Bay Walk and Buggies Weatherman Walking


Bay Walk and Buggies

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It's good to get away from it all, but that's not always easy,

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mind you, that's no excuse for staying indoors

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because wherever you are in Wales,

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there's a cracking walk just around the corner or even around the bay.

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Are you ready?

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In today's programme, we'll see that having young ones in the family

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is no hindrance to happy hiking and neither is living in a big city.

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We'll be showing you that you don't have to head up a remote hill

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for an invigorating walk and a fitness workout.

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'So, later in the programme, I'll be joining a group of mums and toddlers

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'for a walk around a little-known and now peaceful valley near Corris,

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'once a busy centre for slate-mining...'

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BICYCLE BELL RINGS

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HE WHIMPERS

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I think he's enjoying the ride.

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'..but first, I'll be striding out the whole way around Cardiff Bay

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'passing well-known landmarks.

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'The circular route is now possible

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'since the opening of the Pont-y-Werin footbridge,

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'the last piece of the jigsaw in a safe walk around the bay.'

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An accessible walk in familiar surroundings,

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a bit of stroll in the park, you might think?

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But oh, no, it's not that easy,

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because today I'm going for a stroll around the bay the Nordic way.

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'And to show me the Nordic way around the bay is a familiar face.'

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Welcome to Wales Today.

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'This is my mate Frances Donovan, a TV and radio presenter

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'here in Wales and further afield.

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'Like me, Fran is a fan of the great outdoors

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'and it really was just a matter of time before she persuaded me

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'to have a go at what's known as Nordic walking.'

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-Hello, Fran.

-Hello, how are you?

-Nice to see you.

-And you.

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-So are you going to show me Nordic walking?

-I certainly am, absolutely.

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-You need your poles. I've got a pair for you.

-Thank you.

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What you need to do first, you've got these grips, so easy for anybody.

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That's right, that's left, so you need to swap them over.

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Got to get it right first time.

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All going swimmingly so far, isn't it(?)

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So basically, you slide your hand, like that, into the grip.

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That's right. Then just tighten up like that.

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So, the basics of Nordic walking -

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it was developed for cross-country skiers during the summer season

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so that they could keep fit, so you basically got, like, ski poles,

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but you'll see when people go out walking and rambling,

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a lot of them, they'll use sticks and poles ahead of them like that.

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This Nordic walking - you're using the poles basically to propel

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yourself along, so you keep them behind you, more or less.

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Your arms are around about waist height,

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the movements from your shoulder, so you're literally striding out with

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your arms like that, but these are pushed on the ground behind you,

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-so that they give you a...

-Shall I give it a go?

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Yes, I'm going to regret saying this, but why don't you?

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-OK.

-Is that right?

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15-million-odd people do this around the world

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and nobody does it quite like you, Derek.

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'Perhaps I should take it a bit more seriously -

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'if there really are 15 million Nordic walkers worldwide,

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'then there must be some real benefits to walking with these poles.

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'It's a technique that gives you a brisk workout for legs and upper body,

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'it's far less strenuous on your knees than jogging, and the lightweight bendy poles

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'don't jar the joints in your arms.

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And the best bit is you don't need to join a gym.

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'So, having warmed up along the prom at Penarth,

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'we head over to Cardiff Bay to begin our circular walk.

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'Crossing over the barrage our route takes us

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'past well-known landmarks

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'and on through an unexpected, peaceful wetland reserve.

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'Then over the bay road bridge to the whitewater rafting centre

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'and across the Pont-y-Werin footbridge to Penarth marina,

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'and back to the start -

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'an energetic Nordic five-mile walk,

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'starting at one of Penarth's most distinctive buildings.'

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-Nice building, Fran.

-It is. It's lovely, isn't it?

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-It's the custom house.

-Well preserved.

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It is and like next-door, of course,

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although I think there are plans ultimately to turn that into a hotel.

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Of course, this was a major centre of activity for all the customs officers

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because with Cardiff docks and Penarth docks, there was

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so much coming in and out of there, they were kept busy.

