{"id":146,"date":"2009-04-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=46"},"modified":"2011-01-25T10:30:57","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T10:30:57","slug":"import46","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=146","title":{"rendered":"Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.onload = setupZoom; function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk;\nvar walkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=700,width=800,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script>First published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('PistyllRhaeadr.jpg');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470520123_c4a140e9ea.jpg\" title=\"no caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470520123_c4a140e9ea_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470520983_b4798e1d34.jpg\" title=\"no caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470520983_b4798e1d34_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3471337710_44accc5921.jpg\" title=\"no caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3471337710_44accc5921_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470526305_7a5080e096.jpg\" title=\"no caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470526305_7a5080e096_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3471343504_871961637d.jpg\" title=\"no caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3471343504_871961637d_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470530287_aefc06fc8b.jpg\" title=\"no caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/images-global\/3470530287_aefc06fc8b_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFacebook Link: <script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=146\" layout=\"button_count\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"200\" colorscheme=\"dark\"><\/fb:like><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\">The Afon Disgynfa rushed toward the 200-ft cliff, gathered into a bulge of glass-clear water at the very rim, then hurled itself headlong into space. Prone on a spur of beaten earth beside the cliff, I watched the cascade drop away as if drawn down by strong unseen hands. Then I raised my gaze to take in the view down the U-shaped valley into which the river was tumbling: grazing meadows and many small farms between towering hillsides and naked rock crags.  Up here at the top of Pistyll Rhaeadr, the tallest waterfall in Wales, everything &#8211; mossy rocks, slippery stones, lichen-encrusted larch and hazel boughs &ndash; spoke of the damp, clean air of the surrounding Berwyn Hills, and of the all-pervading influence of the moistly exhaling fall.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\">Down on the footbridge at the base of the cliff, the waterfall itself was all the view one needed. It came hissing lazily out of the mist-whitened sky in lacy skeins, toppling gracefully into a half-way basin before bounding out through a natural bridge of polished black rock and crashing on down towards the spray-shrouded pool at the bottom. Is there a more stupendous and humbling spectacle in all Wales than this mighty cataract seen from below when furious with recent rainfall?  <\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\">I lingered a long time on the bridge, till eyes and ears were sated with the movement and noise of falling water. Then I reluctantly turned my back and followed a path between mossy trees scarred with ancient penknife carvings of lovers&rsquo; names. Out on the hillside the path dropped between house-high boulders &ndash; perhaps hurled here by giants, though other sources suggest they may have fallen from the sharp ramparts of Craig y Mwn, the Mine Rock cliffs far above. Craig y Mwn was well named: here in times past quarrymen dug out slate and miners delved for lead and silver, leaving levels, tramway trackbeds and spoil heaps to litter the mountain.   <\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\">The path threaded the hillsides where newborn lambs tottered after their blue-rumped mothers, plaintively bleating in shaky little voices. Smoke whirled from the wind-whipped chimneys of Tan-y-graig, where the farm dogs gave me a tongue-lashing from the ends of their chains. I stopped for a word with the farmer at Tyn-y-wern &ndash; the cost of feed, the price of lambs, the hard winter of 1982 when Pistyll Rhaeadr froze solid and daring souls went ice-climbing up its face. Fondling the head of Nell the ancient sheepdog of Tyn-y-wern, I leaned on the farmyard gate and sniffed woodsmoke, silage and wet grass, the essence of spring in the Berwyns, with the distant murmur of the great fall for a relish.<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><u>Start &amp; finish<\/u>: Pistyll Rhaeadr car park, SY10 0BZ &ndash; near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (OS ref 075294)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><u>Getting there<\/u>: A5 from Shrewsbury towards Oswestry; B4396 to Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant; &lsquo;Waterfall&rsquo; (4 miles) signed on right in village<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><u>Walk<\/u> (3 miles, moderate grade with one steep climb\/descent, OS Explorer 255): From car park, down road to end (074295); right behind public lavatories, up signed path (yellow arrows) that zigzags steeply uphill. At top, track continues to arrow pointing right through gate (fingerpost) to top of waterfall (073295). <em>NB Please take great care! Slippery rocks, unfenced 200-ft drop!) <\/em>Return same way to foot of fall; cross by footbridge; follow path through trees, over fields, across mining spoil to Tan-y-graig (081285) and road at Tyn-y-wern (085287). Left to car park.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\">NB &ndash; Online map, more walks: <font color=\"#0000ff\"><u><a href=\"\/\">www.christophersomerville.co.uk<\/a><\/u><\/font><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><u>Lunch<\/u>: Tan-y-Pistyll Caf&eacute; (01691-780392; <font color=\"#0000ff\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pistyllrhaeadr.co.uk\/\">www.pistyllrhaeadr.co.uk<\/a><\/u><\/font>)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><u>Accommodation<\/u>: Wynnstay Arms, Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (01691-780210; <font color=\"#0000ff\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wynnstay-arms-hotel.com\/\">www.wynnstay-arms-hotel.com<\/a><\/u><\/font>) &ndash; simple, comfortable, very friendly and helpful<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><u>More info<\/u>: Llangollen TIC (01978-860828); <font color=\"#0000ff\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitwales.co.uk\/\">www.visitwales.co.uk<\/a><\/u><\/font><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm\" class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Afon Disgynfa rushed toward the 200-ft cliff, gathered into a bulge of glass-clear water at the very rim, then hurled itself headlong into space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}