To the Trees
On the south-facing slope of the large hill behind my home there is a cluster of trees, larch in fact, that stand sentinel above the other trees on the slope facing out into the bay. True, there are other, more […]
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The Hafod Estate, Thomas Johnes’ Paradise
Thomas Johnes had a mad idea, that you could tame and order a landscape as wild and extensive as the Ystwyth Valley. Like others he believed that human intervention could improve what nature had created. But the Hafod Estate, no […]
On Snowdon
The glint of sunshine, lace curtain mist, in stately quadrille on the ridge, fades in, fades out the adjacent mount where steep escarpments form a bridge upon the which, with a flexing nerve, and drive of legs in hand of […]
Janet Baxter’s Spring Wales
As Spring arrives the days lengthen and warmth returns there is no better time to get out and appreciate the Welsh landscapes and seascapes. Woodlands are filled with bluebells and ramsons while the coastal path is lined with wild flowers. […]
Away from Wales
The sun still sets And the waves still sail. The bridge sits still And gulls still wail. The cliffs rock still And the trees knit-knot. The cars hum drum. And the clouds spit spot. Away from Wales The ships stop […]
The Early Spring Garden 2025
This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green, Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes, Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes. D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) After […]
Happy Saint David’s Day
On David’s day our Beloved daffodils will sway And the little will play all day In the field and vale the banners Fly with pride and we will Stand tall and proud On Saint David’s day our Beloved day ans […]
Colliery Spoil Biodiversity
Colliery spoil tips are an iconic feature in the landscape of the South Wales Valleys, yet they remain gravely overlooked, underappreciated and misunderstood. In the decades that have followed the widespread closure of deep coal mines in South Wales, nature […]
Ruthin Town Clock Restored to Former Glory
The project focusing on restoring the grade II listed Joseph Peers Memorial Clock Tower within St. Peter’s Square in Ruthin has now been completed. Denbighshire County Council received confirmation that they had secured £10.95m from UK Government for the former […]
Colliery Spoil Tips: Biodiversity Hotspots
For more than a century, the environment of the south Wales valleys and the fortunes of the people who lived here were shaped by coal mining. The scars of heavy industry were everywhere and black tips of coal waste brooded […]
Queen Rhiannon
Ride on, queen Rhiannon, mother of kings, hidden in mystery of ages, Ride on, queen Rhiannon, mystic your tale, Narberth pre-castle as prison Ride on, queen Rhiannon, proudly your tales though come the days of the conqueror, Ride on, queen […]
Islwyn Ffowc Elis (November 17, 1924 – January 22, 2004)
November 17, 2024, was the centenary of the birth of Islwyn Ffowc Elis, one of the most popular Welsh prose writers of the twentieth century. In 1947 he won the crown for poetry in Lewis’s Eisteddfod in Liverpool, and then […]