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Wildlife - Fungi: Fact, Fiction and Food for Free |
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 Pat O'Reilly commends mushrooms for their majesty, mystery and mythology
Until the early 20th Century, the uniqueness of fungi was so little understood that they were considered to be inferior kinds of plants. They were lumped in with liverworts, mosses and the like and labelled ‘lower plants' - for no better reason than their apparent habits of staying where they are born and not (at least overtly) preying on other organisms. Wrong on both counts actually, evolution has equipped fungi very well to fight their corners in the modern world.
Whether your walks in the countryside are biased towards birds, butterflies, wildflowers or whatever, so much of what you see - trees, flowers and animals - depend on fungi.
If their past is anything to go by fungi will be around for as long as our planet supports plant and animal life. Recent research suggests that the first fungus like, organisms may have appeared on Earth something like 1,200 million years ago.
Of course, there is still that alluring prospect of food for free.... As the old saying goes: ‘You can eat every kind of mushroom... but some of them only once!'
Read the full article on page 12. |
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 Andrew Seabourne Evans explores Rhondda Country
When coal was king the Rhondda was grey! Coal dust seemed to cover everything, but now the only colliery remaining is the Heritage Park for tourists. It used to be said that before the industrial revolution, a squirrel could travel the whole length of the valley without touching the ground - there were that many trees. Now, those days are coming back as the valley becomes green again......
The countryside has returned to the Rhondda Valleys and you no longer have to climb the mountain peaks to feel the fresh air on your face. Tourists are making their way up through the valleys and the colourful strings of miners' terraces are the main legacy of the age of coal......Barry Sidings is very popular and this year a young egret was spotted there for the first time.
See page 28.
Text & images: Andrew Seabourne Evans |
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Country Matters - Mel Doel |
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 ‘Come Fly With Me?'
I hadn't done it for years and I wish I could say it was like getting back on a bike, but it wasn't! So what dangerous pursuit had my producer sent me out on this time.
Flying a kite may seem the simplest and safest of pastimes, but as I returned to this childhood love, (it's a good decade since I last flew a kite with my son) I could hardly even get the thing up off the ground.
Kite flying is also a great form of exercise. If like me, your idea of kite flying is to stand in one spot and launch it up into the air - think again.
But gone is that happy image of endless, joyful hours playing in the park because now some councils are bringing in by-laws to ban kite flying, claiming it's potentially dangerous. I met up with two of Wales' top experts to find out more about what I thought was a harmless countryside pursuit.
Read more on page 8.
Images: Tom Dudziec-Durn |
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 Gerddicae Hir ~ Cae Hir Gardens
One of Wales' most interesting gardens....Cae Hir is a smallholding of approximately six acres, located on a West facing hillside, with wetland habitat bordering the stream, which flows through the valley, and rough grazing over the remainder.
"Good gardening is being unnatural with nature's consent" says Wil, who has created his garden with an artist's eye. The bare fields were his inspiration, and he painted with plants........ Judicious use of chemicals, has ensured wildlife is encouraged into the garden to achieve an ecological balance.
Recognition of the garden has come via several television programmes, and articles in national gardening magazines, together with the prestigious acceptance of Cae Hir as a Royal Horticultural Society Partner garden, as well as opening for The National Garden Scheme. All this confirms, the garden's place as one of the best private gardens in Wales and one that is well worth a visit.
Full article on page 61.
Copyright: Penlan Perennials and Gerddi Cae Hir Gardens
Words: Richard Cain
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Out & About - Pembroke Mid Wales |
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 Out & About - Take a look at Sarah Beynon's fascinating world of bugs
Pembrokeshire's wildlife is not limited to the large, the charismatic and the cuddly. Take a closer look at where you are placing your feet, and you will come across a whole new world of wildlife wonders in the undergrowth...
This time of year is a great time to start hunting, as with flowers out in full bloom, and the weather warming up, insects emerge from hibernation and begin to feast and sunbathe. Of over 1 million known species of insect in the world, more than 23 thousand make our island their home. The weight of ants on the planet, is greater than the weight of humans and 80% of the world's species are insects! Therefore we really do live in ‘the world of the bugs'.
Bees and other insect pollinators, are responsible for the pollination of over a third of the food that we eat, but are currently in severe decline due to loss of habitat and increased pesticide use!
Read more on page 23.
