Remote villages still cut off as residents tell of snow struggles
IT MAY already seem like a distant memory for many of us as balmy spring temperatures roll in, but residents in some Welsh villages are still snowed in following last week’s blizzards.
Thousands of people were unable to make it to work as public transport came to a standstill, schools closed, and many were unable to leave their homes at all as the Beast from the East brought record-low March temperatures and Storm Emma snow drifts up to 20 feet deep.
But while most of the snow has melted and normality has returned to the cities and major towns, the residents of Llanstephan, 10 miles south of Builth Wells, are still stranded.
The main road leading into cottages and farmland in the village is still full of snow drifts of up to 30 inches, making it impossible for vehicles to get through.
The surrounding fields are still littered with snow.
While having to deal with harsh weather conditions during the winter months on a regular basis even this was unprecedented for the residents of the Powys village.
Ian Cole, 68, has lived in Llanstephan for 35 years and can’t remember the last time snow affected the village as much as this week.
He said: “It’s still going to take four or five days for that lot to go but hopefully a local builder is trying to get hold of a JCB to move it. Until then we have just got to grin and bear it up here. We’re not as bad off as some but some of the lanes up here are just as bad.”
Speaking yesterday, almost a week after the extreme weather set in, he added: “I was running low on my pills but luckily I have enough to last the week. The nearest pharmacy is in Talgarth, six to eight miles away.
“I did have my last avocado this morning because I have power smoothies, so I’ll need to go out and get more of them when the snow is gone.”
Mr Cole’s neighbour, Beryl Jones, who has lived in Llanstephan all her life, was more pragmatic about the weather, having made provision before winter.
Speaking yesterday, she said: “I have been watching the news and people are saying they’re cut off, I can’t believe they’re so disorganised. We were warned about the weather.
“I am cross because I haven’t been able to make it to work and I am losing money. I left work on Tuesday when it started snowing and that was the last I saw of anyone until today. It’s been quite pleasant but I am going to go out for a walk later.”
Livestock farmer Richard Joseph, 56, runs the nearby Llowney Farm, which has been in his family for three generations.
He said the recent weather had been one of the biggest challenges he had faced as a farmer.
As part of his livestock, Mr Joseph looks after 1,900 ewes alone and the biggest challenge for him and his family was making sure the animals were looked after and fed.
He added: “As livestock farmers we take it as a personal challenge to make sure every animal is fed and watered and has the best possible care and when we lose one we take it as a personal failure.
“It was like a military operation to get the sheep in our fields back closer to the main farm to make feeding easier for when the blizzards did come.
“The water was frozen so we had to carry a lot of water to them and a lot of their bedding was wet, so we had to re-bed them all the time. Luckily we had minimal casualties.”
Further south five houses in a tiny village also remained cut off by deep snow yesterday.
People living in Groeswen, near Nantgarw in Rhondda Cynon Taf – including a four-week-old baby and her three-year-old sister, an emergency services worker and an air ambulance pilot – were left trapped by snow drifts around nine feet deep.
Mum of two and resident Serian Walker said: “When you start emptying the freezer and making strange combinations you know you need more food.”