Holy Mountain and the Holy Well Weatherman Walking

# To say the least

# Go on, go east, young man... #

As Elvis Presley once sang, "I'll find adventure while I can

"To say the least Go on, go east, young man."

Well, who am I to argue with Elvis?

# Go east, young man. #

Are you ready?

When you're planning a walk in Wales it's easy to think of heading west,

to a wild and windswept coast or a remote hill,

but in this programme, we're having none of that.

We'll show you that west is not always best, with two walks,

north and south, both within sight of the English border.

So, later in the programme, we'll be here in Flintshire,

for a walk along the Dee Estuary in industrial northeast Wales,

with views of Merseyside and The Wirral across the way.

But first up, we're taking to the hills overlooking the Monmouthshire

town of Abergavenny, where we'll be scaling The Skirrid,

an accessible hill that feels like a proper mountain.

For one weekend every September, Abergavenny is foodie heaven,

as 30,000 or so lovers of fine nosh

flock here for the Glastonbury of food festivals, but this is also

great walking country, so why not combine the feasting

with a fabulous walk any time of the year?

My guide on this walk is David Sheers.

Retired town planner David loves being outdoors, often helping

with the horses, but also keeping a close eye on his favourite hill.

He is a National Trust voluntary warden responsible for The Skirrid

and this iconic lump in the landscape

is just a stone's throw from his home.

We start the walk from this convenient lay-by,

directly below the hill on the Old Ross road from Abergavenny.

So, here we are, at the bottom right-hand corner of Wales,

in Monmouthshire's border country.

Our round trip takes us up the spine of The Skirrid,

steeply at first, then more easily along to the summit.

Dropping down the eastern side of the peak,

we head down through farmland,

passing the 15th century Tudor manor, Llanvihangel Court,

and finish our walk in the village of Llanvihangel Crucorney,

four miles full of wonderful views.

What's special about The Skirrid to you?

Well, The Skirrid has formed a backdrop

to the views to the back of my house, just south of here,

but, of course, The Skirrid itself is unique, almost, in the area.

It's completely isolated from the rest of the Black Mountains

and so you get panoramic views in all directions, from the top.

That's a nice-looking bench, David.

Yes, that was put up this year, in fact,

to mark the start of the...Beacons Way.

As you can see, "Bethlehem 152 kilometres".

About 100 miles?

It is, indeed, yes, a long way.

Takes in all the high peaks throughout,

from east to west, across the Beacons.

So, who made this, then?

This was a Welsh sculptor called Robert Jakes, carved this,

and, as you can see, it outlines the landscape of the area.

That, in fact, is the Skirrid Fawr, as it says, there,

and you can see the famous landslip, or notch, in The Skirrid,

which we'll be looking at later.

And there's a similar bench near the village of Bethlehem -

the one in Carmarthenshire, not the one we sing about at Christmas!

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-It is a grand piece of work.

-Pretty solid.

It's lovely walking through here, isn't it? With all the trees.

It is a very fine bit of mixed woodland, here.

When the National Trust took it over, it was just dull conifer plantation,

but now they've gradually clear-felled it and allowed

the natural regeneration to take place, and so it's very attractive.

Just look at that wall, there. Absolutely covered in moss!

Well, of course, this is a lovely example,

I suppose, of what you would call a temperate rainforest.

Cos it's so damp here

and this creates marvellous mosses and lichens.

Right, here we are then, Derek, it begins to open up a bit

and just look at that view!

Fantastic!

That's a fantastic bit of North Monmouthshire,

with loads of history and castles in the far distance.

-Magic, isn't it?

-Yeah, look at that.

And the view is going to get even better from the top.

Indeed, it does. Come on, then.

We are finally on the summit ridge,

at a height of over 1,500 feet,

though it feels higher, with the ground falling away on all sides.

You can see right down to the Severn Estuary, in the distance,

and, of course, nearer to hand, there's Abergavenny right below us.

The name Skirrid comes from an old Welsh word -

Ysgyrryd, probably meaning split or cloven.