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Out & About - Stories in Stone |
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Click here to buy a first edition copy of Geoff's book -
 Geoff Brookes tells the sad story of the young girl known as 'Albertina'
Louisa was a 'cloth factory girl' but clearly craved a life with rather more thrills. She ran away at the age of 14 to become a circus apprentice and a trapeze artiste, known as Mademoiselle Albertina and very soon was working for 'Professor' Auguste Eugene Gaudron.
Auguste Eugene Gaudron might have liked to call himself 'Professor', but he was a balloon manufacturer from Paris who had settled in London and became a significant figure in the world of ballooning.
Parachuting was already a century old and was strictly a circus stunt linked to the practise of smoke ballooning. A fire pit was prepared, with a covered trench leading to the balloon. A fire was built and then covered with wet straw to create hot smoke. The smoke then filled the balloon, which was nothing more than a large cotton bag tethered between posts. When filled with smoke, the aeronaut would be buckled to the parachute that was attached to the balloon...........
Read this sad and tragic tale on page 25. |
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 Sue Massey suggests 'Getting On Your Bike'
What better way to explore Carmarthenshire than on two wheels.
A leisurely bike ride following the Carmarthen and Llanelli loop along quiet lanes, many completely free of traffic, will leave you inspired by the beauty of the countryside, in awe of the history of the region, and invigorated by the exercise.
A Victorian velodrome in Carmarthen, believed to be the oldest outdoor concrete velodrome in continuous use in the world, opened on Easter Monday in 1900....There are evocative cycling images of the era taken by John Francis Lloyd who lived in Picton Terrace, Carmarthen. Lloyd's images of activities at the velodrome at Carmarthen Park, just across the road from his home, show how popular cycling was in the 1900's.
There‘s so much to see as you cycle the Carmarthen and Llanelli loop...enjoy the scenery, absorb the history, be amazed by nature.
See page 53.
Photographs by John Francis Lloyd c 1900
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Out & About - Dolaucothi Gold Mines |
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Did you know that the only known remaining Roman gold mines in the UK are here in Wales? Menna Davies certainly didn't and decided to take a visit to find out more..................
The mines are part of the 2,500 acre Dolaucothi estate, given to the National Trust in 1943 by Mr H.T.C. Lloyd-Johnes, and made up of nine working hill farms, 24 cottages, a smithy and 202 hectares of woodland.
One of the key attractions for visitors is the chance to actually go underground. There are three different tours available. For those who prefer to stay above ground, there is still plenty to see and do. You can try gold panning with a very good chance that you'll find some........even if it's just a small flake. If, like me, you love walking in the countryside, the three estate walks offer wonderful views over the Cothi valley.
My last port of call was the Welsh gold shop. (*The shop will offer 10% off any item of Welsh gold if you bring along the article in the magazine.)
See page 20 to read the full article.
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Out & About - Getting to Know |
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 Cardiff Through Archive Film
Whilst compiling the DVD called 'Cardiff - A Journey Through Time', Screen Icon Ltd, came across fascinating rarely seen footage of the city dating back to World War II.
Some of the earliest footage features people riding through the streets of Cardiff on top of a tank as the people of Cardiff showed great unity and enthusiasm for a request by the British Government for scrap metal, especially aluminum, to help the country's production of Spitfires.
As well as this colour material some black and white footage was uncovered of Cardiff Docks during the Second World War. As well as the fascinating wartime footage, other interesting films featured include; evocative images of the bustling city centre in the late forties capturing beautifully the look and atmosphere of post-war Cardiff, vivid colour images of the 1953 Coronation celebrations that sparked a great week of street parties and parades, and a sequence filmed at Cardiff General Station, which vividly illustrates the sights and sounds of steam travel in the 1950s.
See page 24.
Images: welsh web shop
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Out & About - Walking Wales with Tom Hutton |
Craig Cerrig-gleisiad
The Fforest Fawr mountain range sees far fewer bootprints than the central Brecon Beacons or the Black Mountains, with most of the massif comprising of remote grassy hilltops that carry few tracks or paths. But there's one area, near the north-east of the range, where the austerity of the moors gives way to dramatic cliffs that tumble down to towering banks of glacier-formed moraine, and where access is notably easier. This is the Craig Cerrig-gleisiad Nature Reserve, a wonderful pocket of mountainside that is home to rare artic-alpine flora that thrives in the shade of the north-facing cliffs as well as many different birds and insects. This walk combines a visit to the foot of the towering cliffs with the summit of nearby Fan Frynach to make a short but quite stiff outing that offers wonderful views over the highest mountains in the National Park.
Details of the walk can be found on page 16. |
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