Aberdyfi and Merthyr Tydfil Weatherman Walking


Aberdyfi and Merthyr Tydfil

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Transcript


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Planning a trip to the beach soon? Then bring your hiking boots too.

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I'm going to show you why walking away from this is worth every step.

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And that's it for today. I'm off.

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Whether you want to get away from it all

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or fancy staying close to the action,

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my two walks today take you off the beaten track, surround you

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with stunning views, and both have a special something along the way.

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Later in the programme I'll be exploring our rich industrial past,

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with a beautiful Valleys walk around the old ironworks of Merthyr Tydfil.

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And then up into the hills beyond to see the remains of a Norman castle.

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But first a chance to breathe in some sea air

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and feel the sand between your toes, as we head to Aberdyfi,

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a beautiful fishing village right in the middle of Cardigan Bay.

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I've always wanted to come to Aberdyfi

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but today I'm not here for the beach,

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I'm heading up into the nearby hills of southern Snowdonia

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for a walk of discovery along the Dyfi Estuary and beyond.

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Aberdyfi means mouth of the River Dyfi

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and is a small seaside village neatly nestled on the north side

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of the Dyfi Estuary, overlooking Cardigan Bay.

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Starting at the centre of this picturesque fishing village,

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we take a coastal path towards Machynlleth

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before heading up into the hills to enjoy some magnificent

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coastal views of the Dyfi Estuary

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and the mountains of southern Snowdonia.

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It's then a leisurely downhill stroll back on the beach

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to our starting point.

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Showing me around is local historian and farmer David Roberts.

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A born and bred Aberdyfi boy,

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he still lives and works at the same farm where he was raised.

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His dad and sons are regular helpers

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and what he doesn't know about the village and the surrounding hills,

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well, it's just not worth knowing. So I'm in good hands.

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-Morning, David.

-Croeso.

-Diolch yn fawr.

-Nice to see you, Derek. Welcome to Aberdyfi.

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-Thank you.

-It's a fine morning.

-It is. Cracking beach, too.

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It is a lovely beach, yeah. And a fine sea,

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and we've got some lovely countryside I'll show you later.

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-Let's get going.

-Let's go.

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'Well, on a day like this and with these views,

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'it's no wonder most visitors stay put on the beach.

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'I'm almost tempted for a quick dip myself.'

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Before we get up into the hills, I'm going

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to just show you this little bell here, which is

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part of the story of the Bells of Aberdyfi,

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which are to do with the history and the legends of this village.

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This is our Time and Tide Bell.

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That chimes up the top of the tide every day.

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The Bells of Aberdyfi remind us of an old story

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of the lost land of Cantre'r Gwaelod,

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which was lost in the 6th century.

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Gwyddno Garanhir, the king who ruled over it,

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had a man to guard the dykes and the embankments to keep the sea out.

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He neglected his duties and a great storm rolled in

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and this wonderful, rich, lush land was inundated by the sea

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and the land was lost and all that could be heard afterwards

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was the peal of the bells under the water.

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Hence the Bells of Aberdyfi.

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BELLS CHIME

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'Aberdyfi has a rich and varied history

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'based around its bustling harbour

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'and thriving fishing industry, which is still going strong today.'

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I can see a few fishing boats on the estuary,

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and you can actually smell the fish in the air.

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Yeah, we've still got a fishing industry here

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and a local fisherman catches locally and sells it locally.

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You can't get any fresher than that.

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-I might have some fish for my tea tonight.

-Yeah, yeah.

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'The village itself is often bypassed by tourists,

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'travelling instead to Aberystwyth or further north.

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'It may take a bit of an effort to get here

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'but this hidden gem really is worth going that extra mile.

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'At the end of the 19th century this small sleepy village became

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'a boomtown for ship building,

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'transforming it into a busy, vibrant place.'

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From the 1840s onwards there was seven major shipbuilders

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in the village, three of them on this site that we're just

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walking into now, and they built some beautiful ships,

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albeit on a small scale, but anything from 80-120 tonnes, you know.

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I've got a picture here of the shipyard as it was,

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and this is Roger Lewis's shipyard here.

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There it is, the Dyfi packet, on this site.

