The Graig is the hill above Lisvane which forms the backdrop to this part of North Cardiff. This local group was originally established in 1972 to protect the rural nature of Lisvane when the M4 motorway was being planned and was successful in improving the line eventually adopted. The Group keeps a watching brief on developments and footpath issues and a member of the committee attends the Lisvane Environmental Group chaired by Councillor John Lancaster and the Local Access Forum, which is run under the auspices of Cardiff Council. The group produces the Footpaths Around Lisvane booklet (on sale in Lisvane Stores) and organises walks every few months throughout the year. See below for details of membership.
Footpaths Around the Reservoir
As a result of our Section 53 application to establish the footpaths around the reservoir as Public Rights of Way, we have agreed with Taylor Wimpey to a revised map of paths. This incorporates most of our paths into their scheme. The details of this will be available soon.
Next Walk:-
Festival Walk
The walk this year is on the evening of Friday 26th June, starting at the Old School car park at 7pm. It is open to members and non-members and will be an easy walk of around three to four miles and suitable for families, but not with pushchairs. We plan to finish at the Griffin befor 9pm.
Previous Events:-
Early Summer Walk
This was a walk of about 8 miles, starting at the Maenllwyd Inn Rudry on 30th May. We walked west before dropping down to the old Rudry village, visiting the church before winding our way down to the Rhumney river and Lower Machen. Crossing the river again by the Iron Bridge. We then worked our way past Ruperra Castle and back through the woods to the Maenllwyd. A fairly strenuous walk, but the weather was kind and there were a number of points of interest on the way, including this sink-hole.
Spring Walk
This was a circular walk of 4.3 miles following the Lisvane Heritage Trail, highlighting points of historical interest. It was well supported, with over 30 walkers attending and we were blessed with dry and sunny weather.
Early Autumn Walk
After days of changeable weather, 6 September had consistently been forecast for sun. However, we woke up to overcast skies, so everyone came prepared for all weathers.
13 of us set off from Lisvane and Thornhill Station, using the permissive bridleway at the back of the Tennis Club. We stopped to admire the work Cardiff Council has done to stabilise the path by the waterfall . (If you use that path after months of wet weather you will know what I mean. Bone dry then, of course.) We proceeded up the ’zigzags’ pausing, again, to admire the 151 steps (only 6 left to do) put in by Cardiff Conservation Volunteers, funded jointly by the Lisvane Graig Protection Society (courtesy of a grant from the Moondance Foundation) and Cardiff Council (get in training now for a walk up those next year!!). As we passed one of the Caerphilly Tunnel ventilation shafts, we heard about an accident in 1868 when the tunnel was being built; 7 men died when the cage in which they were being lowered to the tunnel workings fell from the top to the bottom of the shaft.)
We arrived at the top for a breather and crossed paths with a large number of runners who were doing a 30 miles circular run from Ystrad Mynach along the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Footpath (RVRF). (Our walk – about 5½ miles!) By this time, the sun had come out, so it was jackets off and sunhats on. We turned right along the RVRF, crossed Graig Road and continued along the path, through the beech woods, turned right at the end down to a stile, and returned to Graig Road along a wide grassy path and a track. Down and up and down Graig Road (on the way, we met up with the farmer, so we were able to thank him for moving his livestock out of one of the fields we had crossed and also admire his Gloucester Old Spot pigs) to another permissive bridleway before returning to L&T Station.
RHYMNEY RAIL RAMBLE
Train passenger numbers were swelled by 12 on Saturday, 5 July when members of the Graig Protection Society boarded the 0956 from Lisvane Station heading north to Rhymney at the end of the line for a 7 mile circular walk. As usual, the weather was an important topic of conversation – the forecast wasn’t favourable but luckily turned out to be better than expected.
Following a 40 minute journey, passing all those places you hear about while waiting for the train in Cardiff, we reached Rhymney and walked through what is now a quiet town, founded in 1801 with the establishment of the local ironworks. The route initially crossed open access land with panoramic views of the valley from Pontlottyn to Tredegar and – with a bit of imagination – the distant Bannau Brycheiniog. After passing a wind farm and taking a slight detour to avoid some very frisky cattle (they definitely weren’t there on the recce!), we entered Bryn Bach Country Park and walked for a couple of miles with runners taking part in the Titan Brecon Middle Distance Triathlon. Strangely enough we felt no compunction to join them and were content to be lapped several times.
Parc Bryn Bach is a lovely 340 acre nature reserve that was created in the 1980s following the ravages of mineral extraction. At its heart is a large lake complete with picnic tables and a very welcome cafe and visitors’ centre. After lunch, we continued walking through the park and into Llechryd, roughly parallel with the newly extended Heads of the Valleys road, with constant reminders that this area flourished in the Industrial Revolution due to ironstone, coal and limestone all outcropping close to the surface.
The impressive 8m high Twisted Chimney sculpture stands on the site of the Union Ironworks and acts as a ‘gateway’ to the Rhymney Valley. Further on, the model village of Bute Town came as a pleasant surprise. Now a conservation area, it consists of 3 rows of 16 houses, a church and a pub and was built to house iron and coal workers.
The walk then followed footpaths for several miles next to the ‘young’ River Rhymney as it begins its journey south, passing more historical sites including the original Rhymney Brewery before arriving back at the station. The poet, Idris Davies (1905-1953) was born in and wrote about Rhymney and on our journey back to Lisvane we listened to one of his poems made famous by Pete Seeger in the folk song “The Bells of Rhymney”
Date for your diary
Sunday 19 October
Mid Autumn Walk – starting at 10.30
Heritage Trail
Now the weather has improved, it’s a good time to walk our family Heritage Trail around Lisvane and learn about some of the historical features of the village.
The guides are available from Lisvane Stores at £1 each. Heritage Trail Poster
Membership
If you would like to become a member of the Society and be kept informed of our walks, please contact Jon Evans on graigwalking@gmail.com. Annual membership is £10 per family. You can set up a standing order from your bank to: Lisvane Graig Protection Society, Sort Code: 23-05-80, Account Number: 55250413.
Jon Evans, chairman
Lisvane Graig Protection Society
07413520665
Heritage Trail
In collaboration with Lisvane Historical Society, we have produced a Heritage Trail Leaflet which guides walkers past significant historic features of our village. The leaflet is available from Lisvane Stores, price £1. For further details about the leaflet, click on the following link.
Footpath Update
If you discover any problems with footpaths, please contact either us or Cardiff Council.
Lisvane Footpath Guide
These are now all sold; thanks must be given to Phil Daley for selling these for us. We will consider a reissue when the situation is clearer regarding the housing developments.
The Society:
The Lisvane Graig Protection Society is based in Lisvane and is affiliated to the LCA. Contact Jon Evans (Chairman) on graigwalking@gmail.com or 07413 520665
The Graig Protection Society takes the privacy of members and anybody enquiring about walks seriously. For members it will hold names, addresses, email addresses & membership status for the purpose for informing of any forthcoming walks and to send reminders for membership renewal. This is only accessible by the Chairman and Treasurer. The Society does not automatically process your information or share your information with any other groups or organisations. You have the right, subject to proof of identity, to review and request removal or rectification of any information that the Society holds via the Chairman or Treasurer.