Aberystwyth- Aberaeron Arfordir Cymru

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-We continue our journey

-along the Ceredigion coastline...

-..where land and sea

-are bound together.

-Waves have carried secrets and the

-line between history and legend...

-..is sometimes blurred.

-This is Arfordir Cymru.

-When you leave Aberystwyth...

-..you've past the halfway point

-along the crescent of Cardigan Bay.

-Later we'll cross Afon Wyre

-in Llanrhystud...

-..which divides Wales linguistically

-between north and south.

-Our journey so far

-has been on foot, bike and car.

-We've already seen

-a variety of spectacular views.

-In front of us are seaside towns...

-..quaint churches

-and colourful characters.

-The long arm of the Llyn peninsula

-extends to the north...

-..but we're heading southwards,

-to an area jutting out to sea...

-..where Cardigan Island beckons us.

-Our journey in this episode takes us

-from the Aberystwyth area...

-..past Llannon and Aberarth to the

-holiday destination of Aberaeron.

-Whilst filming a series

-such as this...

-..GPS and satellite maps

-are a godsend...

-..though they fail to hold

-the same appeal as old maps.

-To discuss them

-is author, politician, traveller...

-..and perhaps more than anything,

-a man reliant on maps...

-..Mike Parker.

-From this vantage point

-on Pen Dinas...

-..the views of Cardigan Bay

-are magnificent.

-Yes, from Llyn

-all the way to Pembrokeshire.

-We're aware of its shape since we're

-used to modern maps and so on...

-..but reaching that point in

-cartography terms has taken time.

-This was the first map to outline

-the shape of Cardigan Bay.

-It was created

-by Humphrey Llwyd of Denbigh.

-It dates back to 1573...

-..with borders

-along the River Severn to the east.

-In earlier maps,

-Wales wasn't as well defined.

-That's right.

-As you said, its shape becomes clear

-when you sit somewhere like this.

-Two centuries

-earlier than Humphrey Llwyd's map...

-..is the Gough Map.

-Wales resembles an old blob.

-Yes, it does.

-Yes, it does.

-

-Its shape hasn't been defined.

-Moving on to maps...

-..from later centuries,

-what do you have?

-They call this the Evesham Map.

-The traditional mappa mundi.

-A map of the world

-as they knew it at the time.

-It shows Europe, Asia

-and North Africa...

-..with the Mediterranean Ocean

-flowing through the middle.

-What's hilarious...

-..is that England

-is full of castles and churches.

-England's enormous!

-It extends from Gibraltar

-all the way to Scandinavia.

-Wales is there. Walia.

-Wales and Scotland...

-..have been outlined

-as separate islands...

-..from England.

-The shape of Wales

-becomes clearer later on...

-..in John Speed's atlas

-from the Stuart period.

-This comes from 1610.

-This is a beautiful map of Wales.

-The shape is almost perfect, really.

-Maps have

-obviously changed over the years.

-We have modern maps nowadays

-but to what extent...

-..do you need to look at any map

-with a degree of cynicism?

-Is there a still a political element

-to cartography nowadays?

-Each time you create a map...

-..you have to choose what goes on

-the map and what's excluded from it.

-The choice is political.

-Even now, we use maps...

-..the best maps in the world.

-Ordnance Survey

-have to choose what's included.

-They concentrate

-on military history...

-..instead of industrial history,

-for example.

-This is a modern version...

-..of a political choice

-over what goes on the map.

-What's the future for maps?

-I believe paper copies of maps

-will still be available.

-We need them, especially if you

-lose power or you lose the signal.

-We all need to retain maps on paper.

-But, of course, all the current

-action is happening digitally.

-There have been so many advances.

-With the advent of open source...

-..where anyone can contribute,

-it's advantageous for place names.

-Many projects

-are currently underway...

-..undertaking that role...

-..so it's important to record them

-and mark them on the maps.

-Several projects have begun...

-..doing precisely that

-and it's great to see.

-Four miles from Aberystwyth

-is a stretch of coastline...

-..whose name

-jumps off the map at you.

