Tonight in Cwmparc
Quintessential Valleys
Quintessential Valleys
July 26, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Tonight in Cwmparc
Quintessential Valleys
Quintessential Valleys
Overlooking Cwmparc and Treorchy from the Bwlch mountain last night
The road over the mountain celebrates its centenary round about now
The road over the mountain celebrates its centenary round about now
July 11, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Overlooking Cwmparc and Treorchy from the Bwlch mountain last night
The road over the mountain celebrates its centenary round about now
The road over the mountain celebrates its centenary round about now
Out for a short walk up a mountain but not too far
March 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Out for a short walk up a mountain but not too far
Bwlch y Clawdd, rhwng Cwmparc a Nantymoel
March 23, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Bwlch y Clawdd, rhwng Cwmparc a Nantymoel
Yesterday I had the privilege of joining Cwmparc residents on a peaceful march, protesting the blocking of a historic right of way that separates the community from their mountain.
There was rain, mud, a little bit of trespassing, and hypothermic stand-off 🌧️
Here's my report of events. /THREAD 🧵
There was rain, mud, a little bit of trespassing, and hypothermic stand-off 🌧️
Here's my report of events. /THREAD 🧵
February 24, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Yesterday I had the privilege of joining Cwmparc residents on a peaceful march, protesting the blocking of a historic right of way that separates the community from their mountain.
There was rain, mud, a little bit of trespassing, and hypothermic stand-off 🌧️
Here's my report of events. /THREAD 🧵
There was rain, mud, a little bit of trespassing, and hypothermic stand-off 🌧️
Here's my report of events. /THREAD 🧵
Some amazing #peat macro fossils today at Cwmparc when augering with @bootlegbryos.bsky.social . Plenty of sphagnum, occasional bilberry and sedge I think!
December 2, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Some amazing #peat macro fossils today at Cwmparc when augering with @bootlegbryos.bsky.social . Plenty of sphagnum, occasional bilberry and sedge I think!
Very atmospheric (c.f. rainy) day out in the Rhondda doing water vole surveys for Lost Peatlands sites at Mynyndd Ton and then Cwmparc. Great to have @inccymru.bsky.social with us as well for the day. Been a while since I’ve been in the Cwm and it’s fantastic, despite the razor sharp tussock sedge
September 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Very atmospheric (c.f. rainy) day out in the Rhondda doing water vole surveys for Lost Peatlands sites at Mynyndd Ton and then Cwmparc. Great to have @inccymru.bsky.social with us as well for the day. Been a while since I’ve been in the Cwm and it’s fantastic, despite the razor sharp tussock sedge
It's great to see @ramblers.org.uk joining The BMC in supporting the community of Cwmparc today, against the enclosure of their access route to their mountain.
See the image for an illustration of the importance of that route.
/THREAD
See the image for an illustration of the importance of that route.
/THREAD
February 21, 2025 at 2:24 PM
It's great to see @ramblers.org.uk joining The BMC in supporting the community of Cwmparc today, against the enclosure of their access route to their mountain.
See the image for an illustration of the importance of that route.
/THREAD
See the image for an illustration of the importance of that route.
/THREAD
Great result for #Gategate campaign at Cwmparc, Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, the gates have gone! @openspacessoc @rbrough.bsky.social @ebenmyrddin.bsky.social campaignerkate.wordpress.com/2025/06/15/g...
Gategate – gate gone
Friday 13 June was lucky for some. It was the day the gates, which were illegally obstructing a public path in Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), came down. Cwmparc, which is part of Treorchy, nest…
campaignerkate.wordpress.com
June 15, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Great result for #Gategate campaign at Cwmparc, Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, the gates have gone! @openspacessoc @rbrough.bsky.social @ebenmyrddin.bsky.social campaignerkate.wordpress.com/2025/06/15/g...
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus from this inquisitive sheep at the top of the Bwlch!
March 1, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus from this inquisitive sheep at the top of the Bwlch!
Taken from the Bwlch Mountain, the village of Cwm-parc with Treorchy beyond.
