{"id":9019,"date":"2021-01-31T10:43:59","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T09:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9019"},"modified":"2021-01-31T10:45:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T09:45:44","slug":"ogmore-by-sea-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9019","title":{"rendered":"Ogmore by Sea Walk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ogmore<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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We walked in the Ogmore area several times last year, using the Vale Trails leaflet no.1 \u2018Ogmore by Sea Walk\u2019 as a basis for our routes and starting from St Brides Major. From here we walked past St Bridget\u2019s Church and were soon on footpaths leading onto Ogmore Down. This part of the walk is across open countryside with good wide grass pathways.<\/p>\n

We have seen swallows sitting along a fence and gracefully swooping for insects in the air. At Pant Mari Flanders there is a hollow cut into limestone with a stone structure covering an ancient well. If you take the more northerly route you pass the golf course where the views are extensive.<\/p>\n

After crossing the Down, you come to the river Ewenny and walking south soon arrive at its confluence with the River Ogmore, the site of Ogmore Castle. From here it is a lovely walk along the river and estuary towards the sea. The dunes of Merthyr Mawr Warren are on the other side of the river and horse riders gallop along the other bank. Stepping-stones offer a safe river crossing unless the water is extremely high.<\/p>\n

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Ogmore Castle is one of 3 fortresses built, at the time of the Norman invasion, to guard Glamorgan against attacks from the Welsh-held west. Beginning as a castle of earth and wood in the early 12th century, it was quickly fortified in stone before being further strengthened with a curtain wall in the early 13th century. Unusually the original defensive banks and ditches are still visible, the deep ditch in the inner ward was designed to fill with sea water at high tide.<\/p>\n

The castle was given to one of the 12 knights of Glamorgan, William de Londres, who left when the Welsh attacked in 1116. Allegedly, the castle was saved by his butler, Arnold, and for this he was knighted Sir Arnold Butler and given the castle and manor at Dunraven as a reward. Ogmore Castle continued to serve as a residence until the 16thC and hosted the Court House until 1803.The present-day castle remains consist of the keep and some outer walls.<\/p>\n

A ghost Y Ladi Wen (“the White Lady”) is said to guard the castle’s hidden treasure. In the story, a spirit was long said to wander the wider area until a man finally had the courage to approach her. When someone eventually did so, the spirit led him to treasure (a cauldron filled with gold) hidden under a heavy stone, he could take half for himself. Later, he returned to take the rest; the angry spirit attacked him as he returned home. The man became gravely ill but did not die until he confessed his greed.<\/p>\n

The river always has lots of birds swimming along and feeding – seagulls, Canada geese and ducks to name a few. Soon we reach the estuary where the horizon opens out and the sun glistens on the sea \u2013 it seems to do this even on grey days though you may need to look far away to see it. The route now heads east towards Southerndown and Dunraven Castle, through the car park with the sea on the right. As soon as we were away from the concreted area, we scrambled over some rocks to sit gazing out to sea whilst eating our lunch and trying to work out whether any of the black birds hopping about on the grass were choughs. For some reason it is hard to spot their red beaks and legs but eventually, we were all convinced we had seen one (should have brought binoculars).<\/p>\n

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Looking over my shoulder briefly I noticed someone walking along the path that I thought I recognised \u2013 a celebrity. I quietly said something to my companions who said I was wrong. But\u2026 when we resumed our walk who should walk towards us but Gareth \u2018Alfie\u2019 Thomas of Welsh rugby. We were so cool, and he was very gracious exchanging greetings with us but underneath two of us were excited and the other two (English) had no idea who he was.<\/p>\n

This stretch of the coast is picturesque and mostly level with a short steep climb near Southerndown. Then there is a steep drop down to Dunraven Bay where there are facilities and Dunraven castle and Walled garden (where according to legend there is another ghost!)<\/p>\n

From here we walked inland passing the Heritage centre and then across farmland to come out opposite the Farmers Arms. Passing the pond and pump, we turned right to avoid the busy main road, climbing the road behind a row of houses. At the top there was a steep descent back to the road and our cars.<\/p>\n

Walk 5-8 miles depending on which route is taken. Map 151<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ogmore We walked in the Ogmore area several times last year, using the Vale Trails leaflet no.1 \u2018Ogmore by Sea Walk\u2019 as a basis for our routes and starting from St Brides Major. From here we walked past St Bridget\u2019s Church and were soon on footpaths leading onto Ogmore Down. This part of the walk is across open countryside with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-2lt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6814,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6814","url_meta":{"origin":9019,"position":0},"title":"Ogmore to Monknash","author":"Alan Williams","date":"10th December 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Picture15.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2195,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=2195","url_meta":{"origin":9019,"position":1},"title":"Latest Walks Reports","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th January 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 St Brides Major We started at St Brides Major and walked north-west across Beacons Down on a bright Sunday morning. As we approached the river Ogmore we could see a long line of runners coming towards us and then sharing our route. In places it was pretty muddy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14364,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14364","url_meta":{"origin":9019,"position":2},"title":"Blackmill & Treorchy","author":"Alan Williams","date":"7th June 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Blackmill & Treorchy\u00a0 Blackmill - This walk took us to some beautiful countryside, although wet underfoot there were stones in most places, so it was not too muddy! We began in Blackmill and walked up the Ogwr Fawr towards the Ogmore forest and back via Cwm Dimbach. Blackmill is at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Picture11.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13739,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13739","url_meta":{"origin":9019,"position":3},"title":"Crickhowell and \u00a0Llantwit Major","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Crickhowell A good start to this walk; as we drove over the mountains (through Beaufort for the views) to Crickhowell car park, we saw cloud inversions and the valley mist starting to rise. The walk route was undulating, we started with an uphill stretch along a road heading east out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Picture19.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16789,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16789","url_meta":{"origin":9019,"position":4},"title":"Margam Park and Merthyr Mawr","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Margam Park We parked at the small fishing lake near Margam Abbey, the drive over had been misty and as we started out it was raining. Heading north we passed the lake with ducks and swans. Margam park is one of 22 sentinel sites across Wales acting as an early\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Footsteps-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16945,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16945","url_meta":{"origin":9019,"position":5},"title":"Wenvoe Wheelers 10th Birthday!","author":"Alan Williams","date":"4th May 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"WENVOE WHEELERS 10th BIRTHDAY! Well, who would have believed that we would be celebrating 10 years as a cycling club back in 2016? I remember thinking I had better join since someone had gone to the effort of setting up a club where I live. 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