Tywyn - A Flying Visit

This half term Jeff & I managed to sneak in a quick Autumn visit to Tywyn, just an overnight stay. At first the weather on the way there was a bit miserable – low cloud & poor visibility so not much in the way of scenery. However the trees were just about perfect, at the time of year when you get all shades of browns, reds and greens. We took the route through Ammanford, Llandeilo, Llandovery up round the Sugarloaf, then cut off the corner to head towards Rhayader. But Jeff had discovered a back road to Elan Village – very narrow with few passing places, and as I am one of the world’s worst at backing I was very grateful when he took over. (I think I get worried not so much about having a prang but of getting stuck in a ditch by the roadside in the middle of nowhere!) We reached the ‘village’, mainly a collection of buildings in old stone, pumping stations and the like all there because of the reservoirs. It was still a bit misty, and a bit mysterious, as we drove round them, but whilst the sun never actually made a proper appearance the mist did lift allowing clearer views of the mountains. You then get to this fascinating boggy expanse where the Wye is sourced, followed by a road meandering down to Devil’s Bridge, where we stopped for tea and were lucky enough to see a Vale of Rheidol train pull in – still steam albeit oil fired not coal. Then on to Aberystwyth, with a quick detour round the harbour and promenade, and coast roads up the estuary to Machynlleth, and back down again to Aberdovey & Tywyn.

Interestingly in Wales we seem to see more red kites these days than buzzards, and certainly this was the case. If the light is in the right direction they are quite beautiful to look at, and easily recognisable by their forked tail.

Over the past year Tywyn seafront has had some interesting sea defences constructed, using a pile of large boulders which it is hoped will ‘break’ the waves so they hit the main prom with less force. Bit sceptical as this pile is only at one end so not quite sure how this will help the other end!

The guest house was very comfortable, right on Tywyn High Street. We decided to drive up the valley to our favourite pub, the Railway Inn, for food. As luck would have it, the place was unusually busy as they were having an auction in the Barn – a restored building just next to the pub – and we were warned that the food would take some time. But it was worth the wait, and because it had been longer than anticipated they gave us a free bottle of wine! We then drove back to Tywyn so we could both drink, first trying out the Corbett Hotel – dead! – but ending up in the Tredegar Arms. It was quiz night but we arrived too late to actually take part, although I managed to get hold of some questions for future use in the annual quiz night I organise. And for those of you who are interested, we had Cwrw Madog & Old Speckled Hen in the Railway, Hancocks in the Corbett, and finished off with Doom Bar in the Tredegar. Unfortunately none of these were at their best, although the Doom Bar was quite reasonable.

We woke to a sunny morning which meant we had a lovely drive round our favourite route – up the back road to Bird Rock, to see Cormorants and Choughs, with the added treats on the way of a whole host of Yellowhammers, and a Jay feeding in a field then flitting through the trees. It was then back round to & a short ride along the inner coast road to a layby which gives wondrous views over Cardigan Bay. And to finish we did our usual ‘back’ coast road round to Broadwater to see if we could spot any waders. The usual Cormorants were there, a few Swans and a group of Canada Geese but other than gulls couldn’t actually identify anything else.

We ended our mini stay with a round trip on the Talyllyn Railway. I have been coming here since 1969, and even though I’ve been on the railway countless times before I still love it. It’s so worth a visit that I’ll leave it there – this way you will just have to come and see why I keep coming back year after year.

Les X