Railway Walk Tan y Bwlch

If I'm feeling lazy I choose the downhill walk along the railway to the station at Tan y Bwlch for the uphill return. It's amazing the things you come across!

Railway Walk to Tanygrisiau

This little film is about the walk up the line from Campbell's Kingdom to Tanygrisiau. Lots of interesting things along the way.



When you get to the Tanygrisiau reservoir you can walk round it on either side. I prefer to walk around the southern side as opposed to the railway side. This way you get a better view of the Moelwyns.

Atishoo! You need a handkerchief tree

Atishoo! Tree pollen? You need a handkerchief tree

The Pocket Handkerchief Tree (otherwise known as the Dove Tree) Davidia involucrata was first discovered growing wild in China, towards the end of the nineteenth century. Seeds were sent back to the UK by Victorian plant hunter Ernest Wilson in 1901 and when it flowered in Britain for the first time, it caused such a stir that the leading nursery of the day (Veitch’s nursery of Chelsea and Exeter) could not keep up with the demand for plants.

One of the first Pocket Handkerchief Trees to be planted in Britain was at Plas Tan y Bwlch which is one of the many great gardens in the North Wales Festival of Gardens.

Getting the Guardian

It's quite a long walk for us to get to the shop but the train is very handy when you want to buy the newspaper.

One Man and his Dog

I knew they were coming when our dog ran to the garden fence with her ears pricked. Much later I heard the bleats of newly-shorn sheep with their lambs walking up the drive.

On some occasions the movement of sheep involves lots of action, several dogs and a fair amount of swearing as sheep and dogs scatter in every direction. But today was a masterclass in calm control.

The farmer said that, after the ewes were sheared, their lambs had difficulty recognising their mothers. In case of this, and if lambs had followed the wrong mum up the hill, he paused beneath the railway line for the flock to settle just as the last down train of the day went past. It took about ten minutes for the volume to subside, for lambs to find the right ewes, and then the gates were opened and off they went up Moelwyn Bach.

Dewi and his dog were real stars. One man and his dog ......

The P Way Gang

It was good to see the Permanent Way Gang collecting the old fencing materials off Campbell's Platform. New fencing has been put up on the stretch from Campbell's to the loop at Dduallt. Should help keep sheep off the line. Thank you.

Dragon's Back 2017

It was a misty start to the day, cool conditions for day two of the Dragon's Back Race. The first runners passed through just before 10am.

The tracking service is fantastic. http://event.opentracking.co.uk/dragonsb17/ I could plot their progress as they rapidly approached over Cnicht, Moelwyn Mawr, then Bach and down to Tanygrisiau hydro station.

Not everyone was so rapid. I found two disoriented runners from China up at Campbell's Platform at about 3:30pm - there was no way they'd make it across the Rhinogs to tonight's campsite at Dolgellau. They would have been catching a lift.

Cool Runnings - water and trains

No Snowdonia garden would be complete without water features. No need for pond liners, just a never ending supply of water running off the mountain.

In this garden a stream enters at the top and splits into several branches. One feeds a series of five cascading ponds. Another feeds the big pond we dug for when we kept ducks.

Water enters and leaves some of the ponds by mini-waterfall.

All the streams converge into one, just before the old barn, where the water used to drive a wheel for turning a churn to make butter.

This place has one other very special water feature - steam, which sends the trains to and fro across the top of the garden.

Find your happy at Rightmove!

Finding Your Happy

The joy of having a life size train set at the top of your garden!

For Christmas

Our first Christmas morning we were covered in a blanket of beautiful snow. It doesn't come as often as we'd like, but when it does, we make the most of it. This could be yours for Christmas if you call in at Rightmove. There are only 218 shopping days until Xmas!

Dragon's Back is Back

The 2017 Dragon's Back Race will start on Monday 22nd May and competitors will be running through Campbell's Kingdom on Tuesday, the second of five consecutive days.

They start off at Conwy Castle and end up in South Wales - 315km (about 196 miles for the metrically challenged) away with 15,500m of height gain across wild, trackless, remote and mountainous terrain.

The event organisers expect the fastest competitors to be running for approximately 8-9 hours each day and the slowest competitors (who complete the full course) to be running and walking for approximately 13-15 hours each day. Competitors pay several hundred pounds for the privilege of taking part.

