Category: Footsteps

Tylcha Fach,Tonyrefail –

The weather was very wet on Saturday so the walk was rearranged for Sunday, when it was still overcast but dry. We parked near Tylcha Fach and took a south-westerly route towards Rhiwfelin and Rhiwfelin Fach across open farmland. We then took paths to Nant Muchudd which we followed to Pant-y Brad and Tonyrefail before heading back to Tylcha Fach.

As we set off heavy clouds hung in the sky over our heads but it was not raining. We started on quite a steep gradient and were glad to reach fields where the going became easier. We came across a pile of discarded tyres and fencing which wouldn’t have looked out of place as an art installation but definitely wrong in the countryside.

We soon travelled beside very full streams and some splendid moss. As we climbed uphill from one stream we passed a tree which had honey comb in a hollow in its trunk; bees must have made a home here in the summer. A couple of farms had old boats in their yards – obviously they are used to heavy rain in these parts! At Tre Eric cottage farm the footpath was blocked and we had to climb over a barbed wire fence to carry on and then clear a stile hidden by a holly tree before we were able to follow a disused railway line, which was a good path. A huge ring of fungi about 6ft across with the individuals several inches in diameter glowed in the dim light under trees.

At Pant y Brad we were surprised to come across a plaque which read ‘Opposite on Nov. 16th 1326 was captured King Edward II (Edward of Caernarvon) the guide of captors was Rev Rhys Hywel’. The disastrous reign of Edward II came to an unofficial and humiliating end on 16 November 1326 when Edward II, guided by a Cistercian monk, went for refreshment to Penrhys. Heading for safety Edward was intercepted at Pant y Brad – the Hollow of Treason – in Tonyrefail. He was captured by agents of his estranged wife Isabella of France who had invaded England 7 weeks earlier. He was taken to Llantrisant castle and imprisoned overnight. Later he was held in honourable captivity at Kenilworth castle in Warwickshire. A few weeks later he was forced to abdicate in favour of his 14 year old son, Edward III, whose reign began on 25 January 1327.

Walking along the road we spied a group of 19 llamas (or maybe alpacas) in a field. As we walked

over to see them they ran towards us and were very friendly – probably thought we had food. We spent a happy few minutes admiring their shenanigans.

Tref-y-Rhyg school had a colourful wall with a field and rainbow and their values ‘positivity, patience, trust, respect, equality, care, pride and honesty’ written around the picture. A stream in full flow poured into a metal bath and then cascaded into a 2nd bath. We had a laugh as one of the group stood beside it and pretended to undress for a quick dip! Passing a flock of sheep they came so close that unusually some of us patted them. Descending the road we had climbed at the beginning of our walk we arrived back at the cars and went to Arthur Llewellyn Jenkins for a welcome cup of tea.

Walk 7.1 miles 700ft Maps 166 & 151

 

 

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Ogmore to Monknash

We parked at Monknash and caught the No. 303 bus to Ogmore. We were to begin our walk just above the estuary of the river Ogmore and travel back along the Heritage coast to Monknash.

Walking down to the car park we looked towards Porthcawl, heavy clouds sat on the horizon but visibility was good. Turning east glimpses of the sun danced on the sea through the thick cloud cover. The forecast was rain so we were dressed in full waterproofs. After half an hour or so we were stripping off the layers as it was quite warm and there was no sign of the promised rain.

On the way down to Southern Down beach we had the first of several sightings of a large brown and black striped caterpillar – probably the fox moth. A flock of sheep looked as though they had ‘purple rinses’.

We headed on towards Dunraven Bay and as we climbed to the walled garden of Dunraven castle a group of people came in our direction – the crew of a King Arthur film (at least that is what they said they were) decked out in medieval dress complete with at least one sword and some arrows.

