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22 February 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Life at Dol-y-clochydd Last updated: 17 January 2008 Life on a 1940s Dolgellau farm had quite an effect on a little more from this section boy from southern England. Here's Mike Bowyer's BBC Local Dolgellau memories of collecting wood, Here For You North West Wales fishing tadpoles from the History Things to do In pictures drinking water and negotiating Outdoors People & Places the pitfalls of an outdoor People Nature & Outdoors toilet. Town guide History Lleol i Mi Religion & Ethics We arrived in Dolgellau by train sometime in 1940. I can still Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture remember the journey from Crewe in the "Coffee Pot" train, Music rather reminiscent of the trains of the old Wild West, as well Sunday Monday TV & Radio as our arrival at Dolgellau railway station. max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites News Puffing its way importantly up the valleys, the engine Sport billowed steam and black soot which trailed back along the interact Weather short line of carriages, clinging to everything it touched. The Tell us about a web page Travel good old days of steam they say. Yes, it's all very Found a web page we should know exhilarating, especially when, on opening a window, you get a about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales lungful of smoke, and eyes full of soot. Email A Friend North East Wales The train would stop every now and then for no other Related BBC Sites apparent reason than to allow the driver to tend to his Wales vegetables growing in an allotment beside the line. more from North West Cymru Wales Gogledd Orllewin On our arrival at Dolgelley, as it was known then, it was raining and the railway station and town, and even the Weather surrounding mountains, all appeared grey. However, the What's forecast? background trees and grass were of the most beautiful green Check out today's weather colour that one could ever see. conditions for North West Wales.
I am not at all sure if anyone Useful links met us at the station, or how Let us guide you we journeyed the four miles The web at a glance for to Dol-y-clochydd Farm. Gwynedd, Conwy and Having always lived in a Anglesey. village, the grey slate roofed Arts stone farmhouse and Be inspired outbuildings appeared Release your creativity with foreboding, lonely, and very a look at local art and isolated. The two-storey artists. farmhouse itself was located some 50 yards from the bank of the Mawddach River on a slight bend, while a large barn and a smaller outbuilding stood between the farmhouse and the river. The walls of the building were of local granite and very thick, while the ground floor was of thick slabs of local grey slate. The roof was also clad in grey slate. Sardinia: Cymry yn 'ddiogel' A few milking cows grazed alongside the farmhouse and Pontio: Dim prif there were sheep grazing on the adjacent very steep and weithredwr rocky mountainside. Scattered around the farmhouse, chickens scratched and a huge cockerel strutted among his harem.
The water in the river was very clear, with the apparent depth being very deceptive due to this clarity. Close to the farmhouse there was a large pool where the water moved quite slowly, however leading into this pool there was a faster section where a large rock protruded from the river. My brother and I had named this rock Gibraltar due to its shape and location; however the present owners now refer to it as Depth-gauge Rock. It was at this location that, at the age of ten, I saw my very first salmon caught on a Jock Scott salmon fly. From that time on I was hooked on fly fishing, a pastime that has given to me a lifetime of wonderful hours fishing rivers, streams and lakes in North Wales, Australia and New Zealand."
Heating up the farm ... your comments
Hilda Jewell nee Brown from NZ I was evacuated to Llanuwchllyn with my mother. I lived on a farm owned by the Edwards family. Their daughter was called Cassie. Close by lived another family of evacuees with three girls surname of Meehan. I can remember kneeling in a window seat and watching a tank drive up the road. This would have been 1944-45. Does anyone else remember this village? Web team: Llanuwchllyn is near Bala. More on our Bala minisite. Tue Jan 6 09:28:29 2009
Margaret Hainge-Lloyd, Bodelwyddan It is really lovely reading the stories of the people of Dolgellau. I was the very last baby to be born in the family home Llwyn Hall, Dolgellau, on the 5th March 1942. My father was born there in 1910 and his sister Elsie in 1908. My dad Willam Hugh Edwards and my Taid Huw Edwards farmed the Llwyn up to the time we moved to Ruthin when I was three. Even so I came back to live with my nain and taid when they retired. Dad told me many wonderful stories of when he grew up in the Llwyn. Mam and dad came back to live in Dogellau in the 60s and had the Arran stores. Dolgellau town centre has not changed from my childhood, except maybe the shopkeepers. Mon Dec 29 10:36:13 2008
Stefan in London Young Merfyn Jones will be pleased to know that the other week the excavator was still working under the bridge at Dolgellau. He obviously retired too early! Mon Nov 5 16:34:53 2007
Bob Hughes living in Newcastle upon Tyne My mum's from Llanuwchllyn and a few years ago told me about the day the evacuees arrived. The whole of the old Llanuwchllyn school, including her and her sister, had to line up on the platform of the station and greet the children. My mum's sister Myra (Davies) ended up marrying an evacuee. George Mitchell really took to life in Wales and decided to stay after the war was over. Fri Oct 5 13:09:49 2007
Merfyn Jones In 1943 I worked in Dolgellau, driving a Priestman excavator, digging out the river just under the bridge,Locals used to spend hours watching and photographing the work going on. Wonder if any one has any snaps left. I am now 80 years old. Fri Jan 5 09:37:33 2007
