A group of 26 walkers turned up at Dinas Powys village square to join Geraint on a local walk that turned out to be just over eight miles long.
Heading along Highwalls Road, they crossed the south-eastern edge of Dinas Powys golf course dropping down through a sunken lane where a series of metal gates led them into the Millfields.
Walking through fields parallel with and crossing a wooden bridge over the Cadoxton River, a narrow track led them uphill past a field where the resident pig was enjoying a lie-in on a Sunday morning and snoring loudly and into Michaelston-le-Pit.
Entering the churchyard of the 13th century St Michael’s Church and stopping for morning break, on their way out they passed the graves of members of the Merrett family, including Norman Stuart Merrett Flight Lieutenant of the Royal Air Force who was killed on active service on 10 August 1940 aged 28 years and whose family once owned Cwrt-yr-Ala.
Exiting from the churchyard through the lovely carved lych gate where traditionally the coffin was rested before being taken into the church and passing the villages old red telephone kiosk, which has been turned into a library for book swopping and heading along the lane past where Home Farm once stood, steps led them up into a field containing sheep.
Crossing another wooden footbridge over a deep ditch they entered pretty woodland below White Farm where the path has long been diverted and on past a ruined old stone structure, with a metal gate that was an ice house used to preserve meat and other perishable items in days gone by.
The buildings were designed to store ice throughout the year before refrigerators were invented and during winter, snow and ice would be taken into the ice house and packed with straw or sawdust as insulation and purpose built buildings to store ice in Britain date to the 1660’s.
Crossing a huge field below Meadowvale Farm there were glorious views ahead towards a misty Garth Hill and crossing several stiles, a narrow pathway that had been previously cleared by the leader led to Brynwell.
This ruined two-storey and four windowed house built in local stone was remodelled in the 19th century and extended by the Bute Estate and upstairs boasts what could be a 14th century cusped lancet window.
Tramping through a field below West Hill Wood, a climb on a rough path brought them out into a field at Cock Hill, locally known as Leckwith Hill and there were glorious views down across the Cardiff Barrage, to Penarth Head, St Augustines Church and across the misty Bristol Channel.
Entering Leckwith Wood anglicized from the Welsh Lecwydd or the ‘slope of the cliff’ which has always been an agricultural area where the manor belonged to the Lord of Cardiff, a rough path led them down through the wood and on past a huge pile of dumped rubbish to emerge onto Leckwith Hill.
Descending by pavement they were overlooking the 16th century 3-arched stone built Leckwith Bridge with its triangular recesses over the River Ely that was closed to motorised traffic in 1936. It used to carry carts from the salt marshes on Leckwith Moors up through Pen-y-Turnpike to Cadoxton and the port at Barry.
A most considerate motorist stopped to allow them to dash cross the busy road and continue their journey beside the A4232 along part of the Ely Trail beside the river.
Passing Cardiff Marine Village and heading through an industrial estate, a climb up through woodland above Penarth Road led them to St Dochdwy’s Church for lunch on the green prior to entering the churchyard to view the 10/11th century Irbic Cross, first recorded in the 1690’s and complete except for the cross head which has been mutilated.
It is carved from Sutton stone and stands nine foot-nine inches in height with a carved horseman on the base and is inscribed IRBICI. The cross is thought to honour Erbic who was an important member of a long established and wealthy family of landowners who were notable benefactors of the See of Llandaff.
A Roman site, the remains of a villa and nine other Roman buildings dating to the 2nd and 4th centuries together with a medieval settlement dating to the 13/14th century was unearthed at Llandough close to the present church in 1979. Then again in 1994, a cemetery lying close to the site of the Roman villa was unearthed containing over 800 bodies.
The monastery at Llandough was founded by St Dochdwy and would have been a simple hutted village where monks and their families lived together in a Christian community. In 597 Llandough was attacked by the English Saxons, then again in 720 after which there was peace until the 10th century when the Danes were repeatedly attacking the area and during these invasions the monastery was probably destroyed and never really recovered.
Some pavement walking along Lewis Road, where it is said that Oliver Cromwell stayed in the corner house, brought them to a path at the rear of Llandough Hospital and across scrubby fields to cross Pen-y-Turnpike Road for the descent by field to a lovely path through Casehill Wood and across the Cadoxton River, in order to re-trace their steps back to Dinas Powys where some of the group rounded off the afternoon with refreshments at the Cross Keys.