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Anyway, press on regardless, we've got a long way to go yet,

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up and over the barrage.

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-Are you finding it OK?

-Enjoying it.

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Yes, it's good, isn't it?

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'Back in the '90s, it looked like this - one of the largest civil

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'engineering projects in Europe, and was seen as an important

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part of the regeneration of Cardiff's largely disused docklands.

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'Though not everyone agreed, particularly environmentalists

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'who wanted to keep the mudflats -

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'an important feeding ground for wading birds.

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'The mud appeared every time the bay emptied of water as the tide

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'went out and, like Marmite, divided opinion - you either loved it,

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'or hated it.'

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-I want you to find a bit of art, here on the barrage.

-Art?

-Art.

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I'll give you a clue, it's yellow.

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Is that it over there? That's yellow.

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That's a little bit of council artwork,

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I'm looking for something a bit more spectacular. It's yellow, it's yellow.

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Is that it there?

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It's like somebody's got a huge paintbrush

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and painted this yellow stripe. It's like the Yellow Brick Road.

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You're getting ever so slightly colder now, I have to say.

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In fact, you're getting very chilly indeed

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and it's nothing to do with your cold fronts.

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Just keep an eye out for it, keep an eye out for any bits of yellow

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-that you see.

-There's loads of bits of yellow.

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There are loads of bits of yellow, but just try to get them

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to come together in your mind, just sort of focus on them,

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so at some point they all become one.

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-Can you see?

-It's all circles.

-Yeah! You see? It's clever, isn't it?

-It is.

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-It really is clever.

-Looks good.

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Just at this point of view, this is where you can see it.

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It makes no sense anywhere else, but here you can see it.

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'Costing a cool 25 grand,

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'the yellow artwork is the creation of Swiss artist Felice Varini.

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'But I still can't work out how he did it!'

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I just want to show you this, this is really interesting.

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Just coming up to this part of the barrage here

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and there's actually...

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There's actually a salmon pass down here, a fish pass.

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It basically allows the salmon to come from out in the sea

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and they'll come up here into the bay and they can swim up then

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to the River Taff where they come from originally just to lay their eggs.

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It's a wonderful way for them to get through and when you think

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that there's this incredible engineering

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and they don't have to queue up outside like the boats.

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They've got their own little right of access through.

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'The barrage provides a traffic-free foot-and-cycle path,

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'but it is exposed and often windy.'

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It never ceases to amaze me,

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you see all the building and development there

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and you look out there and see how wild it is and they're what, 200 yards apart?

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-It's looking pretty stormy out there as well, Fran.

-It's pretty choppy.

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You wouldn't want to be on the boat today, would you?

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Just coming into the bay now and it's great to be able to do this now,

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because up until about 2008, this part wasn't accessible,

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you couldn't get through it because it was private land,

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but it's been opened up now for a few years and it means you can do

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the whole circular route of the bay, which is brilliant.

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Knock, knock.

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-Who's there?

-Doctor.

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-Doctor Who?

-Doctor Who Experience.

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The old ones are the best, aren't they? Or not, as the case may be.

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-I thought you'd like that one.

-Yeah, I did.

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Did you know it was made over here as well?

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It's the new BBC studios and Dr Who's made in there.

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-Along with Casualty, Upstairs, Downstairs...

-And Pobol Y Cwm.

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'So instead of the coal that was exported from here a century ago,

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'this new industry is supplying millions of homes with

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'popular TV drama. How times have changed.

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'We now cross the bridge over an the old lock where Captain Scott's

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'ship, the Terra Nova, left Britain for the fateful expedition to

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'reach the South Pole in 1912.

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'They were beaten to the Pole by the Norwegians,

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'and died on the way back.

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'Here is a distinctive memorial to Scott and his crew.'

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What do you think of it? I think it's lovely.

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It's very different and unique, isn't it?