Mike A Bowyer, Kingston Tasmania Australia I wish to thank all the people who have taken the trouble to send in comments on my two stories. It is very gratifying to know that the stories were enjoyed. Thank you all, and the BBC again for the opportunity to tell all about wonderful North Wales. Fri Jun 23 09:48:17 2006
Blanche Farley Liverpool Hello Mike, My great grandmother and auntie were evacuated to Dolgellau in the 1940s and last year I found her old cottage, just as it was getting demolished. I was thrilled as I remember going there a few times as a child.For many years me and my husband looked for it to no avail, I just could not remeber the spot. Till last year a very kind lady saw us by 'Pennybank,' were they last lived and we asked her if she knew Mrs Scott and Mrs Herring and she did! Also she very kindly gave me a necklace which my great grandmother had given her. I was thrilled to bits at her kindness a! nd having something belonging to my family. We were able to drive right up to the cottage. I have enjoyed reading every word of your experience and life in Wales. We we enjoy the place so much amnd try to visit there when we go yo Wales. How hard it was in those years I remember my great grandmother taking me to the well for water.Is it any wonder they stayed and lived there all their life.It is such a beautiful place.I am sure there was not many Scousers in Dolgellau, maybe you remembered them? Thu Jun 8 11:35:43 2006
Gareth Roberts - Rhoslefain, Tywyn Hi Mike, Just a quick add on to say that my Grandmother used to live at Dol-y-clochydd as a child. Would have been about 90 yrs ago. She used to walk to school in Llanfachreth over the hill! She was called Sarah Lewis. Tue Jun 6 09:35:57 2006
Diane Ferraro (Riches) Toronto Canada This is a beautiful description of how beautiful the simple things can be in Wales. From the colours that surround you to the slate roofs of the old farmhouses which are still standing to this day. When I was growing up in Dolgellau I used to spend many a Sunday pm exploring the countryside and fishing. You said it perfectly Mike. Fri Mar 10 13:45:44 2006 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Life at Dol-y-clochydd Last updated: 17 January 2008
It was very cold inside the more from this section house, during both winter and BBC Local summer, as the only method Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales of heating was the wood-fired History Things to do range and paraffin heaters. In pictures Outdoors People & Places But there was always ample fuel for the fire provided by People Nature & Outdoors the river when it flooded. We Town guide History Lleol i Mi never came from the bus stop Religion & Ethics half a mile away without Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture collecting either some dried furze bush for kindling, or in my Music case, a long limb of a tree, which I would balance upon my Sunday Monday TV & Radio shoulders. I was a fairly big lump of a lad for my age, and max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites being a show-off, as most young boys are, I used to pick up News the longest and heaviest log that I could manage on my Sport shoulder. After a few yards the weight of the log would interact Weather become almost unmanageable, my shoulder would sag and Tell us about a web page Travel pain would set in, but pride would not allow me to put the Found a web page we should know log down until I had reached the saw trestle in the yard. about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales Email A Friend North East Wales I am sure that my foolish pride in those days has resulted in the bad arthritis that I now experience in my left shoulder. Related BBC Sites Wales The saw trestle used to support the logs while they were more from North West Cymru sawn into manageable lengths, was right alongside the Wales Gogledd Orllewin farmhouse. I used a two-handed cross cut, usually single- handed, or a bow saw with the smaller diameter logs. There In Pictures is an art in using either of these saws, and farmer John Slideshows Williams even taught me how to sharpen the teeth. It was Our A-Z takes in everything often so cold that my hand would become frozen to either from aerial views to zoos. the steel of the axe-head or the saw, and the only way to Fun release my hand was to blow on the steel of hold axe and Brain-teaser hand under my armpit. To try and pull my hand off, usually Reality or illusion? Try an resulted in the skin tearing, leaving quite a sore and painful online psychological test. wound. Entertainment We had no real amenities on the farm, as there was no Days and nights out Find events for all ages, telephone or electricity, and lighting was provided by paraffin indoors and out, all year lamps with glass chimneys. The quality of illumination varied round. a great deal, according to the cleanliness of the glass and the state of the wick. We soon discovered how to trim and shape the cotton wick to obtain a suitable flame, as well as using a sheet of newspaper to clean the glass. Unfortunately these glass chimneys would crack without warning, usually when Tai Hanesyddol exposed to a cold draught, and unless we had a spare, we O blastai crand i ffermydd would have to resort to using candles. gwledig, camwch dros drothwy rhai o dai mwyaf At that time of my life I was an avid reader. I read almost hanesyddol yr ardal anything that I could get my hands on, from cowboys and Indians, The Saint, autobiographies - if it was in print then I have possibly read it. These books were from the local library, or bought with pocket money. Whenever we went into town we usually visited the library and always carried a gallon tin for paraffin which we purchased at Roberts the Ironmongers.
