Glyn Y Mul Update

[Red Kite]

I know Glyn Y Mul has come in for some bad press over the past year after the owner tried to open up the riverside areas using a JCB. After staying away for a year I paid a visit last weekend to see how the site was looking.

The site has now recovered from the attentions of the JCB and the scars have now greened over. mud levels are also back to normal - and given the number of springs above the railway line its never going to be a dry site.

There were two "tent folk" using the area whilst I was there, so if anyone fancies having a meet there during the summer season it would be worth trying to negotiate sole use for the duration of the meet.

Firewood on site is now at a premium, whilst theres still a good supply of kindling and small branches anything bigger than 2" diameter is up there with the rocking horse poo. So take your own supply of logs. (Available from Morrisons garage in Neath)

Cost is still £5 per night.

 

[Greg]

Thanks for the update fella!

 

[rik_uk3]

I was up there about five weeks ago. Not sure what he's doing to be honest, the digger was still out and about the site up top. As its on my doorstep I'll use it in Autumn and winter but think I'll skip the summer months now.

As RK said, you can buy wood off Ian, but he admits it is still wet so take your own or some charcoal and maybe a stove.

Another nice little site a 10 minute walk from a pub or Brecon, on the River Honddu, fire pits provided, might be good for the canoe fans here? I'm taking my Grandson after Easter for his first camping trip now the little fella is walking a bit

http://www.priorymillfarm.co.uk/campsite.htm

GYM farm last weekend in Feb 2009

 

[redandshane]

I am hammock camping in the woods at Glyn Y Mul for 5 days from monday 22/06/09

Any info or places I should visit, good walks etc much appreciated from those of you that know the area well

 

[Calculon]

I had a quick look at Glyn Y Mul about 2 months ago, there was only one tent down by the river. I had a good wander but could only find probably 2 other spots that weren't knee deep in mud. Ian & his missus seem really nice.
Nice collection of vintage petrol pumps!

The Priory one mentioned by Rik looks good & the owner is a helpful & friendly guy too. There were a few tents there in March.


Calc

 

[rik_uk3]

I am hammock camping in the woods at Glyn Y Mul for 5 days from monday 22/06/09

Any info or places I should visit, good walks etc much appreciated from those of you that know the area well

When you get to the bottom of the track leading to the river, turn right and go as far as you can, there is a nice area at the top.

 

[redandshane]

Thanks Thats the kind of info I was after
Looks like a nice base with good day walks out from the site available

 

[Cobweb]

It's good to know that the site is getting better, when I was there last, it wasn't too bad, but that was a good couple of years ago.
Ian is a good bloke and I like what he is trying to do with the site, it was awfully overgrown then but from the feb pics he seems to have got it under control.

It's a new site so it's expected that it has to g through some work and Ian is one bloke on his own. If I were in his position I'd use a JCB lol!

It should be a fantastic site in a year or two, and we can do our bit for it when we go, cutting back overgrowth and such as well.
I look forward to visiting soon.

 

[Greg]

I would say that taking down mature oak trees is more than cutting back the undergrowth!

 

[rik_uk3]

It's good to know that the site is getting better, when I was there last, it wasn't too bad, but that was a good couple of years ago.
Ian is a good bloke and I like what he is trying to do with the site, it was awfully overgrown then but from the feb pics he seems to have got it under control.

It's a new site so it's expected that it has to g through some work and Ian is one bloke on his own. If I were in his position I'd use a JCB lol!

It should be a fantastic site in a year or two, and we can do our bit for it when we go, cutting back overgrowth and such as well.
I look forward to visiting soon.

When I was there in February Ian was using TWO JCB's, he is a great bloke and hope he has a cunning plan, however I could not see one. The amount cut back by the river shocked me to be honest; I really hope it greens over. With the path at the top and the cleared river bank it would seem ideal for quad bikers more than campers, you could maybe generate more income catering for them or mountain bikers than a few 'bushcraft' campers.

 

[Cobweb]

I didn't know he'd cut down oak trees :aargh4:

 

[redandshane]

Well I am off there tomorrow will post an update


weather looks good though

 

[redandshane]

http://s702.photobucket.com/albums/ww30/redandshane/?action=view&current=b306adb1.pbw

Hope this link works to a slideshow of some of the spots in the wood area for camping at Glyn Y Mor Farm

I realise this may be better suited in Out and About but as I stated I would post an update here. Here it is -feel free to move it if thats appropriate

I really had a great time hammock camping here
Not really a suitable area for a complete bushcraft experience; it is after all a commercial campsite and to my mind a cut well above the average.The wood is a fantastic place to camp and is really peaceful
In relative terms as soon as there are more than four sites occupied in the wood it felt busy to me and it became difficult to avoid other people-thats jut to signify how different camping is to my normal bushcraft type activity where I will not intend or want to see or be seen by anyone else-Antisocial SWMBO calls it!!

