Category: Community Groups

Short walks around Wenvoe

 

Short walks around Wenvoe

5km (3 miles)

1 Starting at the Church gate. Go up Walston Road and into Clos Llanfair to the end and pass through the kissing gate. Keep straight ahead and turn right when you reach the road. Follow the road around to a footpath between 50 and 51 Burdons Close. The path leads to a stile into a field. Cross the field diagonally heading for the electricity pylon to pass it on your right to a stile beyond and you are now on Burdonshill.

2 Turn right to reach a stony track at the top of the hill. Pass through the kissing gate ahead. You are now on the golf course, keep close to the righthand hedge to reach a footpath post; descend right to a kissing gate (can be muddy here if wet) Turn left to reach a stony track.

3 Turn left going downhill through a gate past the Goldsland Farm Orchard to reach Goldsland Farm. (This is a working farm cattle and machinery are moving around at times, keep to the public path)

4 Turn right and left to pass around the barns and continue along the drive to the junction. Turn left. Follow this road passing through the golf course and the entrance to the club. Continue past the Walled Garden and the Bothy houses to reach the main road. (The road opposite the Bothy will take you back to the top of Burdonshill).

5 Go left past the garage and Style garden centre and either continue to Old Port Road and go left back to the church or take the first turn left into Goldsland Walk and take the footpath in front of No 18 to re-join your outward path at the kissing gate.

 

 

February Walk Reports

 

LIVING WITH CANCER
STROLLERS

Time to Talk day is February 3rd and coincided with the Living with Cancer Strollers at Cosmeston. It’s a day when people are encouraged to talk and to share….the strollers did not need much encouragement. Indeed, as ever, they were cajoled to keep walking, whilst doing all the talking! And what did people talk about: the mud , the start of radiotherapy sessions, the abundance of robins, painful migraines….and the sheer joy of being outside walking ‘n’ talking with good companions. Join us!!

 

STRESS BUSTERS STROLLERS

Five new walkers joined the first Stress Buster stroll of 2022. The newbies were welcomed into the group and soon found themselves chatting and sharing stories with the oldies…no disrespect meant!! It was a very still, calm sea that the walkers by passed and nobody was tempted to join the cold, very cold, water swimmers at Watchtower Bay…maybe next month!??

 

 

Dull, dark, dismal skies

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CARERS WALK

Dull, dark, dismal skies did not dampen the enthusiasm of the walkers on the Carers stroll. 3 new walkers joined the group, and although views across the Channel were lacking, conversation and bonhomie were in plentiful supply!! Italian ice creams at the end of the walk seemed to revive any weary limbs!

 

Women’s Institute Back In Action

 

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

We’re back!

At last, Wenvoe WI members were able to meet as normal in the Church Hall on Thursday Feb 3rd. Many thanks to Carol Wylie for her prompt action and advice.
It was a well-attended occasion, and we held our ‘rummage’ / unwanted Christmas presents sale. One member even brought a ‘simulated’ fur coat along and it was duly auctioned!
On Valentine,s Day afternoon, an informal meeting was held for members in the Wenvoe Arms, and we would like to express our thanks to Jenny and the staff for their welcome and willingness to provide us with a venue during the pandemic.
Our next meeting is on March 3rd, at 7pm in the Church hall, when Debra John from Swansea will address us as ‘an Edwardian maid’, describing the duties and difficulties of such a task.
All new members are ensured of a warm welcome.
Janet Young ( President)

 

 

First Meeting of 2022 Outdoors.

Welsh Government Covid restrictions meant the Page Turners had their first meeting of 2022 outdoors. The group gathered under unbelievably blue skies and strolled towards Watchtower Bay. Whilst sitting on the wall in the winter sun, the group were invited to comment on books they had received from Secret Santa at the Christmas meeting.

Nicola thought her Christmas in Wales, by Dewi Roberts had some diverse material but wouldn’t recommend it as a Page Turners monthly read.

Diane was enjoying the intense Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles but recommended reading it in small sections.

Jill’s House of Windows by Barbara Newhall Follett required a huge suspension of belief…and a

belief in fairies. The author wrote the book when she was 12…what were you writing when you were 12?

A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Atkins was Helen’s selection and highly recommended this account of the British penal system.

A Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards was a novel Jenny couldn’t get into.

May’s gift of the Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell was hugely interesting to May, especially how the author attempted to describe why the Danish are amongst the happiest people in the world!

Lynne found Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed an enjoyable read based on the Tempest.

Babs book, Snap by Belinda Bauer was selected by the group as their next monthly read…so more details will follow in next month’s What’s On!!

Sandra was happy to have received The Survivors by Jane Harper, a novel set in Tasmania, which she considered a good read.

Is there a book in this list you would have liked to have received from Secret Santa? Santa certainly had a very diverse choice in his sack!

Happy reading in 2022.

 

 

Boots Were Needed

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CANCER STROLLERS

Raincoats, hats and boots were needed for the Living with Cancer Strollers around Cosmeston. No navigation tools were needed, only carefully planned routes around the numerous puddles. Betty remarked how she has learned to walk in all weathers since becoming involved in the Valeways walks. Well done everyone for being such a resilient, joyful, energetic and fun filled group! Join us!!

 

 

A Belated Happy New Year!

 

WENVOE FORUM

Considering Today and Tomorrow

A belated Happy New Year!

Our apologies. We hadn’t realised that the New Year WO copy date was early and we missed the deadline for the January issue. However, our article on Making 2022 happier can still be read currently on the home page of our blog site. Happy reading https://wenvoeforum.wordpress.com/

For February let’s have a quick look at what the Forum has been up to recently.

