Unfortunately, the much-needed rain looked set to fall during our walk, but 11 walkers gathered at WVH and decided to carry on to plan.
We welcomed Laura a guest of Richard’s, who is on a working holiday of a four-month tour of Devon and South Wales and staying in Llantwit Major.
We set off under grey clouds for Bridgend Leisure centre and, after finding car park spaces in a full car park, met at the main entrance. Setting off along the Afon Ogwr which was very low we crossed the bridge into Newbridge Fields and stopped to look at the Stone circle. The Gorsedd stones were placed there in 1947 as The Throne of the Royal National Eisteddfod for Wales and has been used to mark many Eisteddfods since then, one being to proclaim the 1998 Bro-Ogwr National Eisteddfod of Wales held near Pencoed.
Proceeding along the path past the cricket pitch and pavilion we crossed through recreational fields to the underpass of the A48. Following the path through woods to a kissing gate we were following the river to the 15th century dipping bridge near Merthyr Mawr. This bridge has holes in the parapets on one side used long ago for dipping sheep but nowadays is used by teenagers in hot weather to jump in the river.
As this is a very picturesque spot Graham kindly took the group photo, however this natural crossing point of the river has darker grotesque secrets which took place in the eighteenth century in and around an old coaching inn called the New Inn. A local highwayman, Cap Coch with a reputation for being lawless and a bully kept the New Inn. A busy coaching road and a natural change over point where many travellers met their end and although some locals became suspicious at the time when bodies kept being found at the mouth of the river Ogwr the evidence was not discovered until long after his death when the coaching inn was in disrepair due to the rerouting of the main highway and the building was being demolished.
Crossing the narrow bridge and turning back towards Bridgend we followed the footpath through woods, crossed over the A48 and followed the wooded path through the nature reserve along the boundary of Broadlands. This comes out on the edge of Newbridge Fields and back past the running track to the leisure centre, and we counted ourselves very lucky with the weather as it had stayed dry.
In need of refreshments, we all decided to drive to Ogmore by Sea and have coffee in the Community Hall in the cafe which opened for its first day of trading this week.
Thank you friends for joining me.
Wick Wanderers 