On the boundary

This is a sad sight indeed. Pentwyn cricket team has folded and with it the demise of their pitch. A pitch that holds fond memories for me as my father used to take me to watch games on a Sunday afternoon in the 1970s. I even played on the hallowed turf a few times myself armed with my trusted Gunn and Moore bat, which I still have! This bat, now with its rubber sleeve perished to fragments, still resides in my shed. If there's one thing this lockdown has taught me, and I hope many others, is to value your local natural green spaces. They are so important for well-being, not just as part our green infrastructure but in cases such as Pentwyn cricket pitch, of cultural value too.

On Easter Sunday I took off for a much need mental well-being walk. From my home in Abersychan I made my way towards Pentwyn following a lane that took me past the cricket club onto a footpath with Tir Gofal signage and past an area of reclaimed open cast working.

With the local authority suspending its grass cutting activities there were more wildflowers to see. The roadside grass verges were still intact, and those plants referred to by so many as weeds were in full flower. Dandelions and daisies were plentiful along with a good population of spring sedge. Other boundary features such as the hedge bank past the cricket club supported dogs mercury and dog violet. Taking the signposted footpath the landscape opened to give a panoramic view of Mynydd Garn Wen, Mynydd Garn Clochdy and the Blorenge in the distance. Here a reed bunting could be heard from the rush pasture of the reclaimed open cast site. To the west of the footpath the land was more scrubby and was alive with willow warbler song and the odd chiffchaff as well.

On my return I found the gate to the cricket pitch open. Nostalgia got the better of me and I entered. Walking around the boundary I noted the odd ashy mining bee. There was a a corner of the pitch that had more verdant vegetation including red campion and woodruff.