Locally, the hill's also known as the Holy Mountain

and these two rather unimpressive boulders

are the clue as to its ancient religious past.

OK, well, here we are, Derek, then, at the entrance to the old chapel

that used to be here, dedicated to St Michael.

It dates back from the 10th century, but continued in use right up until

the mid-1600s and was a place of pilgrimage,

and, indeed, of worship, by the Catholics,

including when the Catholics, in fact, were being persecuted

in the rest of the country.

-And what a place to have a chapel. To build one here.

-Well, indeed.

But, of course, in all weathers, don't forget that,

they'd have known it in blizzards, as well as in days like this!

-Shall we go through?

-Right, off we go.

-And here we are, the top of Skirrid Fawr.

-Indeed.

And you've got a view in every single direction.

-Fantastic, isn't it?

-Amazing spot.

We're right on the border, here,

we've got the hills and mountains of Wales to our left

and, of course, over to the east,

we've got the much more gentle landscape of England.

And from here, of course, some well-known landmarks.

We've got the Sugar Loaf, with its conical peak,

and the Blorenge to the south, which, together with this mountain,

forms the three big peaks above Abergavenny.

-It's a great spot, isn't it?

-Can't beat it on a day like today.

-So, this is the easiest way down off The Skirrid?

-Yes, it is.

Yes, this is the gentle way,

as opposed to straight down the northern steep slope.

And it's nice here, isn't it? Looking across at all the farmland.

The patchwork quilt of fields.

I love it at this time of year, when you see all the different colours

of where the harvest has taken place.

So, we're still on the Beacons Way, then?

Yes, that's right, we follow it all the way to Llanvihangel Crucorney,

which you see in the distance, over there.

Right, here we are, Derek, we go straight on, here,

but if you wanted to double back to the car park where we started,

there's a pathway that goes all the way round the edge of The Skirrid,

back to where we started, but we go straight on here

to Llanvihangel Crucorney.

From this side of The Skirrid we can see how the rounded eastern side

of the hill contrasts with the distinctive concave slope,

or notch, on the west side. How did this come about?

Well, there are local myths that offer various

and interesting explanations.

One of them was that the split

and the landslip occurred at the time of the crucifixion

but another one, going back way in time, I suppose,

is you got a great giant, probably a Celtic giant, stepped on it

and a third one is that Noah's Ark

actually scraped its bottom across the top of it

but, there we are, who knows?

-Which one do you prefer?

-Oh, I like giants.

-I like the giant one.

In actual fact, its distinct shape was caused by a land slip,

around the time of the Ice Age.

That hillock at the bottom just slid down the hillside.

Civilisation at last and this is the back of Llanvihangel Court

but what we can see now, in fact, are the stables and the very fine barn.

-The wooden beams look really old, don't they?

-They are, indeed.

I think they go way back.

Originally associated with two large estates, so it's particularly big.

Well, here we are, Derek,

coming round to the front of this fine old house.

It's a lovely place, which is, of course, privately owned now,

but they do have open days.

But back in the 17th century, it was the Arnold family who lived here,

who owned the estate right up, included the Skirrid Fawr, as well.

-Great place to live!

-Well, oh, this is a fantastic manor house.

It's one of the finest in the county, apparently.

The pub is just up there, a few hundred yards away.

Ooh, I like the sound of that!

Well, there's a nice church ahead of us, David.

Yes, indeed, that's the church in the village of Llanvihangel Crucorney,

which we're just approaching.

It's been quite heavily restored, but an ancient foundation.

We now arrive at the infamous Skirrid Inn,

reputed to be the oldest pub in Wales.

You probably noticed, Derek, these very fine mounting blocks.

What are these doing here?

Well, they'd have been used, of course,

for anyone who wanted to get on a horse but, reputedly,

it goes way back in time, to Owain Glyndwr, apparently.

Rallied his troops from here, before riding off up towards Pontrilas.

A bit like this, is it?

"My kingdom for a horse!"

Something like that.

