Taking a left turn
from the guest house and then the next track on the left, pass the farm
buildings of Cwm Llechwedd, staying close to the stream. Follow this picturesque valley up to the road
and cross over to where gates open (or in this case don’t) onto a boggy
heathland. Crossing this terrain of reeds,
heather and tussocks (with the occasional orchid) surrounded by marsh is possibly the hardest part of the
whole Sarn Helen. Keeping the fence to
the right, head towards the right of a clump of trees and the road.
From there keep going in roughly the same
direction heading towards the corner of the telegraph wires. It doesn’t get any easier until you reach a
fence where there was access to the next field.
Cross this field, which has the added disadvantage of a deep ditch, to a
gate (another one that wouldn’t open) and walk down the lane to the farm
buildings. Turn left here onto the road
which eventually follows what was a Roman road. A suggestion here is
to continue south along this road, ignoring the guidebook instructions to take
paths to Bronnant. It’s road walking as
opposed to climbing over fences and difficult overgrown terrain with no signs. From the road there is a lane off to the
right which leads to the village by the school.
Turn left then right onto the road to Bontnewydd and left again down a
track at the sign for Bryn. This lane
passes the house and continues to a junction where a path to the right head towards
woodland, crossing a stile.
The path
leads to a pretty lake. Take the forest track
past a discarded caravan and head south. There
was no sign of the footpath through the woods which runs parallel to this
track. It reaches a house where the path
should skirt the right of the building but this was completely overgrown.
An impassable green lane behind the building should
have led down to fields but, in addition to fallen trees and undergrowth,
barbed wire and other barriers made access impossible. It was possible, but not easy, to follow the
route in the field to the right and then crossing the fence to gain access to
the path that cuts across the fields to the road. Once again, the route was made difficult by
the lack of a stile and barbed wire across the fence. Sadly, there is no alternative way to reach
Blaenpennal further down the lane.
The route should go
through the grounds
of an old mill cottage but the owner suggested an
alternative access to the path across the fields as there were beehives. Follow the path and track up to Tynewydd and,
before the buildings, cut diagonally across the field, bearing downhill, towards
another track leading to the stream.
Follow the grass track right to a gate where it is easier to access the
stream bed, then walk downstream until a stile is seen high up on the opposite
bank. Climb up to the field and head to
the buildings of Gilfachgoch.
Although
Sarn Helen doesn’t officially go through Llangeithio, it is one of the nicest
places in the area with a friendly pub and an excellent B&B at Glanafon Guest
House. To reach Llangeithio, turn down
the lane to the right of the church to reach the Aeron Valley and turn left for
the village. The total distance was over
12 miles.
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