Author Topic: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.  (Read 4498 times)

barewirewalker

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Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« on: 14:29:33, 31/03/19 »
We have 3 favourites on the River Vyrnwy and Mrs BWW expressed a wish to walk there;

Between the Lake dam and Pont Llogel.

Between Pont Llogel and Dolanog.

Dolanog and Pont Robert.


Names some who have walked Glyndwrs Way may be familiar with. It is  an area rich in rights of way by comparison with other places and we have created a number of variation to include out favourite parts.

The is a a small Public car park, opposite a Chapel dedicated to Anne Griffiths. Some well maintain public conveniences, typical of the small villages in this area are handy for a was and brush up, other walkers had chosen road side parking areas, but we did not meet anyone en route. It is terrain you will not see people in even if they are there.

We decided on Dolanog, actually the first starting point for our introduction to this area, deciding to walk upriver, we dallied under the bridges, enjoying the sounds of the river before setting off throught the river meadows. The RoW does not take the route immediate to the river side but a total absence of way marks found us quickly along side the tree lined bank in time to catch a glimpse of a group of Gooseanders, not yet paired up.

As we approached Plas Dolanog a figure approached us from the farm buildings. Expecting some reproach for straying of the legitimate way to enjoy the river bank, it was very refreshing to be told that this is Wales and the absence of way marks was due to a policy of sometimes never and related by 'Barney', recently from Derbyshire, proud owner of the property and the few fields we had walked across. Also of the philosophy the though he had purchased the freehold, God had not given him the sole right to the place. (Obviously not an avid reader of the CLA's Monthly 'Land and Business').

We staid a bit, enjoying a conversation with Barney and Charlotte his wife for 20 minutes or more, discussing sheep, rare breeds and other country matters. When we moved to the other side of the farm we found way marks and walk furniture, check the the map! Ah! The Anne Griffiths Walk and Glyndwr's Way have linked into out route. A sublime stretch of river side walking, steep sidling ground with the path some 20 to 30 feet above the water giving away to more river meadows, where we met another farmer, a young couple and child playing in the river, who had driven down to the river side in the farm truck.

By the time we parted company I think we had spent more time enjoying conversation than we had actually walked, though we a spent all that time in the most glorious countryside. 3/4 of a mile later, we parted company with the River Vyrnwy, followed a track N out on to a lane the turning right walked some 100 or so yds expecting to find a fingerpost into a small area of wooded open access. Only to find a pile of freshly cut brush, stacked across the obvious indentation of an old way through the wood. Slashing a way through with my walking pole, tp make way for Mrs BWW, I gained the old track way to find a gutter dug into it to drain an area of woodland taken over by a pheasant release pen. Sloppy land management, can't find land drains and clear out ditches and use old ways to expel land water out onto the roadside so the highways deal with it.


Discussion with Mrs BWW, probability, we are not going to find waymarks or walk furnitire, we are going to find fences to climb and bramble, briars and other pricklies in our way and even enraged wurzles; do we press on. Unanimous affirmative!

Must break off to prepare joint of lamb, perhaps read above script and correct errors.

TBC?

« Last Edit: 14:33:30, 31/03/19 by barewirewalker »
BWW
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vghikers

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #1 on: 21:07:47, 31/03/19 »
Apart from a few typos, the attempted link inside "parted company with the River Vyrnwy" is a null URL.

Mid Wales around those parts is hit and miss with rights-of-way, especially near the proliferating pheasant rearing areas, you're bound to meet a few difficulties. We haven't walked that area close to Dolanog but done plenty farther north near Llyn Efyrnwy, good walking country and little trodden.

barewirewalker

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #2 on: 23:43:04, 31/03/19 »
the attempted link inside "parted company with the River Vyrnwy" is a null URL.
"parted company with the River Vyrnwy"
hopefully I have got it right with this attempt. Apart from having to climb a fence, in an area the OS seemed to think was open access. Our further walk though absent of WM's and furniture, all the gateways through field boundaries fell in place with the line of the line of the RoW.

I do not think that the shooting in this area is of the caliber normally associated with posh landownership, having had some communication with the Powys CC, I know that many of these outlying RoWs are 'work in progress'. The point I hope to make is the quality of way hidden in these (hopefully) temporary 'lost ways' and how the understanding of them is seen by the locals, because if the more sympathetic can be turned, the hostile may be opened to persuasion.
It was the power of the terrain that showed myself and unwittingly Mrs BWW, how wonderful a way we were walking.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

