A Moody dash-cam drive along The Shining Way in West Wales on Xmas Eve.
A Moody dash-cam drive along The Shining Way in West Wales on Xmas Eve.
Mission 6 of our Dash-cam journey through the West Wales countryside. With music by Steve Spon’s Nostramus.
Today’s brand new Nostramus track is called “Crystalwytch” an ambient Drum and Bass soundscape featuring Tony Gee on Trumpet, Ella Jo on Vocals and Steve Spon on FX guitar and Electric Piano.
I am producing this and other material for a forthcoming album project which will be highlighted on my Bandcamp channel. This new work is based on a short science fiction fantasy story involving Pagan Goddesses, Druids and the mysteriously named “Coveners” who ‘cloak’ their real identities as time traveling extra terrestrial providers and you could say – gardeners. The ‘Crystalwytch’ could be the visitors craft or it may be the name of one of the visitors, or even a place. Who knows, it was at story written many years in the future. It is impossible to report it here. Please consider supporting Steve at Nostramus Bandcamp.
With the current Lockdown and the darkest time of year – with snowy weather, it has not been possible to travel to the mountain journeys that I had planned. However on Christmas Eve 2020 I managed to take some footage that fitted a mood that appealed to me. I set the video to play with the song, and came up with “Crystalwytch”. This drive takes place just after sunset along a Ceredigion Ridgway approximately 1000 foot (300 Metres) above Sea Level. Known locally as the White, or Shining Way, the journey traverses the road from Pen Cae and finishes at Post Bach. Whilst the views may be rather “ordinary” compared to some earlier videos, the moody atmosphere and brooding cloudscapes appear auspicious. windswept, bedraggled Beech, Laburnum and Pine trees scatter the hedgerows, and the odd croft or farmstead are often decorated with Christmas lights. Also the road was slightly busier than usual. Although not set for kids, this particular movie is actually safe for kids to watch. Please check all my videos before allowing your kids to watch.
Big thanks to Tony Gee (Redfish) for his speedy and magnificent Trumpeteering and Ella Jo for her “Crystalwytch Prophesy Poem”, finally Spon played Electric Piano and guitar fx. Please check back later for further dash-cam journeys! we are going to journey further into the Cambrian Mountains as soon as we get a few good clear days…. Written and conceived by Steve Spon for Nostramus and Diamonseeds Media 2021
Activity to help alleviate isolation, mental health and loneliness during the 2020 Coronavirus 19 Global Pandemic Lockdowns.
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‘Views From The Dashcam’
“This episode filmed on a late sunny October afternoon, highlighting the autumn colours as Spon and Jon take a drive to Devil’s Bridge for some shamanic shenanigans. This trip reveals the spectacular wooded Cambrian Mountain countryside in Ceredigion, Wales. Although this area is often cold an wet in the winter, palm tress can be spotted amidst the almost alpine scenery. Devils Bridge, Pontarfynach”
On a bright sunny autumn day back in early October my good friend Jon and I headed out to the mountains around Devils Bridge in Ceredigeon in West Wales. We were looking to travel from our base to the heights above Devils Bridge at the Hafon Arch 1300 foot 375 metres above Sea Level. By Himalayan standards it’s not that high but for this part of the world close to the Sea and at this latitude , that is pretty high. It is the point where the moorland starts. Beyond this area know as Cymystwyth/ Hafon is the “Wilderness” or “Green Desert” of Wales. This is an enormous swathe of unpopulated barren moorland that stretches for tens of miles and it is commonly known as the Cambrian mountains.
The Mountain walks and scenery above Hafon ArchOn the edge of the “Green Desert Of Wales”
There is a minor road an old pack horse route leading through to Rhayader on the other side and then some miles to the north is the main road , the A44 leading from Aberystwyth to Llangurig again on the other side of the mountain range.