Welcome Pack

The ‘Welcome to Wenvoe’ pack that has brought together information provided by many of our community organisations and services, is ready for distribution. If at any time you have new neighbours who have moved into Wenvoe from elsewhere please let us know and we’ll deliver you a printed Welcome Pack to take to them. (gwenfo.forum@gmail.com). The pack will also be available on the blog site (see above) to download. If we have missed anything out or you want to update the information, please get in touch.

From Happiness to Hoppiness

A couple of Wenvoe residents have been involved in the Cardiff Community Hop Growing Group. Members grow one or two hop plants in their gardens and then in mid-September the hops are picked and the harvest pooled to create the Taff Temptress beer brewed by Pipes Brewery in Llandaff. Contributors are entitled to some free or reduced price beer. We were thinking that it would be nice if a few more Wenvoe residents grew some hops and we were able to harvest enough for a ‘Wenvoe’ brew.

Hop rhizomes can be planted in the next couple of months and should produce a small harvest even in their first year. They are very easy to grow, and like to climb, (up to 20ft!) but need not take up a lot of ground space. Dwarf versions are also happy climbing along a fence as long as you give them a bit of encouragement to follow the route you want them to take. Current growers can provide growing advice, though all are beginners.

If you think this is a fun idea please join in. Steve and Sian Jones (gwenfo.forum@gmail.com) are willing to coordinate the link to the Cardiff community while we recruit enough growers for a Wenvoe Beer in the future – suggestions for good name anyone?

Community Energy Scheme

Forum members have met with some Vale of Glamorgan Council officers who are working on reducing carbon footprints to discuss potential community energy generation and other energy efficiency schemes. Ideas are beginning to develop and we hope to hold a meeting with wider community representation soon.

If you want to be part of the discussion and help to shape any future scheme please get in touch. (gwenfo.forum@gmail.com)

 

 

Llantrisant Walk

Llantrisant

 

Parking downhill from the Bull Ring in the centre of Llantrisant, we set off back to the top of the hill and straight down the other side, where we joined a footpath. From here we walked a wide circle around the town, in a clockwise direction.

At times we came close to the busy network of roads around the town, Talbot Green shopping centre and even the Royal Glamorgan hospital. We walked through woodland, followed a tributary of the river Ely, and then the river Ely.

It was firm underfoot for almost the whole walk with good paths, sometimes tarmacked including a disused railway. But where they weren’t solid, they were still firm as the ground was frozen which was lucky as it was muddy where ice had defrosted.

At one point we walked past a sign ‘Private Land Keep Out’ followed by ‘The owners accept no responsibility for loss or injury to persons trespassing on this land’ – we were on a legal footpath which was soon confirmed by an RCT footpath sign!

For lunch we distributed ourselves on mossy walls, logs, and leafy mounds, looking for all the world like a group of gnomes.

The end of the walk involved a long climb from the bottom of the valley to ‘Billy Wynt’ on the hilltop of Y Graig. The squat tower is generally believed to be the remains of a 13th century windmill, but records suggest it was an auxiliary tower of the castle.

The tower was restored as a folly in 1890. Some of us climbed the spiral stairs inside the tower to emerge on the perimeter wall and all of us took in the 3600 views, including the whole of the walk we had done. As we gathered to leave a man came over to talk to us: a Freeman of the town, he was attending to animals in the adjacent field. As a Freeman he is allowed to graze animals, and has a horse, a Billy goat and 3 Nanny goats. He also has beehives which are still active as the winter weather has been so mild. He is continuing a long tradition, Llantrisant common has probably been grazed by Freemen’s animals for over a thousand years.

Returning to the town via a grassy footpath we passed in front of some tiny cottages at Heol y Graig and found ourselves surrounded by history.

Llantrisant has a notable history, today we are all aware of the Royal Mint in the town, but we were surprised by the wealth of history which is still evident as you walk around it.

The Bull Ring has shops and the ‘Model House, craft and Design Centre’ and has been updated with memorial benches for World War II and a memorial stone for the dead of World War I, but it is still dominated by the statue of Dr William Price (a fully qualified doctor and surgeon who promoted Welsh culture, proclaimed himself Archdruid of Wales and was a militant leader of the Chartist cause). Dr Price felt cremation was healthier than burial as it avoided contamination of the water supply. He attempted to cremate his baby son who died at 5 months but was stopped by a constable. A landmark court case followed in Cardiff. He defended himself brilliantly, was found not guilty and later cremated his son. This enabled the Cremation Society to further their cause and the Cremation Act was passed in 1902. He was cremated on 31 January 1893 before 20,000 people.

A Blue plaque indicated that four cottages were one of the first workhouses in Glamorgan (1784). Behind the large parish church of St Illtyd, St Gwynno and St Dyfodwg is the historic part of the town. Here are the remains of the castle which was fortified by Richard de Clare in 1246. It was damaged during the 14th century and King Edward II was imprisoned at the castle in 1326. Owain Glyndwr may have inflicted further damage. In 1767 the estate came to the 1st Marquess of Bute and the tower was dismantled. Local houses (including the police station) were built or restored with its stone and sections were transported to rebuild Cardiff Castle.

A stone commemorates the 650th anniversary of the charter to the town and the presence of Longbowmen from this area at the battle of Crecy 1346.

The Guildhall was established in 1346 and rebuilt 1773, where the Hundred Court was held, dispensing local justice, and governing the ancient borough. In 2017 it was refurbished to become a heritage and visitor centre.

Beating the Bounds is an ancient tradition, a ceremonial seven-mile walk took place in May or June to avoid spoiling the harvest, this ensured that prior to maps, knowledge of the boundary was understood. It continues every seven years and attracts over 10,000 visitors to the old town. I wonder how much of the route we walked.

Walk 7.8 miles, 750ft. Map 151.

 

 

 

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