Three Cliffs and Welshpool Weatherman Walking

Welcome to one of the most beautiful walks in the whole of Wales.

Hang on a minute. This is MY programme.

Wales has some of the best beaches in Britain

and more castles than you can shake a stick at.

So I'm off to discover two Welsh walks which tick the boxes

for castles, coast and some great Welsh countryside.

Later on, I'll be uncovering some fascinating local history

in Welshpool.

And enjoying a stroll along the Montgomery Canal.

But first, it's a weather presenters' day out.

My colleague, Behnaz Akhgar,

came to Swansea from Iran as a child and she's going to show me the place

that made her fall in love with Wales.

Behnaz is taking me to the Gower Peninsula, just outside Swansea.

Her walk starts at the Gower Heritage Centre at Parkmill

before going inland to Parc le Breos and the Giant's Grave.

Then, it's through the woods to the Gower Way and down to the beautiful

Three Cliffs Bay.

We then walk up to the dunes to Pennard Castle,

before ending up back where we started in Parkmill.

It's just over four miles in total.

I've arranged to meet Behnaz at the Gower Heritage Centre,

but, as always, I'm late.

She doesn't look very happy to be kept waiting.

Benny, fancy seeing you here.

Derek. It's lovely to see you.

So, we are on Gower, where are you taking me today?

I'm taking you to Three Cliffs Bay, which is my favourite place in the whole world.

And what's this place?

This is the Gower Heritage Centre and it's a great place to find out

a little bit about the history of the area.

Come on, let me show you.

The Gower Heritage Centre is full of fascinating tales

of the area's history.

At its heart is an old watermill, which dates back to 1170.

Derek, this is Roy Church.

He is in charge of the Gower Heritage Centre.

-Nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Parkmill, Derek.

Well, this is lovely. How old is it?

Well, this particular building has been here for over 900 years now.

It was built by Norman settlers into Gower.

And as far as we know,

it's the oldest working water-powered mill in Wales.

Does the water ever dry up?

Never been known to in all those years.

It works two grinding stones in the building behind us

and it turns local wheat into flour.

-Can I have a go?

-Course you can, yes.

Fantastic. Thank you.

-OK, Roy, what shall I do?

-Push it towards the back of the room.

-OK.

-You need a lot of effort on it.

Hold on, that needs a hell of a welly.

It's starting to move.

Wow! That takes a lot of muscle power.

-That's amazing.

-How fast does it go, Roy?

Top speed is ten rpm, ten revolutions per minute.

This will make it go faster.

-How was that?

-It's amazing.

I wanted a go but we haven't got time.

No(!)

This part of Gower is rich in history

and just down the road from the Heritage Centre,

Roy had something to show us that dates back thousands of years.

It lies in what was once a medieval deer park

called Parc le Breos.

Wow! Roy, this is amazing.

Can you just tell us a little bit about what it is?

Yes, you're at the entranceway to a Neolithic burial chamber,

constructed 6,500 years ago.

You notice the wavy formation of the entrance stones here.

That indicates it's been built on top of a river.

It is a traditional design of a burial chamber,

indicates flowing water underneath.

This would have been the doorway, which is now unblocked.

So, if we go inside,

we can actually go into one of the actual burial chambers here on the side.

So, when was it excavated?

In 1870,

it was discovered by workmen building this roadway here for Lord Swansea,

who owned the estate then.

And they started to use the rocks to construct the road.

Eventually, as they took more and more off,

they discovered these side chambers here.

And there were skeletons in them.

So, locally, this is called the Giant's Grave.

Why was that?

The postmortem by a doctor, in his notes actually it says that

the skeletons of the men were of gigantic proportions for Neolithic times.

Their bones were quite chunky but they also measured nearly six foot in height.

And that was tall back then.

Yes, they would be giants in that era then, 6,500 years ago.

-I'm six foot tall.

-Same size.

I'm a giant.

Are we standing on top of them right now?

Well, their bones have been put back into these side chambers and put

into copper sealed containers.

If I tap on the floor, you can hear it is hollow underneath.

So, yes, that's the remains.

