40 years of fishing with friends.

    In the early 1980's, a small group of friends from Rhayader fishing club made the decision to spend a weekend at one of the most remote lakes in Mid-Wales.

They spent the best part of two weeks planning the trip in the local pub where they worked out what they would need. Apparently the list was the same length as the bar they were sat at. Top priority for their trip was a Land Rover. The terrain leading up to the lake was so boggy and made up of large grass mounds that no other vehicle would make it up there. Second on the list was a trailer for all their supplies which consisted of canvas tents, camping chairs and cider. The essentials.

L-R: Dai Evans, Alan Lewis, Barry Thomas, Reg Williams and Noel Hughes at the Elan Valley Hotel

    The group of friends would pile in the back of the Land Rover and make the long trip up to the top of the hills where they remained for a few nights and spent their time fly fishing for wild brown trout and sharing stories whilst filling their glasses with the sweet taste of apples.

The original camp

    It was only recently I discovered the pictures from this trip in my Grandfather's photo album. Immediately, I knew that some forty years later, I wanted to recreate this trip with my friends. I have enjoyed fishing since my Grandfather first took me when I was about 13 years old. There's something about brown trout that draws me to them, more than any other fish. Perhaps the idea that these fish have been in the local waters for centuries, untouched by the development of civilization. To re-create this trip would not only be a homage to the men who went there before, but a glimmer of what this life was like 40 years ago, before me and my friends were even a part of it.

L-R: Reg Williams, Micah Meredith, John Evans, David Davies, Noel Hughes, Dai Evans

Enjoying the moment

Alan Lewis 

    I phoned up one of my oldest friends Aled and we got talking about this idea. Aled grew up only a stone's throw from me and his step-dad, David, was one of the men who joined my grandfather on the original trip. Aled jumped at the chance to join me, along with his classic series 3 Land Rover (the same model on the old trip). Aled even found some more old pictures in David's photo album of some of the gang as they prepared to leave for the mountains.

The catering tent

Fish on

    As we started to plan our own mini adventure, we realised that if we got the vehicle stuck in the sodden welsh marshland, we could be in big trouble. There is no phone signal or internet anywhere on the top of the hills so what we needed was some man-power. We asked two more friends to join us, Toby and Drew. Toby would be our resident chef and photographer while Andrew would bring his guitar for songs around the camp in the evening.

I made it my job to find out as much as possible about the road to the lake and whether or not it was still passable. I spoke to people who had been up there in last few years and had some say that we'd “only get up there on a dry day” and some said “you wont get up there at all”. The best person to call was the nearest farmer and ask for his opinion. I looked up the number online and managed to speak to Ifor and his lovely wife Mary. Ifor has lived an Tyn Cwm farm for many years and he would know that track better than anyone. He assured me the right way to go and that if we took our time then we would make it to the top of the hill which overlooks the lake. With our minds slightly more at rest we could start writing our own list of supplies which would fill the back of the Land Rover. With Aled, Toby and Drew sat in the front I decided it would be best for me to travel on my old Honda motorbike. That way I could also 'scout-ahead' for any dodgy looking tracks that might cause us issues.

So, on Saturday 26^th June 2021, we rendezvoused at 08:00 hours outside Hafod Hardware in Rhayader and began to load up. Tents, food, wine, sleeping bags, camping stoves, chairs, fishing tackle, guitars and most importantly, a portable AM radio to listen to Wales play Denmark in the football later in the day.

Embarking on our expedition

    After a quick picture outside the shop, we set off on our travels. We took the Aberystwyth mountain road through Cwmystwyth before heading through Pont-rhyd-y-groes, Pontrhyfendigaid, past the old Abbey at Strata Florida and arriving at Tyn Cwm farm. We were met by Ifor and Mary who insisted we stop for a cup of tea. To thank them for taking the time to speak to us earlier in the week on the phone we left them a bottle of whisky and a box of chocolates.

Aled, Tom and Drew enjoying a cuppa with Ifor and Mary

    From Tyn Cwm onwards the road became a stone track, leading windingly up through the hills. As you cross the Ford, which was thankfully low due to the dry weather we've recently had, it became nothing more than two lines in the grass where sheep would walk to come for a drink. 

