calf to be placed on farms all over the country.

In September 1950 Towyn married Audrey Taylor of Leach Farm near Carmel Chapel. They lived in a wooden bungalow just up the road from Ford Farm where Towyn continued to work for his father.

In 1953 Towyn took on Ballas Farm, Wenvoe where he stayed for the next 30 years bringing up his family – three girls and a boy. By 1978 Towyn, tired of milking 120 cows a day, decided to make a change. He sold the herd and bought Whitehall Farm near St. Lythans. Whitehall Farm brought a new adventure open to the public – Pick your Own fruit. He planted raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries. red and black currants with a back-up of potatoes and broad beans. This is what Towyn and Audrey did for the next 20 years finally concentrating on stabling and feeding around 15 ponies. At almost 80 he remained the 'hands on' farmer very attached to his old tractor.

Towyn's interests outside of farming included membership of the 'Glamorgan Flying Club'.After obtaining his pilot's license around 1960 he flew a number of single engined aircraft including a Tiger Moth. The cost when he started was £3 an hour and when inflation rose to over £20 an hour, and with the price of milk falling something had to give.

In the late 70's Towyn's brother, Edward, was exporting various breeds of horses to New Zealand and asked Towyn to help to look after 50 horses on a cargo plane. Towyn eagerly accepted the opportunity to meet up with his son Gareth who was working there at the time. The flight took him via Anchorage in Hawaii to Auckland, New Zealand. Towyn enjoyed flying as a passenger and flew across the Atlantic 39 times visiting Canada, U.S.A., Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain , Portugal, Poland (a farm visit) and Ireland. He had also sat in Concorde, been up in a balloon, and flown a helicopter with an instructor.

Towyn's varied and interesting life came to an end peacefully at Whitehall Farm on 14 August 2016 at the good age of 90.What a fascinating life!

 

 

Allan Jenkins (February 2017)

 

 

 

March Book

 

 

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

by Rachel Joyce

Rachel Joyce first introduces Queenie Hennessy in her debut novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, when Queenie writes to her old friend Harold, with whom she has had no contact for 20 years, telling him that she is dying of cancer. Harold replies that he is coming to see her and embarks upon a 600 mile journey on foot.

Following the success of that novel, Rachel Joyce had the brilliant concept that Queenie’s character and story had not been fully portrayed and thus, the book she describes as a companion novel was written.

Queenie tells her story of life and death as she awaits Harold’s arrival, whilst being cared for in a nursing home in Berwick upon Tweed run by nuns. She recounts her life with portraits of her childhood and her days as a Classics Scholar in University. When taking a new job she meets Harold, a married man with whom she secretly falls in love. Queenie’s sudden departure following the tragic death of Harold’s son David, for which she partly blames herself, results in her journey to Berwick upon Tweed, where she lives for the next 20 years creating her Sea Garden.

Between these recollections of previous years, life in the hospice is brilliantly portrayed. We are enthralled by the characters of Queenie’s fellow patients and the nuns caring for them, including imaginary characters who were a manifestation of the morphine induced haze in which Queenie was living her final days.

The Page Turners all agreed that the book was well written and extremely descriptive although some enjoyed it more than others. Following what was generally considered a slow start, the majority found that we warmed to the story, which was sad, funny and thought provoking. The scores ranged from 6 to 8.5 and averaged out to a score of 7.

 

 

 

 

Twmbarlwm

 

Twmbarlwm

The day dawned misty but the weather forecast was ‘clear by lunchtime’ as we left Wenvoe. We started in Fernlea near Risca, climbing some steep streets and walking past allotments. We found the route to the footpath was blocked so headed back the way we had come to take a detour through housing (and more very steep roads) and 2 children’s play areas. Skirting a new development we headed into countryside and northeast towards Pant Yr Eos reservoir.

On reaching a minor road we turned northwest in the general direction of Twmbarlwm. The flattened bodies of 8 frogs were spotted along a ½ mile stretch of the road no doubt caught by local traffic during their migration to breeding sites. As we climbed visibility decreased until we were in a thick fog. Now we were totally reliant on maps and GPS as we could see no more than about 50 yards. Spotting stiles across a field was impossible but a good track was clear once we arrived at Twmbarlwm Common. Twmbarlwm was invisible so we walked slightly further than necessary along this track now heading north. We turned west along another track, suddenly a dark shadow loomed over us in the fog. We had been walking uphill all morning and now we followed an excellent path which spiralled up Twmbarlwm.

Twmbarlwm is an Iron Age hill fort, which lies at the heart of the territory of the Silurian Celts. With commanding views over the Bristol Channel it must have played a large role in the 25 years of war which the Silureans fought against the Roman invaders. The impressive earthworks were constructed around 500BC, long before Rome invaded. The raised circular mound is a ‘motte’ built during the 12th or 13th century by the next invaders – the Normans. It must have supported a timber built castle, and the rest of the wider enclosure would have been the ‘bailey’ to protect the horses and live stock of the soldiers.

The magnificent views (on a good day you can even see the two Severn bridges) were totally hidden by the fog, so we admired the stonework in the footpath and walked to the highest point. Descending we headed northwest and ate our lunch when we reached the road where the ‘Raven Walk’ (a 12 mile 3000+ft circular walk) crossed our route. As we sat, a raven cawed high up in a tree – he was barely visible but stayed until we resumed our walk.

Now we shared a short but steep section of path with cyclists. Through Coed Medart we took a good track and as we continued to descend suddenly came out of the fog and could see the valley below us. The cycle track crossed our path and some daredevil cyclists came careering down the hill and disappeared out of sight down the opposite slope – bit too exciting for me. One cyclist had hit a rock and his front tyre had a deep ‘v’ stamped into it – he had his bike upside down and was attempting a repair.

