Welsh is taught in their Treorcki school alongside Spanish - but no English!

At school (that's me - on the right - with a teacher),

Bi-lingual and road signs in Patagonia, South America.

  Left: Cemetery,

  Below: Merino sheep blocking the road to Treorcki!!

Rhobert ap Steffan, Patagonia, South America - 2008

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"TOM’S TRAVELS"

Tom Jenkins of Ynyswen, an exceptionally well-travelled senior citizen, along with his eldest son Andrew, recently undertook a motoring adventure in South Africa.

In previous years they both have travelled extensively in many lands, and within the United States of America and Canada in particular.

Andrew is an ordained Minister and also the Asia Representative of ‘Action Overseas’ which is the Missionary Arm of the Apostolic Church within the United Kingdom and has served on the Board of Action Overseas for several years and represented them in the Baltic States, Latvia in particular, in previous years.

Andrew was the guest speaker in a very well known American Church in Philadelphia, USA last year, and accompanied by his father Tom, travelled across California, Pennsylvania, Washington-State, Virginia, Maryland, Up State New York and into Canada, motoring into Toronto.

While Tom and Andrew were in Pennsylvania they stayed in the Hilton Hotel in Scranton and carried out family research over a four day period, spending time in the Allbright Central Library’s Reference Dept. where they were afforded cooperation and courtesy.

While in Pennsylvania they drove to Harrisburg the capital and the famous town of Gettysburg in which one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War was fought.

Driving up though Up State New York, Tom and Andrew crossed the Canadian border and continued their journey via Niagra with Tom celebrating his 79^th birthday in the Hilton Hotel, Niagra, and then on to Toronto, after which they both drove all the way to New York where they did some Christmas shopping.

Tom, who turned 80 years old in November 2008, insists he has no regrets with respect to travelling throughout his life. He has stood in silence in the Vad Vashem, the Memorial of the Holocost in Jerusalem, equally stood in silence at Ground Zero in New York, and spent an afternoon in Arlington cemetery in Washington. He has fulfilled many aspirations that in life he has held, going for walks in so many famous places – San Francisco, Rome, Florence, Istanbul, Varna, Trieste, Amman, Cairo, Jerusalem, Naples, New York, Washington, Philadelphia etc. etc. Sitting on the bed that Abraham Lincoln died upon, and enjoying a coffee in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York.

This year, on October 22, Tom and Andrew flew to Cape Town, South Africa, and after booking into the famous Commodore Hotel on the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, set off in their hired car along with their maps and Sat Navigator.

They explored the Western Cape Province travelling along the Garden Route, the Cape of Good Hope. Going to the summit of Table Mountain by cable car, driving through the black townships of Mitchells Plains and then on to Simonstown.

Their only disappointment was not being able to visit the famous Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned from 1963 to 1982. The reason was that the island was overrun by rabbits. Apparently, the Local Authority there wishes to institute a cull but faces major opposition.

Tom remarked that he had stood in Al Capone’s cell (the infamous Chicago gangster), and stood in the cell of the infamous Bird Man of Alcatraz – namely Robert Stroud but how strange it was that rabbits had stopped him and Andrew from standing in Nelson Mandela’s cell.

They flew on to Durban, KwaZulu, Natal - a distance of approx. 1,500 miles, and booked into the Balmoral Hotel on the sea-front overlooking the Indian Ocean.

What was epic – that while flying from Cape Town to Durban the pilot held general knowledge quizzes. They both participated and the very formidable opposition was a party of senior students from Durban High School.

Durban has a sub-tropical climate and it was the end of their Springtime.

Andrew travels much in Europe and Asia but he has had much experience being involved in previous years with victims of the continuing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tom remarked that we met a number of French speaking Congalese young men in Durban and what was strange to hear his son speaking in French back to them.

Once again, equipped with maps and a ‘sat nav’ along with their hired car, Tom and Andrew set off to explore the South African province of Kwa/Zulu-Natal.

They motored to the orders of the Orange Free State and the Transvall, visiting so many historical places where the Zulu and South African Boer War (1899-1902) was fought. History came alive in Rourke’s Drift where so many Welshmen won the Victoria Cross in 1879.

They motored through Estcourt, Dundee, and spent time in the famous town of Ladysmith, where Winston Churchill was captured after escaping from Pretoria.

Tom made mention there of a long-ago Ton-Pentre character named Sidney Carter, who along with his wife, owned a fish and chip shop in Church Road in the 1930’s and 1940’s, where ‘A Fish Called Rhondda’ now stands.

