Category: Footsteps

Abercynon to Mountain Ash

The aim of this walk was to travel up the Cynon valley from Abercynon to Mountain Ash but keeping about a kilometre to the west of and above the river.

Soon after setting off we came to Abercynon cemetery where there are Commonwealth War Graves. The 29 graves are scattered around the cemetery and marked by narrow upright stones, each with a cross and above that a symbol associated with the regiment of the person buried below.

There were thick clouds overhead but it was a good temperature for walking and we had no rain all day. The route took us northwest past Ynysboeth, Pen-twyn, Perthcelyn and Miskin before descending back to the river at Mountain Ash. Those of us who hadn’t been here before were impressed with the beauty and wildness of the area. We have walked in the Valleys of South Wales many times but this felt more remote than most other places. We were in open moorland with streams accompanying us for most of the walk.

The theme for the day seemed to be ‘Walls’. We saw a long stretch of wall absolutely smothered in moss which glowed green. Not long afterwards we walked along an extensive stone wall which was well made but beginning to show cracks; will anyone have the skill or time to mend it?

For lunch we sat against a wall looking back at where we had walked, while a cow stood the other side of another wall looking at us the whole time we were there. They were sheltering from the wind to which we were exposed as we felt it best not to eat in the company of cows.

Our descent to Mountain Ash was through the woodlands of Craig Abercwm and Fernhill where there were no street names just numbers which were quite large in places, a bit unusual.

We crossed the railway and then the river Cynon to enter Mountain Ash. Here we found a park with an Impressive War Memorial having writing and figures carved into each face. A stone circle is nearby. We followed the footpath alongside the river to the railway station but were hampered by drainage pipes which were still in place following the heavy winter rains.

As the footpath crossed the river Cynon and turned towards the station we encountered a strange wall covered in sculpted heads. An article appeared in Wales Online in April last year about the wall and it was headlined ‘The creepy wall hidden in a Welsh town which hardly anyone knows about’. They also said ‘Once seen never forgotten’ and I agree. I found it fascinating. For the author of the article it looks like something out of Game of Thrones.

It is made up of dozens of stone severed heads, ghoulish grimaces and strange creatures. After looking at it for a while you start to notice that some animals are also included e.g. a rabbit peeks out from a ground level tunnel. It was originally based on Greek mythology and the goddess Hebe and ideas of Welsh folklore and images of miners’ faces underground worked their way into the design.

The ex-landlady of a nearby pub is quoted as saying that ‘they used to joke that the faces were based on some of the regulars as they’d stagger home.’

The artist is Blackpool-born Tim Clapcott, who won a tender in 2007 to transform the area of town now known as Riverside Park. It was part of an EU and Welsh Assembly regeneration project. Tim went to Art College in Cardiff in the 1980s and thinks that that particular bit of land was a former slag heap. It took him about a year from conception to completion of the project. The actual sweat and toil took about 6 weeks with the help of local stone masons and labourers.

The concept went on to win a British Landscape Award. I asked a local about the wall and she said that they represented the miners who had worked in local mines and ‘I don’t know why they put them here. Who is going to see them?’ I found that an interesting idea the miners hidden underground are available for all to see but in a location that most people wouldn’t expect to find them. This piece of public art is definitely worth seeing. Continuing to the railway station we saw mosaics on the ground and then travelled by train back to Abercynon.

Walk 7.6 miles and 1500ft ascent. Map 166.

Margam Park

Margam Park – We are going back to February for this month’s walk, just a week after storm Dennis. The weather forecast was 40-45mph winds with rain later. This was enough for some of us to think that maybe we should be cancelling but we decided to give it a go. We were lucky – it was dry all day and windy but wind speed was only about 20-25mph.

