Martin and Vic, from the National Trust, led our first Walking the Taff tour on Sunday. They showed us the Taff’s sources near Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. The walk is a mix of busy paths and tranquil riverside spots. Here’s a map of the walk, just in case you fancy it.
Taf Fechan: 51.887097 -3.466079 / GB Grid Ref: SO 01211 21439;
Taf Fawr: 51.882725 -3.436661 / GB Grid Ref: SN 99196 21966.
Rydym yn edrych ymlaen at eich gweld chi yn ein digwyddiadau ni sydd mewn partneriaeth â Gŵyl Tafwyl, Caerdydd.
Cerdded Trwy Ddyffryn Taf: Castell Caerdydd i Radyr
Dewch gyda ni am dro ar hyd lannau afon Taf rhwng Castell Caerdydd a Radyr. Ar y daith hon, byddwch chi yn cael eich tywys drwy Parc Bute, Forest Farm ac Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf.
Lleoliad: Mynedfa Castell Caerdydd;
Dyddiad: 25.06.16;
Amser: 11.00;
Cofrestru: goo.gl/x3pRWC.
Jazz ar y Taf, Llwyfan y Porth
Mae gan ddiwylliant amrywiol Caerdydd gariad tuag at gerddoriaeth jazz. Rydym yn dathlu hyn drwy ddechrau Jazz ar y Taf – gŵyl jazz yng nghanol Caerdydd.
Dydd Sadwrn 02.07.16:
15.00 – Band Jazz Ieuenctid;
18.00 – Band Jazz Ieuenctid.
Dydd Sul 03.07.16:
12.00 – Jazz y Sipsiwn;
16.00 – Adar Siaradus.
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We’re looking forward to seeing you at our events that are in partnership with Cardiff’s Tafwyl Festival.
Walking the Taff Valley: Cardiff Castle to Radyr
Join us for a stroll along the river Taff’s banks between Cardiff Castle and Radyr. On this journey you’ll be guided through Bute Park, Forest Farm, and Llandaff Cathedral.
Location: Cardiff Castle entrance;
Date: 25.06.16;
Time: 11.00;
Registration: goo.gl/x3pRWC.
Jazz on the Taff, at Llwyfan y Porth (Cardiff Castle)
Cardiff’s diverse culture includes a love of Jazz music. We’re celebrating this by starting Jazz on the Taff – a jazz festival in the heart of Cardiff.
Saturday 02.07.16:
15.00 – School Big Band;
18.00 – School Big Band.
Sunday 03.07.16:
12.00 – Jazz y Sipswn;
16.00 – Adar Siaradus.
So little is said about it that it almost seems like fantasy today, but the Taff Valley was at the cutting edge of the railways – before London, New York or Tokyo. Hand in hand with the Industrial Revolution, which was led by this area, came the railways.
In 1802, Richard Trevithick, a Cornish genius, constructed a high-pressure steam engine to drive a hammer at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil. With the assistance of Rees Jones, an employee of the iron works and under the supervision of Samuel Homfray, the proprietor, he mounted the engine on wheels and turned it into a locomotive. In 1803, Trevithick sold the patents for his locomotives to Samuel Homfray.
Homfray was so impressed with Trevithick’s locomotive that he made a bet with another ironmaster, Richard Crawshay, for 500 guineas – probably the total wages for a few months of all the workers in the ironworks – that Trevithick’s steam locomotive could haul ten tons of iron along the Merthyr Tydfil tram road from Pen-y Darren to Abercynon, a distance of nearly ten miles. Amid great interest from the public, on 21st February 1804 it successfully carried ten tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 men the full distance in 4 hours and 5 minutes, which was an average speed of approximately 2.4 mph. As well as Homfray, Crawshay and the passengers, other witnesses included Mr. Giddy, a respected patron of Trevithick and an engineer from the government.
The bet was won. Despite many people’s doubts, it had been shown that, provided that the gradient was sufficiently gentle, it was possible to successfully haul heavy carriages along a smooth iron road using the weight alone of a suitably heavy and powerful steam locomotive. Trevithick’s was probably the first to carry out this feat. However some of the short cast iron plates of the tram road broke under the locomotive as they were intended only to support the lighter axle load of horse-drawn wagons and so the tram road returned to horse power after the initial test run.
