Cerddwyr/Ramblers

THIS July, Cerddwyr Llambed, Lampeter Ramblers, are celebrating their 30th birthday, when founder members of our walking group set out for the first ramble alongside the banks of the River Teifi. The overwhelming choice for the feature walk in the celebratory year was the Mary Jones Walk from Llanfihangel y Pennant to Bala, a distance of nearly 30 miles.It’s a popular choice as it transverses the spectacular countryside of the old county of Meirionnydd and also for many the trail is special as it commemorates a long lonely and bare-footed walk in 1800 of 15-year-old Mary Jones, who was in search of a Bible. Ac-cording to legend Mary had saved for six years to be able to afford to buy her own Bible, a familiar story for many Welsh people and indeed around the world.On Saturday, 25 June, the ramblers started on their own walk to Bala although, unlike Mary, keen to arrive in the town in time to secure her precious purchase, the walkers’ journey had been split in two parts. From St Michael’s Church in Llanfihangel they fol-lowed the trail up Nant yr Eira to Rhiw Ogof farmstead, where they enjoyed a picnic lunch overlooking Talyllyn Lake and then on to Minffordd.Then it was steadily upwards along the old road at Bwlch Llyn Bach to Cross Foxes via Hafod-y-Meirch to reach their destination at Brithdir along old mountain tracks and footpaths.The second stage of the journey to Bala is on 16 July, with a few available places on the bus for anybody who wishes to join the party. On the previous Wednesday, members enjoyed an amble from Llanycrwys Church, led by Kristina. They followed an old county road to above Allt Esgair Crwys, where legend has it that a bomb was dropped during the Second World War, thankfully narrowly missing any cottage or holding on the mountain, leaving a deep crater in the moorland. From this vantage point over the Teifi valley can also be seen the standing stone Maen Hir, standing proud on an ancient boundary line. Joining the Sarn Helen (Roman Road) for a short section they returned on the quiet country lane passing Esgaircorn.The ramblers have also enjoyed walking a section of St Illtyd’s Walk on the section from Pontard-dulais to Mynydd Betws and a walk from Siloh a small hamlet near Llandovery with an interest-ing local history associated with droving and Welsh non-conformity which influenced Wales during the 18th and 20th centuries.Contact James Williams (01570 480041) for more information about joining in with the walks and rambles, which are listed in www.ramblers.co.uk

Sight loss

THE Lampeter Support for Sight Loss group meeting in May went well, with a total of 20 people attending. The speaker was Sara from Evans & Hughes Opticians in Lampeter, who talked about macular degeneration. She also spoke about ‘Low Vision Equipment’ tests. Thanks were given to Sara for the talk.The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 13 July, at St Thomas Church, Lampeter, at 2pm. The speakers will be Michelle and Clive, known as ‘the Gadget Guys’. They will be coming from Bristol with a large variety of gadgets and equipment for people to try out. There will also be refreshments and a raffle.

St Peter’s Church

FRIDAY, 1 July - Lunch in aid of Christian Aid, St Peter’s Church Hall noon till 1.30pm.Sunday, 3 July: 8am Holy Communion in English, 10.30am Morn-ing Worship, bilingual; 2.30pm, Canwch Fawl/Sing Praise - an all-age event followed by refresh-ments.