Wednesday 2nd June 2010 - Rosebush

We selected a walk from the Pembrokeshire National Park website that we had printed yesterday. The path took us out of the village and up the hill passing a farm selling home produced cheeses. We decided to call in to see what they had and were lucky enough to be able to taste eight different cheeses from young, hard and soft to mature and smoked cheeses. My favourite was the Caws Cerwyn named after the hill that we were climbing, whilst Jane's favourite was the Brie-style Caws Preseli both made to the same recipe but the Preseli was kept sealed whilst the Cerwyn was allowed to mature in the air. The smoked goats' cheese was also very good. We had a long chat about the style of the cheeses and the methods of production and were impressed by their enthusiasm and the flavour of the cheeses. We promised to return in the next few days to buy some.
Continuing up the hill we soon arrived at a ridge providing excellent views over the countryside. We passed large areas of pine forest that had been felled leaving an ugly mess of stumps. We were told that the farmer had been given permission for a large building at the bottom of the hill in which he will produce bio fuel. He will use the waste wood from the felling and will then plant eucalyptus trees in place of the pine. Eucalyptus trees on a Welsh hillside will be a strange sight but may become more commonplace in the future.
We finally reached Foel Cwmcerwyn, the highest point in Pembrokeshire, topped with tumuli and a trig point. The view from here is fantastic. To the South East we could see 25 miles to Pendine Sands; to the South West, Milford Haven; to the West, St. David's Head and the coast around Trefin and Porthgain; to the North, Cardigan Bay. On a really clear day it is possible to see the mountains of Ireland and across the Bristol Channel to England. We stood for some time looking at the view and trying to identify landmarks.
Continuing north across flat, often marshy, moorland we came to the edge of the hill where we found a group of paragliders. It turned out to be a local training school and the instructor was using a walkie-talkie to instruct a pupil who had taken off just as we arrived. We sat and watched them for over half an hour, fascinated by the way they flew up and down the ridge catching thermals, sometimes able to climb to considerable heights. It looked so easy and the views must have been wonderful - I was almost tempted!
Turning east and then south, we headed down through forest into a valley and back to Rosebush. On the way we passed the huge waste tips of the Bellstone and Rosebush slate quarries. I was determined to return to investigate them more.
Photos: View inland from Foel Cwmcerwyn; Preparing for take-off; Take-off; In flight with those wonderful views.