Oxford SSiW - additional meetups?

Not about meetups, but it does follow on from commments earlier in the thread about unexpected appearances of Cymraeg - I saw this at Oxford station on the side of a London-bound train

(less unexpected perhaps as some FGW trains do go to S Wales, but certainly not those going through Oxford)

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In case anyone’s thinking of travelling to Tackley tomorrow by bus rather than train for our crwydro-sgwrs tomorrow (Sat 12th) along the Oxford Canal, I’ve been double-checking the timetables. There seem to be various versions out there but, from what looks to be the most up to date one, it seems that the S4 from Oxford to Tackley is only hourly (not half-hourly as I said in the original post), leaving Magdalen St, Oxford at 20 mins past the hour and taking 30 minutes to Tackley village.

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So, another brilliant day, four met at Tackley and of we wandered towards the canal which was soon reached, was it nice well


Pont dros y camlas - Bridge over the canal
Even by this stage i think everyone had used a word the others didn’t know and ways to form sentences to express what we were trying say was proving a fun game.

Things of interest kept appearing


Pryf clustiog - Earwig on a plant i forget the name of.

A mystery flower that was certainly eye catching.

Hopys - hops made an appearance again,
Pan bobl yn gofyn cwestiwn wrtho fi a dw i’n meddwl bod fi’n gwybod ateb sydd yn cwir, ac wedyn mae nhw’n deall yr ateb dw i’n dweud iddin nhw’n cymraeg, dw i’n deimlo yn dda iawn.
Yep it feels like i’m getting somewhere (all corrections welcome).

So we continued wandering and chatting, one question oes 'na davern wrth ochr y camlas seemed popular. according to my map. Ar ol dach chi’n mynd o dan y pont raelfordd dechrau edrych am tavern, turned out to be correct.
so a selection of drinks were purchased and we sat in the garden that was host to a group of ladies dressed as pirates (yep every day has it’s surprise).

The return trip continued in the same mode.


Hesg - common reed.

Those who were with me will know how many photo’s are missing from this post (i took 55) because there was just so much i have to be little selective.

Picelliwr rhuddgoch - Ruddy darter (careful with this ID as it’s not the best of photo’s but based on the way the body narrows then widens, the way the wings are held at rest (drooping) and a faint hint of a curved mid-vein in the wing).

Cynffon y gath - great reedmace, looking wonderful in the sun,
Around this part of the walk the convrsation seemed to move onto things like lungs though i missed the lead into that, anyway many many new words were bounced around and i will relie on others to remind me of those i will try to remember over the next few days.

What a wonderful band welsh learners are, as we left the canal and returned around an old mill pond it was announced that another rest was needed for more cake.


Little did i know the cakes had been made for me (lucis iawn).

And with the sunshine a butterfly was in attendance.


Gweirloyn brych - speckled wood (and no i didn’t remember it’s name quite correctly).

I can only say thanks once again folks and look forward to next time. diolch am dy gymnu.

Cheers J.P.

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Dwi’n cytuno efo chdi John bach. A really lovely day. Diolch i ti am y crynodeb, ac i @johnwilliams_6 am gadw ni mewn trefn, ac i @carungo hefyd. Cwmi penigamp.
Don’t be swil with your photos!

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Cytuno’n llwyr! Diolch i dri ohonochi am gwneud prynhawn arbennig o dda am grwydro yn yr haul ar hyd y llwybr halio wrth ochor y Gamlas Rydychen - heb sôn am gacennau, cwrw, a’r wybodaeth am y byd natur!

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A dw i’n cytuno hefyd. Mor lwcus efo’r tywydd a cwmni bendigedig. Photos ardderchog, (siomedig am crwydren (female vagabond ) rhyfedd sy’n syllu trwy’r bont yn y photo……)

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Time to be thinking about another Welsh ramble/sgwrs, dw i’n meddwl.
Now leaves are colouring and fungi breaking cover maybe crwydro yn y coedwig is the best plan - a return to Charlbury/Wychwood or to Wytham Wood perhaps? Or Shotover could be another possibility. So, suggestions for dates and places, please!
I could only make a day next weekend or the last weekend in October myself, but if one of the weekends in between works out better for most people, no problem.

The last Saturday of October is good with me it that is fine for you and others.
I think a return to the first (shorter) walk in Charlbury would allow time for wildlife watching,
But i’m easy on all options, (i will certainly do my best to attend what ever the decision).

Cheers J.P.

I could do October 31st too, anywhere.

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And me. So, look forward to meeting up Oct 31 Charlbury station is it ?

OK - Saturday 31 October it is then. We can aim to meet up as before at midday at the cafe “News & Things” in Sheep St, Charlbury if not before for those travelling to Charlbury by train on the 11:23 from Oxford (arrives Charlbury 11:40).
As always, all welcome - for anyone interested who wasn’t on this walk the last time, it’s a circular walk of about 8 miles according to the book listing the route (although I seem to remember that we thought it turned out to be a little shorter than that?). It skirts skirting Cornbury Park before passing through woods and fields before returning to Charlbury - it’s also likely to be a bit muddy in places through Wychwood, so be prepared!

