0:00:00 > 0:00:00- 888
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0:00:14 > 0:00:16- 888
0:00:28 > 0:00:33- At one time, the easiest way - to reach and leave Lleyn was by sea.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38- Now, a spider's web of lanes - criss-cross the peninsula.
0:00:39 > 0:00:45- Believe it or not, I used to travel - around the area in a car like this.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01- The story of transport on Lleyn - is an absorbing one.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06- Over the years, Lleyn's people - have found ingenious ways...
0:01:06 > 0:01:11- ..to cross the peninsula, - from stagecoach to carriers.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16- I liked nothing better - than whizzing around in an Austin 7.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22- As transport developed on Lleyn...
0:01:22 > 0:01:25- ..it brought something in its wake.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29- Visitors.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37- In summer, - tourists flock here like ants...
0:01:38 > 0:01:41- ..to Pwllheli, - Aberdaron and Abersoch.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44- They bring their cars now.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54- Long ago, when cars were rarer...
0:01:55 > 0:01:59- ..there was a more leisurely - mode of travel in Lleyn.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04- Back in the 1950s, rural buses - took us from place to place.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19- Are people surprised - when they see you in this bus?
0:02:20 > 0:02:25- Yes. There are none around now, - apart from this one.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30- William Hughes of Llithfaen - has devoted many hours...
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- ..trying to keep - this old mode of transport going.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38- Was it a lot of work - to renovate this bus?
0:02:38 > 0:02:43- I worked four hours some days, - two hours on other days.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- It was a pleasure.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- People thought - that it was a lot of trouble.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52- But it was a real pleasure.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56- Would I be right to say - that it cost a lot?
0:02:56 > 0:02:58- Well, it cost a bit.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- Only two people know how much.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- We'll leave it at that.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15- William's bus is a descendant - of the omnibus companies...
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- ..that came to Lleyn in 1912.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23- It became easier - to travel across the peninsula.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25- If you wanted to travel...
0:03:25 > 0:03:28- ..you'd buy a ticket - to go on my family's buses...
0:03:29 > 0:03:32- ..Bysus Cae Du, or Bysus Tocia..
0:03:32 > 0:03:36- ..or the buses of my friend - Elfed Gruffydd's family...
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- ..the Tir Gwenith company.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44- Elfed remembers the impression - that the buses made.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- I've often tried to imagine - what it was like...
0:03:52 > 0:03:57- ..seeing the bus, this monster, - coming to Lleyn for the first time.
0:03:57 > 0:03:58- It was brand new.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00- It was brand new.- - Yes, absolutely.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05- While Saron chapel in Rhoshirwaun - was being built...
0:04:05 > 0:04:11- ..it's on record that one old lady - called it the devil's machine!
0:04:15 > 0:04:20- Did the buses - carry more than people?
0:04:20 > 0:04:24- All kinds of things, - such as calves in sacks.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- The roof was often laden - with goods too.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38- How much difference did the buses - make to Lleyn and to transport?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40- A big difference.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45- A century ago, there were only - horses and carts or stagecoaches.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49- There wasn't much travel - between villages.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55- Shops and banks opened in Pwllheli - and the railway arrived.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01- Naturally, buses took over - and probably transformed life.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08- William's bus - is the last of the small buses.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- He takes people on trips, - despite the difficulties.
0:05:12 > 0:05:18- Driving this must be different - to driving a modern bus.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20- My goodness, yes.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- The main difference - is power steering.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27- Modern gearboxes are easier to use.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- And less noise?
0:05:29 > 0:05:29- What?
0:05:29 > 0:05:30- What?- - Less noise.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33- Much less noise.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- As well as its bus drivers...
0:05:37 > 0:05:41- ..Lleyn has a wealth - of colourful characters.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46- Some of them probably influenced - the Porth yr Aur stories.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51- "Born on 10th February, 1841.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56- "Reborn on 20th July, 1860.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02- "My friends, the second time - must have killed him."
0:06:02 > 0:06:04- LAUGHTER
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- When I was a child, - everywhere in Lleyn was far away.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- For one thing, - my legs were very short.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37- The three-mile walk - home from school was a long way.