We decided that day to visit the area above the Hafon Arch with it’s stunning views and pleasant mountain walkways (and mountain biking tracks) One could set off from here on your nike or by foot and get lost for days! This is nothing on the scale of the ‘wild west’ or Canadian outback but for the southern UK this is one of the remotest areas in England and Wales. Not as busy as Snowdonia but this are in many ways has plenty of scope for discovery and adventure.
Looking south east towards the Cambrian Mountains
It would be good to mention at this point that our mission would include some autumnal foraging and that part of the ‘shamanic’ mission was moderately successful and we had an enjoyable walk . Anyway back to Devils Bridge, one and a half miles downhill from the Arch, the chocolate shop was closed! Ah well
We lit the massive cheech and chong and we forgoes the munchies, the only food available was those white things dotted about in the fields everywhere round here but they were still alive. Or kind off, whether or not there is anything going on behind those wide eyes and non stop munching is hard to know. One thing for sure, there are more Sheep around here than people.
At the time of writing England is once more in lockdown. Earlier this year we invested in a modest 4k webcam for the car and I put in a 64 gig chip. It continuously records but wipes the earliest recordings with the latest. At any one point there are several hours or even days of motoring trips. This year I have driven a lot around beautiful Wales. It struck me that the video footage may be worth watching. So I downloaded everything after our first trip around Llyn Brianne and was gobsmacked at stuff I had missed because I had my eyes more on the dodgy mountain roads than admiring the scenery.
I had been building up a new PC music system and fitting up my Studio and was sifting through some of the work I had been doing under Lockdown and just prior to it, when I hit upon the idea of placing my sounds onto the video footage.
I run music production software called Cubase and this not only allows me to create and record music but it will also play back a video file in sync whilst piecing together the music for it
This I found truly inspiring. Not only was I able to relive those lovely journeys in the autumn colours but composing music became an almost magical shall I dare say a spiritual process?
Devils Bridge or to give it it’s correct Cymru name “Pontarfynach” without looking into it “Pont” I think means “Bridge” (ie pontoon) “arf” I am unclear of “y” I think means “The” and “nach” hmm I think this means “Small” Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong So The Small Bridge ?? (I have just read that it actually means the bridge over the river Mynach)
The word Mynach is Welsh for monk; one theory is that the river got its name from the fact that it was near land owned by a monastery. Wikipedia
Watch the video. Please turn up your volume first
Anyway the story oft told is that “
“According to legend, the original bridge was built after an old woman lost her cow and saw it grazing on the other side of the river. The Devil appeared and agreed to build a bridge in return for the soul of the first living thing to cross it. When the bridge was finished, the old woman threw a crust of bread over the river, which her dog crossed the bridge to retrieve, thus becoming the first living thing to cross it. The devil was left with only the soul of the dog.” Wikipedia
You wouldn’t know it from driving across the bridge that actually there are three bridges each built on top of the other one. It is said that the Romans built the first bridge nearly 2000 years ago which was rebuilt in Medieval times. What we know for sure was that the first bridge was built in Medieval times then built over on two separate occasions each time the newer bridge was built over the older bridge. The latest bridge an iron bridge was built in 1901 and then refurbished in 1971. The bridge spans a deep gorge with a waterfall running through it down to the Rheidol Valley (Cym Rheidol) 230 metres below. Many tourists visit this spot and apparently there is an Annual Welsh car rally that drives through it.
The Hafon Arms Hotel
As written on the Youtube video….
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“But why just admire the view when we can add music? Set up your audio speakers and playback loud on a good quality sound system for maximum effect and enjoy the ten minute journey accompanied by “Port Sian” a stunning new track written by Steve Spon for Nostramus. Share this exhilarating experience from your armchair as we take the high roads of Wales. We hope you enjoy the ride! Please click “Like” and “Subscribe” to our Channel below. Also please support us at our Patreon Channel, coming soon! “
Eighteenth century view of Devils Bridge. Wikepedia commons