At Dunraven the first walled paddock was built in this sheltered spot in 1543. Under the stability of the Tudors, country houses had walled gardens to protect against wandering marauders and wild animals and allowing plants to be grown in remote areas. In a corner of the walled garden is a building which looks a bit like a castle but is in fact an ice house; every winter ice would be packed here to freeze food and store it safely. In Victorian times a heated glass house was placed in a south facing position and exotic plants from other parts of the world were grown. The walled garden is also home to the ghost of a young woman called ‘the Blue Lady’. There have been many sightings and it is said that an appearance is followed by the lingering scent of the yellow mimosa flower.

Walking to the viewing point towards the next bay, we were lucky to see the ‘magic waterfall’ – it only appears after rain!

We explored the ruins of Dunraven house which are above the garden and closer to the sea. People were living in Dunraven in Celtic times. The Romans built a fort here and in the 12thC a Knight called Arnold Le Botelier (or Butler) arrived and built a castle. A marriage led to the Vaughan family taking over the estate and they built a manor house in the 16thC. The Wyndhams bought Dunraven in 1642 and built a huge, ostentatious neo-gothic house in 1803. The house was used as a convalescent home during the two World Wars. Finally in 1962 the mansion was demolished, a casualty of the cost of maintenance.

Continuing along the cliff top, we stopped to admire a juvenile Peregrine falcon which hovered near us for ages. As we walked we kept well away from the edge; there are visible signs of erosion even on the surface but looking at the cliffs we could also see the telltale cracks in the rock face which may well succumb to this winter’s storms.

The rocks forming the cliffs of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast were created in the early Jurassic times. The land that is now the Vale of Glamorgan was formed at the bottom of a warm shallow sea near the equator. Most of the rocks were created from the build up of millions of shells of tiny sea creatures, together with mud brought to the sea by ancient rivers. Eventually this was compacted to form limestone.

We stopped for lunch at an Iron Age fort. Shaggy parasol fungus grew in profusion in the area.

Arriving at Monknash beach we were astounded to see the volume of water pouring down the normally tranquil little stream which emerges here. At this point we divided into 2 groups; half of us walked up the stream and back to Monknash to retrieve the cars finding it necessary to wade across several inches of water in one place with the water getting into boots!

As it was low tide, the other group walked along the beach to Nash Point. It feels almost primeval with its craggy rocks eaten away by the sea and no noise apart from the screech of seabirds and the rolling waves. At one point we heard a deep rumble and glanced at the cliffs just in time to see a small but dramatic rock fall. Just as at Monknash the stream at Nash point was very full and we crossed it where it disappears under large rocks. Walking up the road to Marcross we were reunited with the others in the pub for refreshments. (Walk 8.5 miles Map 151)

 

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Abercraf

It was a lovely sunny morning at the end of August when we set off from Abercraf in a westerly direction. We walked along the river, the sun sparkling on the water. Passing through a kissing gate we noticed that its ‘gate’ had been dumped in the bushes nearby. Soon we were passing the Rheolau Arms and walking along the road in baking sunshine. We entered woodland, appreciating the shade and walked amongst the gnarled trunks of ancient trees. It was hard going underfoot at times, as it was quite boggy with no signs of a marked path and we climbed over or through a fallen tree. We came into open countryside and then arrived at the village of Cwmgiedd.

In 1943 ‘The Silent Village’, a British propaganda short film in the form of a drama documentary was made in Cwmgiedd as a tribute to the people of Lidice in Czechoslovakia. It was a collaboration of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, South Wales Miners Federation and the people of the Swansea and Dulais valleys. Part of the film is in Welsh with no subtitles. The 36 minute film is available on YouTube – just search for ‘1943 film The Silent Village’. In 1941 the villages of Cwmgiedd and Lidice were similar mining communities, though 984 miles apart. The film depicted what might have happened to the Welsh mining village if German Fascists had occupied it. The obliteration of the Welsh community is intended to parallel the events in Lidice the previous year.

On 27th May 1942 Jozef Gabcik & Jan Kis attempted the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich and he died of his injuries on 4th June 1942. Hitler demanded retribution and on 10th June Lidice was razed to the ground. All the 173 men of the village were executed, the women were taken to concentration camps and the children herded into trucks. To this day the fate of the children is unknown, only a handful ever returned home.

