Nature is a Treasure by Kath Norgrove

 Barmouth Estuary at Sunset                                                                                                                       credit Kath Norgrove

The wooden boards of Barmouth footbridge thunked under our boots as the cool salty breeze blew off the sea, whipping our faces with the brine-laced air. The views were absolutely tremendous; we could see right up the estuary to the outlines of the hills beyond. There was no haze and everything was clear in the warm golden sun.

credit Kath Norgrove

After nearly a mile, we left the footbridge and joined the trail to the small wetland reserve. It was mid-autumn and it really should have been cold for this time of year. Instead, it was unseasonably warm and we were enjoying nice sunshine and clear blue skies. There was hardly a cloud to be seen as dappled sunlight came through the trees. I wasn't complaining.

Long-tailed tits greeted us as we entered the reserve, a dome of peat and sphagnum moss that had grown gradually over thousands of years. Ferns carpeted the floor of the orange, yellow and brown alder and silver birch woodland. Reed-filled ditches lined the gravel pathway. There were pools on either side smelling a bit stagnant but the ditches had some flow in them, linking one pool to another. What looked to be the remains of Flag Irises drooped into the water. There was the slightly distracting sound of traffic, on occasions, from the nearby road, but birds were calling in the trees. Now and again, a crow gave a raucous caw. Otherwise the bog itself appeared quiet but there were likely to have been woodcocks sheltering in the wooded edges and water rails may have been hiding in the reeds.

Back out on the trail, we started following an old track bed of the Great Western Railway, which closed in 1964.

It was a wide and level path, suitable for cyclists as well as walkers. Birds singing along the trail included great tits and robins. It was fairly quiet but, even so, on occasions, we passed other people walking, with and without dogs, who were also enjoying the trail in the lovely autumnal sunshine. The sun was so warm that it was hard to believe it was going to be late autumn soon.

credit Kath Norgrove

On the left-hand side of the trail was a small but very full ditch of water and beyond that a field created from reclaimed land along the southern shore of the estuary. On the right was scrub and reed beds. We were some way from the estuary at this point. The lovely warm soft golden sun warmed my back as we strolled along the path. It was amazing; a robin sung in the trees nearby. In places the trail opened up and you could see across the reedbeds towards the hills beyond. Some were a golden yellow colour where the sun lay across them whereas others were deep in shade. Browns and golds were punctuated by green conifers.

A mile along the trail we reached Arthog. Had it not been for the force of nature, this spot would be quite different from what it is today. At the end of the 19th century the area’s beauty and convenient location inspired an ambitious property developer from Cardiff called Solomon Andrews, I read on the noticeboard. I happened to glance up to see a robin sitting atop the notice board looking at me!

The display explained how Solomon Andrews' vision was to develop this area into a holiday resort.  In 1894 work began on building a terrace of holiday houses and a tram road system. Unfortunately for Solomon, the land did not agree with his plans and the end house sank into the bog. In the end, the cost of maintaining them became too much of a burden and brought an end to the ambitious plans. The tramroad, which only ran for one season, has long gone and the houses are privately owned. The explanation on the noticeboard finished by explaining that many visitors come here to enjoy the area’s natural beauty, wildlife and tranquilly which would have been quite a different experience had Solemn Andrews got his way!

credit Kath Norgrove

We crossed the Afon Arthog, a small river that runs into the estuary.  We’d left our little robin friend behind.... or so we thought. The view down the river towards the estuary was absolutely stunning. In the distance were trees of all colours and beyond them, the hills were patches of green and brown and light green. The Afon Arthog was wide at this point and there were large sandbanks breaking up the tribuary into channels as it joined the estuary. It looked like there might have been a water off take here as well and the bank on the opposite side was built up, possibly to provide some protection from the weather and tidal surge.

As the trail bought us properly to the southern shores of the Mawddach River estuary, we could see a little egret in the shallows searching for food; it's bright white plumage standing out against the blue of the water and reddy-brown of the sandbanks. A mossy covered outcrop punctuated by trees was on our right as another little tributary joined the estuary. Further along the trail we could see wigeon, teal, oystercatchers, jackdaws, little egrets and gulls on the sandbars.

Our lunch stop was a beautiful view overlooking the estuary back towards the Barmouth Bridge from where we had walked. In the middle of the estuary were more sand banks with grass growing on them, making little, green-topped islands. A robin flitted in the trees and hopped around on the ground as we ate. Was this a different one or was our friend from earlier following us, we wondered? After a short stop, we continued our walk along the trail with larger grassy sand banks to our left and then sheer cliff faces and trees to our right. The clouds ahead were starting to thicken though there was plenty of blue sky and the sun was still warming our backs.

credit Kath Norgrove

We reached Coed a Garth. An information board informed us that this area was being turned back into traditional native woodland. The process, it advised us, was kickstarted by removing conifers; these were originally planted as a strategic timber reserve after the First World War. There was a waymarked path into the reserve, but we stayed on the main trail. We could see large areas of regrowing broadleaf woodland, mainly birch and oak. There were panoramic views across the estuary and surrounding mountains. The board also noted that John Ruskin, a Victorian painter, poet and philanthropist said that there was only one journey in the world that compared with the one from Dolgellau to Barmouth and that was a journey from Barmouth to Dolgellau. We further learnt that brigantines, two-masted ships used for transporting woollen goods produced in the area, were built at a number of locations on the estuary including Barmouth (where we'd come from) and Penmaenpool (where we were heading to). The locally grown oak wood provided the timber for their construction which is why there are so few ancient oak trees left in the valley. As I glanced up from the noticeboard, I noticed a robin watching me again. Either there were lot of curious robins on the trail that day or we definitely had one that was following us. This beautiful little bird was quite photogenic and posed for a couple of photos.

Half an hour towards the end of the walk, we saw a sandy beach alongside the southern shore of the estuary, adjacent to the trail. We stopped to look at a flock of Canadian geese feeding on a nearby sandbank and noticed oystercatchers, a little egret and a cormorant on a sandbank on the opposite side of the estuary.

With maybe 20 minutes or so of the trail left to follow, we came upon Coed Abergwynant, an 85-acre woodland off the trail with a mix of native and conifer trees. Until quite recently, the information panel informed us, rhododendron had been rapidly taking over. Rhododendron are a beautiful, but invasive, evergreen shrub with purple flowers whose dense canopy prevents any vegetation from growing beneath them and its poisonous foliage has a knock-on effect on the food chain. Or as described on the board "It could not be left to invade as it sucks the life out of any habitat where it becomes established". The managed woods are now home to wood warblers, willow warblers, pied flycatchers, long-tailed tits, treecreepers, tawny owls, sparrowhawks, great spotted woodpeckers, redstarts, chiffchaffs, blackcaps and song thrushes, but it only seemed to be a robin on the trail with us.

At the end of the walk was a refreshing stop at the George III pub for a cup of tea and hot chocolate before we strolled across the toll bridge, at a toll of 30p each, and waited at the other end on the main road for the bus back into Barmouth. As we waited the sun was just beginning to set over the estuary with yellows, reds, pinks and oranges reflecting across the water.

Nature is a treasure for all generations to enjoy and without nature, where would we be in this world?