UK - CARMARTHENSHIRE

MAY 2016

A WELSH INTERLUDE

Wales is an old country of Mountains, Heaths and River Valleys.

The Ancient Britons took refuge here, first from the Romans two thousand years ago, then from the Saxons and Vikings five hundred years later and lastly from the Normans.

They were far outnumbered by their neighbours in England and although they were brave and fierce warriors they were militarily less advanced than the Normans and their Saxon foot soldiers.They were conquered in 1282 by Edward I of England who named his infant son the "Prince of Wales" in succession to Llewellyn who had been killed in battle.

The eldest son of the English Monarch has held that title ever since though some of them have been far from infancy - like our present Prince Charles who was born in 1948 and is now 69 years old.    Although there was only one serious and ultimately unsuccessful armed revolt led in 1415 by Owain Glyndwr, the Welsh have retained to the present day the distinctive characteristics of their Celtic ancestors.

The parts of the country near the south coast were heavily industrialised in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with many coal mines and steel factories.    Despite efforts to develop alternative light industry there is still considerable poverty in the old industrial areas and much worry now that the last surviving factory at Port Talbot is threatened with closure due to Chinese Imports,  made largely from Australian Iron Ore and Coal, being dumped below cost on the European Market.

But Central and North Wales are not immediately affected by these developments relying as they always have done in recent centuries on agriculture and tourism to support their traditional way of life.

At earlier stages of my life I frequently visited North Wales, mainly to go climbing.         But I had visited Central Wales much less often and this year decided to take my caravan there for a short break.

RHANDIR MWYN 

I chose a campsite owned and operated by the Camping and Caravanning Club at a tiny place called Rhandir Mwyn (sometimes spelt as two words and sometimes as a single one and so far as I can make out pronounced as - Randeer Moin).     I have marked its location on the map above.    You will see it is far from all large towns and main roads so I hoped for rural tranquillity and less traffic.

The Hamlet consists of a Pub and a couple of farms but the site itself was rather crowded during this Spring Bank Holiday period. However the surrounding countryside was indeed sparsely populated and very beautiful.

SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE

The valley has been formed over millenia by action of the River Towy though you'ld think it hardly capable of doing so when looking at it from a bridge near the site.

River Towy

There are places in the valley-bottom where the land is quite flat and sheep born on the free-range hills above are provided with lush grazing before being taken to market.

But the flat areas are not very extensive so the countryside was less suitable for old-age cycling than I had hoped. True there was little traffic in the country lanes but they did seem to climb up and down the sides of the hills a long way.    So I managed only one ride - and that was only 15km - but I was exhausted by the time I got back to camp.

Another day I went for a ride by car to explore up the valley. This is what I saw as the road climbed higher.

Dam creating Llyn Brianne

Yes, a dam has been constructed from one side to the other to create a vast artificial lake in the hills above.     At its foot there is a huge fountain caused by exhaust water leaving a small hydro-electric power station under high pressure.    To the right there's an overspill channel to relieve the forces on the dam if it overfills.

Overfilling is a realistic concern because there's a huge annual rainfall generated when wet air sheds its moisture as its forced higher by the Welsh hills.    A fellow camper told me today it had rained every day between October 2015 and February this year - every day for more than 90 days!    The water from the lake is used to supply the large population along the South Coast.    

Here is what Llyn Brianne looks like from the hill road around it.

There were still many young lambs on the hills all around the lake prancing about with their stiff-legged jumping runs.

CILY CWM

Cily Cwm is another hamlet or small village farther down the valley from the camp site.

I'm not sure which is the more accurate description because it only has about a dozen houses but its main claim to fame is a Pub - the Neuadd Fawr Arms - celebrated for miles around for its good food.

I had dinner there last night. There were about seven or eight tables at one end of the general bar in a single large room and the place was packed at both tables and bar - with every-one having a jolly good time judging by the noise level.       I had Crab Cakes as a starter followed by Salmon cooked in the Oven with Chocolate Fudge Cake and Ice Cream as a desert. 

I need to go for several more long bike rides to work off the effects.