Homfray was pleased he had won his bet but the engine was then placed on blocks and reverted to its original stationary job of driving hammers.
Today in Merthyr Tydfil, behind the monument to Trevithick’s locomotive is a stone wall, which is the only remainder of the former boundary wall of Homfray’s Pen-y-Darren House.
A full-scale working reconstruction of the Pen-y-Darren locomotive was commissioned in 1981 and is on display at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. Several times a year it is run on a short length of rail outside the museum. Somehow we think that if this was in other parts of the world much more fuss would be made of it.
Paul Barrett
Title image credit: Hugh Llewelyn
Visited a lovely cafe in Tongwynlais along the Taff Trail, today. It’s a perfect place to stop and have a rest while cycling through, or if you’re having a bit of bad luck with your bike!
Martin will give us an insight into the area and into the two sources of the Taff. The Taf Fawr, which rises below Corn Du, south-west of Pen y Fan and flows south through the Beacons Reservoir, Cantref Reservoir and Llwyn-on Reservoir. Then there is the Taf Fechan, which rises immediately to the south of Pen y Fan and runs southwards through the two Neuadd Reservoirs, Pentwyn Reservoir and finally Pontsticill Reservoir before descending into a wooded gorge and flowing south-westwards around the Gurnos estate. Martin will explain the local names and point out major landmarks. He has written several publications about the area.
This walk goes off the path at one point, so expect a little bit of mud on your boots!
If you’re keen to join, please let us know by registering using this link: https://goo.gl/BMd15U.
On Monday 7th March, less than a week after St. David’s Day, the statues of James James and Evan James, the composers of the Welsh National, were taken from their plinths in Ynysangharad Park in Pontypridd and put on a lorry for London.
The statues are to be cleaned and restored and will be back in the park within a few months. It was strange that none of the media picked this up as the statues are quite iconic – not only are the composers important but Goscombe John, the sculptor, is recognised both in Britain and in France.
We’re pleased to feature this series of photographs by photographer Tom Johnson about Merthyr Tydfil. The exhibition aims to challenge common misconceptions about the area by putting a spotlight on Merthyr’s strong community and vibrant characters. These photographs were featured in the Guardian – it’s so nice to see positive press from Merthyr – we love it.
Shot in collaboration with stylist and Merthyr native Charlotte James, the exhibition is the result of multiple trips to Merthyr during the summer of 2015.
The pair sourced subjects via social networks, street castings and James’ friends and family, styling them in fashion pieces and photographing them in situ, anywhere from bus stations to the local Labour Club. Blending a love for documentary and fashion, pieces were selected to complement and emphasise the subjects’ character.
Brandon, Age 14, Student, Bessemer Hotel. Wearing top by Agi and Sam and shirt by Vivienne Westwood.
Iris, Age 72, Retired, Bus and Coach Station. Wearing sunglasses by Moschino.
Kyra, Age 8, Twynyrrodyn. Wearing Agi and Sam.
Margaret, Age 78, Retired Nurse, Fairview Terrace. Wearing Giles Deacon.
Glyn, Age 83, Entertainment Secretary The Labour Club. All clothes by Glyn.
Terry, 58, and Lee, 68, at the bus station. Ex-coal miner and construction worker, wearing Antipodium & McQ Alexander McQueen.
Natalie, Age 22, Shop Assistant, Town Centre. Wearing Vivienne Westwood Red label.
Lynette, Age 38, Occupation Unknown, The Whydham Arms. Wearing jacket by Fyodor Golan.
Daniel, Age 16, Student, Cefn Coed. Wearing Vivienne Westwood.
Thomas and James, Age 6, Retail Park. Wearing jackets by Adidas.
Kyra and Evie, Age 6 and 7, Twyn yr rodyn. Wearing Agi and Sam.
Cameron, Age 13, High Street. Wearing t-shirt by McQ Alexander McQ.
Malcolm, Age 54, Painter and Decorator, Glebeland Street. Wearing jumper by Matthew Miller.