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Hi Carungo,
Mae’n phosib bod byddai’n diddorol. Dwi’n byw agos y Milton Keynes. Wnes i cwrdd dau pobl o Rhydychen ar y Bwtcamp blwythyn diwethaf felly bydd e’n dda os bwythwyni gwrdd eto!
Hwyl am y tro. Jan

Hi Jan ,
Byddwn ni’n edrych ymlaen i gyfarfod chi. Wela chi’n fuan.
Hwyl,Caroline

Helo Jan,
Bydd gwych os ti’n medru crwydrso efo ni - mi roeddwn y dau ohononi ym Mhlas Tan y Bwlch yn y penwythnos Cymraeg cerdded yn y mynyddoedd. Roedd y pobl o Rydychen efo chdi yn y Bwtcamp
Carolyn ‘Gwallt coch’ a Simon dw i’n meddwl - yn y meetup ddydd Mawrth roedd hi’n deud bod hi’n gobeithio bydd bosib iddi dod efo ni am y crwydro hwn.
Hwyl fawr, John

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For those who don’t know it, here’s a map of our Sat 31st October Charlbury ramble

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A reminder about the crwydro+sgwrs this coming Saturday, 31 October (see details above). A dry day with sunshine is forecast and with the autumn colours at their peak it should be a great afternoon (but, being Nos Galan Gaeaf, we must be sure to get back to Charlbury before sunset for fear of Y Hwch Ddu Gwta a’r Ladi Wen!). Wela i chi yno dydd Sadwrn, gobeithio.

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If you’re thinking of joining us tomorrow, don’t be put off by today’s miserable weather - the forecast for tomorrow is still for dry weather although less sun thab was previously forecast. Here’s what the Met Office forecasts for tomorrow in the Oxford

Dry, although rather cloudy at first with mist and fog patches lifting. Some sunshine is expected in places, especially in west. Feeling very mild in the brighter localities. Light winds. Maximum Temperature 17°C.

or, in Cymraeg (translated by Google I’m afraid, dim fi),

Sych, er braidd yn gymylog ar y dechrau gyda niwl a chlytiau niwl codi. Mae disgwyl rhywfaint o heulwen mewn mannau, yn enwedig yn y gorllewin. Teimlo’n ysgafn iawn yn yr ardaloedd mwy disglair. Gwyntoedd ysgafn. Uchafswm Tymheredd 17°C.

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yngyntaf, rhaid i mi dweud diolch o galon pawb, oedd y dydd ffwngtastig.

We all met at the cafe for snacks and then left on the previous route which soon produced things of interest. Remember it is the last day of October.

Yep, garden roses in flower.
We did a quick tour of the church and then soon off the tarmac and into park land where people were showing their keenness for wildlife including picking up worms, fungus featured a lot today, and these Bolbitius titubans where appearing every 100 meters it seemed. they start as small bright yellow caps.



And open like a parasol, loosing most of their colour in the process (no English or Welsh name).

The Autumn colours were a treat as we crossed fields and woodland uphill and downhill (nothing very strenuous), at one time i was chasing what i thought was a caddis fly but failed to catch it so will never know. So time we reached approximately half way people were glad of a sit down snack.

The days are not long this time of year so we couldn’t stop long, through a piece of woodland took us into the next valley where light shining through the trees created some nice shadow effects.

and a bit further on the sun was illuminating old leaves highlighting the autumn colours.

An old fallen, rotten tree produced a large selection of fungi which this group were getting rather good at spotting and then we came upon some sheep.

Jacob’s sheep, they just were not going to pose in a convenient way, the male is behind the female and actually has four horns. (there is always a better photo to get next time).

A bit of road was followed by a long track back to the village ready to catch a train home. I must say this is but a small account of what was about 5 hours to cover 8 miles of pleasure, the amount of welsh seems to be increasing each time we meet and i am really grateful to those who attended for their help. (now to try and remember all those new words).

Cheers J.P.

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Indeed it was a day to make you gwên!
I have remembered:
Gwenwyn = poison
Gwenyn = bee
When I was thinking about these in the car I remembered:
Gwennol = swallow
Gwenci = weasel

I checked that drunk = meddw

& I am off to look up a recipe for teisen menyn now, after enjoying the offering from @johnwilliams_6
Diolch i bawb. I look forward to gwen we can meet again.

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Diolch i bawb! We had a great day, walking in warm sunshine, under a clear blue sky and the glowing colours of autumn leaves and, wrth cwrs llawer o siarad Cymraeg am pob math o pethau - lot o hwyl oedd o.

Sorri, Pippa, nes i anghofio’r enw cywir o ‘teisen menyn’, ‘tartenni menyn’ oedden nhw! Oedd rysáit o lyfr ‘Favourite Welsh Teatime recipes’ cyhoeddi gan J Salmon Ltd (www.jsalmon.co.uk)

As the days are rapidly shortening now, we agreed it’d be best if the next walk is around Oxford or close by - Wychwood, the Thames Path & canal, the Natural History Museum and Islip were all mentioned - another possibility could be Shotover Country Park, but all ideas and suggestions welcome! Hwyl fawr, John

PS People will be wondering why we wanted to know the word ‘meddw’, Pippa!

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