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Gwanwyn 2015 Spring

Cylchgrawn Cymdeithas Eryri

Snowdonia Society magazine

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Cylchgrawn Cymdeithas EryriSnowdonia Society Magazine

Cymdeithas Eryri Snowdonia Society, Caban, Yr Hen Ysgol, Brynrefail, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 3NR

01286 685498 info@snowdonia-society.org.uk

www.cymdeithas-eryri.org.uk www.snowdonia-society.org.ukElusen gof. rhif / Reg. charity no: 253231

Swyddogion ac Ymddiriedolwyr / Officers and TrusteesLlywydd / President: John Lloyd Jones OBE Is-Lywyddion / Vice-Presidents: Dr John Disley, Sir John Houghton CBE FRS, Sir Simon Jenkins FSA, David Firth, Morag McGrath. Cadeirydd / Chair: David Archer Is-gadeirydd / Vice-Chair: Katherine Himsworth Ysgrifennydd Anrh. / Hon. Secretary: Rhydd/VacantAelodau’r pwyllgor / Committee members: Netti Collister, Bob Lowe, Gareth Roberts, Margaret Thomas, Elwyn Thomas, Peter Weston, Jacob Buis, Paul Gannon.

Os hoffech gysylltu ag unrhyw aelod o’r pwyllgor, ffoniwch y swyddfa. If you would like to contact any of the committee members, please phone the office.

StaffCyfarwyddwr/Director: John HaroldGweinyddwraig Swyddfa/Office Administrator: Frances SmithRheolwr Prosiect Ecosystem Eryri/ Snowdonia Ecosystem Project Manager: Mary-Kate Jones Swyddog Prosiect Ecosystem Eryri/Snowdonia Ecosystem Project Officer: Owain ThomasCyfrifydd/Accountant: Judith Bellis

Cyfieithu/Translation: LWCDelwedd clawr: Aber y Fawddach/The Mawddach estuary © John Farrar

I’w ddarllen â theclyn darllen cod bar For use with a smartphone bar code scanner

Dyma gylchgrawn swyddogol Cymdeithas Eryri. Caiff ei gyhoeddi bob chwe mis a’i ddosbarthu i aelodau’r Gymdeithas yn rhad ac am ddim. Gofynnwch os hoffech chi gael unrhyw erthyglau

mewn fformat print bras.

This is the official magazine of the Snowdonia Society, distributed free to its members twice a year. Please ask if you would like the text of any articles in a larger print format.

Sefydlwyd Cymdeithas Eryri yn 1967 a’i nod yw gwarchod a gwella harddwch a rhinweddau arbennig Eryri ac i hyrwyddo eu mwynhad er budd pawb sy'n byw, yn gweithio neu'n

ymweld â'r ardal, yn awr ac yn y dyfodol. ~ ~ ~

The Snowdonia Society, established in 1967, works to protect and enhance the beauty and special qualities of Snowdonia and to promote their enjoyment in the interests of all who

live in, work in or visit the area both now and in the future.

Cynnwys • Contents

GolygyddolO'r tarddiad i'r môr

Byd natur y FawddachAbaty Cymer

Hydroleg y FawddachY metal melyn

Dyddiaduron hela gwr bonheddig o oes Fictoria

Newyddion ein ymgyrchoeddPeryl Plastig

Adolygiad llyfrMae Tŷ Hyll yn ffynnu

Yn heini, yn ddewr ac yn ffôlCanlyniadau ein arolwg aelodaeth

Yn ein côfTair hwrê fawr am...?

EditorialSource to seaMawddach wildlifeCymer AbbeyHydrology of the MawddachThe yellow metalThe sporting diaires of a Victorian GentlemanCampaign newsPlastic perilBook reviewTŷ Hyll is thrivingFit, brave and foolishMembership survey resultsRememberedThree cheers for...?

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8-1112-1314-1618-1920-21

22-23242526272829

30-31

Nodwch y cyfraddau tanysgrifio newydd.Byddent yn dod i rym o Orffennaf 2015.

Sylwer ar y llythyr sydd wedi'i amgau â'ch cylchgrawn am ragor o wybodaeth.

Ddim yn aelod?Cefnogwch ein gwaith trwy ymaelodi!

Cysylltwch â ni neu gweler ein gwefan i ddarganfod rhagor.

Please note new membership rates.

These will come into affect in July 2015.

See the letter enclosed with your magazine for details.

Not a member?Why not support our work by joining the

Society?Contact us or visit our website for details.

Rhybudd am Gyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol

Cymdeithas Eryri 2015Dydd Sadwrn, 17 Hydref

Lleoliad i'w ddatgan.

Notice of the 2015 Snowdonia Society

Annual General MeetingSaturday, 17 October

Location to be announced.

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Golygyddol EditorialThis edition takes a closer look at the Mawddach catchment. You will hopefully find inspiration in some of the treasures to be found there – in the journeys, the history, the wildlife, and in the marks our hands have left in the landscape. Between its beating watery heart in wild uplands and its eventual confluence with the sea, the Mawddach carries the essence of Snowdonia with it.

Like the Mawddach, Snowdonia is constantly changing and being changed. Those changes are reflected in the nature of our work as a National Park Society from day to day, week to week, year to year.

Like water and silt, sand and gravel, the Society's practical work mostly goes with the current. We respond when there is a need, our volunteers often filling an important gap. This year, for example, we have been asked to take on a bigger role in dealing with litter along the river Ogwen at Nant Ffrancon. We work in partnership and contribute to projects where we can make a difference.

The boulders on the riverbed are a firmer foundation. Over time they move but rarely, and only in response to the greatest force. For the Snowdonia Society those foundations are you - our members - and the things you care most passionately about. Our work on campaigns, development, and policies stands firm, sometimes against the flow.

With your strong support we play our part in protecting that beating heart. You can read about an important and hard-won piece of good news on the ‘Campaigns’ page.

John Harold

This magazine was produced by an editorial panel of Rob Collister, Frances Smith and John Harold. We are extremely grateful to all the authors and photographers who have contributed to this issue. The views expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect Snowdonia Society policy.

Mae'r rhifyn hwn yn taro golwg mwy manwl ar ddalgylch y Fawddach. Siawns gewch chwi eich ysbrydoli gan rhai o'r trysorau sydd i'w darganfod yno - yn y siwrneiau, yr hanes, y bywyd gwyllt, ac yn yr olion mae ein dwylo wedi gadael ar y tirlun. Rhwng curiad ei chalon ddyfrllyd yn yr ucheldiroedd gwyllt a' r cydlifiad â'r môr ar derfyn y daith, mae'r Fawddach yn cludo holl hanfod Eryri.

Fel y Fawddach, mae Eryri yn newid ac yn cael ei newid yn rheolaidd. Adlewyrchir y gwahaniaethau hyn yn natur ein gwaith fel Cymdeithas Parc Cenedlaethol o ddiwrnod i ddiwrnod, o wythnos i wythnos, ac o flwyddyn i flwyddyn.

Fel dŵr a llaid, tywod a graean mae gwaith y Gymdeithas rhan amlaf yn mynd gyda'r lli. Byddwn yn ymateb yn ôl yr angen, ac yn aml iawn mae ein gwirfoddolwyr yn llenwi bwlch pwysig iawn. Fel esiampl eleni, cawsom gais i chwarae rhan fwy sylweddol yn delio â sbwriel ar lannau afon Ogwen yn Nant Ffrancon. 'Rydym yn gweithio mewn partneriaeth ac yn cyfrannu tuag at gynlluniau lle gallwn wneud gwahaniaeth.

Mae'r cerrig mawr ar wely'r afon yn sylfaen mwy cadarn. Dros dreigl amser nid ydynt hwy yn symud fawr ddim, a hynny ond mewn ymateb i'r grym mwyaf. I Gymdeithas Eryri, chwi, ein haelodau, yw'r sylfeini, a'r materion 'rydych chwi yn fwyaf brwdfrydig drostynt. Erys ein hymdrechion o ran ymgyrchoedd, datblygu a pholisïau yn gadarn, a hynny weithiau yn erbyn y lli.

Gyda'ch cefnogaeth gadarn, 'rydym yn chwarae ein rhan yn gwarchod y galon honno sy'n curo. Gallwch ddarllen newyddion da pwysig a gyflawnwyd drwy gryn ymdrech ar ein tudalen 'Ymgyrchoedd'.

John Harold

Cynhyrchwyd y cylchgrawn hwn gan dîm golygyddol yn cynnwys Rob Collister, Frances Smith a John Harold. Rydym yn hynod ddiolchgar i’r holl awduron a ffotograffwyr sydd wedi cyfrannu at y rhifyn hwn. Cofiwch mai safbwyntiau personol yr awduron sy’n cael eu mynegi ganddynt, ac nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn adlewyrchu polisi Cymdeithas Eryri.

© John Farrar

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O edrych ar y map fe welwch mai digon disylw ydyw ffynhonell Afon Mawddach. Pant bas tua dau gilomedr sgwâr ydyw Waun y Griafolen, lle y cafodd mawn ddigon o gyfle i ymgasglu ynddo. Mae peth dirgelwch ynghylch yr enw, nid am nad oes coeden i'w weld yn unman yno (oni bai i chi gyfrif canghennau ucha’r pyrwydd a welir ar y gorwel), ond oherwydd bod hwn yn lle a fyddai dros y 3000 mlynedd diwethaf, heb ddefaid i’w bori, wedi bod yn gynefin i’r helygen a'r wernen yn hytrach na’r griafolen.

Pwy a ŵyr? Efallai mai o Gefn y Griafolen, sef crib uchel o dir sych yn sefyll tua'r Gorllewin, y deilliodd yr enw. Ar lethrau'r grib, yn edrych dros y gweundir mae olion hen gytiau a chaeau sydd yn siwr o fod yn dyddio'n ôl i gyfnod dipyn cynhesach a sychach yr Oes Efydd. Mae’n ddigon posibl mai’r grib, neu hyd yn oed yr anheddiad hwn a roddodd ei enw i'r gweundir, yn hytrach na fel arall.

Prif nodweddion Waun y Griafolen ydyw’r adar gorhedydd y waun, y torlannau mawn, a blodau gwynion plu’r gweunydd. Mae yn ardal ddigon dinôd ac yn sicr ddim yn dir hawdd ei gerdded. Daw swyn y lle o’r distawrwydd a’r gwacter, rhinweddau prin iawn yn y 21ain ganrif. Er bod ffordd darmac gerllaw, mae o’n teimlo fel lle anghysbell nad ydyw pobl yn dewis ymweld ag o. Y math o lonyddwch sydd i’w gael yma y bu i Clyde Holmes geisio ei ddal yn ei luniau a’i gerddi am Gwm Hesgin, ger y Bala.

Heb fod ymhell o byllau Llyn Grych y Waun, ceir fyrdd o gornentydd yn cyfuno i ffurfio’r Mawddach, sydd bron yn syth yn cwympo i lawr ceunant serth i Gwm yr Allt Lwyd. Mae hwn yn gwm digon amddifad, gyda neb yn byw yno ar hyn o bryd, er bod yno ambell dyddyn sydd heb eto droi yn adfeilion. I'r un sydd a’i bryd ar gyrraedd y môr yn Abermaw o fewn diwrnod, byddai cael beic yn opsiwn ardderchog ac mae cyrraedd Abergeirw, sydd ond pedwar cilomedr i ffwrdd, yn rhwyddach o lawer ar gefn beic.

Er i’r enw ymddangos ar amryw o arwyddion ffordd, nid oes dim ond ychydig o dai, capel bychan a blwch post ym mhentref Abergeirw. Serch hynny, hwn ydi’r fynedfa i 16,000 acer o dir a neilltuwyd ar gyfer tyfu coed, y mwyafrif ohonynt yn rhai bythwyrdd. Yn 1935 fe roddwyd yr enw Coed y Brenin ar y darn tir fel rhan o ddathliadau jiwbilî arian Brenin Siôr y Pumed. Mewn rhai llefydd, yn enwedig ar gyrion Ganllwyd lle gafodd coed ffynidwydd Douglas gyfle i ymestyn i’r entrychion, mae’n

edrych mwy fel coedwig yn hytrach na phlanhigfa. Wedi cyrraedd Abergeirw mae'n ofynnol i'r beiciwr fynd oddi wrth yr afon am gyfnod. Mae angen natur eithaf arloesol i ddod o hyd i’r llwybrau ceffyl - sydd wedi eu nodi’n eglur ar y map ond yn llai amlwg ar lawr - cyn reidio dros y caeau a drwy'r coed yn ôl at ddyfroedd gwyn y Fawddach.

Mae posibl symud yn eithaf cyflym o hyn ymlaen ar lwybrau coedwigaeth da, a chyn pen dim yr ydych o fewn golwg i weddillion siediau cloddfa aur Gwynfynydd y tu draw i'r afon. Fe ailagorwyd y gloddfa yn gymharol ddiweddar, a hynny dan ychydig o gwmwl, ond bu’n rhaid ei gau unwaith eto yn 1999. Does dim dwywaith amdani, “Mae aur yn y bryniau ’ma” a than yn ddiweddar, pan osodwyd gwaharddiad, byddai ambell i un brwdfrydig i’w weld golchi aur mewn padell ar lan yr afon. Er hynny, ers i ffrwst cyntaf sbri aur 1860 ddod i ben, nid yw cloddio am aur wedi bod yn fasnachol hyfyw am yn hir. Gobeithiwn yn wir y bydd yn parhau felly.

Mae twristiaeth ar y llaw arall, wedi bod yn ffynhonnell incwm a swyddi ers y 18fed ganrif pan ddaeth tirlun darluniadwy a dyrchafol yn ffasiynol. Bu i fwy o ymwelwyr ddod i'r ardal yng nghyfnod rhyfeloedd Napoleon. Gan fod ymweld ag Ewrop yn amhosib ar y pryd am gyfnod o tua 30 mlynedd, fe anogwyd yr ymwelwyr i ymweld ag a mwynhau ceunentydd a dyfroedd cyffrous Rhaeadr Mawddach a Phistyll Cain gerllaw. Gellir dweud bod y rhaeadrau hyn, am y mwyafrif o'r 19eg a'r 20fed ganrif yn un o brif atyniadau twristiaeth Cymru. Heddiw mae Canolfan Ymwelwyr i’w gael ger Afon Eden ar y A470. Ceir yno barc chwarae i blant, llwybrau cerdded a chaffi ynghyd â llwybrau rhedeg a llwybrau beicio mynydd sydd yn addas ar gyfer pob lefel gallu. Mae yn lle poblogaidd dros ben ac yn cyfrannu llawer iawn tuag at yr economi leol.

Islaw Ganllwyd, mae wyneb iawn i’r ffordd a gall y beiciwr fwrw yn ei flaen yn gynt a chynt nes iddo, yn hollol annisgwyl, cael ei orfodi i newid lawr gêr neu ddau wrth i’r ffordd ddringo’n serth uwchben adfeilion Abaty’r Cymer. Adeiladwyd yr Abaty yn 1198 gan Urdd y Mynachod Sistersiaid. Rhoddwyd siarter i'r Abaty gan Llywelyn Fawr a oedd yn caniatáu iddynt ffermio’r tir, a hefyd i bysgota a chloddio mwynau a choed o’r bryniau uwchben Dolgellau i lawr am Abermaw - hawliau y bu iddynt dal eu gafael arnynt hyd nes y bu i'r mynachlogydd gael eu diddymu gan Harri’r

Rob Collister

O'r tarddiad

i'r môr© Netti Collister

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Wythfed. Roedd yn amlwg yn safle sylweddol ond anodd iawn heddiw ydyw dychmygu sut fywyd oedd gan y bobl yno.

Ychydig yn is i lawr yr afon, mae’r Fawddach (eisoes wedi ei chwyddo gan ddyfroedd y Cain a’r Eden, eu hunain yn afonydd o faint sylweddol) yn ymuno â’r Wnion sy’n llifo o gyfeiriad Dolgellau. Mae’n troi’n llanwol a hallt ac yn troelli drwy'r corsleoedd draw am Lyn Penmaen. Bydd yn rhaid i’r beiciwr yn awr ddilyn y ffordd fawr am dro cyn ymuno âr hen reilffordd, bellach yn llwybr aml-bwrpas i’w ddefnyddio gan feicwyr, teuluoedd a’u plant a phobl yn cerdded eu cŵn.

Anfarwolwyd Llyn Penmaen mewn cerdd swynol gan Gerard Manley Hopkins a ysgrifennodd yn llyfr ymwelwyr y dafarn yno. Heddiw mae tafarn y George III yn lle i orffwys a mwynhau lluniaeth ysgafn. Gerllaw, yn yr hen flwch signalau, mae yna ganolfan wybodaeth ddifyr gan y Parc Cenedlaethol. Anodd yw dychmygu heddiw bod llongau wedi eu hadeiladu yma ac mewn ambell le arall ar hyd y Fawddach hyd at y 19eg ganrif. Byddai’r

llongau’n cario gwlân a llechi i Iwerddon, a hefyd ar hyd yr arfordir i Lerpwl i’w hallforio dramor.

Wrth feicio tua'r môr mae'r cilomedrau olaf yn wefreiddiol. Hyd yn oed wrth fynd ar wîb gallwch glywed trydar telor yr hesg yn y gors ac efallai cael cipolwg ar bennau duon breision y cyrs yn y corsle gerllaw. Ar y gwastadeddau mwd fe welir y crëyr glas yn sefyll fel gwyliwr y dŵr, a’r gylfinir yn sefyllian ac yn procio’r mwd gyda’i big hirgrwn.

Cyn bo hir fe gyrhaeddwch orsaf Morfa Mawddach. Yma cewch ddal trên i Borthmadog a Phwllheli neu deithio ar draws gwlad i Fachynlleth ac yna ymlaen i’r Amwythig. Os am ddiwedd mwy boddhaol o lawer i’ch taith, beth am bedalu ar hyd rhodfa bren y bont rheilffordd at ystafelloedd tê Abermaw? Wrth wneud, arhoswch am funud ar y bont ac edrych yn ôl dros y twymi tywod, ar hyd ochrau coediog yr aber, ac ymlaen at darenni gogleddol Cadair Idris, sydd yn siwr o fod yn un o'r golygfeydd gorau yng Nghymru.

