Cymraeg    

Newsletter 19

October 2011

Our 5th AGM, which took place in Llanddewi Brefi on the 18 June, has come and gone. There were no changes to the trustees or the Trust's officers - time for new blood, younger blood maybe? That would be welcomed. There must be those of you out there who have much to offer and some of the present incumbents would love to see their work load lightened. Think 2012 and in what way you might contribute.

The day following the AGM members and friends travelled to Dolgoch where at a short ceremony the ashes of former YHA warden George de Roe were scattered by the YHA Trustee Helen Maurice-Jones. All then enjoyed refreshments provided by Helen. Helen's appeal for funds to buy a seat in George's memory has resulted in a sum of over £500 being raised. On Helen's behalf we thank all who contributed. A seat with an appropriate plaque is being purchased and it is intended to put this in place next Spring.

STOP PRESS - George's cat now has a home where she will be well cared for.

Christmas

A big leap forward but it is not too early to talk of Christmas cards. Pleas for scenic winter photographs of our two hostels have failed to produce any so it has been decided to reissue those we sold in 2008. They are available as follows:

• 5 pack of Dolgoch hostel @ £4.00 per pack incl p+p
• 5 pack of Ty'n Cornel hostel @ £4.00 per pack incl p+p
• 10 pack of Dolgoch hostel @ £7.50 per pack incl p+p
• 10 pack of Ty'n Cornel hostel @ £7.50 per pack incl p+p
• 10 pack mixed (5 Dolgoch + 5 Ty'n Cornel) @ £7.50 per pack incl p+p

To order the cards, please send a note of your requirements with a cheque made payable to Elenydd Wilderness Hostels, to EWHT cards, c/o Frances Passey, 86 Cumberland Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 3JT. Don't forget to include your name and address!

Needless to say all profit goes to the Trust.

News of our hostels

Dolgoch

As ever the vagaries of Dolgoch's water system continue to plague us - when she is good she is very very good, but when she is bad - well not quite horrid but certainly very irritating. On more than one occasion our volunteer wardens have had to cope either with no hot water to the showers or no water at all other than that from the outside standpipe. Our very grateful thanks go to all our wardens and particularly to those who have dealt so well with these trying conditions. Sympathy goes too to those hostellers who have suffered. We do know from reports that many have had enjoyable stays and hope all will feel that way in the future. We will get it right but it is taking longer than we expected.

Overnights and bookings for the rest of the open season are a little above last year's at over 900. The dormitory doors now proudly display their names - Tywi, Irfon and Gwesyn.

Ty'n Cornel

Ty'n Cornel too has had in the past, but on a lesser scale, the occasional water problems. Hostel manager Richard Hollins is confident that these have been overcome. A new 4500 litre tank as opposed to the former 1800 litre has been installed which should help cope with the peaks and troughs in demand during dry spells. As a result of improvements to reduce sediment from the spring the water in the hostel is much clearer and the filter stays clear for longer than previously. Drains have also received attention with replacement of one of the manholes. The concrete base had crumbled resulting in blocked drains. Russ Johnson has been busy (when is Russ not busy?) refurbishing the small breeze block shed. General maintenance to keep the hostel smart and watertight has been carried out and Richard expresses his thanks to all who have helped.

Overnights and bookings, currently 755, have beaten last year's total and could well reach the 800 mark.

Ty'n Cornel appeal

If we are to purchase Ty'n Cornel from its present owners we need to raise the purchase price by the end of 2012. To date donations received, pledged donations and other available funds amount to £50,000. Another £100,000 is needed. There is no guarantee that grant funding is available, but exploration of that possibility indicates that a grant request would not be considered unless a substantial part of the funds needed were already in place. We therefore feel it is essential that a sum of at least £80,000, dedicated to the purchase, is in hand by the end of 2011 if we are to have any hope of grant funding. There are perhaps those among you who may be intending in the year ahead to donate or pledge a donation. Can we ask you please to do so in the coming two months. We would emphasise that this may not lead to grant aid but at least we might be in a better position to apply for it.

A donation form is available here.

Hostel winter closures

Recent winters have produced some prolonged very cold weather in the Elenydd. To avoid burst pipes and the resulting damage the water systems in both hostels will be drained down.

