SOME welcome sunshine on Easter Saturday boosted a walk taking in the history of the coal mines around the Abercynon area when Barrie set out with his party of eight walkers, including three from the Cardiff group past the cemetery which houses a section of War Graves.

They made their way up towards St Gwynno Forest which lies between the Cynon and Rhondda valleys and close to the River Clydach at Gelli-Wrgan came a source of amusement in the form of a stone outbuilding containing a rather unusual and dated twin-holed wooden seated ty bach or toilet.

After morning refreshment they entered St Gwynno Forest which is cared for by Forestry Commission Wales, who have thinned out sections of the wood in order to let more light in to boost the growth of saplings and undergrowth, before stopping to view the magical 20 foot cascading waterfall at Pistyll Goleu.

They exited from the forest to the road at Llanwonno where the Brynffynon pub stands opposite the church dedicated to St Gwynno, a sixth century disciple of St Illtud who founded the church which originally was made of wood or wattle and daub. Little is known about this saint except his feast day is 26 October and it’s said there is a sacred well FfynnonWyno named after him, but only the church remains to prove he existed, as in 1894 Miss Olive Talbot from Margam paid to have the church restored and most of its history was destroyed.

They paused in the churchyard and viewed the grave of Griffith Morgan, nicknamed Guto Nyth Bran, who allegedly could run so fast he could outrun a hare and horse and catch birds in flight, whilst in races he always came first.

Sadly, tragedy struck when he came out of retirement and covered 12 miles in 53 minutes, but his sweetheart slapped him on the back to congratulate him and he collapsed and died aged only 37 and as a tribute to his memory the annual Nos Galan races take place.

They tramped on to Tylorstown Tip, nicknamed Old Smokey that stands at a height of 1453 feet and enjoyed incredible views to the Carmarthen Fans, the central Beacons and Black Mountains and through the valley to Porth, Wattstown, Ynyshir, Tylorstown, Ferndale and Maerdy during their lunch break.

Then heard some of the industrial history as Tylorstown dates back to the 1870’s when Alfred Tylor, a Londoner, purchased mineral rights at Pendyrus Farm with a second large colliery being sunk in Rhondda Fach. But with a surge of workers, poor housing, overcrowding and poverty followed and in 1896 an explosion killed 57 miners.

They meandered around forest tracks to Mynachdy where coal was mined in levels or drifts from seams emerging from the valley sides or below the surface, but the drift mines were not very productive as they were prone to flooding and the mine closed in 1943.

They continued to Ynysybwl where the Lady Windsor Colliery was sunk by David Davies of Llandinam in June 1884 and after the miner’s strike in 1921 it became the first to provide pithead baths and a medical unit for the workers.

They rested for a short while and took on liquid before they tackled their last steep climb that would lead back to Abercynon, where two shafts were sunk by the Dowlais Iron Company between 1889 and 1896 to supply the new steel works at Cardiff and later in 1973 this pit was linked to the Lady Windsor Colliery which finally closed in 1988.

On April 18, meet 9am at Cogan for a 10-mile hard walk to scale Fan Brycheiniog from the north; contact Robin on 029 2051 4051.

On April 19, meet 7.15am at Cogan for a trip to view the Severn Bore and a flat six-mile easy walk to Gloucester Dock via river banks and canal; contact Jan/John on 01446 41814.

Wear suitable clothing, preferably boots and carry waterproofs, food and drinks. Some degree of fitness is required and if you are in any doubt, then please contact the walk leader for advice.

To follow the group log onto penarthramblers.wordpress.com. Programmes and membership advice can be obtained from Pam on 029 2025 5102.