Misty Mountain and Middle Earth Weatherman Walking


Misty Mountain and Middle Earth

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Beautiful as it is in this Italianate village of Portmeirion,

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you can't keep me a prisoner here.

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No, I'm off into the hills for a spot of walking.

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Are you ready?

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MUSIC

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Portmeirion is famous for its cream teas, pottery and architecture.

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It's visited by thousands of people every year.

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Its creator, Clough Williams-Ellis, couldn't be held captive here.

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He was most at home in the foothills of Snowdonia

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on his beautiful and beloved Brondanw Estate.

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'That is where we'll be heading for the first of our walks.

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'A proper hill walk.

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'The other will be a gentler affair on the level, the Gwent Levels.

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'Down by the sea just outside Newport.'

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Two walks, as different as chalk and cheese you might say.

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The chalk, or limestone of coastal South Wales.

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The cheese? Swiss cheese, perhaps.

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Today, we're climbing the Matterhorn, the Welsh Matterhorn.

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'On the fringes of Snowdonia National Park,

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'a few miles inland from Portmeirion,

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'our walk will take us to the summit of Cnicht, to give the mountain its proper name.

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'Seen from the southwest, I could be persuaded.

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'It deserves its title of the Welsh Matterhorn.

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'I do like pointed peaks.'

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All I need now is a guide with some local knowledge,

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just like the Alpine guides who lead their clients up the Matterhorn.

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'Based in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Ceri Cunnington works as chairman

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'of Antur Stiniog, a project to develop outdoor activities

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'and provide work in the area's old slate mining communities.

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'In his spare time, he's also a musician and a singer in a band.

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'Here is my musical mountain guide on his mountain bike.

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'Today's walk starts from the village of Croesor.

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'At first, its easy walking.

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'But as you approach your target, things start to get steeper.

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'From the summit of Cnicht,

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'the ridge to the northeast is more straightforward.

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'Then a change in direction takes us towards disused slate quarries

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finishing with a descent down old quarrying paths

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'and tramways to Croesor.'

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To our right is our destination today.

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-It looks a bit steep from here.

-It really is the Welsh Matterhorn.

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'Croesor village is part of the Brondanw Estate.

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'Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect of Portmeirion,

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'took it over from his Dad in 1908.

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'Clough was not a conventional landowner. He was an arty type.

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'Over the years, creative people have been drawn to the valley.

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'Ceri himself first moved here to write music with his band, Anweledig.'

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-You used to be a rock star, didn't you?

-Not quite a rock star.

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We were in a band for over ten years.

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-What was it called?

-Anweledig. It was good fun while it lasted.

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But we sort of grew up.

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-Did you sell a lot of albums?

-Erm, a dozen.

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# Dwi'n meddwl weithiau am y byd mawr crwn

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# Sut yn y byd daeth y gofod hwn o allai ddim esbonio

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# Nid gwyddonydd ydw i a segnnai'm...#

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'Through his work, Ceri tries to encourage local people to find jobs

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'in the growing area of outdoor activities.

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'Until recently, much of this work has gone to incomers.'

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It's still true to some fact, but I think the tide is turning.

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I think the next generation, hopefully, will take advantage of it.

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I think it's only 5% of local people

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actually work in the outdoor industry in Northwest Wales.

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That's really surprising, surprisingly low.

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I doubt it's seen as a traditional way of making a living.

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Tourism is becoming more important.

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We're about 20 minutes from the village now.

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But it's starting to open out already. It's just stunning.

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-It's a bit hazy, but it's dry.

-Yes and it will be dry all day.

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Well, I'm not sure about that!

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-Don't say that.

-I can feel a shower brewing.

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We can see down into Cwm Croesor now.

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A lovely u-shaped valley. Moelwyn Mawr looking very imposing.

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Moelwyn Bach is just beside it, under its cap, Moelwyn o dan ei gap.

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-Onwards and upwards?

-Onwards and upwards.