The road from Tyn Cwm

    The old track was now overgrown and the tussocks of grass were up against the bottom of the Land Rover. This is where we met our first obstacle as we became stuck in the earth with the wheels spinning without the motion.

Stuck in shit

We tried putting wooden blocks under the wheels but that didn't work. We tried cutting away some of the tussocks underneath but still no luck. Our last option was to empty everything from the Land Rover and see if having less weight would help. Sure enough, this solved the problem and on we went. The final assent to the top of the lake was up the steepest hill of the journey. Toby and Drew jumped out, once again to make lighter work for the industrial diesel engine.

The big push

I went first on the motorbike and as the land became firmer the higher we got, I knew there'd be no issues for Aled and the truck. He swiftly followed behind me and with the revs purring in the background, and as we arrived over the brow of the hill, there it was in front of us, Llyn Gynon.

Llyn Gynon

The light bounced off the lake in the distance, reflecting the bluest skies you can imagine. The rolling hills as far as the eye could see produced vistas the likes of which we'd never known to exist, only up the road from where we grew up.

Arrived in one piece.

I imagine the landscape has changed over the years as we found it nearly impossible to get as close to the lake as my Grandfather and his buddies. We camped just outside the border of the Elan Valley watershed on the only semi-flat piece of hard lying grass we could find.

Camp for the night.

With the tents soon erected and after a quick sandwich for lunch, we were ready to fish by 1:30 PM.

Tom and Aled

    We walked down to the water's edge and were faced with a head wind which made casting very difficult, let alone the steep banks behind us. To get a good line out on the water we needed to wade out. The stony bottom of the lake shone colours of green and gold under the surface of the water. We could see it was shallow but we couldn't imagine how shallow it was for so long. We could walk 40 feet out into the lake and the water wouldn't be up to our knees. 

Aled catching his first fish of the day.

     Before long our fruits were coming to fruition and Aled landed his first fish. A beautiful brownie with a yellow belly and red spots, that was the perfect size for the frying pan. As I walked around the waters edge I managed to get three fish to the net, but none large enough to eat. They all went back to fight another day.

Between the spells of wind the lake would be dead calm and the only soundtrack we had were the skylarks in the distance or a family of geese landing on the water at the other end of the lake.

Toby looking for his tea. 

By five o'clock we decided to call it a day for the fishing and make our way back to camp to listen to the football, have a drink and take a well earned rest.

Tea time sing along.

Lets not mention the football result.

Starter - Lemon Trout

Toby cooked up a vegetarian sausage and pasta dish which took many hours and bottles of gas to get up to temperature. With very little shelter from the wind we found it really difficult to keep the stoves lit, but perseverance paid off and the meal was delicious. I'd stretch to say that it was the best camping meal I've had.

Resident chef - Toby Hay

As the sun started to set over camp we decided to climb Crug-Gynon, the next hill to us which would give us a few more minutes sun. What we didn't expect to see was one of the most beautiful sun sets ever. In the distance, over the Cambrian mountains, you could just see the sun reflecting off the surface of the Irish Sea as it set.

As night drew in and the temperature dropped, it wasn't long before we found ourselves huddled up in the tent as Toby serenaded us with the sounds of his transcendental music on the guitar. It was the perfect way to end the day.

As dawn broke we packed up camp and descended the hills in a much quicker fashion than on the journey up. We stopped for a coffee and cake in a lovely café in Pont-rhyd-y-groes and then continued leisurely back to Rhayader. With just my thoughts for company on the bike and the reflection of my friends in my wing-mirror, I had a moment to reflect on this trip, why I wanted to re-create it and what it meant. It came down to the 'reap and the reward'. It was such a struggle to get up to this lake that when you finally get there you appreciate the basic fundamentals of what you need for enjoyment: warmth, shelter and company.

The last 18 months have really made me realise that I'm a very sociable person and that having people around you to share stories and experiences with makes this world far more enjoyable. To go to a place without restrictions, face-masks, social distancing or any mention of the word “Covid” was the escapism I needed and a reminder of what was important to me. Making memories with family and friends.

Pictures: Toby Hay & Thomas Jones  - June 2021