Westbury Walkers weekend in the Elan Valley

Twenty members of The Westbury Walkers travelled to the Elan Valley near Rhayader for a weekend of walking in this most beautiful but less-well-known part of mid-Wales.

They stayed at Elan Valley Lodge, a former school that was built to accommodate the children of the families involved in the construction of the series of dams and reservoirs on the River Elan and its tributary, Claerwen to provide water for Birmingham.  Those on the River Elan were completed by 1904 to form 3 reservoirs and one on the Claerwen in 1952 which was opened by Elizabeth II and was one of her first public engagements as Queen.  The resulting scenery is not unlike the English Lake District on a smaller scale and without the crowds.

The walkers set out on the first day for an 8.5 mile walk which comprised a series of steep climbs and descents through woodland and open moorland.  They were led by a delightful young man called Tudor, a local shepherd who provided interesting and entertaining information on the area and its history. The weather was as forecast with rain for most of the day but it did not spoil their enjoyment and appreciation of the beauty of the area.

The route took the group around the Caban-coch reservoir and en route they stopped to look inside a Welsh long house dating back to the 16th century, now a holiday let and wedding venue. Further on the walk they came to the Victorian replacement for Nantgwyllt church which was drowned along with the village of the same name when the reservoirs were created. It had just hosted a wedding and was bedecked with apple blossom and other flowers.

For the final leg of the walk the sun came out so everyone had dried out by the time they reached the Lodge where they enjoyed a hearty meal.

The following day was a mixture of sunshine and showers as the group drove to Nantgwyllt church car park for the start of the walk. At this point the Garreg-ddu and Caban-coch reservoirs meet at one of the dams.

The 7.5 mile walk was more level than the previous day as the group followed the western edge of Garreg-ddu to another dam separating it from the most northerly reservoir  Craig-Goch.  Here overnight rain had caused the water from the upper reservoir to spill over the dam resulting in a spectacular waterfall and the footpath took the walkers within a few feet of the edge.

The route took them on through woodland full of spring flowers before a final leg along a disused railway and back to the cars. One of the members was celebrating her birthday and the staff at the Lodge had kindly made a cake for all to enjoy before setting off on the 3 hour drive home.

This was the third visit by the Walkers to the area and it will not be the last!