Washing the old-fashioned way... 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Life at Dol-y-clochydd Last updated: 17 January 2008
There was no town water and our drinking water came from more from this section a small spring a couple of hundred yards away across the BBC Local meadow. The water was carried in two enamel buckets, and Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales usually there were at least three trips a day, with the water History Things to do being kept in the dairy. We boys had to make sure when we In pictures Outdoors People & Places scooped up the water from the spring, that we did not include frogspawn or tadpoles or water boatmen or any other People Nature & Outdoors form of aquatic life, because our mum and her sister would Town guide History Lleol i Mi have fits at the sight of these harmless creatures. Religion & Ethics Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture There was also a rain water barrel near the back door, and Music this water was used for personal washing and then as a last Sunday Monday TV & Radio resort water from the river. However, it usually contained a max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites large population of mosquito larvae wriggling around and also News off-putting to mother and her sister. These days the very Sport presence of all these aquatic creatures is usually recognised interact Weather as an indication of purity of the water. Tell us about a web page Travel Found a web page we should know There was not even a septic sewerage system, and the about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales actual toilet was not only something to be experienced, but Email A Friend North East Wales also very difficult to come to grips with. It was about 50 yards from the main building and was housed in one side of a Related BBC Sites small building of dry stone wall construction with a slate tiled Wales roof, with no actual lining or ceiling; the other half being the more from North West Cymru pigsty. The "throne" consisted of a hinged wooden bench top Wales Gogledd Orllewin with a hole cut in it. Underneath was an ordinary galvanized bucket, the type with a handle. When the bucket was full, Arts the lucky "emptier" would lift the bench top and fish for the Be inspired handle with a piece of fencing wire with a hook fashioned at Release your creativity with one end. The bucket was lifted out and carried at arms length a look at local art and to the river some 30 yards away. This, I might add, was a artists.
very hazardous and difficult manoeuvre when there was snow History on the ground. On reaching the river bank, the mess was The Romans thrown into the river, the bucket swilled clean and then Find out what the empire- returned to its place in the toilet. building legions got up to.
There were no rolls of nice soft friendly toilet paper; only Nature Going wild sheets of newspaper or glossy magazines. These served the Get under the skin of dual purpose of providing one with reading matter in the Snowdonia wildlife and summer, but not in the winter when the cold winds swirled habitats. through the gaps between the granite rocks which formed the walls. At that time of the year the "throne" was not the place to linger at all.
When one sat upon the throne, the pigs in the next door pen could be seen peering through the gaps in the dry stone wall, Sardinia: Cymry yn snorting and grunting. This was all very disconcerting to say 'ddiogel' the least. It was quite a common occurrence to discover a Pontio: Dim prif clucky hen sitting on a batch of eggs at the other end of the weithredwr timber bench.
Meet the Williams's... Back to the beginning. 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Life at Dol-y-clochydd Last updated: 17 January 2008
Where the farmhouse was and still is more from this section located, the valley floor was not very BBC Local wide, probably about two to three Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales hundred yards at the most, and the History Things to do mountains on each side rose up to In pictures Outdoors People & Places 1,000 feet or more. Mr and Mrs John Williams lived there and farmed the People Nature & Outdoors surrounding land and part of the Town guide History Lleol i Mi mountainside. They were a wonderful, Religion & Ethics hard working couple, living a very Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture Spartan lifestyle. They had three Music grown-up children - the son, Trevor, Sunday Monday TV & Radio lived away from home and worked with max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites the forestry, while Elsie and Betty, their News two daughters, lived at home and worked in nearby Sport Dolgellau. interact Weather Tell us about a web page Travel The Williams ran a small herd of sheep, possibly about 100 in Found a web page we should know total, half a dozen milk cows, two pigs, a huge carthorse about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales named Lion, and some 30 or so chickens. These chickens Email A Friend North East Wales would lay eggs all over the place, sometimes in the outdoor toilet, but mostly in the barn among the hay. To locate these Related BBC Sites hidden eggs we would, as soon as we heard the hens Wales broadcasting to the world that they had laid an egg, rush to more from North West Cymru the spot and commence a yard by yard search until the nest Wales Gogledd Orllewin was located. In Pictures There were also two working sheepdogs, Blacken the oldest, Slideshows and Megan the younger. We were later to be amazed at how Our A-Z takes in