On this page you will not find late-breaking news, for which there are plenty of other alternative sites. Instead, I have included updates on issues that have continued interest and relevance to anglers, walkers, conservationists and anyone who values the wildlife, environment and other attractions of Kite Country.

• Monmouth & Brecon Canal partly closed throughout 2008
• Dates for your diary in 2008
• Blueprint for Water
• Call to ban fishing in Brecon Beacons National Park
• National Park becomes a Geopark
• New long-distance footpath across Brecon Beacons
• Habitat improvements to River Monnow
• Upper Wye Passport
• Has anybody seen any big cats recently?

Monmouth & Brecon Canal partly closed throughout 2008

February 2008: Following a very serious breach in the canal embankment at Gilwern on the 16th October last year, survey work by British Waterways Wales & Border Counties has established that the necessary repair work is likely to keep the damaged stretch of this popular waterway and tourist attraction closed to Spring 2009. Some 16 miles of the canal have been drained and over 100000 fish removed. Local residents were extremely fortunate to escape serious injury when the canal flooded the hillside above Gilwern, although a number of homes were very badly damaged. You can find some initial reporting of the incident on the Heritage Now web site, which also has quite a few dramatic photographs illustrating the impact of the breach.

Dates for your diary in 2008

February 2008: This year's Hay Festival of Literature will take place between the 22nd May and the 1st June. This quite unique event set in the beautiful town of Hay-on-Wye, renowned for its many second-hand bookshops, always attracts a fascinating variety of speakers. Last year's performers included the fabulous Welsh diva Katherine Jenkins, the Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney and a whole host of other diverse attractions such as the comedian Eric Sykes, the former politician Chris Patten, cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, flamboyant cookery writer Keith Floyd and many, many others. Make sure you check the web site for details of this year's guests and book your accommodation for this as early as possible.

This year the Welsh Game Fair will again be held in Llandeilo, in the Towy valley, on the 14th and 15th June. This is always a good day out for anglers, hunters and lovers of other country pursuits, but there is something at the Fair to interest the whole family.

Between the 21st and 24th July the Royal Welsh Show will attract many thousands of visitors from all over the United Kingdom to this very special and popular agricultural show in the beautifully situated town of Builth Wells.

The hugely popular and truly international Brecon Jazz Festival will hopefully come together for its 25th anniversary between 8th and 10th August this year. Please see the Festival web site for the latest information, as the organisers are notorious for keeping everybody waiting for exact details. The site also provides information on last year's performances, so you can see just how significant this event is.

Clearly illustrating the attraction of the Brecon Beacons for music lovers and closely following on the heels of Brecon's jazz fest is the 6th Green Man Festival featuring a wide variety of well-known folk (and alternative) musicians. The festival will hopefully again be held between the 15th and 17th August in the beautiful Glanusk Park on the banks of the River Usk near Crickhowell and you are well advised to book early to guarantee a space for your tent/caravan/bed roll. Please check their web site for confirmation of the venue in due course and for details of performances, which are scheduled to include Super Furry Animals and UK folk legend Richard Thompson for 2008.

The extraordinary and very popular Victorian Festival will once again take place in the pretty old spa town of Llandrindod Wells between the 16th and 24th August. Boasting a variety of themed events, this is an excuse to find some old clothes in the attic and dress up in your best Victoriana.

Also very popular with summer visitors to Kite Country is the Talgarth Festival of the Black Mountains, which encompasses a variety of events throughout the small town of Talgarth on the 23rd and 24th August. There is something here for everybody.

If you want to enjoy a truly memorable and unique experience, please make sure to visit the smallest town in Great Britain to soak up the atmosphere (and possibly something stronger) as well as to enjoy some truly unique events. This year Llanwrtyd Wells plays host to the World Bog Snorkelling Championships on 25th August as well as the Mid Wales Beer Festival between 14th and 23rd November and many other zany and entertaining festivities. For more information see the web site.

If you can't make it to Builth Wells for the Royal Welsh Show, please note your calendar for the Monmouth Show on Thursday 28th August. This is always an excellent one-day show and boasts a very large selection of exhibitors and trade stands as well as livestock competitions and displays.

The Abergavenny Food Festival takes place on 20th and 21st September and attracts leading figures from the food world plus TV chefs and media personalities. Visit the many talks, tastings, stalls and demonstrations.

For those who prefer to live in the fast lane but who still like nice scenery, head for the forests of Mid Wales between the 27th and 30th November to watch the action in the Wales Rally GB. This final round of the World Rally Championship always attracts the finest rally drivers.

