JOURNEY TO NORTH WALES : 'Those Blue Remembered Hills'

 

JOURNEY TO NORTH WALES : ‘Those Blue Remembered Hills….’

May 10^th 2022

Route taken.

We went up to Kim’s for a week this spring, leaving the house in rain at 7 in the morning. What a difference a few years make. The smallish road from home to Launceston, once more or less deserted this early in the morning, was very busy with traffic and when we joined the A 30 at Launceston, that road was equally busy. There had been rain overnight and the countryside was gleaming soft spring green, punctuated by crisp white Hawthorn blossom. The A30 from Launceston to Exeter skirts its way round the north side of Dartmoor The verges were a froth of Cow Parsley and the sky was silvery grey with glimpses of sun beyond the low clouds blotting out the higher tops of the moor. It still takes forty minutes to reach Exeter from home, but this is a much pleasanter route to make our way out of east Cornwall than struggling through the Plymouth commuter traffic.

The great red sandstone cliffs sliced through to join the A30 with the M5 at Exeter are still largely bare rock with fringes of pink Mexican Daisy now establishing in the fissures and cracks. We began to head north again towards a grey threatening sky, through the veils of spray flung up by big lorry wheels. We were glad we weren't going south as there was a huge tail-back in all the south-bound lanes about Bridgewater. It went on for miles.

As the M5 ages, the extensive views to either side are being increasingly hidden by the roadside planting of trees and shrubs, now reaching a considerable size and our focus is now fixed on the road ahead. We reached Brent Knoll Services (now called Sedgemoor Services) for breakfast at 9.30. Having paid £1.63 a litre for petrol before we left Tesco’s in Launceston, we saw the price at the service station was an eye-watering £1.88 per litre!! We were watching the petrol prices as we drove, with an eye on our needs on the return journey. The mid-Wales garages seemed to be charging around £163.9 to £165.9 a litre.

Brent Knoll is a good landmark on the left as you go north. It’s a hill of 137 metres on the Somerset Levels where the Mendip Hills end partway between Weston-super-Mare and Bridgewater.

Towards Bristol, now suitably refreshed, we saw this stretch of road was bordered  by the golden yellow of Oxford Ragwort. This plant was introduced from the stony slopes of Mount Etna to the Oxford Botanic Garden in the early 1700s. The story has it that its parachute-borne seeds lifted off and subsequently travelled along the clinker beds of the railways of Britain, ‘getting off at every station!’ over the next few hundred years The plant certainly thrives in gutters and pavement cracks and other dry stony places and is widespread in Britain now.

Oxford Ragwort.

We decided to go up though mid-Wales on the shorter but slower route, crossing the Severn estuary on the now not so new Prince of Wales suspension Bridge. The toll charge over the Severn estuary into Wales has been scrapped, so we opt to take this route up through Wales rather than fight our way though the Birmingham and the M6 before going off to the west on the M54 past Shrewsbury etc. The welsh roads are pleasanter, shorter and through lovely scenery, but the journey takes longer.

The Prince of Wales bridge.

Prince of Wales bridge, going towards Wales. The side barriers, presumably to cut down cross-winds, unfortunately prevent views of the estuary below as we drive across.

This second estuary crossing was built between 1992 and 1996 to supplement the first bridge over the Severn. This was built in 1966 and replaced the old small Aust Ferry. The elegant, aerodynamic second bridge, over 5ms long, the Prince Of Wales Bridge is a handsome, partly suspension bridge. One has to leave the motorway on either end to get down to admire the views.

Continuing west along the M4 as far as Newport, we then turned north and headed for Abergavenny. A lot of Ash trees have been planted along this road, as well as it being an abundant local tree. Over the past two or three years we have watched the inexorable spread of the die-back disease, although this year so far, quite a few trees are showing signs of re-growth . Maybe this might be signs of immunity developing in the surviving trees and it’s to be hoped that no programme of wholesale felling is undertaken prematurely.

Just before we reach Abergavenny you can see the ruins of Raglan Castle up on a ridge to the right. I have always wanted to go and have a look at it but a detour at this stage of the journey seems too time-consuming. All I know about it is that it’s late mediaeval.

Raglan Castle.

Abergavenny is a busy market town in Monmouthshire, and is a good centre for exploring the Brecon Beacons or, nearer, a leisurely walk along the Newport to Brecon canal.

Through Crickhowell and past Tretower, another impressive-looking ruin worth a look at , this castle, built in 1100 by a Norman lord, became the home and fortress of powerful Welsh lords for several hundred years more.

Tretower.

The road from Abergavenny to Builth Wells was quieter and the countryside was green and benign , and the road verges were studded with bluebells and stitchwort.

Continuing north the road passes between the hills of the Brecon Beacons to the left and their continuation as the Black Mountains to the right before we reach our favourite stopping-place for a breather and mid-morning drink time. We have met the Wye valley by now, and we cross the wide river in its thickly wooded valley by a pretty little iron suspension bridge.

The bridge is only just wide enough to take a car (fold back the wing mirrors and breathe in!) and the planks on the road surface clack as you go over, reminding us of the wooden bridges regularly swept away by flooded creeks in Australia,

River Wye, looking upstream from the little bridge.

