0:02:17 > 0:02:20- Bore da, Guto. - Bore da, croeso i'r Bala.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22- I see you've brought the crown. - I take it everywhere.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24So this is the White Lion,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26where Seosamh Mac Grianna met the Welsh bard.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Gwych, fantastic. Let's go in.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10This is the last verse of the last poem of the collection
0:03:10 > 0:03:14that won me this crown at the last National Eisteddfod.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19It's a poem about how homes in our Welsh language areas are empty,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22how our structures are diminishing,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24but how there are new opportunities
0:03:24 > 0:03:27such as social media, Twitter and so on
0:03:27 > 0:03:30that we can grasp and take forward.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32"Ond cau dy lygaid ar wacter y coed,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35"a gwranda ar y trydar diarbed:
0:03:35 > 0:03:38"ein swn ni - ein canmol cynhennus,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40"cynganeddion damweiniol ein delfrydau,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42"ymrysonau ffraethineb y boreau bach -
0:03:42 > 0:03:45"yn gwibio'n drydan drwy oerni'r aer
0:03:45 > 0:03:47"Mae'r coed yn noeth ond ni bia'r awyr."
0:03:47 > 0:03:50"The trees are bare, but we own the sky."
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Beautiful.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56I can't pretend or bluff that I understood the entire content there,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59but certainly aurally, lovely, guttural Welsh sounds,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01very appealing to the ear.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And I'm intrigued that you have, in your work,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08you've managed to merge the ancient tradition, the classical tradition,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12with the challenges facing the young Welsh-speaking population
0:04:12 > 0:04:14- in the modern world. - That's what I aim to do.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18I look back over the centuries of tradition that we have
0:04:18 > 0:04:22and try to bring titbits of that, be it a poem or a tale,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26and bring it into my poetry, make it relevant to our situation today,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30to the predicament of our Welsh language communities
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and try to put a new spin on it.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37There's a huge tradition in Wales of poets going from house to house,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39from mansion to mansion,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41singing for their supper, basically,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43singing the praises of the noblemen,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46but our poetry as a generation today
0:04:46 > 0:04:51is a lot more cynical - we challenge authority, rather than uphold it.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55We'll be seeing you again very soon at the Eisteddfod next week.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56Yes, at the start of the week,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00I'm going to be admitted into the Gorsedd of the Bards,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02the Order of Poets,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05which is an honours system that we have
0:05:05 > 0:05:08and I'm being allowed in cos I won the crown.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10The Eisteddfod is much more than that.
0:05:10 > 0:05:16It's a whole week of festival, of dancing, singing, live music
0:05:16 > 0:05:20- and poetry as well. - One final request, please -
0:05:20 > 0:05:23would you be so kind as to don your crown?
0:05:23 > 0:05:24I'll put it on now.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28It's quite stylish, isn't it?
0:05:28 > 0:05:31- I wear it all the time, but not in the shower.- Very regal!
