Penrhys Pilgrimage Way: Day 2 Llantrisant to Penrhys

Today I completed my pilgrimage to "Our Lady of Penrhys" and admired the view down the Rhondda Valley from the statue.

Our lady of Penrhys.

The day did not start well, my train to Pontyclun was cancelled, a shortage of signallers apparently. My hour's wait for the next train gave me the excuse to buy a coffee and croissant for a second breakfast. From Pontyclun I followed a path by the River Ely, in a green corridor between housing, with trees bordering the water. After walking by the shops of Talbot Green I climbed steep cobbled alleyways, following a fairly random route to the ancient square in Llantrisant, there re-joining the Pilgrimage Way where I had left it previously. Having climbed up the ridge on which this village stands I then went down the other side between terraced housing to join a quiet road over a marshy common in the flat valley beyond. According to a helpful sign the common was a "Site of Special Scientific Interest" rich in plant species, unlike the somewhat muddy fields of grass that followed.

My next interesting section was a walk along an old abandoned railway line, in a valley of trees, bare of leaves in this month of March. A lone, fat pig rootled around in the undergrowth in the valley bottom, fortunately safely secured behind a wire fence. Beyond a certain point the path was closed but the Penrhys Pilgrimage Way website advised where to leave the old railway, detouring around the closed section on public footpaths. although I was somewhat impeded by high, temporary fencing erected across the route in violation of the "right of way". Presumably there to protect some shipping containers, a nearby public footpath sign made it clear they were breaking the law. A little later I again felt somewhat unwelcome. No Penrhys Pilgrimage waymarks had been installed around Tre-boath farm (or else they had been removed) and generic footpath signs were also missing. I relied on the OutdoorActive App on my mobile phone to make sure I was on the public footpath, which took me to the outskirts of Tonyrefail on a well used trail between fields of horses.

After the white houses of Tonyrefail the path climbed over rough ground revealing larger views over the ground I had just covered and beyond. The remainder of the walk was in the landscape of "The Valleys". Cutting deep, the valley bottoms and lower slopes were dressed with lines of terraced houses. Steep sides, with cliffs of rocks in some parts, trees in others, rose to high ground, farmed for sheep. Once famed for their coal mines and iron working, those industries are now long gone, ending with the bitter miners' strike of 1984. For a long time after an air of grey depression and unemployment permeated the valleys but today I thought the area looked brighter, the sun reflecting off white painted houses. I could spot a few slag heaps, huge piles of waste rock brought out of the mines, once a grey blot on the landscape, they have now turned a shade of green or brown, as they have either been landscaped or else nature has finally gained a grip on their inhospitable surface of loose shale.

Terraced housing typical of "The Valleys" by Dinas

I climbed out of the settlement of Trebanog on a track which slashed across the hillside, fortified by a Coke and Mars bar from a nearby shop, crossing a pass over the higher sheep pasture, before dropping down into Dinas in the Rhondda Valley. On my way down I chatted with a farmer. Unlike some Welsh farmers he was well disposed towards hikers. After checking I knew the way (I showed him the track on my GPS) he talked of the sheep about to lamb in his shed, the Shetland Ponies for his daughter and a donkey that brayed if anyone was coming up the road. He commented that there were alternative ways to Penrhys, but I was guided by the website which took me straight up the opposite side of the valley. A steep pull, initially up steps, then a road and path, 200 metres vertically climbed over not much more distance. Looking back down the valley, admiring the view was a good excuse to catch my breath and allow my heart rate to fall. I pondered that if pilgrimages were easy, requiring no effort, then we would not deserve to have our sins absolved at the end of it. This steep, sweaty ascent certainly required considerable effort and exertion. 

As is the nature of "The Valleys", at the top of the climb the land flattened out. There was a well groomed golf course, a place where you could enjoy the views while your partner lined up their shot. At the last green I could see the statue that was the focus of this trail, a small white finger, on the valley side, above the russet brown of last years bracken, in front of the scattered white houses of Penrhys village. Beyond on the next hillside was a conifer plantation and to the left of it a collection of wind turbines. Many people dislike them, I had seen signs protesting a new wind farm earlier in my walk today, however to me their thin, tall, white columns are elegant, and the regally, rotating arms, somehow majestic. It is not as if the landscape before me was in anyway natural. Its temperate forests were cleared millennia ago. Wind turbines and the solar panels I could see glinting on some of the housing below me seemed preferable to the dirt and grime of the coal industry that was once synonymous with the Welsh valleys. In my youth a thousand coal fires from the terraced houses would have cast a smoky grey smog across the valley. How much cleaner are the white windmills and the silver panels?