I think it's the men in this side.

And do we know why they built it here?

We don't know, really. It's a fantastic spot.

Obviously, beautiful and peaceful.

It also lies directly north to south here.

It's above an underground stream.

If I bring my compass out,

you can see that it points directly north down the middle of the chamber.

Aligns perfectly.

How would they have known that 6,500 years ago?

They had some way of working these things out.

And only recently, it's been realised also that on the winter solstice,

on the shortest day of the year, the sun rises above the trees over there

quite dramatically and it shines at midday directly into the chamber and

hits the back wall. Perfect alignment.

-Amazing, isn't it?

-They were so much more advanced than us, I think.

Well, we've lost a lot of knowledge over those 6,000 years, haven't we?

We just need to look up more.

Leaving Roy behind,

we set off to explore the area

and it's also a chance for me to hear a bit more about Behnaz's life.

Benny, you are originally from Iran.

What brought you to Wales?

Well, my parents brought me here

when I was ten after the Iran-Iraq war

because it was a very unpleasant and difficult time

for us all living there,

so they wanted to come somewhere a little bit more peaceful.

Must have been horrible and scary at the time.

Yeah, it was a very horrible time but it became routine.

We knew there would be weeks on end where schools would be closed and

we'd go and hide in the mountains because there were bombs being dropped where I lived.

There was often, when we were watching television,

the siren would come on,

we'd have 30 seconds to get under the stairs

before the power goes out.

Wait for the bomb to drop and then get up and go back to your normal life

and just be thankful that you are still alive, you know?

So, you came to live in Swansea.

Did you find it hard to settle in?

Initially, I hated it.

I hated the fact that I couldn't speak the language,

I missed my friends, I missed the routine, but in time,

I started to enjoy life a little bit more,

but initially, it was very, very difficult.

And you are glad you live here today.

I am glad, yeah. Very glad.

'I've always found Behnaz's story inspiring

'and today's walk is also having an effect.

'We're both starting to chill out.'

So peaceful here, isn't it?

It is. Listen to the birds.

-It's all you can hear.

-I think if you sat here in silence,

the trees would talk to you.

They would. Because they have feelings.

Wild garlic. Can you smell it?

The woodland walk lasts about half a mile before we leave it behind to

find a more familiar Gower landscape.

So, Derek, this is the Gower Way.

It's one of the main footpaths that leads to that lovely place I'm going to take you,

the Three Cliffs Bay.

Can't wait.

So, you were just saying how difficult it was when you first came

to Swansea, but then eventually things did get much better.

Yeah, I think initially it was the shock of being told I'm not going

back home because that was home

and then once I went to school and I made some friends

and my teachers were so kind to me and I learned the language

and I started to enjoy life here, I really settled.

I'd say it took about only six months before I could make a conversation

and I was happy again.

It didn't take that long.

And that's, I think, because I was surrounded by really wonderful people.

And you've got all this gorgeous countryside right on your doorstep.

Yes, and what really sealed the deal for me

was this amazing place, Derek.

It's not far now to Three Cliffs Bay and the walking is all downhill.

This is pretty. Where are we?

Well, this is the exciting part.

We are in Penmaen, this is where you know you are close to the magic.

'We cross the busy road and go down a few lanes

'before we reach our destination.'

And here we are, Derek.

Three Cliffs Bay.

It never fails to take my breath away.

It's simply stunning.

It's got to be one of the most beautiful beaches

in the whole world.

I totally agree with you and you can see why it's got its name.

Three Cliffs.

I really like this bit.

Because you get to jump across these little rocks

which are nicely positioned for us.

It looks fun.

Yes, it is good fun but the tide can come up

and sometimes these disappear,

so you have to be aware of that.

So, there are a few. Count them for me.

I'm not going to get my feet wet, am I?

Well, we've come at a good time

but there are times when you will have to

get your feet wet because the water is so much higher.

Have you been counting?

I thought you were counting.

22, 23, 24, 25, 26.

26.

Derek, we're on the beach.

I absolutely love coming here.

The sand is lovely.

The ocean is beautiful.