In 1947 ‘Lidice shall Live’ funds were handed over to Czechoslovakia and a new Lidice rose from the ashes, a foundation stone being laid 300 metres from the original site. It was noticed that corn in a particular field grew higher than elsewhere and horses refused to work there. This was the site of the mass grave, which is now home to a memorial.

In 1969 sculptor Marie Uchytilova was deeply touched by the tragedy and made it her life’s work to create bronze monuments of every child killed in Lidice. She completed the casts in 1989 and died suddenly later that year. Her husband completed the bronzes in 2000 and 82 statues now stand proudly in Lidice, looking down the valley. In 2015 a pear tree sapling (of a pear tree that was destroyed but regenerated) was handed over to the people of Cwmgiedd. It remains a living, permanent link between Cwmgiedd and Lidice.

Walking through the village we spotted a whole hedge of rosehips. At the northern end of the village we entered Coedwig Giedd forest. We followed forestry tracks along the river Giedd, though we couldn’t see it most of the time as it was hidden by trees and below us. We rested for lunch on some large rocks most of us seeking shade, as it was 27degC.

Emerging from the forest we crossed Nant Ceiliog and some boggy ground aiming for the rocky outcrop at Cribarth. We were surrounded by untouched wilderness with no sign of man’s influence in any direction (apart from the ubiquitous wind turbines in the far distance). It was well worth the climb – unusually we had climbed gradually until early afternoon. We disturbed a frog and then a newt in the long grass and realised that normally this area was a lot wetter underfoot – thank goodness for the dry summer.

Now we turned generally south and dropped quite quickly through the purple haze of heather laden hills with a patchwork of fields in the distance. Soon we were enjoying refreshment in the Abergraf Inn.

Walk 8 miles 1400ft ascent. Map OL12

 

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Hailey Park

On a warm and sunny day 19 people set off from Hailey Park in North Llandaff. We walked north along the River Taff to the Melingriffith Water Pump, where a feeder and canal run parallel to the River Taff.

The pump was installed circa 1800 for Glamorgan canal and Melingriffith Tinplate Works. For over 130 years the pump provided a reliable water supply for the canal that ran from Merthyr to Cardiff docks via Pontypridd and Tongwynlais.

By 1836 over 200 barges (mostly carrying coal and iron) were working on the canal, able to travel the 25 miles from Merthyr to Cardiff in around 20 hours (negotiating some 51 locks). The growth of the railways led to the closure of the canal.

In the early part of the 19th century, disputes occurred between the owners of the Melingriffith Tin Plate works and the Glamorgan Canal Company. There were problems obtaining a continuous supply of water from the Feeder which ran from Radyr weir to the Melingriffith works, especially in the summer months, because the canal company had directed most of the water supply upstream of the Melingriffith works to their waterway. Following court action in 1806 the canal company agreed to pay £700 for the construction of a water pump.

Now we walked between the feeder and the river heading towards bird hides where it is possible to see kingfishers. A heron posed for us and an abundance of ducks, moorhens and coot were on the water but at the bird hide we saw a solitary dunnock on the grass just outside the window. We returned via the Glamorgan canal and retired, after 5 miles, to a favourite cafe for refreshment.

 

 

 

 

 

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Capel-y-ffin

Getting to Capel-y-ffin (the Chapel at the end) is not easy. We drove to Llanthony and then along the valley following a narrow windy lane for over 2 miles; parking is restricted. A red kite swooped over us as we travelled. This and the sight of a cyclist (male) in day glow pink leggings and baby pink shoes assured us of an interesting day. Indeed we were following in the footsteps of William and Dorothy Wordsworth; this was one of their favourite areas to walk. Bruce Chatwin used to cycle here as a child, he later called it one of the emotional centres of his life.