0:06:40 > 0:06:46- Bearing that in mind, it was handy - to get a lift with the carriers.
0:06:48 > 0:06:54- Carriers travelled back and forth. - carrying goods to and from Pwllheli.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59- After school on some afternoons...
0:06:59 > 0:07:04- ..an old carrier would give me - a lift home in his lorry.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- He carried supplies - for farms and smallholdings.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13- I sat in the front like a lord - and arrived home early!
0:07:18 > 0:07:20- The best-known carrier in Lleyn...
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- ..was Dic Fantol, from Y Fantol, - near Rhoshirwaun.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30- Or was it his relationship - with his wife that made him famous?
0:07:30 > 0:07:33- Emlyn Richards knows the story - and remembers Dic too.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35- How are you?
0:07:35 > 0:07:36- How are you?- - Fine.
0:07:36 > 0:07:37- Well done.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38- Have you been waiting a long time?
0:07:38 > 0:07:39- Have you been waiting a long time?- - No.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40- Just arrived?
0:07:40 > 0:07:42- Just arrived?- - It's a fine day.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44- We meet near Y Fantol.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48- Near Y Fantol, - of all the places in the world.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50- Dic and Mary's home?
0:07:50 > 0:07:55- Only one word can precede - Y Fantol, and that's Dic.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57- You remember him better than I do.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01- Are you suggesting - I'm a little older?
0:08:01 > 0:08:03- That may be true!
0:08:04 > 0:08:07- I remember Dic very well.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- Who could forget him, really?
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- He was a carrier, - like many others on Lleyn.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17- Did he carry goods on a lorry?
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- Initially, - he had a float and a horse.
0:08:22 > 0:08:28- He carried goods from farms - and smallholdings to Pwllheli.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31- He returned with shopping for them.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- Dic was very fond of a drop.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- More than a drop, to be frank.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39- Yes, to be frank.
0:08:39 > 0:08:45- He used to travel slowly - between Pwllheli and Aberdaron.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50- He was among the first - to get a lorry.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55- That's one of the seven wonders - of Lleyn.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02- Another wonder was Dic's relationship - with his wife...
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- ..when things got heated - at Y Fantol.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08- Mary was Irish, wasn't she?
0:09:08 > 0:09:10- Yes.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16- But she didn't know - a word of Dic's language.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20- Dic didn't know - a word of her language either.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- I find that amazing.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27- You say it's amazing - that they lived together.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- But remember, it was hardly a life.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- All they did was bicker and argue.
0:09:36 > 0:09:42- When it was stormy at Y Fantol - between Dic and Mary...
0:09:42 > 0:09:47- ..and when the few words - that Dic knew were exhausted...
0:09:47 > 0:09:52- ..he would get up and say - "Ireland, Mary!"
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- And he pointed - in the direction of Ireland.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- I heard an addendum to that story - from someone in Lleyn.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- When it was very stormy - at Y Fantol...
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- ..Dic would get up, - look towards the sea and say...
0:10:09 > 0:10:11- "..Ireland, Mary!"
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- He'd add, "Swim."
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- Excellent!
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- I remember my father, long ago...
0:10:25 > 0:10:30- ..talking about couples - who argued a lot.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36- He'd say, "It's Ireland, Mary - in such-and-such a place."
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- It became an idiom on Lleyn.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54- Parking may be a problem now, - but in days gone by...
0:10:54 > 0:10:59- ..I used to whizz round Lleyn - in my Austin 7, Austin Chummy.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05- I always had a good relationship - with the little Austin.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10- I soon found someone - to sit next to me...
0:11:10 > 0:11:13- ..a new sweetheart called Nan.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19- I remember taking Nan home - in the Chummy for the first time.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24- When we arrived at her home, - the car began to overheat.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- I opened the bonnet - then opened the tank.
