Welsh Country Magazine - What's in this Issue?

The first noted use of Pembrokeshire harbours was around 2000BC; Blue Stones left Milford Haven en route to Salisbury Plain and their eventual resting place at what we now call Stonehenge. Pembrokeshire’s association with water and waterways concentrates on the south west peninsula around Milford Haven, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, each taking their turn over the centuries at being the most important of the towns. Thomas Cromwell recommended that Milford Haven’s sea defences should be increased in 1538 to protect the naval forces that moored in the waterway. A century later, Oliver Cromwell sailed with a large army from Milford Haven to “finally solve the Irish problem” after having first laid seige to Pembroke Castle.

Cwmyoy the Most Crooked Church in Britain

Focus On

by Chris Barber
Perched on the eastern slopes of a beautiful valley, St Martin’s Church is about 700 years old and appears to be in danger of toppling over, because centuries ago, its foundations were disturbed by subsidence. This is not really surprising, for during the Middle Ages the church was built on the site of a landslip that had occurred some time after the last Ice Age. Not only is the chancel out of line with the nave, but the walls and windows slope away to the south. One writer who came here aptly observed, ‘No part of the building is square or at right angles with any other part.’ The tower actually leans more than the world famous leaning tower of Pisa!

Llanwrtyd Wells

Focus On

Wales has always produced more cattle, sheep and goats than its population could eat and the larger cities in England have always had a ravenous appetite for the wonderful meat from Wales. The country around Llanwrtyd Wells is criss-crossed with those ancient paths known as Drovers Roads, along which the would-be dinners were herded to English markets. It could be argued that Llanwrtyd Wells itself had nothing to do with droving at all in as much as Llanwrtyd was not known under that name until the latter half of the 19th century, previously being known as Pontrhydyfferau (or Pontrhydyferi as it is sometimes spelt). Pontrhydyfferau, it would seem, was small and insignificant; little is recorded of it, while much is recorded of the villages round about - Beulah, Abergwesyn, Llangammarch Wells - and their association with droving.

The Conservation of Ogof Flynnon Ddu

Conservation

Ogof Ffynnon Ddu (The Cave of the Black Spring) is a cave in the upper Swansea Valley opposite Dan Yr Ogof. The first section of the cave was discovered in August 1946 by explorers from the South Wales Caving Club. Exploration continued until the present extent of the system was reached in 1971. The cave is one of the longest in the British Isles with a surveyed length of over 60 km, while its vertical range of over 300 metres makes it the deepest cave in Britain. After the cave’s discovery, it quickly became apparent that here was something unique. The physical and geomorphological complexity of the cave system being revealed was recognised as a discovery of national importance, so the Nature Conservancy Council designated both the cave and the land above it as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in order to protect the system from encroaching quarrying.

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