-Its Welsh name is Twll Twrw

-(Clamour Cave).

-The title is self-explanatory.

-When the sea's choppy, it's hurled

-into a cave in the headland.

-The noise of it crashing

-and swirling echoes off the rock.

-But it's the English name

-that appears on maps.

-The title also captures

-the imagination. Monks' Cave.

-An ancient monastery nearby

-is called Mynachdy'r Graig.

-Legend has it that an underground

-path led from Twll Twrw...

-..to Strata Florida Abbey

-15 miles inland.

-But that's not

-the only alleged entrance either.

-A similar legend

-pertains to Ogof Ffair Rhos...

-..a short distance northwards

-from here.

-There was no Ffair Rhos there

-but there was one in Strata Florida.

-No more evidence of it is available.

-Sometimes it's best to leave these

-old legends blowing in the wind.

-Some miles

-along the coast from Twll Twrw...

-..past the village of Llanrhystud...

-..one of the shores' secrets

-is hiding in a cornfield.

-Maritime trading was vital for both

-costal and inland areas of Wales.

-At one time, dozens of small ships

-weighing less than 20 tonnes...

-..transported limestone

-and coal dust from Pembrokeshire...

-..to almost every beach

-in Ceredigion.

-Near Craig Las,

-between Llanrhystud and Llannon...

-..are the remains

-of four lime kilns.

-There were numerous kilns

-up and down the coast at one time.

-Ships would bring limestone

-and coal dust to the beaches...

-..which would then be transferred

-to heated kilns...

-..reaching 900 degrees Celsius

-in order to burn the limestone...

-..and create quicklime for spreading

-on the land as fertilizer.

-The process took a long time...

-..so the men needed something...

-..to entertain themselves

-while they waited.

-Behind one of the kilns,

-amongst decades of vegetation...

-..are the ruins of an ale room.

-I'm not sure

-what the men drunk in here...

-..but for 20 years at the

-beginning of the 19th century...

-..this area was famous

-for brewing beer illegally.

-According to the Ysten Sioned

-folklore collection...

-..most of the population

-were involved.

-"It was accepted that every worker

-contributed to the venture.

-"No other part

-of the Isle of Britain...

-"..produces better barley

-than these areas for brewing."

-These lands are incredibly fertile.

-In the maritime village of Llannon

-are unusual land boundaries.

-John Davies

-has farmed here all his life.

-From these flat plains...

-..it looks as though these fields

-head straight into the sea.

-Yes, they just about reach the sea.

-Is this land under threat?

-Yes, it recedes every year.

-The sea

-and its gigantic waves crash in...

-..and erode two yards every year.

-How long has your family

-farmed this portion of land?

-About 100 years.

-Mam-gu was first to farm here.

-She kept a couple of goats...

-..and sold goat's milk initially.

-What happened

-to that side of the business?

-It grew. Many men in the village

-sold milk back then.

-They each kept two or three cows.

-Everything was on a small scale?

-Everything was on a small scale?

-

-Yes, very small.

-When you come here you notice there

-are hedges and fences everywhere...

-..and the fields are very small.

-Yes, they're small.

-I own about 50 of these strips.

-Strips?

-Strips?

-

-We call them strips, not fields.

-They're too small to be fields!

-They've always been called strips.

-They've always been called strips.

-

-Your map clearly shows this.

-Yes, this map dates back to 1905.

-The Afon Peris is one side,

-the Afon Cledan is on the other.

-These strips are within both rivers.

-I'm sure you have to be organized

-with the rent and so on.

-I've brought a rent book with me

-to show you.

-This dates back to 1965.

-I rented five hectares

-from Bryn Awelon Estates for 21.

-As for these strips of land...

-One of them is called the Priory.

-Bessie Nicoll from Bournemouth.

-One is owned

-by someone in North Yorkshire.

-Mrs Gill in North Yorkshire

-still owns it.

-Marina James in Cardiff.

-The chapel owns one strip.

-Yes, the chapel owns one strip,

-two pounds.