When we arrived at Margam Park there were two other groups in the small car park near the lake – one was Cardiff Ramblers which included people from Culverhouse X. The car park was very full as a result with us taking the last two places which involved some manoeuvring to reverse down the narrow track and squeeze into small spaces. An impatient driver who was probably upset that he didn’t get a space roared down the track going off-road to pass other vehicles coming in the opposite direction and spraying mud everywhere as well as thumping the bottom of his car quite violently on a large rock which produced a cracking sound!

The Margam deer herd roams through approximately 500 acres of parkland. It dates from Norman times, the herd, originally exclusively fallow, is of excellent genetic quality to rival any herd in the British Isles.

The water in the lake was quite high with lots of birds swimming around including at least two swans. Mute swans, coots, moorhens, Canada geese, mallard, tufted duck and pochard inhabit the lakes. Whilst the patient observer may see kingfishers beside the streams, skylarks, stonechats and wheatears can be seen over the grasslands with buzzards, kestrels and the occasional red kite in the skies. As it was February and quite cold we saw little in the way of birds whilst walking. We heard one when climbing but we actually saw just a couple of crows when eating lunch.

Margam Park owes its location to the monastery, which was privatised following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537. We climbed to a ruin, which still has all four walls standing (at least in part). This was an outlying monastery building, Capel Mair ar y Bryn, (the chapel of St Mary on the hill). It is thought that its purpose was to allow members of the monastic community to fulfil their devotional duties, when engaged in keeping flocks, without returning to the main church. From here we could look down on Margam Castle. The house was built in 1830-40 at a cost of £50,000 using sandstone from Pyle quarry and as a mansion of exceptional quality it is Listed Grade I. The Castle has some spectacular features such as the vast stair hall and octagonal tower.

We followed the edge of a wood to pick up the Wales Coast path taking us towards Brombil. On the escarpment above the motorway is one of a network of early warning radar stations that were built along the coast from 1941 to detect German bombers and shipping during World War II. The Margam station is a scheduled ancient monument. Three flat-topped buildings stand high on the escarpment overlooking Port Talbot and Swansea Bay. They would have housed generators and control equipment, with large antennae on the roof.

Now we turned northwest into Cwm Brombil and crossed a small but fast running stream. The name of the valley and the atmosphere of the place made some of us think of Bilbo Baggins from Tolkein’s ‘Lord of the Rings’.

Climbing quite a steep track we looked down onto the ‘Blue Pool’ so called because the water is bright blue especially in sunshine. There were a group of wild swimmers enjoying themselves and inviting us to join them. They were obviously having a great time but as they left the water their skin looked bright red and raw with the cold. Brrr…

Although swathes of trees had been felled we soon entered the cover provided by woodland and stopped for lunch, half of us perching on tree stumps and the rest on grassy tussocks. It was cold here at the top of our walk and we could see our breath in the air. We spotted tadpoles in a puddle beside the path.

Towards the end of the walk we took a slight diversion to a wider path as we were concerned that trees or branches may block our planned route. The descent through woodland with gnarled and fallen trees was easier and coming into the open we could see our path etched in the hillside above us. It had been firm underfoot throughout the walk which was a bonus after the winter’s rain.

As we approached the lake again we spotted a ruin beside the path – a very posh boathouse? We retired to Pyle garden centre for welcome refreshment.

Walk 8 miles and 1700ft climb. Maps 165 & 166.

Rhymney Valley Ridgeway

It was the end of February and the day of St Mary’s Church quiz so we knew the walk would be fairly straightforward as the question master needed to get back in good time! After a month of double the normal rainfall, the previous day had been very wet – it was the Friday that the A48 was closed in two places between Bonvilston and Cowbridge. Hail stones hammered down at 8a.m. and strong winds were forecast. This almost put us off but by 9.30a.m. the weather had improved and we set off, parking at Caerphilly Garden Centre.

Beginning the walk uphill we decided to stay on the road rather than wade along the first footpath. The deep gutters at the side of the road were torrents about a foot deep and overflowing into the road so that at times we were paddling in an inch or so of water.