Setting out along the road we crossed Nant Bwch to follow Afon Honddu and could see a large building, to the west, in the distance. This was the Grange, a monastery and ruined chapel built by Joseph Leycester Lyne, known as Father Ignatius, in 1870. He tried to reintroduce the monastic tradition to the Anglican Church. His builders took advantage of his unsuspecting nature and skimped on foundations, damp proofing etc. The monastic idyll disintegrated along with the buildings and the chapel is fenced off with a ‘Dangerous structure’ sign. The monastery is now a trekking centre.

Soon we were climbing a fairly steep hill to the south eastern end of the ridge. As we rested to look back at the glorious view of the valley towards Llanthony we met a group of 4 young men coming down. They had come from Birmingham and were walking to Hay-On-Wye (10miles). One of them, an Italian, was blown away by the beauty of the place – he didn’t know this country held such treasures.

The path along the ridge was easy though slightly uphill. Dark clouds gathered in the sky creating a dramatic atmosphere. The boggiest section was paved and the surrounding area covered in lines of fleeces. Apparently they help the land to recover. At the end of the ridge, Lord Hereford’s Knob, the spectacular view opened up to the northwest across relatively flat land and you could see for miles. It was lunchtime and we were ready to eat but a fierce wind had got up and we continued to an outcrop of rocks a little to the southwest. Even the rocks couldn’t protect us so we turned our backs on the view and started down the valley. In no time we were on the banks of a small stream in the sunshine – lovely.

The descent through the valley was gorgeous. A herd of ponies and their foals tossed their manes in the wind. In the protected valley, Nant Bwch shimmered in the sun and heather clad banks glowed. The sheep were the whitest I had ever seen and stones beside tributaries also glowed white in places (presumably limestone). And it was so quiet it was heavenly. We had heard no cars, aeroplanes or other manmade noise (apart from voices) all day and only met a handful of people.

Crossing Nant Bwch we walked along a lane passing Talsarn Farm and the Grange to come back into Capel-y-ffin. Walk 7miles 1500ft ascent. Map OL13

 

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Llanthony

We parked at Llanthony Priory, in the care of Cadw and freely open to the public. The hamlet of Llanthony nestles in the heart of the beautiful Vale of Ewyas. This is the easternmost valley of the Black mountains, described by Gerald of Wales in 1188 as ‘encircled on all sides by lofty mountains, but no more than three arrow shots in width’.

Here in this remote and tranquil valley an Augustinian priory was founded early in the 12th century. A wealthy nobleman, William de Lacy, sheltered in the ruined Celtic chapel of St David, and overcome by devotion decided to found the priory. The Augustinians, popularly known as Black Canons from the colour of their outer garments, were organised on monastic lines but were ordained priests going out to preach and hold services in nearby churches. Nothing remains of the original buildings as the monks were forced to retreat to Hereford and Gloucester by attacks from the primarily English community. The structures visible today date from the 13th century, when the priory was re-established and the Priory church built. Completed around 1230, it was closed 300 years later by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries. Later a house, now a hotel, was built amongst the ruins where the monks once lived and worshipped.

As soon as we got out of the cars we could hear the loud reverberations of bleating sheep. Nearly all of us peeped over the stone wall (it was high) surrounding the car park to find a huge flock of hundreds of sheep on the other side – had they been brought down for shearing or market?

We walked past the priory taking the footpath towards Hatterall Ridge; it is quite steep in places but a lovely climb on good grass paths which narrow near the top due to bracken. We glanced back at the priory as we climbed and it appeared to shrink while the panorama of the countryside grew. The sweeping upland moorland is shaped by livestock grazing and traditional practices such as heather burning. Here a very special moth, the Silurian Moth, makes its home. The spring buds and leaves of the bilberry plant (known locally as the ‘whimberry’) feed the moth. The purple berries can be foraged by humans but they weren’t quite ripe enough for us. A sign reminded us that by law dogs must be kept on a lead between 1st March and 31st July and whenever livestock is nearby. This practice protects ground nesting birds such as red grouse.

A cairn marked the point at which we met the Offa’s Dyke path, the border between England and Wales. As we progressed along the ridge grazing horses came into view and larks briefly soared. On the side of the next ridge, in Wales, were curious circles shown clearly in the landscape we wondered how and for what purpose they were created. In one photograph I can count 17 of these circles and they seem to be connected by narrow tracks. A mystery!