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-And the Anna Maria under repair.

-This is right here?

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At this very spot here.

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But the finest of the Aberdyfi shipbuilders was Thomas Richards.

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He was a true artist and built some very, very beautiful ships,

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including the Maglona.

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'The Maglona was a magnificent schooner,

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'and one of the finest of the 45 sailing ships built in Aberdyfi.

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'The ships built here were known for their quality

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'and used to transport goods all over the world,

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'with some going as far as Canada and back.'

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'Leaving the village,

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'we pass through the tranquil Penhelig Park, before dropping down

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'to walk along the water's edge

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'and along the estuary towards Machynlleth.'

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They call this the Roman road

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but of course it wasn't built by the Romans,

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it was actually built by Corbett of Ynysmaengwyn Estate

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in about 1808.

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And it was described by Fenton, a travelling journalist,

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as one of the finest rides in the principality.

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'Initially built for horse and carriage,

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'the sea has since swallowed the bulk of this road.

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'But don't worry, these days, I'm told,

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'it rarely floods during high tide.

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'So you're safe to go for a stroll any time of the day.

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'Just make sure you wear good shoes,

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'as it can get quite slippery when wet.

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'The stone path ends at Picnic Island.

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'It's not actually an island

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'but got its name after being cut off by the railway in 1863.

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'Today the Cambrian Coast Railway offers a stunning train ride,

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'hugging the coastline from Aberystwyth to Pwllheli.

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'I'm afraid this next bit comes with a word of warning.'

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-And there's no pavement, is there?

-No.

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OK.

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'This road section is only short

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'but you still need to stay on your guard and keep an eye out for cars.'

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Well, it's nice to be off the main road.

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Certainly is, and it's a bit cooler here as well.

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'Weaving our way up through this beautiful woodland

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'offers a complete contrast to the sea views

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'and hustle and bustle of the village below.'

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-Lovely little stream, David.

-Yeah, that's called Nant Coed-y-Glyn.

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So where are we now, then?

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Well, the footpath leads through the grounds of the Outward Bound Trust.

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This was actually the first Outward Bound set up in the whole world,

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-a worldwide organisation.

-Right here?

-Yes, here in Aberdyfi.

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It was set up in 1941 and the issue was, young men at sea,

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and this was wartime, going into the water and not able to survive.

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So they were teaching them the skills here.

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'These important skills for surviving out at sea

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'saved the lives of many merchant seamen during the war

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'and today the centre is still teaching water-based activities

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'and skills to thousands of young people who come here

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'looking for adventure in the great outdoors.

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'Soon we break out into the open fields above the estuary.

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'We're now on David's land.

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'He's on home turf, and what a magnificent place to call your own.

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'Also admiring the views are the swallows,

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'and gathering on cables like this signals the start

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'of their epic 6,000-mile journey to Africa.

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'I need a sit-down just thinking about it.'

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Well, here we are, Derek. The path has taken us to my home,

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so there's a chance of a cup of tea.

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-Well, we deserve one after walking up this hill.

-Yeah.

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'Well, what a spot. And there's even some cake on the go.

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'Some lovely bara brith served up by David's dad, Robert.'

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Bendigedig.

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-This is lovely.

-I made it specially for you this morning(!)

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-It's yours, is it? It's all your doing.

-Yeah.

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-Very good. Mae'n flasys iawn.

-ROBERT CHUCKLES

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That'll be the day!

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'And all too soon it's time to move on

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'and we head off uphill once more.'

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-Diolch yn fawr.

-Croeso.

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Well, the footpath passes really close to your house, David.

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Does it bother you, people walking through your farm?

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No, doesn't bother me at all.

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I'm very happy to give people a welcome.

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And I think it's important that people come

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and enjoy our footpaths.

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Landowners and farmers should be the ambassadors for the countryside.

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'I'm sure for most people

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'having a footpath so close could be more of a hindrance

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'so it's great to hear that David is happy to have walkers

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'on his land - as long as they stick to the footpath, that is.'

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Oh... Climbing a bit now. I can feel it.

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Yes, it's a good pull up here.

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The farmhouse is at 300 foot

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and then we go just to 800 foot at the top of the ridge.

