To many the words 'Brechfa Forest' conjure images of dark inhospitable woods populated by Were-sheep and the chainsaw wielding ghosts of lost forestry workers.
It's all true! including the horror story about blankets of carnivorous moss that will swallow your foot whole then try snapping it off at the ankle with a concealed log trap. Mud like quicksand, treacherous slopes into steep sided water filled gullies and a worrying lack of cell-phone coverage make for a world of hurt in an emergency. If there was ever a place that Sasquatch called hell this is it. The background noise from the wind farm is also surprisingly a little eerie.
Suffice to say first night's camp on Thursday was definitely not the garden spot of Brechfa but with only a couple of hours before nightfall cold,wet,tired and legs covered in mud after a botched stream/bog crossing it was going to have to do. With my clothes gently steaming by the fire and a brew in hand things were a lot better and heaved a genuine sigh of relief as I zipped up the sleeping bag and dozed off for the night. With daylight, breakfast and renewed hope eventually getting back onto the gravel track was a moment of pure joy.
Camp one, believe me you don't want to go down there!
On the plus side this artificial forest is not all conifer plantation and in several places where terrain or remnants of field enclosures hinder modern mechanised felling & planting operations some areas have been left more natural and deciduous in nature. Finding them though involves some hard legwork, walk 50m drop main pack, disappear a ways into the trees for a look then do a 180 pick up backpack and walk on, rinse & repeat. The OS map is no help at all but some features do show up on older aerial photographs.
These boxes made a welcome picnic table
Camp Two Friday afternoon, somewhere East of the Afon Pib I struck gold.
Everything you could wish for, flat'ish dry ground, grass, water nearby, dappled sunshine and something other than pine trees to work with. It's also imposibble to see this spot from any road in the area but best of all was the fact there's no rubbish. No fire scar, empty beer cans or other evidence of human detritus. Would love to say I did something bushcrafty at this point like make raised bed or attempt carving another spoon but was knackered after the days grinding monotony. Shelter, instant food and first-aid for the countless scratches I'd acquired were a priority so was more than content to set-up camp, break out the £shop hammock and kick back listening to the forest.
Later whilst picking thorns out my shins, engrossed with sound of a fox barking in the woods just upslope of me when...
Baaaaggh!
I dam near crapped myself to discover a sheep was staring at me around the side of the tarp. Its puffy red eyes with a nasty case of eczema and long overdue for shearing didn't help the overall appearance either. For a moment it was like being in the horror movie 'Black Sheep' thankfully as I fell out of the hammock cursing it bolted along with its two companions back into the dark pines.
Once suitably caffeinated I grabbed the response pack and set off for bimble to explore around for a few hours and to see if the forestry lads I had spotted earlier were finished work for the day. My collapsible colander aka the poor man's Grilliput had been doing really well in various modes (firebowl, hobo stove, wind shield for the meths burner) for snacks & brews during the day but it was getting chilly out as the sun dropped lower and something with a tad more heat output was going to be needed. By 8pm was pretty sure that nobody was within a kilometre and settled down to enjoy a pack of chilli with a jacket potato. Was sorely tempted to have a fire all night but with another early start planned the following morning for the hike home as the flames died down and night vision returned I doused the coals then retreated into the sleeping bag before the cold embraced me again.
Dawn broke and it was leaking, not enough to be called rain but wet enough to be discouraging. Having stowed most of my kit the previous evening before going to bed breaking camp took next to no time and my tin cup was bubbling on the meths stove as the tarp went into the dry bag. Stamped the square of cut turf back over where the fire pit had been then chugged down my coffee. One last look around, brew kit away and I was off striding once again into the grey morning heading toward the spinning leviathans then down to the village of Alltwalis and the bus home. Ten minutes later I was questioning my sanity but that always happens when leave a warm bed.
Along the Alltwalis trail...
Notes: The 'bridleway' from Alltwalis up the valley with the stream to the wind farm is more akin to goat track. Loose shale, fallen trees blocking the way and badly signposted. There's some interesting photo ops for lovers of derelict and ruined buildings but the ascent onto the plateau through the turbines into the forest beyond is a long thigh burning climb. So this time I was using it as my exit point from Brechfa forest, far easier on the tired legs.
Going in there's a bus stop north of Pontersais by the Vicarage and the T1 bus service runs both ways every hour between Lampeter & Carmarthen. Follow the road to Llanllawdog and take the dead-end track to the left. This route will give you a gentler climb into the forest than you'll get from Brechfa village plus no worries about leaving a vehicle in a deserted car park.
