17th: Taf Fechan – South and West Wales

This was the place that should never have been. It’s a sad story of forgetfulness and mistakes, that ultimately led to redemption through nature! We’ve been travelling around for all these trips in our trusty car. Now, this is where the mistake comes in that shows my forgetfulness. I received a reminder from our garage that the MOT was due in 2 weeks’ time, the day before we were due to set off on our 3-week tour of 13 wildlife trust reserves (across England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Southern Ireland. Oh dear. What to do. So, I rejigged some plans and booked an MOT in Wales. It failed. Oh dear (again!). So, after many phone calls and referrals a garage was found that could do the required work, before we left the area. The work would take about 3 – 4 hours. We didn’t fancy sitting in the garage for that long (I can’t imagine why) so I had a look at the area and low and behold there was Taf Fechan Wildlife Reserve, staring out at me from the ordnance survey map. It was an hour’s walk away from the garage, but within range.

We therefore had absolutely no idea what to expect when we arrived. To put it lightly, we were impressed! It started as a beautiful walk along the river which gives its name to the reserve, immediately greeted by a dipper doing its thing.

We walked past cows and horses, completing the idyllic scene. However, this place had an ace up it’s sleeve, as we walked the river dropped away from us into what can only be described as an alien landscape. Obviously, we hadn’t been transported to another planet, but it felt as if we could have been. A little bit of climbing brought us down into a multi-layered gorge.

The river, over the centuries, had obviously worn away the rock layers at different speeds creating an effect that looked as if huge pancakes made of solid rock had been stacked on top of one another. Please forgive the clumsy similes, as I’ve said before, I’m an artist, not a writer! It was dark down there, yet the green light filtered through the trees made the river look so bright and beautiful. As I crouched trying to take it all in and record a video, a dipper flashed past me, on it’s flight up the river. That I thought may have to be the inspiration for a painting.