everything much work these two dogs did on the farm - should we say from aerial views to zoos. how much work Megan did, as Blacken was old and artful and Nature knew when to hide away when he recognised that he was Going wild about to be called upon to run up the mountainside. Get under the skin of Snowdonia wildlife and Both dogs knew where the bran and flour were kept in huge habitats. wooden chests in the barn, and Blacken had very cleverly discovered that by inserting his nose under the rim of the Your Say Talking points projecting timber lid, he could lift the lid and obtain access to Share your views, gripes the contents, which he would eat like there was no and passions and make your tomorrow! During this process his muzzle or nose would be voice heard. covered in the bran or whatever it was that he was eating. This was a dead giveaway, and unless we kids cleaned him up before he was spotted by the farmer, he would get a beating. Tai Hanesyddol Mice get in the cooking... O blastai crand i ffermydd Back to the beginning. gwledig, camwch dros drothwy rhai o dai mwyaf hanesyddol yr ardal 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Life at Dol-y-clochydd Last updated: 17 January 2008
On the flat land between the river and the mountainside more from this section wheat was grown, as well as potatoes and grass hay. Mrs BBC Local Williams had a small vegetable garden alongside the house, Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales two plum trees and a sloe tree, the fruit of which she made History Things to do into jam. It was quite bitter as the plum stones were left in, In pictures Outdoors People & Places supposedly to improve the taste. I can assure you this did not work at all! People Nature & Outdoors Town guide History Lleol i Mi There was a large hand-driven churn in the dairy in which Religion & Ethics she made a creamy, salty butter, which she sold at market. Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture The butter, from memory, was quite nice when one became Music used to the saltiness; however the part that worried us was Sunday Monday TV & Radio that mice used to drown in the large earthenware pots in max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites which the buttermilk was stored prior to churning day. Mrs News Williams would just scoop the corpse out, but never discarded Sport the buttermilk. interact Weather Tell us about a web page Travel The wooden churn shaped like a beer barrel, and almost as Found a web page we should know big, required quite a lot of effort to turn the handle and thus about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales rotate the churn. There was a sight glass in the lid of the Email A Friend North East Wales churn and this was frequently inspected to discover when the particles of butter had formed. The lid was then unbolted and Related BBC Sites the butter was removed, salted and patted with wooden Wales paddles into shape. A design was then impressed into the more from North West Cymru block of butter with a wooden stamp. Gogledd Orllewin Wales
In a wood-fired oven built into the wall of the kitchen, Mrs Newsletter Williams also made bread once a week. The process was that Sign up for weekly updates a log fire was built in the oven and allowed to burn while the to find out what's new on bread was prepared. The loaves in their tins were placed in the site. front of the kitchen fire to rise, and then covered with a chaff Music sack until the oven was hot enough. It was a nice white Get in tune bread, very basic, but filling, and the only thing wrong with it Tell us about your band, was that it contained mice dirt. join a choir or find a gig you fancy. The flour was stored in a wooden chest, the lid of which was Entertainment not a good seal, allowing mice to enter at will. When we were Days and nights out first introduced to this bread we thought the black bits were Find events for all ages, currants, although we soon discovered our mistake. indoors and out, all year round. Hanging from the oak beams in the kitchen was a huge ham, blackened with smoke and with a greenish tinge. In a sort of locker in the barn, potatoes were stored covered with hay, and outside on the edge of the cornfield the main supply was stored in a clamp. This consisted of a trench lined with hay Tai Hanesyddol on which the potatoes were bedded and covered with dried O blastai crand i ffermydd bracken fern, with two vents made of long straw and the gwledig, camwch dros whole covered in earth. In this clamp the potatoes stayed in drothwy rhai o dai mwyaf hanesyddol yr ardal good condition until they were required.
Each evening a galvanized bucket was filled with potatoes and set on the edge of the fireplace to boil; then two or three of the best were selected for the evening meal, while the remainder were mashed with bran and wheat for feeding to the pigs and chickens, as well as the dogs.
John Williams had a wonderful sense of humour, and sometimes he would come up to us and drop a furry live mole down the open neck of our shirts. He would then laugh his head off at our antics to remove the scratching creature from within our clothing. To catch these moles, he would stand very still in the meadow, watching until he saw movement below the stubble. He would then quickly drive his heel into the soil along the line of the mole's tunnel. This would seal off its escape so that he could then dig into the tunnel with his fingers and catch the mole. Special mole traps were also used in an effort to keep the moles in check as they did a lot of damage to pastures with their tunnelling.