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- Very regal.- Quite fetching, I think.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00MUSIC: Men Of Harlech
0:08:56 > 0:09:00It was a bit of an accident that Seosamh Mac Grianna ended up here,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02because his original plan was to continue north
0:09:02 > 0:09:04from Bala to Scotland,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06but this was a bit of good fortune for him.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08It was a bit of good fortune, yeah.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12This is quite an ancient route here, linking Bala to Lake Vyrnwy
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- and way back, this would have been an old drover's road.- Yeah.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18This would have been where they would have bought cattle, mainly,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22then, of course, taken them to markets, eventually,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25over in England and, of course,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29it's been used ever since. It was an old stagecoach route as well
0:09:29 > 0:09:32and it was the way that we from the village used to come over
0:09:32 > 0:09:35to do a bit of shopping over in Bala, so over the years,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37it's been a very important route.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39And there were certain dangers and hazards, historically,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41on this route, from what I gather.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46There were some very wild Welshmen up on the moors here, red-haired.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48They were called the Gwylliaid Cochion,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51a gang of bandits, marauding bandits.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54They used to work the moors all the way, well,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56probably a radius of about 20 miles here
0:09:56 > 0:10:01and they would rob people coming over and particularly drovers.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05When they'd taken the animals over to market in England, of course,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08they brought the money back with them and they knew this
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and they'd wait for them and they'd ambush them, take the money
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and it took the authorities decades
0:10:13 > 0:10:15before they eventually caught them,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18cos if you think of these moors here,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22if you know it, so many places for you to hide away,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25so they were wild men, wild, red-haired Welshmen.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32When Seosamh Mac Grianna embarked on this hike,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35he had two primary objectives.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39One was to source inspiration for his writing,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43but equally, to challenge himself physically
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and he covered 300 miles over the route,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48about 24-25 average a day.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50That was a tough challenge.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54It was very tough, especially way back then.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56We look at this route now and all the way along,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58you've got a lovely tarmac road, it's very smooth,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03it's quite easy walking, but if we were to do 24-25 miles a day,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06that would be challenging even now
0:11:06 > 0:11:11and when you've got little more than a path, a track at best,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15with potholes everywhere, that would have been incredibly difficult.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Iolo, I'm conscious that Seosamh Mac Grianna would have been aware
0:11:58 > 0:12:02of the history of what happened here -
0:12:02 > 0:12:05a Welsh-speaking community was sacrificed
0:12:05 > 0:12:08to create a water supply for the city of Liverpool.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Yes, yes, that's right. We're going back now to the 1880s,
0:12:12 > 0:12:17when this dam was built. The city of Liverpool was a growing city.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20They needed water for industry, but more than anything,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22they needed water for the people.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25The people lived in poverty, in squalor.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Disease was rife, they were desperate for clean running water,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32so an act of parliament was passed for this dam to be built
0:12:32 > 0:12:36and it drowned the whole valley here, five miles of it.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Unfortunately, it also drowned a village, farms,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42a Welsh-speaking community
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and that community now is under these dark waters.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53And I remember, as a lad growing up here, in 1976,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57the long, hot, drought summer of 1976,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59going to where the village was
0:12:59 > 0:13:03and because the water was at a record low,
0:13:03 > 0:13:07you could see the ruins of the old village of Llanwddyn.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10The bridge was intact, some of the houses were still there,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12there was a cockpit
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and it was incredibly sad.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Of course, it's happened since then. Hopefully, it'll never happen again.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45WELSH CHORAL SINGING
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- Ah, Guto!- Bore da! - Bore da!- How are you?
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Very well, thank you. You're fully vested and raring to go.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Yes, looking magnificent.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05Yeah, I've been given my robe
0:15:05 > 0:15:10and then, in the ceremony later on at the Gorsedd Stones,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I'll be given my head dress as well, with leaves in it.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Then I'll be a full member of the Gorsedd of the Bards.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I'm overwhelmed by the magnitude of this event.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26I've just heard that this is the second largest outside broadcast
0:15:26 > 0:15:30by the BBC, second only to Wimbledon.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Yeah, that makes sense. It's a huge event.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36You'll have seen the huge pink pavilion as you walked in.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38That's where the main competing takes place
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and that's where the crowning ceremony
0:15:41 > 0:15:43will take place this afternoon.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45But the Eisteddfod is much more than the pavilion.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48It's got all these other tents, it's got lectures,
0:15:48 > 0:15:53it's got singing, poetry. It's like a powerhouse for our culture.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57It's been called a mobile capital city for Welsh-speaking Wales
0:15:57 > 0:15:58and I think that's true.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02A mobile capital city for Welsh-speaking Wales?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Yeah, the idea is that for one week,
0:16:05 > 0:16:10we have got one place where everybody can celebrate the culture,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14everybody who's interested in the culture will try to make the journey
0:16:14 > 0:16:19to this small, uninhabited, almost, corner
0:16:19 > 0:16:24of the middle of Wales and here, our culture reigns supreme.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27MAN SINGS IN WELSH
0:16:36 > 0:16:38- Hi, Lisa.- Hi.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- Nice to meet you again.- And you too.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43And this is the young bardess?
