Month: March 2021

“The beautiful Spring of 2020 coincided almost exactly with the first Covid lockdown. We were allowed out for exercise and I decided to take advantage of the newly acquired fresh air and the Spring sunshine.  For the first few weeks my walk took me over Blackweir Bridge in Pontcanna Fields then it was closed and I had to change my routine. This also caused me to take a different look at life and, although I had always enjoyed music, I had never considered writing songs before.  But I started composing them in my head and now have enough for two CDs.”

have you heard the Tales ?
About the prince of Wales ?
He opened Hopkinstown boys club,
Which I run as a martial art hub
It’s run by me and my son
We call it the dungeon
Teaching Styles from Krav Maga ,
Which has become very popular
To kung fu fighting hidden tricks
Or Filipino fighting with sticks
Or unwind with relaxing tai chi
List goes on what’s taught by me
The huge window at the top
Is becoming a attraction spot
People stop and wave Hi
As they jog or walk by
Or if driving past
They give the horn a blast
The taff flows but has no end
Enjoy this attraction spot my friend

“Since early days I would watch the Taff passing by. Imagining every ripple over a stone was a fish. The reality was, as we waded from one side to the other felt slimy, we didn’t care or didn’t realise about rats disease. We put ropes from trees over the river until one day the rope broke, I couldn’t sit down for week. We went to school by bus, always travelling by the Taff. Now maybe if I was still watching. I might see a fish. Would like to think so.”

“No Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn type ‘Mississippi’ was our river. No majestic paddle steamers wended their way there. You may spy on the odd occasion mucky kids, like yours truly, in an old long tin bath. We wielded our makeshift oars very grateful for the assistance of the current. Travel upstream was too much of an ‘ask’, we preferred the land method of heading up river, carrying our craft upside down overhead, like a band of marauding Vikings for another voyage.”

Image: the river Rhondda at Gelli. Reproduced by kind permission of Rhondda Cynon Taf Libraries.

“Cwm Câr, a small tributary valley of Tâf Fechan just south of Pont Dolygaer, is a place I return to frequently. Once I followed the stream, Nant Câr Fach, from Pontsticill reservoir to it’s junction with the Taff Trail – an exciting and difficult route but not recommended!

There is an easy forest track north of the stream (Taff Trail) with great views of Ponsticill reservoir and surrounding hills and Cwm Callan opposite. This track has a weird section of tarmac before a bridge which crosses the stream. Many people pass here and miss the highlight of the valley.

Three streams tumble down off Tormwnt (Rhyd Ddu,Trawsnant and Câr Fach) to form a magnificent group of falls hidden from walkers and bikers. Sometimes the blandest of hills such as Tormwnt have the greatest treasures.”

Martin led a walking tour of the Taff’s sources with the Living Taff a while ago. He has an incredible knowledge of the area; having spent a lot of time looking after the paths so many use to reach Pen y Fan.

“The Taf Fawr rises just behind the Storey Arms, Cardiff Council’s outdoor education centre, on the slopes of Corn Du and Pen y Fan. Since 1971, we have welcomed pupils from Cardiff schools who visit for the day or stay a few nights to learn about the Great Outdoors!

The link between the wild, open beginnings of a river that ends in the heart of the city is one that we celebrate with our visitors. Two completely different worlds – with so many stories to be told along its length – but less than 40 miles apart.”

“My name is Dave King and we moved to Cardiff in 2008 and are lucky enough to look out over the River Taff and the Bay opposite Hamadryad Park. The view of the birdlife is fantastic – herons, swans, a myriad of ducks, longtail tits, goldfinches and kingfishers. Always something going on.  What is not so good is the amount of rubbish that ends up on the river banks washed down from upstream. However that did lead me to volunteer with Keep Wales Tidy and to help form Cardiff Rivers Group. Am now friends with a bunch of brilliant people who go out and tackle the rubbish, turning a big negative into something very positive.”

“The tunnel from Castell Coch, the rich man’s Victorian folly created by the Marquess of Bute and William Burges to Cardiff Castle did indeed exist and I ventured forward. My quest was to find the treasure of Ifor Bach, the Welsh Lord of Senghenydd. My torchlight fell upon the golden chest and I reached out to touch its lid. The silence was broken by a screech and two stone eagles perched high on a crag suddenly sprang into life to swoop down on me. I dropped the torch, ran, gasping wildly and looked back to see them revert back to stone.”