barewirewalker

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #3 on: 08:25:25, 01/04/19 »
Funny how being in woodland makes exact map reading more difficult. If I had been counting steps the distance should have been apparent, not so easy when forcing a way through briars and thickets, so as we climbed the fence to get out of the first enclosure into a pasture, I mistakenly thought we were leaving open access, only now have I pieced together the exact layout of those fields. More diverting at the time was the view, that was revealed to our left, to the NW; the Arran ridge was just showing over multiple horizons, becoming more visible over an overgrown hedge as we gained height in the field. Soon a gate was visible, this allowed us to follow the line of the marked footpath but on the wrong side of the hedge. It is fascinating countryside, valleys to right, valleys to the left, a wood straight ahead, a new farm track gave easy access to the road and thus we avoided entering the farmstead of Ty-ar-y-Graig.
 Probably a lucky choice, later to find out, as it was we got a good barking at by the farm dog, as we stood at a field gate opposite the farm, contemplating the route ahead, whether that gate and the RoW actually coincided is a moot point, certainly the dog disagreed as it followed out into the field for some way, perhaps venting it's master's displeasure. The terrain and the map soon started to agree, and really did seem that we were walking a natural way, following the twist and the turns of busy countryside. Buzzards flying overhead, a lamb no older that a few hours tottered after it's mum. Then the tops of the Rhos just started to appear amidst some vibrant yellow gorze. Getting through this farmyard was a knotty problem, well used bailer twine twisted into incomprehensible tangles was either keeping a gate together or acting as a hinge or inplace of a latch. It was take your pick, the gate either apart, fell over or opened. Despite the dogs barking the doors of a new brick farmhouse remained firmly shut, so we chose a route a mixture of old and new buildings and now looking at the map, I believe we chose the nearest to the correct route through.
 We left Rhos to head E towards Dolwar Fach, crossing a sloping field, we were looking down into the eastern end of the patch of open access we had earlier entered (looked too marshy to be much of a walking area). Happy to find a gate in the field boundary, coincidental with the route, we followed a hedge line that seemed to hang over the top of a steep, convex slope, which curved away to our left. This gave the quality of way a very pleasing sensation of exposure, but all too soon gave way to a new view of woodland and the need to descend into a valley bottom. Here we probably came to the property boundary and the means of crossing ditch and hedge had long since disappeared, walk furniture had not got to this little outpost of forgotten Wales or it was buried deep in the corner of the wood beyond a steep ravine that was showing signs of recent erosion.

Suddenly I recalled the reason I chose the name of Barewirewalker, as my intrepid partner skipped over the muddy brook, climbed the bank, wriggled through some hedge and unerringly found the best bit of fence to climb, I thought "there goes Mrs Barewirewalker". Not bad for a couple of OAP's, though my performance was not nearly so neat.Back to the map, the hedge line we reached actually matched the pattern on the map, but not the right one. However we were able to cross a field, get on another RoW and approach the farm of Dolwar Fach by a proper way, to be greeted by the rather perplexed owner,

"Are you walking Glyndwrs Way or the Anne Griffiths Walk", he asked.
"No we have come over from Rhos", I replied.
"Ow That routes been shut off for years, used to be the way the postman walked", he replied. So I did not go into too much detail how we had survived his boundary fences. Turned out he had worked for the Livestock Auctioneers at Welshpool market so we swapped a few reminiscences. When I explained we had come over from Ty-ar-y-Graig, I learnt that we were lucky we had not met that particular occupant in his farmyard, so the scolding his dog gave us was a lucky break.
 

A question; these routes as seen by the locals as redundant ways are those we have for our leisure access to the countryside. If we walk them and find merit in the routes they create, then by standing up for them, pointing out how they contribute to our enjoyment of the countryside can they be valued. We were running out of daylight because we had stopped to talk on three occasions, perhaps we lost 1 1/2 hours of our walking day, but so far we were having a good fun day out. Laughed and joked with some nice, friendly people.

Perhaps I shall come back later to finish off our walk.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

barewirewalker

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #4 on: 12:42:46, 04/04/19 »
As we left Dolwar Fach, we had decided that lengthy chats and that part of following the 'C' grade part of the counties access network had eaten into our walk time. The plan was to cast a wide enough back route to the river to rejoin the riverside, before finishing back in Dolanog. We had shown our intended route to the couple at Dolwar Fach, and the expressed the opinion that we would not receive such an open minded and warm welcome at the next farm we were to pass through. However we did not put it to the test as we opted for joining Glyndwr''s Way across the common, on the back of Allt Dolanog.
This TR is coming through a bit piecemeal as I am compiling a slide show from photos taken. Next step will be to find a replacement for Photobucket, maybe it will be Youtube but that will be another learning curve. ::)
BWW
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beefy

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #5 on: 14:27:52, 04/04/19 »
This TR is coming through a bit piecemeal as I am compiling a slide show from photos taken. Next step will be to find a replacement for Photobucket, maybe it will be Youtube but that will be another learning curve. ::)
What, after everything you said, you are going to post some pictures? Or even a video on YouTube? :o
I took one look at this trip report, and when I noticed there were no accompanying pics or video,
I couldn't be bothered reading it.
After all, a picture can speak a thousand words.


Heres a few of your rude quotes which you posted on the drone thread.
Quote
endless repetitiveness of TR's, which are just a personal record of a walk and have nothing new to offer, these can be safely tucked away on a blog and only those, who provide sufficient description, to tempt me to view will get my attention,

Yes I thought that when I noticed no one has replied to this tr

 
Quote
As much as I admire Tr's,  that is a Trip Report, a VR is only Video Report.......of what? A TR with video footage! So the walker plodding along, once done has little more to offer creatively.

I'm looking forward to see what you offer, and how creative your tr is, and how it differs and offers something new

 
Quote
Here we have an instrument of remote trespass, but are there operators, with the understanding of our restrictive network, the creative skills to interpret terrain and the ability to publish their results?
You mean like cameras?
Leave only footprints, take only photographs, kill only time ...

barewirewalker

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #6 on: 14:15:22, 05/04/19 »
Only just manage get on to the forum. My broadband has been rather flaky. There is a TR with photos for this walk if it is a VR I do not know it has been saved in MP4 format, but not including movie footage, thought there is some motion in the pictures. After losing my Photbucket account, I have recently opened a Flickr account, this seems to host video type files.
Now I have 342MB file set to a music track, but for some reason I cannot get to open Flickr, I suspect my band width has been throttled. Everything to do with the internet is so slow, that is when I can get a connection. Think I will try Flickr first as this effort is a first attempt and not too sure about the choice of sound track.

I suppose TR could stand for text report; perhaps so far this should be WR, written report, if that had been part of the title then those, who prefer pictures could be saved from adding to the hits. The above criticism got me thinking would that master draughtsman AW have titled his TRs; DRs for a trip report with drawings, the text can always be so necessary, when walking a place for the first time and without a map, but then maps were very expensive in his day.


Going back to the walk; as we left Dolfar Fach by the road that led into the property, there was a fingerpost, Glyndyr's Way came in from the left and then all manner of other walk furniture and waymarks fell into place as we continued along that route. What my images may not show, when I can get them onto the internet, is those parts of the network that are to all intent 'lostways'. The farmer, whose land they are on thinks they have been shut off and unless one is to diligently follow the map, there is no other reason to think that there is a right of way there. 


Had we not run out of time, we had intended to cast a wider back track to include more of a river walk. As we talked the couple at Dolwar, we had mentioned our intended route, which went through two farmyards, Brynmawr and Ty-mawr. I was led to understand that our welcome might not be too warm at one of those, on our return it may be wise to check if there are actually waymarks up.

On completing the walk, which we both enjoyed very much, it is countryside I love to explore. We went to a favourite pub, where we are known. During conversation there, we were told that told by the cousin of the wife of the farmer at Rhos Farm, that we were lucky to have escaped a confrontation there. It is interesting that there seems to be bad feeling towards walkers lying beneath the surface, this was told to me by a RoW Officer some years ago, that the younger generation of farmers are the ones harbouring resentment against visitors.

Perhaps those of us, who like to push the limits of the access network are more likely to be aware of these feelings. Now I am not 'grinding an axe' for the sake of it as some may think. To walk these routes is to discover their potential quality of way and evaluate the usefulness in route creation, when I first adopted the name of BWW the Rhiew valley near Welshpool was an area we were exploring. One side of the valley was anti access, to the extent that waymarked paths were being blocked on the other side of the valley the old paths were yet to be waymarked. Here we were made to feel welcome by many of the farmers, they had smaller holdings and usually did a day job. I was actually encouraged to cross the ground of one farm by the farmer so that we would be taking a RoW route across his neighbours,"You will start his dogs barking but he will not dare come out after dark." Getting to the end of the track, to join the road several hurdles were tied up to block the entrance with the most awful tangles of baler twine. I took great pleasure in undoing these and retying with quick release knots.
It was this farmer, who did contracting hedge cutting, who told me how many of his customers actively encouraged him to chop off the fingerposts. The reason we crossed his neighbours land after dark was because we spent so long chatting to him. The pub in that valley was a great favourite around that time, if any of the locals tried it on with us the landlady would literally give them a smack around the ear with her towel, which she kept very handy.And the reason; she knew we visitors helped keep the pub open so that the locals could have a local. Those anti farmers are on the side of the valley of the big shoot, no guns use the local, gamekeepers are no longer locals.

At the moment the little pub we went to after our walk is only kept open because it is the home of the landlady, recently she has lost her mother and husband. She works days as a local health visitor, keeps the pub open evening for a dozen or so locals and reckons she subsidizes the pub out of her earnings.
 All to often we find that these farmers children have been 'educated' out of farming or only one son will be able to share a living out of the holding. So often tell how the other son or the daughters got their first job in the local pub/hotel, helped themselves through uni with summertime jobs.