It's very peaceful, as it is a bit of a walk to get here.

I always come here just to relax a little bit.

And you go for a swim?

I don't recommend to go for a swim

as there is a bit of a nasty current.

But you can just enjoy the view.

And always check the tide times

because the sea does come in very quickly,

-doesn't it?

-Absolutely.

In fact, the sea here can be very dangerous

and there have been several tragic accidents.

The community and RNLI have got together

to put lifeguards on the beach

but they are only there during the Easter, Whitsun and summer holidays.

Benny, I know you love this place, but when did you first discover it?

When I first moved to Swansea, I thought Swansea Bay was it.

I started to do A-level geography

and we were brought here on a field trip

and I discovered it and, funnily enough, there's a group here,

from my college today, doing the exact same thing.

-Great.

-What are the chances of that?

I know, it's amazing. It made my day to talk to them.

-Really took me back.

-Now, I'm going to test you now.

What do you remember from those lessons all those years ago?

Not very much, but we came here to learn about vegetation, land formation,

rivers, and I get to use a little bit of it now in what I do,

which is great.

I'm not sure either of us can remember

much about our school geography

but I can see what's coming next, and it's called a climb.

So, do you do much walking then, Behnaz?

I do when the weather is good but truth be told,

I'm not very good when it comes to climbing things, mountains.

I tend to whine a lot.

So...

How are you finding this, then?

Well, I've loved it so far but this is the bit that's a bit of a struggle for me.

But we'll get there.

I guess I'm not as fit as you, Derek.

-Oh...

-Come on.

SHE LAUGHS

I'll get there.

-Oh...

-Remember, no whining.

As it's you.

THEY BOTH LAUGH

I'll whine when I get home.

-A glass of wine.

-Yeah.

'And finally, we are there, and it's well worth it.

'What a view!'

Well, this is great.

What is this place?

This is Pennard Castle, and it was built in the 13th century,

not long after, around 1400,

there was a huge sandstorm that swamped the building

and drove away the local people.

It must have been a massive storm to cover this place.

I would have thought so, but today, it's a wonderful spot for a picnic.

Sounds good to me.

So, before we head back to the start at Parkmill,

I've got a treat in store.

Behnaz and her mum and sister have prepared for me

some wonderful Persian food.

Well, Derek, I've spent many summers here with my family.

We always bring a picnic.

We sit, we relax and we have nice Persian food.

So I decided to do the same for you today.

Well, Benny, it looks absolutely delicious.

Thank you so much as well for bringing me to this very special place.

It's been a fantastic walk.

Everybody should come here.

-It's wonderful.

-It's been a pleasure.

Cheers.

And if you fancy trying this or another of our walks,

go to our website...

It's got detailed route information and walking maps

for you to print off.

Or you can download it onto your tablet and take it with you.

Magical mid Wales has so much to offer,

from beautiful beaches to the Brecon Beacons.

But I'm here to promote Powys,

with a walk around the old market town of Welshpool.

Exploring its rich history, castles, canal and top-class countryside.

Taking me on a tour of the town is Powysland Museum curator Eva Bredsdorff.

Eva hails from Denmark but has lived here for nearly 30 years and is

passionate about the area and its local history.

Hi, Eva, lovely to meet you.

Nice to meet you, Derek.

Well, this is a great location.

Right next to the canal.

What exactly is this building here?

Well, this is Powysland Museum in Welshpool and this is where I work.

And it's a museum of local history and the area.

However, we're not going to go in there

because the weather is far too nice.

So instead, I'd like to take you on a walk around Welshpool

and I'll tell you all about the history of the area.

-OK, let's go.

-Let's go.

Set in Powys in mid Wales,

my Welshpool walk starts along the Montgomery Canal

and passes through the town centre,

before heading into the nearby countryside for a quick stop

at Powis Castle to enjoy some great views.

We then rejoin the canal for a waterside stroll

back to our starting point -

a walk of just over four miles.

Now, the Montgomery Canal is a unique canal because it is the only

agricultural canal in Britain.

All the other canals are industrial.

But this is agricultural.

