Brynamman

Sunday the 15th March 2015

A view of the Beacons from Brynamman by Michelle Coffey

Big thanks go out to Graham for leading us on one of his legendarily complex walks around Brynamman this Sunday, just on the edge of the Brecon Beacon National Park. We were met with some stunning views of the Beacons throughout and it was a great day all around. The walk was long at 14 miles with all the ups and downs became increasingky strenuous toward the end. We were grateful for the visit to the pub afterwards, though who ever heard of a pub that doesn't sell crisps? Random!

Missing the views by Andrew Bevan

Next week Mr Paul Harris and his pack of hounds will be returning from a recent absence to lead on one of his famous walks to Nash Point. The walk is classed as a moderate one and will clock in at around 9 miles. If you have any questions please contact Paul on 07813 141101. 

There are just two weeks left before we embark on the South Wales 3-Peaks challenge. This will take in the 3 peaks of Blornge, Sugar loaf and Skirrid and will be an extremely strenuous walk of over 20 miles. If you would like to stay with us at the bunkhouse in Blaenavon please contact David Horton on  07414 590217. Please note that there are limited spaces left and you will need to pay the full £40 to Dave in order to secure your place. It is too late to register for the challenge now but you can still walk it with us. You'll just have to miss out on the bother of registering at the start. Boo hoo hoo.

Please note that the next Programme planning meeting will be on Thursday the 16th of April 2015 at 8pm, shortly after we conclude our Committee meeting. We will especially be looking for walk leaders willing to lead shorter Friday evening walks. Please get in touch if you're interested and let us know of what walks you would like to do and when. We understand that people can't always attend the meeting but if you want to lead a walk please just send the details to tawe@hotmail.co.uk and we will make sure they get added to the programme. Traditionally these would be a maximum of 4 miles (1.5 hours). However, I am interested in leading longer walks of up to 6 miles which would only be suitable for the fitter walker capable of walking at a good pace and might mean we have to bring head torches. I would be grateful for opinions of this. Please feel free to comment below if you have followed this link from facebook. Alternatively, you can send your comments to us at the email address above.

Diolch.

Dylan.

Llanmadog to Rhossili - Around the Coast and Back Again

Sunday the 8th of March 2014

Rhossili Bay by Kyle Jones

So another week has passed and the Tawe Trekkers have once again taken in a great walk around South-West Wales. This week Trudi led us on one of her most famous walks, taking in the coast from Llanmadog bay to Rhossili before heading back over Rhossili Down to Llanmadog hill. For those of us who braved the early ill weather  we were eventually rewarded with the sight of blue skies coming in as we crossed the expanse of Rhossili Bay and by the time we reached Llanmadog hill the waterproofs had been completely shed for the minimal clothes necessary (nothing innapropriate though!).

Rhossili Down by Peter Thomas

Next week Graham Rutt will be leading a potentially over marketed trek around Brynamman. More than once did I hear him stating that he felt it was the best walk that he has ever recceed and I believe that he has been preparing this walk for quite some time, liaising with the local council to clear the paths. Graham will be at the Civic Centre at 9:30am as usual and further details will be appearing on the programme imminently. 

See you there. Dylan.

 

Tregaron, in the Heart of Ceredigion

 

Saturday the 28/02/2015

 

 

 

 

 

The Tawe Trekkers visited Tregaron this weekend, hopefully starting a long a fruitful friendship with Clwb cerdded Tregaron. The walk was a stunning one really, only let down by the cloudy weather that obscured what we are told would have been a quite spectacular panoramic view of this rarely walked area of Wales. On a personal level I am confident that I will return to walk with this group myself over the next few years, but the Tawe Trekkers have also agreed to lead a walk for them next year. We look forward to seeing them and promise a walk with some spectacular views. Sadly I couldn't stay for the whole weekend but those who did went for a walk around Llyn Brianne Dam on the way home. I am reliably informed that everyone enjoyed this and there is already talk of the group arranging to visit again in the future. If you're interested then you should check this YouTube video out. The dude randomly dressed as Twm Sion Cati was our very kind walk leader this weekend, and the video takes in the peak that we reached ourselves this weekend.

 

This week also saw the committee reconvene for its first meeting of the year and this was immediately followed by the Annual General Meeting. In the interests of ensuring everyone knows what's going on in the background please find below a brief summary of what was discussed and what actions were agreed:

 

• Tawe Trekker Constitution - After several months of discussion a Tawe Trekker constitution was sworn in. This is something that lays down appropriate actions and is largely relevant to the committee but if you are interested please feel free to contact one of us.
• Younger Membership - It was agreed that a planned process needs to be agreed in order to encourage increased attendance at our walks from the 20/30s. It was agreed that there has been improvement in recent months and the committee agreed that this can only be good for the group in the future
• Transparency - It was agreed that a summary of all future Committee meetings will be give in future newsletters. This will not include any information that could be perceived as confidential to individual members.
• Social Media - It was agreed that the use of social media should continue in the future, concentrating specifically on Facebook and YouTube. A discussion was also held regarding the future of the website and it was agreed that a redesign is needed.
• A new Committee was sworn in as follows:

1. Chairperson - David Horton
2. Secretary - Helen Thomas
3. Treasurer - Robert Hall
4. Programme Coordinator - Andrew Bevan
5. Footpath Officer - Graham Rutt
6. Social Media - Dylan Couch

Attendance at this years AGM was admittedly a little disappointing so I will be hoping to discuss ways of improving this over the following months.

 

This Sunday Trudi (aka Bob Gardner) has agreed to lead us on a strenuous walk from Llanmadoc. We seem to be missing some details of this walk on our website at the moment so if anyone has any means of contacting Trudi I would be grateful if you could ask her to get in touch with me. I will be at the Civic Centre at 9:30am and I'm sure the final plans will have been sorted by then.

 

Diolch!

 

Dylan