-People from all over the country

-owned strips.

-Do these strips have names?

-Do these strips have names?

-

-Some of them do. Llain Capel.

-Llain Silon.

-Llain Portis.

-Llain Fforchog...

-..is the name for a strip that goes

-through the middle of another strip.

-It looks like a fork, which is

-why it's called fforchog in Welsh.

-It's hard work

-finding a name for them all.

-There are too many of them.

-There are too many of them.

-

-There are hundreds of small strips.

-I'm sure the form of these strips...

-..echoes the distant past.

-Yes, it does.

-It goes back at least 100 years, to

-the time of Mam-gu, in our case...

-..but it goes back

-further down the centuries.

-And you don't know why?

-And you don't know why?

-

-No, nobody knows for certain.

-I think it's something

-to do with the Church.

-Back in the mists of time.

-Yes, you're right.

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-We're wandering the shores

-of Cardigan Bay...

-..and find ourselves

-at the Church of St Ffraid, Llannon.

-The church is in safe hands

-as it's dedicated...

-..to two saints - Ffraid and Non.

-The sea has provided sustenance

-for generations of parishioners...

-..but the graves in the churchyard

-are a stark reminder...

-..of its merciless nature.

-The sea's influence on the village

-is clear as you walk around.

-Several headstones stand in memory

-of those who perished at sea.

-Many contain ships' names.

-This is a much simpler stone...

-..but it commemorates

-four members of the same family.

-The Davies family, Ty Mawr.

-A son, two daughters

-and a three-year-old grandson...

-..who perished

-within 10 years of each other.

-Every one of them drowned.

-Here's a gravestone with

-a remarkable story attached to it.

-A body was washed up

-not far from here.

-He was wearing enough clothing

-for people to identity him.

-He was a Spanish captain whose ship

-was wrecked in the Scilly Isles...

-..six months earlier.

-Locals arranged

-a dignified funeral for him.

-As a mark of respect

-and appreciation...

-..the ship company paid for

-the gravestone and the inscription.

-The stone was inscribed in Spanish,

-the captain's native language.

-A few miles southwards and the River

-Arth (Bear) flows into the sea.

-It's among a class of rivers

-named after animals...

-..though the locals claim

-that it growls (arthio) as it flows.

-Aneurin Jones

-has been born and raised here.

-So, Aneurin, the River Arth

-flows beneath us here.

-I'm sure you've spent hours here.

-I spent my youth in this river

-fumbling (swmpo) for fish.

-What do you mean?

-I mean placing my hands

-underneath the stone...

-..fumbling for fish.

-You used the word swmpo.

-Were there names for various pools?

-Yes, we're not very far

-from Pwll Crochan...

-..where they washed sheep.

-They threw stuff into the water

-which turned it yellow.

-Was it some kind of disinfectant?

-Was it some kind of disinfectant?

-

-Yes, disinfectant.

-What's in front of us here, then?

-This is Pwll Coffin.

-A deep pool

-between two rocky areas...

-..where you'd find the best salmon.

-But you were afraid to go near it

-because it was so deep.

-You couldn't see the bottom.

-The name itself

-is enough to scare you.

-It's called that

-on account of its shape.

-I don't think anyone

-came to any harm there.

-And the river flows...

-And the river flows...

-

-..in the direction of the village.

-Off we go then.

-It's much noisier

-down on the main road.

-It wasn't like this

-when I was young.

-You'd see

-an occasional car now and again.

-I used to play football

-on the bridge.

-Did you spend much time

-on the bridge?

-Yes. The older generation convened

-every night for Seiat y Bont.

-They came to put the world to rights

-every night.

-They leaned on the bridge

-and said...

-.."Now then, what's to sort out?"

-The sound of the river is obvious.

-What's this stretch of river called?

-It's heading to the sea from here.

-These are mini waterfalls.

-Higher up, this is called Pwll Glan

-Dwr. That's where we'd catch fish

-We'd snare (maglu) fish back then.

-Is that different

-from fumbling (swmpo)?