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I think it was inspired by Antoni Gaudi, the Spanish artist,

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because he used to do a lot of this mosaic-type stuff,

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and all very organic and fluid lines.

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But if you look closely, you can see faces in it

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and I think this is some of Scott's crew.

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I'm pretty certain that that's Captain Oates and then here, I think,

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is Petty Officer Evans.

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Now he was a Welshman, he was part of Scott's crew.

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-You've got Captain Scott at the front.

-Leading the expedition.

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Yeah, and pointing south towards Antarctica and the South Pole.

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It's a very icy sculpture, with its white and blue colours.

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It really is, isn't it? Anyway, press on regardless.

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We've got our own South Pole to get to.

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'And right next door is the Norwegian church where children's author

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'Roald Dahl was baptised.

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'The church was, in fact, salvaged just before the bay redevelopment,

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'and moved a few hundred yards to be rebuilt here.

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'But what's a Norwegian church doing here in Wales?'

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The Norwegian merchant fleet at the time was, I think,

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it was the second or third largest in the world

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and they used to come in and out of the docks here because they were very

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involved in the export of coal and, of course, this is a big coal centre.

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The Norwegian sailors, they wanted somewhere where they could worship

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and I think it was a bit of a seaman's mission as well where they could come

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and get a bit of a taste of home,

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read some Norwegian newspapers and speak to each other.

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-It's a lovely building.

-It's beautiful, isn't it?

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It's a real little beacon, I think. I love it.

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Of course, it's not that long ago.

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I mean, I know you remember and I do too when this is all tidal.

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-You used to have all the mudflats there. Remember that?

-Just about.

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'Of course, going back a bit, this was a busy dock,

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'one of the biggest and busiest ports in the world.

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'But by the early '80s, Cardiff Bay had become a neglected wasteland

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'of derelict docks and mudflats.

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'Tiger Bay, as it was known,

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'was a truly multicultural community with sailors from across

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'the world, as many as 45 different countries, having settled here.'

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So here we are outside the Senedd

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and I'm often down here broadcasting the weather live for Wales Today.

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You know, that's what it was most renowned for,

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only secondary is it renowned for being the seat of Welsh government(!)

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It was designed by Lord Richard Rogers,

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the guy who designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris

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and they've sort of employed all sorts of environmentally-friendly designs,

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including the fact that rainwater is used to flush the loos.

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And there's plenty of that today!

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I wonder if Caerwyn is at home, we could have a cup of tea.

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Yeah, see if he'll put the kettle on for us.

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This is one of my favourite buildings on this route,

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it really is absolutely gorgeous.

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I love it, the Pierhead Building because it's so majestic.

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It's really elegant in the centre of the bay.

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-The colour, as well, is distinct.

-Yes, it draws your eye, doesn't it?

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At one stage, this was the headquarters of the Bute Docks Company

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and the whole area around here was owned by the Marquis of Bute,

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the area that the Cardiff docks was built on.

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The Bute Docks Company was formed

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and this was basically the control centre, the headquarters.

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Do you know when it was built?

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I think it's late Victorian,

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so I think it would be towards the end of the 19th century.

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Of course, they've gone for this Gothic look, which was

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based on a medieval influence.

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You've got all the lovely carvings and there's a gargoyle up there

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-I'm absolutely convinced was modelled on you.

-Don't be cheeky!

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It's payback time.

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And here we are at Roald Dahl Plass.

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It used to be called the Oval Basin and not long ago it was full

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of water, of course, crammed full of ships waiting to go into dock.

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It's incredible to think it now and all that water

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and right underneath it, the headquarters of Torchwood.

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-Isn't it extraordinary?

-Good old Captain Jack. He could come and rescue me.

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-Do you need rescuing, do you?

-I'm worn out.

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Well, this is a nice surprise, Fran, all this greenery.

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It's lovely, isn't it?

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Right next to a five-star hotel, a little haven here.

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It's a little gem, I think.

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-They get dragonflies down here and sedge warblers...

-Mosquitoes.