We felt sorry for a group of black sheep standing on an island of grass in the midst of a morass of mud. At a chapel, a sign on the gates to the graveyard warned: ‘People entering this graveyard do so at their own risk’. In one field a herd of horses stayed close to a wall taking shelter from the wind rather than coming after us which is our normal experience.

On the ridge the air was filled with the wonderful song of larks taking wing as we passed. As we reached the trig point, our highest point for the day, we could see the sun shining on the Bristol Channel and extensive views in all directions. My attempts to take pictures of the group here resulted in heads chopped off and fuzziness as I struggled against the wind. Descending from the top of the ridge we were suddenly exposed to an icy wind slicing up the valley below but once we got to the road there was some shelter.

At noon we came to Eglwysilan Church with a Victorian post box in its wall. We took refuge from a hailstorm and had a look around. What a lovely surprise to find there was a table with 6 chairs and even a tablecloth. Since we were six we decided on an early lunch, a welcome sanctuary but cold.

Originally Roman Catholic, St Ilan’s Church became Anglican following the Reformation. The dedication of the church is ambiguous. Ilan may have been a Celtic saint of whom no other trace survives. The Cistercian Way website suggests that Ilan may have been a pre- Norman bishop of Llandaf and says that the 12th century book of Llandaf denotes the church at Eglwysilan as the resting place for the relics of Ilan. The churchyard contains the grade II listed tomb of the bridge builder William Edwards (he built the first stone bridge in Pontypridd) and many of the victims of the Senghenydd Colliery Disaster of 1913. Evan James who wrote the lyrics of the Welsh National Anthem was baptised here.

All was going well and we got down to the Taff trail, which is tarmac here, and were striding along at 3 miles an hour when we arrived at about 200 yards of water. We had gone through a few shorter stretches – using walking poles to gauge the depth as we progressed- but this was a challenge. Two of the men took some exploratory steps and turned back when the water reached calf height. We had several options: climb the steep side on our left traversing a few gullies – not favoured by most of us, turn around and walk back about a mile to find an alternative route (adding at least 2miles to the walk) or explore the embankment on the right. On inspection the narrow ledge of the embankment was a few feet wide and covered in brambles, rotting wood etc. One person’s walking pole broke in half as he attempted to beat back the brambles but… lucky for us we got past the flood just before reaching a fallen tree which would have been very difficult to pass. Now we wondered whether any further floods faced us and fortunately after about 5 minutes we met a man who had just walked up the Taff trail, so we knew we could carry on and were able to advise him to take an alternative route. Although some stretches had lying water none of them was more than an inch or two, so we returned to the cars in good time

It had been surprisingly firm underfoot and although it was windy, nothing like the 40mph forecast. We had a few moments of sunshine and a few hail showers (that hurt with the wind behind it) but there was little rain. Tea at the garden centre was thoroughly enjoyed. Walk 8.6miles and 1300ft climb. Map 166.

Kenfig became a National Nature Reserve in 1989 and an SSSI in 1950s. Inland from the beach is a complex landscape of dunes and wetlands covering about 1300 acres. It is home to many rare species of plants, insects, birds and animals. Kenfig is one of the wettest dune systems in the UK as the sand sits on clay.

As we set off from the main car park we aimed for Sker House, near the beach, it is a deep yellow colour and probably the oldest house, in the area, still occupied. It was built as a monastic grange linked to Neath Abbey. Passing through the edge of the golf course we kept a sharp lookout for any flying balls.

The day was overcast with poor visibility – Port Talbot steel works largely unseen except for the flames. We skirted Sker house to make our way onto the beach which is a delight as you can stride out without looking where you are planting your feet – indeed one of our group was seen to break into a jog at one point – helped by the wind at our backs. We spotted the skeleton of a wrecked boat. Turning north and inland through a break in the dunes we had lunch in the shelter of a dune to get out of the wind, but pouring rain drenched us. Still we had a good view of a ‘lake’ below us –created by the heavy rainfall this winter.