Julie, Age 51, Learning coach, Glebeland Street. Wearing Christopher Shannon.
Phyllis, Age 92, Retired Dinner Lady, Swansea Road. Wearing Pleats Please Issey Miyake.
Jake, Age 16, Boxer, Newmarket Walk. Wearing top by Matthew Miller.
Oceah, Age 5, Gurnos Estate. Wearing t-shirt by McQ Alexander McQ Wearing jacket by Rebekah Minko.
Ellie, Age 13, Gurnos. Wearing jumper by Martine Rose.
Steve, Age 82, Retired, The Whydham Arms. Wearing tie by Penrose.
Lewis, Age 16, Cafe worker, Bessemer Hotel. Wearing Christopher Kane.
Donna, Age 40, Occupation Unknown, The Labour Club. Jacket by Moschino and skirt by Dries Van Noten from Nothing Special.
Pontsticill Reservoir
Cefn Coed Mountain.
The exhibition features twenty large scale images and an accompanying publication.
Tom Johnson lives and works in London. His work has been featured in An0ther, DAZED, Its Nice That, VICE, Hunger agazine & The World Photography Organisation. He was the subject of a documentary made by VICE for their series ‘Picture Perfect’ and has been shortlisted for the D&AD Next Photographer Award.
Charlotte James is a London-based fashion stylist, she is the fashion editor at large at Crack Magazine and has worked with titles such as i-D Online and Wonderland, and artists including Big Sean and Little Dragon.
For additional information and images email studio@tom-johnson.co.uk.
On 4 August 1900 a miner from Maerdy, at the head of the Rhondda Fach valley, decided to take his five-year-old son Tommy to visit his grandparents who still farmed near Brecon. They’d travelled by train and planned to walk the four miles to Cwmllwch, the farmhouse in the valley just below Pen y Fan. However, the little boy got lost when his father sent him with his cousin to tell his grandmother that they were on their way. The little boy’s body was not found for weeks and the mountain was combed by soldiers, police and local people, who all knew the area very well. The boy was found because a woman who lived near Brecon had a dream about where the body of the boy was. And, amazingly, she climbed the Beacons with her husband and relatives to find Tommy. The little boy had climbed over 1300 ft to a ridge just below Pen y Fan and must have dropped down with exhaustion and died where he was found. An obelisk was erected on the spot where his body was found.
Over the years the ghost of Tommy’s father, frantically searching for him has been seen, as has little Tommy’s ghost, sobbing on the open ground high up near the highest peak in the south of Britain.
Built in a year between 1824 and 1825, this impressive icon of the Industrial Revolution was built for the Crawshay family, who were one of the pre-eminent iron-manufacturing families in the world. They employed thousands of people and, for a time, their iron mills drew affluent visitors who came to gaze in amazement at one of the first places where iron was manufactured on such a huge scale.
The ghosts of several members of the Crawshay family have been seen in the castle and in the castle grounds and William Crawshay II, the man responsible for building the castle, is reputed to have been seen looking sternly at visitors as if he disapproves of their presence.
Visitors and staff have experienced occurrences like hearing someone walking in corridors and rooms when no one is present, objects being moved and areas becoming cold for no apparent reason.
William Crawshay II is buried in Pontsticill, further on up the Taff Valley and there are various sightings of him wandering in the churchyard during the day and night, shaking a fist at those people who have strayed into its confines.
This is possibly one of the most haunted houses in Wales. Paranormal Investigator, Phil Whyman, states that Llancaiach Fawr Manor is one of the spookiest and most atmospheric places he has ever been to. He adds, ”And when the lights go out and it’s pitch black, there is an overwhelming sense of desolation”. There are regular ghost tours here.
Built by the same eccentric architect who rebuilt Cardiff Castle, William Burges, on the site of a medieval castle. this fairytale castle is a regular venue for ghost hunts. Probably the best known ghost here is the l Castell Coch Cavalier. When there were servants in the castle in the early part of the 20th century the butler woke up in the middle of the night to see the ghost of a cavalier looking at him from the foot of his bed. Coolly, the butler asked him what he wanted and the cavalier told him “in a strange dialect” that he had hidden treasure in the walls of the castle before going off to fight in the civil war. The cavalier didn’t seem to realise that he was now dead and asked the butler to help him locate the treasure. However, the butler is said to have thought better of it and remained in bed “because he had to get up early in the morning and take up his duties.”
