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Fieldnotes
| A long overdue revisit on a hot and sunny bank holiday Monday (31 May 2021). I arrive here the long way round this time, after a lengthy walk from Blaenavon over the moorland tops of Mynydd Coety and Cefn Coch. Descending to Waun Afon, I'm glad of the dry weather as the causeway across the moor (complete with mostly-stripped, overturned car) is partially under water. Once I reach the road, the landscape turns rather grimly industrial, gravelly tracks winding up the humps of disused mining and quarry tips. The scars on the immediate foreground are greatly compensated for by the terrific panoramic views along the northern skyline though, from Pen y Fan to the northwest, Mynydd Llangatwg and the Black Mountains north, and the Sugarloaf/Mynydd Pen y Fal and Blorenge northeast. The stone is as small as I remember, although at least it hasn't got any smaller. The last time I came, I came straight up from Blaenavon and I barely knew any of the skyline hills by name, let alone by personal experience. Now I return to a landscape where I recognise all the distant hills and have climbed most of them, so the landscape context is greatly enriched on this second visit. I still have doubts about the age of the stone, but there's no doubt at all about the pedigree of its placement. I'm glad to be back here, and it's especially good to return to South Wales after what seems like a very long time. After a nice rest and some food, I head up over the tall spoil heaps to the east before heading to the heaving bank holiday carpark by Pen-ffordd-goch pond, then on to the gentle (and thankfully final) climb to the masts on Cefn y Galchen and an equally overdue revisit to Carn y Defaid. |
Posted by thesweetcheat12th February 2022ce Edited 12th February 2022ce
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Comments (4) |
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| Sounds a good day out. Whole area looks interesting on the map. Lots of options for walks. |
Posted by thelonious13th February 2022ce |
| Enjoyed reading your field report, although I don't know the stone both my Grandfather and Father worked the coal mines at Blaenavon and I remember endless long walks along the old rail tracks and onto the moors, wish I had appreciated it then like I do now. |
Posted by costaexpress 13th February 2022ce |
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Thanks both :) T, it's a good area indeed, if you can overlook the post-industrial scarring. Lots of archaeology, I'm still finding new places to visit. Mynydd Coety is the second highest hill in South Wales outside the Brecon Beacons National Park, after Craig y Llyn at the head of the Rhondda. It's a bit of a dull summit, but one of the lovely long ridges that separates the valleys, where you see few people. Good long views from the edges. Costa, that's fascinating, I had no idea your roots were in that area. I know the feeling, I under-appreciated my Mid-Wales wanderings with my Dad at the time. |
Posted by thesweetcheat 13th February 2022ce |
| Family from Tai y wain just south of Blaenavon, however, when the Nuclear industry opened up my father escaped the mines and went to work in Wylfa just outside Cemaes Bay which is why I also love the posts about the Anglesey coastal path |
Posted by costaexpress 13th February 2022ce |
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