21/04/23 – 23/04/23
An elite band of Chris G (leader), David L, Rob P, Hugh C, Syd G, Rick S, Martin C and Jonathan H (leader) finally met at the Bryn Hafod Hut tucked away in the Arun Mountains, Mid Wales on Friday 21 April. Chris and I had arrived mid afternoon having driven up from Bristol, the car groaning with supplies and victuals. With a weather forecast of “Welsh “ we had geared up accordingly. The directions and associated instructions on how to find the Hut were somewhat daunting with numerous warnings of roads and routes which were restricted/ forbidden/off limits. The cars were required to be parked about 1/2 a mile away and “under no circumstances could they be brought up the Hut itself”.
Thus Chris and I embarked upon the initial task of transferring provisions unaided., at this point a glitch arose. How to get through front door. We both recalled that Rob had sent the access key safe number by e mail. Being essentially urban Boys we had failed to appreciate that there are benighted parts of the Realm with no internet/wi fi coverage. This meant that Rob’s email with the door code couldn’t be accessed. Furthermore with no mobile coverage at all we couldn’t contact anyone. In short we were well stuffed. Luckily not far from the car park was a farm house. Within was a lovely young farmers wife with a brood of small children. Fortunately she had coverage (phone I should clarify). It was not sufficiently advanced however to extend to beyond the valley and we were advised by her to go the Red Lion in the village (about 2 miles distant) for both a pint and a connection. We finally managed to get through to Rick who gave us the secret code. On returning to the car park we embarked on the labour of transporting most of Chris’ kitchen plus cooked food and booze the 1/2 mile uphill to the Hut. The task was made more onerous by the fact that Chris is a devotee of Le Creuset. These are the colossal dishes and pots made of depleted uranium i.e markedly heavier than lead. When filled (as they were with stews, casseroles etc) they are effectively immovable. Were it not for the Club Colossus (Hugh) we would have starved.
The Hut was of the usual layout with a large ‘sleeping‘ platform tucked under the eaves. Traditional but ideal arrangements for the somewhat leaky and flatulent Older Members…. However it had a large lounge graced with a wood burning stove which for us townies was an endless source of delight. By late afternoon we were all present save for Rob and Rick (aka the Boys). They eventually rolled in at dusk. Whilst the Old Folk settled down to prepare for supper The Boys decided to go for a run up the mountains. The light duly faded as we tucked into the food. The catering and cooking was a living master class from Chris who had not only cooked splendid exotic meals for both nights but had made his own marmalade. After total darkness fell and no Boys had appeared, discussion turned to alerting mountain rescue. The trouble was that with zero phone coverage we had no direct way of contacting anyone and no idea as-to their route. An interesting dilemma. Mercifully the Boys turned up as we reached desserts.
Saturday had us climbing the steep path rising a few yards from the Hut and then on for a glorious 7.5 mile circuit of peaks of the Arun range. The weather turned out to be non Welsh mercifully and so we enjoyed 360 degree views over the hills. The remoteness and beauty of the hills and the great vistas were totally unexpected. Whilst the Old Folk enjoyed breakfast before the walk the Boys went off for a 64 mile bike ride….ahh youth. A great Meet.
Jonathan H
Derbyshire Pennine Club 