It was first run in 1992 and it took 20 years until they recovered to do it again in 2012. It was also run two years ago making 2017 the 4th occasion.

Catching their breath at Campbell's Kingdom 2015

Wild Car

What a way to commute home after a day's hard graft working the slate in the mountains!

An Everyday Walk

The joys of an early morning walk to the railway loop which has excellent acoustics for the resident cuckoo!

Who Needs a Train Set

The joys of playing on your own platform. This could be yours! Just ask Rightmove for the details.

Campbell's Kingdom's Gardens

Chelsea Flower Show is just around the corner and so is the North Wales Garden Festival. Our own garden is looking pretty splendid too along with some stunning steam trains running along the top. Different glimpses through the trees.

Llŷn Peninsula – at the end of the world

For a special occasion we headed off for a couple of days to the Llŷn Peninsula. Our first stop was at Porth Oer which is also called Whistling Sands. I knew that the sand was supposed to make a funny noise, but had never experienced it before. We must have arrived at just the right time, the sand suitably firm and moist, and as we walked across it, if we scuffed our feet a bit, it made this strange noise - not a whistle, but a squeak. Most odd. The noise is said to be due to the shape of the sand granules.

As for the swim, it was far too cold for me to even contemplate, but Sue was committed and in she went until, two minutes later, she could take no more. Very brave. Very foolish maybe. She thawed out over coffee at the café where the staff kindly volunteered the option of hot milk to aid the recovery. Porth Oer? A literal translation according to my dictionary would be ‘cold, sad or frigid’ port.

Lackey moth caterpillars

From the National Trust car park in Aberdaron we strode out over the beach and up the steps to the clifftop which was covered in all sorts of flowers, lots of bluebells and blooming orchids. Equally beautiful were the stripey caterpillars on their silk tents, caterpillars of the Lackey moth which will metamorphose to start flying in June or July.

The coconut-smelling gorse so yellow, the sky and the sea so blue, choughs pronounced chuffs but making sounds like ‘chow’, feet beginning to feel heavy and body a bit hungry – it’s a rich cocktail of the senses. Our guide book said the walk would take 2 to 3 hours but we obviously enjoyed it too much and lingered for 5.

Back at Gwesty Tŷ Newydd we checked in to our room with a 1^st floor balconette overlooking the beach, then down to the verandah for a beer followed by crab supper. The sounds of the sea through the night were relaxing but might have been too novel for a good night’s sleep.

The following morning we went to Becws Islyn, unmistakeable with its newly thatched roof, and famous for its excellent sausage rolls and Eccles cakes. Armed with rolls and cakes we walked to Porth Meudwy in more glorious sunshine to meet Colin and the Bardsey Boat. Being hopelessly early there was time for one of us pilgrims to build a tower of stones which was still standing at the end of the day.

Colin duly arrived and a dozen of us climbed on board Benlli III which was pushed into the sea by tractor and, once afloat, was launched off its trailer with powerful twin engines. Strange rock formations at the end of Pen y Cil then across Bardsey Sound for an impromptu bit of seabird watching. Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots and a pair of Ravens harassing a Peregrine while Choughs flapped around in synchronised pairs.

After disembarking Colin shared his knowledge and thoughts about Bardsey. Nature is doing really well – nesting shearwaters have risen from twelve to twenty thousand (pairs?) in recent years - but we should remember that humans are a species as well and that some economic growth would be appreciated. Bardsey used to be the metropolis, the HQ of the Peninsula, from Rhoshirwaun and Rhiw to the tip – but now it seems cast adrift to an uncertain but nature-rich future. 

Colin

We walked behind the farm and up the ridge for fantastic views across to the mainland and eye-level sightings of chough. Around us were the holes of the shearwaters, in which a solitary egg would be laid and a plump chick would eventually emerge for a long and lonely flight to the seas off Argentina. Following the ridge down the other side we continued our circumnavigation of the island with air that felt so pure. The closely grazed grass was full of squill.

We ended up hopelessly early at the harbour for a late lunch with the grey seals. They had been so noisy when we arrived but now seemed quite settled. Lots of them basking in the sunshine on rocks but one of the youngsters practising getting in and out of the water, with humorous effect, sliding back into the sea off slippery seaweed. 