Sydney Carter had fought in the South African War and while the customers were waiting for the fish and chips to be completely fried they were entertained by his ‘Boer War Stories’ and the town of Ladysmith figured in these tales.

Tom also recalling that the local superstore in Ladysmith was very similar to the Pioneer Coop Store in Treorchy, where an exceptionally courteous young lady named Pearl, was coincidentally born in Ladysmith.

Tom and Andrew also visited the birth place of Shaka – the great Zulu chief, and Shakaland, where film Shaka was shot.

The main highlight of their South African visit was when Tom and Andrew were the guests at a special barbecue held at the home of Mr Maxwell Gregory and his South African wife Lisa, along with their two small children. Also present was Mr and Mrs John and Christine Gregory, the parents of Maxwell, who had motored down a great distance from Vryheid, where their own home is situated.

John and his son Maxwell are respectively the eldest son and grandson of the late Pastor John and Beryl Gregory of Clydach Vale. Mrs Beryl Gregory still resides in the family home and Mrs Joyce Jenkins, Andrew’s wife, is John’s sister.

John Gregory emigrated to Zambia approx. 37 years ago where he worked as the Manager of Copper Mines and then re-emigrated to South Africa 30 years ago where he worked as a Mining Engineer. John and his wife Christine are graduates of Cardiff University. They are currently teaching in private schools and John as a true Welshman is the choir master of a well-known Zulu Children’s Choir.

This family re-union for Andrew and Tom, with the Rhondda top of the agenda and with the International rugby game this year at the Millenium Stadium, made this year’s travel adventure a truly nostalgic one.

Tom Jenkins, Ynyswen - November 2008

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Three Peaks and a few other lumps, bumps and blisters!      Mike Ash, Pentre - October 2008

The last Sunday of the Beacons Bus operation in 2008 looked to be a fine day, so I thought I might try the “Beacons Circuit” walk published by The Brecon Beacons National Park.

The leaflet describes it as “The Big One”, being around 11 miles from start to finish, and supposedly taking 4 to 6 hours.

The Beacons Bus services which serve the starting and finishing point at Storey Arms get there at about 10:40am and return at about 5:45pm, which allows 7 hours for the circuit.

I am not adverse to walking, although it is a long time since I have ventured one of that length.

This route looked to offer some spectacular views across the Beacons to make the extra effort worthwhile.

Photo: View from Y Gryn

The route commences with a fairly gradual climb up Y Gryn, via a somewhat ambiguous route, where sheep tracks and rain-water gullies could all be mistaken for the actual path.

I did however manage to locate the stile that marks the route to Corn Du.

Photo: The stile with Corn Du and Pen y Fan ahead

Shortly before ascending the ridge up to the summit, I passed the Tommy Jones Obelisk, which commemorates a five year old boy, the son of a Maerdy, Rhondda miner, who lost his way whilst on the way to visit his grand-parents at Cwm Llwch farmhouse.

It wasn’t until after 29 days of searching that his remains were found near where the memorial now stands.

Photo: The Obelisk

After a long walk from Brecon Station, they had reached Login - used as a canteen by troops from the local target ranges - and stopped for refreshment.

They met the grandfather there, accompanied by Tommy’s 14 year old cousin, who was sent off ahead to warn the household of the arrival of the visitors, and young Tommy followed him.

In the dark Tommy got separated from his cousin, and it is thought he was trying to find his way back to the camp but took the wrong track.

Looking down beyond the obelisk you can see Llyn Cwm Llwch way below.

Cwm-llwch is further down the valley directly above where a watercourse enters the lake in the picture.

Login (now ruined) is beyond that.

The target ranges were to the left, about half-way between the lake and Cwm-llwch.

It is truly difficult to imagine how a 5 year-old, more used to crowded terraced houses, managed to get to where he was eventually found, and the nightmare his journey must have been.

                                                                                                Photo: Llyn Cwm Llwch

Onwards and upwards the summit of Corn Du at around 2,837ft is soon reached, to be followed by a walk across a ridge to the next summit of Pen y Fan, which at 2,907ft is the highest peak in South Wales and also the highest point in Britain south of the Snowdon range.

From the top of Pen y Fan there is a scramble down and then up to the third peak of Cribyn at 2,609ft.

I call it a scramble, because although the paths have been surfaced in stone to counter the erosion caused by countless hikers boots, the way in which it has been laid makes descending a very slippery exercise!

A further scramble brought me down to a track at Bwlch ar y Fan where I joined the cart track which heads towards the Neuadd reservoirs.