Golf course with old slag heap beyond.

I walked down to the statue of Our Lady. I looked at her holding the baby Jesus. Bunches of flowers had been placed at the base of the pedestal. A group of people walked by. I took a few photos, looked down the Rhondda valley, then headed downhill to the station. My train home had been cancelled, a signalling fault. I sighed and waited another half hour for the next one.

A gpx track of my walk can be found at https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/penrhys-pilgrimage-way-97646677. 

Rhondda Valley, not quite all green at this time of year, but no longer grey, smoky and dusty.

Penrhys Pilgrimage Way: Day 1 Cardiff to Llantrisant

On my walks by the River Taff in Cardiff I had noticed signs for the Penrhys Pilgrimage Way, but until now, had never investigated what it was. According to the trail's website travelling to a statue of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, at Penrhys in the Rhondda was a popular pilgrimage in the 15th century. So popular that Thomas Cromwell, who pursued the Reformation under Henry VIII, had the statue removed. A new one was installed in 1953. The pilgrimage starts at Llandaff Cathedral, another key religious site in South Wales.

Llandaff Cathedral, which dates from the 12th century, has suffered over its lifetime, including major damage caused by bombing in the Second World War. Following repair work a concrete arch was installed in the nave carrying a sculpture of "Christ in Majesty" by Jacob Epstein, giving the interior of the cathedral a strange mixture of ancient and modern. You can download a "passport" from the Pilgrimage's website, which you can get stamped at various places. Normally I do not bother with such things, however, for the sake of research I thought I would print out the passport and get it rubber stamped at Llandaff Cathedral's shop, as advised by the website. Unfortunately, the cathedral shop was closed when I visited, so I failed get my stamp, the lady welcoming people at the entrance to the cathedral (and informing them a funeral service was taking place in one of the chapels) was very apologetic. Having failed at the very beginning of my pilgrimage I gave up on the passport!

Inside Llandaff Cathedral.

From the cathedral the Pilgrimage Way follows the River Taff on its west bank. Nearby long distance walks, the Taff Trail and the Cambrian Way, are on the other side of the river, which I consider more scenic. Nevertheless, walking on the wooded bank, with housing to  my left, was pleasant enough, much of it on paths. Eventually the Way turns into the housing of Radyr, climbing uphill, with views of the Garth mountain appearing in the distance from the top (distinctive with its bronze age barrow forming a small bump at its summit). After crossing the busy M4 motorway on a bridge it was over fields and through woodland, but mainly over green fields, some with sheep cropping the already short cropped grass. This being March, the trees were bare of leaves, dark and skeletal, although in woodland sections the vivid green of harts tongue ferns and the darker green of the ivy added some colour. With recent rains some of the paths were rather muddy.

The route passed by or through a few villages: Pentyrch, Creigiau and Groes-faen. Although they have some facilities, pubs or a shop, I was not tempted to deviate from the route. Groes-faen had a war memorial which was unusual in that it was in a bus shelter. Llantrisant was the final village. Seen from a distance perched on the side of a hill, the Pilgrimage approaches it indirectly. After a quarry hidden by trees with ruined buildings and equipment, there was an especially muddy section in a wood before a minor road took me north east away from Llantrisant. This excursion was to reach a bridge over the busy A473 road. Once over the bridge the route turned 180 degrees, following a cycle path south west. There was then a right hand turn up a steep path to the top of a ridge (briefly joining the Glamorgan Ridgeway). I was thankful for the metal bench as the ground flattened out, which allowed me to rest and drink some water while admiring the view. A short walk along a road took me into the old centre of Llantrisant, although to reach the main square, known as the "bull ring" there was a short section of road with no pavement. 

Typical path over farmland.

One of the paths bordered by trees.