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So it could be raining down on the farm and snowing up here.

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DAVID CHUCKLES Well, we do... That happens, yeah, yeah.

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'With such a steep climb,

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'I'm not surprised that my legs are now feeling the strain,

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'but it's amazing how quickly the clear blue skies have changed

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'to a murky mist as we near the top.'

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All right, Derek, levelling out a bit now.

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We'll have a bit of a breather here.

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Got a bit of a sad story, really,

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involving an aeroplane crash at the end of the Second World War.

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Aeroplane coming up from the south,

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crossing the Dyfi Estuary in thick mist,

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and the plane looks up and he sees the top of the mountain there

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and he thinks, "That's the ridge I must get over,"

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but he was going straight into the side of this hill here.

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At the last minute he turns to the right

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and ends up crashing in a field there,

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and sadly, of three on board, two were killed and one was rescued.

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After that the RAF put up a manned beacon here

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with a light flashing day and night to prevent it happening again.

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It's a very sad story in such a beautiful surroundings.

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Yeah, yes, it is.

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'And it's a story that's echoed all over Wales,

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'with reminders of tragic plane crashes

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'on so many of our hills and mountains.

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'Up on the ridge we're rewarded with hazy

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'but wonderful views across the Tarrenau mountains.

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'And this is Cwm Maethlon, renamed Happy Valley by the Victorians,

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'who were the first to start walking for pleasure.'

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Hey, I've never seen one of these before.

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You can get some refreshment here, Derek.

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Welsh cakes, water,

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-and an honesty box inside.

-Well, look at that.

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Welsh cakes a pound. I'll have a packet of those.

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There you are, there you go. Bingo.

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-Fantastic.

-Mmm, they look nice.

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These will keep me going for a while.

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-All the way back to Aberdyfi.

-Not far.

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'Well, I can't say I was expecting to do some shopping on this walk

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'but what a treat to stumble across along the way,

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'and just when I thought things couldn't get any better...'

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Well, that view is absolutely wonderful.

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-Amazing looking across Cardigan Bay.

-It is.

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I bet you never tire of this view.

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-No, I don't, and every day is different.

-Just like the weather!

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'And as we drop back down to sea level it seems there are now

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'only two things standing between me and that beach.'

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Crossing the Cambrian Coast railway line here, Derek.

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-We'll have to be careful.

-Is it a busy line?

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It is when the train comes. We've got to stop, look and listen.

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'Train crossings can be extremely dangerous places

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'so we cross with care.

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'And it's not time to relax just yet.

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'We now have to dodge some high-speed balls as we make our way

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'across Aberdyfi's golf course.

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'Don't worry, he wasn't aiming for me. At least, I hope he wasn't.'

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Well, we managed to get across the golf course in one piece.

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Yep, certainly did.

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Well, Derek, the journey comes to the end.

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And here we are, look at this, the best beach in Wales.

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It's absolutely gorgeous.

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Not quite as nice as the beach in Barry-bados.

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In your dreams, Derek.

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Well, even a Barry boy has to admit

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that this is a really fabulous beach.

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Well, for me, this walk has been

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a real eye-opener to a part of Wales I thought I knew.

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A charming town, rolling hills, stunning views,

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and a beautiful beach to finish.

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What more could you ask for?

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

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go to bbc.co.uk/weathermanwalking

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and take a look at our website. It's got everything you need,

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from detailed route information for each walk,

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to walking maps for you to print off.

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There are also some photos we took along the way.

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Our next walk also takes us through both town and country.

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But this time we're down south, following a fascinating

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and surprising route near Merthyr Tydfil.

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Where would you rather be? Stuck behind the wheel of a car

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on a boring stretch of road,

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or out in the open air on a tailor-made trail

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heading for the hills?

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I know which I prefer.

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I'm starting my walk at Cyfarthfa Castle.

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Built in the early 1800s, this grand abode

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was the family home of the Crawshays,

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ironmasters who made their fortunes when Merthyr's iron boom

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was at its height. Today, it houses a fascinating museum,

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and it's well worth spending an hour or two there

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before setting off on your walk.

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Leading me on my Merthyr voyage of discovery is author, journalist

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and travel writer Rebecca Lees.

