Every three weeks or so, I meet up with a very good friend of mine and we try to get a walk in, weather permitting. She lives at the foot of the Preseli Hills where her multi-generational family runs a dairy farm. We of course are on the Dale Peninsula and on the shorter winter days we try to find a spot that is relatively easy to get to from both our directions and leaves enough daylight hours for our walk.
Last week, we went to Llys-y-Fran reservoir. It promised to be a glorious day, crisp and sunny. As always, we like to start off with a good cup of coffee and the visitor facilities are such that that on its own would be good reason to visit. The visitor centre is bright, clean, and has floor to ceiling windows, as well as a wrap arround terrace to sit out on and enjoy the view. And the good thing: it is open all year round!
I still remember that years ago it was all quite different. We used to visit friends who lived next to the reservoir and were always a bit saddened to see the uninspiring state of the cafe and to notice it was closed more often than open. Welsh Water, who owns the site, decided to redevelop the facilities and reopened in its new set-up, I think, about two years ago (but it might well be a bit longer as time seems to fly by) with a totally new visitor centre and many more activities for visitors to enjoy: water sports, cycle tracks, angling, camping, and birding to name a few. Although November, there were quite a few visitors, including school groups on a field trip. It was pleasantly lively.
We plotted our own circular walk, using my OS Map app. This, by the way, is a very useful app to have on your phone as it saves having to lug around unwieldy maps and it gives you the option to map your route, it shows your exact position while walking, gives you a birds-eye view should you wish to, and much more. We took the eastern path along the reservoir before turning inland for our return leg. The trees along the path showed off their wonderful autumn colours against a blue sky and the sparkling water in the reservoir. We climbed a lovely bit of woodland to reach a small road. After that, we moved inland again over a bridle path, the first bit finding foothold through streaming water. Via Velindre’s farmyard (having established once again that the Pembrokeshire farming families know each other) and through a few fields we reached the road to Llys-y-Fran again just past Glebe Farm. Large stretches of the way gave us a view of the reservoir. Having had some torrential rain the week preceding some parts were quite wet and muddy, but nothing a good pair of boots and a walking stick could not handle.
Just after two o’clock, we reached the carpark again, put our boots and walking gear in the car and headed for a well-deserved bite to eat. Sitting behind the glass, warming up with the late, low sun we felt satisfied and rosy. After a quick browse in the shop (with a very good bird watching equipment section) we drove our separate ways home again, me squinting against the low sun all the way back.
Next day it rained cats and dogs. Late afternoon the day after snow started to fall, covering most of the Preseli Hills. The third day, my friend sent me a lovely early morning snow picture and I thought about all the extra work that now would be involved in taking care of their animals. All this is Pembrokeshire and that is why we love it.