It was built for and paid for by the landowners along it to bring up coal

and lime to make fertiliser for the land and then to bring out

the products of the land.

But as the demand for lime decreased,

the canal was running at a loss and so was eventually closed in 1944.

Today, parts of the canal have been restored and reopened,

including the towpath,

which also forms part of the Severn Way river walk.

Leaving the canal, we walk along the outskirts of town

to our first bit of hidden history.

Do you know where we started?

That was Powysland Museum.

Well, that wasn't always there.

If you look up there, you can see the plaque,

Powysland Museum and Library.

That was the original building,

which is the first purpose-built museum in all of Wales.

-All of Wales?

-Yes.

So, how come the museum is where it is now?

-It's moved.

-Because this is too small.

There is no access for disabled people

and you can't get a school class in there without losing a couple of kids on the road.

Passing through St Mary's Church,

we're treated to some smashing views over the town.

Welshpool is a bustling market town, dating back to the 13th century,

with many Tudor and Georgian features still dotted about.

Until recently,

it held the largest livestock market in Europe and still has strong

agricultural connections

and is a great location for exploring mid Wales.

'But as we hit the high street, I've been spotted.

'So it's time for some quick selfies before we escape and carry on.'

-Nice to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you.

Now, I'm going to take you down here to show you something I think you'll

find quite interesting.

So, I promised you a little surprise, and this is it.

This is a hidden gem in Welshpool.

Not a lot of people come and see it.

And this is Welshpool Cockpit, and it was built in 1727.

And, as you can see,

it's an octagonal building and it was built for the purpose of

cockfighting. But this is a unique building

because it's the only cockpit

still in situ in Wales.

Cockfighting was really popular.

You got two cockerels up against each other

and sometimes they would have

little spurs on their backs and extra metal spurs,

so they could really, really create some damage to the opponent.

There must have been feathers and blood everywhere.

-Sounds really cruel.

-It's horrible.

It's horrible. And that's why it was banned.

-Some entertainment, eh?

-I know.

What's it used for now?

It's now a building for the WI.

They've taken it over, so a bit more friendly.

And this is the town hall.

This is the town hall,

and this is where I'm going to show you a little plaque,

commemorating probably one of the bravest men

to come out of Welshpool.

So, Derek, this is what I wanted to show you.

This is a recent plaque.

It's been put on to commemorate William Waring.

He was born here in Welshpool and he took part in World War I.

-What happened?

-He led his men in several attacks against the Germans.

And at one of those attacks, he helped some of his men coming back,

he went out and he got shot and mortally wounded.

And as you can see, he actually died on the 8th of October.

So, quite shortly before the end of the war.

And has therefore been given the Victoria Cross postumously.

Inside the town hall is a small exhibition,

dedicated to Lance Sergeant Waring, who was only 32 when he died.

He was also one of 14 Welsh recipients of the Victoria Cross

from the First World War, such was his bravery.

An old building.

It's a lovely old building.

So, Derek, we're getting out of Welshpool now

and we are going to go into the countryside.

'But first, Eva wants to show me another hidden side

'to a local iconic building.

'Christchurch is an imposing Norman-style church built in 1844,

'with impressive views over Welshpool.

'But it sadly fell into ruin and was closed in 1988.

'Today, it's slowly being transformed into a family home

'that's open for visitors.'

Derek, I'm going to take you to meet Natalie,

who lives here with her family.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Welcome.

-Nice to meet you.

Come on in. It's nice and cool.

You're right. It is cool in here.

It is. So, this is the part that we have open

and that we want to keep open to the public

because when we bought the church, it was all locked up,

so we just felt that it was important to share it, really.

So, what made you want to buy an old church?

I fully blame my husband, Carl.

He stumbled across it, really,

and just completely fell in love with the building

and had the vision to live in it, to restore it,

and to reopen it to the public.

We just couldn't walk away from it.

Couldn't resist.

So, how long have you been restoring it?

It's coming up to 13 years now.

So, it's an ongoing project.

Very much ongoing.

And I really don't think that we'll ever finish.

So, you don't mind having people coming in and out of your house?