Another pleasant evening at Gwesty Tŷ Newydd with Prosecco and crab supper followed by a seaside sleep before breakfast, checkout and another visit to Becws Islyn to buy picnic provisions of cheese and onion slices and flapjacks.

Billy on SPAR

Going past the Spar was a large heron called Billy on top of the roof right above the doorway. When the manager came out of the store room door and whistled, Billy raced across the roof and hopped down to the wall where the manager of the Spar fed scraps of pork and beef. ‘He eats any meat but not sausages – doesn’t like processed food.’ Apparently this ritual has been going on for 13 years and Billy gets quite stroppy when the manager takes a day off. 

Our first stop of the day was at Porth Colmon where Sion the fisherman had just launched his boat. A beautiful spot with a holiday cottage on the sea – you could cast out your fishing line from the bedroom window.

Further along the coast we walked through fields to the beach about a mile to the east of Porth Colmon. A beautiful Shelduck was paddling in the shallows. 

We continued to Morfa Nefyn for a walk along the beach to Porth Dinllaen with masses of Sand martin nests in the tops of the cliffs looking like woodworm. Refreshed with ginger beer from Tŷ Coch we ate our provisions in a sheltered cove then up past the very smart lifeboat in a big new building. After paying our donations, as insurance against the need for future services, we walked across the golf course and back to the car. 

On our way home we called in at Ffridd Wen the locally famous wholesaler of ‘SelectiveSeafoods’. As we arrived Sion the fisherman departed leaving two big baskets of live crabs that had just been landed at Porth Colmon. None were cooked so we took some advice and did the necessary when we got home.

We’d only been away two nights but it really seemed we had been to the end of the world and back. 

Bluebells, Garden and Train

Yellowhammer

Quirks & Curiosities Off the Track

If you’re up for the Ffestiniog Railway's QnC2 you will be impressed and entertained by some amazing and eccentric contraptions; it’s a wonderful sort of Heath Robinson jamboree. My favourite is Spooner’s Boat – I just love the idea of losing momentum on The Cob, unfurling your sail and arriving carbon neutral at Harbour Station - no push, no sweat. 

Spooner's Boat (FR Photo)

As well as those on the track, there are lots of quirks and curiosities close to the track and here is a selection of some of my favourites.

On the big rock above Cob Records, overlooking the harbour, is a rock cannon – one of three alongside the railway. The others are by Tan y Bwlch Station and close to the entrance of the Moelwyn Tunnel. These were made by quarrymen for firing on special occasions, such as a royal visit, winning the war, big weddings and so on.  

All three have 17 holes, each about 5 inches deep. The holes were part filled with black powder and covered with stemming (crushed stones) through which a goose quill filled with powder acted as a detonator. Connecting the various holes was a line of goose fat embedded with more black powder. Light the touch fuse, stand well back and enjoy the show.

Ellie from Countryfile at the cannon

Too little stemming and the explosions would be damp squibs. Too tightly packed with stemming and the rock would be blasted to smithereens. There were many accidents.

At Blaenau, between the station and the shops, are some amazing slate sculptures which were installed 5 years ago. You can’t fail to miss the 7 ½ metre tall chisels, each made of 15,000 roofing slates and stacked at an angle of 30⁰, the same angle at which the slate beds lie within the mountains.

The River of Slate is a mosaic in the pavement with the names of each of the 350 Welsh slate quarries carved into their own piece of slate. Each piece of slate is the colour that was extracted from that quarry. There are at least 50 shades of grey but also purples, greens and browns depending upon the geology. 

Just up the line from Tan y Bwlch are a couple of private halts with interesting houses. Coed y Bleiddiau is the old railway inspector’s house which has been leased by the FR to many interesting tenants including St John Philby, the father of Kim aka ‘Philby the Spy’. It’s being renovated by the Landmark Trust and should be available as a holiday cottage by the end of the year.

Yet further up the line is another private platform called Campbell’s. It was built for the eccentric Colonel who helped with the rebuilding of the line to Blaenau. In the 20 years he lived here he worked tirelessly to restore Plas y Dduallt, the old house which is currently up for sale. If you’d like to have a look inside, here’s a great little film.

