A Ladder and a Lift for Fishes.

Strong winds and plenty of clouds today but almost nothing in the way of rain.

For the first time in weeks I was able to join the Sunday walk which today was in Cwm Rheidol starting at the Hydro station. For some of the time we were on the same roads we had ridden on the other week though of course we had been able to cover almost 20 miles with the horses while today we walked just 3 or 4.

From the road down in the valley we followed a wide forestry track that took us high up on the northern side. Then we turned and scrambled down a narrow and overgrown path, which included an extremely rickety stile, back to the road and the river.

We even got to hear and see the Vale of Rheidol steam train making its way to Devil's Bridge. At the moment because of the fire risk they are not using a genuine steam engine but a modern engine that produces fake steam.

We crossed the river on a narrow metal footbridge that took us to a fish ladder that helps spawning fish to bypass the falls to get upstream. A handy picnic table was a good spot for us to stop to eat our lunch.

There was a nearby viewing area from where we could see the watery steps of the fish ladder that the fish use to get upstream. The wire mesh above the fish ladder is to prevent poaching.

From that point we turned and headed back along the valley through the gently sloping fields of this lush valley. These fields were still fairly green though any fields higher up have turned a parched yellow.

Eventually we crossed over the river by the road bridge. Here the waterfalls are man-made, all part of the hydro system that generates power from water brought through huge pipes from the Nant Y Moch reservoir. At night time coloured lights shine on the curtain of water cascading over the large rocks.

The fish ladder is on the far left of the 'falls' and works very much like a canal lock letting the fish swim in and then bringing them to the higher part of the river.

A short walk back up the other side of the river brought us to the power station visitors' centre and our cars parked along the road.