June 11, 2009: Talbontdrain to Machynlleth
Ascending Rhiw Goch
Having had to rush to complete the two previous days’ itineraries – just in order to meet our rendezvous targets – I decided that I would set a pick-up hour today that would permit us a little free time in our destination town, Machynlleth, and a more leisurely pace to reach there. Once again we would only have seven miles of walking and so there was no rush with breakfast – we had already been down to the Spar to get our sandwiches before sitting down. The good news was that it was once again sunny and this boded well. Neither Gareth nor Dave was available to take us out this morning so, at about 9:30, the Morgan’s neighbor, Bob, got behind the wheel of our hosts’ old red estate wagon and we were off.
The drive this morning was quite exhilarating, though it did start with the usual sights. (At Dylife, Bob said that the locals relied on their windmills for power since electricity mains had yet to penetrate this part of Wales – they needed an F.D.R.). After passing the Millennium Milestone today, however, we were plunged into the wonderful Dyfi Valley, twisting our way almost to valley bottom before turning west and then climbing on steep back roads up to Talbontdrain, where we had spent our last night on last year’s expedition. Bob made one or two wrong turns but by 10:10 we had arrived at Hilary’s dramatically situated farmstead – the lady herself came out to greet us. The bird feeders did not seem as popular this year as last, but some wonderful cockerels presided over the hens and a just-born batch of chicks were receiving their first feed.
Bob needed a running start to get the engine to turn over on the car and he now headed for home, leaving us, at 10:20, to make a start by climbing up to a road above Talbontdrain and then turning west and using tarmac to reach the entrance of Llwyn-gwyn farm. Here began a long section on a track that (surprisingly for a day of mostly downhill) soon began to climb steeply and (equally surprisingly) headed off in a southerly direction at the start of a day in which we would move mostly north.
Views in all directions were magnificent and, after the restrictions of a rainy day yesterday, we all took a lot of pictures. Jets screamed overhead through much of the morning but we were in fairly remote territory otherwise. Our track at last completed its southerly curve and we were directed up a grassy field on a dirt path that reached the borders of another section of forestry. Even here we had to continue climbing up along the forestry fence, at last reaching a stile into the dark woodland itself. Here we joined a track at a point dubbed “The Chute” by local cyclists – beginning a steep descent under the outstretched arms of the conifers. Fortunately there were no mad cyclists roaring down behind us, though the place was eerie enough; you could even see your breath in the still air.
Green track above Nant cwm-cemrhiw
Eventually we escaped the woodland and returned to daylight, walking down to a kind of saddle with good views of the countryside we were leaving behind – and previews of the territory ahead. I was reminded of the last stages of my Pennine Way walk when, expecting a quick descent into the Halterburn Valley, I was nonplussed to see a new route rising up the ridgeline. In the present case the ascent did not last for long and we were soon walking on a marvelous, mostly level green track that also reminded me of many a Pennine surface as well. The valley of Nant cwm-cemerhiw was far below us on our left as we made rapid progress in a northwesterly direction for at least a mile. Moorland was then traversed in the same direction as trees began to reappear near a t-junction – where we were asked to change direction.
A great debate took place here since Perrott asks us to use a path that zig-zags down the hill in an easterly direction and Tosh could find neither a zig nor a zag on the path we used. Nevertheless there was a finger post at the bottom and it asked us to head north again. I’m sure we chose the wrong path forward here; it was one of those GW moments when the finger post points in a direction where two paths seemed available. We took the lower of these but it soon petered out and we were a little bit lost. I say only a little since I could see from the OS map precisely where we were. Complicating matters was the insistent nagging about a lunch spot from Tosh, but I told her that I would be a happier eater if I knew I was back on route and that I wanted to aim for the entrance to the next portion of forestry – since this would also mark today’s halfway mark.
Ahead of us a line of trees descended the hillside and I knew that if we kept it on our left as we climbed through the bracken and grass that we would have to intersect the official route. This is what we did, eventually encountering a footpath near the summit. Soon we could see a waymark acorn on the entry gate into the forest and so we were able to plunk down in the grass for a nice rest. Bluebells were still blooming among the other wildflowers up here. I ate my Spar tuna mayonnaise baguette and drank some of the day’s Zero Dr. Pepper while enjoying the sight of the beckoning forestry fence across the field.