© Netti Collister

© John Farrar

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On the map, the source of Afon Mawddach is unremarkable. 400 metres above sea level, Waun y Griafolen, Moor of the Rowan Tree, is a shallow basin roughly two kilometres square, where peat has had ample opportunity to accumulate. The name is something of a mystery, not because today there is not a tree to be seen (unless one counts the topmost branches of some distant spruce), but because for the last 3000 years this is a place where, without sheep, willow and alder would have thrived rather than rowan.

Who knows? Perhaps the name derived from the drier ground of Cefn y Griafolen, a ridge of higher land to the west. On the flanks of this ridge, overlooking the moor, are traces of huts and fields which must surely date back to the warmer, drier days of the Bronze Age. It seems quite possible that the ridge, or even the settlement, could have given its name to the moor, rather than the other way round.

On the ground, Waun y Griafolen is characterized chiefly by meadow pipits, peat hags and the white flowerheads of cotton grass. It is unspectacular country and certainly not easy walking. Its charm lies in its quietness and emptiness, rare commodities in the 21st century. Although not all that far from tarmac, it feels remote and little visited, with that quality of ‘left-aloneness’ that Clyde Holmes sought to capture in his paintings and poems of Cwm Hesgin, near Bala.

Near the twin pools of Llyn Grych y Waun, a multitude of streamlets coalesce to become the Mawddach, which promptly

drops through a steep gorge into Cwm yr Allt Lwyd. This is a rather forlorn little valley where no one now lives, even though there are farmsteads not yet beyond repair. At this point, for the traveller bent on reaching the sea at Barmouth in a day, a bicycle becomes a useful option, making short work of the four kilometres to Abergeirw.

Despite featuring on many a signpost, there is nothing at Abergeirw but a couple of houses, a tiny chapel and a postbox. However, it is the gateway to the 16,000 acres of land dedicated to the growing of trees, mostly coniferous, and named Coed y Brenin in 1935 to mark the silver jubilee of King George V. In places, especially lower down near Ganllwyd where stands of Douglas fir have been given space to tower upwards, it is at last beginning to resemble a forest rather than a plantation. At Abergeirw the cyclist is obliged to leave the river for a while. A certain pioneering spirit is required to find and negotiate bridleways - boldly marked on the map but less obvious on the ground - through trees and over fields, back to the rushing waters of the Mawddach.

Progress becomes rapid on good forest tracks and, in no time, the surviving sheds of Gwynfynydd gold mine appear on the other side of the river. Fairly recently this was controversially reopened, only to close again in 1999. Undoubtedly, “There’s gold in them thar hills”, and until very recently, when a ban was imposed, the occasional enthusiast could still be found panning by the side of the river. Despite that, since the initial excitement of the great goldrush of 1860 subsided, gold mining has never proved commercially viable for any length of time. Let us hope it stays

Source to SeaA journeyRob Collister

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Netti Collister

that way.

Tourism, on the other hand, has been a source of jobs and income since the 18th century when a taste for the picturesque and the sublime became fashionable. The wars of the Napoleonic era, which put Europe off-limits for nearly thirty years, encouraged even more visitors to come to gaze in rapture at the spray-filled gorges and tumbling white water of the Mawddach Falls and the nearby Pistyll Cain. For most of the 19th and 20th centuries these waterfalls constituted one of the premier tourist destinations of Wales. Today, the centre of attention has shifted to the visitor centre on the River Eden, just off the A470. With riverside walks, a children’s playground and a coffee-shop, as well as running trails and mountain-bike routes of all levels of difficulty, it has become hugely popular and a major contributor to the local economy.

Below Ganllwyd the road is surfaced and the cyclist bowls along faster than ever until unexpectedly forced to change down a few gears where the road climbs above the ruins of Cymer Abbey. Built in 1198 by Cistercian monks, the Abbey was granted a charter by Llywelyn the Great, giving it the right to farm, fish and extract minerals and timber from the hills all the way from above Dolgellau to Barmouth - a right it retained until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. It was obviously a substantial site, though it is hard now to gain any sense of what life would have been like there.

A little further downstream, the Mawddach (already swelled by the Cain and the Eden, both sizeable rivers) is joined by the Wnion coming in from Dolgellau. It becomes tidal and salty, and meanders through reedbeds to Penmaenpool. Meanwhile the cyclist must negotiate the main road to pick up the old railway line, now a multi-use trail popular with dog-walkers, pushers of prams and cyclists.

Penmaenpool was immortalized by Gerard Manley Hopkins in a charming poem written for the visitors’ book of the inn. Today, the George III is a welcome source of refreshment; there is an interesting National Park information centre in the old signal box, nearby. It is hard to imagine now, but sea-going ships were being built here and at other sites on the Mawddach until the middle of the 19th century. The ships transported wool and slate to Ireland and also up the coast to

Liverpool for export overseas.

On a bike, the final few kilometres to the sea are a delight. Even at speed, one can hear the chatter of sedge-warblers in the reeds and spot the black heads of reed buntings. Out on the mud-flats, herons stand sentinel every fifty yards it seems, and curlew stalk about probing the mud with long curved bills.

Morfa Mawddach station on the Cambrian railway line is soon reached. One can catch a train from here to Porthmadog and Pwllhelli or inland to Machynlleth and thence to Shrewsbury and Birmingham. A more satisfying conclusion to the journey, however, is to pedal over the wooden boards of the walkway on the railway bridge to the tea-rooms of Barmouth. Pausing on the bridge, one can look back over the sand-bars and thickly-wooded flanks of the estuary to the dark north-facing escarpment of Cadair Idris - surely one of the finest views in Wales.

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Pod delwedd ● All images: Netti Collister

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Mae Waun y Griafolen yn gors enfawr anhygyrch, yn gorwedd ym mynwes mynyddoedd a rhostir tua phedair milltir i'r gorllewin o Lanuwchllyn. Mae'r ffaith ei fod mor anghysbell, gyda'i harddwch anial, yn ei wneud yn un o'r llefydd mwyaf gwyllt y gwn amdano yng Nghymru. Yma, mewn rhyw le tu hwnt i bob man, mae tarddiad afon Mawddach. Yma mae hi’n cychwyn ar ei siwrne o thua ugain milltir i lawr at y môr, gan droelli heibio amrywiaeth goludog o gynefinoedd bywyd gwyllt cyn dylifo i'r môr ger Abermaw.

Mae Waun y Griafolen yn gyfoeth pur i'r naturiaethwr. Gwelir yma hesg prin yn, ac o amgylch, y gors grynllyd ganolog ochr yn ochr â’r planhigion arferol megis y gwlithlys, ffa'r Gors a phumnalen y gors. Mae glöyn byw prin mawr y waun, un sy’n arbennig i rostir, i’w gael â phoblogaeth gadarn yma, ond bydd angen diwrnod gweddol llonydd a heulog i'w gweld yn hedfan. Mae yna gyfle, yn y lle tawel hwn, i weld grugieir coch neu ddu, y dylluan glustiog, a hyd yn oed bod tinwen yn hela llygod pengrwn neu adar bach traws y grug a’r twmpathau glaswelltog.

O'i tharddiad, tafla’r afon ei hun i lawr ceunant serth gan lifo ymlaen drwy borfa ucheldir cyn troi tua'r de ar hyd dyffryn hir a serth drwy Goed y Brenin, sydd ei hun yn goedwig drawiadol llawn goed llydanddail a chonwydd urddasol. Rhed yr afon yn ei blaen drwy nifer rhyfeddol o geirwon, rhaeadrau a phyllau cysgodol - cynefin nodweddiadol bronwen y dŵr a'r siglen lwyd.

Dawnsia mursen laswyrdd metelaidd, y 'demoiselle' dlws, dros yr afon, mor hyfryd ag unrhyw bryfyn trofannol, a hynny o Fai i Fehefin. Gwelir y glöyn brwmstan yn y cwm o dro i dro’n gynnar yn y gwanwyn; mae hon yn löyn lleol iawn ei chynefin yng Nghymru, wedi ei chyfyngu i lefydd lle ceir helygen y wern, planhigyn bwyd ei lindys.

Daw'r groesbig yn fynych i gopaon coed conwydd y goedwig. Y ffordd orau i adnabod yr adar hyfryd, tra thebyg i barot, hyn yw drwy 'tsip tsip' unigryw eu cri wrth hedfan. Canfyddir yma hefyd aderyn tra anghyffredin, sef y gylfinbraff. Gyda'i big enfawr addas i hollti cerrig ceirios a’u tebyg, mae’n rhyfeddol o anodd ei ganfod, ond mae mynwent Llanelltyd yn lle da i chwilio amdano.

Mae pryfyn arbennig y morgrugyn coed blewog yn byw yng Nghoed y Brenin, sef

ffin ddeheuol ei diriogaeth ym Mhrydain. Mae’n creu nythod cymunedol syfrdanol o dwmpathau o sbwriel natur. Pe darfir ar wyneb y nyth fe glywch arogl yr asid fformig y bydd morgrug blin yn ei chwistrellu atoch.

Tu hwnt i'r goedwig mae'r afon yn troi i’r gorllewin ac i aber hyfryd, tebyg i 'fjord' gyda'i fantell o goed brodorol yn gyforiog o fywyd gwyllt. Ymhlith y llefydd mwyaf hygyrch i’w cyrraedd yw gwarchodfa RSPB Cymru yng Nghoed Garth Gell. Er ei fod yn ymddangos yn goedwig ifanc o ran ei ecoleg, mae yma goed derw tu hwnt o fonfawr gyda changhennau isel a llydan sy’n tystio iddynt fod wedi cychwyn eu bywyd mewn gofod llawer llai cyfyng.

Yn y gwanwyn mae’r llecyn hwn yn fan gwych i weld clychau’r gog, briallu a blodau'r gwynt, ond o ddiddordeb botanegol arbennig yw'r rhedynnau teneuwe math Wilson a Tunbridge. Mae'r rhedynnau tryloyw bychain hyn yn tyfu ychydig ar y tro dan amodau llaith fel sydd i’w gael wrth y llwybr sydd yn dringo i fyny heibio’r hen fwynglawdd aur, ger afon Cwm Mynach.

Mae'r goedwig yn llawn o adar yn y Gwanwyn, yn eu plith Telor y Coed, gyda’i chân ariannaidd grynedig, haws yw ei chlywed nag ei gweld ynghanol y dail uwchben. Un haws i'w gweld yw'r gwybedog brith pan fydd yn mynychu’r blychau nythu sydd wedi eu gosod fan hyn a fan draw. Yr adeg orau i ddod ar draws y gnocell fraith leiaf yw’r gwanwyn. Mae’n aderyn sydd wedi prinhau dros yr ugain mlynedd diwethaf. Gwrandewch am ei alwad 'pii-pii-pii' soniarus a hefyd am y drymio sydyn, cwta a chyflym ar gangen - y ffordd orau i ddod o hyd y rhywogaeth swil hon.

Mae’r coed yn brinnach tua'r copa ac yn ildio ei lle i rostir, lle mae’r olygfa o aber y Fawddach gyda tharren ogleddol Cadair Idris y tu ôl iddo, yn odidog. Yma mae’n bosibl y gwelwch chi neidr ddefaid yn torheulo, a’r fritheg berlog a’r fritheg werdd yn hedfan yn y mannau agored. Ar nosweithiau braf o haf gellir clywed ton droellog anarferol y troellwr mawr sydd fel petai’n

agosau ac yn pellhau wrth iddo droi ei ben. Yn fwy cyffredin yw corhedydd y coed a'r tingoch mudol sy’n magu yma ar gyrrion y goedwig. Yn y gaeaf fe allwch weld ambell gyffylog yn codi’n dawel o’r isdyfiant ac yn igam-ogi i ffwrdd drwy’r coed.

Un ffordd wych i werthfawrogi’r aber, mewn unrhyw dymor, yw gerdded neu feicio ar hyd Llwybr y Fawddach, sy’n dilyn llwybr yr hen reilffordd o Ddolgellau i'r môr. Mae’n debyg bod gosod y rheilffordd a’i balast wedi cyflwyno rhai ambell i swbstrad cyfoethog ei fwynau, amgylchiadau addas i flodau llai cyffredin megis ysgallen Siarl a chlustog Fair, yn ogystal â digonedd o rywogaethau cyfarwydd. Un rhyfeddod yw’r uchelwydd sydd yn tyfu ar un o’r coed criafol a blannwyd ym maes parcio Llyn Penmaen, yr unig dyfiant o’i fath yn y sir. A ddaeth gyda'r goeden ynteu a fu i rywun ei blannu o dan y rhisgl? Un planhigyn gwirioneddol brin a geir yma ar hyd y llwybr yw’r galdrist culddail. Mae’r tegeirian cain, gwyn ei flodau, hwn yn byw ar ymylon coetir a ddim yn hoffi gormod, na rhy ychydig, o gysgod; mae hyn yn gwneud sicrhau ei oroesiad yn anodd i reolwyr cadwraeth.

David Elias

Tylluan glusti og ● Short-eared owl © Stephen Culley

Byd natur y Fawddach

9

Mae’r golygfeydd gwych ar draws yr afon a’r dolydd corsiog yn cynnig cyfleoedd da i wylwyr adar. Yn yr haf mae’r pibydd coesgoch, pioden y môr, hwyaden yr eithin, yr hwyaden ddanheddog a’r hwyaden frongoch i gyd yn nythu ar hyd yr aber, ac mae’n lle arbennig o dda i weld hwyadwyddau yn y gaeaf. Mae’r crëyr glas ac, yn gynyddol, y crëyr bach copog yn hawdd i'w hadnabod yn crymu dros ymyl y dŵr. Yr wyf yn cofio’n dda disgleirdeb glas y dorlan yn camu o’m blaen yn gwichian ei gri dreiddgar pan fûm i yma’n cerdded, rai blynyddoedd yn ôl.

Ymhellach ar hyd y llwybr, wrth geg yr aber ger gorsaf Morfa Mawddach, mae cyfle i edrych yn fanylach ar ddau gynefin bywyd gwyllt gwahanol iawn. I’r gorllewin mae ehangder o halwyndir gwyrdd meddal wedi ei bori’n gwilt gan ddefaid ac adar. Yma, yn y pyllau a’r cilfachau troellog, neu ar lif llanw uchel, y gallwch weld hwyaid, gwyddau a rhydwyr o’r hydref hyd at y gwanwyn. Y rhydwyr mwyaf niferus yw’r piod môr, y cwtiad torchog, y gylfinir a phibydd y mawn, a’r mwyaf cyffredin o’r adar hela ydi’r chwiwell, hwyaden yr eithin, yr hwyaden wyllt a’r hollbresennol

gwyddau Canada. Mae cyfle hefyd i weld rhywogaethau llai cyffredin megis yr hwyaden Lostfain neu’r Rhostog Gynffonddu.

Wedi troi i'r de o’r orsaf a heibio casgliad o goed draenen wen wedi eu siapio gan y gwynt, fe ddowch i warchodfa Cors Arthog yr RSPB. Mae hwn yn gyforgors greiriol yr oedd y trigolion lleol yn torri mawn tanwydd yn y 19eg ganrif. Bellach mae o’n lle cysgodol o goetir llaith, prysgwydd a dolydd gwlyb agored sy’n cael ei bori gan ferlod. Yma gallwch ddod o hyd i'r ffromlys melyn, ein hunig ffromlys brodorol a phlanhigyn cyfyngedig iawn ei diriogaeth ym Mhrydain. Ymhlith y blodau mwy cyffredin, megis gold y gors, y faner felen a charpiog y gors, mae dau prin - yr eurinllys tonnog a’r llafnlys mawr, sydd ond i’w gael ym Meirionydd ar y safle hwn.

Yn y gwanwyn a’r haf mae’r warchodfa’n orlawn o adar. Ymysg y glaswelltir twmpathog a’r brwyn, efallai y gwelwch fras

y cyrs, telor yr hesg a'r llwydfron yn dringo ar gonion cyrs, neu glywed telor y gwair yn canu ei gân trychfilaidd o ddyfnderoedd y glaswelltir. Yn yr hydref a’r gaeaf, fe gewch heidiau o bilaod gwyrdd a’r llinos bengoch yn trydar ac yn byrlymu yn y coed. Ac efallai y byddwch yn clywed yn hytrach na gweld - oni bai eich bod yn lwcus iawn - rhegen y dŵr, aderyn swil y mae ei wichian yn debyg i sŵn porchell yn cael ei ladd yn yr isdyfiant.

Mae’r brithwaith cyfoethog hwn o gynefinoedd a rhywogaethau, o gors ucheldirol anghysbell Waun y Griafolen at halwyndiroedd y môr, yn un sydd wedi ei bwytho at ei gilydd gan edau arian afon Mawddach â’i eog a sewin, adar a dyfrgwn. Ac i goroni’r cwbl, posibilrwydd o weld gweilch y môr yn nythu ar ei

aber hardd yn y dyfodol agos. Gwych!

Mae David Elias yn byw ger y Bala a bu'n gweithio am bron i 30 mlynedd mewn cadwraeth natur, gan gynnwys cyfnod gyda CCGC ar fynyddoedd y Berwyn.

Cors

leoe

dd ●

Ree

dbed

s ©

Rob

Col

liste

r

Rhedynach teneuwe Wilson ● Wilson‘s fi lmy-fern © Sam Thomas

10

Gweirlöyn mawr y wa

u n ● L a rge

Mawddach WildlifeWaun y Griafolen is an enormous, inaccessible bog cradled by moorland and mountains about four miles west of Llanuwchllyn. Its remoteness and desolate beauty make it one of the wildest places I know in Wales. It is here, in this back-of-beyond sort of place, that Afon Mawddach rises and starts out on its twenty odd mile journey to the sea, passing through a rich variety of wildlife habitats before spilling out into the sea near Barmouth.

Waun y Griafolen has rich pickings for the naturalist; rare sedges are found in and around the central quaking bog alongside characteristic plants such as round-leaved sundew, bogbean and marsh cinquefoil. The scarce large heath butterfly, a moorland specialist, has a strong population here, but you will need a reasonably calm and sunny day to see it flying. There is a chance too, in this undisturbed place, of seeing birds such as red or black grouse, short-eared owl, and even hen harrier hunting for voles or small birds over the heather and grassy tussocks.

From its source, the river plunges down a steep gorge and on through upland pasture before turning south in a long, steep valley that cuts through Coed y Brenin, an impressive broadleaf and

conifer forest of stately trees. The river drops in a spectacular series of rapids and waterfalls interspersed with sheltered pools - classic habitat for dipper and grey wagtail.

A metallic blue-green damselfly, the beautiful demoiselle, as gorgeous as any tropical insect, dances over the river in May and June, and the brimstone butterfly is sometimes seen in this valley in early spring; this is a very local butterfly in Wales, its range restricted by that of alder buckthorn, the food plant of its caterpillars.

In the forest, crossbills are frequent in the tops of the conifers. These delightful, parrot-like finches are best detected by their distinctive ‘chip chip’ flight calls. An uncommon bird, the hawfinch, can be found here; with its massive bill adapted for cracking cherry stones and the like, it is surprisingly elusive. The churchyard at Llanelltyd is a good place to look for it.

An insect speciality of Coed y Brenin is the hairy wood ant, this being the southern edge of its range in Britain. This ant makes spectacular communal nests out of mounds of debris. If the

surface is disturbed you can smell the formic acid squirted out by the agitated ants.

Beyond the forest the river turns westwards into the beautiful fjord-like estuary, whose sides are cloaked in native woodland, rich in wildlife. One of the most accessible of these is the RSPB reserve at Coed Garth Gell. Although this seems to be a young wood, ecologically speaking, there are some senior, big-

bellied oaks with low, widespread

David Elias

Gw

eirlö

yn m

awr y

waun ● Large Heath © Andrew Graham

David Elias lives near Bala and worked for nearly 30 years in nature conservation,

including for CCW on the Berwyn mountains.

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Gweirlöyn mawr y wa

u n ● L a rge

branches which testify to an earlier life in open spaces. Now, in the woodland half-light, they have that ‘presence’ characteristic of ancient trees.

In spring this is a fine place for bluebells, primroses and wood anemones, but of special botanical interest are the Wilson’s and Tunbridge filmy ferns. These tiny translucent ferns grow sparingly in damp, humid conditions such as where the path climbs past the old gold mine, alongside Afon Cwm Mynach.

In spring the wood is also filled with birds including wood warblers which, with their silvery trembling song, are more easily heard than seen in the canopy. More confiding are the pied flycatchers which can easily be seen as they attend to the nestboxes dotted around. Early spring is the most likely time to find the lesser spotted woodpecker, which has become scarce over the last twenty years or so. A resonant ‘pee-pee-pee’ call and fast abrupt drumming on a tree branch is the best way to detect this elusive species.

The wood thins out to heathland near the top, and the view of the Mawddach estuary, framed by the northern escarpment of Cadair Idris, is magnificent. Here you might see a slow worm sunning itself, or small pearl-bordered and dark green fritillary butterflies flying in open areas. The weird churring of nightjars can be heard on warm summer nights, seeming to advance and recede as the bird turns its head. More commonly, migrant tree pipits and redstarts breed here at the woodland edge. In wintertime, woodcock may lift silently from the undergrowth and dink away through the trees.

A wonderful way to appreciate the estuary at any season is to walk or cycle along the Mawddach Trail, which follows the old railway line from Dolgellau to the sea. The laying of the railway

and its introduced ballast probably provided some mineral rich substrates, so some less common flowers

such as carline thistle and thrift can be found here, as well as an abundance of familiar species. An oddity is mistletoe growing on one of the planted rowan trees in the car park at Penmaenpool, the only known site for it in the county. Did it come with the tree or did somebody plant it under the bark? A real rarity found along the trail is the narrow-leaved helleborine. This elegant, white-flowered orchid is a woodland-edge inhabitant which doesn’t like too much, or too little, shade; ensuring its survival is tricky for conservation managers.

With fine views across the river and grazing marshes, there are good opportunities for birdwatching. In summer, redshank, oystercatcher, shelduck, goosander and red-breasted merganser all breed along the estuary, and it is an especially good place to see mergansers in winter. Grey herons and, increasingly, little egrets are easy to spot hunched out on the water’s edge. I remember the brilliance of a kingfisher repeatedly bounding ahead uttering its piercing call, when walking here some years ago.

Further along the trail, near the mouth of the estuary at Morfa Mawddach station, there is an opportunity to look more closely at two very different wildlife habitats. To the west is a wide expanse of soft green saltings grazed to a quilt by sheep and birds. It is here in the twisting pools and creeks, or on the flood of a high tide, that you can see ducks, geese and waders from autumn through to spring. The most numerous waders are oystercatchers, ringed plover, curlew and dunlin, whilst amongst the wildfowl, it tends to be wigeon, shelduck, mallard and the now ubiquitous Canada goose. There is always a chance of a less common species such as pintail or black-tailed godwit.

Turning south from the station past sculptural hawthorns shaped by the prevailing wind, you come to the RSPB’s Arthog Bog reserve. This is a relict raised bog from which peat was dug for fuel in the 19th century. Now it is a sheltered place of damp woodland, scrub and open wet meadows grazed by ponies. Here you can find the yellow-flowered touch-me-not balsam, our only native balsam and a very restricted plant in Britain. Amongst commoner flowers such as marsh marigold, yellow flag and ragged robin, are two rarities - wavy St. John’s wort and greater spearwort, the latter found in Meirionydd only at this site.

In spring and summer this reserve is bulging with birds. Amongst tussocky grassland and reeds, you may see reed buntings, sedge warblers and whitethroats clinging to swaying stems, or hear

grasshopper warblers reeling their insect-like song from deep in the grass. In autumn and winter,

flocks of siskins and redpolls twitter and buzz in the woodland, and you may

hear rather than see - unless you are very lucky - a water

rail, a secretive bird whose unnerving pig-squealing call is suggestive of a small death in the undergrowth.

This rich mosaic of habitats and species, from the

remote upland bog of Waun y Griafolen to the saltings at

the sea, is stitched together by the silver thread of the

Mawddach with its salmon and sea trout, birds and otters. What price

breeding ospreys on this beautiful estuary in the near future, to top it all off?Waun y Griafolen © David Elias

Bronwen y dŵr ● Dipper © Stephen Culle

y

11

12

Abaty Cymer AbbeyMae adfeilion Abaty Cymer i’w gweld yn agos at gymer y Fawddach a'r Wnion ger terfyn penllanw Aber y Fawddach. Dyma'r unig fynachdy a sefydlwyd yn yr Oesoedd Canol ym Meirionnydd, a bu ei sefydlu yn y 12fed ganrif yn gysylltiedig â dymuniad y tywysogion Cymreig i gydweithio ag urdd grefyddol fwyaf ei bri y cyfnod, sef Urdd Sistersaidd y Mynaich Gwynion.

Sefydlwyd Abaty Cymer yn 1198/9 gan Meredydd a Gruffydd, meibion Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd, fel ‘sefydliad chwaer fach’ i Abaty Cwm Hir, Powys. Roedd Meredydd a Gruffydd wedi derbyn tiroedd yn rhodd oddi wrth Llywelyn ap Iorwerth - Llywelyn Fawr - fel gwobr am eu cymorth iddo mewn brwydr leol, ac roedden nhw felly mewn lle da i sefydlu mynachlog. O ran y Sistersiaid, roedden nhw - yn debyg i bob urdd crefyddol arall - â’u bryd ar dyfu ac yn falch o dderbyn y cynnig; mae posibilrwydd hefyd fod y mynachlog newydd hwn yn ddihangfa i fynachod oedd yn anhapus yng Nghwm Hir.

Fe dderbyniodd Llywelyn, a goronwyd yn dywysog Gwynedd yn 1200, ddeiseb oddi wrth y mynaich yn gofyn iddo gadarnhau dilysrwydd y rhodd o dir. Gwnaeth hynny yn 1209 mewn siarter yn enwi tiroedd yr Abaty ac yn cadarnhau ei roddion ei hun a rhai pobl eraill i’r Sistersiaid. Ni fu i'r ddogfen wreiddiol oroesi, ond bydd ymchwilwyr yn cyfeirio at gopi a gynhwyswyd mewn grant brenhinol gan Edward II yn 1323, ac mewn dogfen dreth ar gyfer Eglwysi Cymru a Lloegr o 1291.

Roedd o leiaf chwe fferm ar dir yr abaty. Byddai'r rhain wedi eu gweithio gan frodyr lleyg, dynion oedd â’u dyletswydd cyntaf i drin y tir a’r anifeiliaid ond a fyddai wedi tyngu llwon ufudd-dod i'r Abad ac i reolau’r urdd. Gorweddai llawer o’r tir ar ochr ddwyreiniol y mynachdy, ger rhannau uchaf afonydd Wnion a Mawddach. Ond roedd hefyd daliadau o dir yn ardal Llanegryn yn y de-orllewin, a fferm bwysig arall yn Neigwl ym Mhen Llŷn. O’r fferm yn Neigwl y daeth y rhan fwyaf o wenith y mynaich, tra bo’r tiroedd uchel agosach at yr Abaty yn dir pori i’w hanifeiliaid.

Cysylltir y Sistersiaid yn aml â dechrau’r diwydiant gwlân yng Nghymru, ond mae ffurflenni treth o 1291 yn awgrymu bod yn Abaty Cymer mwy o wartheg nag o ddefaid, o leiaf yn ei ddyddiau cynharaf. Datblygodd enw’r ardal fel un nodedig am gynhyrchu gwlân yn ddiweddarach, yn y 15fed ganrif, adeg sefydlu marchnad Ddolgellau. Serch hynny, byddai arbenigedd amaethyddol y Sistersiaid a’u gallu i sicrhau cynnyrch o bob math o dir, da neu sâl, wedi bod yn rhan bwysig o’r datblygiad hwnnw.

Mae cofnodion hanesyddol o’r 14eg ganrif yn dangos bod mwyngloddio, haearn yn arbennig, yn digwydd yma. Mae safleoedd cynhyrchu haearn, o bosib yn perthyn i’r Canol Oesoedd, i’w gweld yng nghofnodion archaeolegol tir a fu, yn ôl pob tebyg, yn eiddo i'r Abaty. Mae’n sicr y byddai’r coedwigoedd dan reolaeth gofalus i sicrhau cyflenwad o’r siarcol a fyddai ei angen i brosesu’r mwyn haearn.

Dydi hi ddim yn ymddangos bod Abaty Cymer yn un neilltuol o gefnog. Mae’r adeiladau sydd wedi goroesi’n rhoi’r argraff fod y cynllun gwreiddiol naill ai’n un syml o’r dechrau, neu wedi ei addasu’n fuan wedi dechrau’r gwaith adeiladu: mae Eglwys yr Abaty wedi ei godi ar batrwm gwahanol i’r cynllun croesffurf arferol, ac mae’r adeiladau at ei gilydd yn gymhedrol eu maint. Bu'r Abaty’n wersyll i filwyr Llywelyn ap Gruffydd - Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf - yn ystod rhyfeloedd 1275 ac 1279 ac fe’i feddiannwyd a’i ddifrodi wedyn yn 1283 gan Edward I. Dirywio wnaeth yr Abaty o hynny ymlaen ac fe’i ddiddymwyd gan Harri’r wythfed yn 1537.

Bellach mae’r safle dan ofal CADW, er ei fod bron â diflannu dan fôr o bebyll a charafannau yn yr haf. Mae’r enw Cwm Mynach, sy’n codi tua'r gogledd o'r ffordd i Abermaw (y Bermo), yn dystiolaeth pellach o mor gryf oedd presenoldeb y mynachod yn yr ardal dros gyfnod o dri chan mlynedd yr Abaty.

Kathy Laws

Dechreuodd Kathy gloddio am arteffactau hynafol pan yn 17 mlwydd oed. Wedi ei hyfforddi mewn archaeoleg maes a chadwraeth archeolegol fe ddaeth i Eryri yn 1994 gan ddod yn archeolegydd i'r Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol yn 2010.

Rhan o Siarter Abaty Cymer, o "The Acts of Welsh Rulers, 1120-1283”, a olygwyd

gan Huw Price. ● An extract from the Cymer Abbey Charter, taken from “The Acts of

Welsh Rulers, 1120-1283”, edited by Huw Price.

Llywelyn will warrant and maintain all the

above named lands in the three aforesaid provinces,

and any others that have been or will be bestowed

on Cymer, on behalf of himself and his heirs as a

perpetual gift, in fields, woods, meadows, waters, mills,

pastures, fisheries, net fishing, rivers and marshes,

harbours, shores and sea, liberties of ships and bo

ats,

in recovering the monks’ own cargoes if these are

wrecked, in taking timber and stones, birds, forest

beasts and wild animals of whatever kind, in digging

up metals and treasures, in mountains and groves,

in all moveables and immovables, in possessing

and using all material and non material things

above and below those lands, in all benefits, free of

all secular exaction or claim, without any trouble or

dispute, without the custom of secular laws or any

tribute, without any agreement with anyone regarding

pastures or other benefits in the aforesaid lands,

either

in dwelling together or in partnership.

13

At the upper tidal limit of the Mawddach estuary, close to the confluence of the Mawddach and the Wnion, lie the remains of Cymer Abbey. The only medieval monastic house to be established in Meirionydd, its foundation was tied up with the political ambition of native Welsh Princes in the 12th century who wished to associate themselves with the most prestigious religious order of the time, the Cistercians.

The Cistercian order at Cymer Abbey was founded in 1198/9 by Meredydd and Gryffydd, the sons of Cynan ap Owain Gwynedd, as a daughter house to the abbey of Cwm Hir in Powys. Meredydd and Gryffydd were well placed to found the abbey having recently received lands from Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, as a reward for their help in a local war. While the Cistercians always sought expansion, the new abbey may have come about partly to provide refuge for monks from Cwm Hir who were experiencing difficulties at home.

Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd from 1200, under petition from the monks, confirmed the donations made by his cousins and others, along with his own, and named the abbey lands in a charter of 1209. The original document does not survive, and researchers refer to a copy contained in a royal grant of Edward II, dated 1323, along with a taxation document of English and Welsh churches dated to 1291.

The abbey’s lands included at least six granges (farms). These would have been worked by lay brothers, men primarily responsible for managing the land and animals who had also taken vows of obedience to the abbot and to the rules of the Cistercian order. Much of the land lay to the east, around the upper reaches of both the Wnion and the Mawddach, but there were also holdings around Llanegryn to the south-west, and an important grange at Neigwl on the Llŷn Peninsula. The grange at Neigwl was the monks’ main wheat-growing area, while land closer to the abbey was largely upland pasture, where stock was the mainstay of their economy.

The Cistercians are often associated with the birth of the Welsh wool industry, but the 1291 tax returns suggest that at Cymer there were more cattle than sheep, at least in the early days. The development of the area as a notable wool production centre was to come slightly later with the establishment of a market in Dolgellau in the 15th century. The farming expertise of the Cistercians and their ability to make the most of difficult land may well have had an influence, however.

Historical records dating to the 14th century suggest that mineral resources, particularly iron, were being exploited. Iron production sites, of possibly medieval date, survive in the archaeological record on land probably once belonging to the abbey.

Careful woodland management to produce charcoal to fuel these bloomaries would certainly have been practised.

Cymer does not appear to have been an affluent house. The buildings surviving suggest that either the building programme was unambitious or that more elaborate plans were changed at an early date. The church does not conform to the normal cruciform plan, and the buildings generally are of modest proportions. The abbey was involved in the wars of the 13th century acting as a base for the troops of Llywelyn ap Grufydd in 1275 and 1279, and then being occupied by Edward I and suffering damage in 1283. Its prosperity declined throughout the 14th century and it was finally dissolved in 1537 during the Reformation.

Today the site is maintained by CADW, though in summer it all but disappears in a sea of tents and caravans. The only other evidence that the monks were a dominant presence here for over three hundred years lies in the name of Cwm Mynach, running northward from the road to Barmouth.

Kathy first went digging at the age of 17. Having trained in field archaeology and archaeological conservation, she arrived in Snowdonia

in 1994 and became the National Trust archaeologist in 2010.

Corff yr hyn sydd wedi goroesi o'r eglwys.Nave of the surviving church © Kathy Laws

14

Hydroleg dalgylch y FawddachMae Afon Mawddach a’i llednentydd yn draenio dalgylch ag arwynebedd o oddeutu 165km2 o’i fesur at ffin uchaf llanw’r môr, sef pont Llanelltyd, ychydig i fyny’r dyffryn o gymer Afon Wnion. Mae siâp cragen gocos fawr i’r dalgylch, gyda’r Arenig ar ei hymyl dwyreiniol a’r Rhinogydd yn y gorllewin, lle ceir y cefndeuddwr uchaf ar ben y Llethr (756m). Mae cysylltiad agos rhwng cyfartaledd y glawiad a’r uchder uwchben lefel y môr, gyda’r glawiad yn amrywio o 2400mm ar y Rhinogydd i 1200mm yn yr aber.

Saif y rhan fwyaf o’r dalgylch ar greigiau o’r oes Gambriaidd (i’r gorllewin) a’r oes Ordofigaidd (i’r dwyrain), a osodwyd rhwng 440 a 540 miliwn o flynyddoedd yn ôl. Lluniwyd cwrs yr afonydd a siâp y tirffurfiau a welwn heddiw drwy brosesau rhewlifol gan fwyaf tua diwedd y cyfnod Pleistosen, pan oedd haen o rew yn gorchuddio’r rhan fwyaf o ogledd Cymru. Mae sawl afon yn y dalgylch, er enghraifft Afon Wen a rhan isaf y Fawddach, yn llifo ar hyd ffawtiau daearegol.

Tardd y Fawddach ei hun o orgors ucheldir o’r enw Waun y Griafolen, oddeutu 450m

uwchben lefel môr ac i’r gogledd o’r Dduallt. Llifa o’r llwyfandir hwn tua’r de-orllewin i lawr llethr serthach lle mae ei sianel wedi ei thorri i’r graig, a rhaeadrau bach a mawr i’w gweld. Mae’r nodweddion hyn yn gyffredin i brif lednentydd eraill y dalgylch, afonydd Gain, Eden a’r Wen, sydd i gyd yn ymuno â’r Fawddach yng Nghoed y Brenin. Nid yw prif sianel yr afon yn cychwyn ymledu nes iddi fynd heibio Gelli Gemlyn, lle mae’r cwm yn agor i’r siâp U nodweddiadol o ddyffryn rhewlifol, ac yno dechreua’r afon ddolennu’n hamddenol. Ymuna’r Fawddach â’r Wnion ychydig islaw pont Llanelltyd cyn llifo o’i haber gogoneddus i Fae Ceredigion. Mae arwynebedd dalgylch afon Mawddach o’r môr i fyny oddeutu 380km2.

Gellir disgrifio ymateb hydrolegol y dalgylch fel un ‘oriog’, sy’n golygu bod lefel yr afonydd yn codi ac yn gostwng yn sydyn a dirybudd yn ystod ac ar ôl glaw. Mae’r natur hwn yn ganlyniad cyfuniad o lawiad uchel, llethrau serth, creigiau anhydraidd a phriddoedd ansylweddol. Mae hyn yn golygu bod cydran llif gwaelodol yr afon yn isel, hynny yw, bod y rhan fwyaf o’u dŵr yn llifo oddi ar wyneb y tir yn hytrach nag yn ddŵr daear.

Mae’r natur oriog hwn i’w weld yn amlwg yn y data hydrometrig y bydd Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru (CNC) yn ei gasglu drwy ei rwydwaith helaeth o fesuryddion. Wedi ei gynnwys yn y data mae mesur o’r glawiad, lefel a llif yr afon a lefelau’r dŵr daear, ffigurau hollol angenrheidiol i’n dealltwriaeth o amgylchedd dŵr. Mesurir y glawiad ar Foel Gwynfynydd a Buarthre Newydd gyda dau fath o fesurydd glaw, mesurydd bwced-sy’n-dymchwel a mesurydd pwyso glawiad, sydd rhyngddynt yn cofnodi cyfanswm glawiad

cyfnodau’n

amrywio o chwarter awr i fis. Darllenir mesuryddion Buarthre Newydd yn ddyddiol gan sylwedydd gwirfoddol, a’r cofnodion yn y fan hon yn dyddio’n ôl i 1973 (sy’n dangos mor werthfawr yw cyfraniad gwirfoddolwyr i’n harchif hydrometrig). Cyfartaledd tymor hir y glawiad a fesurwyd yn Buarthre Newydd ydi 1947mm y flwyddyn; y flwyddyn sychaf a gofnodwyd oedd 1976 (1426mm o law), a’r gwlypaf oedd y flwyddyn 2000 (2678mm).

Mae gan CNC orsaf fesur hefyd ar y Fawddach yn Nhyddyn Gwladys, tuag 800m i lawr yr afon o gymer Afon Gain. Mesurir lefel yr afon (uchder yr afon wedi’i fesur mewn perthynas â ffigwr - datwm - safonol) mewn llyn llonyddu cyn creu ffigwr llif drwy gymhwyso’r mesuriad i graff cromlin gyfraddiad. Mae’r graff yn dangos y berthynas rhwng lefel yr afon a’r llif yn Nhyddyn Gwladys ac er mwyn adeiladu perthynas fanwl gywir rhwng y ddau fe’i pennir mewn modd empirig gan staff sy’n gwneud mesuriadau o wir lif yr afon ar wahanol lefelau. Mewn gorsafoedd mesur eraill sydd â chored, gellir pennu cromlin gyfraddiad drwy ddefnyddio hafaliadau damcaniaethol. Mae’r llif cymedrig yn Nhyddyn Gwladys dros gyfnod y cofnodion (o 1997 hyd heddiw) yn 3.9m3 yr eiliad, sy’n gyfystyr â lefel o 0.38m. Er mwyn cymhariaeth, gall llif ostwng cyn ised â 0.11m3 yr eiliad (0.16m) ar adegau o sychder mawr; yr uchafbwynt a gofnodwyd oedd 4.0m ar 3ydd Gorffennaf 2001, pan ddioddefodd y dalgylch lifogydd dinistriol.

Defnyddir y data a gesglir at sawl pwrpas yn cynnwys rheoli adnoddau dŵr, modelu hydrolegol, monitro ansawdd y dŵr, dadansoddi llifogydd ac er mwyn rhoi rhybudd o lifogydd. Defnyddir y data hefyd wrth drwyddedu tynnu dŵr ac er mwyn goleuo Strategaethau Rheoli Tynnu Dŵr y Dalgylch, sy’n cael eu defnyddio i ddeall argaeledd dŵr o fewn dalgylch. Mae’r data’n hanfodol i sicrhau ein bod yn caniatâu gweithgareddau mewn modd addas gan dalu’r sylw priodol i ecoleg yr ardal, yn arbennig o ystyried nifer safleoedd dan warchodaeth (ACAau AGAau a SoDdGAau) sydd yma.

O’i gymharu â dalgylchoedd eraill gellid ystyried y Fawddach yn gymharol naturiol o safbwynt hydroleg. Er enghraifft, does

Robert Bissell

Caeadle mesurydd glaw ● Raingauge compound © Robert Bissell

Dyfrffos yn llifo o Grawcwellt ● Leat

flowing from Crawcwellt © Robert Bissell

(Parhad drosodd)

15

Robert Bissell

The Mawddach and its tributaries drain a catchment area of roughly 165km2 to the tidal limit at Pont Llanelltyd, just upstream of the confluence with the River Wnion. The catchment is fan-shaped, flanked to the east by the Arenig mountains and to the west by the Rhinogydd, where the highest peak on its watershed exists at y Llethr (756m). Annual average rainfall is closely linked to elevation and ranges from 2400mm over the Rhinogydd to 1200mm down at the estuary.

The majority of the catchment is underlain by rocks of Cambrian age (to the west) and Ordovician age (to the east), which were laid down some 440 to 540 million years ago. The river channels and landforms we see today were largely formed by glacial processes towards the end of the Pleistocene period, when an ice sheet covered most of north Wales. Several rivers in the catchment, such as the Wen and the lower Mawddach, are aligned along geological faults.

The Mawddach itself rises about 450m above sea level in the upland blanket bog of Waun y Griafolen, north of Dduallt. From this plateau it flows in a general south-westerly direction where the channel becomes incised, has a steeper gradient and is characterised by cascades, step-pools and waterfalls. These features are also typical of the other major tributaries in the catchment, the Gain, the Eden and the Wen, which all merge with the Mawddach in Coed y Brenin forest. The main river channel doesn’t really start to open up until downstream of Gelli-gemlyn, where it develops the typical U-shape of a glacial valley and the river begins to gently meander. The Mawddach merges with the Wnion near Pont Llanelltyd before discharging into Cardigan Bay via the spectacular Mawddach Estuary, which has a total upstream catchment area of some 380km2.

The hydrological response of the catchment can be described as ‘flashy’, which means river levels rise and fall rapidly during and after rain. This is due to a combination of high rainfall, steep

slopes, impermeable rock and thin soils. As a result the rivers have a low baseflow component, which essentially means most of their flow comes from runoff rather than the ground.

This flashy response is evident in the hydrometric data that Natural Resources

Wales (NRW) collects via an extensive hydrometric network. Data includes the measurement of rainfall, river level/flow and groundwater levels, and is essential for our understanding of the water environment. Rainfall is measured at

Hydrologyof the Mawddach catchment

© John Farrar

(Continued overleaf)

16

Moel Gwynfynydd and Buarthre Newydd using two types of rainguage, a tipping-bucket raingauge and a storage gauge, which record rainfall totals over durations ranging from fifteen minutes to monthly. Buarthre Newydd is manually read by a volunteer observer on a daily basis, with the record here extending back to 1973, highlighting the invaluable contribution volunteers make to our hydrometric archive. Long-term average rainfall measured at Buarthre Newydd is 1947mm per annum, with the driest year on record being 1976 (1426mm of rainfall) and the wettest year being 2000 (2678mm of rainfall).

NRW also maintains a river gauging station on the Mawddach at Tyddyn Gwladys, roughly 800m downstream of the confluence with the Gain. River stage (water level referenced to a known datum) is measured in a stilling well and then converted to flow by means of a rating curve. This is the relationship between river stage and river flow and at this site it is determined empirically by staff taking physical measurements of river flow at a range of levels to build up an accurate relationship. At other gauging stations that have weirs, a rating curve can be determined using theoretical equations. The mean flow at Tyddyn Gwladys during its period of record (1997 - present) is 3.9m3/s, which equates to a level of 0.38m. By comparison, flows can drop as low as 0.11m3/s (0.16m) during extended dry periods; the highest peak on record was 4.0m on 3rd July 2001, when the catchment experienced devastating flooding.

The data we collect is used for a number of purposes including water resource planning, hydrological modelling, water

quality monitoring, flood event analysis and flood warning. Data is also used for abstraction licensing and to inform our Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies, which we use to understand water availability within a catchment. The data is vital in ensuring we permit activities appropriately and with due regard for the ecology, particularly given the many protected sites (SACs, SPAs and SSSIs) that exist in the area.

Compared to other catchments, the Mawddach could be considered relatively natural, hydrologically speaking. There are, for instance, just three licensed abstractions within the catchment (two for hydroelectric power and one for fishery-related activities), all of which are non-consumptive. There are also very few discharges. However, we shouldn’t forget historical artificial influences that still affect the flow regime today. Metal mining, for example, took place on a large scale in the Mawddach catchment during the 19th century, and large volumes of sand/gravel from bankside tips can still enter the watercourse during flood events. Concerns also remain regarding contamination of rivers from minewater discharges.

Perhaps the most significant anthropogenic influence on hydrology in the catchment is the Ardudwy leat system in the Eden catchment. The leat, which is roughly 9km in length, intercepts water from the headwaters of the Eden (Afon Crawcwellt, Afon Gam, Afon Gau and Afon Serw) and transports it northwards to Llyn Trawsfynydd to augment hydroelectric power generation at Maentwrog Power Station. Residual flows downstream of the leat are therefore reduced, and there is concern that this, combined with possible water quality issues, could affect the downstream ecology, most notably the Eden’s freshwater pearl mussel population. As such, NRW is currently investigating whether the leat transfer is having an ecological impact and if so, what cost-effective measures could be put in place to alleviate it.

(Hydroleg, parhad)

Robert Bissell graduated from Aberystwyth University in 2001

with a degree in Geography. He has worked in the Water Resources team at Natural

Resources Wales (previously Environment Agency Wales) for the last 8 years, and is currently

their Technical Specialist.

ond tair trwydded tynnu dŵr yn y dalgylch (dwy ar gyfer cynhyrchu ynni hydro ac un ar gyfer gweithgareddau’n ymwneud â physgota), a’r un o’r tri’n weithgareddau sy’n disbyddu dŵr. Does ychwaith fawr o ollwng (carthffosiaeth, cemegolion ayb) i’r dŵr. Fodd bynnag, ni ddylid anghofio dylanwadau artiffisial o’r gorffennol sy’n parhau hyd heddiw i effeithio ar drefn y llif. Er enghraifft, bu mwyngloddio metelau ar raddfa fawr yn nalgylch y Fawddach yn ystod y 19eg ganrif, a gall pwysau mawr o dywod neu ro o domenni ar lan yr afon fynd i’r dŵr yn ystod llifogydd. Erys pryderon hefyd ynghylch llygru’r afonydd gan ddŵr yn llifo o hen fwyngloddiau.

Efallai mai’r dylanwad mwyaf arwyddocaol y mae dyn yn ei gael ar hydroleg y dalgylch yw rhwydwaith dyfrffosydd concrid Ardudwy, yn nalgylch Afon Eden. Mae’r ffosydd, sydd oddeutu 9km o hyd, yn cymryd dŵr o flaenddyfroedd yr Eden (Afon Crawcwellt, Afon Gam, Afon Gau ac Afon Serw) ac yn ei gario i’r gogledd i Lyn Trawsfynydd er mwyn cynyddu maint yr ynni hydro a gynhyrchir ym Mhwerdy Maentwrog. Gedy hyn llai o lif yng ngweddill yr afon islaw’r ffosydd, ac mae peth pryder y gallai hyn, ynghyd â rhai amheuon ynghylch safon y dŵr, effeithio ar yr ecoleg yn is i lawr yr afon, yn arbennig felly poblogaeth misglen berlog yr Eden. Oherwydd hyn, mae Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru’n yn ymchwilio i weld a yw trosglwyddo dŵr i’r ffosydd yn cael effaith ar ecoleg yr afon ac, os yw, pa fesurau cost-effeithiol a ellid eu gweithredu i’w liniaru.

(Hydrology, cont.)

Graddiodd Robert Bissell o Brifysgol Aberystwyth yn 2001 gyda gradd mewn Daearyddiaeth. Mae wedi gweithio yn y tîm Adnoddau Dŵr

gyda Chyfoeth Naturiol Cymru (Asiantaeth yr Amgylchedd Cymru gynt) ers wyth mlynedd, pellach fel

Arbenigwr Technegol.

Siart llif yr afon/River flow chart

17

To see the full programme or for more information please visit the website:I weld y rhaglen gyflawn neu am fwy o wybodaeth, ewch i’n gwefan:

www.field-studies-council.org/rhydycreuau

Or contact us: Neu Cysylltwch â ni:Tel/Ffôn: 01690 710494. E-mail/E-bost: enquiries.rc@field-studies-council.org

FSC Rhyd-y-creuau is a leading provider of environmental and taxonomy training in North Wales.

Mae Cyngor Astudiaethau Maes Rhyd-y-creuau yn un o ddarparwyr hyfforddiantamgylcheddol a thacsonomeg fwyaf blaenllaw yng Ngogledd Cymru.

Friendly, comfortable, full-boardaccommodation and expert tuition. Llety âphob pryd bwyd, cyfforddus mewn cwmnicyfeillgar ynghyd â hyfforddiant arbenigol.

Great access to the diverse habitats andenvironments of Snowdonia National Park.Cyfle gwych i droedio amgylcheddau achynefinoedd amrywiol Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri.

• Mosses and Liverworts – 14-16 February

Mwsoglau a Llysiau’r Afu – Chwefror 14-16

• Freshwater Invertebrates for Educators –11-13 April

Anifeiliaid di-asgwrn-cefn d�r croyw iAddysgwyr – Ebrill 11-13

• Tree Identification – 23-26 MayAdnabod Coed – Mai 23-26

• Bumblebees and Solitary Bees – 30 May-01 June

Cacwn a Chacwn Unig – Mai 30-Mehefin 01

• An Introduction to Surveying and Identificationof Dragonfly and Damselflies – 22 July

Cyflwyniad i Arolygu ac Adnabod Gweision yNeidr a Mursennod – Gorffennaf 22

• Introduction to Phase 1 Habitat Surveys – 15-17 August

Cyflwyniad i Arolygon Cynefinoedd Cyfnod 1 – Awst 15-17

FSC Rhyd-y-creuau

1056 FSC Snowdonia Society ad January 2014_Snowdonia magazine 13/01/2014 13:16 Page 1

Friendly, comfortable, full-board accommodation and expert tuition. Llety â phob pryd bwyd, cyfforddus mewn cwmni cyfeillgar ynghyd â hyfforddiant arbenigol.

Great access to the diverse habitats and environments of Snowdonia National Park. Cyfle gwych i droedio amgylcheddau a chynefinoedd amrywiol Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri.

Courses to suit your CPD requirements in 2015 include: Ymysg y Cyrsiau sy’n gweddu i’ch Datblygiad Proffesiynol Parhaus (CPD) yn 2015 mae:

• Freshwater Invertebrates for Educators - 31 March-2 April Anifeiliaid di-asgwrn-cefn dŵr croyw i Addysgwyr – Mawrth 31-Ebrill 2

• Tree Identification – 22-25 May Adnabod Coed – Mai 22-25

• Bumblebees and Solitary Bees – 29-31 May Cacwn a Chacwn Unig - Mai 29-31

• Green Woodworking – A Practical Introduction - 1-3 May Gwaith Coed Gwyrdd – Cyflwyniad Ymarferol - Mai 1-3

• Introduction to Phase 1 Habitat Surveys – 14-16 Aug Cyflwyniad i Arolygon Cynefinoedd Cyfnod 1 – Awst 14-16

18

Y metal melyn

Aur: metal anarferol iawn, ac eithaf prin, ond bod digon ohono ar gael i bawb allu fod yn berchen ar ychydig ohono, neu o leiaf nabod rhywun sydd! Chymerodd hi fawr o amser i’n hynafiaid yn yr Oes Efydd ei ddarganfod a’i fawrygu, a thra bod mwynau gwerthfawr eraill i’w cael mewn mannau anghysbell ac egsotig, mae aur i’w gael yma ar stepen y drws.

Roedd i’r Fawddach ei ‘hoes aur’. Mae’r ffaith fod aur i’w gael ym Mharc Cenedlaethol Eryri yn tystio i fwy na dim ond cyfoeth o fwynau, mae’n brawf o hanes daearegol hynod gyffrous y mae miliynau o flynyddoedd o brosesau daearegol wedi eu datgelu i ni.

Er mwyn gweld yn union beth ddigwyddodd, y peth gorau fyddai i ni osod ein hunain yng nghanol dŵr aber y Fawddach, ychydig oddi wrth draeth y Bermo, a theithio’n ôl drwy amser. Fe ddylai 550 miliwn o flynyddoedd fod yn ddigon.

Safai’r Eryri Cambriaidd Cynnar 60° i’r de yn rhan o ehangdir bychan o’r enw Afalonia, oedd i’r gogledd-orllewin o gyfandir hynafol o’r enw Gondwana. Roedd yr oes folcanig wedi dechrau, ac yn cyd-fynd â symudiadau yn y platiau tectonig. Tua 490 miliwn o flynyddoedd yn ôl fe ddwysaodd y gweithgaredd hwnnw nes y cododd, ger ein gwylfan dychmygol, anferth o losgfynydd. Y cwbl sydd ar ôl o’r llosgfynydd hwnnw heddiw ydi’r Rhobell Fawr. Ffurfiodd llosgfynyddoedd eraill fwa enfawr yn ymestyn draw o Eryri hyd at fynyddoedd Langdale yn Ardal y Llynnoedd. Bu i’r ‘bedydd tân’ Ordofigaidd hwn barhau â’i ffrwydro am 60 miliwn o flynyddoedd, a hynny sy’n gyfrifol am y mwynau sydd i’w gweld yn y Parc, yn cynnwys aur ardal y Fawddach1.

Byddai’n hyfryd efallai meddwl bod ein perthnasau o’r Oes Efydd wedi darganfod yr aur a chreu delwau drudfawr ohono. Ar hyn o bryd does dim tystiolaeth o hynny a’r ddamcaniaeth ddiweddaraf y mae archeolegwyr Prydeinig yn ei harddel ydi bod arteffactau aur gogledd Cymru wedi dod o’r Iwerddon a de Ewrop. Mae peintiad gan John Glover wedi ei ddyddio tua 1795 â’r teitl ‘Padellu am Aur yn y Fawddach’ yn awgrymu nad ond ychydig o ymelwa cysylltiedig ag aur oedd cyn Oes Fictoria. Tystia cofnodion hanesyddol i fwyngloddio aur yma yn yr 1860au, bron yr un adeg â sbri aur gogledd America, Awstralia a De’r Affrig. Ffolodd Fictorianiaid Prydain dros y metal melyn hwn, ac agorwyd mwynfeydd o’r Fawddach hyd at Gastell Carndochan ger y Bala i’r un cyfeiriad

a hyd at Drawsfynydd i’r cyfeiriad arall. Buddsoddwyd a gwastraffwyd symiau anferth o arian a chollwyd aml i ffortiwn.

Y mwynfeydd mwyaf pwysig yn yr ardal oedd un y Clogau (uwchben Bontddu) ac un Gwynfynydd (yng Nghoed y Brenin), a bu’r ddwy yn gweithio’n ysbeidiol hyd at ddiwedd yr 20fed ganrif ar gyfer cwsmeriaid dethol, o Catherine Zeta-Jones i aelodau teulu Windsor. Rhyw fath o gadw i fyny hefo’r Jonesiaid, efallai?

Oherwydd natur fyrhoedlog mwyngloddio aur yn y rhan hon o Eryri, ni fu ei effaith mor drawiadol ag effaith y mwyngloddio a’r chwarelydda sydd i’w weld yn rhannau eraill o’r Parc. Mae peth rwbel i’w gael ar ochr y mynydd o du isaf Clogau, ond rhaid gwybod yn union ble i edrych, ac mae coed duon wedi cuddio’r rhan fwyaf o weddillion mwyngloddio Coed y Brenin. Yn wir fe ellid dweud mai’r dystiolaeth orau o’r cyffro mawr hwnnw erbyn hyn ydi rhai o’r adeiladau crand yn nhref Dolgellau sy’n dyddio o ganol y 19eg ganrif. Byddai’r mwynwyr yn byw mewn barics gerllaw’r gweithfeydd a phur anaml y byddent yn mynd am ychydig o ‘hwyl’ i Ddolgellau. Ond byddai’r canlyniadau i’w gweld o bryd i’w gilydd yn y papurau lleol. Mewn un achos llys, cafwyd tafarnwr yn ddieuog o lofruddio mwynwr, tra’r alltudiwyd dyn lleol i Awstralia mewn llys arall am botsio cwningen!

Ond copr oedd gwir ‘aur’ yr ardal ar hyd yr adeg, gyda mwyngloddio’r metal coch wedi hen ennill ei blwyf ers diwedd y Canol Oesoedd2. Daeth y bygythiad mwyaf i dirlun yr ardal ym mlynyddoedd cynnar yr 1970au pan lwyddodd cwmni mwyngloddio RTZ i gael trwydded i echdynnu mwynau. Gwnaeth y cwmni gais i dyllu am aur yn aber y Fawddach, ond ystryw oedd hyn i guddio’i wir amcan sef tyllu am fwyn copr o gwmpas Capel Hermon, twyll a ddatgelwyd gan y cylchgrawn New Scientist3.

Heddiw, diolch i reolaeth dda yng Nghoed y Brenin, mae teithiau cerdded hynod o ddiddorol i’w cael o gwmpas gweddillion y mwynfeydd aur yn y coedwigoedd hyn sydd bellach dan ofal Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru._______

Mae Vic yn aelod newydd o Gymdeithas

Eryri ac yn gyn-gemegydd ymchwiliol. Ers ei ymddeoliad mae o'n mwynhau cymryd rhan yn nigwyddiadau Cymdeithas Eryri, yn

enwedig y gwaith codi sbwriel o’r glannau.

(De) Tystiolaeth o weithgareddau mwyngloddio yn y gorffennol● (Right) Evidence of past mining

activities © Vic Hughes

1. I weld disgrifiad mwy manwl o’r broses a chodi cwr y llen ar y dadlau sy’n fêl ar fysedd daearegwyr heddiw, gweler www.geologywales.co.uk/dgb

2. Gweler Copr yng Nghoed y Brenin: www.geologywales.co.uk/coedybrenin

3. Mae braslun cryno ar gael ar http://tinyurl.com/lnbq9sg

19

The yellow metal

Victor Hughes

Gold: a very unusual metal, quite rare, but in sufficient amounts that all of us have some, or know someone with some! It didn’t take our Bronze Age predecessors long to find and venerate it, and whilst other precious minerals originate in remote, exotic places, gold is to be found on our doorstep.

The Mawddach had a ‘golden age’. The presence of gold in the Snowdonia National Park is more than a claim to mineral wealth, it is testament to a most exciting geological history, which millions of years of geological processing has laid bare for us to behold.

To see what happened, it might be safest to site ourselves in the Mawddach estuary just off Barmouth and travel back in time. 550 million years should be enough.

Early Cambrian Snowdonia was sitting at about 60°S on a small landmass called Avalonia, situated north-west of an ancient continent, Gondwana. Volcanic activity was underway, associated with shifting tectonic plates. But 490 million years ago this activity intensified until, before our very eyes, a huge volcano appeared. Rhobell Fawr is all that remains of this volcano. Further volcanoes formed a great arc across Snowdonia to the Langdales in the Lake District. This Ordovician ‘baptism of fire’ raged for 60 million years and was responsible for the mineralisation encountered in the Park, including the gold in the Mawddach area1.

It would be enchanting to think that our Bronze Age relatives found gold in this area and fashioned precious icons from it, but the evidence doesn’t stack up.

Latest archaeological thinking is that gold artefacts from north Wales originated from Ireland and southern Europe. A painting by John Glover dated ca.1795 entitled ‘Panning for Gold in the Mawddach’ suggests a low level of exploitation pre-dating the Victorian era. Historical records date the mining of gold here to the 1860s, almost c o n te m p o ra n e o u s with the North American, Australian and South African gold rushes. Victorian Britain plunged itself into the yellow metal

frenzy with mines opening from the Mawddach to Castell Carndochan near Bala and to Trawsfynydd, with huge investments frittered away and fortunes lost.

The most important mines in the area were Clogau (above Bontddu) and Gwynfynydd (in Coed y Brenin), both seeing intermittent activity well into the 20th century for special royal clients, including members of the Zeta-Jones family and the Windsors. Keeping up with the Joneses?

Due to the ephemeral nature of gold mining here, the impact has not been as dramatic as mining and quarrying in other parts of the Park. There is some rubble spilling down the mountainside from Clogau, but you have to know where to look, and conifers have hidden most gold mining activity in Coed y Brenin. In fact, the best evidence for a brief period of intense excitement may lie in some of the grand buildings in Dolgellau dating from the mid-19th century. Miners lived in billets close to the workings and only rarely ventured down to Dolgellau for a bit of ‘enjoyment’, the consequences of which were sometimes recorded in the local newspapers. In one incident, a pub landlord was cleared in court of murdering a miner, whilst in another court a local man was deported to Australia for poaching a rabbit!

Copper was always the real ‘gold’ for the area, extraction being well established from late medieval times2. The greatest threat to the area in landscape terms came in the early 1970s when RTZ contrived to force a mineral extraction licence through. The company applied to drill for gold in the Mawddach estuary as a smokescreen for its real objective - extracting copper deposits around Capel Hermon, a scam that was exposed in New Scientist3.

Thanks to good management of Coed y Brenin, there are some fascinating walks around the ruins of the gold mines on the NRW forestry estate.__________1. For a more detailed description of the process

and a hint of the ongoing controversies that geologists like to engage in, see Mineralisation in the Park: www.geologywales.co.uk/dgb

2. See Copper in Coed y Brenin: www.geologywales.co.uk/coedybrenin

3. For a succinct summary, see http://tinyurl.com/lnbq9sg

A new Snowdonia Society member, Vic is a retired research chemist who enjoys Snowdonia Society events, especially clearing litter

from beaches.

20

Chris Simpkins

Dyddiaduron Hela Gŵr Bonheddig o Oes Fictoria

Dolserau © Duncan Brown

Os ewch chi i gwm cysgodol yr Wnion

(un o ragnentydd afon Mawddach) tua thair milltir

i'r dwyrain o Ddolgellau, mae’n bosibl y gwelwch chi Blas

Dolserau. Yn Oes Fictoria roedd y plasdy hwn yn dŷ haf i ŵr o’r enw Charles

Edwards a'i deulu. Roedd Charles Edwards yn ‘wneuthurwr a chontractiwr rhaffau gwifrau a thelegraff tanfor’ yn Llundain, a phrynodd ystad Dolserau yn 1858. Fe adeiladwyd y Plas presennol yn 1864 a dymchwelyd y tŷ gwreiddiol yn 1865.

Byddai Charles Edwards yn dod i’r Plas gyda’i deulu Fictoraidd dosbarth canol ar wyliau’n aml ac fe gofnodwyd eu bywyd breintiedig yno’n fanwl yn nyddiaduron y mab hynaf, Charles Edward Munro Edwards. Cadwodd ei ‘Ddyddiaduron Hela’ rhwng mis Ionawr 1871 a mis Rhagfyr 1884, ac ynddynt cofnododd y nifer ryfeddol o wahanol anifeiliaid a laddwyd.

Mae'r dyddiaduron cynharaf yn dyddio o'r cyfnod pan oedd Munro yn astudio yn Eton a Rhydychen, ac yn teithio i Gymru ar y trên.

“...started by the 10 o’clock train ... it was rather hot. But after Corwen a ride on the

engine to Drws-y-Nant did us lots of good; … Papa met us with the drag, and

we drove to Dolserau with him through a Scotch mist.” [5.8.1871]

“…a very fine day … went to Dolgun … to shoot jay’s [sic] …I then went trout fishing up the Clwedog and Lloyd went up the Wnion … Croquet … Afterwards we sent up 4 fire baloons [sic] in honour of Grace’s birthday, and sat out in the garden to see the shooting stars. Trout 48.” [10.8.1871].

O blith y pysgod a ddaliwyd yn afonydd a llynnoedd yr ardal, yr eog oedd y mwyaf cyffrous i’w ddal. Roedd nifer dda o frithyll, a daliwyd hefyd draenogiaid, brithyll y môr, gleisiaid (eog ieuanc) a llyswennod, a byddai pob un yn cael ei bwyso a’i fanylion yn cael eu cofnodi’n ofalus. Byddent hefyd yn hela dyfrgwn pan fyddai hynny ar fynd.

Byddai Munro yn aml yn cerdded cryn bellter i bysgota neu saethu.

“…breakfasted at 7.30 … to fish above the Mawddach Falls … a long walk … the Minor [ei frawd] and I fished separate water and joined at lunchtime … and then fished a long way up the stream together … really it was too bright for successful fishing … at 6 o’clock walked to Ty’n Groes where the phaeton met us … sat down to dinner at Dolserau at 8.30. Trout 57.” [24.3.1874]

Mae hefyd yn amlwg na fyddai’n gwastraffu munud o’i amser:

“I read for 3 hours this morning, before starting to attend Petty Sessions at 11 o'clock in Dolgelley, and took my seat on the Bench for the first time, as a

magistrate of the county … business was not onerous: we got back to Dolserau about 1 o'clock. The Squire [ei dad] started away to Birmingham this afternoon. I, immediately, went out fishing, and began above the Helugog [sic] Pools: and had some capital sport fishing upstream as far as [Fere?]-newydd Mill. I had a pretty heavy load of fish to walk home with, and got in just in time to dress for dinner at 8 o'clock. After dinner we played billiards. Trout (Wnion) 76 caught in 5 hours.” [10.8.1875]

Priodwyd ei ddwy chwaer yn 1870 mewn seremoni ddwbl, a chynhaliwyd y dathliadau yn Nolserau. Mae'n debyg bod yr achlysur yn un moethus ac yn cynnwys pobl leol ac ymwelwyr o'r ‘Dref’. Byddai Nelly, y plentyn ieuengaf, yn mynd weithiau gyda Munro ar ei deithiau cerdded neu ar gefn merlen. “…to the Llwyn fields to catch animals for the aquarium…” [21.3.1875].

Fe gofnodwyd ambell i weithgaredd cymdeithasol arall hefyd dros y blynyddoedd: gemau pêl-droed, criced, tennis, croquet, nofio yn yr Wnion ac ymweliadau â chymdogion i fynd ar bicnic neu i ddawns. Byddai cinio i'r tenantiaid bob Nadolig ac adloniant teuluol megis 'charades', 'waxworks' a 'Jingles'.

Yn ddiweddarach daeth Munro’n fargyfreithiwr â’i swyddfa yn Abermaw. Roedd yn aelod parchus o gymuned Meirionnydd a bu iddo barhau â’i ‘fywyd helwriaethol’ hyd at ei farwolaeth ym mis Tachwedd 1914. Fe’i claddwyd ym mynwent Eglwys Sant Marc, Brithdir.

Mae’r dyddiaduron gwreiddiol yn yr Archifdy yn Nolgellau (Z/M/73/2 - 4) a’u gwybodaeth yn y broses o gael ei

drosglwyddo i wefan www.llennatur.com

Byddwn yn falch iawn o unrhyw gymorth gyda’r gwaith hwn.

Wedi gyrfa fel athrawes yn Wrecsam, ymddeolodd Chris i'r Waunfawr i fwynhau Eryri.

Daeth yn gysylltiedig â phrosiect Llên Natur, yn mewnbynnu data amgylcheddol a hanes

cymdeithasol o ddyddiaduron sydd heb eu cyhoeddi ar y cyfan.

© P

ierin

o Al

gier

i

21

The Sporting Diaries of a Victorian GentlemanLying in the sheltered valley of the Wnion (a tributary of the Mawddach), some three miles east of Dolgellau, is Dolserau Hall, which in Victorian times was the holiday home of Charles Edwards and his family. Living in London, where he was a ‘Wire Rope and Submarine Telegraph Manufacturer and Contractor’, Edwards acquired the estate in 1858. The current hall was built in 1864 and the old house demolished in 1865.

To the new mansion, the middle class Victorian family came for frequent holidays. In the diaries of the eldest son, Charles Edward Munro Edwards, their privileged life at Dolserau was recorded in meticulous detail. These ‘Sporting Diaries’ were kept from January 1871 to December 1884, and record an amazing number of creatures killed.

The early diaries date from the time when Munro was at Eton and Oxford and travelling to Wales by train:

“...started by the 10 o’clock train ... it was rather hot. But after Corwen a ride on the engine to Drws-y-Nant did us lots of good; … Papa met us with the drag, and we drove to Dolserau with him through a Scotch mist.” [5.8.1871]

“…a very fine day … went to Dolgun … to shoot jay’s [sic] …I then went trout fishing up the Clwedog and Lloyd went up the Wnion … Croquet … Afterwards we sent up 4 fire baloons [sic] in honour of Grace’s birthday, and sat out in the garden to see the shooting stars. Trout 48.” [10.8.1871].

In the surrounding rivers and lakes salm-on was the most exciting catch and trout were numerous; perch, sewin (sea trout), grilse (juvenile salmon) and eels were also caught, weighed and carefully recorded. They also followed the Otter Hunt.

Often Munro walked considerable distances to shoot or fish:

“…breakfasted at 7.30 … to fish above the Mawddach Falls … a long walk … the Minor [his brother] and I fished separate water and joined at lunchtime … and then fished a long way up the stream together … really it was too bright for successful fishing …at 6 o’clock walked to Ty’n Groes where the phaeton met us … sat down to dinner at Dolserau at 8.30. Trout 57.” [24.3.1874]

It is also clear that no time was wasted:

“I read for 3 hours this morning, before starting to attend Petty Sessions at 11 o'clock in Dolgelley, and took my seat on the Bench for the first time, as a magistrate of the county … business was not onerous: we got back to Dolserau about 1 o'clock. The Squire [his father] started away to Birmingham this afternoon. I, immediately, went out fishing, and began above the Helugog [sic] Pools: and had some capital sport fishing upstream as far as [Fere?]-newydd Mill. I had a pretty heavy load of fish to walk home with, and got in just in time to dress for dinner at 8 o'clock. After dinner we played billiards. Trout (Wnion) 76 caught in 5 hours.” [10.8.1875]

His two elder sisters were married in a double event from Dolserau in 1870 in what seems to have been a lavish occasion involving both local people and visitors from ‘Town.’ Nelly, the youngest child, s o m e t i m e s accompanied Munro on

walks or pony rides “…to the Llwyn fields to catch animals for the aquarium…” [21.3.1875].

Other social events recorded through the years include football and cricket matches, tennis, croquet and swimming in the Wnion, or visits to neighbours for picnics and dances. The tenants’ dinner was held every Christmas along with other family entertainments such as charades, waxworks and ‘jingles’.

Later, Munro became a barrister, practising in Barmouth. He was a respected member of the Meirionydd community and continued his ‘sporting life’ until his death in November 1914. He is buried at St Mark’s church, Brithdir.

The original diaries are held at the Archives in Dolgellau (Z/M/73/2 – 4) and are currently being transcribed onto the website www.llennatur.com where they make fascinating reading. Help with this

inputting would be very welcome!

Chris Simpkins

After a career teaching in Wrexham, Chris retired to

Waunfawr to enjoy Snowdonia. She became involved with the ‘Llen Natur’ project inputting

environmental and social history data, extracted from mostly

unpublished diaries. ©

Pie

rino

Algi

eri

Total Head of game shot at Dolserau during the

Xmas holidays from December 16th to January 18th

1872: Woodcock 23, Pheasant 4, Redwing 1, Partridge 13,

Mallard 1, Starling 1, Snipe 12, Curlew 1 ... Rabbit 8,

Woodpigeon 3, Hare 12, Fieldfare 3. [18.1.1882]

22

Newyddion ymgyrchu*I ddarllen am y datblygiadau diwedderaf ynghylch y materion hyn, gweler y daflen sydd wedi ei hamgáu â'ch cylchgrawn.*

Yn ystod mis Ionawr cyhoeddodd y Pwyllgor Amgylchedd a Chynaliadwyedd (A&C) adroddiad ar ganlyniadau y craffu ar y Mesur Drafft Cynllunio (Cymru). Wedi'r ymaros eiddgar, byddai argymhellion yr adroddiad hwn yn chwarae rhan bwysig yn ateb y cwestiwn tyngedfennol, ‘Pwy sydd yn gwneud penderfyniadau ar gynllunio o fewn y Parciau Cenedlaethol?’

Ysgrifennnnodd Cymdeithas Eryri at Gadeirydd y Pwyllgor, Alun Ffred Jones yn ogystal ag aelodau'r pwyllgor sydd mewn etholaethau yn ffinio ar Eryri, yn manylu ar ein pryderon am ran o'r dystiolaeth a roddwyd gerbron y Pwyllgor gan y Gweinidog Cyfoeth Naturiol a'r Prif Gynllunydd.

Yn ogystal, cefnogodd y Gymdeithas gyflwyniad manwl gan y Gynghrair dros Barciau Cenedlaethol Cymru (CdBCC) ac Ymgyrch Diogelu Cymru Wledig (YDCW) a roddodd bwyslais cyffelyb i'r pryderon hyn yng nghyd destun yr holl glwstwr o ddeddfwriaethau Llywodraeth Cymru a fydd yn effeithio'r Parciau Cenedlaethol ac Ardaloedd o Harddwch Naturiol Eithriadol.

Rydym yn falch i gofnodi'r argymhellion canlynol a ddyfynir o Adroddiad y Pwyllgor A&C:

"Nid ydym wedi cael digon o dystiolaeth i awgrymu y dylai swyddogaethau cynllunio awdurdodau’r parciau cenedlaethol gael eu dileu ac mae’n dda gennym fod y Gweinidog wedi cadarnhau nad yw’n parhau â’r dewis hwn.

"Nid ydym wedi cael tystiolaeth ychwaith i awgrymu unrhyw fanteision yn sgil uno swyddogaethau cynllunio awdurdodau’r parciau cenedlaethol ag ACLlau eraill.

"Nid ydym wedi’n hargyhoeddi bod yr ymchwil a gomisiynwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru ar Gyflawni Gwasanaethau Cynllunio mewn Tirluniau Dynodedig Statudol wedi dangos bod penderfyniadau cynllunio a wnaed gan ACLlau mewn AHNEoedd yr un mor effeithiol o ran diogelu’r tirluniau hyn â’r penderfyniadau a wnaed gan awdurdodau’r parciau cenedlaethol, fel yr honnodd Prif Gynllunydd y Gweinidog. Yn ein barn ni, mae tystiolaeth yr adroddiad yn llai na phendant.

"Rydym yn sylweddoli y gallai’r Gweinidog fynd ati ... i greu Byrddau Cydgynllunio a allai gynnwys rhan neu’r cyfan o barc cenedlaethol yn y dyfodol ...

"... Er hynny, mae diogelu’n parciau cenedlaethol mor bwysig nes ein bod yn

credu mai dim ond os oes yna dystiolaeth lethol y dylai pwerau gael eu rhoi a fyddai’n caniatáu i lywodraeth ddiwygio unrhyw rai o bwerau awdurdodau’r parciau cenedlaethol. Er nad oes gennym amheuaeth ynglŷn â bwriad y Gweinidog, nid ydym yn credu bod yr achos wedi’i wneud o blaid rhoi’r pwerau hyn ar hyn o bryd.

"Rydym yn argymell y dylai’r Gweinidog adael y Bil fel y mae wedi’i ddrafftio o ran y Parciau Cenedlaethol ac y dylai ailystyried ei fwriad i gyflwyno gwelliannau i roi’r pŵer i Weinidogion Cymru i greu Byrddau Cydgynllunio a allai gynnwys rhan neu’r cyfan o Barc Cenedlaethol yn y dyfodol."

Byddwn yn cadw llygad barcud ar ddatblygiad y Mesur Cynllunio yng ngolau argymhellion y Pwyllgor.

Adolygiad Llywodraeth Cymru o Dirweddau Dynodedig yng Nghymru

Mae Cam 1 o'r adolygiad hwn bellach wedi'i gwblhau a disgwylir adroddiad y Panel unrhyw ddiwrnod. Cyflwynodd Cymdeithas Eryri ymateb manwl ger bron y Panel, chwaraeodd ran allweddol yn datblygu cyflwyniad grymus CdBCC, ac fe fynychodd sesiwn casglu gwybodaeth arbennig gan y Panel yn ystod ei ymweliad ag Eryri. Elfen allweddol o'n cyflwyniad oedd pwysleisio'r angen i ymestyn cylch gwaith yr Adolygiad i gynnwys y cwestiwn canolog o bwerau cynllunio o fewn y Parciau Cenedlaethol. 'Rydym yn falch o nodi fod sylw wedi'i roi i'r mater hwn yn y craffu o'r Mesur Drafft Cynllunio (gweler uchod).

Disgwylir datgelu Cam 2 o'r Adolygiad wrth inni fynd i'r Wasg. Cofrestrwch i dderbyn ein e-fwletin os hoffech gadw i fyny â'r datblygiadau. Mae eich Cymdeithas yn gweithio'n galed i wneud yn siwr y bydd ein Parc Cenedlaethol yn dod allan o'r broses hon nid yn unig yn gyfan ond hefyd yn cael ei gwerthfawrogi a'i pharchu yn fwy eang.

Mesur Lles y Cenedlaethau i Ddod

O dan ambarel CdBCC, lobïwyd Aelodau'r Cynulliad ar bwysigrwydd y Parciau Cenedlaethol a'r AOHE i les y trigolion ac ymwelwyr, ac i sicrhau fod yr egwyddor o ‘derfynau amgylcheddol’ wedi'i gynnwys yn y ddeddfwriaeth. Mae'r rhan fwyaf o'r gwelliannau rydym wedi crybwyll wedi'u mabwysiadu neu wedi'u cynnig yn ffurfiol gan Aelodau Cynulliad.

2014 mewn rhifau: crynodeb ymgyrchoedd, cynllunio a pholisi

Megis canran bychan iawn yw'r crynodeb hwn, yn gyntaf oherwydd gallem wneud cymaint yn fwy, ac yn ail oherwydd bod

pob eitem ar y rhestrau yn golygu llwyth gwaith cuddiedig sylweddol - trafodaethau, ymchwil, sgwennu i fyny a chyhoeddusrwydd ar y we ac yn y cyfryngau.

7 ymateb ymgynghoriad manwl:• Adolygiad Llywodraeth Cymru o

Dirweddau Dynodedig yng Nghymru, darn o waith sylweddol yn edrych ar rol a rheolaeth y Parciau Cenedlaethol a'r AOHE

• Cynllun drafft Adfer Natur Llywodraeth Cymru – strategaeth Llywodraeth Cymru i wrthdroi'r dirywiad mewn bioamrywiaeth

• Awdurdod Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri (APCE): aildrefnu llwybrau troed

• APCE: arbedion costau arfaethedig (canolfannau gwybodaeth, meusydd parcio a phrisiau gwasanaethau cynllunio)

• APCE: arweiniad ar gynllunio ar gyfer Asesiad Cymeriad Tirweddau a Morluniau

• APCE: cynllun arfaethedig Cronfa Treftadaeth y Loteri ar gyfer y Carneddau ac Ogwen

• Cynllun Trafnidiaeth Lleol Gogledd Cymru

11 ymateb i geisiadau cynllunio:• Mewn 2 achos cyflwynwyd llythyr o

gefnogaeth i'r cais (adeilad cymunedol yn Llanuwchllyn a gwaith sy'n rhan o gadwraeth cregyn gleision perlog dŵr croyw yn ardal Afon Eden)

• Mewn 9 achos mynegwyd pryderon mawr neu wrthwynebiad llwyr, yn cynnwys 4 cais o fewn y Parc Cenedlaethol (pob un yn gynlluniau hydro), 4 ar stepan drws y Parc yng Nghonwy (tyrbinau gwynt) ac 1 yng Ngwynedd (hefyd yn dyrbin gwynt)

• O'r ceisiadau hyn, gwrthodwyd hawl cynllunio neu fe dynnodd yr ymgeisydd yn ôl mewn o leiaf 5 achos.

5 llythyr i Aelodau unigol o’r Cynulliad.

8 ymgyrch lleol• Trafnidiaeth lleol, gan gynnwys bysiau

lleol a'r ymgynghoriad ar y Cynllun Trafnidiaeth Lleol

• Ymateb i ffilm gyhoeddusrwydd Land Rover ar Foel Eilio

• Ymateb i gynnwys Llanbedr ar y rhestr o safleodd posib are gyfer Spaceport

• Tanddaearu gwifrau pŵer foltedd uchel yn y Parc Cenedlaethol

• Problemau cerbydau pob tir, gan gynnwys cyflwyno tystiolaeth i'r grwp traws-bleidiol ar Faterion Gwledig

• Materion goleuo ac arwyddion yn Arosfan Llandecwyn

• Safle Gwesty St David yn Harlech• Cynllun hydro pwmpio a storio trydan

arfaethedig yng Nglyn Rhonwy.

Cafodd nifer helaeth o'r ymgyrchoedd lleol gryn dipyn o gyhoeddusrwydd yn y wasg, ar y teledu ac ar y radio.

23

Campaign news*For the most recent developments, please see the enclosure with your magazine.*

January saw the publication by the Environment and Sustainability Committee reporting the results of their scrutiny of the draft Planning (Wales) Bill. Anxiously anticipated, the recommendations of this report would play an important role in answering the critical question ‘Who makes decisions on planning in National Parks?’

The Snowdonia Society wrote to the Committee’s chair, Alun Ffred Jones, and to committee members whose constituencies touch Snowdonia, detailing our concerns over some of the evidence given to the Committee by the Minister for Natural Resources and by the Chief Planner.

The Society also supported a detailed submission by the Alliance for National Parks Cymru (AfNPC) and CPRW which also highlighted these concerns in the context of the whole raft of emerging Welsh Government legislation which will affect National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

We are delighted to report the following recommendations, extracted from the E&S Committee’s report:

“We have not received sufficient evidence to suggest that planning functions should be removed from National Park Authorities and are pleased that the Minister has confirmed that he is not pursuing this option.

"Neither have we received evidence to suggest any benefits from merging the planning functions of National Park Authorities with other Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).

"We are not convinced that the Welsh Government’s commissioned research on the Delivery of Planning Services in Statutory Designated Landscapes has demonstrated that planning decisions made by LPAs in Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty were as effective in protecting these landscapes as those made by National Park Authorities, as was claimed by the Minister’s Chief Planner. Our view is that the evidence in the report is less conclusive.

"We appreciate that the Minister may seek ... the power to create Joint Planning Boards that could in future include whole or part of a National Park ....

"However, such is the importance of safeguarding our National Parks that we

believe that powers which would allow a Government to amend any of the National Park Authorities’ functions should only be granted in light of overwhelming evidence. Whilst we do not doubt this Minister’s intentions, we do not believe the case has been made for granting these powers at this time.

"We recommend that the Minister leaves the Bill as drafted in relation to National Parks and that he reconsiders his intention to bring forward amendments to give Welsh Ministers the power to create Joint Planning Boards that could in future include whole or part of a National Park.”

We will keep a watchful eye on the development of the Planning Bill in the light of the Committee’s recommendations.

Welsh Government Review of Designated Landscapes in Wales

Stage 1 of this review is now complete and we await the Panel’s report any day now. The Snowdonia Society made a detailed submission to the Panel, played a key role in developing the heavyweight submission by the AfNPC, and attended a special information gathering session by the Panel when they visited Snowdonia. A key element of our submission was to highlight the need for the Review’s remit to be extended to include the central question of planning powers in National Parks. We are pleased to see that this issue has been highlighted in the scrutiny of the draft Planning Bill (see above).

Stage 2 of the Review is due to be unveiled as we go to press. Please sign up to our e-bulletin if you want to keep abreast of developments. Your Society is working hard to make sure that our National Park comes out of this process not just intact, but more widely valued and respected.

Well-being of Future Generations Bill

Under the AfNPC umbrella, we lobbied Assembly Members on the importance of National Parks and AONBs for the well-being of local people and visitors, and to ensure that the concept of ‘environmental limits’ is brought into this legislation. Most of our suggested amendments have now been adopted and formally proposed by AMs.

2014 in numbers: campaigns, planning and policy summary

This summary is just the tip of the iceberg, firstly because there is much more we could

do, and secondly because each item on the lists requires a substantial hidden workload – discussion, research, writing up and web/media publicity.

7 detailed consultation responses:• Welsh Government Review of

Designated Landscapes in Wales, a major piece of work looking at the roles and governance of National Parks and AONBs

• Welsh Government Nature Recovery Plan draft – Welsh Government’s strategy to reverse declines in biodiversity

• Snowdonia National Park Authority (SNPA) footpath realignments

• SNPA proposed cost savings (information centres, car parks and planning service charges)

• SNPA Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment planning guidance

• SNPA Heritage Lottery project proposal for Carneddau and Ogwen

• North Wales Local Transport Plan.

11 planning application responses:• In 2 cases we wrote in support of the

application (a community building in Llanuwchllyn and works as part of freshwater pearl mussel conservation in the Eden catchment)

• In 9 cases we expressed serious concerns or outright objection, of which 4 were applications inside the National Park (all hydro schemes), 4 on the Park’s doorstep in Conwy (wind-turbines) and 1 in Gwynedd (also a wind-turbine)

• Out of these applications, at least 5 were either refused planning permission or withdrawn by the applicant.

5 letters to individual Assembly Members

8 local campaigns• Local transport, including local buses and

the Local Transport Plan consultation• A response to the Land Rover publicity

shoot on Moel Eilio• A response to the inclusion of Llanbedr

on the list of candidate Spaceport sites• Undergrounding of high-voltage power

lines in the National Park• Off-roading issues, including submitting

evidence to the cross-party group on Rural Affairs

• Llandecwyn Halt lighting and signage issues

• St David’s Hotel site in Harlech• Glyn Rhonwy pumped storage hydro

proposal.

Most of these local campaign issues gained substantial publicity in the press, on television or radio.

24

Fe wynebodd gwirfoddolwyr Cymdeithas Eryri y gwynt a'r glaw y llynedd i glirio sbwriel o un o draethau mwyaf poblogaidd Gwynedd. Bu ein byddin o wirfoddolwyr yn gweithio mewn partneriaeth â staff Awdurdod Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru a’r Marine Conservation Society i wneud gwahaniaeth mawr ar draeth Harlech.

Gyda'n gilydd fe wnaethom ein ffordd i'r pwynt mwyaf gogleddol yn treulio'r diwrnod yn glanhau sbwriel. Ar yr un pryd cynhaliwyd arolwg i nodi’r mathau o sbwriel a ddarganfuwyd. Roedd canran syfrdanol o 89% yn blastig, gyda 20% o'r sbwriel a gasglwyd yn blastig ‘tirol’, sef plastig a daflwyd gan y cyhoedd megis bagiau plastig a photeli. Bu hyn yn broc inni gwestiynu tarddiad y sbwriel a beth ellir ei wneud i'w rwystro yn ei fan cychwyn.

Mae'n debygol nad yw'r rhan fwyaf o'r sbwriel wedi'i ollwng ar draeth Harlech ei hun. Efallai ei fod wedi'i luchio dros ochr cwch i'r môr neu wedi'i daflu ar y tir mawr, cyn cael ei gario gan y gwynt a’r dŵr. Yn y cyfamser mae wedi torri i fyny i ddarnau llai byth, gan adael cawl o ronynnau plastig sy'n broblem ddifrifol ar dir a môr. Mae angen inni ystyried sbwriel yn broblem symudol a phroblem dalgylch a byddwn yn edrych yn agosach ar y gogwydd yma yn ystod y tair blynedd nesaf.

Cymerwch funud i ystyried beth sy'n digwydd i fag plastig a daflwyd ar ochr ffordd filltiroedd i ffwrdd o'r arfordir. Wedi'i angori gan ddŵr glaw, gall dreulio'r gaeaf mewn ffos neu rigol hyd nes i haul y gwanwyn ei sychu allan, ac mewn cyflwr truenus iawn erbyn hyn mae'n cael ei chwythu ar ei ffordd ymlaen. Efallai y bydd yn gorffen i fyny mewn sianel ddŵr yn ymdroelli ei ffordd i'r traeth. Yn y môr, gall ein bag gael ei fwyta gan grwban môr cefn-lledr yn ei gamgymryd am ei hoff fwyd, sef sglefrod môr. Os bydd y bag yn dianc rhag cael ei fwyta, mewn amser bydd yn cael ei falu ymhellach, gyda darnau bychain yn cael eu golchi i mewn ac allan o'r aberoedd neu yn cael eu chwythu yn ôl i'r tir mawr o'r draethlin.

Mae effeithiau plastigau ar fywyd gwyllt yn ddifrifol a hir-dymor. Pwy fyddai'n meddwl fod bag plastig unigol a daflwyd ar ochr ffordd yn gallu achosi cymaint o drafferth? Mae un bag plastig ychwanegol yn gwneud gwahaniaeth.

Bydd Cymdeithas Eryri yn cynyddu ein gwaith ar sbwriel yn ystod y tair blynedd nesaf:• Diwrnodau glanhau sbwriel ar lwybrau iseldir, gwarchodfeydd

natur a thraethau• Gwaith partneriaeth Wyddfa

Lân ar yr Wyddfa ei hun• Dull dalgylch: casglu

tystiolaeth ar symudiad sbwriel a mapio mannau sbwriel dwys

• Gweithio gyda Chanolfan Newid Ymddygiad Cymru, Prifysgol Bangor, ar ddatblygu ymyriadau ymddygiad sbwriel.

Awydd cymryd rhan? Cysylltwch â Mary-Kate neu Owain yn ein swyddfa am ragor o wybodaeth!

Perygl plastig ● Plastic perilSnowdonia Society volunteers braved the elements last year to clear litter from one of Gwynedd’s most popular beaches. Our army of volunteers worked in partnership with staff from Snowdonia National Park Authority, Natural Resources Wales and the Marine Conservation Society to make a big impact at Harlech Beach.

Together we trekked to the northernmost point and spent the day clearing litter. We also carried out surveys to identify the types of litter we found. A whopping 89% was plastic, with 20% of the litter collected being ‘terrestrial’ plastic dropped by the public, such as plastic bags and bottles. This prompted us to question where the litter comes from and what can be done to stop it at source.

Most of the litter on Harlech beach probably wasn’t dropped there. It may have been thrown overboard at sea or dropped inland, then transported by wind and water. During this time it breaks up into ever smaller pieces, and the resulting soup of plastic particles is a serious pollution problem on land and at sea. We need to consider litter as a mobile problem, and a whole-catchment problem, and we will explore this angle over the next three years.

Pause a moment to consider what happens to a plastic bag dropped by a road miles from the coast. Anchored by rainwater, it may spend the winter in a ditch or gully until the spring sunshine dries it out and, a little tattered by now, it blows on its way. It may end up in a water course, and meander its way to the beach. At sea, our bag may be eaten by a hungry leatherback turtle mistaking it for a jellyfish, which is their favourite food; if the bag escapes being eaten, over time it will be torn, with fragments being washed in and out of estuaries or blown back inland from the strand-line of a beach.

The effects of plastics on wildlife are serious and long-lasting. Who would think a lone plastic bag dropped on a roadside could cause such trouble? One more plastic bag does make a difference.

The Snowdonia Society will be increasing our work on litter over the next three years:• Litter clean-up days on low-level paths, nature reserves, and

beaches• Snowdon Tidy partnership work on Snowdon itself• Catchment approach: gathering evidence on litter mobility

and mapping litter hotspots

Gwirfoddolwyr yn cofnodi mathau o sbwriel/Volunteers noting types of litter: Danial Owen, Pratik Doshi & Alex Griffiths.

• Working with Wales Centre for Behaviour Change at Bangor University’on developing litter behaviour interventions.

Fancy getting involved? Contact Mary-Kate or Owain in our office for more information.

25

Book reviewAdolygiad llyfr

Esmé Kirby first came to public attention in the book “I Bought a Mountain”, written by her first husband, Thomas Firbank. It describes the struggles of a young couple with little farming experience to make Dyffryn, a mountain farm on the slopes of the Glyders, successful. Esmé and Thomas separated in 1939 and he never returned to Dyffryn, but Esmé remained there for the rest of her life.

After the war and marriage to Peter Kirby, Esmé became involved in conservation and planning matters within the newly established Snowdonia National Park. In 1967 she established the Snowdonia National Park Society (now the Snowdonia Society), chairing it until she was ousted in 1991. Her response was to set up the Esmé Kirby Snowdonia Trust, through which she was instrumental in removing grey squirrels from Anglesey, thereby enabling red squirrels to thrive.

Teleri Bevan was a journalist and this is apparent from the style of this memoir, which is not without errors and omissions. That said, it is worth reading for its account of the early years of the Snowdonia Society and the interesting life and character of its founder.

The book details Esmé’s work for the Snowdonia Society, highlighting campaigns both successful and otherwise. It covers the purchase and renovation of the flagship property Tŷ Hyll, and describes how, after many battles, she eventually lost her control over the Society. Esmé had clear ideas about what was needed but found it difficult to delegate. She had many admirers but she also seriously provoked many who came into contact with her. Towards the end of her life this perhaps overshadowed her great achievement in establishing the Snowdonia Society as the conservation charity working to protect Snowdonia.

I met Esmé regularly towards the end of her life; while she could be demanding she was capable of great personal charm. She was not, I believe, motivated by personal advantage of any kind, other than recognition of her contribution. The qualities which enabled her to run a thriving mountain farm and effective watchdog society were also those which led her to believe that she was more capable than anyone else of safeguarding Snowdonia for the future.

Judith Bellis

Daeth Esmé Kirby i sylw’r cyhoedd am y tro cyntaf yn y llyfr “I Bought a Mountain”, a ysgrifenwyd gan ei gŵr cyntaf, Thomas Firbank. Mae'r llyfr yn disgrifio treialon cwpwl ifanc, heb fawr o brofiad o ffermio, yn ceisio cael trefn ar Dyffryn, fferm fynydd ar lethrau'r Glyderau. Bu i Esmé a Thomas wahanu yn 1939 ac ni ddychwelodd ef i Dyffryn, ond arhosodd Esmé yno am weddill ei hoes.

Ar ôl y rhyfel, wedi priodi Peter Kirby, fe ymrodd Esmé i faterion cadwriaethol a chynllunio. Erbyn hyn roedd Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri wedi ei sefydlu ac yn 1967 fe sefydlodd hithau Gymdeithas Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri (Cymdeithas Eryri erbyn hyn), a bu'n gadeirydd nes y disodlwyd hi yn 1991. Ei hymateb i’r disodli hwn oedd i sefydlu Ymddiredolaeth Eryri Esmé Kirby, a thrwy'r corff hwn bu’n rhan allweddol o gael gwared o’r wiwer lwyd o Ynys Môn, roddodd gyfle i’r wiwer goch ffynnu yno.

Newyddiadurwraig oedd Teleri Bevan ac mae hyn yn amlwg yn arddull y cofiant, sy’n cynnwys ambell i wall a bwlch. Wedi dweud hynny, mae’n werth ei ddarllen am ei ddisgrifiad o flynyddoedd cynnar Cymdeithas Eryri ac o fywyd diddorol a chymeriad ei sefydlydd.

Mae’r llyfr yn manylu ar ymdrechion Esmé ar ran Cymdeithas Eryri ac yn rhoi sylw i wahanol ymgyrchoedd, llwyddiannus ac aflwyddiannus. Mae’n olrhain hanes prynu ac adnewyddu yr adeilad hynod Tŷ Hyll, ac yn disgrifio sut, wedi sawl brwydr, y daeth hi i golli ei rheolaeth o'r Gymdeithas. Roedd gan Esmé syniadau pendant ynghylch yr hyn oedd ei angen ond roedd yn anodd ganddi ddirprwyo. Edmygwyd hi gan sawl un ond llwyddodd hefyd i dynnu sawl un a ddaeth i gysylltiad â hi i’w phen. Erbyn diwedd ei hoes mae’n bosibl bod hynny wedi taflu cysgod dros faint yr hyn a gyflawnodd drwy sefydlu Cymdeithas Eryri fel Elusen Gadwriaethol i warchod Eryri.

Bûm i’n cyfarfod ag Esmé yn rheolaidd tua diwedd ei hoes ac er mor heriol y gallai fod ar brydiau roedd ochr annwyl i’w natur hefyd. Ni chredaf fod unrhyw ystyriaeth o fudd personol yn ei chymhelliant, dim mwy na chydnabyddiaeth o'i chyfraniad. Yr union rinweddau a’i galluogodd i redeg fferm fynydd ffyniannus a chymdeithas oruchwylio effeithiol a’i harweiniodd i gredu mae hi yn hytrach na neb arall allai warchod dyfodol Eryri.

Judith Bellis

Esmé: Guardian of Snowdonia

gan/by Teleri Bevan

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Mae ein heiddo hynod Tŷ Hyll yn ffynnu. Felly gadewch inni ddweud diolch.

Diolch am weledigaeth Esmé Kirby ac eraill, a welodd ei botensial.

Diolch am arbenigedd Peter Kirby, Jim Irving (coffâd iddo ar dud.29) a'r lliaws a lywiodd ei brynu a'i adnewyddu.

Diolch i'r dynion a'r merched da ei llaw - pobl fel John Platt (a gofiwn hefyd ar dud.29) a'i lafur cariad yn adeiladu’r waliau sychion.

Diolch arbennig i Eileen Evans a Ruth Cox, gwirfoddolwyr sydd wedi ymddeol yn ddiweddar wedi blynyddoedd o waith caled, cyfnod creu a meithrin y gerddi cyfareddol bywyd gwyllt.

Diolch i bob un o'r rhai sydd wedi gwirfoddoli yn y gorffennol yn ogystal â'r rhai sy'n gwirfoddoli heddiw gyda Margaret Thomas. Mae eich gwaith yn parhau i gadw'r gerddi, y llwybrau a'r coed mewn cyflwr da ac yn hyfryd, ac yn noddfa i fywyd gwyllt.

Diolch i Tim ac Ayla Maddox, am wneud cymaint o lwyddiant o ystafell dê’r Pot Mêl.

A heddiw, diolch i Gyfoeth Naturiol Cymru, am y cyllid i'n galluogi i ehangu ein gwaith cadwraeth gwirfoddol (o dan faner Prosiect Ecosystem Eryri) i gynnwys Tŷ Hyll, ac apwyntio Swyddog Tyfu Tŷ Hyll newydd.

Gan adeiladu ar flynyddoedd o waith ar beilliaid, garddio bywyd gwyllt a rheoli coedlannau, bydd y swyddog newydd yn ysbrydoli mwy o bobl i gymryd rhan ac ennyn chwilfrydedd am gadwraeth, garddio bywyd gwyllt a rheoli coedlannau. Bydd ef neu hi hefyd yn chwarae rhan allweddol yn lledaenu gwybodaeth am weithgareddau ehangach Cymdeithas Eryri trwy greu cysylltiadau agosach ag ysgolion lleol a'n partneriaid presennol, yn ogystal ag ymestyn allan i gefnogwyr a gwirfoddolwyr newydd.

Bydd y cynllun yn cychwyn ym mis Ebrill ac yn rhedeg am dair blynedd, ac yn ystod y cyfnod yma cawn gyfle i ddysgu sut i wneud y defnydd gorau o Dŷ Hyll er budd Eryri ac i hybu amcanion ein Cymdeithas.

Hyderwn fod hwn yn ffordd briodol ac ymarferol o ddangos ein gwerthfawrogiad i bawb sydd wedi cyfrannu dros y blynyddoedd.

Our flagship property Tŷ Hyll, the Ugly House, is thriving. So let us say thanks.

Thanks to the vision of Esmé Kirby and others, who saw its potential.

Thanks to the expertise of Peter Kirby, Jim Irving (remembered on p.29) and many others who saw it through purchase and restoration.

Thanks to the handymen and women - people like John Platt (also remembered

on p.29) who lovingly built the drystone walls.

A special thanks to Eileen Evans and Ruth Cox, volunteers who have recently retired from years

of hard work during which they created and nurtured the charming wildlife-friendly

gardens.

Thanks to all those who have volunteered in the past, and to those who volunteer today with Margaret Thomas. Your work continues to keep the gardens, paths and trees well-

maintained and lovely, and provides a haven for the wildlife.

Thanks to Tim and Ayla Maddox, for making the Pot Mêl tearoom such a success.

And today, thanks to Natural Resources Wales, whose new funding means we can expand

our conservation volunteering work (under the Snowdonia Ecosystem

Project banner) to include Tŷ Hyll, and appoint a new Growing Tŷ Hyll Officer.

Building on the years of work on pollinators, wildlife gardening,

beekeeping, and woodland management, the new Officer will inspire

ever more people to get involved in and excited about conservation, wildlife gardening and

woodland management. He or she will also have a key role in spreading the word about the Snowdonia

Society’s wider activities by forging closer links with local schools and our existing

partners, as well as reaching out to new supporters and volunteers.

The project will start in April and run for three years, during which we will learn how to make best use of Tŷ Hyll

to benefit Snowdonia and further our Society’s aims.

This seems a fitting and practical way to show our appreciation for all who have contributed over the years.

Mae Ty Hyll yn ffynnu ● Ty Hyll is thriving

Pob delwedd/Images© Stephen Culley

^^

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Digwyddiad ar gyfer yr heini, y dewr a'r ffôl yw Triathlon

Mynydd Conwy Fabian4.

Mae'r rhai sy'n cymryd rhan yn padlo, pedlo ac yn rhodio trwy

leoliad gogoneddus ffin ogledd-ddwyrain Eryri.

Ffansio'r sialens? Gallwch gymryd rhan fel unigolyn neu gallwch

rannu'r cur fel rhan o dîm.

Mae'r triathlon mynydd epig yma yn unigryw gan fod yr elw

yn cael ei gyflwyno i Gymdeithas Eryri i gefnogi ein gwaith

cadwraeth ar draws y Parc Cenedlaethol. Os hoffech gymryd

rhan, ewch i www.map17events.org.uk am fwy o wybodaeth.

Mae angen cymorth gyda rheoli trefniadau, lluniaeth, gwobrau,

ac, yn fwy na dim, gyda chyhoeddusrwydd. Cysylltwch â

netticollister@hotmail.com os hoffech gynnig help llaw. Yn y

cyfamser, GADEWCH I BAWB WYBOD AMDANO, ac annogwch

hwy i gymryd rhan, helpu allan neu ddod draw fel gwylwyr.

Beth am wneud hwn yn ddigwyddiadd blynyddol o fri?

ATALIWCH Y WASG: Edrychwch allan am y cyfle i noddi John

Harold, Cyfarwyddwr Cymdeithas Eryri. Er gwaethaf y ffaith

nad yw'n heini nac yn ddewr, mae John wedi cytuno i gymryd

rhan yn yr adran rhedeg mynydd os fedr o ddarganfod tîm digon

byrbwyll i'w gynnwys!

Yn heini, yn ddewr ac yn ffôl?

Fabian4 Dyffryn Conwy Mountain Triathlon is

an event for the fit, the brave, and the foolish.

Participants paddle, pedal and perambulate

through the spectacular setting of Snowdonia’s

north-eastern edge.

Fancy the challenge? You can take part as an

individual or you can share the pain as part of a

team.

This epic mountain triathlon is also unique in

that the proceeds are donated to the Snowdonia

Society to support our conservation work across

the National Park. If you want to take part, find

out more at www.map17events.org.uk

Help is needed with marshalling, refreshments,

prizes and, above all, publicity. Contact

netticollister@hotmail.com if you’d like to lend a

hand. Meanwhile, PLEASE LET EVERYONE KNOW

ABOUT IT, and encourage them to take part, help

out or come along as spectators.

Let’s make this a great annual event.

STOP PRESS: Watch out for the chance to sponsor

Snowdonia Society Director, John Harold. Neither

fit nor brave, John has nevertheless agreed to do

the fell run section if he can find a team desperate

enough to include him!

Fit, brave and foolish?

Fabian4 Dyffryn Conwy Mountain Challenge

Sunday, September 13th 2015

Her Mynydd Dyffryn Conwy Fabian4

Dydd Sul, 13ed Medi

Proceeds to the Snowdonia Society

Elw at Gymdeithas Eryri

THE CHALLENGE AWAITS YOU—ARE YOU READY FOR IT…?!

www.map17events.org.uk

Kayak (optional) 13k

Fell Run 12k

MTB 19k

Solo or Teams

Caiacio (dewisol) 13k Rhedeg Mynydd 12k

Unigol neu dimau

28

Our supportersResults of our membership survey

Ein cefnogwyrCanlyniadau ein arolwg aelodaeth

Thank you to all Snowdonia Society members who returned our 2014 survey. The response rate was very high - 34% of those contacted by email and 50% of those by post. With 240 responses in total, the survey gives a real feel for what matters to you as members.

The striking and consistent message which came out was your endorsement of our campaign work and our practical conservation work.

Protecting Snowdonia and supporting our campaign work were the main reasons for joining the Society, and for 72% of members these are the main benefits of continued membership. Keeping in touch with a place they love was the next most often cited main benefit of membership at 17%. Only 3% put discounts for members at the top of the list.

38% of respondents were between 46 and 65 and 53% were 66 or over; 9% came from the 26-45 age group.

82% have been members for more than 4 years, with 19% having been members for over 35 years.

When it came to reporting on campaigns, 94% were satisfied or very satisfied with the way we report on our campaign work, with 5% neutral and only 1% dissatisfied.

Your visions for Snowdonia in 25 years are bursting with ideas, experiences, and above all a passion for Snowdonia and its wild places. They make inspiring reading. We’ll put the rest of the survey results in the e-bulletin shortly.

We would like to find out more about what matters to you, to guide our work in Snowdonia. Make sure we have your email address so you can have your say; while we send postal surveys to a proportion of members who haven’t given us an email address, you may not be in the sample group.