Following the river Kenfig, we arrived at Kenfig castle – the site of a medieval castle and town. The BBC’s Time Team undertook an extensive exploration of the area – you can view the programme at https://youtu.be/VJwCaCBhD4U or go to YouTube and search for season 19 episode 8 of Time Team.

For 200 years from mid-12thC Kenfig was a thriving community. Then sand began to arrive and after another 100 years nearly everyone had left. The town was an Anglo- Norman settlement, established with the objective of asserting and maintaining rule over the Welsh population. It sat on the border between English Glamorgan and Wales to the north and west. It was regularly assaulted by the Welsh highlanders and burned several times, each time it was rebuilt but what the Welsh failed to achieve the elements did. High tides and storms deposited huge amounts of sand. Further north the dunes remained stable and it is thought that the destruction was partly due to human habitation as their grazing animals destroyed the vegetation which kept the dunes stable. Research shows that winds with speeds over 20 knots will carry sand and Kenfig is exposed to these on average 80 days every year.

There is a ditch around the castle with 2 roads running north/south and east/ west converging at the castle. The town was a large settlement extending outside the castle ramparts though the outer buildings appear to have been animal shelters, forges etc. which people will have used for their work.

Making our way to Kenfig Pool we climbed to the top of a dune plotting our route through the flooded paths. We passed many trees up to their knees in ponds. At one point a boardwalk is provided across a marshy area. The only trouble being that the edge of the boardwalk was about 2ft from dry land with water deeper than the height of the tops of our boots – I was the lucky one that benefitted from lovely cold water soaking one foot with a cold sensation which soon warmed up. The soaking was forgotten until, taking off my boots, I realised that grit in the water had caused a fair bit of wear on my favourite socks! Boots had to be washed inside and out on returning home – a very rare occurrence.

On our way back to the car we came across some handsome cattle grazing; their coats warm brown colours – they were a mix of Highland Cattle and North Devon Ruby Reds.

Walk 7.25miles 250ft + a bit for ‘scaling’ sand dunes.

If you are not a confident map reader and would like to visit the area, an easy option is to park on the seafront at Porthcawl, near Nottage, and follow the footpaths west along the coast. There is a choice between hard surface, grass and beach for large sections of the walk with numerous seats. A walkway covers a long stretch to protect the land which creates an easy walk.

I did this on a sunny and very blustery day (the day before storm Ciara) and walked into Kenfig Nature reserve before turning back the way I had come (about 5 miles flat walking). Visibility was brilliant and there were dozens of kite surfers out on the water at Rest Bay.

The walk can be extended by following the coastal path further into Kenfig.

Cowbridge to Ystradowen.

In contrast to most other Saturdays this winter the day dawned frosty and clear. What a relief after Storm Brendan and all the rain. We walked from Aberthin towards Prisk and Ystradowen in glorious sunshine. The views in all directions were brilliantly clear and we admired the beautiful country in which we live – a bit of sunshine makes all the difference. We saw several rams separated from ewes, donkeys, a llama and the first sighting of lambs this winter.

At Ystradowen we saw St Owain’s church and headed west passing a motte before turning south for our return journey. We found a relatively dry field where we basked in the sunshine while eating lunch . A caterpillar chose to crawl across one of our boots; it was carefully removed.

After lunch the ground was waterlogged in places even though numerous ditches have been dug to drain the land. On a lane we found one ditch clogged with leaves which two people valiantly cleared with their walking poles and the water gushed away. Fortunately we walked along the road, past Newton towards Newton moor; the fields had reeds growing in them and signs of recent flooding.

Skirting Cowbridge we crossed the Aberthin road to climb a hill, following a footpath. A blocked footpath forced us down a quiet road for the final stretch. (Walk 7.75 miles 650ft Map 151)

Barry

The forecast was that Storm Brian was going to blow hard with intermittent heavy showers. Still 13 brave souls set out from Cold Knap and quickly moved down to the lake to seek shelter from the wind. Many seabirds had the same idea and we even saw a black swan on the lake.