This will happen at Dolgoch on 20 November but the hostel will remain open to those prepared to rely on the outside standpipe for their sole supply of the world's most precious commodity. (Melting snow is a tedious business!) Please contact Marilyn Barrack before an intended visit.

Ty'n Cornel will be drained down on 06 November and closed from that date until the end of January.

Publicity

We are anxious to order next year's publicity leaflets but would dearly love to use some new photographs. The plea for some contained in our last issue has not proved fruitful so we ask again - shots please of our hostels, interior or exterior, people involved in hostelling activities especially the younger generation and interesting scenic views of the Elenydd. Please email any suitable photos to Pearl Chalk.

Our publicity officer Geoff Williams reports that the Trust now has an exhibition display stand that has recently been on show at tourist venues in Llandeilo and Carmarthen and will appear at the John Muir Trust gathering at Bristol on the 12 November.

If readers are able to place publicity leaflets in venues near their home or en route to and from hostels or know of exhibitions of interest to outdoor enthusiasts where the stand might be displayed please let Geoff know (adress: Maesquarre, Bethlehem Road, Llandeilo, Carms, SA19 6YA, or phone: 01558 822 960.

Heritage walk : The Mountain Men

Twenty seven members and guests of the Trust braved the mud and the rain on the 08 October to follow local historian John Morgan down the Doethie valley from Ty'n Cornel Hostel. It was the second such history walk and he carried his listeners back to a time when the valley housed over one hundred hardy subsistence farmers. They could truly be called 'mountain men' as they wrestled a living from the mountains. At each small ruined homestead John talked with feeling and sympathy about their lives and hopes.

The valley is now a quiet place of contemplation and rough beauty. No longer can the sounds of children playing and shepherds calling their dogs be heard but those who listened to John went away with a greater understanding of how the early farmers lived and died.

Many thanks to John for leading the walk accompanied as it was with his fascinating dip into local history.

Hostelling in the Elenydd in the 70's and 80's

Chairman Steve Griffith shares with us memories of his early hostelling days...

I first stayed at Tyncornel in 1978 as part of a two week cycling tour with my sister starting in Port Eynon going round the Pembrokeshire coast and ending up via the Brecon Beacons in the Forest of Dean at the now demolished Mitcheldean hostel. My main memory apart from phoning home anxiously for my O levels results was the stay at Ty'n Cornel then marketed by the YHA with the tag line: The most remote hostel in England and Wales.

Not surprisingly the next summer holidays I planned a tour around the six Elenydd hostels. I was very pro simple hostel and sought to avoid the standard and certainly superior hostels if possible. We started at Capel y Ffin after taking the train to Newport and then stayed at Glascwm (9 miles east of Builth) which, although not in the Elenydd, had many of the characteristics of the simple hostels. It was an old school building at the centre of a remote hamlet, facilities were basic: the men slept in a prefab with plenty of ventilation! The wardens were an old couple in the village who seemed to live in the nineteenth century, ie. no electricity and a kitchen full of rabbits hanging up to dry.

From here we made our way to Bryn Poeth Uchaf which, I am told, translates as 'upper sunny bank'. You signed in at the farm at Hafod y Pant and struggled up the steep hill to the hostel (no vehicle access). You could get to the hostel by a very steep track from Rhandirmwyn but this was not recommended, certainly not after a few drinks in the Royal Oak! The views south were fantastic over the western end of the Beacons. As I recall, the building was similar to Tyncornel, maybe a little less loved? North from the hostel there was a superb ridge walk all the way to Abergwesyn past a number of interesting old lead mines, including a chimney, but sadly, with forestation, this has been lost. The hostel was only 2 miles from the railway halt at Cynhordy which meant it was often the starting point for an Elenydd trip.

After BPU we headed for Dolgoch which had the warning in the handbook: Cyclists must take care on very steep hills.

Llyn Brianne was still fairly new and the road around it and up to the Devil's Staircase road had only just been finished. After being shouted at by George, we reflected they might well have added a warning about the warden. I did not visit Dolgoch again until the 1990's...

We escaped to Blaencaron which, despite being run down and basic (no running water, damp etc), we really enjoyed, thanks to the welcome from the farmer's wife who acted as warden. Like most of the other Elenydd hostels it was left open all the time and you either went to the warden's house to sign in or they came to the hostel during the evening to collect money and often sell you eggs and milk! I suspect for many of the farmer wardens this was their main source of outside human contact.