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Yeah, this is Casi and I've got a bib here
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and she's got a bib as well.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51It's not quite matching, but she's enjoying her first Eisteddfod.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53She's in pink!
0:16:53 > 0:16:56This doesn't signify anything in the bardic tradition, no?
0:16:56 > 0:17:00No, I don't think there are any pink... Are there any pink dresses?
0:17:00 > 0:17:03We wish you every success. Enjoy every second.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05- Savour the moment!- I will.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21FANFARE PLAYS
0:17:26 > 0:17:30THEY SING IN WELSH
0:17:39 > 0:17:42ALL CALL OUT IN WELSH
0:17:42 > 0:17:45SHE SPEAKS IN WELSH
0:18:06 > 0:18:08HE SPEAKS WELSH
0:18:18 > 0:18:21APPLAUSE
0:18:33 > 0:18:35WELSH CHORAL SINGING
0:21:09 > 0:21:13CROSSING BELL RINGS, TRAIN'S WHISTLE SOUNDS
0:21:23 > 0:21:25TRAIN'S HORN BLARES
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Well, if Seosamh Mac Grianna had been doing his hike now,
0:21:41 > 0:21:43rather than in 1934, Arthur,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45he wouldn't have been tempted to get on the train,
0:21:45 > 0:21:47cos the train no longer stops.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49No, he'd have to be able to run fast -
0:21:49 > 0:21:50they're going through here at 84mph.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53But no, there was none of this here then.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56It was a biggish station for a little village,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00where we had two platforms, one each side,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02there was a signal box over there,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05the signalman lived in this house where we live now,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09the station master lived next door, the booking office was there
0:22:09 > 0:22:10and that's where they used to unload
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and put all the parcels that we used to deliver when we were kids.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16I can remember going down the road on a bike
0:22:16 > 0:22:19with three boxes of day-old chicks
0:22:19 > 0:22:22singing to me on the way going down the road.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24It was very exciting round here
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and the trains used to run up the sideline up there,
0:22:28 > 0:22:30to Kerry and we used to ride on them,
0:22:30 > 0:22:31either on the carriage van...
0:22:31 > 0:22:33If Mr Swain, the station master, was here,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35we'd have to ride in the carriage van.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37When he wasn't here, we could ride on the footplate
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and it was very exciting, riding on the footplate.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41A lot of levers to pull,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43whistles and what have you, innit?
0:22:43 > 0:22:45But there was also a tragic incident
0:22:45 > 0:22:47that happened here at Abermule station,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50an accident that may well have changed the course
0:22:50 > 0:22:52of world history, Arthur.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55January '21 there was a head-on collision
0:22:55 > 0:22:56about a half a mile up the line here,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59a goods train and a passenger train.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Something had happened in the station here,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04the wrong token was given to this train going up
0:23:04 > 0:23:06and he thought he had right of way.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09It turned out the one from Newtown had right of way.
0:23:10 > 0:23:1316, I think there was, that were killed.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17On that train,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21there was an MP from Llanidloes, I think he was. He got killed.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26He left some of his estate to Winston Churchill
0:23:26 > 0:23:27and they reckoned at the time
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Winston Churchill was near enough bankrupt and if he'd gone bankrupt,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32he wouldn't have been able to be an MP.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Well, this bloke saved him, really,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36and from that accident,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39all the stations in India
0:23:39 > 0:23:44where they've got the levers, there's a notice up above to say,
0:23:44 > 0:23:49"Remember Abermule", to remind the blokes who work in the signal box.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53- So a tiny village in Wales became... - World-famous.- World-famous?- Yes.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Arthur, it's been a treat talking to you.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I suspect if we had more time, we could talk here for a lot longer.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00We could, yes. Once you start...
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Cheers, my lad.