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A few mosquitoes but they keep the bats happy, apparently. They can snack on those.

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But it really is a little haven, a little oasis, isn't it,

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in the middle of the bay?

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-Great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

-Quite.

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Well, let's go down and see the ducks.

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I think there's a family of them down here.

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It always amuses me how funny they look

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when they stick their heads under the water and their bums in the air.

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They probably say exactly the same thing about us,

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give it a little wiggle, like they do.

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So where to next?

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-I think we'll head over the bridge to the sports village. Come on.

-Sounds good.

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There's definitely some blue skies up there, look.

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Next stop is the International White Water Rafting Centre.

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This is absolutely brilliant. I'd love to have a go at this.

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-I've done it twice.

-Have you? What was that like?

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Great fun, and they always make sure that you capsize at the end.

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It does look brilliant and right in the centre of Cardiff as well.

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It's only been open a couple of years.

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Before that, you had to go to other parts of Wales to whitewater raft,

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like the River Tavy, River Wye, or head up north

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to Snowdonia and now it's here, right in the centre of the city.

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It looks brilliant. I'm going to come down another day and do it.

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-Definitely.

-Do that together, anyway it's Nordic walking now.

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We've still got miles to go. Come on.

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'The artificial river is about 250m long,

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'pumped up from the nearby River Ely.

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'It's an adjustable course and a conveyor belt brings you back up,

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'with a bit of luck still sitting in your boat, ready for another go.'

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Well, this is the final link in the chain as far as our walk

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and the circular route between the bay and Penarth, Derek.

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-And it's called the People's Bridge.

-That's right.

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Basically because there was money available from Sustrans,

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the people who do all the bike routes,

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and the big lottery fund, and it was put out to a public vote -

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what do people want the money spent on?

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And they decided they wanted a bridge to make it a full circle.

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-Recognise either of those figures?

-Tanni Grey-Thompson.

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-And Nicole Cooke, our Olympic cyclist.

-Nice, isn't it?

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And now Olympic Nordic walker, you're on the home stretch.

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Lengthen that stride, come on, let's push it out.

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'Well, pushing these bendy poles really does give a bit of oomph

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'to your stride, and I can feel the workout in my shoulders as well.'

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So there you go, that's the end of the walk. What did you think?

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-I've really enjoyed it, Fran.

-Good stuff, isn't it?

-You know what?

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-I want these for Christmas.

-And the other 20 things!

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-Listen, it's great to have your company. See you soon.

-And you.

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-Enjoy the walk back up the hill to Penarth.

-Yes, thank you, lightweight.

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Taxi for Brockway, is it(?)

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'And if you do fancy trying this,

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

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'..and take a look at our interactive website.

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'It has everything you need - from detailed route information

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'for each walk as well as photographs we took

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'along the way and walking maps for you to print off and follow.

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'For the next walk in this programme, we head to a secluded old

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'slate-producing valley near Corris.'

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Everywhere you look here in Corris, top to bottom,

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everything is made of slate - walls, roofs, chimneys, fences and steps,

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you name it, it's made of this versatile building material,

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but the signs of the industry that produced all this slate,

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they're a bit more difficult to spot.

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'That's because here in Gwynedd's most southerly quarries,

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'the slate was mined underground, and with the help of some

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'young detectives on this walk, we'll uncover a bit more of the story

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'of slate in this lesser-known slate-mining area of southern Snowdonia.'

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And here is where my group of walking -

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or should I say buggy-walking companions? -

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meet every week before they set off on one of their walks.

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'Local mums with youngsters of all ages, some only a few weeks old,

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'meet here every Tuesday morning, and today they've agreed to take me along with them.'

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HE GREETS THEM IN WELSH

0:18:130:18:15

THEY RESPOND

0:18:150:18:16

I've got my lunch.

0:18:160:18:17

'But I must admit, I do feel a little out of my comfort zone.'

0:18:170:18:21

Come on, then, let's go.

