A Coxwold tomb
Philip Larkin’s poem ‘An Arundel tomb’ – the one that ends with the much-misinterpreted line ‘What will survive of us is love’ – starts with this stanza: Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl and countess lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And that faint hint of […]
Dolgun Uchaf
Digwydd bod yn adal Dolgellau y dydd o’r blaen, ac angen lle dros nos mewn gwely a brecwast. Yfory roedd Ras Cadair Idris am ddechrau, felly ychydig o weliau oedd ar gael yn yr ardal. Roedd y dewis cyntaf a awgrymwyd gan gyfaill yn llawn, a’r ail ddewis hefyd. Yn ddigon ffodus des i o […]
‘A kestrel for a knave’: in memoriam Barry Hines
In March the news came that Barry Hines had died. My mind flashed back to the time when I went with my mother to a cinema in Barnsley to see Kes, Ken Loach’s second feature film that was based on Hines’s short novel, A kestrel for a knave, published in 1968. It was late 1969 […]
Wales Coast Path, day 59: Tal-y-bont to Harlech
Back to Penhelig station, for the last time. C and I are on our own today. We’re planning, as the climax of the week, to make a grand ceremonial advance on Harlech, in pale imitation of Owain Glyn Dŵr’s successful assault on the Edwardian castle there in 1404. Fortunately the wind has veered overnight. It’s […]
Wales Coast Path, day 58: Fairbourne from Tal-y-bont
Another strong contingent, with MH joining L and M at Penhelig station. We’re heading to Tal-y-bont, up the coast. The north wind still blows, so we plan a southerly walk to Fairbourne today. It’s not just windy, it’s cold, and we can see snow on the mountain tops. Tal-y-bont turns out to be disappointing – […]
Wales Coast Path, day 55: Machynlleth to Aberdyfi
Here we are, back on the platform at Penhelig, with two new guestwalkers, L and M. This morning we’re not alone. A small group of urban children sit on the ground. They look out of their element, and it’s soon obvious that they’re staying with Outward Bound. The Trust’s very first school was set up […]
Wales Coast Path, day 57: Tywyn from Fairbourne
Penhelig is the best hidden of railway stations. A poorly signed flight of steps takes us to a platform high above the road, the single track line leading to a tunnel at each end. Facing us a curving Victorian terrace blocks the sea view; it has its gardens at the front, each bisected by a […]
Wales Coast Path, day 54: Tre’r Ddôl to Machynlleth
By car back to Tre’r Ddôl, and coffee and flapjacks in the excellent café in Siop Cynfelin run by Cwmni Cymunedol Cletwr. Today’s guestwalkers converge on the village: D from Aberystwyth, and S, J and Jo from Borth. As we set off up the woodland path we must look like a branch of the North […]
Wales Coast Path, day 53: Aberystwyth to Tre’r Ddôl
In Tre’r Ddôl I lock the car and tie up my boots, while the others make for the bus stop. Walking over the bridge I look up and see the bus is already there and about to leave. I have to break into a run to catch it. C explains that the driver – Lloyds […]
Wales Coast Path, day 56: Aberdyfi from Tywyn
It’s early afternoon. The Lloyds Coaches bus from Aberdyfi lets us off in a lay-by, near a school on the outskirts of Tywyn. We’re on Neptune Road. Somewhere ‘over there’ is the town centre, and ‘over here’ is the sea. We head for the latter, past the terminus of the Tal-y-llyn railway and some low, […]