The day began well with a dolphin sighting close to shore before breakfast. Though I got annoyed with the kayaker who decided to try (unsuccessfully) to paddle closer. There are signs all over the beach telling people to remain 100 yds from the dolphins so as not to disrupt their feeding.
After our usual leisurely Sunday breakfast I just had time to add a final coat of paint to the metal gates before giving H ( a fellow walker) a lift to J's home where J drove us to Bwa Drain near Nant Yr Arian.
This week's walk took us to the iron age hillfort, Castell Bwa Drain (Thorn Arch Castle) which overlooks the Rheidol valley.
Once again I was walking some of the same route I'd ridden the other week including this road passing through Bwa Drain farm.
On our way to the hillfort we passed the ruins of Pen Castell (Castle end/head/top), a large 19thC ruin. There was much speculation on the purpose of the structure comprising six stone pillars each with a niche for a large beam on the outer side.
Many years ago some of our group had been to parties at the nearby home of Michael Wilding (son of Elizabeth Taylor) and there was talk that this ruined building may also have been a party venue.
The house is in a sorry state and has sunk into further disrepair after a number of large trees had fallen across the building. Below is how it looked when we walked there only two years ago.
Reaching the well preserved ramparts of Bwa Drain it was easy to see why that site had been chosen. A thousand feet above the Vale of Rheidol there were views inland towards Devil's Bridge,
Pen Dinas, (centre of photo below) another iron age hillfort crowned by a more recent monument celebrating the Battle of Waterloo.
According to one site I read these hillforts were more "a symbol of power within the landscape while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence." Though I think having a line of sight between those and other hillforts also played a part in their location.
Following a lunch stop on Bwa Drain we made our way westwards along the brow of the ridge to a copse around the ruins of a building which seems to have been mostly constructed from white quartz rocks. I have yet to find any further information about the building.
After our walk we stopped at the home of another group member to have tea and admire the work she has done on her garden. Our visit was cut short by H and J getting alerts on their phones. They have recently joined the coastguards in Borth and were being paged to attend an incident.
As this incident was to guard some ordnance found on the beach at Ynyslas, a very common occurrence, we headed back to Borth though not with the same urgency as if it had been for an incident involving people. During the summer the local coastguards are called out about four times a week but over the year it averages to one a week.
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