In support of keeping footpaths 92 7 93 open for future generations - By Ros causey Reasons I want to preserve access to Morfa beach via footpaths 92 & 93 for future generations to enjoy By Rosalind Causey , nee Hearse , November 2013 Page 1 of 7 My family history of Morfa beach and long lands lane , Aka footpaths 92& 93 This is written in support of local and not so local people who use footpaths 92& 93 , both to access Morfa beach as well as to simply enjoy the area and wildlife unique to Margam moors and dunes . A place of special scientific interest, a haven for wildlife-- place to treasure , to enjoy , to preserve for future generations , just as I and past generations of local people have spent their work and leisure time here . I have been visiting Morfa beach to enjoy a number of activities including walking, swimming, surfing, fishing, kayaking, beach combing, picnics , building sandcastles, learning of the history and archaeology , exploring the wrecks & playing beach games ever since I can remember , which is over 50 years , before that my fathers, and before that, his father So in total, my family have been walking along footpaths 92& 93 and using Morfa beach for over a hundred years - long before the steel company was built ... My father took his class to visit, to learn of wildlife and local history, ancient and modern. History from Iron Age, the Romans, the Vikings, from me devil to modern .. So much to learn. My father and grandparents spoke of how when he was a boy the whole street used to visit Morfa for chapel outings , the elderly and young children unable to walk all the way , travelling by cart down long lands Lane . Other memories are of the Newlands and Morfa collieries, where my grandfather work, and the sadness of the several Morfa pit disasters, tales of loss of loved ones, trapped in undersea coal tunnels . I often look at the spray and the wild waves and imagine Ghosts of sailors and rescuers overcome by stormy seas and razor sharp rocks , the Amazon, the Santamper , the mumbles lifeboat ....and many more . Its amazing what the tide lets us occasionally see.. how once in a blue moon, or rather occasionally on a very low tide after an autumn storm , a ww2 tank , usually buried in the sands is exposed for a tide or two . My children and now my grandson also love visiting Morfa beach and long may they and their children continue to do so , we want to preserve this special place for future generations to enjoy We have traditionally accesses the beach in two ways - when we wanted a long walk, by walking over Kenfig dunes & crossing the river Kenfig , In support of keeping footpaths 92 7 93 open for future generations - By Ros causey Reasons I want to preserve access to Morfa beach via footpaths 92 & 93 for future generations to enjoy By Rosalind Causey , nee Hearse , November 2013 Page 2 of 7 when a shorter walk was preferred , we used to walk or drive to the beach via long lands lane.( footpaths 92&93) Up until the railway gates were locked, preventing vehicle access vis Longlands lane, we to take the car to the beach, this enabled us to both take elderly relatives no longer fit enough to walk there to visit the beach and also to forage for driftwood and the coal that regularly washes up on the beach from the undresses coal seams . Many a winter we were kept warm by burning wood and coal gathered from Morfa -sea coal burns hot, though spits a bit . we also used to often drive to the beach in our car in order to collect driftwood and sea coal for many a winter fire - that sea coal burned hot, and the salt soaked sticks spat out may a cinder tom be hastily removed from the rug.... Taking the car on the beach was an adventure in itself- that hard flat sand soon traps the unwary as this video from boxing day 1968 shows youtube/watch?v=l5izdiwHmBI That day, whilst collecting firewood and getting some exercise & fresh air after spending Xmas day indoors, we cale across a hazard ahead road sign.... after clowning in front of the camera with washed up plastic bottel telescope - we found the hazard- our stick filled car had sunk in the sand ... with the tide coming in! .....we escaped safely with the help of a man walking his chowchow dog who helped us dig the car out ...happy days! My mother would love to return to the beach , but Sadly due to recent limitations in access across the railway , I am unable to drive her all the way , and she , like many if e 80 plus generation are no longer fit enough to walk all the way. My father was a keen fisherman, so Morfa has also provided tasty food for our table . There used to many be shellfish but these have diminished. As a child my father and I would often enjoy a long walk to Morfa beach combing, or looking for luckies washed up by the tide as I used to call it ..... Sometimes a toy plastic horse or football, or a buoy, or piece of netting , all taken home for reuse . In the 70s and 80s the beach was litter strewn with plastics , which thankfully is decreasing since the laws limit what ships and land lubbers can dump in the sea ....... The worst pollutant is the ugly waste dump , now owned by TATA that has invaded the dunes and Margam wetlands since the 70s .... Spreading like an ugly monster , leaching toxic looking ooze over the sands and footpath ... I hope Mother Nature can heal after this abuse . In support of keeping footpaths 92 7 93 open for