Around the bull ring there were a few shops, pubs, a war memorial, a place selling crafts (but not today), an old water pump behind railings and a statue of William Price, a rather colourful character. It was here I left the Penrhys Pilgrimage Way, having walked far enough for one day, but the fun was not over. First I visited the ruins of Llantrisant Castle, dating from Norman times, little now remains. Then I headed for the railway station at Pontyclun which first meant walking down the hillside to Talbot Green. The most attractive route was through little cobbled lanes, turning one way then another, so steep I wondered how the parked cars managed to drive up them, it must be impossible when the cobbles are slick with ice. Llantrisant now merges into Talbot Green (I could have caught a bus from here), which spreads into Pontyclun. An office building I passed had the colours of the Ukranian flag posted prominently, showing solidarity with the country being shelled and bombed by the Russians as I walked by. On arrival at the station I found my train was due in 30 minutes, leaving me time to visit Greggs for a takeaway coffee, chicken salad roll and jam doughnut. I ate the latter feeling guilty as I did not really need it and the beseiged people of Mariupol in Ukraine had nothing. I consoled myself that I had walked 17.5 kilometres along the Penrhys Pilgrimage Way, and a further 3 kilometres to reach the Train Station, so I deserved a treat, but I did not really believe it.

Waymarking was good with small signs pointing the way, although they were not entirely comprehensive and I periodically consulted the "track" I had downloaded onto my Garmin GPS. I obtained the file for the track from the pilgrimage website by expanding the map (square symbol) to give the Google base map, the clicking on the three dots to download the kml file which could then be read by Garmin's BaseCamp software.... or you could download my gpx track from https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/penrhys-pilgrimage-way-97646677. There were also notice boards at a few locations giving details of the Pilgrimage Way.

Waymark for Penrhys Pilgrimage Way.

Llanishen, Machen and Caerphilly: A circular hike

This is my most frequent hike, at 31 kilometres with a total ascent of 780 metres it is good training for my multi-day long distance walks, and during the current Coronavirus pandemic, where we must exercise only from home, training for when we are free to travel is about all I can do.

Today, taking the Llanishen railway station as a starting point, I walked up Everest Avenue and Everest Way to join the tarmac path through grass and small trees as it winds its way up between suburban housing to Excaliber Drive. In this area, town planners created these paths to avoid having to walk by and across busy roads, however on reaching Excaliber Drive a short walk beside a road is inevitable to reach Cefn Onn park. 

Cefn Onn is a park I have always loved for its range of trees and flowering shrubs, with many rhododendrons and colourful autumn colours, a place for picnics in my youth with its own train station (which has since been moved nearer Cardiff). A little red metal bridge over a stream, hiding under the trees, makes me think of Japan. At the top end there are multiple, curious little paths I used to run around as a child and a still pond, but today, for this walk I turn off before I reach them to head up beside the golf course. A climb through woods, rich with bluebells in May, takes me up to the ridge behind Cardiff. Beneath the ground trains run through a tunnel, evident on the surface from large, grey brick towers, built for ventilation in the time of steam trains.

Autumn colours at Cefn Onn

Cows and sheep are grazed at the top of the ridge where I turn east over fields, the ground soft and muddy from recent rains. At the single track road, a sign offers to sell me free range eggs, lamb and beef from the farm and stables opposite. I continue along the ridge, trying my best to avoid the deeper mud. A wire rope follows the path for a while as it plunges into woodland, I have often wondered what  its purpose once was. The track becomes wider and there have been some recent forestry operations, but all was quiet today so I continued, turning sharp right after the electricity pylons. This took me gently down a steep slope, a metal railing providing support, remains of an old lime kiln or something similar on the right, maybe related to the lead mines marked on old maps. Crossing a stream on a helpful bridge at the base of the valley, just beyond a deep puddle, I turned sharp left across fields, often grazed by horses, penned in by thin electric fences, before climbing up the other side of the valley in a wood, full of bluebells in May, to reach higher fields of sheep pasture.

After a brief walk on a single track road, hoping a fast car was not about to come around the corner, I continued along a rough road towards Ruperra. Deviating off the road and into the trees of Coed Ruperra, I climbed up to the "motte" at the top (Craig Ruperra). A mound of some vague but lengthy historical significance, there is an excellent view from the top, especially now in winter when there are fewer leaves on the trees to obscure the vista, in the far distance I could see the New Severn Bridge. From there it was down through the trees to the village of Draethen, my most easterly point today, its pub firmly closed under the Covid regulations. After a brief hop through more woods on a path frequently choked by brambles, but clear today, I was on the single track road heading towards Machen. As the official footpath passes through a massively, muddy, brown field of blanketed horses, the owners had taken it upon themselves to make a diversion a little down the road which at least avoided the worst of the clay and horse manure slurry. School playing fields followed, used only by dog walkers and mothers wheeling prams today. On the left under the trees the stream is coloured orange by, I assume, effluent from old coal mining operations nearby.