It's all true! including the horror story about blankets of carnivorous moss that will swallow your foot whole then try snapping it off at the ankle with a concealed log trap. Mud like quicksand, treacherous slopes into steep sided water filled gullies and a worrying lack of cell-phone coverage make for a world of hurt in an emergency. If there was ever a place that Sasquatch called hell this is it. The background noise from the wind farm is also surprisingly a little eerie.
Suffice to say first night's camp on Thursday was definitely not the garden spot of Brechfa but with only a couple of hours before nightfall cold,wet,tired and legs covered in mud after a botched stream/bog crossing it was going to have to do. With my clothes gently steaming by the fire and a brew in hand things were a lot better and heaved a genuine sigh of relief as I zipped up the sleeping bag and dozed off for the night. With daylight, breakfast and renewed hope eventually getting back onto the gravel track was a moment of pure joy.
Camp one, believe me you don't want to go down there!
On the plus side this artificial forest is not all conifer plantation and in several places where terrain or remnants of field enclosures hinder modern mechanised felling & planting operations some areas have been left more natural and deciduous in nature. Finding them though involves some hard legwork, walk 50m drop main pack, disappear a ways into the trees for a look then do a 180 pick up backpack and walk on, rinse & repeat. The OS map is no help at all but some features do show up on older aerial photographs.
These boxes made a welcome picnic table
Camp Two Friday afternoon, somewhere East of the Afon Pib I struck gold.
Everything you could wish for, flat'ish dry ground, grass, water nearby, dappled sunshine and something other than pine trees to work with. It's also imposibble to see this spot from any road in the area but best of all was the fact there's no rubbish. No fire scar, empty beer cans or other evidence of human detritus. Would love to say I did something bushcrafty at this point like make raised bed or attempt carving another spoon but was knackered after the days grinding monotony. Shelter, instant food and first-aid for the countless scratches I'd acquired were a priority so was more than content to set-up camp, break out the £shop hammock and kick back listening to the forest.
Later whilst picking thorns out my shins, engrossed with sound of a fox barking in the woods just upslope of me when...
Baaaaggh!
I dam near crapped myself to discover a sheep was staring at me around the side of the tarp. Its puffy red eyes with a nasty case of eczema and long overdue for shearing didn't help the overall appearance either. For a moment it was like being in the horror movie 'Black Sheep' thankfully as I fell out of the hammock cursing it bolted along with its two companions back into the dark pines.
Once suitably caffeinated I grabbed the response pack and set off for bimble to explore around for a few hours and to see if the forestry lads I had spotted earlier were finished work for the day. My collapsible colander aka the poor man's Grilliput had been doing really well in various modes (firebowl, hobo stove, wind shield for the meths burner) for snacks & brews during the day but it was getting chilly out as the sun dropped lower and something with a tad more heat output was going to be needed. By 8pm was pretty sure that nobody was within a kilometre and settled down to enjoy a pack of chilli with a jacket potato. Was sorely tempted to have a fire all night but with another early start planned the following morning for the hike home as the flames died down and night vision returned I doused the coals then retreated into the sleeping bag before the cold embraced me again.
Dawn broke and it was leaking, not enough to be called rain but wet enough to be discouraging. Having stowed most of my kit the previous evening before going to bed breaking camp took next to no time and my tin cup was bubbling on the meths stove as the tarp went into the dry bag. Stamped the square of cut turf back over where the fire pit had been then chugged down my coffee. One last look around, brew kit away and I was off striding once again into the grey morning heading toward the spinning leviathans then down to the village of Alltwalis and the bus home. Ten minutes later I was questioning my sanity but that always happens when leave a warm bed.
Along the Alltwalis trail...
Notes: The 'bridleway' from Alltwalis up the valley with the stream to the wind farm is more akin to goat track. Loose shale, fallen trees blocking the way and badly signposted. There's some interesting photo ops for lovers of derelict and ruined buildings but the ascent onto the plateau through the turbines into the forest beyond is a long thigh burning climb. So this time I was using it as my exit point from Brechfa forest, far easier on the tired legs.
Going in there's a bus stop north of Pontersais by the Vicarage and the T1 bus service runs both ways every hour between Lampeter & Carmarthen. Follow the road to Llanllawdog and take the dead-end track to the left. This route will give you a gentler climb into the forest than you'll get from Brechfa village plus no worries about leaving a vehicle in a deserted car park.