Life at a new school... your comments
Brenda Turner Auckland New Zealand Very evocative of my experiences, only later, in the early 50s on my grandparents' farm in Dyffryn Ardudwy. The catching of the mole, delivering of the milk and the other items listed, still existed in my childhood. This is true social history worthy of recording in this fast paced and ever- changing technological age. Life was hard but very satisfying as there was much to appreciate and the hard work paid back in kind. Thu Feb 9 08:20:38 2006 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Starting school Last updated: 17 January 2008
When we went to live on Dol- more from this section y-clochydd Farm, we were BBC Local enrolled at the Ganllwyd Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales Primary School, located History Things to do approximately two miles north In pictures Outdoors People & Places of the farm. People Nature & Outdoors From the farm there was a Town guide History Lleol i Mi foot path along the edge of Religion & Ethics the river and meadow where wheat, hay, and potatoes were Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture grown in rotation with the other two meadows on the other Music side of the farm house. Sunday Monday TV & Radio max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites At the end of the meadow a wooden gate and some steps in News the hedgerow of hazel nut trees and dry stone wall gave Sport access to another pathway, down a tree covered slope. It interact Weather was then about three hundred yards to a dry tributary river Tell us about a web page Travel bed which looped away from the main river. Found a web page we should know about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales When the Mawddach was in flood, this normally dry tributary Email A Friend North East Wales would also flood to about two feet deep, and our mother would walk this far with us in order that she could piggy back Related BBC Sites across the water, so that our shoes and socks remained dry. Wales more from North West Cymru We would then cross the small marian and the cable swing Wales Gogledd Orllewin bridge into the front garden of Garygarw onto the road where the bus, usually on-time, would pick us up. Towns & Villages Your patch In very bad weather, such as heavy snow, the bus would not Have your say or find out arrive so we would walk to school. more about community life past and present.
In those days the Primary School was a two teacher school, Your Say Mr Roberts being the head teacher and Mrs Thomas teaching Talking points the very young ones. There was only the one large Share your views, gripes classroom, and from memory I think that there were only a and passions and make your total of twenty five to thirty pupils. They ranged from about voice heard. five or six year olds to eleven year olds. Arts Be inspired The school furniture was the usual small desk with an inkwell Release your creativity with and a hard wooden bench and one feature, my favourite, was a look at local art and a number of the very familiar, yellow covered Geographic artists. Magazines along the window sill. These books were doled out to us older pupils, when Mr Roberts had other duties.
From where I sat, in the second row from the window I could see through the window along the road and I must admit to daydreaming a lot about the articles in the magazine on Sardinia: Cymry yn Australia. Never realising that one day, in the not too distant 'ddiogel' future I would travel there to live. Pontio: Dim prif weithredwr First day I clearly remember our first day at this school, firstly because lessons were mainly conducted in Welsh, a language which neither of us could understand, let alone speak. When the class had settled down, MrRoberts introduced us to the other pupils. Most of the pupils clapped and made us welcome, however, some didn't seem all that friendly. As we sat down for a first class, Mr Roberts pointed to me and said, in Welsh, "Bowyer, agor y drws." At the same time pointing to the closed classroom door. Putting two and two together as well as a bit of guesswork, I reasoned that he must want me to open the door. Taking a chance, I went to the door and opened it and returned to my desk.. . The class politely clapped me, and I felt quite proud of myself.
However singling me out again, Mr Roberts pointing once more to the door said, "Bowyer, cau y drws." So this time I got to my feet, all embarrassed, and closed the door to more applause. Mr Roberts then said "Diolch yn fawr, Bowyer, which, translated, means "Thank you Bowyer."
It was in this manner that gradually I learnt a number of general conversational Welsh phrases, although I was never fluent by all means. Possibly I understood more than I could speak and I was never able to read or write the language.
Mr Roberts's language lessons used to come, out of the blue, when least expected, however they proved to be a quite effective way of learning some of the more commonly used phrases. At morning lunch break we would have to stay in the school grounds, however at mid-day we were allowed to leave and immediately the bell rang, if it was a fine day, and then there would be a mass exodus into the woods opposite the school gates. Here the ground sloped down to the river, and many of the boys retrieved lengths of fishing lines, which wound onto small sticks they had hidden in the tree roots.
There would be a scramble to dig worms, and before long. Trout, mostly undersized would be flapping on the bank.
Some pupils dug up the roots of a small plant; I am unable to recall its name, although I do remember that it had little bulbs along the roots which were very nutty and nice to eat.