future generations - By Ros causey Reasons I want to preserve access to Morfa beach via footpaths 92 & 93 for future generations to enjoy By Rosalind Causey , nee Hearse , November 2013 Page 3 of 7 The most interesting thing we found in Morfa beach was friendship - back in 1968, my father , a school teacher found a bottle washed up by the tide . Inside was a note from a couple of young American girls . One close to my age, the other a little older. Result was two schools ,on different sides of the Atlantic writing and sharing ways of life. We started writing over45 years ago .... An event worthy of a mention in the Western Mail. And now not only are we still firm friends , our children regularly chat on the internet ... From sea mail to e- mail , that bottle waned up on Morfa has brought joy to generations . Our American friends also support keeping the footpath open so that they can visit the place the bottle was found Morfa is a beautiful wild place , a place to escape the crowds if tourists who flock in their thousands to coney beach or rest bay .... A beach so big can walk for miles with the sea and gulls for company .. A beach so big that there is plenty of room for surfers and fishermen and people who just want to enjoy the beach , there is room to run , space to breath ...visitors I take there are amazed at how big the sands are , especially at low tide, and wonder how such a beautiful place is kept do secret from the masses . I visit often with my children and grand child , and always see plenty of people... But as the beach is so big i never feel overcrowded Old traditions such as the Sunday school outings and bando matches with the Aberafan tribe from across the river Afan, are being replaced by new , I used to camp and picnic or have BBQ s with my school friends , recently our walking group have the new years day walk and paddle.....and regular litter picks to make our beach a cleaner place. Each generation adds their own traditions . Though lots of us want to reintroduce the old tradition of beach bando . I would like in future for the new round Wales coastal path to have its rightful place , across Morfa beach ( at the moment for what I see is for no insurmountable reasons) it is diverted 3 miles inland , away from the sea for an 8 mike stretch, along a busy road and through an industrial town, miles from sight or sound of he sea .... Why divert inland. Rather than along a beautiful beach, That is a local and National treasure . far better to allow access across the beac, even if it means a fenced in footpath and bridges over the relatively short docklands area , over he river Afan , linking Moraf with Aberafan once more. .... Maybe then a friendly game of Bando between Aberafan and Margam folk to celebrate ... In support of keeping footpaths 92 7 93 open for future generations - By Ros causey Reasons I want to preserve access to Morfa beach via footpaths 92 & 93 for future generations to enjoy By Rosalind Causey , nee Hearse , November 2013 Page 4 of 7 The footpaths themselves cross Margam moors , wetlands and dunes that are refuge for so much wildlife - a walk down long lands lane is so lovely as we never know what we might spot , is that Herron a local or a rare migrant bird ? In late summer there are feasts of blackberries to pick to eat or make jam . I am fighting to keep the footpaths open as they are the only ways to the beach for many mikes. ..... Long may we be able to visit our lovely beach and enjoy such a wealth of healthy activities , long may our footpaths that enable us to reach this lovely wild place state open . To end with a poem called Glamorgan - long may we walk down long lands lane to our Glamorgan sea at Morfa Glamorgan - this poem reminds me of Morfa Beach I know the seas of Pembrokeshire are clean and clear and blue Glamorgan seas are muddy tramps and streaked with coal dust too But beautys in the eye they say, to those who look with care Glamorgan seas are my seas and so to me theyre fair . I hoe this proves how my family have enjoyed visiting Morfa for generatins, for liesure, for food (fishing) and for fuel ( coal & driftwood forafing) foer well over a hunfred years , and that we want to continue using and enjouying our beach, now and for generations to come This is to support my request tom keep Lonmglands labne , Footpaths 92 7 93 , the footpaths to and around the beach open In support of keeping footpaths 92 7 93 open for future generations - By Ros causey Reasons I want to preserve access to Morfa beach via footpaths 92 & 93 for future generations to enjoy By Rosalind Causey , nee Hearse , November 2013 Page 5 of 7 Article from Western Mail April 1969 about message in a bottle on Morfa beach In support of keeping footpaths 92 7 93 open for future generations - By Ros causey Reasons I want to preserve access to Morfa beach via footpaths 92 & 93 for future generations to enjoy By Rosalind Causey , nee Hearse , November 2013 Page 6 of 7 In support of keeping footpaths 92 7 93 open for future generations - By Ros causey Reasons I want to preserve access to Morfa beach via footpaths 92 & 93 for future generations to enjoy By Rosalind Causey , nee Hearse , November 2013 Page 7 of 7 Celebrating a generation spanning Friendship that started on Morfa beach
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 09:27:03 +0000
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