Path east from Craig Ruperra on a winter's day

At the Cooperative shop in Machen, I first donned my face mask. I took advantage of the coffee machine and bought a latte and a luxury smoked salmon and egg sandwich, paying at the self service checkout by contactless card, avoiding all human contact, which should please the Coronavirus police, especially as I used the alcoholic hand gel on entering and leaving the store to avoid bringing any germs in and to protect me and any I touch from viruses picked up from surfaces in the store. After the village of Machen I followed a cycle track which was laid out on an abandoned railway line, part of the now abandoned coal industry that once dominated the area. At a sculpture made of railway signals, on which stationary birds sat, I turned off the cycle path to drop down to the riverside path beside the River Rhymney, flowing full and fast with recent rain. Another popular area for people walking children and dogs. After that it was a walk through the outer areas of the town of Caerphilly.

Apart from supermarkets and bakeries, shops were closed by government decree in the centre of Caerphilly, however the main attraction is the castle. Closed to visitors by the pandemic, it has seen many centuries of wars and plagues and will no doubt see many more. As the biggest castle in Wales (which has more than its quota of castles) it is an impressive display of mediaeval power. Surrounded by a classic moat, and a circle of grass, it dominates the town.

Canada Geese in front of Caerphilly Castle

From the castle it was an uphill climb, passed a Wetherspoon's Pub, where posters in the window have suggested that the closing of pubs by the government was an unnecessarily severe restriction, as wells as praising the chancellor, Rishi Sunak for a VAT (Value Added Tax) reduction for beer. Not much good though if you are not allowed to sell any. After a steep climb by a church with its flower filled graveyard, and some houses, I took a footpath forking left around the golf course and on up onto Caerphilly Common. I pass a series of pits. They are not craters left by airborne bombing in the Second World War as I thought as a child, they are bell pits used to dig for shallow coal some time long ago.

Passing the Mountain Snack Bar, I resisted the temptation for another coffee and followed the main road south to the parallel ridge to the south. The track then leads east tunnelling through low trees, signs warn that you should keep you dog on a lead due to sheep in the adjacent fields. A grove of beech then adds an architectural splendour, in spring the ground is spread with wild garlic. On the right I passed a disused limestone quarry where in my youth I collected samples of calcite.

Path lined with beech trees and wild garlic

Re-joining the outward leg of my circular walk I dropped down through trees back towards Cefn Onn park, but this time, instead of going through the path I turned off left and followed the other side of the railway, through trees, down to some tennis courts. Crossing into a road of new, tightly packed, red brick houses I walked to the top of the Coed y Felin woods, where a path took me down beside the stream. A fierce dragon, carved out of a fallen tree glared at me. Then it was a walk down via Millheath Drive and Mill Road to return to Llanishen Railway Station.

A gpx track of the route can be found on wikiloc.com.

 

Cardiff in Covid lockdown: following the boundaries: Day 4

A few weeks ago my home city of Cardiff was put into lockdown and nobody was allowed to leave unless they had a very good reason. Not knowing exactly where the limits of this open prison were I decided to walk around the boundaries of the city, giving one day a week to the exercise, but before I finished my project the rules had changed again. Wales is now in a "Firebreak" or "Circuit Break". There is no limit on the amount exercise I can take, and hence the distance I can walk, so long as I do not use a car or public transport, so I can now in theory leave Cardiff provided I walk from my house. At least that is my understanding, keeping up with the ever-changing rules is difficult, especially as they differ from those in England, and I suspect many people do not bother. As I had walked three quarters of the way around the city, keeping within the Cardiff County boundary, I thought I might as well finish.

So I returned to Cardiff Gate service area by the M4 on a day of intermittent showers and sunshine, and continued east. This lead into another new housing development before I joined a more established neighbourhood. While it was urban walking the changing colours of trees, from green to yellow and red, were attractive in the periodic patches of sunlight. Cardiff Garden Centre, with its giant spade standing outside, was closed, no doubt owing to the  Welsh "Firebreak", although lights had been left on inside. Beyond it was another new housing development. One observation from my walk around Cardiff has been the large number of new houses being built, invariably without any sign of any new shops or other facilities. I then turned down a quiet lane through the St Mellons Golf course. There are a surprising number of golf courses around Cardiff, although it is not a pastime I have ever been attracted to, no doubt because whenever I have tried to hit a golf ball, it seemed to go in a direction contrary to the one I intended. St Mellons Golf course did not seem too welcoming, especially to dog walkers.