When lunchtime was over we entered the forest, another spooky and dark space for a while. Here, however, they had harvested alternate rows and this permitted more light and even a little undergrowth. The route was uneven at best and often wet. I had just congratulated myself on the useful purchase provided by my walking stick when my feet went out from under me on the slippery rock and I fell heavily on my back. It was an accident witnessed by no one, Margie being well ahead here and Tosh well behind. I felt okay, the only damage being a bit of a muscle pull in the left shoulder, so I was soon on my feet again and heading uphill for the last of the forestry. As this was left behind we emerged into wonderful sunny scrubland, with rhododendrons lining the path.
The descent to Machynlleth
The views were again spectacular and below us on the right we now also had the rooftops of Machynllenth itself. For a while this was a debatable fact, for the guidebook talks about our route heading directly for the town below but here the urban sprawl was on our right. But after we had walked along a grassy ridgeline and past some tumps the path took a big loop back on itself and now the town was indeed in front of us. First we had some road walking, passing the farmstead at Bryn-glas (which had a large oculus in its façade) and then heading north on tarmac over the final summit. From here it was straight downhill in the warm afternoon sunshine as we steadily lost elevation. Some so-called Roman steps assisted us in this progress and at last we were level with the valley traffic.
Our route took us through the grounds of Y Plas, once the country seat of the Marquis of Londonderry and now the home of Celtica, a celebration of the culture of the Celts. Next it was past a Glyndwr memorial stone, unphotographable today unless you wanted to include a young couple cavorting at its base. Soon we had reached the ornamental gates at Maengwyn Street where, across the street, Owen Glyndwr had installed his own parliament in the capital of a short-lived independent Wales in 1404. It was just past 3:00 and we had left ourselves an hour and a half for refreshments and sightseeing.
Tosh disappeared into some pay-as-you go civic loos and fell into a conversation with a woman she met there – leaving me and Margie to scan the street in search of a likely looking pub. We chose the Llew Coch (or Red Lion to you) and settled down for a nice rest. Tosh had a cup of coffee while I downed a pint of lager. As often happens we were the sights seen by others and one gentlemen with bushy hair spilling out from his baseball cap was particularly intrigued by our story. By a curious coincidence he turned out to be an Arriva train driver –who therefore knew all about the cow on the tracks (“He was back there today.”) He asked us about our return travel plans and confirmed that we had a useful schedule for tomorrow afternoon. Tosh was not very politic in her assessment of Arriva’s reputation but the chap took it well. Then she marched off to do some shopping – leaving me and Margie to make our own way to the modern art museum (yes, big Mach has one of these), where, at 4:30, we were supposed to meet David.
At about 4:00 we began to wander. Margie, complaining of a corn, wanted a chemist but it was early closing day. Meanwhile we discovered Tosh eating an ice cream on a bench near the clock tower and wearing a lurid pair of trousers that she said she had bought to do the gardening in. She also told us that there was no point in trying to visit the museum since it had closed at 4:00. About this time we met David on the street and he ushered us to his car, parked not far from where we had entered town. On the way we passed an ancient Aga store, a shop that (in the wake of the Parliamentary expenses scandal) permitted only two MPs at a time on its premises, and a butcher who claimed that all his meat was vegetarian: “They eat the green green grass. Humans eat them and just speed up the process.”
The ride home, taking about 45 minutes, was once again lovely. We agreed to meet for drinks at 6:00 and when this hour rolled around we headed again for the Royal Head, though this time we used the opposite side and got a peek at the 20-20 cricket on the TV screen. We then walked beneath the antique market hall, passing a stone on which John Wesley had preached. The ladies each headed for cash machines and we made our way to the town’s big hotel (which boasted a plaque celebrating a Chartist riot); it wasn’t doing food tonight and so we were rather at a loss.
Eventually we decided to try Llanidloes’ Red Lion, which had a nice menu out front. When we reached the restaurant portion of the premises, however, the barman informed us that it was closed because there had just been a post-funeral tea here (the same thing had happened to us in Shap) but that we could order food in the bar. This we did. I found a little table in a quiet corner and had a not very satisfactory fish and chips while drinking another lager.
It had been decided that we needed a really early start tomorrow and so we now prepared to settle our accounts. The invoices were ready for us on our return. I wrote a check and entered the Morgan’s lounge, where Gareth was dozing in front of the fire while listening to his Cole Porter album. One outcome of a nice last visit with Gareth and Angela is that they agreed, in principle, to provide the transportation to and from the remaining stops on our GW itinerary when we re-launched our quest. I asked for breakfast at 8:00 and went up to bed after a very successful day.
To continue with the next stage of our walk you need: