INTRODUCTION




INTRODUCTION


As with my other blog - "Grandpa's Voyages" - the idea for this one arose from a desire to make available to my Grandchildren photos and descriptions of some post-retirement adventures.

When I took up long distance cruising in my own yacht I had little idea and no plan for the length of time I expected to continue with that lifestyle.

But, after 13 years, when I reached New Zealand for the second time in 2009 - after one and a half circumnavigations - and at the age of 73, I realised I needed to start making plans to change.

So, I put the yacht up for sale at a price reflecting fair value but one that was high for the local market.

I thought I could change my life straight away at that price, but if no sale developed I could refurbish Alchemi for ocean cruising and continue on my way for a few more years.

As an alternative way of life I conceived the idea of reverting to a hobby of my youth - cycle touring - and so specified and bought a suitable bicycle - described in the October 2016 post of this blog as - "My Steed".

Alchemi did not sell in New Zealand so I did have her refitted and spent another five years visiting the Islands of the South West Pacific and continuing my second circumnavigation as far as South Africa - all as recorded in "Grandpa's Voyages".

So, the yacht was not finally sold until 2015 which was the year I finally began my fourth age with cycle-camping trips to Suffolk and the Loire Valley. But by then I was 79 years old so my camping was only practicable by carrying tent, bike, and equipment by car to sites from which I could make modest rides on the bike - rather than the continuous touring I first had in mind in 2009.

By August I also decided camping with a tent was unnecessarily spartan and so bought a caravan instead and went off with that to Spain and Portugal between October and November.

I have continued this new life in 2016 and hope to be able to do so for many years to come.

The layout and style of this blog will adopt the "Grandpa's Voyages" format with posts containing narratives and photos of my various expeditions.






Wednesday 17 October 2018

WALES

BUILTH WELLS and NEARBY TOWNS

SEPTEMBER 2018

Here is another copy of the marked-up map of Wales showing the relative location of Hay, Builth Wells and other nearby places. Unfortunately I made a fatal mistake when processing photographs of my time here so I cannot illustrate this post in the way I would wish.


Builth
is another old town built near a ford across the Wye only 20 miles upriver from Hay.

It too was a strategic site and here Edward I built a castle that in this case had earthworks rather than stone walls. In 1282 Prince Llewellyn was denied refuge in it as he fled Norman forces who killed him nearby – making it a place of commemoration visited by many Welsh people on the anniversary of his death.

The town was militarily and economically important for a long time due to its position at the junction between major east-west and north-south routes, with cattle rearing of animals that were later named after the nearest large market – Hereford - being one of the most important activities.

In due course and with the coming of the Railways in the 19th Century the town was developed as a Spa by the Victorians and the word Wells added to its name.

The town's agricultural roots are no doubt one of the reasons it is also chosen each year as the site for the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show. 


About 5 miles farther on along a minor road to the north east a farming family have decided that these days providing facilities for tents and caravans will probably pay more than rearing cattle.

Fforest Fields Campsite is large, spacious and well-equipped and is set in very peaceful countryside yet with good access to nearby towns – particularly Builth and Llandrindod Wells. The family are all very helpful and friendly making it very popular amongst campers visiting Mid-Wales, though in late September it wasn't at all crowded.

I find it hard to decide if the spelling of the site name is a bit of daft political correctness or a fitting acknowledgement of a real cultural difference between the English and the Welsh.

Apparently, in the Welsh language a single letter 'f' has a hard pronunciation and a second 'f' is added to soften it when necessary. To produce the welsh sound the English would have to spell the name as 'Forest Vields'.

Another example I came across later during this expedition is that the town I always used to know as 'Caernarvon' is now spelt 'Caernarfon' on all official publications such as waysigns, maps, weather forecasts and so on – its still pronounced the same way though. 

Llandrindod Wells
lying just 10 miles north of Builth and 5 across a range of hills from Fforest Fields was another rural community that experienced a major expansion in the 19thCentury with the coming of the railway. Here too entrepreneurs built Hotels, houses and places of entertainment attracting city-dwellers to visit the countryside and 'Take the Waters' in this 'Healthy Spa Town'. The town has experienced a new lease of life in the last few years with an influx of Local Government Employees as it has become the administrative centre for Powys County Council.

Rhayader
lies just ten miles northwest of Llandrindod and also on the river Wye only 20 miles from its source on Plynlimon mountain. 

The surrounding area has been occupied by humans for thousands of years and though no written record earlier than the 12thcentury has been found, Bronze Age Burial sites and Roman Jewellery have been discovered. Some of the latter – the Rhayader Hoard – is displayed in the British Museum.

Rhayader came to national prominence in the 19thCentury for two principal reasons.

The first was around 1840 when protests against excessive Tolls on Turnpikes (the motorways of their day) turned into the 'Rebecca Riots”. These were so named because many local farmers and agricultural workers, dressed up as women, attacked and destroyed no fewer than six of Rhayader's tollgates without being caught and punished. Of course the authorities reacted by increasing military forces in the region but they also removed most of the grievances by changing the laws on Tolls.

The second change was even more profound with consequences that last to the present day.

This arose because of the rapid and uncontrolled expansion of cities during the Industrial Revolution of the early – mid 19thCentury. This resulted in death and incapacity for thousands from Typhoid, Cholera, Dysentery and other diseases that thrived and multiplied in the crowded and insanitary conditions prevailing before development of water supply and sewage drainage systems for which the Victorians are justly renowned. 

Birmingham, just 80 miles east of Rhayader, was affected particularly severely by these problems since it was at the heart of the new Manufacturing Industries. The City Council successfully petitioned the Government of the day to pass an Act permitting the city to acquire by compulsory purchase all the land in the water-catchment area of the Eland Valleys just a few miles from Rhayader.

Birmingham's Civic Water Department's Engineers conceived a design comprising five huge dams and a viaduct from the Elan Valley to Birmingham requiring the employment, housing and feeding of thousands of navvies . Four of the dams were completed by 1900 and the viaduct by 1906 though the fifth took until 1952 and was opened by our present Queen soon after she assumed the throne.

The viaduct is notable because water travels the entire distance under gravity taking 2 ½ – 3 days to flow from one end to the other (Pooh sticks anyone?).


Elan Valley Trust
was established in 1989 to conserve the rights established by compulsory purchase of the estate so they would not be eroded by Privatisation of the Water Supply Industry. 

The Elan Valley website describes the Trust's objectives and has many links to interesting information and photographs that sadly I have to rely upon as I inadvertently destroyed my own.

My Cycle Rides
There are many walking and cycle trails in the Trust's lands but first I explored by car.

In truth, the first half was fascinating but the second rather tedious. My route took me from Fforest Fields over the unfenced hilltops to Llandridnod Wells and thence to Rhayder and the Elan Visitor Centre at the bottom of the valley. 

The lower reservoirs were half empty but water was pouring over the highest dam after the recent rains – 'sob', 'sob', photos lost - as I continued up and over the mountain road past the headwaters of the Wye and Severn rivers on Plynlimon, down the western slopes, and south again via minor roads and a small town called Tregaron until I could finally reach Llandovery (Grandpa's Cycle Rides) and turn north west again for Builth Wells. 

But I did go back to enjoy two days when I finally got to ride a total of about 8 miles in both directions.

To illustrate those rides I can display this map showing the route of the railway originally constructed in the 1890s to convey men and materials from the specially constructed Elan Village for workers to the site of the highest dam. 

 

Nowadays that railway line has been converted into a trail for walkers and cyclists. But it has to be said there's a fairly demanding gradient in some places so I don't regret splitting the total into two expeditions.


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