So it's another fine afternoon and what better than hop on and ride off. Where to? Not too far so perhaps up the Dysynni valley to Castell y Bere our local ruined castle. But I didn't get that far, only as far as a turn off out of the valley.
The two local rivers, the Dysynni and the Fathew run in glacial valleys which result in an outlier of ground between them. This joins to Cader Idris the dominant small mountain of mid-Wales. There is just one local road that climbs the outlier ridge to connect with valley roads, and this is the road I decided to take.
There is no way that I can cycle all the way up the road from either of the two valleys , the road is just far too steep. To be honest I suppose on this ride I did about half the climb from the Dysynni valley to the rather flatter section at the top, and all in the lowest gear of my off-road bike. Even then I did have a lengthy stop part way because I spotted a view of Craig yr Aderyn (Birds' Rock) through the trees and I just had to get a photograph.
Having got my breath back the last section of the climb to the top wasn't too bad. It's level enough here to be the site of a cluster of farms and houses called Abertrinant. Rather posh slate name signs are obviously an indication in change of affluence. The old Chapel has been converted to living accommodation, and the two existing cottages appear to be holiday homes. A scatter of farm buildings still exist - a few still in agricultural use but many abandoned tens of years ago. The mixed farming of even the mid 1950s has given way to sheep rearing and really nothing else. Who wants to live here when in the winter the steep access roads can be impassable, and what work there is to be had is now restricted to jobs in Tywyn and even further afield?
Just before I came to one of those slate name boards there is a cluster of abandoned farm buildings, 'Tyddyn-y-berllan' - a name I found when looking at the very battered paper map we have at home. Worth a bit of a scramble to explore, provided I was careful! More risk of tripping over and getting scratched on well rooted brambles than probably anything else. But worthwhile because even though the roofless farmhouse itself was too dark and overgrown some of the outbuildings provided super subjects. How best to capture their essence on a short visit with existing light provided a challenge.
As for the ride back home, all downhill to the Fathew valley road that ups and downs for the last couple of miles. Tired when I got in but quite pleased with the pictures I had.
(Several days later talking to an old postman who knows the area well, I understand that the farmhouse at 'Tyddyn-y-berllan' suffered a serious fire which resulted in the house being abandoned. Fire damage certainly wasn't obvious when I looked inside, but then it happened many years ago.)
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