We strode quite quickly along the ridge as the path is a pavement and thoroughly enjoyed the unusual freedom of not having to look where we were stepping. We took in the view around us: on our right and east, England relatively flat with rolling farmland and to our left, the wild hills of Wales and the Brecon Beacons National Park.

At a large cairn we stopped for a time contemplating and then turned towards Wales, starting our descent through the bracken covered hillside. We lost height quickly and came to a signpost directing us to Capel y Ffin. Now that we were lower the temperature rose and we enjoyed the local flora including some splendid foxgloves and thistles.

Arriving in the valley we disturbed a couple of black sheep, hiding in the bracken, and climbing a stile followed the road back to Llanthony. One of us had camped here many years ago and was able to share stories of all the various haunts they had explored.

On reaching Llanthony we walked around the ruins of the priory and the church of St David’s. A sign stated ‘Welcome to St David’s built on the earlier site of the monastic cell of St David, patron saint of Wales. This is one of the ancient and holy sites of Wales and has welcomed pilgrims throughout its history.’ It had a peaceful atmosphere andone of its stained glass windows has a white dove against a rich blue background – beautiful.

Walk7.25miles 1200ft ascent. Map OL13

 

 

 

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Brecon Nature Reserve and Hidden Valley

We parked in the lay-by, on A470, at Brecon Nature reserve about a mile north of Storey Arms. A notice stated ‘In just a few hundred metres you will find yourself enclosed within a shady, atmospheric amphitheatre created by the soaring craggy cliffs of Craig Cerrig Gleisiad. The lofty exposed moorland of Fan Frynach separates this area from a second, equally spectacular curtain of cliffs at Craig Cwm Du. The steep rocky slopes, sharp escarpments and crags are home to rare arctic-alpine plants at their southernmost location in the UK and not found again until the Alps. A history of lower levels of grazing has resulted in a richer variety of wildflowers in the reserve compared with surrounding areas of the National Park.’

‘A glacier carved out this valley during the last ice age. As it melted about 18,000 years ago it exposed the steep rock walls of Craig Cerrig Gleisiad. Sometime later a catastrophic landslide cascaded millions of tonnes of rock from these crags down the slopes. You can still see the tension cracks in the bedrock. The extent of this landslide is visible as the steep bank you can see from the A470. Up until 11,500 years ago a smaller glacier occupied the back of the hollow, leaving a series of ridges of small rocks and debris called moraines.’

We took the right hand path, climbing immediately and were soon in the ‘amphitheatre’. We were wrapped in a silence broken only by birdsong. The place felt so peaceful and the whole area was covered in swathes of bluebells. Larks soared as we passed and the harsh call of members of the crow family echoed from the heights.

Gazing at the awesome hills around us their height seemed daunting but we gradually moved through the Nature reserve and found ourselves at Carnedd Cairn, 1 mile into the walk with a climb of 1,000ft under our belts – the hardest climb of the walk.

It was a fairly flat walk to the trig point at Fan Frynach(629m), where we took in the spectacular views: to the east Pen y Fan and to the west, in the distance, Carmarthen Fan with rolling farmland to the north and below us in the next valley.

We started to descend and after about 200 metres picked up a good path heading north to connect with Sarn Helen (a Roman metalled road which continues to Ystradfellte and its waterfalls). The path was well defined with a ditch at the side, a farm track perhaps or an old drover’s road? But looking at the land rising away from us we could see paths across it at regular intervals – so most probably old forestry commission land which has been returned to its

‘original’ state. We watched a pair of red kites soaring above us until they were driven away by crows.

On Sarn Helen we met a farmer sitting side-saddle on an off-roader with her 2 dogs. Soon a motor cyclist kicking up loads of dust approached us, closely followed by 4 more that slowed down and exchanged smiles.