-Shall we go inside?

-Love to.

So this may be one of the oldest pubs in Wales

and possibly one of the most haunted, as well, David?

Well, that's what they do say.

I think that's probably associated with the courtroom upstairs,

used over many centuries by local justices of the peace.

They say as many as 182 people were hung from the beam on the staircase,

there, over those years.

I'm not surprised there's a few ghosts here!

I think we'll avoid the staircase on the way out!

# This town is coming like a ghost town... #

If you're not easily spooked, this would be a great place to stop off

at the end of your walk, especially on a cold winter's day,

when they've got a big roaring fire going.

But, we're heading back to that foodie heaven they call Abergavenny,

to replenish the calories we burnt off when climbing the Holy Mountain.

If you fancy trying this,

or another one, of the walks from the series go to...

and take a look at our interactive website.

It has everything you need,

from detailed route information for each walk,

as well as photographs we took along the way,

and walking maps for you to print off and follow.

Our next walk is also within sight of England.

We're going to be right up on the coast of Flintshire,

exploring the Dee Estuary.

It's a walk through history and there's even a chance

for a dip in one of the Seven Wonders of Wales.

It's not always easy to work out how a town gets its name,

but here in Holywell there's no excuse.

Holywell takes its name from the town's major feature -

the historic St Winefride's Holy Well,

described as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales.

It's on the list of things for me to see on our walk today,

and I need a guide to help show me the way.

Two guides, in fact. Later in the walk, Karen Rippin,

Flintshire coastal path ranger, will lead me along the banks

of the Dee Estuary, where she and her team have been beavering away

for the past five years, creating this bit of the Wales Coast Path.

But first, Joanne Graham,

senior warden for the Greenfield Valley Trust,

will take me down a wooded glen with a fascinating industrial past.

The walk starts from a car park, bang in the middle of town.

-Morning, Jo.

-Good morning, Derek, how are you?

-Nice to meet you.

-I'm all right.

-And you.

-Nice morning for our walk.

-It is, indeed.

So, here we are, now in the top right-hand corner of Wales,

exploring an area better known for its industry

than its history and wildlife.

From the centre of town,

we take a close look at the holy well, before continuing

down the Greenfield valley path and on to the banks of the Dee Estuary.

The coastal path then leads us past saltmarsh, small inlets,

and old industrial sites to the end of our walk at Flint Castle.

A pretty flat eight-miler,

with a regular bus and taxi service back to the start.

Well, this is a pleasant surprise. A park next to the centre of town.

This is the old railway line.

It was used as a route from Chester through to Holyhead.

The line itself was used to convey passengers and pilgrims

to Basingwerk Abbey and to St Winefride's Well.

-And that's where we're going next?

-It is, indeed.

-I might even have a dip in the holy waters.

-Well, we shall see.

In its day, this old railway line was, in fact, the steepest

passenger railway in Britain, bringing visitors and pilgrims

bound for the holy well to their destination at St Winefride's Halt.

Pilgrims still travel here from all over the world,

to bathe in the healing waters and worship at the shrine

that's become known as the "Lourdes of Wales".

But who was Winefride and how did she become a saint?

St Winefride was a local young maiden who declined the amorous advances

of a local prince and, as a result, he chopped her head off.

Her head was then reputed to have rolled all the way down the hill

and was then picked up by St Beuno,

who brought it back up to reunite it with her corpse, which was lain here.

When the head and there corpse were reunited, a spring gushed forth.

-And you can see the water bubbling away.

-It is bubbling away, indeed.

-And it's not warm?

-No, it's not. I'm afraid not today.

With Winefride's head reunited with her body, she miraculously

came back to life and lived as a nun for another 22 years.

This all happened back in the 7th century

and Winefride has been revered as a saint ever since.

Her well is now the only place in Britain

where there's been continuous pilgrimage for over 1,300 years.

Pilgrims travel thousands of miles to bathe in these holy waters,

so let's give it a go.

It's cold!

Oh!

HE GASPS

Very cold.