I think we then stayed at Ty'n Cornel which was being looked after by a student warden as Will Lewis was away harvesting I think. It was here I first heard epic tails of cyclists taking their bikes on tracks and an organisation called the Rough Stuff Fellowship. It was certainly not for me, there was no way I was going to risk damaging my Carlton I had saved up for out of my paper round earning! Funny how times and attitudes change! (So speaks the present chairman of the Rough Stuff Fellowship! Ed.)

From here we headed north to spend a couple of days at Ystumtuen near Devils Bridge. An old school owned by the chapel next door, this was far larger (over 20 beds) and had the luxury of a shop next door. We had been living off Vesta meals and even in those days most villages did not have a shop. The Handbook gave a dire warning about the perils of arriving via Parson Bridge so of course we had to do it...

The last hostel was some people's favourite, Nant y Dernol on the west side of the Wye between Llangurig and Rhayader. A cottage a couple of miles up a dead end valley it had been a hostel since 1954. In addition to a great location it had all the ingredients for a magical stay, friendly warden/farmer and full of knowledgeable hostellers. I think the latter is one of the greatest advantages of staying at hostels. Thanks to a conversation at Nant y Dernol, we discovered the wonderful gorge just west of Dylife. Now it is a private house and looking at it recently I find it hard to understand where there was room for 16 people! The cycle shed was on the opposite side of the road and still written on the side is: There's a welcome in the hostel.

The minor road on the west side of the Wye is still one of my favourites. It is gated and the east side with the A44 takes pretty much all the traffic.

I made many subsequent visits to the Elenydd hostels but maybe not surprisingly the first trip was the most memorable!

Dates for your diary

Sat-Sun 05-06 Nov 2011 (0930 hrs), Wardens' Information + Training Weekend (Dolgoch)
Sat 26 Nov 2011 (1030 hrs), Trustees' Meeting (Tetbury)
Sat 28 Jan 2012 (1000 hrs), Open meeting (Ty'n Cornel)
Sat 16 Jun 2012, AGM (1100 hrs, Tregaron) + Open afternoon (1400 hrs, Dolgoch)

Contacts

Previous newsletters

English    

Cylchlythyr 19

Hydref 2011

Cyfarfod Blynyddol : Llanddewi Brefi, 18 Mehefin

Dim newid i'r Pwyllgor na'r Swyddogion ond fe fyddai'n braf cael gwaed newydd. Meddyliwch amdani yn ystod 2012.

Ar y diwrnod canlynol aethom i Ddolgoch i wasgaru llwch George de Roe (gan Helen Maurice-Jones). Diolchwn i bawb a gyfrannodd tuag at y £500 a godwyd i brynu sedd goffa iddo - i'w osod yn y Gwanwyn.

NB - Mae gan gath George gartref newydd erbyn hyn.

Y Nadolig

Ni ddaeth lluniau newydd i law felly penderfynwyd ail gyhoeddi cardiau 2008. Prisiau (i gynnwys post):

• Pecyn 5 o Ddolgoch @ £4.00
• Pecyn 5 o Dy'n Cornel @ £4.00
• Pecyn 10 o Dolgoch @ £7.50
• Pecyn 10 o Ty'n Cornel @ £7.50
• Pecyn 10 o Cymysg (5 Dolgoch + 5 Ty'n Cornel) @ £7.50

Cysylltwch a Frances Passey gyda'ch manylion (yn cynnwys enw & chyfeiriad!) a siec i: EWHT, 86 Cumberland Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 3JT.

Newyddion o'r Hosteli

Dolgoch

Mae cyflenwad dwr Dolgoch yn dal i achosi trafferthion. Daliwn i weithio arni a diolch i bob warden am ymdopi a'r anghyfleustra yn y cyfamser ac ymddiheuriadau i bob hostelwr am y diffygion. Diolch am eich sylwadau - yn cofnodi mwynhad er gwaethaf - a gobeithiwn eich croesawi eto.

Erbyn diwedd y tymor agored, byddwn wedi cael 900 'noson' - ychydig yn fwy na llynedd. Ymfalchiwn yn enwau newydd ein stafelloedd gwely - Tywi, Irfon a Gwesyn.

