January 2014 - Friends of Borth-y-Gest

Borth-y-Gest update
January 2014
Hello from Borth-y-Gest
It has been a while since I sent out an Update – I’ll explain why at the end of this
note. As I write, it is a bleak wintry day here in Borth-y-Gest, but it is nowhere near
as wild as it was at the beginning of January when high winds, low pressure and
Spring tides coincided to bring extremely high tides to the local coast.
Here are a few photos:
Footpath by Min-y-Môr
The car park
No place for a picnic today
These photos, and a few more, can be found on the Friends of Borth-y-Gest
Facebook page and on the Friends’ website. Thankfully most houses escaped
damage, but the Pilot Houses at the end of the car park were flooded in their
basements, though the houses were still habitable.
As ever, there are a few things to tell you about.
1. Beach Cleans
The extraordinary weather brought massive amounts of debris on to the beaches at
Criccieth and Black Rock, and more than usual into the coves at Borth-y-Gest.
Working with Gwynedd Council Maritime Unit, The Marine Conservation Society and
various groups of local volunteers, there will be two Clean Ups in the next couple of
weeks. The first is TOMORROW – 10.30am Saturday 25th January [sorry about the
very short notice for this] at Criccieth and the second will be on Saturday 8th
February at Black Rock.
Criccieth Beach Clean – Saturday 25th January: Meet at Moranedd Café [east
end of the promenade] at 10.30am to clean the shingle beach towards Black Rock.
Black Rock Beach Clean – Saturday 8th February: Meet at the far entrance to the
beach at 10.30am. It will be a low tide [!], but I’m not sure whether there will be
vehicle access to the beach as the entrance got blocked by the storm – hopefully it
will be clear by then.
Black bags & litter-pickers will be provided, but please wear appropriate footwear &
clothing. Gardening gloves will be useful.
For the first time, working to Marine Conservation Society guidelines, we hope to
survey the types of debris collected which will greatly assist the campaigns to stop
the debris at its source. As an example: three years ago we were finding lots of
Tesco [and similar] plastic bags – now, thanks to Government legislation, there are
very few. We need to achieve a similar reduction with plastic bottles and other
generic types of debris and will require hard evidence to persuade politicians and
others to take action.
2. Briwet Bridge – road and rail
This is the bridge between Penrhyndeudraeth and Talsarnau which is being
replaced. Unfortunately the current bridge has been declared unsafe and is now
permanently closed. This means a much longer journey for people heading towards
Harlech from Porthmadog and vice-versa. A temporary bridge is supposed to open
in May.
The Cambrian Coast railway is also closed for the immediate future, due to Briwet
Bridge and also storm damage at various places along the coast. I fear this will be a
very long closure, though I don’t have direct information. A bus service has replaced
the trains.
3. Borth-y-Gest information signs.
The bus stop pole near Min-y-Môr collapsed through corrosion recently. We
informed the Council and a new pole has now been erected, with the sign to be
added in the next couple of days. Great work by Gwynedd Council Transport
Department
One of the Coastal Path signs, near “Fuchsia Cottage” has also fallen down through
rot. The Council footpath team have been advised and we expect a replacement
shortly.
4. Local Books
The local team of Richard Walwyn and Cathy Woodhead, who wrote and published
“The Little History of Borth-y-Gest”, have published two more local books in the
last few months.
They are:
“Porthmadog and its Resources 1856” - this is a reprint of a rare early history of
Porthmadog.
“The Gestiana” - this is a history of the local area of Gest, translated from the
original which was in Cymraeg.
Details of both books can be found on the Friends website:
www.friendsofborthygest.com and on: www.delfrynpublications.co.uk
The books are available through Borth-y-Gest shop and Browsers Bookshop in
Porthmadog.
There are a few “wildlife” related items:
5. Photographic Exhibition at Blaenau Ffestiniog – until February 15th
The North Wales Wildlife Trust has an exhibition of prize-winning photos in the
Maenoffern Centre in Blaenau, running until 15th February. There are some brilliant
photographers in the NWWT so their display of winning shots of ‘local’ wildlife will be
well worth seeing.
6. Bird Talk at Porthmadog Football Club – Saturday 22nd February
This is in aid of the Glaslyn Osprey Project [now Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife] which
is no longer supported by the RSPB. It will be a presentation about a world-wide
birding quest by two North Wales enthusiasts who managed to see an incredible
4000+ different species in 2008. 7pm at the Football Club, admission £3.
7. Wildlife Walk at Borth-y-Gest – Saturday 24th May
Advance notice: Cathy & I will be leading a walk around local Nature Reserves on
behalf of the North Wales Wildlife Trust and anybody will be welcome. Details will be
on the Noticeboard. We will be starting from the car park at 10am and all who join
in will get a free leaflet about the walk which links four reserves between here and
Black Rock.
Local requirements:
8. The Flower Baskets and Flower Boats
Though we are currently in the depth of Winter, it will soon be Spring. We currently
have NOBODY to organise and manage the weekly watering rota for the boats,
baskets and tubs throughout the Summer. All the necessary facilities – hosepipe,
water supply – are available in the bus shelter so the task is not difficult, but we do
need somebody to ensure that it happens. If you can help, please contact Sheila
Roberts on 01766 512735
Finally…
I’m extremely sorry to say that this will be the last regular Update from me, following
some trouble in the summer of 2013.
At that time a group of Borth-y-Gest residents began a campaign against the work of
the Friends of Borth-y-Gest, saying that village matters should be left to our elected
councillors, not volunteers. Consequently a number of our Committee members
resigned. Unfortunately then I started receiving abusive emails about my particular
role as Secretary, which was extremely unpleasant and distressing and not what I
expected when I volunteered.
As a result, and very reluctantly, I resigned as Secretary and from the Committee in
September 2013, hence there have been no Updates from this date onwards until
now. I thought I had better explain the situation to all the people who have been so
supportive over the last few years.
So…a small number of Committee members remain, but they urgently need more
volunteers to join them to continue the work of “looking after and improving our
village” for residents and visitors. Please contact Richard Walwyn on 01766
513288 if you can help.
Though I am no longer directly involved with the Committee, I am still a Friend and
will still be ‘doing my bit’ to keep the beaches clean and the footpaths clear of litter,
brambles etc. I hope to see you all out and about enjoying the wonderful
environment of the village of Borth-y-Gest.
David Medcalf
January 2014