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Originally from Swansea and now living near Pontypridd,

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Becky has been a mad-keen walker for as long as she can remember.

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And she combines her love of walking and history

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in her guidebooks for walkers.

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-Hi, Rebecca.

-Hi, Derek, how are you?

-I'm all right.

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-Nice to meet you.

-And you. Well, this used to be a grand family home.

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-That's right.

-What on earth are these cannons doing here, then?

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Well, the cannons were central to the war effort, really,

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at the height of the Napoleonic Wars because the Crawshays,

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who owned Cyfarthfa Castle and the ironworks,

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were responsible for making them.

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And Merthyr was so central to the war effort

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that Lord Nelson actually visited Merthyr in 1802 with Lady Hamilton.

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-So a lot of history here.

-Lots of history going on, yes.

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Merthyr sits on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

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Our route takes us from the grounds of Cyfarthfa Castle

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down and over the River Taff,

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then a short detour to the site of the old ironworks,

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before heading out of town along the Taff Trail

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to call in at Vaynor Church.

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And then climbing steeply up to the hilltop site of Morlais Castle.

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It's then downhill all the way,

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along the banks of the Taf Fechan

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back to the start,

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having walked 7.5 surprising miles.

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Nice little footbridge here, Rebecca.

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Well, it's actually more than a footbridge.

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It's actually the oldest surviving

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cast-iron railway bridge in the world.

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It's called Pont y Cafnau, which means Bridge of the Troughs,

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and there would have been a huge aqueduct running along the top here,

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and that would have carried water into the ironworks

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and powered a massive wheel.

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And this tramway here would have taken limestone to the ironworks?

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-Yeah, that's right, from the Gurnos Quarry.

-It's hard to believe,

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-that this is the oldest cast-iron bridge in the world.

-Yeah.

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-And it's right here in Merthyr Tydfil.

-That's right.

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-Quite tucked out of the way, isn't it?

-Next to the industrial estate!

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A brief detour downstream leads to a once-impressive industrial landmark,

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which contributed to the transformation of Merthyr

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from a small farming village to the largest town in Wales.

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You could walk or cycle past this piece of waste ground

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and not realise that it's a really significant historic site.

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In some ways, it's where the Industrial Revolution

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really took off.

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Here is the Cyfarthfa Ironworks.

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And you can still see six arches from the glass furnaces.

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It still looks very impressive today,

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but in the 19th century it would have been far, far bigger,

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because the site here was at the core of the Industrial Revolution.

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Iron from here would have been transported, exported,

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-all over the world.

-Yeah, that's right.

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To America and to the British colonies and all across Europe.

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Cyfarthfa was the largest of four main ironworks in Merthyr,

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and iron was smelted in these glass furnaces 24/7.

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The sheer scale, the size of this place is amazing, isn't it?

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Yeah, it's absolutely enormous.

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You can imagine what it would have been like working here,

0:20:140:20:17

with the blast furnaces going,

0:20:170:20:18

lighting up the night sky for miles around.

0:20:180:20:20

-Lots of smoke and fire and noise.

-Lots of noise, yeah.

0:20:200:20:24

So it must have been quite a terrifying place to work, actually,

0:20:240:20:27

for some of the small children who worked here.

0:20:270:20:29

-No Health & Safety in those days, either.

-No! Not at all.

0:20:290:20:32

There would have been fatalities, horrible injuries.

0:20:320:20:34

But it's really important to remember the significance of this place.

0:20:340:20:39

-I mean, it's such a part of our industrial heritage.

-It certainly is.

0:20:390:20:42

This place does feel neglected, even though

0:20:420:20:45

it's got bags of potential as an historic site.

0:20:450:20:48

We're getting a bit higher now.

0:20:530:20:54

Yeah, it's a nice section of the Taff Trail, isn't it?

0:20:540:20:57

And a great view of Cyfarthfa Castle from here.

0:20:570:20:59

Yeah, it's lovely. You can see

0:20:590:21:01

the luxury in which the Crawshays would have lived

0:21:010:21:04

compared to the workers.

0:21:040:21:05

I must have driven up the A470 so many times,

0:21:080:21:11

and glanced over at the Cefn Coed viaduct,

0:21:110:21:14

never realising that you can actually walk or cycle over it.