New housing beside the Rhymney River

St Mellons Golf Club

Shaded, sunken Vaendre Close which passes through the golf course

After St Mellon's Business Park, with its roads named after old programming languages, I tried to cross fields on a public footpath marked on my OS map. There was no footpath sign and no way across a water filled ditch in the second field I entered. Later I tried to find the path from the opposite direction, but the presence of a wider water filled ditch (called Faendre Reen on the map) prevented this too. Evidently the "right of way" was no longer in existence. The "reens" in the area are channels that are part of the field drainage system for this flat plain beside the River Severn, that date back to Roman times.

I had more success after walking along the street at Hendre Lake Park, which I never knew existed before today. As the name suggests there is a lake with ducks, swans and fishermen beneath their green canopies. I followed the path around it then a leafy track beside a reed lined drainage canal (called Pil du Reen) south of some housing. After a children's play area I followed rougher paths, where brambles had been cut down, to reach a path that took me across the railway into an industrial area. The railway is the main line in and out of South Wales with four tracks, that has recently been electrified, although I have yet to see any electric trains.

Hendre Lake

I followed the coast road towards Newport, until I saw a sign welcoming me to the city of Newport, although it was actually several kilometres away across fields, this is where the county borough of Newport began. Not wishing to cross the boundary out of Cardiff, I turned right onto a footpath over fields, with some just about passable wooden footbridges across ditches. Reaching the embankment that protects the area from flooding I followed it beside the River Severn estuary towards Cardiff on what was now the Wales Coast Path.

Cow beside the Severn estuary

To reach the starting point of my circumnavigation at Cardiff Bay, I could have followed the Wales Coast Path along its original route, close to the sea, around the steel works and other industrial areas. However, although I found the original route still passable, the Coast Path has been diverted through a park and the streets of Tremorfa. Following this diversion I rejoined the original Wales Coast Path route by a large roundabout and then followed it down the remnants of a canal to an old dock with moern apartments and cormorants sitting on old wooden posts. Shortly beyond was Cardiff Bay and its railway station.

As people in Wales are currently not allowed to use public (or any other) transport unless essential I walked back home, diverting through the City Centre to see the impact of the lockdown. All the shops and shopping centres were closed, but the banks and some of the coffee shops were open, the latter just for takeaways. I bought a latte and sandwich which I ate in the pedestrianised area by St Johns church. There were more people about than during the lockdown in April, a couple of Deliveroo cyclists were cycling around in circles, maybe waiting for the next order.

Between University and Welsh Government buildings there was a new tented walk-in Coronavirus testing centre. There were plenty of students around. Social distancing was not that evident as they walked by in groups.

For a gpx track of my route visit wikiloc.com.

Cardiff in Covid lockdown: following the boundaries: Day 3

As I write this my home city of Cardiff is in lockdown. We are not allowed to leave unless it is essential for fear of spreading the Coronavirus. Not knowing exactly where the boundaries of the city were, I decided to walk them. This is my third day of my circumnavigation.

I returned to the village suburb of Tongwynlais which I reached on my previous hike, and continued my trip around the boundaries of this lockdown prison, by walking up to Castell Coch. A Victorian extravaganza built over the remains of a Norman castle on a wooded hillside, it was closed today but open for pre-booked people, later in the week. The forest above the castle is a popular areas for walkers and their dogs. I climbed up the steep path to the ridge meeting the Cardiff County boundary. Possibly I crossed briefly into Caerphilly County Borough by an old quarry called the Slide pit, but it was debatable. I followed the track through the trees, passing two ladies in orange clad jackets who were doing some forestry work, and a couples out walking. After the Three Bears Pit, an old fenced off mine with three tunnels guarded by a wooden sculpture of a mother bear and cub, there was a collection of figures, sculptured out of old tree stumps. The Cardiff boundary ran across the golf course just to the north of me. Cardiff's outer boundary often seems arbitrary, maybe once it followed the line separating different farms but now it frequently seems to make little sense. After a short road walk I climbed behind a quarry on a track. Careful perusal of my map suggested that if continued I would inevitably cross into Caerphilly, there being no footpath off to the right. A cyclist passed me, apparently unaware that he was breaking the law by leaving Cardiff, but I retraced my steps and took a zig-zag route down a path, around a fallen tree and across a stream into the Wenallt woods. From there it was up the valley through fields, eventually reaching the road junction at the Traveller's Rest pub. 