#photography #photo #streetphoto #streetshot #streetphotographer #streetphotography #wales #treorchy #streeview #bwlchmountain #rhondda #villages #road #cwmparc #picturesque #a4061 #welshvalleys
#photography #photo #streetphoto #streetshot #streetphotographer #streetphotography #wales #treorchy #streeview #bwlchmountain #rhondda #villages #road #cwmparc #picturesque #a4061 #welshvalleys
September 14, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Taken from the Bwlch Mountain, the village of Cwm-parc with Treorchy beyond.
#photography #photo #streetphoto #streetshot #streetphotographer #streetphotography #wales #treorchy #streeview #bwlchmountain #rhondda #villages #road #cwmparc #picturesque #a4061 #welshvalleys
#photography #photo #streetphoto #streetshot #streetphotographer #streetphotography #wales #treorchy #streeview #bwlchmountain #rhondda #villages #road #cwmparc #picturesque #a4061 #welshvalleys
Managed to find some winter sun for site walkovers at our Cwmparc peat restoration site yesterday. Almost immediately after three of my colleagues left, when it had been raining and foggy all the time they were on site. Still nice to not be at a desk even in awful weather!
January 14, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Managed to find some winter sun for site walkovers at our Cwmparc peat restoration site yesterday. Almost immediately after three of my colleagues left, when it had been raining and foggy all the time they were on site. Still nice to not be at a desk even in awful weather!
First record of Drosera rotundifolia from the Lost Peatlands surveys at Cwmparc today which was great to see, especially after around 70-80 quadrats with no Sphagnum and very limited mire species on deep peat!
June 30, 2025 at 5:57 PM
First record of Drosera rotundifolia from the Lost Peatlands surveys at Cwmparc today which was great to see, especially after around 70-80 quadrats with no Sphagnum and very limited mire species on deep peat!
First field day in a while this week at probably my favourite peat site of the year at Cwmparc. We managed to find some incredible macrofossils preserved close to the boundary with the underlying clay and bedrock strata. Almost intact Sphagnum plants with entire stem and branch sections! Great fun
December 3, 2025 at 10:47 AM
First field day in a while this week at probably my favourite peat site of the year at Cwmparc. We managed to find some incredible macrofossils preserved close to the boundary with the underlying clay and bedrock strata. Almost intact Sphagnum plants with entire stem and branch sections! Great fun
Victory in Cwmparc! It seems
June 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Victory in Cwmparc! It seems
Fred here has a lot to say about his neighbours’ fence. He needs to (oh-ho!) get over it!!!!
Family who built unpopular 6ft fence without permission win battle to keep it
There were 54 objections to the 1.8m-tall fence in Cwmparc, Rhondda, but the council gave permission anyway
www.walesonline.co.uk
October 26, 2024 at 1:22 PM
Fred here has a lot to say about his neighbours’ fence. He needs to (oh-ho!) get over it!!!!
Not as much of a heatwave this week but I did stumble on this Agelena labyrinthica (labyrinth spider) on my peatland survey travels at Cwmparc. Seemed to be the only one around, and at 530m that’s the highest elevation I’ve ever found one at, so that’s interesting.
June 24, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Not as much of a heatwave this week but I did stumble on this Agelena labyrinthica (labyrinth spider) on my peatland survey travels at Cwmparc. Seemed to be the only one around, and at 530m that’s the highest elevation I’ve ever found one at, so that’s interesting.
1/ THREAD:
There is debate raging in Cwmparc, Rhondda Fawr.
People have moved into a £500K house at the foot of the mountain & erected huge gates, blocking the access road to the mountain, a road generations have used for decades as well as forestry workers & Welsh Waters, but is a access grey area
There is debate raging in Cwmparc, Rhondda Fawr.
People have moved into a £500K house at the foot of the mountain & erected huge gates, blocking the access road to the mountain, a road generations have used for decades as well as forestry workers & Welsh Waters, but is a access grey area
February 18, 2025 at 10:56 AM
1/ THREAD:
There is debate raging in Cwmparc, Rhondda Fawr.
People have moved into a £500K house at the foot of the mountain & erected huge gates, blocking the access road to the mountain, a road generations have used for decades as well as forestry workers & Welsh Waters, but is a access grey area
There is debate raging in Cwmparc, Rhondda Fawr.