0:18:220:18:24

'Roughly halfway between Machynlleth and Dolgellau,

0:18:250:18:29

'we travel two miles up the road from Corris to the start of our walk.

0:18:290:18:33

'Leaving the cars in a lay-by, our walk takes us along tracks

0:18:330:18:36

'and paths on a child-friendly circuit of Cwm Ralltgoed,

0:18:360:18:40

'a beautiful, secluded valley surrounded by steep, forested hillsides -

0:18:400:18:44

'two-and-a-half miles and fairly flat all the way.

0:18:440:18:48

'Of course, when you've got youngsters in tow,

0:18:520:18:54

'it takes a little more time to get going,

0:18:540:18:57

'and to be prepared for just about anything.'

0:18:570:18:59

-So, after all that, you're all packed and ready?

-ALL: Yes.

-Are you sure?

0:19:080:19:13

-ALL: Yes!

-Shall we go...

-Yes.

-..and start the walk?

0:19:130:19:16

So, Jo, you've got two children, have you?

0:19:220:19:24

Yes, I've got two, I've got Martha here who's two

0:19:240:19:27

and Thomas who is on one of those red bikes down now.

0:19:270:19:31

Were you interested in walking before joining the group?

0:19:310:19:34

Yes, I've always done things which are outside, yeah, outdoors.

0:19:340:19:38

Is it a big effort for you to sort of get them ready,

0:19:380:19:41

packing all the clothes?

0:19:410:19:42

Yes, it can be sometimes, it seems you need a whole boot full of stuff,

0:19:420:19:46

you know, to get ready.

0:19:460:19:47

It makes it easier if you make sure that you bring spare clothes

0:19:470:19:50

and waterproofs and things that that, but once you're outside,

0:19:500:19:53

there's so much easier that it is worth the effort.

0:19:530:19:56

The biggest thing is having the right attitude

0:20:060:20:09

and wanting to get out is and go for a walk.

0:20:090:20:11

I think it's quite easy to think,

0:20:110:20:13

"Oh, I can't be bothered to go for a walk.

0:20:130:20:15

"It's too much hassle, there's too much fuss.

0:20:150:20:17

"There's too much involved in getting ready."

0:20:170:20:20

But once you're out, the children are much happier,

0:20:200:20:23

they enjoy being outdoors, they enjoy the change of scenery,

0:20:230:20:26

they enjoy the fresh air

0:20:260:20:27

and they usually sleep better when they've had loads of fresh air.

0:20:270:20:31

-So, Jan, this is the youngest member of the crew.

-Yes, I think so, yes.

0:20:380:20:42

-What's his name?

-Ceian.

-Hello, Ceian.

-Not taking much attention.

0:20:420:20:46

-Fast asleep at the moment.

-Yeah.

-Mum!

-Yeah, come on.

0:20:460:20:51

And that's Dewi, that's my other little boy.

0:20:510:20:54

-So when was Ceian born?

-He's nearly ten weeks old.

-Ten weeks!

0:20:570:21:01

Yeah, he was a month early, so he's just catching up.

0:21:010:21:03

So what's so special about this walk for you?

0:21:030:21:06

I think it's that it's just so quiet, it's a hidden valley, isn't it?

0:21:060:21:10

It's great for wildlife as well, some goldfinches flew over before.

0:21:100:21:15

The river is really nice to play in a bit further along the track.

0:21:150:21:19

-Great place to come and get away from it all.

-Yes, it's great.

0:21:190:21:22

HE WHIMPERS

0:21:260:21:27

-I think he's enjoying the ride(!)

-He needs a feed, though.

0:21:290:21:33

Hello. So, Ellen, you're from this area, Corris?

0:21:360:21:40

-I am, yes, born and bred.

-So you know a lot about this area, then?

0:21:400:21:45

I do, but I'm lucky enough to have parents

0:21:450:21:49

that are interested in history and things and my grandmother

0:21:490:21:52

used to take me for walks round here when I was a youngster.