Sculpture in the forest above Castell Coch

As the pub is in Caerphilly I had to be careful where I crossed the road to avoid also breaking the law. Once over I walked down Thornhill on the roadside as a cyclist puffed slowly up it on the other side of the road. I was looking for a footpath on the left which I had never noticed before, hidden in the trees. Fortunately it proved a good path over fields on the lower slopes of the ridge that rises behind Cardiff, with grey views of Cardiff Bay and Penarth. I then climbed up the ridge to reach the woodland behind Cefn Onn park. In spring it is covered with bluebells, but today any colour was from leaves beginning to turn. Finding a log I stopped to eat the baguette I had bought for my lunch. Then it was back downhill on some steps, to join the farm track by Nant Fawr farm (the start (or end) of the Nant Fawr trail through Cardiff). Then it was uphill again on a a narrow tarmac road to rejoin the County boundary at the top of the ridge. The track here along the top of the ridge through fields and has excellent views down Cardiff, although today the visibility disappointing.

View of Cardiff, with Penarth in the far distance from the ridge

Once more it was yet another downhill into trees to avoid crossing into Caerphilly, then over a field to group of houses called Tai Mawr ("Big Houses"). After walking through an unmarked gate, there was no indication of how of the right of way passed through these houses, and inevitably I went down the wrong driveway to reach a road. Annoyed that I had clearly picked the wrong route, I walked up the road to find the correct way by approaching the houses from the opposite direction along a little used footpath. After an overgrown stile it followed the edge of a field of maize. Reaching the houses I could see that the public footpath must pass between two white houses, over a neatly cut lawn. While I appreciate that people are not too happy about rights of way going through their garden, if the route is clearly waymarked, there will be fewer people wandering about your property wondering where to go.

Looking back at the right of way through Tai-Mawr, it passes between the two white buildings.

I followed the road back towards Cardiff to an old chapel, now converted to a house. A footpath was supposed to go through the old cemetery into fields, but although there was a yellow arrow showing that the path went into the cemetery, there was no way out of it. I was forced to return to the road, passing aa battery of CCTV cameras. On a later footpath I managed to cross fields, and a neatly cut area of grass in front of a large house to arrive at another single lane road. I left this after some houses called Graig-Llyn on a path across some grassy banks marked on the map as a "fort",  an Iron age hill fort maybe? My walk around Cardiff was revealing more archaeological sites that I had expected.

After walking through some stinging nettles I hit the Cefn Porth road which I followed down to the Cardiff North M4 motorway service station. This area of Cardiff is not served by any railway line, although a more enlightened council would build one by the Rhymney river to serve the large number of new houses in this area. Buses do however run from the Cardiff North retail park.

Cardiff North Industrial Park, the trees were are lovely yellow

For a gpx track of my route visit wikiloc.com

Cardiff in Covid lockdown: following the boundaries: Day 2

Due to the rise of the Covid 19 cases in Cardiff, part of the "second wave", residents are not allowed to leave the city, which is also a county, unless essential. That led me to wonder where exactly the boundaries are, so I set out to walk them. My first day of this circumnavigation of Cardiff was from Cardiff Bay to St Fagans, where the boundary roughly followed the edge of the urban area. Today, the boundary went a little AWOL, heading off into the surrounding farmland for no obvious reason to create a bulge into the countryside away from the city.

I returned to St Fagans, stopping for coffee on the way by Fairwater Green. A blanket of drizzle dulled the colours of the landscape, although the autumnal orange of some trees stood out in defiant contrast. The county boundary of Cardiff follows the A4232 dual carriageway, a kilometre west of St Fagans, a busy road on which no pedestrians are allowed. Consequently I followed the nearest footpath, which runs between two parts of the St Fagans museum, before passing mature woodland. A few fallen trees forced a slight deviation, but otherwise it was one of the more attractive parts of my hike today. The footpath then crosses fields where a battle was fought in the English Civil War, when in 1648 Parliamentarians (the Roundheads) under Oliver Cromwell defeated a larger number of Royalists (the Cavaliers). After a diversion along a quiet road it was through more fields edged by mature trees, crossing under an abandoned railway line and over a stream. Curious cows wandered over to have a look at me as I checked the route. I was trying out an Ordnance Survey App called "OS maps" on my phone today for the first time, which allowed me to see my position on an Explorer series map I had bought some time ago. The cows stood around me thoughtfully reviewing what I was up to. Maybe they thought it strange that they were in Cardiff rather than in the more rural county of the Vale of Glamorgan nearby.