From the point where the track forks into the reservoir complex, it would be possible to walk straight on via Taf Fechan and pick-up the Beacons Bus circular route B16 near Ystradgynwyn, or, (when they get round to running trains on the new section of track!) the Brecon Mountain Railway at Torpantau.

Photo: Brecon Mountain Railway, Torpantau terminus where sheep wait in vain for non-existant trains!

Continuing with the walk, I crossed the old damn wall of the Lower Neaudd reservoir and through the field gate as the walk leaflet instucts, to be confronted with perhaps the most confusing part of the walk.

The instructions say “climb for 200m alongside forestry, towards a trig point at 642m. Beware this path is steep and muddy”.

200m is about 650ft in real money, and I’m sure that this uphill scramble was more than that.

There are in fact two paths to the top of the ridge, both of which are more akin to mountain waterfalls than footways!

Some discreet way- markers might be of use on this bit of the walk.

From the top of these climbs the track follows the ridge, Craig Fan Ddu, with fine views to the right of Cribyn and Pen y Fan to Bwlch Duwynt.

Here I turned sharp left and headed down towards the main road at Pont ar Daf, and along the road back to Storey Arms.

Photo: Lower Neuadd Reservoir

Perhaps because I am not quite as sprightly as the walks author, I arrived back at Storey Arms, about an hour after the last bus had gone, and needed to arrange to be collected.

The walk is brilliant from the scenic point of view, but be prepared for rough and often slippery terrain.

Take refreshments with you if you want to try this walk, and be prepared for sudden weather changes as well as strong gusts of wind on the ridges.

The walk took me nearer 8 hours than the 4 to 6 claimed by the author in the leaflet, so be sure to plan your travel arrangements carefully!

A further word of warning, there is poor or non-existent signal reception on mobile phones around Storey Arms, so if you need to arrange transport do it while you are still on the ridges, or in advance of the trip.

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Castle and Gardens with Beacons Bus - by Mike Ash, Pentre - 2008

I discovered the excellent Summer Sunday “Beacons Bus” network this year, and having more than a passing interest in gardens, was delighted to find that I could use it to visit both the National Botanical Gardens and Aberglasney. 

Whilst these places are not in the National Park, they are both served by the service which runs from Brecon to Carmarthen via Llandeilo and connects in Brecon with the service from the Valleys. 

Getting to these places by public transport is difficult if not impossible on any other days. 

My first trip was to the National Botanical Gardens and I found the time allowed between outward and return buses was just about right to take a leisurely look around.

Aberglasney, on the other hand is a much smaller complex and I felt the time here was a bit excessive if it was made the sole object of the afternoon. 

On my previous excursion to the Botanical Gardens I had noticed a hilltop castle not far after passing Golden Grove and thought it might be possible to combine a visit to this with a look round Aberglasney.

A brief study of a local map showed a that it should be possible to walk from the castle at Dryslwyn to Aberglasney reasonably quickly, so I decided to give it a try. Asking the driver for Dryslwyn only achieved the response of “where’s that”, so I did need to keep an eagle eye for the right turning. Alighting from the bus, the castle is in plain sight and is only a short walk away. 

For the railway enthusiast you pass what is left of Dryslwyn Station, and there is still a level crossing gate in place on one side of the road. I could not help but think that in these days of tourist railways this old line which ran from Carmarthen to Llandeilo along the Twyi valley would have made a fantastic attraction in its own right as well as providing a useful link to/from the Heart of Wales line.

Dryslwyn Castle is approached by a footpath just after crossing the river Twyi, which takes you straight into the ruins. You do not need a lot of time to see the remains of this truly Welsh castle, but do take time out to admire the views up and down the river. Paxtons Tower can be seen across the valley. 

Leave the castle by the footpath which goes down the opposite side to where you entered, and exit through a gate onto the road. Turn right and follow this road past a farm and up a small hill to a T junction where you need to turn right. Follow this road past the entrance to Pentre Dafis and then look out for a footpath striking uphill towards the woods on your left. 

On reaching the woods the path bears right and roughly follows the edge of the wooded area .This path is poorly way-marked and badly overgrown, but with persistence you will eventually join a lane at Grongar which will take you down to Aberglasney. At times I did wonder if anyone had trod this path since  “Under Milk Wood’s” Rev Eli Jenkins, passed by “Grongar, near Golden Grove”!

The entrance to Aberglasney is at the end of the building complex on your right. Should you not have strayed too far from the foregoing path, you should now have sufficient time to look around the various parts of the delightful gardens, as well as take a light snack in the tea-rooms which overlook the Pond Garden pictured above, and perhaps even buy a plant or two in their small garden shop.