0:21:140:21:18

Up until 1966, this impressive structure

0:21:200:21:23

carried the Brecon and Merthyr Railway,

0:21:230:21:26

the beginning of a very scenic trip

0:21:260:21:28

right through the heart of the Beacons to Brecon.

0:21:280:21:31

Its design is also rather unusual.

0:21:310:21:33

-One thing I've noticed - it's curved. Why's that?

-Yeah.

0:21:360:21:39

That's quite unusual for a viaduct.

0:21:390:21:41

Crawshay knew the engineer, so they designed it

0:21:410:21:45

in a curved fashion to avoid Crawshay's land.

0:21:450:21:47

-Nice to have friends in high places!

-Yeah, absolutely!

0:21:470:21:50

For a short distance from the viaduct,

0:21:520:21:55

our trail threads its way through the village of Cefn-coed-y-cymmer.

0:21:550:21:58

This is really the only part of the route where you're walking

0:22:000:22:04

along a few streets, past pubs, houses and a church.

0:22:040:22:08

And before you know it, you're out in the country!

0:22:080:22:11

Well, you're right, Rebecca, it has opened out. Just look at that view!

0:22:140:22:18

Yeah, it's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?

0:22:180:22:20

The amazing thing is, it's all so close to the town, on the doorstep.

0:22:200:22:25

Well, that's why Merthyr is where Merthyr is,

0:22:250:22:27

because we've got all these natural resources here

0:22:270:22:30

that were needed to feed the ironworks. So down there,

0:22:300:22:32

there would have been a limestone quarry.

0:22:320:22:35

And you've got all the water you'd need to make the iron.

0:22:350:22:38

Strange to think that if it hadn't been for the natural resources

0:22:400:22:44

that all happened to be close together here,

0:22:440:22:46

there would have been no iron and steel industry

0:22:460:22:48

and no Merthyr as we know it.

0:22:480:22:50

This old railway line we're following would have

0:22:540:22:57

played its part in carrying goods and passengers into and out of town.

0:22:570:23:01

It was very picturesque, but owing to the number of accidents

0:23:030:23:07

caused by the very steep gradient further up the line,

0:23:070:23:11

the Brecon & Merthyr also became known as

0:23:110:23:14

the Breakneck & Murder Railway.

0:23:140:23:16

-So we're going off the rails a bit now.

-Yeah, that's right.

0:23:180:23:22

We're actually walking on the old Pontsarn station platform,

0:23:220:23:26

and in its day this was a real tourist attraction,

0:23:260:23:28

with trainfuls of Sunday School parties

0:23:280:23:31

and sightseers pulling up to this lovely beauty spot.

0:23:310:23:34

Well, I can see why. We're only a couple of miles from town,

0:23:340:23:37

-and you've got all this beautiful countryside.

-Yeah.

0:23:370:23:40

Right in the middle of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

0:23:400:23:42

-Can't beat it.

-It's lovely.

0:23:420:23:44

So far, we've been following the Taff Trail,

0:23:450:23:48

a 55-mile walking and cycle path

0:23:480:23:51

that runs all the way from Cardiff to Brecon.

0:23:510:23:54

But having crossed another old viaduct at Pontsarn,

0:23:540:23:57

we leave the easygoing tarmac surface and drop more steeply

0:23:570:24:00

down towards the Taf Fechan river.

0:24:000:24:03

Careful on the bridge. It gets quite slippery in the rain.

0:24:050:24:09

-It's quite narrow, isn't it?

-Yeah, quite tight.

0:24:090:24:11

A convenient footbridge leads us across the valley

0:24:180:24:22

towards St Gwynno's Church.

0:24:220:24:24

Nearly at the church now.

0:24:240:24:25

The church was, in fact, built by one of the Crawshays

0:24:260:24:29

to replace a dilapidated old 13th-century Norman church.

0:24:290:24:33

And even though the rain's arrived, there's no chance of shelter,

0:24:330:24:38

because what we've come to see is in the churchyard.

0:24:380:24:41

This is St Gwynno's Church, but it's known locally as Vaynor Church,

0:24:440:24:48

and it was built by Robert Thompson Crawshay.