Cows checking me out, the one on the right a little camera shy

Sunken single lane road, with ferns below the hedges, typical of the area around Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

I left the footpath, crossing a stile overgrown with ivy, to follow a single track road that took my under the M4 motorway near its intersection with the A4232. At this intersection the county boundary turns west following the M4 for a kilometre or two before turning north and passing between the villages of Creigiau (in Cardiff) and Groes-faen (in Rhondda Cynon Taf). To keep close to, but not illegally crossing the Cardiff boundary I walked beside the A4119 in a westerly direction from the little church of St Ellteyrn. Although a busy road there was a pavement beside it, although it unhelpfully swopped from one side to another. As on my previous day's boundary walk I encountered a large area of new house building. Given the high price of housing compared with people's salary, building more houses, thereby increasing the supply can only help moderate future house prices, making living more affordable. People are of course concerned about loss of green areas around Cardiff, although this patch of land was not of the greatest scenic or ecological value. However, these modern estates seem to lack facilities like pubs and shops forcing people to use their cars.

I walked up the road by the village of Creigiau, in places hoping that a fast car would not come round the bend as there was no place to jump out of the way, the bank and hedges beside the road being impenetrable and rising steeply. There was a Neolithic burial chamber signposted to the left of the road and I tried to find it. I incorrectly went down a drive and was directed towards a large, and well-manicured lawn but could not work out where it was, the lettering on my map covered too large an area and I did not know exactly what I was looking for. Subsequently checking on the internet, it appears only the stone slabs remain, the mound has gone, and it seems to be against a wall and covered in creepers at grid reference ST07728214. Maybe I will have another go at finding it.

Summit of the Garth

Reaching the Glamorgan Ridgeway path I turned right into Ty'n-y-coed woods, where a muddy track took me by old quarries now lost in the trees dripping with water. Diverting left through a field to keep as close as possible to Cardiff's boundary I walked up to a single track road. Following that up between hedges led me to the footpath that would take me up the Garth. When I was young I was told the Garth was the nearest mountain to Cardiff, being just over a thousand feet at 1007 feet. A bronze age burial mound at the summit is the only reason it exceeds a thousand feet. It was the inspiration for the book and film "The Englishman who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain". Since I was young some have claimed that a mountain is only a mountain if it is over 2000 ft, naturally they are wrong as the Garth has always been a mountain. Today the tumulus and trig point at the summit were enveloped in cloud. Squat black cows watched me as I climbed to the top. At the end of the ridge there is usually a good view down into Cardiff and across the valley of the River Taff, but today it was hidden by cloud. I descended down to the river through the village of Gwaelod y Garth, following it south, downstream passed housing. There were two pedestrian bridges over the river to Taff's Wells, but crossing either one would have taken me into the county of Caerphilly and a potential fine under the Welsh Coronavirus regulations. Instead I crossed at the road bridge and walked into Tongwynlais (a village in Cardiff). Sadly the café there was closed and so, leaving the rest of the Cardiff boundary for another day, I progressed on tarmac paths through the massive M4, A470 interchange, before following the busy Northern Avenue down to Whitchurch Railway station, arriving two minutes before the 16:06 train.

Part of route down the Taff

For a gpx track of my route visit wikiloc.com.

Cardiff in Covid lockdown: following the boundaries: Day 1

Rising numbers of Covid 19 cases has resulted in a local lockdown in Cardiff, with residents not allowed to leave the city except for essential travel. Overhearing a conversation about whether one could visit Marks & Spencer's in the Culverhouse Cross retail park, set me wondering where the boundaries of Cardiff were, important as when out walking, I would not want to accidentally break the law by leaving the area. So I decided to try and walk along some of Cardiff's boundaries to see where they went. 

Cardiff is both a city and it appears a county, as well as a council area. I thought it was part of the county of South Glamorgan but it appears that was abolished in 1996. In my school days Cardiff was part of Glamorgan but that disappeared even earlier. Glancing at the map in the regulations I decided to start my walk at Cardiff Bay, walking from Cardiff Bay railway station across the barrage that has enclosed the bay since 1999. A pleasant walk, the bay on one side and the sea on the other, with water gushing through large gates from the bay to the sea, which today was at low tide. It strikes me as an excellent place to generate some hydroelectric power, capturing some of the energy of the departing water.