Back-breaking work on the farm... 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Back-breaking work Last updated: 17 January 2008
Living as we did on an more from this section operational farm, there was BBC Local always something of interest Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales to do. We became involved in History Things to do planting and harvesting In pictures Outdoors People & Places potatoes by hand, a really back breaking job even for us People Nature & Outdoors youngsters. Hay making was Town guide History Lleol i Mi hard work in the sun but still Religion & Ethics very enjoyable, raking the hay into wind rows, and Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture pitchforking it up onto the top of the pile on the horse drawn Music sledge. Sunday Monday TV & Radio max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites Sometimes the snow caused problems, especially at lambing News time. While every effort was made to have the lambing occur Sport on the valley floor, near the farm, there were times when a interact Weather sudden heavy fall of snow would catch sheep up on the Tell us about a web page Travel mountain side. Found a web page we should know about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales John Williams, I am sure, knew every one of his sheep by Email A Friend North East Wales name, and he knew immediately if one was missing. During normal weather he would send the two dogs up the mountain Related BBC Sites side to bring the sheep down through the maze of small Wales holes in the dry stone walls. This was really amazing to more from North West Cymru watch, as the commands to the dogs were mainly by Wales Gogledd Orllewin whistling, and a bit of shouting in Welsh. Sometimes, after snow, he would tell us that a sheep was missing, and ask us Sport to help him find the stray. I recall on one occasion finding a Eye on the ball sheep and her lamb, high up the mountain, almost buried in Find out where you can a snow drift against one of the wonderful dry stone walls that watch or get involved in are built all over the mountains. This sheep could hardly walk sport.
due to the snow and ice on her wool, so I put the sheep on Weather my back, holding her forelegs around my neck, and carried What's forecast? the lamb with the other hand. Check out today's weather conditions for North West It was very difficult negotiating the scree slopes, and patches Wales. of snow below Precipice Walk, but I managed it with only a About this site few tumbles along the way. Not bad for a twelve year old Newsletter boy. Keep up-to-date with changes on the website On another occasion MrWilliams told us that he was going to every week. fell a tree as he needed some fence posts and would we like to help. Of course we said yes, and we set off riding on a timber sledge, pulled along by Lion the farm carthorse, a magnificent animal. Selecting a tall oak tree with a straight trunk of some thirty feet, MrWilliams felled it by use of an Tai Hanesyddol axe and a one man cross cut saw. After trimming the small O blastai crand i ffermydd branches, he then cut the trunk into about four equal lengths gwledig, camwch dros which we rolled a short distance down the mountain to where drothwy rhai o dai mwyaf hanesyddol yr ardal the horse and sledge were waiting on the road.
By the use of timber wedges and a sledge hammer the logs were soon split into four fence posts.
Many years later, in Australia, I needed a fence and with what I had learned from Mr Williams was able to not only fell my timber, but also make the posts as well Although instead of a horse and cart, I had an old truck for hauling the logs, and steel wedges for the splitting.
After nearly three years on the farm we moved into Dolgellau itself, before another move to Pantyllwyfog above Llanelltyd, and then to Kinmel Bay, near Rhyl. But living on that farm was one of the most wonderful childhoods that could be imagined, and together with the education that I received at Ganllwyd School and at Dolgellau Grammar School helped shape my life to some degree, especially my love of the country or bush as it is called in Australia and my love of Fly fishing.
Most importantly, both my brother and I had developed a feeling for North Wales, and neither of us has ever forgotten it. My brother has been fortunate enough to have revisited Dolgellau a number of times, and while I would dearly love to make the trip, I doubt that I will ever have the opportunity.
Goodbye Dolgellau, hello Kinmel Bay... 22 February 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home Life in Kinmel Bay Last updated: 17 January 2008
Towards the end of 1944 we were living in a converted more from this section railway carriage on a small holiday park in Morfa Road, BBC Local Kinmel Bay operated by a very nice elderly couple from Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales Yorkshire, Alice and Will Tobin. History Things to do In pictures Outdoors People & Places Alice could be a little unconventional at times, especially when RAF aeroplanes, usually Beaufighters, flew very low People Nature & Outdoors overhead, heading out to sea firing their guns at practice Town guide History Lleol i Mi targets. It some times seemed as if they were aware of Religion & Ethics Alice's dislike of their manoeuvres, as they would appear to Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture glide in very quietly until they were overhead, and then open Music their throttles with a huge roar. Sunday Monday TV & Radio max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites The sandy beach was approximately five hundred yards away, News and as they passed over the sea front they would commence Sport firing their machine guns and cannons. Alice would interact Weather immediately appear on the deck in front of her home, and Tell us about a web page Travel pointing towards the seafront would call out to the aircraft, Found a web page we should know "Out to sea, out to sea!" Her husband Will, a very dour about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales Yorkshire man would sit in a deck chair, unperturbed, reading Email A Friend North East Wales his daily newspaper. Occasionally he would tell his wife to "Sit down Missus they can't hear you." Related BBC Sites Wales The park or holiday camp was in the form of a triangle. On more from North West Cymru one side was a hedge along the Morfa Road, which was Wales Gogledd Orllewin unsealed in those days. On the other side, was a tall granite block wall of a road bridge over the railway line and the Useful links other boundary was the railway line itself. Let us guide you The web at a glance for The holiday buildings consisted of five converted railway Gwynedd, Conwy and carriages, a conventional house on tall piers with a large Anglesey.
timber deck, and three dry toilets. At each end of the railway Towns & Villages carriage was a small conventional timber clad bedroom, and, Your patch crammed between a bedroom and the carriage was a small Have your say or find out kitchen/bathroom. In the living or central section, a small more about community life coal stove was used for heating. past and present.