No, it's lovely to share it.

It's such a public building,

with so many people's lives woven into its structure

and it really draws people,

so I think it's just really important that it stays alive.

Thank you. Bye.

'What an amazing place, and well worth a visit if you're passing through.

'I'll definitely be back to see how they're getting on.'

Now, we are going into Powis Park here and if we are lucky,

we might see some deer.

The Deer Park has been here since the 17th century

and it's home to over 100 red and fallow deer,

who roam the parkland.

So, there's the deers.

Sheltering under the tree.

Indeed.

You seem to know a lot about this area, the history,

but you don't have a local accent.

You are not originally from Powys, are you?

Not originally from Britain.

-So, where are you from?

-I'm from Denmark.

-I'm from Copenhagen.

-What brought you here?

Well, the job brought me here.

But before that,

I was studying for a degree in history at Copenhagen University

and I came to York to study and I was only meant to be there

for three months but I loved it so much

that I decided to stay in Britain and then I spent

the next two years applying for 80, 90 museum jobs.

And finally, Powys took pity on me.

And gave me the job.

And I've been here ever since, which is roughly 29 years.

What do you like about it the most?

Well, the nature. I mean, you've seen it.

And you'll see more.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

It certainly is.

And Powis Castle is a truly stunning centrepiece to this park.

Here we are, Derek.

This is Powis Castle.

It's a magnificent building.

-It is.

-And very popular, by the look of it.

Oh, very popular, yes.

The castle sits high on a large rock and was originally built as

a stronghold for the Welsh princes of Powys during the 13th century.

'It's also been the ancestral home of the various earls of Powys

'for over 700 years,

'helping to keep the castle from being abandoned and falling into

'disrepair. Today, it's in the care of the National Trust.'

Well, this is wonderful.

Yes, the courtyard here is free.

But you have to pay in order to get into the castle.

Now, I'm going to take you up to the terrace,

where we are going to look over the views.

Oh, look. There's a peacock.

Friendly, aren't they? You can get close.

Very friendly.

This is impressive, Eva.

The garden and the view.

Exactly. That's why I brought you up here.

The gardens are spectacular.

Probably some of the best gardens in Britain.

And they draw people from all over the world just to see this.

The gardens date from the 17th century and are world famous.

They've been carved into the solid rock,

creating these dramatic terraces.

But the star attractions are the bizarre looking yew hedges.

And with these views, it's no wonder people come from all over

to explore the grounds.

But Eva manages to drag me away and we set off once again.

Well, Eva, it's a bit warm and sticky today, isn't it?

It is a bit humid, yes.

What's happening is all the heat is beginning to build up now,

we've had some high temperatures over the past couple of days,

and we could see a few thunderstorms breaking out later on

as all that heat energy is

released in the atmosphere, forming towering cumulonimbus clouds.

I hope you brought your waterproofs.

No, I haven't. I'm so sorry.

You should pay more attention to the forecast!

I will from now on.

So, we are back on the canal now.

We are back on the Montgomery Canal.

Going back towards Welshpool and the museum.

'The canal is a world-class site for rare aquatic plants and Eva tells me

'more about what a fantastic place it is for spotting wildlife.'

I have actually once seen a kingfisher

but I think that's quite rare.

But otherwise, you've got heron, you've got ducks, you got swan...

I've even seen a snake in the water.

-A snake?

-Yes.

Look, Eva. There's a thundercloud,

towering upwards like a large cauliflower.

-That's a thundercloud.

-A cumulonimbus.

We better get a move on.

-Just in case.

-Just in case.

Because you never know.

No, you don't.

'I could talk about the weather all day,

'but I'm not sure Eva's so keen.'

So, Derek, we are back at Powysland Museum.

I really hope you've enjoyed your time here.

I've really enjoyed it.

Thank you so much for showing me around Welshpool.

I have to admit, I normally bypass the town, but in future, you know,

it's well worth stopping here and going for a walk

because there's so much to see.

There is and I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

And the best bit, we managed to dodge the thunderstorms.

-Yes, that was lucky.

-We were lucky.

-Absolutely.