Tramroads and Green Lanes

A tremendous walk today! It was a long distance, 27km, it had stunning views and it was also rather eventful.

We set off from Talybont on Usk and started the climb along the reservoir, along the old Brinore Tramroad. The tramroad was operational between 1815 and 1865, and elements of the original tramroad are still visible. As we made our way from the tramroad towards the disused lime quarries, the walk took an interesting turn.

The cliffs were quite steep but there was a path which allowed you to walk past them, but as we made our way past this one section we suddenly heard a bleat. Lo and behold a lamb had got stuck and its mother was still with it, we rescued it and were expecting both of them to run away, but the lamb just fell down and couldn’t support its back legs. Now what do you do? We were miles away from any farm, and there was no one around. Luckily we were able to get a signal and phone for help, and were eventually able to contact the Brecon Beacons National Park who could contact the appropriate farmer who could then deal with the situation properly. Mother Nature may still take its course, but at least we tried to do our best to save the little thing.

We then entered Hendre and Ystrad Quarries, long disused but was used for the filming of the original Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. You know the one where Slartibartfast first appears. It’s a scar on the landscape, but has a beauty all of its own.

From there we made our way to the Trig Point on Pant y Creigiau, where Julie continues her pursuit of planking on all the Trig Points in the Beacons. Disgraceful behaviour! Lol! Stunning views towards Penyfan, Corndu and Cribyn, and then the other way towards Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Talybont reservoir (as per the Blip).

And then the long trek back, taking in the old Roman road and then back down the tramway.

A perfect walk!