Pontyglassier - 22 August 2020  - 8.5 miles

On Saturday 22 August, a group of 21 walkers to meet in the car park of Pontyglasier chapel. After a wet and windy week, the weather had settled and there was promise of sunny intervals throughout the day. The car park was suitably large for walkers to keep apart.

A mandatory talk on safe distances, hand gel and to be mindful of the vulnerabilities of others was made and then a whip round made, and a donation left for use of the chapel facilities.

After a short walk to the end of the village, we turned on to a series of muddy and squelchy fields and headed south west towards the Preseli hills. The path came to an end at the farm at Wern Du, the next section was one of the prettiest, following a stream and green lane past a nameless, remote cottage and up through the woods. Like most paths on this walk, there has been little through traffic this year and the undergrowth, particularly the brambles, has taken the opportunity to regain lost territory.

Turning east after leaving the wood, we picked up a hidden footpath just south of Mirianog Fach. This path wasn't previously walkable but after some prior and valiant efforts in the weeks before it had been restored somewhat. With this obstacle past and coffee break had, we contiued. The remaining section of this path is not accessible due to walls and hedge banks, so the group had to negotiate a five bar gate and a barbed wire fence, where a rudimentary stile was created out of two buckets, foam tubing and the remains of a lilo. Ramblers are nothing if not creative when a footpath is blocked or obstructed.

We eventually came to the track at Blaenfynnon. The path does continue across the fields, but this wasn't passable due a more severe barbed wire fence. The track was followed up hill until it reached open moorland that rises up to the Preseli ridge. Foel Drygarn was a steady climb up, but did require a little effort and lunch was the reward for eventually getting to the summit. Views were stunning in all directions.

Once down the hill, it was time to head west and back to Pontyglasier. A further stretch of green lane had been encroached by brambles but thanks to sterling efforts during mid week, this too had been cleared in order to ensure we made steady, unencumbered progress.

A lane and a series of grassy fields led to the farm at Tyddyn and the muddy fields beyond. This is where we entered a small wood. The path was indistinct, but work had been undertaken here as well in order to find the path. The field beyond the wood had been completely submerged in brambles so some effort had been made to sculpt a tunnel through it. It was important to find the hidden planks across the stream as not to find it meant getting wet as we had discovered to our cost on an earlier recce. The group benefited from this preparation as none got wet and there was little by way of complaints because of bramble scratches.

A further series of fields and overgrown stiles led back to the chapel, only interrupted by the path interacting with the swollen Afon Bannon for a few metres.

Following a walk in the Preseli hills, tradition now dictates that the Tafarn Zinc will benefit from our custom.