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'The remnants of this area's slate industry,

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'are not yet obvious in the hills around us.

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'But opening up behind is a rather misty view of Traeth Mawr.

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'The land was reclaimed from the sea when William Madocks built a wall,

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'the Cob, across the Glaslyn Estuary.'

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What's amazing is that when Madocks built the Cob,

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the Glaslyn had to go somewhere.

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It diverted and snaked across the Cob and created this natural harbour.

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It was of benefit to Madocks.

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He was able to export the slate from the harbour around the world.

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I think we have to get going because the weather is closing in.

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Nice one.

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MUSIC

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We're getting closer, but it still looks blinkin' hard to me.

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That's the first and last pull.

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I'm feeling a bit tired now, I have to admit.

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-It's quite a climb up there.

-Yes.

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He keeps telling me we're getting closer and I believe him.

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This is amazing. We can see the whole valley from top to bottom.

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We had snippets of it earlier. But you see the scale of the thing now.

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It's a classic u-shape. Mind blowing views, even in this weather.

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You see the old Croesor tramway going into the distance.

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The quarry there, Chwarel Croesor.

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You can see just the tops of Rhosydd Quarry over there.

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We'll be exploring that later on, but we should get a move on.

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'Well, we can see the summit, but I'm not sure that's a good thing.

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'Now for the really steep bit.'

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What I'm worried about is how we'll pick our way to the top.

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-There's no path.

-There is, you just can't see it from here.

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This is the final stretch. It looks a bit hairy, but you'll be OK.

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After you.

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-So far, so good.

-Is it as bad as you thought?

-Not really, no.

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Once you get the momentum and keep going.

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-You're like a mountain goat!

-Something like that.

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-See the false summit.

-This one? Where's the real one?

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-About two miles that way.

-Get off.

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You're having me on.

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'I'm glad to say he was having me on. This is the real summit.'

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We've done it. The top of the Welsh Matterhorn. Copa'r Cnicht.

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-Llongyfarchiadau.

-A chithau hefyd. Congratulations.

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-A real sense of satisfaction.

-How do you feel now?

-Relieved.

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It is wonderful. You've got to do it. Where do we go from here?

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We do down a different way to Rhosydd Quarry.

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Then down the old miners' path. A totally different walk.

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-But just as spectacular. Up for it?

-Definitely. Come on.

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MUSIC

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'Well, the weatherman does sometimes get it right.

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'The weather has become pretty awful.

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'But at least we're now on easy ground along a broad ridge.'

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There's a lot of rain up here. What's that patch of water there?

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-Llyn Adar.

-Llyn Adar. Does that mean, lake of the bird?

-Birds.

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It's some of the best wild fishing in Wales, they say.

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-You can get brithyll.

-What's that?

-Trout.

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'I don't think we'll be hanging around for wild fishing today.

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'This section between the ridge and the quarries is the most difficult to navigate.

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'If you're not familiar with the area,

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'a compass might be handy to use with your map,

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'assuming you know what to do with it!

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'In mists like this, a compass is essential. Time to take a bearing.'

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-You need a map and compass up here.

-Absolutely.

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-Even when the weather is good.

-The path is indistinct here.

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We've just come from here, Llyn Adar. OK.

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-It's this way.

-Yes.

-Are you sure?

-Yes, follow the compass.

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'Before long, we can make out the ruined barracks of Rhosydd Quarry,

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'the isolated and grim living quarters for the quarry workers.'

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The stories about Rhosydd Quarry are incredible.

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The bunk beds were never empty.

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When one man finished his shift, another one started.

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They shared bunks.

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The stories about the chwain, fleas, are incredible.

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When the men left work on Saturday afternoon,

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they came back on a Sunday evening or a Monday morning.

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The chwain were waiting for them, with fangs out,

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because they hadn't had a drop of blood since Saturday afternoon.

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-What a place to work!

-Absolutely. Fair play to them.

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-Tough men.

-Hogia go iawn!

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MUSIC

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'Before heading down to the valley, Ceri is keen to take a detour

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'along a remarkable section of tramway dug out of the hillside,

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'where slate trucks used to trundle along.

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'It ends abruptly above the steepest incline of any quarry in North Wales.'

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Here we are at the end of the Rhosydd tramway,

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but the beginning of the Rhosydd incline.

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'That is steep!'

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-What happened here?

-This is where the wagons would have ended up.

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They would have come from the quarry.

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If you look to the right, this is the drum house.

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It is 55 feet above the incline.

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You can still see some of the cable.

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The wagons would have been winched down one at a time.

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One would have been brought up at the same time to counter balance the wagons.

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-It's mind blowing, really.

-It is an amazing feat of engineering.

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-And a huge drop down there.

-They think it's about 700 to 800 feet.

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Can you imagine what it must have been like working up here?

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I can't. I don't think any of us could imagine what it was like.

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In all kinds of weather!

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The brakesman would be sitting there in his shelter, which he'd be grateful for.

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So, all the rain and gales would have battered this side.

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He would go in there and tuck himself away.

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'We now retrace our steps to join the Quarryman's Path

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'and then the Blaencwm Incline,

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'which takes the tramway to the valley floor.

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'The building at the bottom of this incline used to be

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'the hydro electric power station for Croesor Quarry.

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'It was built by Moses Kellow, manager and engineer to the quarries.

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'By all accounts, he was a bit of a genius.

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'A man way ahead of his time.'

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In 1904, one of the first things he did was build Blaencwm power station.

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He brought electricity to the quarry, but also to the village of Croesor.

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The chapel in Croesor were offered electricity,

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but they thought it was the work of the devil as they thought it was too much like lightning.

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'I bet Moses Kellow would be very proud to know the turbine

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'has been renovated and now supplies power to the National Grid.'

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Here we are at Bryn. It was Moses Kellow's house.

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It was the finest all electric house in North Wales.

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-This was before World War I.

-Nice place to live.

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Absolutely.

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I notice all, or most of the houses, are painted blue. Is there a reason?

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That's Portmeirion Blue, if you like.

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It's the patent colour of the Brondanw Estate.

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Every house under the ownership of the estate is painted that colour.

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MUSIC

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Here we are, the sun is finally out and we're at Caffi Croesor.

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-It's the end of our walk.

-Thanks for being my guide, Ceri.

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-Diolch yn fawr.

-It's been a pleasure to get to the top of Cnicht.

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-Really good.

-Cool.

-Right. Time for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

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-Excellent, if it's on you.

-You're paying.

-No, you're paying.

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'If you fancy trying one of the walks from this series,

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'then go to bbc.co.uk/wales

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'and take a look at our Weatherman Walking website.

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'It has everything you need.

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'Detailed route information for each walk,

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'photos that we took along the way

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'and walking maps for you to print off and follow.

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'For the next walk in this programme, we head down south

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'to the opposite corner of Wales and a flatter landscape.

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'Our very own Low Country.'

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On this walk, we're going to explore a unique, unusual land.

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A slightly strange, but wonderful world

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of gouts, reens, grips and furrows.

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Somewhere, perhaps, that sounds a bit more like Middle Earth

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than a little-known corner of Southeast Wales.

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A place that exists, at times, below sea level.

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'This is part of an area known as the Gwent Levels.

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'One of only six lowland areas

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'reclaimed in a similar way in the whole of Britain

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'and the largest of its kind in Wales.'

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If it wasn't for this massive sea wall,

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this would look more like that.

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'My guide for the day is a wizard of these wetlands.

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'Someone who's studied, researched

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'and written about this fascinating place.

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'This is archaeologist Rick Turner.

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'My Gandalf of the Gwent Levels.'

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-Morning, Rick.

-Morning, Derek.

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-Pleased to meet you.

-And you.

-Where are we going today?

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We'll explore the marvellous landscape of the Caldicot Level.

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To start with, we'll walk out to the island of Goldcliff,

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stand on the sea wall and see how this remarkable landscape works.

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I think we'd better be quick. There's rain on the way.

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-That's very useful. Rain is the story of this landscape, as well.

-OK.

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'Just a few miles east of Newport, our walk will take us cross-country

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'from Goldcliff to Redwick.

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'But starting with a detour down to the sea.

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'Returning to Goldcliff village and church,

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'we then head over fields and footbridges to Whitson

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'and end the walk at the village of Redwick.

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'The weather might be a bit blowy,

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'but at least it's flat all the way.'

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So, here we are, standing right on the sea wall.

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Yes. And we're looking towards the Island of Goldcliff.

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This is a rocky island that always stood above the waves

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and above the marshes that surrounded it.

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And it's been a focus of settlement for many thousands of years.

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You said it's an island, but it's not now. It used to be.

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Yes. The sea walls have run up to it,

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so the land to our left has been reclaimed.

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And we can see out to the right, the sea is held back by the sea wall.

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So, if this wasn't here, all this water

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would be several miles inland?

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We're close to high tide today.

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And I think if you looked across here,

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you'd have four or five feet, a metre and a half modern,

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across all the land that we can see.

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Some perhaps two or three kilometres inland.

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So, who actually built the sea wall, then?

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The first sea wall here was built by the Romans.

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There's a famous carved stone found just a few hundred metres down there

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which records the Roman legionaries from Caerleon

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building a sea wall in this area.

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What happened after that?

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In 1113AD, the Norman lord of Caerleon

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granted the Benedictines a priory,

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which they built on the Island of Goldcliff.

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He also granted them all this land that surrounds us.

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They had to win it back from the sea, cultivate it and farm it.

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'We retrace our steps back towards Goldcliff village

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'and pass alongside Newport Wetlands Reserve.

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'This land was deliberately flooded 11 years ago

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'to replace the mudflats and feeding grounds

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'that were lost when the Cardiff Bay barrage was built.

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'Fortunately, the birds seem to have found their way here.'

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If you look out through the hide here,

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you get some impression of what the land would've been like

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before it was reclaimed.

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You've got a mixture of reed beds, open water and a host of wildlife -

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ducks, gulls and waders.

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So this gives you some feel of what it would've been

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before the sea walls were erected.

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-I should've brought my binoculars.

-Yes.

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We're walking along this wide open path here now.

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On our left is a freshwater ditch.

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Yes. This is a drove way that took the cattle.

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They had to marshall them and move them through this landscape.

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From the priory, towards the village where we're going next.

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And alongside this drove way is what they call locally a reen.

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-A reen?

-A reen. It's a special type of ditch.

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It collects all the water off the fields, out of the field ditches

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and then takes it across the landscape and out into the sea.

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Now, how on earth do you get water out to the sea

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when there's a big wall in the way, stopping the sea from coming in?

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Well, I'm sure Gandalf, my guide, knows how

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and I suspect the Romans did, as well.

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I've brought you over the sea wall now to show you this structure here.

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-What's it called?

-Well, it's called a gout, locally.

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-A gout?

-A gout. When we look down, you can see there's a flap.

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At high tide this morning, it would have been about here.

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You can see the debris on the steps.

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So when the high tide's here, it presses the flap shut

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and stops the water coming out,

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but it also stops the sea invading the land.

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But now the tide's dropped quite a lot, you can see the fresh water

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running out from behind the flap and out to sea.

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-A very clever idea.

-Who thought of it in the first place?

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I think the Romans must've had the same system

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because they had the same problem.

0:21:220:21:24

It's an idea I'm sure was used for centuries and is still used today.

0:21:240:21:29

It's still highly effective today,

0:21:290:21:31

2,000 years after it was probably first used in this location.

0:21:310:21:34

But no matter how effective our man-made structures might be,

0:21:340:21:39

there are times in history when there is no holding back

0:21:390:21:42

the destructive forces of nature.

0:21:420:21:44

In 2004, we all learnt the meaning of the word tsunami.

0:21:440:21:49

But most people don't know we had our own version of one here.

0:21:490:21:53

I've brought you to the Church of Saint Mary in Goldcliff.

0:21:530:21:57

We're about a kilometre back from the sea wall.

0:21:570:21:59

In this church is a plaque that records

0:21:590:22:02

the great flood of 20th January, 1607,

0:22:020:22:06

which affected the whole of the Caldicot Level.

0:22:060:22:09

But a huge area, all the way from Carmarthenshire,

0:22:090:22:13

up the Severn Estuary, right down the Somerset side into North Devon.

0:22:130:22:17

But here on the wall, this little brass plaque

0:22:170:22:20

shows you the height the water reached on that day.

0:22:200:22:23

Do we know what caused the flood? Some people think it was a tsunami

0:22:230:22:27

and others think it was a storm surge of the Bristol Channel.

0:22:270:22:30

The fact that the tide on the morning of that day

0:22:300:22:34

reached a height nine foot higher than it did in the evening

0:22:340:22:38

suggests some very unusual event

0:22:380:22:40

which might mean it could've been a tsunami.

0:22:400:22:43

Reports were that over 2,000 people drowned.

0:22:430:22:47

It was a national disaster, a national event

0:22:470:22:50

that everybody took an interest in.

0:22:500:22:53

It's a sad farewell to this church, isn't it?

0:22:530:22:55

It certainly is, yes.

0:22:550:22:58

What do we have here, then, Rick?

0:23:060:23:08

We're looking up a reen here.

0:23:080:23:11

But it's being kept at an artificial level

0:23:110:23:13

by a dam-like structure called a stank.

0:23:130:23:16

-A stank?

-A stank.

0:23:160:23:18

And the reason they keep the water up is that in the summer,

0:23:180:23:21

it allows the animals to come down and drink from the stream.

0:23:210:23:25

Who's in charge of the stank, then?

0:23:250:23:27

In the old days, it was the Commissioner of Sewers.

0:23:270:23:30

-A bit smelly, is he?

-No. He's had a good wash since.

0:23:320:23:36

Being all on the flat, it's so different and unusual

0:23:410:23:45

to be on a walk without any panoramic views or vistas.

0:23:450:23:48

You're never looking down at anything.

0:23:480:23:50

As we head off across farmland,

0:23:510:23:53

the route now becomes a bit of an orienteering course.

0:23:530:23:57

Gates and bridges are like control points

0:23:570:23:59

that we try to spot in the far hedgerow.

0:23:590:24:02

These are our exits from each field.

0:24:020:24:04

So, what have we got here, Rick? It's not a gout, I know that.

0:24:070:24:10

But is it a reen, pill, gripe or stank?

0:24:100:24:14

It's none of those, Derek. It's something new.

0:24:140:24:16

It may look the same, but it's subtly different.

0:24:160:24:19

See how the water is clear and it's running?

0:24:190:24:22

So, is it coming down off the hills?

0:24:220:24:24

Yes. It's a stream that drains the hills we can see in the distance,

0:24:240:24:28

then they've got to get all this running freshwater across the levels

0:24:280:24:32

and out to the sea without it flooding the land to either side.

0:24:320:24:36

So on the side of this, this is called the Monk's Ditch,

0:24:360:24:40

this is the edge of the priory, they've had to build little banks

0:24:400:24:43

to keep this water from flowing out to either side.

0:24:430:24:46

So it's something very different, Derek.

0:24:460:24:49

-And it all makes sense.

-It does. Shall we keep going?

0:24:490:24:51

We've come onto a Tarmac road now. Where's this taking us?

0:25:030:25:07

We're walking through the village of Whitson.

