Llanidloes is a typical Mid Wales town. In the centre is an old black and white market hall where two main streets cross, no longer used for markets there is a more modern (19th century) market nearby where a butcher was already open for business when I left town in the morning. There are plenty of pubs, probably all with old black beams like the one I visited last night, and a variety of small shops, with attractive things to buy but which I did not need or wish to carry in my rucksack. Llanidloes church is said to contain arches taken from Abbey Cwm Hir which I visited yesterday, but it was locked so I could not see them. In the church porch a suggested prayer was written on a drawing of a rainbow, a symbol of hope in the time of Covid 19. As suggested I tied a coloured ribbon on the wrought iron porch gate to represent my prayer. I saw more rainbows later as showers of rain alternated with patches of sunshine, a sign that the world will continue, summer and winter, seed time and harvest, despite the occasional crisis.
17th century market hall at Llanidloes.
Rainbow, sign of a promise.
Glyndŵr's Way leaves town by crossing the River Severn, briefly following the same path as the Severn Way, a long distance path which follows the river from source to sea. The first stretch of my walk was through woods of oak, beech and holly, before the now familiar hills of sheep and cow pasture.
The major sites of interest today were the Bryntail lead mine and the dam retaining the Llyn Clywedog reservoir just above it. The former consisted of the ruins of the ore processing plant. Dating from the 19th century, water wheels powered mills that crushed the ore. It was then washed and allowed to settled in tanks which were made of large stone slabs bound together by iron bands. The reservoir was built in the 1960's to prevent flooding of the River Severn downstream. I saw no evidence of any hydroelectric being generated, the substantial energy of the water being released from the dam seems to be wasted, disappointing given the current emphasis on renewable energy. There was a café at the top of the dam, sadly closed until March.
Llyn Clywedog reservoir.
The trail went up and down and around the reservoir over the subsequent kilometres until it eventually headed off into a coniferous forest. Then it was more green fields and a climb. The setting sun was creating beautiful cloudscapes, of blue, white, grey and a smoky orange, too transient for me to capture them on my camera. Eventually a sign advised me to "turn off here" for the Star Inn, and my bed for the night. When I visited earlier this year while walking the Cambrian Way it was full of people, but today, out of season, I was the only person staying the night in this lonely, isolated Inn, where I was welcomed with a much appreciated cup of tea and a wood burning stove in the bar. I was glad a group of four were also having dinner that evening otherwise I would have felt I was putting people to too much trouble.
I took this photo as it felt as if I was walking up into the cloud.
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