Y Filltir Sgwâr/The Square Mile: Summer at the Lasgarn woodland

In a year long series Tom Maloney, from Abersychan, shows how you can love a place so well it becomes a part of you.

At various times I have been told ‘Tom, you are always up a mountain somewhere or … you are always up the Lasgarn!’ I suppose there is some truth in this, as I feel the need to walk daily, a feeling that has increased in recent years.

When I think about the Lasgarn Woodland it is a place that I hold dearly, perhaps even like a first love, as it was most certainly one of the first places that I explored when I came to live in Abersychan a good many moons ago.

So for me a little article about the woodland in summer is a must, besides on long hot summer days, the cooling shade of the trees is so much more preferable to walking in the sweltering heat.

Happiness

I always feel endorphins of happiness just walking down Waterworks Lane to enter the wood near the Rising Sun Bridge and by the way there is a very small car park here, for about three to four cars, for anyone wanting to visit.

At the moment the portal to the woodland is much obscured by the heavily laden, shielding branches of a grand old beech tree. The leaves are a darker shade of bottle green now rather than the sap green of Spring. It is as if the woodland has cocooned itself in a protective veil and wants you to tread carefully as you enter its green world.

A little ‘duck and shimmy’ was required to ease past the extended branches, but thankfully after this point the path was easily accessible once again and thankfully too the wood felt cool immediately, like the soft touch of velvet on my bare arms.

As uphill paths go this is one of my favourites. It is rocky, it can be slippery and I would always recommend the use of a stick as a third leg, but there are so many places that you can stop and just take things in and … I do! Why hurry and miss so much?

The woodland is all about the light just now with beautiful rays pouring through the breaks in the tree canopy creating magical pictures in every direction.

 One thing that I have realised from writing this series of articles is that my walks can have a ritual, especially when the places have a special attraction for me.

Following the paths through the old limestone quarry workings that date back to the Industrial Revolution are particularly enjoyable and I have come to feel oneness with these spaces, a sense of spirituality that is always there regardless of the season.

The scent is earthy now and pleasant, though in truth, I miss the sweet perfume of the bluebells and the delicious aroma of Wild Garlic that permeated these old workings in the Spring.

There is an element of luck in taking photographs; sometimes it is simply about being in the right place at the right time, something that you cannot always guarantee.

The old tram road that runs through the heart of the Lasgarn has to be one of its most interesting features. In places it is still quite intact, but taking an image that captures the distinctive pinholes in the stone sleepers that once held the iron track is not always easy. I have been trying for many years with varying degrees of success.

What a joy to come across a section of the track bed with a pool of light illuminating one of the stones perfectly!

Summer flowers

Between the two older sections of the woodland is an open space that I have nicknamed in my mind as ‘Butterfly Alley’. It is a short track, lined with the wild flowers of summer such as Rosebay willowherb (Chamerion augustifolium) and along its length it has several Buddleia (Buddleja), known commonly also as the ‘butterfly bush’.

Buddleia is fairly widespread and so often so easy to just walk by its spreading branches, but do allow yourself a quiet moment to take in its sweet honey like fragrance.

In past years it has been a wonderful spot to see Peacock butterflies (Aglais io), Red admirals (Vanessa atalanta), Gatekeepers (Pyronia tithonus) and Meadow browns (Maniola jurtina) in abundance.

I have a sense this year that butterfly numbers are down and on a daily basis I have been looking at buddleia wherever I see them in the hope of seeing something special.

Any concerns for this location though quickly dissipated, as there were butterflies galore!

Beautiful

If I have a favourite, the Peacock Butterfly has to be right up there. Until this week I had not seen that many of this beautiful pollinator at all, so it was altogether reassuring to see this species in numbers at the Lasgarn Woodland.

The richness of its vibrant red orange colour, its wing pattern so reminiscent of a peacock and its speed of flight is just lovely to see, ‘hyfryd i weld’ in the Welsh.

 A summer walk at the Lasgarn would not be complete without a little exploration of what must be one of the oldest parts of wood sitting close to the top of Waterworks Lane.

For me this is a mystical place, a setting fit for a play by Shakespeare or a story by Tolkien where you might expect to see fairies, goblins or witches in equal measure.

Nature tells it story here as well, with everything in harmony.

As it was with the beginning, the path that rejoins Waterworks Lane from here is obscured by summer growth at the moment and in honesty was something of a struggle to walk along, but I was glad I persevered.

The view across the valley from the top of this grand, picturesque old lane is always wonderful and on this occasion took my thoughts to the artist John Constable and a quote that is frequently attributed to the great artist

“We see nothing truly until we understand it.”

Just a few words, but what words! I think that this is the reason why I love to walk; there is a fascination in understanding what we see.

About the name ‘Lasgarn’

As a Welsh learner the name ‘Lasgarn’ has puzzled me for some time.

At one time I think Abersychan must have been an area where Welsh would have been spoken as the first language as so many of the place names are Welsh. I turned to my little book ‘Welsh Place Names and their meanings’ by Dewi Davies for a little help with this. This is a book that I can heartily recommend.

I could find names beginning with Garn, meaning ‘a heap of stones or cairn’ but no names beginning with ‘Las’.

There are however, names that begin with ‘Glas’ meaning green or blue and so I have wondered whether in time the name may have changed from Glasgarn, dropping the ‘G’ to become Lasgarn?

So would the name Lasgarn actually mean something like ‘Blue or Green Cairn’?

I would admit that that this may be completely wrong and replies that would answer this little question in my mind would be very welcome.