Ty'n Cornel

Cafwyd rhai trafferthion dwr yma hefyd, ond mae'r rheolwr, Richard Hollins, yn obeithiol am y dyfodol, diolch yn rhannol i'r tanc newydd (sy'n dal 4500 litr yn hytrach na 1800 yr hen un) a gwelliannau i'r draeniau. Diolch i bawb sydd wedi helpu cynnal a chadw'r lle, yn arbenning i Russ Johnson am ei waith ail-wampio'r shed bloc.

Bu 755 noson hyd yn hyn (mwy na llynedd yn barod) ac efallai byddwn yn cyrraedd 800.

Apel Ty'n Cornel

Os am brynu Ty'n Cornel oddiwrth y perchnogion presennol, dylem godi £150,000 erbyn diwedd 2012. Hyd yn hyn, y ffigwr yw £50,000. Cyn cynnig am grantiau (a does dim sicrwydd y byddwn yn llwyddiannus), dylem gael £80,00 mewn llaw. Os oes rhai yn eich mysg sy'n ystyried/bwriadu cyfrannu tuag at yr Apel, gofynnwn yn garedig i chi wneud hyn yn ystod y ddau fis nesaf os gwelwch yn dda.

Mae ffurflen rhodd ar gael yma.

Cau'r hosteli

Oherwydd y gaeafau oer diweddar, a'r perygl o bipellau'n ffrwydro, byddwn yn gwachau'r sustemau dwr yn y ddau hostel:

Dolgoch: 20 Tachwedd (gyda'r hostel ar agor i'r rhai sy'n fodlon dibynnu'n unig ar ddwr tap oer tu allan). Cysylltwch a Marilyn Barrack os am fynd yno.

Ty'n Cornel: 06 Tachwedd (gyda'r hostel ar gau o hynny tan ddiwedd Ionawr)

Cyhoeddusrwydd

Mae angen archebu taflennu newydd ond rydym yn awyddus i gael lluniau newydd - o'r tu mewn/tu allan/pobl (yn enwedig yr ifanc) yn mwynhau gweithgareddau/ardal yr Elenydd. E-bostiwch nhw at Pearl Chalk.

Diolch i'n Swyddog Hysbys, Geoff Williams, mae'r stondyn arddangos newydd wedi bod mewn canolfannau twristiaid yn Llandeilo a Chaerfyrddin yn ddiweddar, ac fe fydd ym Mryste (Ymddiriedolaeth John Muir) ar 12 Tachwedd.

Os ydych yn gallu rhoi taflennu allan mewn mannau addas - ger eich cartref, ar y ffordd i ryw hostel, arddangosfeydd gweithgareddau agored, rhowch wybod i Geoff neu 'Maesquarre', Bethlehem Road, Llandeilo, Caerfyrddin, SA19 6YA (01558 822 960).

Tro Cerdded : Dynion y Mynydd

Daeth 27 ohonom ynghyd yn y mwd a'r glaw ar 08 Hydref i ddilyn hanesydd lleol, John Morgan ar dro o Dy'n Cornel i lawr Dyffryn Doethie. Dyma'r ail un o'r fath, ac aeth John a ni nol i'r amser pan oedd dros 100 o ffermwyr yma - 'dynion y mynydd' yn wir - yn crafu bywoliaeth. Trwy ei hanesion am rai o'r adfeilion a'u pobl, cawsom gip ar reality bywyd yr adeg hynny. Diolch yn fawr i John unwaith eto.

Hostela yn yr Elenydd yn y 70au a'r 80au - Steve Griffith

(Ein Cadeirydd yn rhannu atgofion am ei daith fythgofiadwy cyntaf o amgylch yr Elenydd - Glascwm, Bryn Poeth Uchaf, Dolgoch, Blaencaron, Ty'n Cornel, Ystumtuen, Nant y Dernol. Am fanylion, gweler y fersiwn Saesneg.

Dyddiadau i'w cofio

Sad-Sul 05-06 Tac 2011 (0930 hrs), Gwybodaeth i Wardeiniaid (Dolgoch)
Sad 26 Tac 2011 (1030 hrs), Cyfarfod Ymddiriedolwyr (Tetbury)
Sad 28 Ion 2012 (1000 hrs), Cyfarfod Agored (Ty'n Cornel)
Sad 16 Meh 2012, Cyfarfod Blynyddol (1100 hrs, Tregaron) + Prynhawn Agored (1400 hrs, Dolgoch)

Cysylltiadau

Cylchlythyrau blaenorol