THE latest community news from Lampeter

Church services

Sunday 12 November

St Peter‘s Church: 8am – Holy Communion in English. Bilingual civic service of Remembrance in Church – to follow the Traditional Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial at 11am.

St Mary’s church, Maestir: 2.30pm – Holy Communion in English

Ramblers

Genuine ‘love of place’ is when you want to share that place with others rather than hoard and keep it to yourself. Pilgrims and visitors to the home of William Williams Pantycelyn, Wales’ most famous hymn writer, born 300 years ago in nearby Llanfair-ar-y-bryn will know of the wonderful hospitality of the Williams’ family who still live and farm there six generations later.

There have been hundreds of callers to Pantycelyn this year to mark the 300-year occasion, yet the ramblers were still greeted with enthusiasm and warmth at the farmhouse for the start of their winter walks season.

So, the eight-mile walk in the vicinity of Babel, Llandovery started from Pantycelyn led by Alan Jacob. They followed footpaths and an old county road to Cefnarthen Chapel one of the oldest chapels in Wales. From there, the destination was Castell Craigyrwyddon, a rocky outcrop in the southern tip of the Crychan Forest. Here in the 17th century dissenters of the early Cefnarthen congregation secretly met to worship and where local tradition says was used by Druids during the age of the Celts. Walking on, they soon left the forestry to emerge on open hillside with glorious views over to the Carmarthen Fans to head back via Cil-pentan and Pentre-ty-gwyn chapel both closely associated with William Williams.

To close the Summer/Autumn programme in October they enjoyed a seven-mile ramble from Llidiadog Nennog on Mynydd Llanybydder. Following woodland paths through Nantyperchyll, they encountered the first of four unbridged stream crossings along the route across the Afon Nenog.

The next were the Blotweth and a tributary steam, Nant Gwanaf, where they left the footpath to follow a forestry track downstream to the Botweth’s confluence with the Clydach at Allt Troed-y-rhiw.

Here was the trickiest of crossings as they re-crossed the Blotweth at its highest level to follow the woodland tracks to Gwernogle and return via Esgair-fynwent.

Walk details and a programme from James Williams (01570 480743).

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