Cwm Twrch - Aug. 2003

This was a short weekend trip in which I drove and left my car in the small village of Ystradowen (north-east of Swansea in South Wales) and walked up Cwm Twrch - the valley of the river Twrch. There was a whole series of lovely clear pools, one after another, and on this hot sunny summer afternoon I couldn't help but go for a swim in almost every one of them. The water was deliciously cool. Needless to say, progress up the valley was slow... But I eventually climbed all the way to the old quarries, and then on to the summit of Foel Frach.

The following morning I walked down the old tramway leading to the quarries back to the car, though I couldn't resist one more early morning dip in the pool just up from the bridge where I'd left the car. The water was freezing! Afterwards I drove over to Llyn y Fan Fraith and then back home through Brecon.