Blueprint for Water

January 2007: Although it might be raining outside whilst you read this, I hope you will accept that our most precious natural resource is currently in a state of unprecedented crisis. The Government has committed itself to meeting the objectives of the European Union Water Framework Directive, which states that we must restore the ecology of Europe's rivers, lakes and wetlands by 2015 and that every member state's plans must be in place by 2009. The Blueprint for Water is both a coalition of specialist organisations and an alternative set of proposals that the Government is being urged to adopt to meet its obligations under the Directive. Even if you are not an angler you will have plenty to say about water conservation and quality and therefore please take some time to have a look at the Blueprint and see what you think our leaders should be doing to protect our future. The coalition members include the Anglers' Conservation Association, the Association of Rivers Trusts, the Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust, the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Salmon and Trout Association, Waterwise, the Wildlife Trusts, the WWF and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

Call to ban fishing in Brecon Beacons National Park

October 2005: Many thanks to Garth Roberts of the Carmarthenshire Fishermen's Federation for alerting me to a recent letter from the organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to the Chief Executive of the Brecon Beacons National Park . Apparently, the letter asks that fishing be banned within the Park because of overwheming evidence that fish are intelligent animals who experience stress and pain. According to PETA the hooking of fish through the lip offends against the national park mission that all wildlife should be protected. You can find out more about PETA's view from their Angling Hurts pages, where there are some hints on what to do to help fish or instead of actually fishing.

I think it would be a mistake to casually dismiss the PETA action, no matter how misguided you might think it is. The world is a different place from the one that existed when I first started writing this web site about 8 years ago and hunting foxes with dogs is now banned throughout the country. PETA and other organisations will not stop until they have seriously curtailed traditional activities that they regard as "bloodsports" and we need to challenge their ideas intellectually, not just emotionally.

New long-distance footpath across Brecon Beacons

May 2005: At long last the new long-distance footpath crossing the Brecon Beacons from East to West (and vice versa!) has finally been inaugurated after some 3 years of planning. Now officially known as the Beacons Way, the new 98 miles long path will be the first to start and finish in the National Park and will hopefully encourage even more visitors to the area.

There is a definite religious theme to the new trail, which joins the small hamlet of Bethlehem, to the West of the Park near the River Towy, with Holy Mountain (Skirrid Fawr) near Abergavenny in the East. Along the length of the path walkers will also see some of the most beautiful old chapels and churches to be found anywhere in Wales, such as the little gem in Partrishow, as well as some beautiful scenery, such as the view across to the Black Mountain shown on this page. Railway access will be possible via Llandovery in the West or via Abergavenny.

The opening of the path coincides with the arrival of Open Access in Wales on the 28th May. Experienced walkers should be able to complete the new trail in about eight consecutive days, although you may naturally decide to take a shorter stroll at almost any point. The excellent guide book to the new trail by John Sansom and Arwel Michael is essential reading and this is readily available from bookshops and tourist information centres throughout Kite Country (ISBN 1 902305 35 4).

Habitat Improvements to River Monnow

May 2004: Regular visitors to this site will know that I have featured developments in the ongoing project to improve the habitat of the little River Monnow since its inception in 1999. With the support of a number of concerned organisations, including the Usk and Monnow Valley branch of the Salmon and Trout Association, the Wild Trout Trust, the Game Conservancy Trust and the Grayling Research Trust, work to address this tributary of the River Wye was initially seriously set back by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001. The Monnow forms part of the border between England and Wales and was hailed as one of the finest trout streams in Southern Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century. Over the years it has suffered, like so many other rivers, through intensive cultivation of the surrounding farmland, bankside erosion through overgrazing, and excessive shade caused by trees that have not been cut or coppiced for decades.

However, work to put right many of these problems is now well under way and supporters of the project were able to see the real progress being made during an open day held on the 13th May. As well as listening to excellent speeches by the celebrated Wild Trout Trust Vice Presidents Brian Clarke and Gareth Edwards, the visitors were also shown the extent of fencing, coppicing and other bankside work already carried out on the river and were able to inspect the results of electrofishing on one short stretch. Full marks to the organisers, who made the day very interesting and enjoyable and also ensured that supporters did not leave without an excellent lunch!

For further information about the project please contact:

Gill Watkins
River Monnow Project Co-ordinator
Upper Cwm
Craswall
Herefordshire
HR2 0PH
telephone: 01981 510189
email: monnow@gct.org.uk

The work on the Monnow may already be having a positive impact on salmon stocks on the Wye, as catches in 2004 are said to be significantly higher than last year. Fish in excess of 30lbs have already been caught at Builth Wells and Monmouth and some beats are reporting catches up to 4 times higher than in previous years. Check out the Wye and Usk Foundation site for more details.

Upper Wye Passport

March 2004: For some years now I have featured the excellent conservation work being undertaken by the supporters of the Wye and Usk Foundation. Another innovation from this group is the recent publication of its very useful and informative booklet called the "Upper Wye Passport". This describes all the fishing beats that visitors can either reserve direct through the Foundation's own booking office in Builth Wells or on presentation of pre-paid vouchers that are also supplied by the Foundation. For more information see my page on the River Wye.

Has anybody seen any big cats recently?

January 2003: Police in West Wales are issuing warnings to farmers not go out alone at night after a dog was savaged by a "puma-like" animal near the village of Llangadog in the Towy Valley, in the West of Kite Country earlier in the month.

The attack is the latest in a number of sightings of mysterious large cats in remote areas of Wales and other parts of Britain. However, the elusive creatures have managed to avoid capture so far and it is not possible to say with any certainty what they might be. it has been suggested that black panthers, pumas or a lynx may be involved, although the debate continues.For more information check out the British Big Cat Society site. The Welsh sightings are also discussed more fully by BBC Wales, including some rather more important safety advice. Despite the warnings, please do not be put off visiting Kite Country this year.