Festival of Winter Walks
Out of the six Festival of Winter Walks provided by the group which took place over the Christmas and New Year period, only leader Geraint drew the short straw and instead of lovely winter sunshine was bombarded with rain meaning only two walkers turned up to join him.
Togged up against the elements, umbrellas came in handy as they set off in the rain past Cogan railway station and crossed via the traffic lights before heading uphill through Cogan Pill Lane to St Dochdwy’s Church with its saddle-back tower that can be viewed for miles around.
Llandough was during the 5th and 6th centuries a foremost Christian community with the first permanent church being set up in the 12th century, which was later restored during the 17th century remaining in use until 1820, when the building made way for two churches. The first building was too small for the growing population and was removed and rebuilt in Leckwith and dedicated to St James, which then made way for the current church that was consecrated by Bishop Olivant on 12 July, 1866.
As rain continued to fall they paused in the churchyard and viewed the Irbic Pillar Cross which dates from the 10/11th century. It is complete except for its Celtic wheel head which has been mutilated and is made of Sutton stone, and measures nine foot nine inches in height and has details of horsemen on its base, along with the inscription IRBICI, which is hard to make out and it appears such pillar crosses were popular during the Norman period.
Slippery pathways led them downhill through woodland, where a number of wooden pallets had mysteriously been abandoned alongside the path and the path led them close to the industrial estate on Penarth Road, where they went underneath the flyover.
They crossed the road and joined a footpath passing under a railway bridge to reach Grangemoor Park, which opened in 2000 and has its name inscribed on a large piece of rock. The park is situated on reclaimed land that used to be a rubbish tip, where the hill was previously affectionately nicknamed Asda mountain and from the top there are grand panoramic views.
Some pavement pounding followed at Dunleavy Drive where the first early daffodils in bloom were spotted and then into Watkiss Way after which they circumnavigated the tall apartments at Victoria Wharf which overlooks boats moored on the Ely River. The eventually reached the people’s bridge, Pont y Werin where one walker decided to drop out as the weather was worsening.
Despite the heavy rain showers it remained fairly warm and calm and with brighter skies out in the Bristol Channel the remaining duo continued at a fast pace past Cardiff International White Water and joined the path around Cardiff Bay.
They passed another group of walkers sheltering under the A4232 road bridge, waiting for the remainder of their group to catch up, before crossing Clarence Bridge over the River Taff and followed the embankment past the water bus stop to Hamadryad Park.
There are plans to build new flats in the grounds of the old Hamadryad Hospital, which opened in 1905 as a permanent solution to the hospital ship that was moored nearby and was used to treat sailors who entered the port of Cardiff on ships from all over the world.
As showers of rain continued to fall they entered the Wetland Reserve which opened in July 2002, two years after the Cardiff Barrage was officially opened, but not to walkers and enjoyed misty long distance views across the very calm Cardiff Bay towards Penarth Head and St Augustine’s Church.
They tramped on towards St David’s Hotel and followed the slippery boardwalk to the Mount Stuart Graving Dock and through Cardiff Bay, where most people seemed to be enjoying refreshments in the warmth of the many cafes and bars, rather than walking in the rain, very tempting but not when you are soaking wet!
Then onwards past the Mermaid Quay, beautiful terracotta Pierhead building, the Senedd, Norwegian Church, Scott Memorial and Dr Who Experience on their journey to the barrage, where they were confronted not only by more rain, but also a gusty wind that came from nowhere.
From the beautiful old Custom House they followed paths around Penarth Marina and made their way back uphill and returned to Cogan Leisure Centre after completing their 9.5- mile walk in three and a quarter hours.
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