Lifestyle House Film

Let’s sell the house. Let’s choose an estate agent with OnTheMarket. Let’s make a film about it. OK, but what sort of film? We looked at lots of films of houses in North Wales and there is quite a mixed bag from the cheap and cheerful to the professional. The professionally produced films all showed the houses to their best, with excellent camera work, but one film in particular caught our eye. Everything about it was just right and we said that’s what we want.

Watch those chimneys!

Whereas the other films were good, we found them a bit sterile, cold and lacking in character. But the one we liked invited us in, this was a lifestyle house film, a sub-genre we had been unaware of. Instead of seeing rooms, windows and gardens you saw people using and enjoying them.

After a brief exchange of emails ‘Gareth the Film’ came to meet us, to do a recce and talk through some ideas. The key question was to what extent would we be prepared to get into the spirit of it. Would we be filmed arriving by train? Picking some herbs? Playing with the dog? Catching some fish and putting them on the BBQ for friends who we’d meet at the platform? We said yes.

With the story and scenes agreed we had to procure some props, dress the rooms, make sure the garden was looking just right and invite some extras to be our guests for the BBQ scene.

A key element of the film was choosing the right music and we scoured through websites that provide thousands of tracks for use in films. After dismissing ones that sounded too much like Lord of the Rings, we ended up with a perfect choice – the rhythm was light and happy and most importantly it would fit in with the sounds of an approaching train. Our chosen track was 2 ½ minutes long, so that became the length of the film. Surely that wouldn’t take two days to film!? 

Gareth and John Hearn

As the first day approached we prayed that the forecast of good weather would hold, this was to be the day for outdoor filming and the BBQ. Gareth arrived with his partner-in-film, his father John, who operated various cameras and microphones and was also the ‘spotter’ for the flying of drones. Drones would be a key component of the production and for this we would need wind speeds of less than 17 mph.

It was a Sunday with just two trains scheduled which would pass Campbell’s Platform twice on the way up and twice on the way down. These were the four, time-critical slots of the day for the story to work.

As the first train approached I stuck out my hand to request it to stop and it did. I then asked the volunteer guard if it would be OK for me to get on and off a few times while I was filmed from different angles. Having pre-booked this with the management of the railway I was expecting ‘of course, no problem’. But instead I got ‘that’s the first I’ve heard of it’ and much later ‘I’ve got a connection to make’. But we were accommodated and it all worked well.

The story involved my returning with the shopping to the kitchen where Sue was boiling a kettle on the Rayburn for coffee. We were supposed to exchange a kiss as I put down the shopping bag and Sue poured the boiling water into the mugs. Sounds simple enough, but there were many takes and near misses!

After Sue was filmed doing some gardening, I tied a fly in the old barn, walked away with a split-cane rod and returned moments later with a couple of trout. Virtual fishing with the help of a Tesco’s fish counter is so convenient and guarantees success.

Our guests arrived on the down train and we greeted them on the platform. After the children played in the garden, throwing frisbee to Molly, we settled down by the BBQ, where the trout was cooking, and toasted with Champagne …. This was the critical closing scene!

The drone was in the air beneath the Scots Pine as we waited for the last down train of the day, hovering at eye level until Gareth heard the train’s whistle. It was then a swift flight away from the tree and up into the sky at the right angle to capture the house in front of the mountain with the train swinging into view. It worked perfectly.

On the second day of filming we filled in the key gaps of the story such as the rooms and the actual riding of the train. Continuity meant I had to wear the same clothes and carry the same shopping bag and contents – I looked fine, but the baguette was a bit limp.

For the interior filming a lot of use was made of the ‘slider’, a level track on which the camera could move sideways. It was very effective at conveying the sense of just walking into a room. Then there was the boom which captured the essence of the four-poster room. It started high to focus on the cruck beams, coming down to reveal the bed itself and the ancient Persian tapestry above.

It was an enjoyable experience working with Gareth and John and a couple of days later Gareth was back with two versions of the film to get our feedback as to which we preferred and whether any final edits were needed. We were over the moon with what we saw and are hopeful that this film is going to be a great success in attracting potential buyers to the house. For further details look at OnThe Market.

Gareth and John own and work for North Shore Productions. This is the film and I think it's fantastic. Everyone was a star but I think Molly upstaged us all.