Whoa, glad to get back in my Gore-Tex!

I'm told this is quite an industrial valley

but there's not much sign of that at the moment, is there?

Not at the moment

but we actually have seven scheduled ancient monuments on our site

and they are cunningly hidden away, off the beaten track,

behind the trees.

Oh, wow! I wasn't expecting this, Jo!

What went on here?

On this site, the Greenfield Mill site, there was a multitude

of industries, starting as early as 1776, with the Battery Works.

They were quite revolutionary, using water power to turn

water wheels on this site, which, in turn, powered anvils.

The local people who were employed would have to hold enormous sheets

of brass and copper, which the anvils would pound,

and they would, literally, batter them into pots and pan shape.

Hence the name, the Battery Works.

-So, it was quite pioneering for its time?

-Absolutely, yes.

I'd say it was at the start of the Industrial Revolution, really.

However, the Battery Works also has a very poignant history.

Some of the goods were exported from Liverpool to Africa

and used to buy slaves,

who were then taken to America to work in the cotton fields.

The cotton was then brought back,

right here to the same valley that exported the copper products,

for processing in the Lower Cotton Mill.

So, for a time, this small valley was, until it was abolished in 1807,

a part of the infamous triangular slave trade.

The amazing thing about the valley is that all this industry

was drawn here because of a plentiful water supply,

which, combined with the steep gradient of the valley,

allowed a number of large water wheels

to be used to power all this manufacturing.

So, without water, none of this industry would have been here?

No, that's very true.

Essentially, it powered every single industry that was down the valley

and, really, they were quite revolutionary,

and way ahead of their time,

using one of the easiest sources of renewable energy.

We've installed one water wheel here, subsequently,

but, I think, to be able to see all the industries in full swing

would have been quite spectacular.

-Well, this walk is full of surprises.

-It is, indeed.

So, here, we have Basinwerk Abbey,

which was built in around the 12th century.

It housed Cistercian monks.

They were, really, the first here to use the water as a source of energy.

They had grinding mills for their corn, etc.

So, all this happens hundreds of years before the start

of the Industrial Revolution?

Yes, I would think about 600 years before the rest of the industry

started here in the valley,

the monks were the first to use water as a renewable energy source.

Those clever monks were certainly ahead of their time!

Saying cheerio to Jo, I head off to meet my second guide on this walk

at Greenfield Dock.

The beauty of this walk is that you're never too far from the road

which means that you can do as much or as little of it as you fancy,

start or finish wherever suits you,

then hop on to public transport, back to where you started.

-Hello, Karen!

-Hello, Derek, nice to meet you.

Karen Rippin is the ranger for the coastal path here.

We meet at the small inlet of Greenfield Dock,

still a useful shelter for local cockle and flounder fishing boats

but it wasn't always as quiet as it is today.

In the 1700s, in its heyday, it was a very busy port indeed,

as it used to export copper, coal, leather and other produce

from Greenfield to other parts of the world.

And then, in the 1900s, of course, we had the pilgrims coming here

and disembarking, so that they could travel up to St Winefride's Well.

-So, it's really changed over the years?

-Yes, it has.

This is a very popular area with bird spotters.

Do walkers put them off, in any way?

It's true, it's a bird-spotters paradise, the Dee Estuary,

and, yes, we do need to take care

when we are actually installing a coastal path.

We need to consider where high tide roosts are actually located

but we don't want to stop people coming down

and enjoying the estuary, because it's such a wonderful place.

So, we create things called viewpoints and we have one here.

We're looking along the coast here, down towards Flint.

Yes, and you can see Flint Bridge in the distance, there,

and the power station.

People would say that Flintshire coast has actually been ravaged

by industry but, I mean, look at this,

you couldn't get a better view than that anywhere.

-It's lovely.

-Yes.

So, Derek, as you can see, here, over to the left,

we've got the oystercatchers there, on the high tide roost.

And they are not disturbed at all, and that is, basically,

because the hedgerow behind is actually screening us,

so it's actually breaking up our silhouettes

and we're not along the horizon.