0:21:520:21:56

You know, when you're growing up in somewhere like this,

0:21:560:21:59

you hear stories from people, the older generations and...

0:21:590:22:03

-yeah, you get to learn quite a bit.

-You pass them on to your children?

0:22:030:22:08

I'm trying to, yes, not that they listen.

0:22:080:22:10

'You wouldn't think it today,

0:22:120:22:13

'but this track we're walking along is a bit of the former Ralltgoed Tramway,

0:22:130:22:18

'a horse-drawn railway, built in the 1860s to link the small

0:22:180:22:22

'slate mines in this valley to the Corris Railway at Abergavenny.'

0:22:220:22:26

And this was the main thoroughfare up to Ralltgoed.

0:22:290:22:32

They didn't have a track,

0:22:320:22:33

they didn't have a farm track - everything had to come

0:22:330:22:36

up on the tramway, basically, and it was easy on the way down,

0:22:360:22:40

it was gravity-fed, it runs down all the way by itself.

0:22:400:22:43

-Not so easy on the way up.

-No, which is where the horses came in.

0:22:430:22:46

They used to bring everything up - supplies for the shops, flour,

0:22:460:22:50

coal, everything used to come up on the tramway.

0:22:500:22:52

'The track now brings us to a ruined hamlet,

0:22:560:22:59

'almost completely hidden in the trees.

0:22:590:23:02

'This chapel, beautifully built of slate,

0:23:020:23:04

'was just big enough for those living here at the top end of the valley.

0:23:040:23:08

'After 50 years of hymns and sermons, it closed in 1932.'

0:23:080:23:13

We've stopped here next to the former quarryman's cottages.

0:23:160:23:19

There were four originally, two of which have fallen down now.

0:23:190:23:24

The end one here,

0:23:240:23:25

which would have butted onto the tramway would have been a shop

0:23:250:23:28

and it had little bay window on the gable end

0:23:280:23:32

where everybody could see what they had for sale.

0:23:320:23:34

I actually have a photograph of it here.

0:23:340:23:36

-This is what it used to look like?

-That's right, yeah.

0:23:360:23:38

So anybody who was passing by the shop would be able to see what was in there

0:23:380:23:43

for sale - jam, marmalade, supplies for the quarrymen, paraffin and candles.

0:23:430:23:49

The houses are quite large,

0:23:490:23:50

surprisingly large for quarrymen's houses,

0:23:500:23:53

that's because they used to put up lodgers here

0:23:530:23:55

and the men who worked in the mine used to walk over

0:23:550:23:58

the mountains and lodge here over the working week.

0:23:580:24:02

It's a shame the shop's not open today.

0:24:020:24:04

We could buy some sweets for the kids.

0:24:040:24:06

That's true, keep them entertained.

0:24:060:24:08

Now for the best bit on a walk.

0:24:130:24:15

It's time for some nosh and I'm as hungry as anyone.

0:24:150:24:19

-Is there room for one more?

-ALL: Yeah!

0:24:190:24:21

Hello, Idris. Are you enjoying your strawberry?

0:24:310:24:34

'Now the plan from here is that we leave the rest of them

0:24:370:24:40

'to finish their picnic and have a bit of a play, whilst Ellen

0:24:400:24:43

'and I continue a loop around the top of the valley.'

0:24:430:24:46

See you later.

0:24:480:24:49

'Ellen's local knowledge comes in useful

0:24:530:24:56

'straightaway as she points out a ruined old stable block,

0:24:560:25:00

'camouflaged in the trees below the track.'

0:25:000:25:02

The stables actually have quite an interesting story.

0:25:020:25:05

Back in 1936, the reservoir that served Ralltgoed Quarry,

0:25:050:25:10

the dam burst on that.

0:25:100:25:12

All the water came down and the family who at the time

0:25:120:25:14

lived at Ralltgoed Hall were just down at the stables.

0:25:140:25:19

They just managed to get out of the way before the deluge came down

0:25:190:25:23

and hit the stables and luckily got out of the way in time.