Being Cardiff Bay I naturally thought it was in Cardiff. A mistake. On seeing the Penarth Marina sign having crossed the barrage I thought I better look more carefully at my Ordnance Survey map. In fact I had inadvertently left Cardiff and entered the borough county of the Vale of Glamorgan when I crossed the locks in the barrage. I saw no signs to indicate my error, and there were plenty of people enjoying the walk and unbeknown to them risking a fine of £60. A more natural geographical boundary would have been the ancient sea cliffs behind the bay, with the town of Penarth on the top, a natural barrier now covered with trees, behind the marina with its posh modern houses. I crossed the Ely River back into Cardiff at the first opportunity at a pedestrian bridge, here there was indeed a sign warning against anything but essential travel. In my little excursion outside Cardiff it seemed highly improbable that I had become infected by anyone since I had been several metres away from the nearest person, nor likely that I had inadvertently spread the virus should I not know I had it. Most transmission is in homes, work places, care homes, hospitals and the like, not outdoors so why the act of crossing an invisible line should somehow spread Coronavirus, when there are plenty of the above in Cardiff, is a bit beyond me. Nevertheless, as a law abiding citizen I made especially sure to stay within the county line for the rest of the day. At first this was easy as the map showed the county boundary running down the centre of the River Ely, and on the Cardiff side of this river there is the waymarked Ely trail, which I followed through trees, and a park on a former rubbish tip, beside the more urban areas of Cardiff.

Barrage enclosing Cardiff Bay, the County boundary is at the locks (below the pale blue steel work), and not at the tree covered slope beyond.

I saw no signs on the barrage but when I re-crossed into Cardiff, restrictions to essential travel were clearly posted.

My walk along the river ended with a new estate of high density housing built on a "brownfield" site. Google maps unfortunately anticipated the future, suggesting there was a way through the estate, however, at the end of the street I walked along, building work was still in progress, and I had to retrace my steps and walk along a section of the busy Cowbridge Road. After crossing the Ely River beside the road bridge, I turned left back along the river into older housing in an attempt to get close to the boundary again. Spotting on my map where Cardiff's boundary ran proved difficult, I concluded the dashed lines were hidden by the A4232 dual carriageway, a road with no pedestrian access. To get as close as possible I walked into Trelai Park, an area of grass, dog walkers, football and rugby pitches I never before knew existed. There was also a smart, new looking school, in an area that I had previously, and wrongly, thought of as a bit run down.

Following backstreets I was looking for a means of reaching a hillfort marked on my map. Once before I had attempted to find it, but was deterred by the lack of Public Footpath signs. I also found no such signs this time, but with my map at hand in case I should be challenged, with public rights of way clearly marked on it, I first followed a tarmac path through an area of neatly cut grass and when that died, climbed up through woods on a steep path of slithery mud. Reaching the plateau, grassy ramparts and ditches were evidence of the Iron Age Caerau Hillfort. In the centre was the ruins of St Mary's church, which may date back to the 13th century. It appears there are plans to make the site more accessible with a visitors centre and better trails, certainly it deserves to be a better known as a major archaeological site lying just within the boundaries of Cardiff. 

Earthworks of Iron Age Hillfort with ruins of St Mary's church beyond.

Coming down from the hillfort on a mucky vehicle track, it was through the houses again back to Cowbridge road, passed a cemetery and almost to the Culverhouse Cross roundabout, which people were crossing and possibly illegally leaving Cardiff. Instead I turned right down Michaelston Road before returning to a path that ran close to the A4232. Initially I followed a tarmac path, but after that the public footpath marked on the map, that should have returned me to the Michaelston Road shrank to multiple partings in the undergrowth. I suspect I lost wherever the path was meant to go and followed a vague route made by local residents that led down to the River Ely. Pushing through Himalayan balsam plants, following the fence by the railway at times, and passing an old wooden weir gate, I arrived back at the road by the railway crossing at St Fagan's.

Old wooden weir gate.

St Fagan's has a wonderful Folk Museum, currently closed by the Coronavirus pandemic. So I headed back down the Ely Trail, and up through the suburb of Fairwater to its park (the Dingle Dell) which, improbably though it seems, has an artificial ski slope. Shortly after that there was the Fairwater Railway station and the end of today's ramble.

For a gpx track of my route visit wikiloc.com.