Jim Perrin’s Country diary on the treecreepers at Soar Y Mynydd (14 June) beautifully evokes the peace, Welsh heritage and wildlife value of the central section of the Cambrian mountains, Yr Elenydd.
But his comments on the damage done by off-roaders and the thoughtless planting of huge expanses of monoculture conifer plantations ring all too true. Indeed, the track from Soar Y Mynydd to the hostel at Ty’n Cornel is so deeply eroded as to be in places difficult to pass even on foot, let alone for the horse riders who used to use it. Facing the chapel itself, beyond the small grove of trees in the graveyard, the hillsides have been hidden from view with featureless trees, today being clear-felled to leave an equally ugly picture.
