Gwaelodygarth? - It must be this way!

We were able to make an earlier start than originally intended after the birth of Lord Twynrodyn's grandson the night before. After a series of congratulatory calls on his Blackberry we arrived at a rather misty Pentyrch.



Parking the car outside the Lewis Arms we headed into the fog along Heol Goch Road. At the end of Cefn Brychan Lane the steep muddy footpath takes you down through the woods to the main road. After crossing the road a stile on the right hand side allows you to access a wide farm track leading down into the base of the valley.



Unfortunately there were no views of the Garth Mountain looming above due to the low cloud and poor visibility.

Without an OS map to check the grid reference coordinates this is where Derek the Weatherman’s basic directions once again let us down badly. There was no hedge line, no finger posts and no defined footpath, so it would be difficult for anyone to actually find the proposed route to the Coed Y Bedw Nature Reserve without some local knowledge of the area.

Our alternative route headed north along the broad farm track towards the invisible bulk of the Garth Mountain. However, we appeared to pass what we thought at the time was the remains of Morgan Thomas’ (former mine owner and poet) ruined cottage…………or was it!?!?!?



At this point we should have been heading through an ancient woodland and although we did make a short de-tour to check out an alternative finger posted route we decided to remain on a single track tarmacked road that eventually lead us to the upper level of Gwaelodygarth.



We knew that we were now definitely heading in the wrong direction. We descended the steep narrow mountain road into the village passing the inviting hostelry of the Gwaelodygarth Inn (where we were later to return) and then branched off right to climb into the picturesque hamlet of Geogetown.

After feeding a delightful Shetland pony and passing the cattery we entered an atmospheric pine forest, with daylight from the canopy streaming through tall trees and illuminating the forest floor. Leaving the forest to the west we crossed a few open fields and returned to the wide farm track.

There was no large wooden broad walk, bridge over a stream, wildlife information board or cleverly made seat carved into a tree branch!

The ‘To Let’ signs on the Lewis Arms looked uninviting and we decided to return to the Gwaelodygarth Inn for a splendid lunch in a typical country pub.

Not the walk that we originally intended to take but it was an opportunity to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and local countryside.