Ian and Ted are great blokes and very very helpful-I had enquired about availability of meths and they had a bottle for me on arrival and they didn't charge any extra for it-Go on tell me another campsite where that would happen

There was a lot of evidence of abuse of live trees on the site by previous campers and that was worse than anything done by opening up access

I found a large log/tree trunk with wedges which had broken leaving an axe head embedded in it which I removed and gave to Ted rather than carry home or leave lying around -just in case young kids found it and had an accident It was an Eagle brand axe for those that may be interested

Re the water I had 3 really hot dry days and one night of rain/thunder the site was transformed into a slippy muddy one very quickly and that was with few people to stir things up so if more people were around I can imagine it gets pretty messy pretty quickly

In summary this is one of the nicest campsites I have ever stayed on; but please take it for what it is its a a semi wild campsite that sees a lot of use and the resources are finite and need to be respected if not protected to allow continued use
It makes a truly great base camp for exploring the surrounding area
I will be returning as its handy for me and I want to explore the valley more

Hope this is useful to others in the future

 

[bigroomboy]

I will add a small nugget of information regarding this site. I is truly something unique in this country to have a campsite like this. I think it is amazing and have a a few excellent trips here but it does have a few downsides. I only try to go out of season because I like to feel isolated from other groups and like has been said there are only a few good places and after that it soon feels crowded. The first time we went we set up on the flat area just over the stream by the river. Nice but sparse on trees making it feel open but we were the only ones there. Second time we explored left of the path down but this is steep and densely planted with thinner bushy trees and there are only a couple of spots that would be good with smaller tents. Right of the access path are a couple of obvious pitches near the river but its very wet ground here making these no good in the winter. over the stream there are a few possible spots on the lower ground but a word of caution: We were there in September, it rained all weekend but for two hours around mid day Friday it rained harder than I have seen in this country. This caused the feeding stream to swell to about 5 times its normal size we jumped this to find an older couple stranded as the stream had actually swelled to twice this but burst its banks just after the culvert under the rail tracks. This had formed an island trapping this couple. The water was very powerful and covered most of these lower pitches. We retreated via the railway line and later set up on top of the far mound which is a good spot but some inconsiderate people had left about 4 bin bags of rubbish and an old tarp up there which we had to sort out. Later that day after walking on the Gower we returned to find a man with two very small kids pitching the mothership family tent. We warned him of the flood risk but he laughed it off even though the signes of flattened grass were obvious. So if you are expecting heavy rain avoid these pitches.

Due to the heavy use there is little or no standing dead wood of any reasonable size so you will need to take logs and kindling. Unfortunately as people have burnt just about all the fallen wood there is also nothing to build shelters from so you will need a sleeping system with you. Don't let anybody go damaging any living trees!!!

In summary though this is a fantastic spot even after the clearing work. All woodland needs managing and will thrive from it in the long term. The cutting may have been heavier than necessary but was done to improve the access for more ordinary campers. I would like to point out that this area of woodland has a real burden of heavy traffic on it and therefore needs to be looked after. If you see anybody abusing it they should be stopped and educated or it will not last long for us to enjoy.

 

[Nova & Pinky]

When you get to the bottom of the track leading to the river, turn right and go as far as you can, there is a nice area at the top.

If it's where I'm thinking of, we camped up at the top there in 2009

 

[rik_uk3]

Great to see it looking so green again If I went again I'd only take stoves and a marine heater for the tent (I'd only go in the colder months). The last time I camped down there the wood situation was grim.

As a spot its wonderful, you really can just close your eyes and imagine you are far from the crowd.

For those who've not been, as you are down from the main site the river area is a real 'cold well' and its certainly 2 or 3c colder down there; something to think about if you plan going in the colder months.

 

[Duggz]

Finally managed to get down to this site this weekend just for the night. First impressions weren't great has I followed Ted's advise and turned left after the track and ended up in a tricky situation. After managing to get out of the bog which was up to my knee's, I found a nice little spot next to the river just before the big bank, (wasn't sure if you could go any further so just bunked up there) the area to the right of me and left looked in reasonable condition for the ware and tear it would take, mud would be at a reasonable level for the amount of traffic and the rain we have had the night before. again there is NO wood down there and the wood supplied by the farm is more like soggy wet socks. they say they do not do pitches but from what i could see there were only four good pitches/areas to camp maybe a few more for hammocks, anyway hope this helps anyone interested in visiting.

to the left

to the right

 

[Bucephalas]

An old thread I know, but I've just visited this site today after booking in for the night.
Ian and Ted are superb. They couldn't have been more helpful.

It was raining lightly when I arrived but I would guess it rains a lot at this particular spot. During the winter months they allow their horses into the woodland. Although I didn't see any, the HUGE amount of manure suggested there were a lot of horses somewhere.
They also have quad bikes using the woodland and all this results in a very, very muddy woodland. Some paths were impassable because of the depth of the mud.
The entire site has quite a few springs so I would guess its always wet.

I took plenty of logs but couldn't find an 8 ft space to pitch so came home. It would have been fine if I had taken a hammock. Maybe next time!

 

[John Fenna]

Sounds like it is wrecked!

 

[Jaymzflood]

Yeah doesnt sound in too good a shape, but nova and pinkys pics look lovely.