Brecon Beacons Park Society News

Cymdeithas Parc Bannau Brycheiniog
Brecon Beacons Park Society
www.breconbeaconsparksociety.org

The 16th Annual General Meeting of the Brecon Beacons Park Society will be held on Saturday 14th June 2008 at the Henderson Hall in Talybont -on-Usk. There will be a programme of guided walks and talks to accompany the AGM.
Anticipated programme for the day:
9.30 a.m. Doors open.
10.30 a.m. A talk by John Jones, who used to run Danywenallt, about the
Canal, the Brinore Tramroad, and the Taff Trail, which all converge on Talybont.
11.30 a.m. Coffee
12.00 noon. Annual General Meeting.
1.00 p.m. (or on completion of AGM). Buffet lunch in Henderson Hall.
2.00 p.m. Two guided walks, both starting along the canal and up the lowest section of the
Brinore Tramroad. John Jones will draw attention to several points of special interest.
One walk will, more or less, follow the Henry Vaughan
walk for a gentle stroll back to Henderson Hall, a total of about 2.5 miles. The other
will cross the col on the north side of Tor y Foel, and return via Llandetty along the
tow path, a total of about 6 miles.
4.00 p.m. onwards. Tea at Henderson Hall.
More information, as it becomes available, from Society Hon. Secretary, Roger White: rogerwhiteuk@hotmail.com

The Brecon Beacons Park Society will be hosting the first ever joint meeting of members from the Three Welsh National Park Societies in the Spring of 2008. Members from the Snowdonia Society and Friends of the Pembrokeshire National Park will visit the Brecon Beacons National Park between Friday 18th April and Sunday 20th April. A weekend of activities will be based around the picturesque town of Crickhowell, situated on the A40, some 7 miles north-west of Abergavenny in the National Park.
A full programme of activities can be viewed at the 'Special Events' page.
Of particular note is the proposed 'Great Debate' on the Saturday evening. where political leaders, academics, administrators and chief executives of relevant organisations will be invited to address the membership and debate the issues of:

'Is there a future for Welsh National Parks?'

As at 1st January 2008, the following have agreed to participate in 'The Great Debate':

Nicholas Bourne, AM, Leader of the Official Opposition, National Assembly for Wales
Ruth Chambers, Deputy Chief Executive, Council for National Parks
Jane Davidson, AM, Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Welsh Assembly Government
Sara Edwards, TV Presenter and Vice President, Council for National Parks
Mike German, AM, Liberal Democrat Leader, National Assembly for Wales
Christopher Gledhill, Chief Executive, Brecon Beacons National Park Authority
Peter Ogden, Director, Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales
Aneurin Phillips, Chief Executive, Snowdonia National Park Authority
Roger Thomas, Chief Executive, Countryside Council for Wales
Nic Wheeler, Chief Executive, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority
Kirsty Williams, Liberal Democrat AM, representing Brecon and Radnorshire, National Assembly for Wales
Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru AM , representing South Wales Central, National Assembly for Wales

Numbers will have to be limited, so anyone wishing to attend 'The Great Debate' will need to register with Ben Sladen:
e-mail: ben.sladen@aulden.plus.com or telephone: 01568 720424

The Park Society and the Brecknock Museum Art Trust have developed an art project to celebrate the Beacons Way long-distance trail across the Brecon Brecons National Park.
After an open competition, eight Powys artists were chosen to create an artwork that has been placed somewhere along the route of each of the eight days walk.
The images that have been created are a response by the artist to the landscape, ecology or culture of the Brecon Beacons and the area through which the walk passes. Each work has been cast or etched in metal and set into natural stone along the way and will have to be discovered by the walker who will be encouraged to take a rubbing.

Marcelle Davies embroidered miniatures
Sue Hiley Harris woven sculptures
Desmond Harrison sculptures in recycled materials
Megan Jones landscape in oils and watercolours
Shirley Jones book art - limited editions and etchings
Robert Macdonald paintings, lino and wood block prints
Sally Matthews sculptures in natural materials
Richard Renshaw sculptures in wood, stone and bronze

During the Spring of 2007 an Exhibition of the Artists' works in Abergavenny marked the publication of a guide to the Art Trail by David Moore published by Little Fish Press. This bilingual publication: 'Eight Stones, Eight Artists: Exploring the Beacons Way Art Trail’ contains clues as to the position of the artworks, information about each artist, images of artists at work, illustrations of other works they have created and a short statement describing the inspiration behind each piece of work created for the project. Interleaved will be sheets of tracing paper so rubbings of each work can be made.

Members may be interested to note that, on production of a valid membership card, they can obtain 10% off all outdoor equipment (but not if it has already been discounted) from:
Gibb Sports, 43 High Street, Brecon.
Telephone 01874 622949

To find an alphabetical listing of pages and topics, click on the Contents page