0:25:230:25:26

It sounds as if they were very lucky.

0:25:260:25:27

They were extremely lucky, yeah.

0:25:270:25:29

They could have done with your services back then.

0:25:290:25:32

Well, it's nice to walk with somebody that knows a little bit

0:25:360:25:39

about the area because you could walk past things

0:25:390:25:41

and not even know that they're there.

0:25:410:25:44

So much of this has grown over now

0:25:440:25:47

and you can't make out what anything is

0:25:470:25:48

and it's nice to know what was here, so it brings the whole place to life.

0:25:480:25:52

-And what's this building here?

-This is Ralltgoed Hall.

0:25:560:25:59

It was originally built for the owner of the quarry and after him,

0:25:590:26:03

from about the late 1930s until the '60s, it was used as a youth hostel.

0:26:030:26:07

People used to walk from all over the mountains to stay here,

0:26:080:26:12

which was quite a sight for the locals.

0:26:120:26:14

They had never seen people walking for leisure before

0:26:140:26:16

and to see them coming here, of all places, somewhere quite remote

0:26:160:26:20

to stay in Ralltgoed Hall was quite something, I should think.

0:26:200:26:24

Well, it's not that grand,

0:26:240:26:25

but it is well preserved and the biggest building we've seen so far.

0:26:250:26:29

It is, yeah.

0:26:290:26:30

-Shall we carry on?

-Yes.

0:26:300:26:32

'Leaving Ralltgoed Hall and the story of slate,

0:26:340:26:37

'we now step further back in time and head towards Dolgoed,

0:26:370:26:40

'a very old farm at the head of the valley.

0:26:400:26:43

'The public footpath veers left just before this gate,

0:26:430:26:46

'but we've been given special permission to take a closer

0:26:460:26:49

'look at this fascinating old place.'

0:26:490:26:51

The house itself was built in the 1600s

0:26:520:26:56

and was lived in by Quakers at that time.

0:26:560:26:59

The Quakers used to walk over the mountain

0:26:590:27:02

to go and worship, which is a good five, six mile walk.

0:27:020:27:07

Legend has it that there is a Quaker burial ground around here,

0:27:070:27:11

but we don't know how true that is. However, there is a yew tree

0:27:110:27:15

just behind us, which was traditionally planted in cemeteries

0:27:150:27:19

and graveyards, which does add a little bit of weight to the legend.

0:27:190:27:24

I love that archway there. That's very unusual.

0:27:240:27:27

It is and it's unique to this valley, actually.

0:27:270:27:30

There's three houses in the valley which have that feature.

0:27:300:27:34

-They've done a good job in restoring it.

-Oh, they definitely have, yes.

0:27:340:27:37

Do we know who lives there now?

0:27:370:27:39

It's owned by the same family that used to own it in the 1600s,

0:27:390:27:42

so it's remained in the same family for all that time.

0:27:420:27:45

That's good going, isn't it?

0:27:450:27:47

That's very good going, 450 years, yeah, not bad, not bad.

0:27:470:27:50

'As we head off down the valley and the end of our walk,

0:27:570:28:00

'it strikes me how utterly peaceful this secluded hidden valley

0:28:000:28:03

'really is, with the silence broken only by the sound of birds,

0:28:030:28:08

'the river, and an occasional sheep -

0:28:080:28:11

'a big contrast to a century ago when the valley would have

0:28:110:28:14

'echoed to the blasting and working of slate from mines across the way.'

0:28:140:28:19

So here we are, Derek, almost back at the start

0:28:240:28:26

and at the end of our walk.

0:28:260:28:28

Well, thanks, Ellen, for showing me this wonderful hidden valley

0:28:280:28:31

and for also showing me that walking is for everyone,

0:28:310:28:34

-including the youngest members of the family.

-That's quite all right.

0:28:340:28:38

So there we are. All you need is the right gear and some get up and go.

0:28:380:28:43

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0:28:540:28:56

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