0:25:070:25:09

We've left the early reclamation,

0:25:090:25:11

which we associated with Goldcliff Priory,

0:25:110:25:15

crossed the Monk's Ditch,

0:25:150:25:16

and we're now into what we call the back fen.

0:25:160:25:19

Lowered land and settled at a later date.

0:25:190:25:23

Is this land different to this side of the road?

0:25:230:25:26

Yes. It's a little bit lower and much peatier and wetter.

0:25:260:25:29

So they reclaimed it later in time.

0:25:290:25:32

What we've got here is a village

0:25:320:25:35

with houses at the front of long, narrow plots that run away from us.

0:25:350:25:40

So you've got a house and a plot.

0:25:400:25:43

A house and a plot. A house and a plot.

0:25:430:25:46

-So it's all regular.

-Very regular. It seems to have been planted.

0:25:460:25:49

They're very similar to villages

0:25:490:25:51

you find in the lowlands of Flanders and Holland.

0:25:510:25:54

It's possible the people who settled here came from those countries.

0:25:540:25:59

There's a nice little orchard here.

0:26:000:26:02

There's a tradition of cider making in Monmouthshire.

0:26:020:26:05

It's a tradition people are trying to bring back to life.

0:26:050:26:07

And a lovely church, as well.

0:26:070:26:10

Yes. A nice little church associated with the priory on Goldcliff.

0:26:100:26:13

It's probably 12th Century in origin and still in use.

0:26:130:26:17

I can see small depressions in this field.

0:26:270:26:29

Is that part of the drainage system?

0:26:290:26:31

Yes. Another word to get used to, Derek. These are grips.

0:26:310:26:35

-Grips?

-Grips. They're little hand-dug ditches

0:26:350:26:38

to drain the fields into the ditches.

0:26:380:26:41

So it's just a little bit of drainage to take the surface water away

0:26:410:26:45

into the ditches, off to the reens and out to the sea.

0:26:450:26:49

'This could easily be made into a circular walk

0:26:510:26:54

'by heading down to the sea wall from here

0:26:540:26:56

'and then back to Goldcliff.

0:26:560:26:58

'But today, the quaint old village of Redwick is our journey's end.'

0:26:580:27:03

It's a really interesting village.

0:27:030:27:05

It's as if it's come from the Midlands and been dropped

0:27:050:27:08

on the very edge of Wales.

0:27:080:27:10

It's three streets built in a triangle with cottages down each side

0:27:100:27:14

and the church in the centre.

0:27:140:27:16

Except it was an English Marcher lord who planted this village here

0:27:160:27:20

probably in the 12th or 13th Century.

0:27:200:27:22

So he was bringing something familiar to him

0:27:220:27:25

and putting it in his new settlement here in Wales.

0:27:250:27:28

It's Jamie Owen's old car.

0:27:280:27:31

This mark shows how high the Great Flood reached in 1607.

0:27:380:27:44

'Next to the church, on the village green,

0:27:440:27:47

'is a bit of a hobbit house.

0:27:470:27:48

'A curious little open-air museum that doubles as a bus shelter.

0:27:480:27:53

'Built by an eccentric local chap to house historical artefacts.'

0:27:530:27:58

This is a cider press. The apples would be in a big square bundle,

0:27:590:28:03

press down and the apple juice comes out into this semi-circular bowl.

0:28:030:28:07

So you could have a pint of cider while you wait for a bus.

0:28:070:28:11

-If you were lucky.

-Makes sense!

0:28:110:28:12

And there's some particularly interesting notices on the wall.

0:28:120:28:17

Right. That's the end of our walk.

0:28:180:28:20

I've learnt all about grips, gouts, pills and stanks.

0:28:200:28:24

So, am I now a full member of the Fellowship of the Reen?

0:28:240:28:27

Yes. Why don't we celebrate with a pint of cider?

0:28:270:28:30

Sounds good to me. I'll buy the peanuts.

0:28:300:28:32

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