Ford a stream, one certain observation the gullying is more severe than it was in the 1960s and 1970s, apart from occasional landslips and fragments of slab rock, quite a few pathways having become somewhat precarious; presumably the land was easier to use and the farmers maintained the paths decades ago, which as a non-working area or recreation and farmland is a heavy burden for conservation and farmers today. However I am concious of the marl weathering and spring alterations that are fuelling this slide and incision by potential and kinetic factors, aided by some feet. Walking the Black Mountains one realises why four feet and a narrow body as a sheep design is a great advantage, you can tell sheep path from recreation because of the narrow track, one foot literally in front of the other, balancing on the wind (Dougal Haston) while people track is wide, varied and solid rock. For some reason people do not like walking on the grass? Hence all our farm track, heavy cart, gouged out village roads joining resource to farm and engineering structure, they were very heavy carts and often oxen USA especially, that is why Elisha was ploughing with a full team, heavy soils in the valley, and horse team pulled. Scouring of land by tractor is not new, slip on traction is a wear and tear and fuel cost to farmers, pulling cattle out of ditches a task for Fire Brigade, apart from being trampled in the mud bygrandfather's spring yearlings free of barn and herds in fields of dust at Swindon. Farmers often turn cattle out to clear the residues of plants on arable fields, Sheep knock down walls, cattle like their old public highways and prefer not to use the new gate when a wall or public swing gate is placed but climb the known track. That is how we attain landscape, as canals Gordon was fond of, water storage ponds that seep into soils that form plant communities with gardens of lock keepers often now not used. That makes tourism, tourism costs parking and toilets. So we have National Parks and ANOB, although today I would think the latter was no longer consider an issue? Coffee shops and soft drinks after walking hours, rescue posts and wardens. Not everything is cash, some things are a double sided (flowers and plain) blue hat in Snowdonia as there was no other on sale, but at least it keeps off the sun and rain although not good fashion? Personal opinion? Or Llyn Idwal contrasted between winter and summer. The Sports Shop owner made a comment I was thinking, a wallet is not much use up a mountain, although it is very nice in the coffee shop on the way down, a reference to fishing the Wye once the weather allows the streamflow to reduce and the river stage lowers, that is his passion and eating at river sides is apparently a fisherman's delight, something worth trying, go to the chip shop in Brecon and eat in the rain if you need an evening meal; brilliant.
ST4857 Mendip and Philip Halling Hay Bluff trees for
SO2536 both show Savannah style landscapes on sandstone drainage.