However, some people assert that the butler did, in fact, locate the treasure in his spare time and soon afterwards left Wales for the United States where he thought that he could put enough distance between himself and the ghostly cavalier. However, the Cavalier is still occasionally seen, so the treasure may still be somewhere in the castle.
Another ghost is that of the White Lady who wanders the woods around the castle in search of her son who fell into the Taff and who was never seen again . Following her son’s drowning she is said to have died of a broken heart but her spirit still looks for him, especially at the time of the full moon..
Llandaff only became part of Cardiff officially in the 1920s and it has the oldest cathedral site in Britain, as there was a Celtic church here with a holy well that is still visible, long before the Normans decided to build a church here. There is a ruined bishop’s palace, a Gothic churchyard and historic houses that line the village green, so it is natural that there are regular ghost walks around here
Cardiff Castle has to be one of the most accessible castles in Britain, being located in the centre of Cardiff, and also one of the best examples of a Gothic castle in the world.
The history of the castle goes right back to Roman and Celtic times and those who work with the paranormal think that because of this it could be one of the most haunted castles in Britain, There are regular ghost tours of the castle to help visitors decide for themselves. Some of the ghosts that may be seen on a visit are: –
Roman soldiers have been seen marching inside and outside the castle. One witness said that they were surprised at how small the men were and that some of the soldiers were “very arabic in appearance”, which could well corroborate the fact that the Second Augustan Legion were recruited from southern Spain and North Africa. One lady said that she was surprised that “they seemed to be wearing kilts as well as armour.”
The eldest son of William the Conqueror and one of those who participated in the capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade but was imprisoned by his younger brother, Henry, in Cardiff, where he may have been blinded and where he certainly died. Curthose is Norman French for short stocking and was a disparaging nickname due to the fact that Robert was not of great stature and thus had short legs. A man with cavernous eyes and wearing “something like a sack” has been seen sat on the steps leading up to the motte and bailey castle overlooking the north wall of the castle.
Considering the castle has been owned by a number of Norman families it is surprising that not more sightings of ghosts have been made. Visitors have seen the horses of knights suitably attired for jousting or for battle and grooms leading these horses but there has never been a sighting of a knight dressed in armour, as far as we can ascertain.
After a large banquet John Crichton-Stuart felt unwell and went into a drawing room behind the library and died very quickly at the early age of 54. He was a classical scholar and people have not only seen the Marquis walking around the castle but also heard him speaking Latin and Greek “as if it was poetry”. The drawing room was converted into a small chapel by his son in memory of his father
On the other hand there have been quite a number of sightings of a phantom coach and horses that rattle over Canton Bridge, which is situated near to Cardiff Castle, together with a woman dressed in a long dress and a bonnet who appears to be running after it.
Written by Paul Barrett
Indus Films, the Cardiff-based production company that makes films from all over the world, is putting together a series of programmes for the BBC on the River Taff and have been helped by Paul Kent to film canoeing and swimming on the river. Both activities took place during mid-October and the river was cold but invigorating. Some of us had wetsuits and others didn’t. We will definitely be doing the Big Jump next year and are planning another swim for the spring. Let us know if you’d like to take part. Last year we had participants from as far apart as South Africa and South America. For further information about Indus go to www.indusfilms.com.
Just to the North of Western Avenue in Cardiff, the park has mature trees that run along the edge of the River Taff which sit very nicely with the more recently planted ones. Its proximity to the River Taff ensures that the park is rich in wildlife. The Friends group has worked hard to achieve greater biodiversity.
Hailey Park contains a large area of sports pitches – like rugby, football, touch rugby and baseball and it is home to Llandaff North Rugby Club with pitches on the park for matches and training while their clubhouse is in nearby Radyr Road. Other facilities include tennis courts and playgrounds, the park has the longest legal graffiti wall in Wales.
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