We walked over to Barry’s Whitmore Bay via Jackson’s Bay, Clements Colley Walk and Nell’s Point. Returning after a well -earned drink to Cold Knap we agreed that all cobwebs were blown away and we felt refreshed and very glad we had ventured forth. (Walk 5 miles)

Cowbridge and Sigingstone.

The weather forecast was sunshine and showers but we only saw sunshine in the distance and had more than our fair share of showers. We set out from Llanblethian Church near Cowbridge, along the Valeways Millennium Heritage trail crossing a very full Factory brook.

We crossed a field where the remains of a World War II runway are visible and as we approached Siginstone, found an Air crash memorial slate which marks the 40th anniversary of a tragedy. ‘On Sunday 12th March 1950 a Tudor V Aeroplane returning from Dublin crashed 200 yards from this spot as it approached Llandow Aerodrome. 75 Welsh rugby supporters and 5 crew died. There were just 3 survivors. In Belfast the day before Wales had won the Triple Crown.’ The plane had done many relief trips to Berlin before crashing on its return from Dublin. Fans had a lot of luggage (souvenirs?) and it is thought this caused the crash. As a result airlines introduced baggage weight limits.

Next to the air crash memorial stone is Sigingstone Pond. We chatted to a man who lived in the house next to it and he told us that his father had the farm above the pond and cattle used to come down to the pond to drink. His grandfather would fill buckets at a tap in the wall above a spring and carry it up to the farm.

At the Victoria Inn, Sigingstone we turned onto a stretch that was particularly muddy with muck coming over boots; most of us carefully skirted the edge but one person ventured into the worst of it! We were relieved to emerge onto a long path between two hedges glowing golden in their winter coats.

We took the road to Crossways House passing what appeared to be its own sewage processing plant. The boundary wall at the front of the house proved an excellent place to sit and eat our lunch.

Between Penllyn (north of A48) and St Brynach’s Church are a series of coffin stiles, which consist of two stiles side by side with a wall between them on which a coffin could be rested as the stile is climbed. St Brynach’s Church was for centuries the parish church of Penllyn and remains its burial ground even though it is a mile away. It is thought that the stone traces of settlement close to the church are of Romano British origin and the ‘village’ was wiped out by the Black Death (14thC). The church boasts ‘no electricity, lighting or heating’.

Although the stiles on the Millennium Way were well maintained most of the others were pretty poor, sometimes surrounded by mud and there were plenty of double stiles! We stopped at the Bonvilston cafe for tea and they served us even though they had shut the dining room. (Walk 7 miles 650ft Map 151).

Christmas Walk. –

Nine people braved the incessant rain, on voting day, for the annual walk before a Christmas lunch. We started at Victoria Park and were amazed to spot a hedgehog scurrying across the grass along a hedge. We were worried that it should be hibernating but aware that there was probably someone putting food out for it.

Exiting the north-east gate we headed for Thompsons Park. As we entered the pond looked colourful with pink, green and white cabbage plants around it and behind it a weeping willow drooping yellow-green branches. At its centre the iconic fountain ‘Joyance’ by Sir William Goscombe John is known by generations of Cardiff people.

At the top of Thompsons Park we headed across Pencisely Road, down to Llandaff fields and then walked alongside Pontcanna fields and the allotments. Heading north, over the relatively quiet A48, we came to Llandaff cathedral. We had a quick photo stop at St Teilo’s well – St Teilo was consecrated as the 2nd Bishop of Llandaff in the 6thC and was one of the three Celtic saints in whose honour the cathedral church in Llandaff was originally dedicated. Now we traversed the Green and headed past Insole Court and back to Victoria Park.

A very pleasant walk and we hardly noticed the rain we were so busy chatting and admiring our surroundings. Now it was back to the Horse and Jockey for a huge Christmas lunch with walkers old and new.

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