So, last Saturday, Ishbel and I took the train out to Devil's Bridge. Its a lovely little steam train, and the line leaves from Aberystwyth's downtown area and goes though some beautiful Welsh countryside for an hour before arriving at the Devil's Bridge station.
The Engine
Example of some of the countryside we went through. In the centre, distant, you can see Bryn y Castell, which (according to my guidebook!) is the site of an early fortification. The train goes by here.
Upon good recommendation from a friend, I opted to stay out for the day, rather than attempt to rush everything in an hour and catch the first train back. It turns out for the best; the big walk you can do there is a ~45min hike, which you basically can't do the whole thing in time to make the first train. So we got to take our time.
The first set of falls you get to see in the Rheidol Gorge is the Mynach Falls. This is where the river Mynach spills down the gorge to join with the Rheidol river. The Rheidol is one of the rivers that runs through/into Aberystywth (the other being the Ystwyth). The Ystwyth, though namesake of the town, doesn't actually run through the town - it skirts around it and spills into the harbour. I will have to get pictures of that area one of these days.
Mynach Falls
A "pot-hole" in the bed of the Mynach.
The set of stairs referred to as Jacob's Ladder on the descent into the valley on the hike. They were VERY steep. Ishbel could be two stairs behind me and be at level with my hip, and the treads were not very wide.
Wandering through, you get some spray in the face (and camera lens) from the falls, but it was one of the most lovely walks I've done. There's a grotto (which was difficult to get a picture of) that is the remains of what was once a cave where some sibling highwaymen hid out with their loot until their capture and execution. The cave was partially destroyed so no one else could use it as a hideout in the future.
Climbing the steep steps - she had a rough time but did it anyways!
Up-close of the waterfalls, on the ascent of the walk.
After the first 45 minute loop, we did the short loop where you get a great view of the 3 bridges that give the location its name. As the legend goes, there was an old woman whose cow was stuck on the other side of the river Mynach. Because the gorge was so steep, she didn't know how to get it back. So she made a deal with the Devil, who offered to build a bridge across the gorge in exchange for the soul of the first living thing to cross it - assuming it would be the woman herself. The old woman agreed to this deal, but tossed a crust of bread across the bridge first so her dog would run across after it, thus leaving the Devil stuck with the dog's soul instead of the woman's.
Discussion with friends has decided we wish to amend this legend. As it makes little sense that the cow could cross the river but the woman could not, one friend of mine theorizes that perhaps the old woman was engaging in the long-time Celtic tradition of cattle raiding, and it wasn't actually her cow in the first place. I am inclined to think this is a fantastic thought, and while not part of the original legend, I am quite happy keeping it in my mind. Another friend also chimes in that he's pretty sure the Devil would soon be fed-up of all the dog's licking, and send it back. Ishbel approves of this theory, as she couldn't imagine how I could possibly let the Devil take her from me. Obviously the old woman's dog wasn't nearly as cute as mine, right?
The three bridges - the original bridge that inspired the legend is on the bottom.
The lowest bridge is thought to have been built by monks from the Strata Florida abbey, in the 1100s. The second bridge (in the middle) was built around 1708, and the top bridge was constructed near the beginning of the 20th century, and strengthened in the early 1970s.
I love to observe water erosion - the gorge here was all smoothed out in rounded areas.
*raspberry*
...What?
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