Entertainment There was no sewerage system to the park, so the toilets Days and nights out consisted of three timber sentry box-type buildings Find events for all ages, constructed over deep holes in the ground. On hot days the indoors and out, all year smell from the toilets was quite awful despite the fact that round. Will shovelled in lime each week. Also, the toilets were located right along side the Chester to Holyhead railway line, and if one was sitting on the toilet as a train thundered through, it was very disconcerting, as the whole toilet would vibrate and shake so much, that we would find ourselves Tai Hanesyddol gripping onto the wooden seat, fearful of being precipitated O blastai crand i ffermydd into the deep hole beneath. I swear that some of the train gwledig, camwch dros drivers of these steam trains knew that someone could be drothwy rhai o dai mwyaf hanesyddol yr ardal sitting on the throne, because, as they thundered past, they would sound the engine's whistle very loudly! The forbidden beach... your comments
June matthews edinburgh I indeed have some very old photographs of my own old railway carriage, which is situated in Peebles, "40 minutes from Edinburgh", and has been there since long before the war, and is over one hundred years old.It has no plumbing or electricty and we use it every weekend, and love it. Mon Mar 3 12:29:19 2008
Chris Holmes from Manchester In the 1950s and 60s our families holidayed twice a year in Towyn. My brother John and I were only speaking today about the converted railway carriages used as holiday homes. As children it seemed to us an exciting place to stay. We remember playing on the camp, and that smell from the toilets never leaves the memory! We stayed on Owens camp, in the wooden bungalows at first, then a small caravan with a separate wooden kitchen and chemical toilet. Surely someone must have pictures of the railway carriages and the crossing at Sandbank Road onto the beach. Like the former writer, I too remember the trains flying past on their way to Llandudno. Mon Aug 13 10:55:31 2007
Francis Roberts from Canada As a small boy I lived in Dolclochydd, that was in the late 40s. My parents rented rooms from the owners. Whether they were the Williamses, I don't know, but they did have a son called Ceiriog who at that time was probably in his 20s. A rather wild boy as I recall. Whilst I lived at Dolclochydd I saw the first and only steam lorry, rattling along the road on the other side of the river. I too went to Ganllwyd primary school and remember Miss Morris, but Mr Roberts was before my time. Walter Williams probably took the place of Mr Roberts. I started at Ganllwyd school in probably 1946.
Fri Jun 23 09:46:36 2006 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home The forbidden beach Last updated: 17 January 2008
In this particular area of Kinmel Bay, mostly alongside the more from this section beach, were a number of holiday camps frequented mostly by BBC Local the workers from the Yorkshire and Lancashire fabric mills on Dolgellau Here For You North West Wales their annual holidays. History Things to do In pictures Outdoors People & Places In those days all along the sandy beach were concrete anti tank pyramids and a fence of coils of barbed wire. Every fifty People Nature & Outdoors yards or so, on the beach itself, out as far as the low tide Town guide History Lleol i Mi mark, were planted tall timber posts, say about six inches in Religion & Ethics diameter and approximately fifteen feet in height. The object Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture of these posts was to prevent gliders landing on the smooth Music sandy beach. Sunday Monday TV & Radio max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites Some tides were, I seemed to recall as high as thirty feet. News The general public was not supposed to have access to this Sport beach, which we were told was mined in places, and also interact Weather because of the danger from the occasional sea-mine that was Tell us about a web page Travel washed up. However the barbed wire did not stop us, as Found a web page we should know openings would appear daily in the fence, just as fast as the about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales army engineers would repair them. In the end, the openings Email A Friend North East Wales were no longer being repaired.