Yeah, I can actually see it working, now,

-the birds are not being scared off by us...

-Yes.

-..by walkers.

All around us in this area are the signs of former industry.

Along this, here, you can...

150 years ago, this river didn't exist -

it's also man-made...

The Milwr Tunnel was built to drain water from the local lead mines -

around 45 million gallons of water each day!

What's special about the tunnel is that

some of the water from St Winefride's Well also drains through this pipe.

So, I could take a healing dip here as well as up at St Winefride's?

Well, I don't think that would be the same

as going and seeing the holy shrine, and taking a dip up there!

OK, Derek, so we're going to head up here

and we're going to have a look at the wonderful dragon beacon.

-Dragon beacon?

-Yes!

-Beautiful, isn't it?

-Amazing! Who made it?

Well, it was a partnership project between the coastal rangers

and the local community.

It was, basically, designed in the community

and built by local craftsmen, and is absolutely magnificent.

Well, it's an impressive beast, made of steel,

and it's got a basket on its back.

Yes, we light it in celebration of various events.

It actually stands in sight of a beacon that we have at Flint

and also at Greenfield Docks.

So, once one is lit, the next can be lit and so on and so forth

because they are in sight of each other.

Now I won't pretend this walk is pretty all the way,

but these ruins have a story to tell.

This was the pithead building of Bettisfield Colliery.

100 years ago, 650 men worked here,

it was the largest of eleven coal pits in Bagillt -

that's eleven pits around one small town!

This whole area is riddled with mines, but not just coal.

Lead, zinc and limestone were all quarried here

in nearby Halkyn Mountain.

What this actually is, is a piece of rare Halkyn Mountain marble

and so that you can actually see the wonderful fossils inside,

we've had the front of the gatepost polished

and we've had it sandblasted with little beads, to create this

design of fish swimming across it, but what happens

when this gets wet with rain, as well, it brings out the fact

that you can see, more definite, all of the crinoids inside,

inside the marble, here.

So, it's just jam-packed with fossils.

And you can actually see the fossils, as you say.

And you can see the fossils inside, but as it becomes wetter,

as I say, it just highlights them even more.

-So, this is Station Gutter, Derek.

-Station Gutter?

Yes, it's another one of the inlets that used to be, where the boats

used to come up to load for coal and copper and leather and the like.

If you actually look at this picture, here, you cannot imagine, can you,

that boats of that size would have actually come up

and exported things from this area?

And, in addition to that, we had passengers disembarking here

and they were conveyed to Holywell and Flint,

and as far as Denbigh and St Asaph, from here.

-So, used to be a bustling little port here?

-Yes, indeed, it did, yes.

-And look at it now.

-Yes. But wonderful, again, for nature.

When we've been working down here, towards the wintertime,

we've actually seen kingfishers in this area.

This is one of the newer stretches of the Wales Coast Path.

This whole area is fantastic for birds.

Besides the more common birds, you might even spot rarer visitors, like

little egrets and spoonbills, along this stretch of the coastal path.

-Nearly there!

-Nearly there.

Flint dock is a bit of a muddy creek now

but in the 1800s, it was a busy port.

In the 20th century, modern industry took over.

More than 4,000 people once worked here in a huge textile factory.

These buildings are all that's left now of the once well-known

Courtaulds Castle Works, named after Flint Castle next door.

Well, Karen, what a way to end our walk, with a magnificent castle!

This is a Norman castle,

built by Edward I, to keep his eye on the Welsh, of course!

And you'll know about other castles that he built.

Just down the coastline, we've got Conwy and Caernarfon Castle,

but this is equally as important and we're very proud of it.

-And what a great location to have a castle.

-Fantastic -

overlooking the wonderful Dee Estuary.

So, there we are, what a fantastic walk!

And we've had just about everything -

wonderful views, wildlife, lots of industrial heritage

and, like many walks in Wales, a cracking castle to finish.

What more could you ask for?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd