Cwm George to the Cwrtyrala Basin
A walk through Cwm George to the Cwrtyrala Basin and thence to Wrinstone Lodge (alternative routes are offered) returning to the village via Beauville Farm, the One O’Clock Gate and the Golf Club footpath (F.P. 3)
The Second Walk (as in Walk No.1) also begins at the entrance to Millfield, at the start of the Public Footpath No.1 beside the junction of Mill Road and Millbrook Road at the foot of Pen-y-Turnpike. Cross Millfield, keeping to the fenced footpath, and out onto Cwm Drive. Turn left and walk along the Drive to its end, bearing right through the kissing gate into Cwm George.
Walk through the Cwm, below the site of the Iron Age Settlement, on the promontory to the right and up the short hill to the stile and gate. Follow the track across the fields towards Cwrtyrala and Michaelston-le-Pit. Cross the stone bridge over the river, climb the stile by the gateway and out onto Michaelston-le-Pit road. Once on the roadway, turn left and walk up the hill towards the thatched house called Bryn Robbin (Robin Hill). Just past this house, on your left, you will see a gateway.
N.B. At this point there are two alternative routes open to the walker. WALK 2a provides a walk through thick woodland, while WALK 2b, on a clear day, provides some splendid views across the eastern Vale.
WALK 2a
GO THROUGH THE GATEWAY ON YOUR LEFT. This will take you onto the beginning of Public Footpath No.11. Follow the footpath, past the old dairyhouse and stairway of weirs (known locally as the Salmon Leaps) which hold back the water that forms the lake you will now see ahead. A lake once used for fishing and boating by the residents of the Manor.
Above, on the right, stands Cwrtyrala House. This is the fourth building to have stood on this site, once occupied by the Manor House of Michaelston-le-Pit. Once the seat of the de Reigney family it passed, in the 13th century by marriage, to the Raleigh’s of Devon. The family from which, much later, sprang the famous Sir Walter. The name Cwrtyrala produces a Welsh form of the title, Court of Raleigh. Walk alongside the lake until you come to the beginning of a wood. Keep to the footpath leading into and through the wood, with the stream on your left. As you approach the south western, (Wrinstone) end of the valley the path leads upwards, much to the right, into the field ahead. Turn to the left across the field (this will take you behind the only house in the vicinity, the modernised, Wrinstone Lodge) to the gateway which joins a track running roughly east-west; turn left here.
N.B. WALKS 2a & 2b rejoin at this point. To continue: refer to Walk 2c
WALK 2b
Instead of going through the gateway to the weirs and lakes walk straight up the road past the entrance to Cwrtyrala House which you will see on your left. Ahead of you is an open area of grassland known as The Lawns. The Private roadway running through the centre of the Lawns leads to Caerau which adjoins the Cardiff suburb of Ely.
On the south western edge of Caerau, above it and to the right, stands yet another defended settlement. This hillfort has a triangular area of 5 hectares formed on top of a natural plateau. The settlement was fortified with three ramparts on its north and south sides while on the eastern side the fortifications consist of a single massive soil bank and ditch commanding the only level ground outside the site.
Pre-Roman and Romano-British pottery has been found at the site and occupation probably took place from about this time and lasted until at least the medieval period. The presence in the north eastern corner of a medieval ringwork, beside which a church of “Saxon” style was built, may well be taken to indicate the presence of a later village settlement here. A walk across The Lawns to visit the Caerau site would be well worth the effort, but is not covered by this guide. (For further information see the book – “WALES – An Archaeological Guide”). To continue Walk 2b (our present walk) carry on along the roadway which runs towards the Lawns until you very soon arrive at a trackway branching off to the left and up into the woods. Follow this track, alongside the hedge, until you come to a wooded area. Here the track swings sharp left. Ahead at this point you will detect several large mounds. These were once kilns used to produce lime for use on the local farms.
Follow the track uphill to the left until you are almost at the top of the hill, when the track swings right. Keep on along the track and you will come out of the trees and into open land with a hedgerow on either side which is part of the old track system that connected the local farms and communities in times gone by.
Carry on straight ahead, between the hedgerows. From now on the western horizon will open out to provide splendid views across the Vale of Glamorgan. When you arrive at a junction in the track, turn left, walking downhill. This will bring you to the point where the track joins the road from Wenvoe. Turn left below the farm, descending towards Wrinstone Lodge where Routes 2a & 2b rejoin. This is the end of Route 2b. WITH ROUTES 2a and 2b REJOINED, the Walk continues as Walk 2c
Walk 2c
Follow the track downhill, past the front of the Wrinstone Lodge and cross over the bridge ahead. This is again Wrinstone Brook, flowing down towards the weirs by Cwrtyrala House, eventually to become the Cadoxton River. Once over the bridge, bear right. Above, to the right, you will see Wrinstone Farm, sometimes known locally as Wrinstone Castle. The name refers to the remnants that are still visible in parts of the building’s structure that are of a marked defensive nature,. Some maps do make reference to the presence of “Wrinstone Castle” and the area around this farm was once the site of a village, abandoned in the 17th century. Foundation platforms can still be detected and there are reports of the presence there, once, of a small chapel.
Continue to climb the trackway and you will see Beauville Farm ahead of you.
The trackways you have been walking along may well be very old, judged by the number of species of shrubs appearing in the hedgerows. It has been postulated by some, that the age of a hedgerow can be approximately estimated on the basis of the numbers of the established shrubs that can be found in any randomly selected thirty-metre length. For example, they say that one established species per hedgerow length suggests one century; two species per length, two centuries and so on. So that a two species hedgerow suggests that it was established at the time of the Enclosures. A hedgerow with five species may well have been planted in Tudor times, while ten species would take you back to the time of the Saxons. Why don’t you see how many species you can find in these lovely old hedgerows?
Continue the walk past Beauville Farm and out onto the metalled surface of one of the old Parish roadways, known now as Beauville Lane. Near the farm are signs of earlier structures and the foundations of a tithe barn, referred to as Ysgurborddegwm (the Tenth Barn).
Walk up the lane, with Beauville Wood on your left and open farmland to your right. At the next hedge junction you will see that the open land on the right has become part of the Dinas Powys golf course. Walk past the gateway leading into the woodland (Hales Wood) on your left and carry on along the road as it levels out. You will soon come to a point where there are gateways on either side of the road. The iron gate on the right is known as the One O’Clock gate and marks the point where the members of the Golf Club cross from one part of the course to the other, the course being divided by the Parish road. Turn into the gateway on the left of the road, swing right and walk down the hill onto the golf course, joining Public Footpath No.3.
Please keep strictly to the line of the footpath while on the golf course, paying courtesy by standing still when golfers near to you are about to play strokes. Make your way across the course, towards the Club House buildings which you will see up ahead, to the left. Skirt round the Club House, keeping it on your right and swing right down behind the club buildings. Walk through the gateway at the lower end of the line of buildings and onto Highwalls Road, thence back to the village centre, past the Ebenezer Church. This is the end of Walk No.2