Now we arrived at the Cwm Du valley, time for lunch; we walked a short way and sat beside the stream, Nant Cwm-du. The land was dotted with distinctive craggy trees sculpted by the harsh climate. We were enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, listening to the babble of the stream and watching a tiny caterpillar which wafted in front of us on an invisible thread. The silence was destroyed by the sound of a car engine, as a number of 4x4s drove along Sarn Helen. They were soon gone and peace reigned.

Walking up the valley, beside the stream, was easy to start, then and as we climbed became more difficult, making us crisscross the stream, until eventually we came to a waterfall, a vertical edge with excellent footholds enabling a climb out of the valley. We rested near the top on a large flat rock to admire the valley and absorb the atmosphere of the place. Then up to the Beacons Way – so nice to be on a footpath again and Pen y Fan came back into view.

Soon we were facing a steep descent back to the A470, taking a zigzag path on the steepest sections we eventually got to the bottom. Looking back at it was scary!

Throughout the walk we had heard the call of the cuckoo, we had seen lots of wildflowers, including tormentil, welsh poppies (not in flower), violets, speedwell and saxifrage. There were very few sheep and quite a few horses grazing the area. The weather was perfect, hardly any wind, cloudy with occasional weak sunshine, excellent visibility, cool temperature and most importantly – no rain. We had seen only 6 other walkers all day – a brilliant day. Walk 6½ miles, ascent 2000ft. MapOL12.

 

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Coed Morgannwg Way above Hirwaun

It was a lovely morning but as we got out of the cars, at the Mynydd Beili-glas viewpoint, we did a group shiver – the wind chill factor really hit us and we quickly set out so that we could warm up.

It had been a week of wintry showers and the ground around us still had snow lying in patches. We were close to Graig a Llyn, the highest point in Glamorgan at 1969ft and below us we could see the road snaking up the hill, with a white car roaring up round the bends, as if it was in a Grand Prix.

We could also see Llyn Fawr, a lake which was made into a reservoir in 1911. When this was done a number of ancient objects were found in the peat at the water’s edge. These became known as the Llyn Fawr hoard and include 2 large bronze cauldrons, bronze axes, sickles and a sword. Probably dating from around 600BC they are among the most important Iron Age objects found in Wales; they are now in the National Museum, Cardiff.

Initially we walked on natural footpaths which soon became roadways for the vehicles which installed the Pen Y Cymoedd wind farm. One advantage of the wider tracks was that we had good views all day.

 

We decided to take a slight detour from our route to visit a memorial stone at the spot where the body of Willy Llewellyn, aged 5 years, was found. He was lost in Aberaman on 11th April 1902 and his remains found on 26th April, after a search by the whole community. Offerings of coins and small toys were on the stone.

We passed through areas where the trees had been decimated by fire and maybe the road building but new saplings were springing up. For lunch we found a protected area, sitting on tree stumps and fallen trunks, enjoying the sunshine. Tiny red flowers of moss covered one of the stumps. Bright yellow flowers of coltsfoot decorated the ground as we continued.

Now the 500ft wind turbines were towering around us. A series of notice boards provided information on the wind farm – 76 wind turbines produce an estimated output of 256MW. Natural Resources Wales state that there are 211 wind turbines planned for the Welsh woodland estate. The estimated output is 663MW (enough to power over 416,000 homes). The turbine footprint will be 450 hectares of land not replanted (20% of the estate). [Aberthaw Power Station generating capacity 1,560MW]

We met no walkers all day but a few cyclists, one of whom stopped us and asked for directions – he’d bought a map online and it was ‘being delivered tomorrow’.

Soon we arrived at the wind farm electricity sub-station where a large electrical installation loomed over us like a huge robot. From here we walked along a road through a forest of wind turbines and returned to the cars via our original footpath. The peaks of Pen y Fan and Corn Ddu in the distance were both covered in snow.

Hirwaun (long meadow) Common below us was gifted to the people for free grazing of their animals. Also in sight was the Tower colliery, closed as uneconomic in 1994 but run as a co-operative by the miners for a further 13 years until the coal finally ran out in 2008. Walk 8miles ascent 800ft. Map 166.

 

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