Circular walk stays right on track with railway line trail
ON Sunday, November 21, Barbara Strobel and Sarah Rees led the Carmarthen Ramblers on an eightmile circular walk in the area south of Llangadog – part of which is now marked as the Heart of Wales Line Trail.
The walk included riverside paths, a long ascent, a short section of the Beacons Way and good views. The weather was fine and sunny with temperatures down to 5C with a cold northerly breeze blowing across the Towy Valley.
The walk started from the bridge over the Afon Sawdde on the Carreg Sawdde common between Llangadog and Felindre from where they took a footpath on the western side of the Sawdde as they headed in a southerly direction towards the Black Mountain along side the river for about a quarter of a mile, passing some weirs before they left the common at Penybont.
Here they met a quiet country road for some easy road walking for about half a mile then started a gentle ascent as they passed Wernellyn and located a “new footpath” that was well marked as it passed around the farmyard but through the fields of Wernellyn and Pen-y-banc to reach a sunny rocky convenient spot for a coffee break where they were showered with the falling autumn leaves as they enjoyed the views overlooking Dyffryn Ceidrych and the unmistakable outline of Picws Du in the Carmarthen Fans in the distance.
They continued southwards into the valley and crossed a country road passing the site of a Roman Villa at Llysbrychan then through the fields of Dan y garn and over a ladder style into woodland to the start of a twomile ascent. It started with a steep leafy path that led up to Carregfoelgam farm and then a linking lane that brought them onto a narrow road that ended after few hundred metres and became a rugged track.
The track ran diagonally across Careg-foel-gam and as they ascended the remote hillside in the pure fresh air of Carmarthenshire, they met a group of off-road motor cyclists coming down the track in the opposite direction leaving behind them their smelly exhaust fumes.
They were still on the track when they reached the highest point of the day – at 260 metres – where they stopped for lunch in brilliant sunshine on a bank overlooking the magnificent sight of Carn Goch with its’ two hill forts – Y Gaer Fawr and Y Gaer Fach – standing out quite clearly and the Towy Valley just beyond.
In the afternoon they continued westward briefly and met the route of the Beacons Way which started the return journey and the descent off the hillside down a bridleway to reach a country road at Garn-wen on the edge of the Carn Goch common. There was about a mile of easy downhill walking but they were now heading into a cold northerly wind. They crossed Nant Gydrych and reached the valley road at Pant-meredith. Here they turned left along the road for about half a mile towards Bethlehem before reaching a stile that gave access to a field with a gentle climb up to the Bethlehem to Llangadog road.
Once on the road, it was easy to spot the next footpath link that led them on a wide sweeping arc along the Heart of Wales Line Trail into a north easterly direction for about a mile and a quarter as they descended the hillside through Long Wood then passed Dolau Farm and Bryngwyn Farm to emerge from the countryside into the hamlet of Felindre where they followed the road for the last quarter of a mile back to the start on Carreg Sawdde common.
Details of the next walk can be found on the website at www. carmarthenramblers.org.uk