There was a mixture of history on this wet walk from the car park at Pen y Gaer, past Pen y Castell, and along the side of Foel Lwyd and Drum. My aim was to find the impact scar of the WWII Avro Anson Mk.I AX583, which crashed on the slopes where Foel Lwyd and Drum meet on the 25th April, 1944. The Avro Anson was a twin engined light bomber, used frequently for training, and there seem to be quite a few of these crashed in the Carneddau. That's probably more an indication of their ubiquity than their safety record. At the present time there is only one remaining Avro Anson Mk.I in flight, the 'Gentle Annie,' based at Omaka Airfield in Blenheim, New Zealand.
The light rain turned to low cloud and heavy mist as I passed Pen y Castell; similar conditions to those in which many of these planes crashed. When on foot it can be hard to see where to go, so it's no surprise that planes crashed in these conditions, often with men on board who hadn't been flying for long, with poor instruments compared to what planes have nowadays. In the case of this crash, however, the plane had been on a night navigation and bombing exercise. Five men were killed, one of them being a Canadian officer. You can read more about the crash here.
After leaving the crash site I walked on down the hill, getting wetter and wetter, through marshy ground, until I reached a rather wonderful sheep fold. I passed through the sheep fold to eventually emerge on Ffordd Mynydd, for a walk on tarmac the mile or so home.
The Two Idiots™ towing me towards Pen y Castell. Pen y Castell is the rather subdued craggy lump to the right centre. The little peak at left centre is Craig Cefn Coch.
The stile by Craig Cefn Coch, on the way to Pen y Castell. Pen y Gadair has its top just lost in mist on the left, while Pen y Gaer, centre, is low enough to escape the cloud.
The bottom of the scar on the hill.
Leaving the crash scar behind. Perhaps the absence of rushes either side show how wide it used to be?
Continuing on down the mountainside, through wet, marshy land.
The second structure, very close to the first, at SH 7243 7033. Both structures are right on the edge of a small mountain stream.
The second structure is more substantial than the first.
Coming down onto the river, which later flows into the Afon Roe.
A first glimpse of the sheep fold. There are a number of these amazing, flower-like sheep folds across the hills, much more impressive than the more usual one or two celled ones that can be seen. From the air they look rather like blossoming flowers, with petals coming out from a central hub. This description of another similar fold on the Coflein website gives a good explanation for the reasons behind these complicated, elaborate folds, and paints a wonderful picture of community on the mountainside: "There is no clear record of when these complicated structures originated. [Their] size and complexity attest to construction and continuing maintenance by generations of farmers from at least the eighteenth century. Sheep belonging to many farms and sharing a common sheepwalk would be gathered in through the funnelled entrance and sorted, on occasions such as shearing, into the small cells belonging to particular farms."
The fold is set right against the narrow mountain stream, the presence of which is indicated by the low willow trees along its edge.
This image from Google Maps shows the shape of the sheepfold much more clearly.
One of a number of repurposed garden gates.
A narrow entrance from one cell to another.
Either this is another repurposed gate which has fallen over, or this is the entrance to the fold's underworld cell.
From across the little river, the structure of the sheep fold is easier to see.
The long, dry, road home down Ffordd Mynydd. Too late for my soaked feet.
A Carneddau pony which almost seemed to be posing for me. If only I'd had a proper camera with a zoom lens.
This was the best I could do, with the zoom on my phone.
Every now and then there were little glimpses of fine weather through the cloud, but the rain didn't let up.
The cloud was rolling in heavily. My view was doubly obscured by glasses covered in rain. Short sighted as I am, it was still easier to just take my glasses off.
The Two Idiots™ attempt to lure me over a cliff. I decided to take the gentler option of the slope to the right.
I always love these old fence posts with their thick lacework of lichen clinging to them. They seem to be trying to revert back to the trees they came from.
Making my way along the side of Foel Lwyd and Drum, trying to keep to the 600m contour line where the crash site would be. It was hard going through tufty grass, bilberries, and heather.
The impact scar of the Avro Anson Mk.I was just visible, although most of the landscape was lost in mist. The Ordance Survey Grid Reference is SH 71689 69781.
A lot of the scar must have grassed over, but it's astounding that there's still bald earth after 76 years.
Looking down the hill, along the impact scar. Although short grass has recolonised the edges, the rushes still haven't managed to come closer.
There follow a number of photos of small, unidentified scraps of wreckage lying on the impact scar. I don't know enough about aircraft to attempt to identify them. There are a lot of photos in this blog entry, which may feel repetitive, but my aim in these posts is to record as much as possible of what still remains, since time and circumstance continue to erase these pieces of history. A lot of the pieces of aluminium appear to be melted. I assume that the aircraft caught fire on crashing.
This small, delicate filament is a strand of copper wire, perfectly bright.
This almost looks like a hammer head. Maybe some kind of handle or joint?
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A series of photos of what seems to be a battery, badly damaged and corroded.
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There follow some of the larger parts of the remains. It seems that some have gone in the last ten years, if one compares these photos with ones taken in April 2010. Perhaps some remains have washed away down the slopes, but it's also possible they've been taken by people seeking souvenirs. If you do visit sites like this, please treat them as you would a grave site, and leave what you find where it is. Men died here.
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Rabbits or other burrowing animals seem to have made the bottom of the scar their home. I hope there aren't too many toxins in the soil.
Five men were killed here:
Sergeant Reginald William Thomas Smith, Pilot.
Pilot Officer, RCAF John Marshall Polomark, Navigator.
Pilot Officer George Williams, Passenger.
Sergeant Norman Valentine Neville Robson, Wireless Operator
Sergeant Wilfred Jackson, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.
These details are taken from the Peak District Air Accident Research site, which has comprehensive details of many of these accidents, although it doesn't tend to include grid references.
Great areas around me were still swathed in low cloud. The path of streams further down can be seen by the trees along their banks, taking advantage of the small shelter afforded by the channel cut through the land.
A small structure on the way down. Rather stupidly, I didn't take a grid reference for it.
The possible structure closer up. It could also just be stones from field clearing.
The first of two structures marked on the Ordnance Survey map. This one is at SH 7240 7031.
A superfluity of gates.
A pair of rather magnificent gate posts.
Standing in the wide end of the fold entrance, looking out.
Looking down the funnel entrance into the fold.
A little sheep hole with a wooden door.
Another repurposed garden gate.
An exit through to the river. Idiot No. 1 inspects.
Outside the fold, a clever little split pier has been built, so as to be able to bridge the river without having to build a bridge.
The gap was a bit scary for Idiot No. 2, but to be fair, she does have short legs.
A view of the fold from across the river. In the distance, Tal y Fan is still shrouded in cloud.
The fold makes a picturesque sight, and the sky is just starting to clear, too.
The weather cleared up so well it was hard to believe I had come out of low cloud and constant drizzle, with my feet so wet they squelched at every step.
My route took me past Y Stabl, a mystery little building that I've spoken about before, here.
The front of Y Stabl, with its lovely faced stones.
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