Diolch i bawb ohonoch chi aelodau’r Gymdeithas a ddychwelodd holiadur 2014. Cafwyd canran ymateb uchel - 34% o'r rhai y cysylltwyd â hwy drwy e-bost a 50% o'r rhai drwy'r post - a chyfanswm o 240 o ymatebion i gyd. Yn sgil y fath ymateb mae gennym syniad da o’r hyn sy’n bwysig i chi fel aelodau.

Y brif neges oedd i’w weld yn gyson ar draws yr holl ymatebion oedd mor gefnogol oeddech chi i wahanol ymgyrchoedd a gwaith cadwraeth ymarferol y Gymdeithas.

Gwarchod Eryri a chefnogi’r ymgyrchoedd oedd y prif resymau dros ymuno â’r Gymdeithas, ac i 72% ohonoch chi dyma hefyd oedd prif werth parhau’n aelodau. Cadw cysylltiad â lle agos i’ch calon oedd y rheswm a nodwyd yn ail-amlaf fel prif werth ymaelodi - hyn gan 17% o’r rhai a ymatebodd. Dim ond 3% a roddodd disgownt i aelodau fel eu prif reswm.

Roedd 38% o’r ymatebwyr rhwng 46 a 65 mlwydd oed, 53% yn 66 neu’n hyn, a 9% rhwng 26 a 45 mlwydd oed.

Roedd 82% wedi bod yn aelodau am fwy na 4 blynedd, gyda 19% wedi bod yn aelodau ers dros 35 mlynedd.

O ran adrodd yn ôl ar yr ymgyrchoedd roedd 94% yn fodlon, neu'n dra bodlon â’r modd y byddwn ni’n adrodd yn ôl, gyda 5% yn niwtral a dim ond 1% yn anfodlon.

Mae eich gweledigaethau ar gyfer Eryri ymhen 25 mlynedd yn gyforiog o syniadau a phrofiadau, a mwy na dim o angerdd dros Eryri a'i holl lefydd gwyllt. Maent yn ysbrydoliaeth i’w darllen. Bydd gweddill y canlyniadau i’w gweld yn fuan yn yr e-fwletin.

Fe hoffem wybod mwy am yr hyn sy’n bwysig i chi, gan mai hynny sy’n arwain ein gwaith yn Eryri. Gwnewch yn siŵr bod eich cyfeiriad e-bost gennym er mwyn i chi sicrhau cael dweud eich dweud; rydym yn anfon holiaduron drwy'r post i gyfran yn unig o’r aelodau sydd heb roi cyfeiriad e-bost i ni, ond mae’n bosibl na fyddwch chi ddim yn un o’r sampl.

Newyddion Eryri drwy e-bostPeidiwch â cholli allan yr haf hwn – fe allwn gadw’r cysylltiad rhyngoch chi ac Eryri drwy e-bost!Mae ein e-fwletin yn cynnwys mwy o newyddion, ymgyrchoedd a digwyddiadau nag erioed. Cysylltwch heddiw i gadw i fyny â gwaith y Gymdeithas.Anfonwch air i info@snowdonia-society.org.uk a gofynnwch am gael tanysgrifio i'r e-fwletin.Yn ystod y misoedd diwethaf mae’r e-fwletin wedi cynnwys y canlynol:

- gwahoddiad i lansiad ‘Esmé: Guardian of Snowdonia’ bywgraffiad newydd ganTeleri Bevan- trefniadau sgwrs yn y Bala ar fawndiroedd Cymreig- manylion yr Ymgynghoriad Cynllun Trafnidiaeth Lleol- cyfle i gefnogi sefydlu llwybrau cerdded newydd o gwmpas y Waunfawr- manylion cwrs rhad ac am ddim ar ecoleg rhostiroedd.

News from Snowdonia by emailDon’t miss out this summer – we’ll keep you in touch with Snowdonia by email!

There is more news, campaigns and events than ever in our e-bulletin. Sign up today and keep up to date on the Society’s work to protect Snowdonia.

Just drop a line to info@snowdonia-society.org.uk and ask to subscribe to our e-bulletin.

In the last few months the e-bulletin has included the following:- an invitation to the launch of ‘Esmé: Guardian of Snowdonia’ a new biography by Teleri Bevan- a talk in Bala on Welsh peatlands- details of the Local Transport Plan Consultation- a chance to help establish new walking routes around Waunfawr- details of a free heathland ecology course.

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John Edwin PlattMy father, John Platt, loved Snowdonia more than anywhere in the world. In the 1950s, as a member of the Midland Association of Mountaineers he rode his Norton Dominator to his beloved ‘hills’ from Birmingham every weekend. He had a soft spot for the A5 ever afterwards.

He came to climb with Joe Brown and others, both on the peaks and up the door-frames of the Glan Dena climbing hut. Years later, he brought us to the hills in all weathers

for character-building expeditions up Tryfan and round the Snowdon Horseshoe.John was never happier than when seeking the perfect rock to fit the next space in a drystone wall. On retirement he volunteered at the Snowdonia Society’s newly-acquired Tŷ Hyll, where he is remembered as a charming and hardworking man.Sarah Gall, December 2014

John’s stone walls still stand at Tŷ Hyll for all to see, and thanks to the generous in memoriam donation from John’s family, there will be a new bench installed at Tŷ Hyll this summer.

Jim Irving (1916 – 2013)

Taniwyd cariad Jim Irving at Eryri wedi iddo feicio o Watford i’r Bala pan oedd yn 17 mlwydd oed. Bu’n Drysorydd Anrhydeddus rhagorol i Gymdeithas Eryri yn ystod y 1980au, a’i ran yn y gwaith o sicrhau sefyllfa gyllid gref a chadarn y Gymdeithas yn ystod y cyfnod hwnnw’n un canolog. Teithiodd y 300 milltir o’i gartref i gyfarfodydd y Gymdeithas ac yn ôl yn rheolaidd, a heb ei allu cyllidol sylweddol buasai Cymdeithas Eryri heb os wedi bod peth tipyn yn dlotach.

Bu prynu Tŷ Hyll yn un o uchafbwyntiau ei waith gyda’r Gymdeithas; fel un o’r ymddiriedolwyr gwreiddiol, bu ei gefnogaeth a’i deyrngarwch i Esmé a Peter Kirby yn fodd i sicrhau dyfodol yr adeilad fel ased i'r Gymdeithas. Ymddiswyddodd Jim o fod yn Drysorydd Anrhydeddus yn 1992, ond parhaodd yn aelod hyd at ei farwolaeth.

Roedd yn un o sylfaenydd-ymddiriedolwyr Ymddiriedolaeth Eryri Esmé Kirby a sefydlwyd yn 1988 er mwyn hyrwyddo prosiectau cadwriaethol, yn eu plith llwybr troed isel y Dyffryn.

Roedd Jim yn fonheddwr i'r carn â ei ddillad yn drwsiadus bob amser - hyd yn oed pan yn gwirfoddoli yn Arwerthiannau Planhigion enwog Esmé - ac felly hefyd pan fûm i’n ciniawa gydag o yn Tŷ Hyll tua diwedd 2012 adeg ei ymweliad olaf â’r Eryri a oedd mor annwyl iddo. Roedd wrth ei fodd yn gweld llwyddiant y cynllun gwenyn ac yn cofio manylion llawer o’r gwrthrychau a arddangosir yn yr adeilad.

Jim Irving had a lifelong passion for Snowdonia from the age of 17 when he cycled from Watford to Bala. He was an outstanding Honorary Treasurer for the Snowdonia National Park Society during the

1980s and was central to securing the position of financial strength and security it enjoyed in that period. He made regular 300 mile round trips to Society meetings and without Jim’s financial acumen the SNPS undoubtedly would have been the poorer.

The purchase of the Ugly House was one of his lasting achievements. As one of the Society's original trustees, his loyal support to Esmé and Peter Kirby ensured the building’s future as an asset to the Society. Jim resigned as Honorary Treasurer in 1992 but remained a member until he died.

He was a founder trustee of the Esmé Kirby Snowdonia Trust established in 1988 to promote conservation projects that include the Dyffryn low level path.

Jim was a true gentleman, always immaculately dressed – even when volunteering at Esmé’s famous Plant Sales - and no more so than when I lunched with him at the Ugly House in late 2012 on his last visit to his beloved Snowdonia. He was delighted to see the success of the honeybee project and recalled much detail about the artifacts displayed in the building.

Bob Lowe

Remembered......four people who loved Snowdonia

Derrick LloydMy father, Derrick Lloyd, had been a member of the Snowdonia Society for many years up to his death last year at the age of 92. He enjoyed many holidays in the Snowdonia area and climbed Snowdon a number of times, twice with me, his daughter. The area was one of his favourite parts of the United Kingdom, and when he finally moved into a care home he took only two pictures with him - one was of the Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower and the other was of the Snowdonia range of mountains. He and I enjoyed reading the Snowdonia Society’s newsletter together during the last couple of years of his life. I was very happy to make a donation to the Snowdonia Society in his memory.

Tricia Calcraft

Julian M. TerryIn memory of Julian M. Terry, 1965-2013, who loved Snowdonia.The Terry family have made a donation to the Snowdonia Society in memory of Julian, to invest in the protection and enhancement of a living landscape. A little part of Julian and our hearts will always be in Snowdonia.

Yn ein côf... ...bedwar person oedd yn caru Eryri

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Hwrê am ein llwyddiant diweddar yn sicrhau cyllid am dair blynedd o waith cadwraeth ymarferol ar draws Eryri a hefyd yn Tŷ Hyll. Ond mae ein costau craidd a'n gwaith ymgyrchu (ar faterion cynllunio ac ar y polisïau sy'n effeithio'r Parc Cenedlaethol) yn dibynnu arnoch chi, ein haelodau a'ch tanysgrifiadau a rhoddion.

Mae eich Cymdeithas eisoes wedi ennill cydnabyddiaeth am weithio'n galed ar ran Eryri, ond mae'n amlwg cymaint mwy sydd eto i'w wneud. Mae hyn yn golygu adeiladu ar ein haelodaeth a chynyddu ein ffynonellau incwm.

Gyda hyn mewn golwg, mae Frances, John and Judith wedi bod yn pendroni am strategaeth codi arian. Y man cychwyn oedd golwg ar yr hyn 'rydym eisioes yn ei wneud.

Hwrê! unwaith eto i'r rhai sy'n cyfrannu cymaint yn barod, un ai yn wynebu'r elfennau fel marsialiaid rasys sy'n golygu ein bod yn derbyn cydnabyddiaeth ariannol gan y trefnwyr, yn rhoi o'i arbenigedd yn rhad ac am ddim, yn tyfu planhigion i'w gwerthu yn Tŷ Hyll, cwblhau sialensiau noddedig megis y daith gerdded o Arfordir i Arfordir neu trefnu digwyddiadau fel Triathlon Mynydd Fabian4 â'r Gymdeithas yn derbyn yr elw.

Mae'r ymdrechion hyn yn creu incwm hanfodol, yn ogystal â bod yn hwyl (ar y cyfan) ac yn codi proffil Cymdeithas Eryri. Ond mae ein Parciau Cenedlaethol yn

wynebu bygythiadau

hollol newydd o ran datblygu, pwysau cynyddol o ran ymwelwyr, polisïau a deddfwriaeth newydd y Llywodraeth, ynghyd a thoriadau hallt i’w cyllidebau.

Felly, mae tipyn mwy i'w wneud ac mae angen eich help arnom!

Os ydi'r geiriau 'codi arian’ yn achosi i chwi grynu gan ddychmygu sefyllian yn druenus yn gafael mewn potyn hel arian, peidiwch boeni! Un peth rydym wedi dysgu am godi arian yw mai ehangder ein dychymyg yw'r unig lyffetheiriant. Beth bynnag eich sgil, eich diddordeb neu eich mympwy, gallem ei roi i ddefnydd da. Fel enghraifft ddiweddar, casglodd un cefnogwr dros 10,000 o ganiau diod oedd wedi'u taflu, er mwyn gwrthbwyso y carbon yn ganlyniad i daeth i America; petai'r unigolyn wedi casglu nawdd o 1c y can gan 100 o bobl... Wel, gwnewch chwi'r symiau!

Ac mae ‘codi arian’ yn ymgorffori cymaint. Mae codi arian llwyddiannus yn cynnwys y 'gwaith' o siarad â phobl am yr hyn 'rydym yn ei wneud. Os medrwch chi yfed tê a bwyta cacen gallwch helpu!

Felly Hwrê! am eich cyfraniad, beth bynnag y bo. Ystyriwch beth allem ni wneud er budd Eryri, wedyn helpwch wneud iddo ddigwydd. Edrychwch ar y tasgau sydd angen cymorth, chwaraewch gyda syniadau eich hun a gadewch inni wybod be all eich cyfraniad arbennig chwi fod yn ystod 2015. Gallwn gynnig cefnogaeth, ffurflenni nawdd a defnyddiau eraill, ac mae cymorth ar gael i hyrwyddo eich gweithgaredd.

Tair hwrê fawr i...?

Syniadau codi arian eraill

- eich sia lens noddedig personol

- cynnal ‘gardd agored'

- rhoddion dathlu i g ymryd lle

anrhegion

- glanhau esgidiau cryf ion yn

eich hostel ieu enctid lleol

- perswadio eich cyf logwr i

gofrestru am Roi Trwy'r Cyf logres

- canu carolau

- glanhau sbwriel noddedig

- neu eich syniad arbennig chwi

eich hun.

Gallwch roi help llaw gyda...?- stwff io amlenni- pacio nwyddau a'u gyrru allan- dod o hyd i roddion o wobrau ar gyfer raff l f lynyddol, neu guro drysau i werthu tocynnau- edrych ar ol potyn rhoddion yn eich siop neu gaff i lleol- rhoi help llaw ar stondinau mewn ffeiriau lleol

- lluosogi eich hoff blanhigion ar gyfer eu gwerthu yn Ty Hyll- mwy o farsia lia id.

Lewis Batten

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01286 685498 info@snowdonia-society.org.uk www.cymdeithas-eryri.org.uk • www.snowdonia-society.org.uk

Three cheers for … ?Hooray! for our recent success in securing funding for three years of practical conservation work across Snowdonia and at Tŷ Hyll. But our core costs and our campaigning work (on planning issues and policies which affect the National Park) are dependent on you, our members, in the form of your subscriptions and donations.

Your Society has a track record of working hard for Snowdonia, but it is easy to see how much more needs to be done. This means growing our membership and increasing other sources of income.

With this in mind, Frances, John and Judith have been getting their heads around a fundraising strategy. To start with we looked at what we already do.

Hooray! again for those who already give so much, whether braving the elements as race marshals, for which we receive a donation from the organisers, giving their expertise free of charge, growing plants for sale at Tŷ Hyll, completing sponsored challenges such as the Coast to Coast walk, or organising events like the Fabian4 Mountain Triathlon, with the Society receiving the proceeds.

These efforts generate vital income, as well as being good fun (mostly) and raising the Snowdonia Society’s profile. But our National Parks face unprecedented threats from development, increasing visitor pressure, new government policy and

legislation, and savage cuts to National Park Authority budgets.

So, we need to do a lot more and we need your help!

If you shudder at the mention of ‘fundraising’, imagining standing forlornly holding a collecting pot, never fear! One of the things we have learnt about fundraising is that we are only limited by our imagination. Whatever your skill or passion or idiosyncrasy, it can be put to good use. For example, one supporter recently picked up and recycled over 10,000 discarded drinks cans to offset the carbon from a trip to America; if that person had collected sponsorship of 1p per can from 100 people... Well, do the sums!

And ‘fundraising’ covers so much. Successful fundraising includes the ‘work’ of meeting people and telling them about what we do. If you can drink tea and eat cake you can help!

So Hooray! for your contribution, whatever it might be. Think what we could do for Snowdonia, then help make it happen. Look at the tasks we need help with, brainstorm your own, and let us know what your special contribution could be in 2015. We can supply backup, sponsorship forms and other materials, and will help promote your activity.

Other fundaising ideas: -your personal sponsored challenge- holding an ‘open garden'- celebration giving in lieu of gifts

- boot-cleaning at your local youth hostel- persuading your employer to sign up to Payroll Giving- carol-singing- sponsored litter picking- or your own specia l idea.

Can you help with ... ?

- envelope stuff ing

- packing and sending merchandise

- f inding donations of prizes for

an annual raff le

- selling tickets door to door

- looking after a donations pot in

your local shop or cafe

- help on stands at local fairs

and events

- propagating your favourite

plants for sale at Ty Hyll

- more marshals!

Cyfraddau tanysgrifio newyddNodwch y cyfraddau tanysgrifio newydd a fydd yn effeithiol o Orffennaf 2015. Yn cyfateb i 46c yr wythnos, mae aelodaeth unigol o Gymdeithas Eryri yn parhau i fod yn fuddsoddiad bychan mewn cynllun mor fawr, sef cadw Eryri'n arbennig.

Bydd y cyfraddau canlynol yn dod i rym o Orffennaf 2015: - Unigolyn £24 - Ar y Cyd/Teulu/Aelodaeth Gyswllt £36 - O dan 25 oed £12 (dim newid) - Busnes £50 (dim newid)

Sylwer ar y llythyr sydd wedi'i amgáu yn eich cylchgrawn am fwy o wybodaeth.

New subscription ratesPlease note new subscription rates below which will apply from July 2015. Equivalent to 46p per week, Individual membership of the Snowdonia Society remains a modest investment in a big project – keeping Snowdonia special.

- Individual £24 - Joint/family & Affiliate £36 - Under 25 £12 (no change) - Business £50 (no change)

Please refer to the letter enclosed with your magazine for more information.

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*Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer or discounts. Only valid on production of valid membership card in-store or discount code online. For personal use only. Offer expires 31.07.15

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Cyrsiau i’w cynnal drwy y flwyddyn ar bynciau sy’n cwmpasu pob agwedd ar gefn gwlad, amgylchedd, diwylliant, hanes, paentio, ffotograffiaeth a chrefftau.

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PLAS TAN Y BWLCHMAENTWROG, BLAENAU FFESTINIOG, LL41 3YUFFÔN/TELEPHONE 01766 772600PLAS@ERYRI-NPA.GOV.UK

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