0:24:480:24:51

And round the back here there's something quite extraordinary.

0:24:510:24:55

-I've never seen a tombstone this big before.

-Yeah, it's huge, isn't it?

0:24:550:25:00

That's an enormous piece of Radyr sandstone,

0:25:000:25:03

and this is the grave of Robert Thompson Crawshay.

0:25:030:25:05

He was the third in the line of ironmasters.

0:25:050:25:08

And it says on there, "God forgive me".

0:25:080:25:11

-What was he asking forgiveness for?

-The story goes

0:25:110:25:13

that he wasn't a very nice employer. But it's more likely to refer to

0:25:130:25:17

the fact that he wasn't very nice to his family either.

0:25:170:25:20

In particular, his daughter, Rose Harriette.

0:25:200:25:22

Now, he told her she could never get married.

0:25:220:25:25

But she disobeyed him and she did get married,

0:25:250:25:28

and apparently he repented of it just before he died.

0:25:280:25:31

-A lesson for all of us.

-It is!

0:25:310:25:33

Placed into the wall on the other side of the church

0:25:360:25:39

is the headstone of local parishioner Catherine Morgan,

0:25:390:25:42

who lived to the very grand old age of 106.

0:25:420:25:46

-That's a fantastic age to live for that era.

-Yeah, it is.

0:25:480:25:51

And she actually lived through the reign of seven monarchs.

0:25:510:25:54

Seven monarchs!

0:25:540:25:56

Bet not many of you could name all those.

0:25:560:25:59

-Which way are we going, left or right?

-Just left here.

0:26:060:26:09

And there's just a short section of road, just a few hundred yards.

0:26:090:26:12

Just down here we've got what's known locally as Blue Pool.

0:26:240:26:27

Well, it doesn't look very blue to me.

0:26:270:26:30

-Not today!

-I'll have to come back another time,

0:26:300:26:33

-when the sun's shining.

-Yeah.

0:26:330:26:35

-Nice gorge, though.

-Lovely, isn't it?

0:26:350:26:38

Well, the forecast did say it would brighten up, and I'm glad to say

0:26:470:26:50

it was right again.

0:26:500:26:52

-Sharp turn.

-Yeah.

0:26:570:26:59

We're now heading for the hilltop location of Morlais Castle,

0:26:590:27:03

built by a Norman lord, Gilbert de Clare, around 1287.

0:27:030:27:07

by that time, he'd already built Caerphilly Castle,

0:27:070:27:10

so he knew a thing or two about castle-building.

0:27:100:27:12

But you'd never guess it from this one.

0:27:120:27:14

Well, what a fantastic location.

0:27:160:27:19

It's not as impressive as Caerphilly Castle,

0:27:190:27:22

but it does have its own golf course.

0:27:220:27:24

At one time, huge round towers stood at each end of this enclosure.

0:27:270:27:32

But over hundreds of years, the castle was gradually dismantled,

0:27:320:27:36

apart from a vaulted crypt,

0:27:360:27:38

which amazingly survives almost completely intact.

0:27:380:27:41

And here we are.

0:27:440:27:45

On top of Morlais Castle, with 360-degree panoramic views.

0:27:450:27:51

It's amazing.

0:27:510:27:53

We can see right down the Taff Vale there, down towards Pontypridd.

0:27:530:27:57

And to the north, the Brecon Beacons.

0:27:570:28:00

Lovely, isn't it? And just down there, you can see most of

0:28:000:28:03

-the route we've walked today.

-And the A470 snaking its way down as well.

0:28:030:28:07

What a fascinating walk. And we did indeed have a few surprises,

0:28:120:28:16

from the world's oldest cast-iron rail bridge,

0:28:160:28:19

a rare curved viaduct,

0:28:190:28:21

a woman who lived through the reign of seven monarchs,

0:28:210:28:24

and one of the largest tombstones I've ever seen.

0:28:240:28:28

All in one wonderful walk. Shall we go?

0:28:280:28:31

So there we are. It's downhill all the way from here,

0:28:330:28:36

beside the Taf Fechan river, back to Cyfarthfa Castle.

0:28:360:28:40

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