Sunday 8 September 2019

Pistyll Rhaeadr

Hello, thank you for dropping in.  Is all well?  The Best Beloved and I sat out in the garden in the sunshine for three quarters of an hour this afternoon, drinking tea and watching the butterflies.  Hasn't it been a glorious summer for butterflies?  We have two buddleia, one enormous and one much smaller, and on the smaller one we saw at least eight small tortoiseshells, two red admirals, a painted lady, a comma and some kind of white, all five species there at the same time.  I've never seen so many small tortoiseshells together before.  A few bees were still searching for nectar inside the pink flowers of the hardy geranium and right next to us, a brazen robin sat on a branch of the large buddleia to sing his song.  It all felt rather idyllic on a late summer afternoon.
We are back in the school routine again now but on the last Friday of the school holiday we drove out to Wales with our children and grandchildren, to Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Powys and then we climbed out of the village on the narrow, old drovers' road to Bala for four miles.  The road no longer goes all the way to Bala, it stops at the tallest waterfall in Wales, taller than any in England, Pistyll Rhaeadr.  We have been coming here since our girls were small and we have many happy memories of picnics by the shallow river, paddling in the pool at the bottom of the falls and climbing the path to the top to look at the stunning views.  This was to be Tom Kitten's and Cottontail's first visit and although we didn't expect her to be particularly bothered at the grand old age of six weeks, we were all looking forward to playing in the water with Tom Kitten, who was wearing his wellington boots especially for the occasion.  Here are some photos the Best Beloved took in August 2010. -






The last time we visited was two years ago when the Best Beloved and I came by ourselves on a beautiful warm, sunny day in April.  I sat on the rocks beside the river and he climbed through the woods on the opposite bank to take some photographs before coming back down.  We didn't take a picnic that time, but we bought ice creams in the tearoom and sat outside on the terrace in the sunshine to eat them. -






Can you see why we like it here so much?  On this last visit we noticed that the atmosphere had changed: people were queuing up to stand on the rocks in front of the waterfall, at the edge of the pool, or on the bridge near the tearoom, and take selfies on their mobile 'phones before walking back to their cars. The purpose of their visits seemed to be to take these photographs, presumably for their social media accounts, rather than to enjoy being there.
So, this time we drove past plenty of cars parked beside the narrow road, I guessed because the owners wanted to avoid the parking charge, and we paid £4 for each car to park in the car park.  I then paid 20p to go through the turnstile to use the public loo, which was very clean and well-kept and worth every penny of that 20p.  We gathered up our picnic paraphernalia and walked through the overflow parking field where we noticed that a lot of new fencing had been erected since our last visit.  We were about to go through a gate when a woman hurried up to us and ask where we were going.  "We're looking for a place to picnic by the river," I said.  She replied that there was no public access to the river and that she was expecting a wedding party.  "So where can we picnic?" I asked.  "In that field," she said, pointing.  "Which field?" I asked.  "Where those cars are," she replied, pointing towards the overflow parking field.  So we spread out our blanket and ate our picnic beside the parked cars.  I was very disappointed and thought that I wasn't sure that I would pay £4 to park if all I could do was walk up to the falls and back to the car.  I suppose some people might go for a proper hike, in which case the parking is probably worth £4.  The Best Beloved even said that it might be the last time we visit the falls, which made me feel sad because they are very beautiful.
So, if you want to go to Pistyll Rhaeadr you can still walk up to the falls but there isn't really anywhere to linger at the bottom unless you want to spend time in the car park, which I don't, or the tearoom, which I don't.  I am happy to report that Tom Kitten did enjoy being in the water, even when he went too deep and it flowed into his wellingtons.  His little sister slept in my arms and really wasn't bothered.
I have just found this 1985 shampoo advert on YouTube which some of you might remember.  At the time I thought it was filmed in some exotic paradise, but the actual location was Pistyll Rhaeadr - not exotic, but still a kind of paradise.
See you soon.
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x

19 comments:

  1. What a beautiful place, but what a shame it's been taken over commercially :( Was it closed off just for the wedding? We visited a lovely place called Aysgarth Falls on our way home from a holiday a few of years ago. I'd like to go there again. Best, Jane :)

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    1. I think waterfalls are special places, don't you? I've just looked up Aysgarth Falls and it looks beautiful. I don't think the riverbank was closed off just for the wedding, the owners now run camping retreats and events and although the signage was confusing and contradictory, there was one which said, "No Public Access". It's such a shame. x

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  2. It looks beautiful there but what a disappointment you were unable to picnic by the river on this occasion.
    We enjoyed seeing some waterfalls on our walk yesterday but nothing anywhere near as spectacular as Pistyll Rhaeadr. X

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    1. My family went ghyll scrambling near Coniston last year and climbed up through a waterfall. They all loved it but I prefer just looking! x

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  3. I loved your photos of a very beautiful place. How sad that things change especially as you have known that place for years. Hope the new term goes well. B x

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    1. Thanks Barbara. I told the woman that we have been picnicking there for more than twenty years but she remained unmoved. She either didn't realise or didn't care how much it meant to us. x

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  4. A sign of the times Mrs T, sadly but at least Tom Kitten got his socks wet and could enjoy the thunderous waterfall, another family milestone. x

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    1. I hadn't thought of that, Karen - yes! We have an often-told family story of one of my sisters getting her socks wet in the stream at a family picnic when she was very young; we built a fire and hung the socks over it on sticks to dry them out. There is even photographic evidence. x

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  5. Oh, I remember that advert. There are many places we've visited over the years which hold such happy memories, it's so sad when things change and the next generation are unable to enjoy them as we've enjoyed them ourselves.

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    1. I LOVED that advert, Jo - I so wanted to be that girl! I think that you've hit the nail on the head there, I'm sad that my grandchildren won't be able to have the same special memories about this place as my children have. x

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  6. Oh, bless Tom Kitten and his wellies in the water, such fun. Isn't it a shame when places you know and love change so much? Some of it for economic reasons but mostly just people's attitudes and expectations which don't tally with ours anymore. I remember that advert too:)

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    1. I know that progress can't be halted but yes, it is a shame when you love a place and you can't share the reason why with other people because it's not the same anymore. When I found that advert online it immediately transported me back to 1985 - if only! x

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  7. What a beautiful waterfall. It's so sad that a business can block access to a stream that should belong to all. How great, though, that Tom Kitten could wet his feet in the same place as his older family members.

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    1. I'm not sure Tom Kitten fully understood the wonder of the place but he did enjoy being in the water, and we enjoyed his enjoyment. x

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  8. It's disappointing when a meaningful place is not the same as before because the atmosphere is different perhaps due commercialism and lack of access to a favourite spot. At least you have those precious memories and photos of past times at the waterfall and I'm sure Tom Kitten had a wonderful time paddling in the water.

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    1. It is very disappointing. I suppose I should just be glad for our previous experiences there but I'm very sad to think that we won't be able to make similar memories there again. Yes, Tom Kitten certainly enjoyed his paddle. x

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  9. Oh what a shame...glad you got to see it in it's previous life also before all the fencing and charging came about. x

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    1. I'm just glad that we did, and that we took lots of photographs to remind us. It's good to have you back, Jackie. x

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  10. I saw the nature and it is very cool!

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