Ramblers show their stamina on a wet walk in Ponty

WHEN Geraint from Penarth and District Ramblers added his intended shortened version of the undulating Pontypridd Circular Walk to the programme, the forecast was for dry weather. 

However, on the day the heavens opened and rain fell all day. There were no views, which was a great shame because they are worth seeing! The group set off from the old railway sidings that carried the coal from the Rhondda down to Barry, heading uphill on slippery iced paths through forestry on the hillside above Treforest. 

As rain fell, their intended stop for morning break was delayed until a stepped path led them down beside the University buildings into Treforest, where they made for the train station to use a shelter for a hot cuppa and a bite to eat. 

Then onward across the River Taff for a steep climb as they tramped through fields, crossed a stream and a bog to fight their way through an overgrown path downhill. Entering an oak wood, with the tree shapes silhouetted against the mist, led them to some uneven stone steps for the tricky descent around a stony outcrop, before they made their way through the town of Pontypridd to take shelter at Ynysangharad War Memorial Park for a well-deserved lunch. 

The park contains ‘Ponty Lido’ but the group were wet enough already as they packed up and headed above the River Rhondda on an old disused tramway to make their way back to Barry Sidings, where they removed outer soaked clothes and warmed up on the journey home. 

In comparison, Joy was luckier because after two days of continuous rain, the day dawned overcast and dry as a group of walkers joined her for the climb up through the Gorsedd Stones at Romilly Park, to reach the ruined Barry Castle, once the home of the Norman born de Barry family.

They went down Fishpond Hill and into the wooded Cwm Barri, farmed since the 17th Century, before the Four Fields led them to Ffordd Cwm Cidi, then Pontypridd and Port Road for the journey on terra firma to the Toby Inn. Following Cwm Cidi Lane they entered Porthkerry Country Park where the leaf-covered path beside the main Vale railway line led them uphill through woodland to cross muddy fields at West Ridge.

A boggy area led them to the Whitelands valley and on past the delightful Old Rectory to lane walk uphill to Lower Porthkerry Farm – and around the airport bend to reach Porthkerry village. Into the churchyard of the 13th Century Saint Curig’s Church, with its smart new porch doors and a stop for refreshments, using the stepped preaching cross, before heading downhill to cross the boggy old pitch and putt course. 

They warmed up by climbing the Golden Stairs and headed along the clifftop where it seemed the Bristol Channel and the north coast of Somerset were claiming the only sunshine of the day. Then it was downhill to the Knap Lake before heading back through Romilly Park to their start point.

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Joy Strangward