Our return journey was a pleasant meander down good tracks in a southerly direction until we reached the Brecon and Monmouth canal.

This stretch of the canal is the ‘Crumlin Arm’ and runs for 16km from Cwmcarn to Newport. Opened in 1796 from Crumlin, it was worked until the 1940s. Over Greenmeadow bridge lie the shattered bodies of a number of miners who died in the Blackvein colliery disaster of 1st December 1860. An explosion of firedamp (an explosive coal gas found in mines) and the effects of afterdamp(a suffocating gas left after an explosion of firedamp) killed 142 men and boys working the rich vein of steam coal known as the Blackvein. Many of the dead, however were taken by their families to be buried in their home towns – in England. Locals refused to work the Blackvein as the pit had a reputation for high levels of firedamp, the lethal price of the prized steam coal.

The elegant curved bridges crossing the Crumlin Arm were built to withstand the gentle clip clop of horses’ hooves rather than the rumble and thunder of heavy motor vehicles. Afraid that the bridges would collapse, the Great Western Railway Company which took control of the canal in 1880, installed large diamond shaped warning signs to stop overweight vehicles in their tracks. Darran Bridge and others on this section of the Crumlin Arm now have extra protection having been awarded the status of ‘listed building’.

Cwmcarn houses a visitor centre built on reclaimed colliery land in the 1970s. It is known for Forest drive, bicycle trails and panoramic views and has become a tourist attraction.

An easy walk along the canal covered the final stretch, allowing our tired muscles to recover a little. Arriving back at the cars we had covered 8miles and 1500ft. Map 152

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uskmouth Nature Reserve

 

Uskmouth Nature Reserve

We parked at the RSPB nature reserve, which is in the Gwent levels near Nash, on a very cold but sunny morning. There was still ice on the ground as we set off at 10a.m. We went east across fields and then northeast towards Nash passing close to power lines. Walking around Nash and then across the road we passed under another two power lines to return to

the road and head northeast to Henton farm where we spotted some gorgeous calves in a barn and geese gesturing at us from behind a wire fence.

This area is called Swaplands covering 2138 acres it contains Uskmouth reed beds, salt marsh grasslands, Goldcliff lagoons (saltwater lagoons where waders nest in spring and early summer) and the foreshore – mudflats connecting the other areas and providing feeding areas for ducks and waders. There is a network of drainage ditches, ‘reens‘, all dug by hand across Swaplands.

Now we turned southeast towards Goldcliff and its picturesque 14th C church which has a plaque recording the great Bristol Channel flood of 1606/07. We continued west along the estuary. It was lunchtime and we found a bird hide, offering shelter from the biting wind and large enough for each of us to look out at the marsh spotting swans in the estuary. Very luxurious compared to our usual lunch settings.

A short stretch north took us to Moorlands where there was a wood carving of a pair of boxing hares, about 6ft high. We headed west and then southwest across fields to the sea wall.

Beautiful views of the Severn estuary greeted us with the low winter sun piercing the clouds. From the sea wall can be seen the remains of Putcher baskets, traditionally made from hazel rods and willow plait, they are set out in wooden ranks. They trapped salmon at high tide to be retrieved by fishermen at low tide.

Following the coastal path we came to the East Usk lighthouse, one of two either side of the river Usk at the Severn estuary. Built in 1893 by Thomas Williams it is still operational and forms part of the sea wall. We took a brief diversion on a floating pontoon into the reed beds – an interesting sensation.

Ahead loomed the power station with its many power lines radiating inland. The land from Goldcliff to Uskmouth was originally covered in ash from the power station. In 2000 the wetlands reserve was created, removing the ash and re-landscaping the site, to mitigate the loss of wildlife habitat in the Cardiff Bay barrage area.

Soon we returned to the RSPB wetlands centre for tea. The flat walk covered 8miles, our steepest climb of the day being the ramp up to the bird hide. Map OS 152

 

 

 

 

 

Aberthaw, Fontygary and Rhoose

 

Aberthaw, Fontygary and Rhoose

We started at the Blue Anchor car park, Aberthaw, on a morning heavy with mist, turning to fog in places. We headed back up the road taking the first left and then turning towards the sea. The Aberthaw power station was on our right and lakes to our left, there was no visible flora in January but it was atmospheric in the mist. On the lakes we could clearly see ducks and egrets and a large bird in the dim distance. The lime kilns on the opposite bank were perfectly reflected in the still waters.

The route was east along the coast, staying at sea level and then climbing to the top of the cliff. We soon saw a huge rock fall. Thank goodness at this point the footpath wasn’t near the edge of the cliff! Nearby was a sign ‘stay away from the edge of the cliff – rock falls possible’. (The South Wales Echo had an article later stating that the cliff had been inspected and the footpath declared safe.)

Skirting Fontygary Bay we walked towards Rhoose point. The sculptures here are worth a visit despite erosion due to their exposed position. One, a compass took a little thought until we realised the directions were spelt out in Welsh. Rhoose point is the southernmost part of mainland Wales and is marked by a giant stone needle in the midst of a stone circle.

We continued to Dams Bay and then headed inland to Rhoose, walking around the perimeter of the airport. A new fence had been erected, making for rough ground in places and plenty of mud!

The footpath was a little difficult to find on a new housing estate but was in excellent condition and led to muddy fields. Glad to reach the road at Nurston we headed north towards Fonmon castle. Soon arriving at the pond in Fonmon we wondered why we’d eaten our lunch before reaching the benches here.

Now we followed the road back to Aberthaw and the Blue Anchor for refreshment. We had walked 7.5miles and climbed 600’. Map OS151

 

 

 

 

 

1 … 33 34 35 36 37 … 39