Work to improve an historic mountain is starting to show benefits, according to the community group charged with its protection.
Last year the Cymdeithas Twmbarlwm Society received £24,000 to help protect and improve Twmbarlwm mountain.
The grant, which is part of the Welsh Government’s Tidy Towns initiative, supported by Caerphilly County Borough Council, is aimed to encourage community involvement and volunteers have been out in all weathers.
On the mountainside above Risca, contractors have nearly finished installing almost 1km of fencing designed to keep off-road vehicles and trail-bikes off the scheduled ancient monument.
The off-roaders were damaging the iron age hill fort at the mountain’s summit.
Volunteers from the society have been doing their bit too.
Recently a group donned their hi-vis vests and did a litter pick on the slopes of the mountain.
After the litter pick they went on to help haul timber from the forestry which had been pre-cut by Natural Resources Wales for use in the fencing project. Despite worsening weather conditions the stalwart group collected enough timber and brushwood to fill at least half the fencing completed so far.
Society chair Terry Evans said: “I am so proud of this group of people – to give up time for volunteer work like this is praise-worthy enough at the best of times, but in such wet, windy, freezing conditions like we had today it is above and beyond the call of duty.”
Over the next few months the society will be organising further volunteer work days to complete the “Tidy Twmp” project. This will include more litter picks, planting hedging into the fences and erecting signage.
The society’s plan is for most of the project to be ready before Good Friday (on April 18) for Twmbarlwm’s first major event of the year, “The Hot Cross Bun Walk”, when, according to local tradition, people from miles around come to walk up the mountain just like pilgrims used to do hundreds of years ago.
Dates and details of all events can be found at www.twmbarlwm.co.uk.