-Very much so - you used a long piece

-of hazel because it was pliable...

-..and attach the frame

-of an old umbrella.

-On the front of that you

-created a trap of horse hair...

-..that you tried to place over

-the heard or the tail of the fish...

-..that was lying quietly

-in the sunshine.

-When it was ensnared

-you gave it a tug...

-..and hoped that the trout

-would land on the stone.

-I wouldn't mess with you!

-This is Pwll Bompren.

-How high does the river rise

-in the course of a day?

-In my day

-it reached the base of the houses.

-Nowadays I'd say the water's

-cut a way into the stone.

-It flows lower down the rock.

-There's been

-some dreadful flooding.

-Yes, one time in particular,

-in 1864.

-It was a devastating flood

-and the chapel was washed away.

-The altar table's gavel

-was found in Pwllheli, so they say.

-Pwllheli?

-It was brought back to Aberarth

-by boat and given to the school.

-That's where it remained

-until the school closed.

-I'm not sure if it's true

-but that's the story.

-How many ships' captains

-were around back then?

-There were at least 15.

-Some had retired,

-some were still at sea.

-Their names are reflected

-in the village's house names.

-Yes, Captain Messina,

-Captain Colombo, Capten Awelfa...

-..Capten Capel Dewi and so on.

-Many things have changed. It must've

-been a great place to grow up.

-I wouldn't change it for the world.

-On the shore between Aberarth and

-Aberaeron are curious structures.

-Some are recent, some are archaic.

-The Welsh name for them is grwynau.

-Their purpose is to prevent a drift

-from removing the gravel and sand.

-A little to the south are structures

-that have held their ground...

-..for many centuries.

-I'm sitting in a fishgarth

-or a fish trap.

-This must be

-the biggest I've ever seen.

-The first record of it

-is from 1184...

-..and at one time

-they were commonplace.

-People paid rent

-to an estate or a landowner...

-..for the right to fish them.

-It was certainly worth doing it...

-..because fishgarths

-produced large yields.

-The fishgarth's structure is simple.

-Only the foundation of it

-can be seen here.

-There would've been a wall of wicker

-basketry above the foundations.

-Some are semi-circles,

-some are sickle shaped...

-..but they all work in the same way.

-As the tide comes in, the sea

-rises above the wicker wall...

-..and so do the fish.

-And as the water ebbs away...

-..the sea flows out

-through the wall.

-But the fish, of course,

-can't do that.

-So they're trapped in the fishgarth,

-ready to be collected.

-A stone's throw from the estuary...

-..the River Aeron

-winds its way down to the sea.

-Aeron is derived from Agrona,

-a Celtic war goddess.

-The river

-has the oldest name in the area...

-..but Aberaeron's prosperity

-isn't down to the river but the sea.

-It has influenced house names

-and the homes of captains...

-..echoing places

-from four corners of the world.

-The sea has carried tales

-and very unusual practices here.

-There's a story about a sailor...

-..who returned from a faraway voyage

-with an exotic gift for his mother.

-Tea leaves.

-No-one had ever seen them before.

-No-one knew

-quite what to do with them either.

-His mother boiled her new present...

-..discarded the ugly, dirty water...

-..and proceeded to eat the leaves.

-Though the sea

-has plenty to offer the town...

-..it has also

-taken a lot away from it.

-Like the row of houses

-that once stood here...

-..built by Rev Alban Thomas Gwynne

-200 years ago...

-..for the men

-who were building the harbour.

-This is the man who worked so hard

-to improve the lives of workers.

-This row of houses was

-officially called Mynachdy Row...

-..but due to the colourful and

-unique nature of its residents...

-..locals called the place

-Bedlam Barracks.

-Where are these houses nowadays?

-They were destroyed by the sea.

-The shipbuilding industry has since

-ceased and been replaced by tourism.

-But the town hasn't forgotten

-its roots and its history.

-The Cadwgan was the last ship

-to be built here back in 1883.

-The sea might not be as central

-in people's lives as it once was...

-..but for coastal residents, it's

-impossible to escape its influence.

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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