0:11:30 > 0:11:36- Soon, a long procession approached, - like the Gorsedd at the Eisteddfod.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40- Nan's father came first, - then Nan's mother.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42- I think she carried the bucket.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45- Nan's brother, Nan and the dog.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50- Covered in soot and oil, - it wasn't easy to shake hands.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55- I think Nan's mother said, - under her breath...
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- "..Where on earth did she find him?"
0:11:59 > 0:12:02- But we did get married eventually.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- In the second part, - how we sent visitors astray.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10- And the people who take you - from door to door today.
0:12:11 > 0:12:11- .
0:12:15 > 0:12:15- 888
0:12:15 > 0:12:17- 888- - 888
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- The sea and Lleyn's beauty - draws people here.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33- People have flocked here - since Victorian times.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- But transport has changed on Lleyn.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45- Visitors' cars probably - make the biggest difference.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- Hundreds of visitors - still flock here.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07- In Abersoch's car park, - Robert Pierce, or Bobs...
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- ..waits for them - very patiently every summer.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- Is it quiet here today?
0:13:14 > 0:13:15- No.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18- They all came first thing.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- It's like musical chairs now.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26- One comes out and half a dozen - wait to come in.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- Tourists are like lambs.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34- If it's fine, - they want to be close to water.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36- When it isn't fine...
0:13:36 > 0:13:37- They see bad weather coming.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- They see bad weather coming.- - They don't know what to do.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45- They're like headless chickens. - They go round and round, in and out.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48- How long have you worked here?
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- Twenty-eight years.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51- That long?
0:13:51 > 0:13:52- That long?- - Yes.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56- It was a job for a year - until a proper job came up.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00- But as it's worked out, - it pays me all year.
0:14:00 > 0:14:01- So it has been a proper job?
0:14:01 > 0:14:02- So it has been a proper job?- - Yes.
0:14:02 > 0:14:02- Yes.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07- Can I pay for a couple of hours?
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- Can I pay for a couple of hours?- - Yes. Two?
0:14:09 > 0:14:10- Yes, please.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20- Have you seen many changes - over the years?
0:14:20 > 0:14:25- Abersoch itself hasn't changed. - The main thing is car size.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30- At first, they were all small cars - such as this one.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32- Now, they're all huge.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39- I sometimes see young people - driving 20,000 cars.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45- I think, where have I gone wrong, - struggling here?
0:14:48 > 0:14:53- There's no use losing your temper. - You can't do anything about it.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04- My relationship with Abersoch - is almost a love-hate one.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06- I'm very fond of the place - and area.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11- All my family on my mother's side - come from the village.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14- When she was young, - Mam kept visitors.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Abersoch would struggle - without visitors.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- It's a cosmopolitan village.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26- It's interesting, - colourful and different.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39- I wasn't a cosmopolitan boy, - not by a long chalk.
0:15:40 > 0:15:46- There were many ways - to have fun at visitors' expense.
0:15:52 > 0:15:58- I'm not sure if I should tell - this story, because I feel guilty.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00- Let me try to tell you.
0:16:00 > 0:16:06- Dic and I sat by that wall, - sometimes another friend too.
0:16:06 > 0:16:12- We just passed the time, - doing nothing.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18- Quite a few English visitors - had discovered Abersoch and Lleyn.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23- A car stopped, the window opened - and they asked...
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- "..Which is the way to Abersock?"
0:16:26 > 0:16:31- Dic and I didn't speak much English, - but we had learnt a few sentences.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35- Dic or I said - "This is the way to Abersock."
0:16:35 > 0:16:39- Dic added, "Not a good road - to begin with, but it gets better."
0:16:40 > 0:16:46- The Englishman went back to his car - and sped down the road.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50- We climbed to hide in that tree, - just as Zacchaeus did.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54- The Englishman came back, - jumped out of his car and said...
0:16:55 > 0:16:57- "..Where are the b...?"
0:16:57 > 0:16:59- We saw everything from the tree.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04- He couldn't find us, so he went back - to his car and off he'd go...
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- ..the wrong way, invariably.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- It was no help at all - to tourism in Lleyn, I know.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13- But we had a lot of fun.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35- I always liked walking - along these lanes.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- But as a lad, - yearning for more freedom...