 
BWW
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barewirewalker

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #7 on: 10:35:51, 07/04/19 »
Still no Photos, my broadband is very slow, so I am unable to learn about my new Flickr account. My provider is away till mid week so it is a bit frustrating.
Whilst compiling the photos into a video format, some other thoughts about the way have raised questions, how much history is hidden in a way. The current resident at Dolwar Fach told us the footpath had been shut, it was the route the postman used to take, but is there more that a particular way across country can reveal. Our destination was Dolanog and there are two places of worship there, a Church and a Chapel. The route we took linked 3 holding in a direct line to the village. The Chapel is now a memorial Chapel to Anne Griffiths, surely this chapel had a strong following. Now there would have been a fairly strong class difference between those, who had to walk to Sunday worship and the wealthier, who could ride in horse drawn vehicles. Would those, who went to chapel feel more at ease taking a route separate from those going to church?
The road leads directly past the church from the west, yet the footpath come to the village from the other side, where the Chapel is situated. Ever since since I read the reason for footpaths just being old short cuts to work, so dismissively described in press releases I have felt there is more to them than just that. Perhaps I may be too imaginative in this case, but it does add some fun.


BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

Rob Goes Walking

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #8 on: 15:44:03, 07/04/19 »
I'll come back when you have added the photos. I did read it, but it didn't really sink in with no visual aids.

barewirewalker

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #9 on: 18:38:50, 12/05/19 »
Well, here are some photos, since posting this I have had Open Reach replace 15m of decayed telephone wire which might have been causing some of the irregularities with uploading and downloading. However coming to terms with another hosting site since the iniquitous P-Bucket has taxed my meager IT skills.

dolanog30-3-19a by Barewirewalker, on FlickrThe River Vyrnwy between the dam and Meifod has provided some favourite walks for us.It is a valuable resource for walkers, but provides some interesting puzzles for those who might be attempting the understand differences between countryside occupier and the leisure visitor.If a walk is attempted from Dolanog the footpath goes away from the river, but the bank is very tempting as the taster provided under the old and new bridge at close to where the footpath starts.
dolanog30-3-19b by Barewirewalker, on Flickr
I included the gossip, rather in anecdotal form, it was refreshing to find the recently moved in owner at Plas Dolanog say, "God didn't give me this so who am I to say keep on the right of way".

On leaving the yard of his property we joined Glyndwr's Way, where it follows the river for a spell and that is where we came across walk furniture and the accompanying way marks.

dolanog30-3-19f by Barewirewalker, on Flickr
As is the nature of a circular walk, it becomes necessary to turn back on oneself, we parted from G's Way and soon left behind any way marks, this track was made for the purpose, Primroses in the banks, naturally made to be designed into a walk at a point that the nature of the terrain changes.

dolanog30-3-19e by Barewirewalker, on Flickr

Now Have never been one to immediately complain to councils if I have to climb a fence or two, it is where the countryside occupier deliberately blocks an old way for their own purposes that is my complaint. A right of way is blocked here, but it is also an area of open access. Ha! Ha! The reason it has been blocked would seem to be to hide a pheasant release pen.
We had to climb over wire to get out of the wooded part of the open access, this led onto high ground so views of the surrounding countryside flooded over the hedges. dolanog30-3-19d by Barewirewalker, on Flickr

Here lady luck came to our aid, the footpath should have led us up through the trees, then slanting with circular course taken us into farm buildings out of shot on the right of the above photo. This track is not shown on the map and seemed to be an easyway. As we picked up the route from opposite the farm a vociferous dog saw us on our way. Later gossip informed us that a meeting with the occupier of this holding might not have been a happy encounter.

dolanog30-3-19c by Barewirewalker, on Flickr
Our route was now towards Allt Dolanog, the high ground on the left side of the sky line, our circular route will take us around the hill to come into Dolanog from the opposite side to which we left. The cleft between this hill and the distant horison on the right is the valley down which the River Vyrnwy flows, from right to left.


BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

sunnydale

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #10 on: 08:30:56, 13/05/19 »
Nice photos BWW! O0
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Mel

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #11 on: 20:08:10, 13/05/19 »
Yes, lovely photos BWW  O0

barewirewalker

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Re: Dolanog, River Vyrnwy and some gossip.
« Reply #12 on: 10:58:34, 14/05/19 »
Thanks Sunnydale and Mel,

 it is a very photogenic area, almost impossible to stop snapping be it close up or distant. The video has been rendered, but as yet I am undecided if to put it on YouTube, I would prefer Flickr for privacy reasons, but there seem to be some difficulties there.
Have chosen some creative commons music, which seems to carry along the plentiful string of photos, if it classifies as a VR  ::) I don't know!
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

 

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