00:00 - Llangasty Talyllyn
03:35 - Brecon, St Mary
08:12 - Brecon, Cathedral
14:16 - Brecon, St David
16:22 - Llanfeugan
20:29 - Llanfihangel Tal-y-llyn
Wednesday of Tour was handed over to Commander Juan to organise, and he did not let us down *salutes*. This was our "big" day, both in terms of distance from base, and number of towers - six, hence the monster video! - and started with a beautiful but misty drive northwards through the Brecon Beacons.
Luckily, the sun broke through just in time for our first four of the week - and our only anti-clockwise number! Llangasty Talyllyn - points for pronunciation! - is set in a stunning location on Llangorse Lake, and is the very definition of rural, accessed by single-track lanes and with very little else in terms of a village or houses nearby. The bells were last overhauled by Gillett & Johnston in 1931, when they also recast the tenor; consequently, they handled nicely and sounded fine. The treble falls in a slightly awkward position, on the tower step, and the front 3 still had four-strand ropes on them - an increasing rarity! We had an enjoyable half-hour here; the ringing showcased includes Bob Minimus, the lower, and our special method, Ashley Treble Bob Minimus. Was it a coincidence I put Smashley in charge here?...
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?...
Chalk-and-cheese was Brecon, a bustling little city with three towers for us to delight in. The first of these were the grand, old-fashioned eight of St Mary, a complete ring cast by Abel Rudhall of Gloucester in 1750. The bells, with their fine, decorative inscriptions, were rehung by Whites of Appleton a few years ago, and handled well enough, albeit they did like to drop a little, presumably due to tower movement and a long draught. Ringing featured here includes Grandsire Triples, masterfully conducted by Ashley, and rounds and call changes, led by Emily.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?...
After lunch - which allowed another Spoons tick for the collection! - it was time for the Cathedral, our first ten of the Tour. Tiredness was starting to kick in a bit here, so we were glad for the energy injected by the arrival of Molly, Alex and Jose. This quickly dissipated however when the scale of the ascent was realised - a real maze of narrow corridors and steep spiral staircases; quite an adventure! Upon arrival into the massive ringing chamber, Euan quickly set us to work, keeping the repertoire simple and with a focus on striking, starting with call-changes and progressing through Plain Hunt up to Grandsire Caters. Until 1995, Brecon Cathedral hosted a Rudhall six; three of these bells (5,7,8) survive in the present ring, the remaining 7 being cast by Eijsbouts and hung by Eayre & Smith to mark the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Priory.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?...
Descending both the Cathedral and the hill, it was onto St David's - at least, most of us found the right church! A 1924 Taylor six (ho ho ho!), these were not the easiest, being a touch flighty round the front and heinously oddstruck in places, but they sounded excellent, especially outside!
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?...
Brecon completed, it was time to head back out into the countryside, and a ring of bells I had heard a lot of good things about - Llanfeugan. Many of you will better know this as Pencelli, a favourite outdoor-adventure week for schools! The bells, a 1921 Taylor eight, sounded stunning outside, but did not quite match the promise inside. Unfortunately, our visit was cut short here at 19:25, no thanks to an unfortunate snappage.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?...
Dusting ourselves off, we made for our final tower and second four of the day; the considerably chunkier ring at Llanfihangel Tal-y-llyn (another one for the linguists!). The tenor, seen at 21:40, is the oldest bell in the county of Brecknockshire (cast c1450). Now, to have one rope break is unfortunate, but to have a second snap is just plain careless! However, Alex certainly introduced himself to the group, his heavy-handling of the 3rd proving too much for the ancient thread hanging on the bell! Luckily, Lewis was primed and ready and, after some work upstairs, returned triumphant, with his rope origami allowing those who had patiently waited their turn the chance to grab the tower. Sadly, the excellent course of Bob Minimus rung on arrival was not filmed, so you will have to make do with some call-changes and Plain Hunt - but do admire the skilful job Euan and Lewis made of ringing the 3 without a sally.
https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?...
With Thursday morning blocked out as free time, Wednesday night soon turned into Thursday morning, with cards and.... yes, cheese-fuelled handbells!
Up soon - did our late night affect us too badly? Did we even get out of bed in time to ring some bells? All will be revealed in the next enthralling chapter! :-)
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