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- ..I dreamt of a car of my own.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- To get money to buy the Chummy - when I was a student...
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- ..I had a holiday job - as a conductor on Crosville buses.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55- Good times.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- I learnt a lot on the buses - - it was a good place to meet people...
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- ..and understand - the rhythms of conversation.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08- LAUGHTER
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- "But was she a good worker?"
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- "Oh, excellent, like all the family!
0:18:13 > 0:18:16- "But they're like kangaroos, - Mr Thomas.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21- "One has just reached the pouch - and the next one reads the map."
0:18:21 > 0:18:23- LAUGHTER
0:18:33 > 0:18:39- Far from Pwllheli, Abersoch - and the other tourist centres...
0:18:39 > 0:18:44- ..Lleyn's criss-crossing lanes - were, and still are, remote.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48- Some still find travel difficult.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52- Today on Lleyn, - there's a special charity.
0:18:52 > 0:18:58- It's a voluntary service - that takes people from door to door.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59- Good morning. How are you?
0:18:59 > 0:19:01- Good morning. How are you?- - Fine, thank you. And you?
0:19:01 > 0:19:02- I'm fine, thanks.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04- I'm fine, thanks.- - Good.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05- Have you been waiting a long time?
0:19:05 > 0:19:06- Have you been waiting a long time?- - Yes.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10- I've been waiting - half an hour more than usual.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12- That's my fault.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15- It's good of you to take the blame.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20- Have you always lived in Pistyll?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- No, I was born in Llithfaen...
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- ..a small village - at the foot of Yr Eifl.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30- Would you find it difficult - without this service?
0:19:30 > 0:19:32- Yes, by now.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37- My sons and daughter-in-law - are very kind, but they work.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- They're not free.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42- No. This is very convenient.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- It might not be a Cadillac.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49- But not everyone gets a chauffeur - to fetch her pension, as Marian does.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52- This door-to-door service...
0:19:52 > 0:19:57- ..is proof of the closeness - that still exists in Lleyn.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59- Have you had everything now?
0:19:59 > 0:20:01- Have you had everything now?- - Yes, thank you.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05- You don't want - to go to another shop?
0:20:05 > 0:20:07- Not today, as it happens.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13- Is this a local service for Lleyn?
0:20:14 > 0:20:16- Yes, just for Lleyn.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21- The business began - in a house in Nefyn.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- The office was a room in the house.
0:20:24 > 0:20:31- Volunteers in cars - took people around.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- It's said that people - who live in remote places...
0:20:38 > 0:20:42- ..are closer than people - who live in busy cities.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49- People live close to each other - in a city, but are distant.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55- Close to me in the Chummy - back then was Nan.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07- It wasn't the warmest of cars, - even with the hood up.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12- It was also winter - when I first went out with Harri.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17- It was draughty - the wind - came in through gaps in the windows.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- But it was alright!
0:21:32 > 0:21:35- Nan joined me in the two-seater.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38- We're still travelling together.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- I haven't published anything - without Nan reading it first.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55- She corrects it - and praises it, or not!
0:21:58 > 0:22:02- In the early years, - before I learnt to use a computer...
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- ..Nan typed everything.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09- I wrote with my left hand, - and it was rather illegible.
0:22:09 > 0:22:15- It was very hard to decipher. - I often had to guess what it said.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- I write about a minister - in my stories.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25- I describe him as a naive bloke - who always gets into a pickle.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27- He often puts his foot in it.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- In the stories, - his wife is more sensible.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33- She calms the waters.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35- Nan is quite similar.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37- Nan is quite similar.- - Thank you.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53- If you stood on the Maes - in Pwllheli on market day...
0:22:53 > 0:22:57- ..or tried to drive slowly - through Abersoch in the holidays...
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- ..or cross Aberdaron bridge - in summer...
0:23:01 > 0:23:06- ..you might say that it's too easy - to travel in Lleyn now.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11- Thankfully, some places - remain remote and inaccessible.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- S4C Subtitles by Gwead
0:23:44 > 0:23:44- .