There are may fine old trees here, and a little way upstream there is access to a public footpath which runs through the fine woodland alongside the river.

This area seems to be part of an estate; we assume it belongs to Llanstephan House a little way up a side road. I see it has a large garden open for the National Gardens Scheme.

Builth Wells is the next market town, home of the annual Royal Welsh Show held every July. With very old historical links, a catastrophic fire swept through the old town in the 1600s but it was rebuilt and enjoyed a hey-day In Victorian times when it became popular as a spa town following the opening up of two mineral water springs outside town. Many of the major buildings in town are Victorian and a big mural depicting a tale of the Welsh Prince Llewellyn can be seen on one big wall at the roadside in the main street.

Occasional glimpses of Red Kites can now be seen. Rhayader, the next small town is the focus of a Kite feeding centre, now a popular tourist attraction.

Red Kite.

The clock tower in the centre of Rhayader.

This small market town is twenty miles down the River Wye valley from its source. The river rises on Plynlimon the highest mountain in the Cambrian mountains, (and also the source of the Severn.) A small side road leads from Rhayader up into the hills where many years ago we camped with the children when they were young. We had stopped in old oak woodland with nesting Redstarts and Treecreepers in the trees near our tent. The road went on up into the hills to the Elan Valley reservoir. It was a memorable camp and totally unknown in the early 1970s.

Now however we go on up the main road to Llangurig then Llanidloes, and then up the winding road past the extensive reservoir of Llyn Clywedog which dams the headwaters of the river Severn. Started construction in 1963, this dam was intended to alleviate the floods of the Severn downstream and to safeguard the water supply to Birmingham and the Midlands.

Llyn Clywedog reservoir.

Continuing north we approach the Cambrian Mountains and taking a small side road to the left at the hamlet of Staylittle, we head up into open moorland past the traces of 19th century lead mining into open countryside with extensive views stretches all round. This road, now increasingly popular can be cut off by snow in the winter as we have found to our cost on a couple of occasions.

 Near the top, a rough side track leading through the mountains to remote upland farms further east has, in the past given us a secluded stop for picnics and even an overnight stay on occasions.

Llyn Glaslyn

Passing Lake Glaslyn on the stony track in this national nature reserve we saw grouse back in the early 1970s; much more recently we stopped overnight at the side of the track when on our way up to Kim’s. She was returning home after having stayed with us in Cornwall. She had taken the opportunity to clear out a huge amount of old unwanted drawings, card offsets and other art debris accumulated under the spare bed over several decades. We slept in the campervan but Kim decided to put her bed-roll just outside, using the big wad of paper and card as extra padding underneath. Rain set in during the night and a stream of water began to run down the side of the track. She awoke at first light, her bedroll floating on the mattress of discarded art works!

Going down the mountain road towards Machynllech.

Coming down the mountains the narrow road winds though well wooded, pastoral farms, soon reaching Machynlleth in the valley of the Dovey river. The small town is now another popular tourist destination, picturesque and a good walking centre.

Victorian clock tower in centre of Machynllech.

Delays just north of Machynllech last summer were due to extensive works, making a new crossing of the River Dovey and associated road works. Little seems to have changed this time!

Further up the road we pass the Alternative Technology Centre at Carrog. From small rather hippy-ish beginnings over fifty years ago the CAT has become a well-recognised centre, embracing and demonstrating the concept of low technological, sustainable methods of building, heating, lighting, waste-disposal, in all walks of life. The centre is open to visitors and also runs relevant courses.

Screes of Cadair Idris east face.

Cadair Idris.

The next striking area of scenery in this magnificent centre of Wales are the desolate screes of Cadair Idris rising up to almost 900 metres as the road rises alongside the eastern edge before dropping down through old woodland to Dolgellau. This important and historic centre is now bypassed by the modern road which then runs fairly straight though the extensive conifer plantations of Coed-y-Brenin in the Snowdonia National Park. The view soon opens out to the left and the horizon is bounded by the chain of rounded mountains called the Rhinogs before passing the lake, mothballed nuclear power station and village of Trawsfynydd.

Rhynog mountains (Rhynogydd or Rhynogau Welsh plural.)

The un-lovely nuclear power station of Trawsfynedd across the lake. The power station is now decommissioning and mothballed. Rhynogydd behind.

After so many miles, we now leave the A470 as it heads off to Conwy and Llandudno, and we start our last, west-heading leg out of Snowdonia and towards the lleyn Peninsula.

This most northerly peninsula is about thirty miles long from its rather indeterminate beginning west of the Snowdonia range to Kim's home out on the tip.

Looking back towards Snowdonia from the beginning of the eastern end of the Lleyn Peninsula.

 These days we usually leave the main road at Maentwrog and take a right turning up through more quiet upland country through Rhyd, bypassing Penrhyndedraeth and even Porthmadog and regain our road at Criccieth, birthplace of Lloyd George. We now head down the much improved road through to Pwllheli and the last 15 miles, at last, to Ty’n Gamdda, Kim’s home on the furthest possible SW tip of the Lleyn Peninula.

This way is about 350 miles from home but nearer 385 by the orthodox route via Birmingham and the A5.