Category: travel
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Cylchu Cymru
Nôl ym mis Gorffennaf, yn Gŵyl Arall yng Nghaernarfon, digwyddodd imi alw heibio i sesiwn yng ngardd gefn Palas Print lle’r oedd Gruffudd ab Owain yn trafod ei lyfr newydd Yn ei dro: Cymru’r ddwy olwyn. Sgwrs ddifyr oedd hi, ac o’r diwedd dwi wedi cael amser i ddarllen y llyfr yn drylwyr. (Rhaid bod…
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Letter from Instow
On an imaginary bridge across Môr Hafren we’d have arrived here in much less than an hour. As it is, we faced a car journey of over four hours. Add the fact that neither of us has been here before, and the result is that this spot in north Devon seems remote and exotic. (C…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 5: Llanybydder to Llandysul
In the Black Lion in Lampeter I have an early breakfast and take the T1 bus back to Llanybydder. Rain has arrived overnight, thin rain that’s no bother now but might be if it continues for hours. The clouds are low, and visibility poor. On the bus and round the village are figures in high-vis…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 4: Lampeter to Llanybydder
These days Lampeter is a quieter place than it was. The main reason is the loss of St David’s College. The closure of a university is a blow for any town, but when that town is small and rural and far from a rail line, and when it has no other economic focus, then the…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 3: Llanddewi Brefi to Lampeter
In Llanddewi Brefi the night has been hot and close, and sleep difficult. Awaking before five o’clock, I find it impossible to nod off again; a wood pigeon sets up a constant call as soon as it becomes light. So I have an early breakfast in the New Inn, pull on my boots and make…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 2: Pontrhydfendigaid to Llanddewi Brefi
I’d arranged to meet a friend, H., for breakfast in the Black Lion in Pontrhydfendigaid, but she rang to say that, because of her asthma she’d need to stay indoors at home in the morning to avoid inhaling the wildfire smoke. So I make an early start, pass through the village, cross the Teifi bridge…
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Teifi Valley Trail, day 1: Teifi Pools loop to Pontrhyfendigaid
Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) is the official starting point of Teifi Valley Trail. At least it is if you’re walking from source to sea, which is the best way, unless you’ve mastered the art of reading guidebooks backwards. It isn’t the easiest place to get to, if you start out from Mumbles, as I have. …
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Three Castles Walk, day 2: Llangattock Lingoed to Grosmont and Skenfrith
Another hot day looms. This morning, to avoid the worst of the late afternoon heat, I’m starting out earlier, at eight o’clock. P & C have kindly given me a lift to where I left the Walk yesterday, south of Bont. A slight breeze has blown in overnight. The road leads eastward. Swifts dart about,…
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Three Castles Walk, day 1: Skenfrith to White Castle and Llangattock Lingoed
In my cycling days I used to mooch round north Monmouthshire often enough, but it’s a while since I did much wandering there on foot, except when tracking Offa. So the Three Castles Walk seemed a good way to rediscover the area – like Radnorshire, a place full of unpeopled paths and quiet lanes. It’s…
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In Nantlle
These are torrid days. On my way to the Mumbles shops this morning, on the shaded side of the road, I met an acquaintance walking with her stick and small dog. She looked down at the dog, a pug with a facial expression of one with a long prison sentence still to run. ‘He’s as…