Chapter 1: Cwtch Mynydd ⛰️
February 2025
It was a whole year ago now that I first walked around this lovely hillside land in the Bannau Brychenniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. As soon as I arrived, I felt a gentle beckoning in, a sense of warmth and welcome. It was an unexpected and curious feeling that particularly stood out since it was a cold grey misty and drizzly day in February. When Oz met the land for the first time just two days later, he felt such a connection to the land that he dived and hugged the ground. This strong sense of being called to the place stirred up the energy required to relocate life from Cornwall to here.
Having been in Wales (Cymru) for 6 months now, I fondly call that feeling I experienced for the first time a year ago the “cwtch mynydd”, a cuddle or embrace from the mountains!
And I experience that sense of being held and enchanted by the landscape on each visit to the land. The big sky, often with kites circling above and the epic view of the mountains (I didn’t even know there was a view on that first misty meeting!) brings with it a sense of freedom and joy. Indeed, I have always enjoyed being up in the high places, exploring mountains or moors on cycling or walking adventures and so to find myself connected to a piece of high ground should not be as wonderful and surprising as it is. The shapes and curves of the sloping pasture also lend a kindness and gentleness to the place, the lines of old grown out hedges and a few big trees making it a haven already to many creatures. The little stream that runs down in between the two bottom sections for some of the year brings a sweet seasonal song of weaving water as it navigates round mossy boulders and ferns and tree roots.
So, now we have watched this old sheep pasture shift through different seasons this last year, we are excited to begin to imagine how we might work with nature here and bring about a new chapter for this land.
I hope anyone reading this will enjoy the new chapters as they unfold and maybe one day you will come and enjoy Rhuddin yourself.
‘Rhuddin’ means both a tree’s heartwood and a person’s mettle or fortitude. At the start of our journey here, the name seems a good fit!
