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Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
The beautiful Welsh canal that's fighting closure
Setting off in a hired narrowboat, there is a choice of two directions: left or right. From Beacon Park Boats, on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal near Llangattock, one direction – according to the company's illustrated map – promises 'a totally relaxed, stress-free and lock-free weekend'. The sales pitch for the other direction (north) read: 'Tackle the Llangyndir lock-flight'. There are few weekends during which I enjoy any kind of tackling. But that is the direction we chose. Meanwhile, a group of youngsters – first-time boaters, unlike our party – headed south with copious bottles of alcohol cooling in an ice-box on their back deck. It started well. In the company of Sam, a member of staff from whom we learnt the ropes, we cruised past historic lime kilns, around bends and under old stone bridges. A flat-topped mountain and escarpments rose high above us. We moored opposite a sloping field of bleating sheep and frothy hawthorn blossom; fluffy ducklings cheeped on petal-strewn, glittering water. We wandered down to a village pub. Surely this direction promised a relaxing weekend too? The next day, the stress began. It wasn't the five locks that were the problem (volunteer lock keepers on duty made them easy work) it was the depth – or lack of it – of the water. This isolated 35-mile canal has always been shallow – 'it was built on the cheap,' said one lock keeper – and, as a result, has a notional speed limit of 2mph, half that of other canals. We were also in the biggest boat in the Beacon Park Boats fleet: Drake, 60ft 12 in long and 8ft 6 in wide. This meant lots of twists and turns. Each of Beacon Park's boats is unique, designed by owner Alasdair Kirkpatrick, inspired by his love of fancy yachts. One vessel has a four-poster bed, another has a hot-tub on the front deck. With touches such as complimentary decanters of Welsh Penderyn whisky, they are the most expensive canal boats to hire in the country. Three nights in June on Drake costs over £2,000. What would those early boatmen who laboured with cargoes of coal and limestone think? With its interior of highly varnished red cherry wood and ash stripes, the boat brought to mind a circus tent. This proved apt. Before long, we found ourselves in the middle of a five-boat log-jam all going aground in the shallow canal. Passers-by on the towpath stopped to enjoy the spectacle. Barge poles flailed everywhere. Skippers shouted advice over the growl of engines. Hulls scraped over stones. One hiker offered to help, so we threw him our bow rope and he heaved like a horse. An old man on a bike stopped to yell insults. Some laughed, some cried. Eventually, just as I was wondering whether someone would start a trapeze act from the towering trees overhead, the log-jam began to shift and one by one the boats freed themselves and continued on their way. Skippers smiled and cheered. Our northward journey that day – a grand total of seven miles and five locks – took nine hours. On any other canal, you would estimate a journey time of about four hours. Turning around in the silted-up winding hole was a challenge. Again, people stopped to enjoy the entertainment. While it is true that this canal has always been shallow, there were boaters who said they thought it was more shallow than usual. 'We didn't have any problems last time we came, but we've been truly stuck this time. We had to ask for help,' said Helen Thurber who, with her husband Bob, had flown in from their home in the US. This was their third time to cruise on the Monmouthshire and Brecon. The long dry spring which has resulted in the closure of some inland waterways, such as the Rochdale Canal, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Pocklington Canal, nearly saw the closure of this one too. Lack of rain and new legislation designed to protect the ecology of the River Usk that feeds the canal, meant the 'Mon & Brec', which is estimated to bring in £25 million to the local economy, faced the prospect of closing to navigation. An emergency stop-gap solution has now been agreed, with the Canal & River Trust (CRT) paying Welsh Water for supplies. Richard Parry, chief Executive of the CRT, says this could cost as much as £100,000 a week if the dry spell continues. Kirkpatrick is concerned about the implications. 'This canal is too important to fail, so CRT will pay Welsh Water silly money to keep it open and the rest of the canal network will suffer,' he says. ' Lack of rain in Wales – yes, surprising – will mean funding cuts across the rest of the inland waterways.' The youngsters who had headed south returned to base a few hours after us, their ice-box of drinks now empty. 'How was it?' I asked. 'We got stuck for two and a half hours!' said one of the party, Joe Richardson, from Essex. It wasn't the shallow water that was their undoing. They had tried to turn in a winding hole that was too short for their boat. Then they had to reverse for an hour and a half to get back to the winding hole they should have used. It sounded anything but 'relaxed and stress-free'. Despite this, Joe was upbeat. 'We'd definitely come back. We loved the scenery and the boat,' he said. 'Although next time we might choose a smaller one.' The beauty of this isolated canal, with its views of mountains glimpsed through trees, is unsurpassed. In the spring sunshine it was glorious. As well as two long days cruising, we found time for hikes: over a sheep-grazed hill with far-reaching views, and to the top of the escarpments above Llangattock. A cuckoo called, lambs bleated, the air was full of the scent of hawthorn. Mercifully, just as we were leaving, it began to rain.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Lancashire Thunder dump Glamorgan out of cup
T20 County Cup, BreconLancashire Thunder 167-4 (20 overs): E Jones 60, Lamb 52Glamorgan 86 (17.1 overs): Burke 49*; Johnson 3-2Lancashire Thunder won by 81 runs Lancashire Thunder ended Glamorgan's progress in the T20 County Cup with a convincing 81-run victory in Brecon, as the Tier One visitors showed the difference between the fully professional level and Tier chose to bat first with Emma Lamb hitting 52 off 36 balls and Eve Jones 60 off 46, the pair opening up with a stand of batter Seren Smale was 23 not out as England's Sophie Ecclestone chipped in with a cameo of 17 off nine in their early wickets for Grace Johnson (3-2) stifled Glamorgan's chances, with Surrey loanee Emily Burke (49 not out) top-scoring in the modest home total of hit four fours and two sixes, facing just 45 balls, but her last two partners were run out to leave her stranded one short of the Jeanes' brief early flurry earned her 17 from seven balls as the only other player to reach double figures, while Ecclestone also showed her international class with one for 13 in four Jackson, 17, was among the Glamorgan wicket-takers on her own school's ground at Christ College.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bruce the bull and others that needed help after getting stuck
Just how do you save a bull that's stuck in a bog? Well, that's the question that firefighters in Brecon had to come up with an answer who weighs a whopping 800 kilograms, got stuck up to his chest, and it took a team of firefighters, two vehicles, an animal rescue team, some vets, his owners and neighbours to get him out!Don't worry though - after a two-and-a-half-hour rescue, he had a long walk and was happily eating in his field a few hours on for more animals that have found themselves in a bit of a sticky situation. Not all of the animals in this list are as big as Bruce, but that doesn't mean the rescue is any less starling was found stuck in a manhole cover in Downham Market, Norfolk. With the help of the RSPCA and fire and rescue, the drain cover was lifted and the small bird was rescued. The starling had to be checked over before it could be released back into the RSPCA still have no idea how it managed to get into the drain cover in the first place. This mountain lion was rescued by firefighters after getting stuck up a tree in California in the US. The big cat was spotted perched on a branch 15 metres up in the air. To keep both the crew and the lion safe, fire crews had to give it some medicine to make it sleepy and then lowered it down with a harness before releasing it back into the wild. This raccoon got into a spot of bother when it got its head stuck in this spent two hours getting the animal fire department said the raccoon was doing well following the dramatic rescue - so it was far from a case of time being wasted down the drain. A St Bernard dog was rescued after collapsing while walking down England's highest mountain. Members of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) went to four-year-old Daisy's aid on Scafell mountain is in the Lake District and stands at 978 metres rescuers said she didn't start to struggle, which made carrying her down the mountain much easier.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Brecon 800kg bull named Bruce rescued after getting stuck in the mud
An 800kg bull that got stuck up to to its shoulders in mud has been rescued by firefighters. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called to help Bruce, a nine-year-old stock bull, who got into difficulty near Llanfihangel Nant Bran in Brecon, Powys, at about 11:30 BST on all-terrain vehicle and pick-up truck from Brecon Fire Station used in a "challenging extrication" that took more than two and an half hours. "Crews utilised animal rescue lines, slings, straps and trowels," the fire service said. Bruce's owner, Marilyn Jones, thanked the rescuers, which included help from Honddu Vets. "Bruce is now happy eating in his field, having been for a long walk since being rescued," she said.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Brecon: Man stung by hundreds of wasps afraid to ride motorbike
A man who was stung hundreds of times by a swarm of wasps said it left him afraid to ride his motorbike. Andrew Powell, 57, was stung more than 250 times after the insects were disturbed and invaded his home in August last year. The festival organiser from Brecon said he was swarmed by thousands of wasps from a neighbouring farm, having just taken off his motorbike leathers."I never rode a bike from August until about a week ago," he said. "I stumbled about the front of the house and into the shower, but they followed me in, and stung me through my clothes in the shower," Mr Powell previously said."The bathroom was full of them."Mr Powell said he was stung 15 times to the back of his head, but managed to avoid getting stung in his face."I was running fast," he said his friend Richard, who lives nearby, drove him straight to the minor injuries unit at Brecon War Memorial Hospital."I was dropping in and out of consciousness," he said, adding: "All I could see was a white light and I thought 'here we go'."He said nurses were "amazing" and administered adrenaline, morphine and co-codamol for the pain."If they hadn't, then I'd be dead," he said. Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Andrew, who helps organise the Brecon Beacons Food Festival, said he regularly rode motorbikes and performed at shows promoting them until the wasp said: "I didn't want to go to the garage, I didn't want to go outside where the bikes are. "I've organised a big show in Brecon, a big motorcycle show. Everyone is asking 'when are you going to get back on the bike'. "So after the show I took the plunge and got the bike out of the garage but that was the first time."Andrew says he now hates wasps and if he hears a buzzing sound in his house, he can "recall the hundreds and hundreds of wasps" on the windowsill."In December, there was one in the living room walking across the carpet. I got piece of paper and put it in the glass and put it at the side. I'm not sure I really wanted to do that but I did," he said. Andrew said his wife loves the garden as its full of pear and apples trees and "flowers galore" so he often sees the insects. "I'm trying to get over it but if they are in the car or if they are in the house it does does give you a bit of remembrance," he said. Since his experience, Andrew said "life is precious" and now wants to make a difference through volunteer work.