Related BBC Sites On this beautiful stretch of sand, I would dig for lug worms Wales to bait my long lines, which were fifty yards in length, with more from North West Cymru up to fifty hooks. To obtain the lug worms it was necessary Wales Gogledd Orllewin to look for their spiral casts on the sand. Then, with a spade I would dig down as fast as possible until I located the large Weather hairy worm, which was usually in the process of trying to What's forecast? escape downwards through the wet sand. Seizing the end of Check out today's weather the worm, it would be a gentle tug of war to pull it from its conditions for North West tunnel with out breaking it in half. Its insides were squeezed Wales.
out by running its length through my fingers, This process Food & Drink always resulted in my fingers being stained iodine colour. Full of flavour Is your favourite local This was so much like a smoker's nicotine stain that the produce or recipe in our teachers gave me a bad time of it until my father wrote them guide? a letter confirming what the stain was. Even then I am sure Hall of Fame that they still suspected me of smoking cigarettes. Public life Meet heroes and historic The lines were tied, low down, between two anti aircraft figures raised in the region. posts, After baiting the hooks I would place a loose handful of sand over the bait to prevent it being eaten by the hungry sea gulls, or being washed off by the incoming tide. I would then stay around until the line and hooks were covered by at least a couple of feet of water. This was to prevent some unsuspecting holiday maker from becoming impaled on a fish Sardinia: Cymry yn hook while wading in the water. 'ddiogel' Pontio: Dim prif I would return to the beach, long before the catch was weithredwr exposed by the receding tide, as both sea gulls and holiday makers would steal the fish off the lines. This of course necessitated getting out of bed at all hours to attend to the lines and I was often on the beach, with a torch during the small hours.
I caught many fish, mainly Flounder, Plaice, Sole, Cod, and other types, the names of which I am unable to remember. I would thread a piece of cord through the gills of the fish and carry them home in this manner. Sometimes the fish were still alive when I returned home, and I used to have a good laugh when my mother screamed out as one would flap as she cut its head off.
On many occasions, holiday makers would stop me to look at the fish and I would give some away. How they had them cooked, I don't know as they were fed in large mess halls.
There were many hazards on the beach at that time in addition to the sea mines and all kinds of war time flotsam from torpedoed ships. Not the least of these hazards being the Beau fighters flying low over head as they fired their guns at targets out at sea. On many occasions twenty millimetre cannon shell cases would rain down on me while I was either digging worms or setting my lines during daylight hours. It was almost as if the pilots had decided to give us a bit of a hurry up, as they seemed to open fire a long way from the targets.
We, on the beach would shake our fists in their direction and the planes wings would be waggled in response.
The end of the war is nye... 16 March 2012 Accessibility help Text only
BBC Homepage Wales Home The end of the war is nigh Last updated: 17 January 2008 At that time my father was a Battery Sergeant Major at more from this section Kinmel Park Army Camp, which was a driver training BBC Local Dolgellau regiment. He had been posted Here For You North West Wales there on his being invalided History Things to do In pictures home from Malta where he Outdoors People & Places had been stationed for the People Nature & Outdoors duration of the siege. Town guide History Lleol i Mi Religion & Ethics My mother was employed at a factory located over the other Weather for Dolgellau Arts & Culture side of the railway line, where they built wings for Wellington Music bombers. The fabric used was very similar to a cotton oil Sunday Monday TV & Radio cloth; it was camouflaged and was stitched with strong bees max 16°C max 12°C min 9°C min 7°C Local BBC Sites waxed cotton thread. News Sport In those days I was fishing mad, and some sixty years later I interact Weather still am. Another location where I often fished was on the Tell us about a web page Travel bank of the Clwyd River where there was an iron bridge, near Found a web page we should know Rhyl. At low tide there was a wide sandy bank alongside the about? Send us the details. Neighbouring Sites Mid Wales river, and among the rocks I would gather the aptly named Email A Friend North East Wales Rag worms for bait. I would then sit on an adjacent concrete wall on the Rhyll side of the river and commence fishing as Related BBC Sites the tide came in. Here, I would catch mostly flounder, plaice Wales and sole. more from North West Cymru Wales Gogledd Orllewin My brother and I attended Pendyffryn House School in Weird Rhyl, a place that I did not Strange sights really enjoy. As a consequence Spotted anything strange in I am unable to recall the your neighbourhood lately? names of any of the teachers Sport or even what they looked like. Eye on the ball Find out where you can However there were two pupils watch or get involved in who have stuck in my mind to this day. One was a small lad sport. with tight curly hair. I think that his name was Simmonds, and he was a brilliant and very talented musician. I recall Entertainment Days and nights out one time listening to him at a school concert when he played Find events for all ages, on the piano a piece of music that was all about an air-raid. indoors and out, all year It was a very clever piece as the sounds of the air raid round. warning siren and falling bombs were produced through out. I often wonder what happened to him.
There was another lad, a Donald Ashworth who carved, from wood, the most wonderful accurate models of all the war planes in the air at that time. Again I wonder where he is Sardinia: Cymry yn now. 'ddiogel' Pontio: Dim prif When the war ended we returned to Dolgellau to live at weithredwr Garygarw for a while, while Dad was a river bailiff with my uncle Alex Barr. My brother and I returned to Dolgellau Grammar School as it was then known. Shortly afterwards we retuned to Surrey to live.
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