People have moved into a £500K house at the foot of the mountain & erected huge gates, blocking the access road to the mountain, a road generations have used for decades as well as forestry workers & Welsh Waters, but is a access grey area
Cwmparc residents have so-far been active in quelling more conspiratorial suggestions and deleting suggestions which are racist or unsupported by the evidence.
Huge props to the locals who have been driving this campaign - and I'll be doing all I can to support them as this rolls on.
/end thread
Huge props to the locals who have been driving this campaign - and I'll be doing all I can to support them as this rolls on.
/end thread
February 24, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Cwmparc residents have so-far been active in quelling more conspiratorial suggestions and deleting suggestions which are racist or unsupported by the evidence.
Huge props to the locals who have been driving this campaign - and I'll be doing all I can to support them as this rolls on.
/end thread
Huge props to the locals who have been driving this campaign - and I'll be doing all I can to support them as this rolls on.
/end thread
This week we’re sharing new material received in 2025.
This is a page from an accident book for Parc & Dare Colliery, Cwmparc, Rhondda, 1898-1900. It records deaths and accidents, including reports on injuries to children, such as this one to William Haydn Lewis, who was 12 years old at the time.
This is a page from an accident book for Parc & Dare Colliery, Cwmparc, Rhondda, 1898-1900. It records deaths and accidents, including reports on injuries to children, such as this one to William Haydn Lewis, who was 12 years old at the time.
January 15, 2026 at 11:28 AM
This week we’re sharing new material received in 2025.
This is a page from an accident book for Parc & Dare Colliery, Cwmparc, Rhondda, 1898-1900. It records deaths and accidents, including reports on injuries to children, such as this one to William Haydn Lewis, who was 12 years old at the time.
This is a page from an accident book for Parc & Dare Colliery, Cwmparc, Rhondda, 1898-1900. It records deaths and accidents, including reports on injuries to children, such as this one to William Haydn Lewis, who was 12 years old at the time.
Legs were feeling heavy and restless, so went for an evening amble, soaked up some views, and watched the sun start to set over the Welsh mountains.
May 11, 2024 at 9:42 PM
Legs were feeling heavy and restless, so went for an evening amble, soaked up some views, and watched the sun start to set over the Welsh mountains.
It always feels a bit sacrilegious to me to dig trial pits in the bog but needs must to check how deep in the peat the oxidation was at the upper Cwmparc peat site and if we can actually make the bunds we proposed. Several pits and von posts later, I think we can. Here’s the upper 20-30cm ish ⬇️
January 14, 2026 at 2:41 PM
It always feels a bit sacrilegious to me to dig trial pits in the bog but needs must to check how deep in the peat the oxidation was at the upper Cwmparc peat site and if we can actually make the bunds we proposed. Several pits and von posts later, I think we can. Here’s the upper 20-30cm ish ⬇️
Walk to celebrate removal of gates unlawfully blocking path to the hills at Cwmparc, Rhondda Cynon Taf @openspacessociety.bsky.social @ramblers.org.uk campaignerkate.wordpress.com/2025/09/17/w...
Walk to celebrate Gategate win
It was a joy to walk the path to the hills above Treorchy, in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), free of the locked gates which prevented people’s lawful passage for 116 days. These were removed on 13 …
campaignerkate.wordpress.com
September 17, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Walk to celebrate removal of gates unlawfully blocking path to the hills at Cwmparc, Rhondda Cynon Taf @openspacessociety.bsky.social @ramblers.org.uk campaignerkate.wordpress.com/2025/09/17/w...
August 23, 2024 at 11:22 PM
I’ve been following events in Cwmparc very closely, as the owners have attempted to divert the path at the 11th hour, offering the Council the chance to wash their hands of it.
Rumours swirl of an attempt to effectively buy-off a leading campaigner.
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-n...
Rumours swirl of an attempt to effectively buy-off a leading campaigner.
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-n...
Anger in community cut off from mountainside as gates remain in place
People in Cwmparc had hoped that the controversial gates would be taken down after the council ordered their removal, but there has been a new twist
www.walesonline.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I’ve been following events in Cwmparc very closely, as the owners have attempted to divert the path at the 11th hour, offering the Council the chance to wash their hands of it.
Rumours swirl of an attempt to effectively buy-off a leading campaigner.
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-n...
Rumours swirl of an attempt to effectively buy-off a leading campaigner.
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-n...