Y Filltir Sgwâr/The Square Mile: This Landscape – Yr Dirwedd Hon

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

An old farm on a hillside, woodland waterfalls and cascades, majestic mountain views and colliery spoil piled high is an unexpected combination when you stop to think about it really, but that is what you will find at Cwm Ffrwd, near Talywain and Varteg, Abersychan.

The very first article in this series The Song of the Ffrwd was all about this little valley and the stream that winds its way down to the Afon Llwyd. Everyone that I talk to locally pretty much refers to the stream as ‘the river’ and it does have that look about it when the water is up, but the literal translation of ffrwd from the Welsh is stream.

As the series is coming to its end very shortly, I wanted to return just one more time to share something of this complex landscape in the depths of Winter and besides it has the feel of a river right now.

And what can I say about the weather this week … it has certainly turned colder and there has been everything from snow to bright sunlight.

It is extraordinary how much the mood of place can change so much with the light and the photographs within this article reflect different moments over several days. Hopefully, they will add something to those published in earlier articles and add a little to the story of this landscape.

Winter defines every layer, every line and every texture in this valley. After Sunday’s snow fall it was as if I was transported into the landscape of ‘The Hunters in the Snow’ by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, minus the hunters of course, especially where the colliery spoil is framed by the by the bare outstretched limbs of the largest trees.

Coal tips

I cannot look at the coal tips now though, without thinking of the words of R. Gareth Wyn Jones, Emeritus Professor from Bangor University, who gave the Inaugural Address to the Senedd for Nation Cymru last year. They are a very visible reminder of man’s ever increasing, ever hungry appetite for energy.

‘As recorded by Malhi, and earlier Cook, the fossil-fueled Industrial Revolution catalysed another leap in the energy flow or social metabolism per head. As might be expected from the earlier revolutions, it has permitted a huge increase in human numbers and density. Perhaps less obviously it also caused more photosynthetic energy and carbon to meet our needs at the expense of the rest of the biosphere.’ Energy and Power, Our Perilous Obsessions, R. Gareth Wyn Jones

I suppose in the scheme of things it’s about the age-old problem ‘the more you have, the more you want’ and as I walk locally, I often think we should be learning from what we have done to the Earth in the past.

But … I do believe there is hope and just a short step away from the coal tips the beautiful and secluded woodland waterfalls and cascades can be found, such a remarkable survivor of the industrialisation and in my mind a beautiful oasis.

I don’t think there are many weeks that go by without me taking a walk here. I like its moods in every season, but there was something very, very special about the recent snowfall blanketing the course of the Ffrwd on Sunday.

There was no sunlight to speak of, the light could be best described as grey and yet I had a spiritual feeling in listening to the powerful, flowing song of the stream.

It is so, so incredible that this part of the woodland valley remained intact while all around it the extraction of coal from deep beneath took its toll. I can only think that someone held this land very closely to their hearts and kept it safe and it is this that gives me hope.

Above the racing Ffrwd, nestled into its protective hillside nest, lies Graig-ddu Farm. Like Ty Cwmsychan and the New Foundout farms that can be found just ‘next door’ in Cwm Sychan it is a ruin now, with just one wall remaining.

This one wall, with the structure of its intricately placed stones exposed to the elements, gives the ruins a context, it allows you to imagine the farm as it once may have been and to imagine it as a home.

I like to read the information board on every visit, I have done so many times and I find that it triggers something new in my mind on each occasion because it is such an interesting read. I cannot praise the decision for its placement too highly at all.

‘This ancient farmstead was built along an old Drovers Road and in its life was also used as a place of worship, a public house, a venue for knuckle fights and the odd game of cards!

Graig-ddu was the home of the Williams family whose men folk supplemented their farm income by working underground in the nearby Red Ash and Lower Varteg Collieries.

Vandals

The farm was occupied right up to the 1960’s but was burned out by vandals when the family moved to Garndiffaith.’

The destructive work of vandals is so hard to understand and I every sympathy for the Williams family who must have found this so hard to take, with so many memories left behind in its walls.

It’s funny the things that you notice for the first time, even after quite a number of years of walking in the same place throughout all the seasons.

As I was admiring the view of Mynydd Varteg from the ruins of the farm I suddenly had the awareness that there was an absence of snow on the opposite hillside, while I was standing on a good covering of powdery, white flakes.

The thought struck me that the farm too would not have had as much direct sunlight during the day in the winter months, which I am sure would have made it harder for the folks who lived and worked there.

I thought about the gritting lorries that go about their business in the dark hours so that we are able to get on the road the next day. This kind of support would have been unavailable in such a remote location.

And then I thought about how much we take for granted today, so many thanks indeed to all those who do so much for all of us at this time of the year in the difficult conditions that Winter brings, the drivers of the gritting lorries, the energy workers and those involved with maintaining our water supply and I am sure there must be a great many more besides.

For all that this is a valley with the scars of an industrial past, there is so much that is truly beautiful here too. Sunlight caught between the fingers of a winter tree set high on a hillside track is a lovely way to finish a walk and reminds me of how much I love ‘this landscape – yr dirwedd hon’.

Some Helpful Information

Parking
There is a small car park next to Talywain Rugby Club. A short walk along the lane just behind the club will take you to a designated walk route for Cwm Ffrwd.

Be Prepared
This is a landscape that can be deceptive. At times this week the walking has been very hard; it is so important to equip yourself well for the winter weather. Warm waterproof clothing and good boots or wellies are a must.

I would also recommend a walking stick as a third leg. These days I hardly ever walk without a trusty stick.