Reason to move #238. The Rhondda and the rain.

January is a strange time. The Christmas celebrations seem like a distant memory, whilst the return to work feels like a nightmare that you can't wake up from. In Wales, the weather is inevitably nasty and it's difficult to motivate yourself to almost anything. However, in our part of what is affectionately called 'God's own acre', there's a horror that quite frankly, I could do without. The Rhondda on a cold, wet night. 

From the film of 'how green was my valley' to the song 'if I could see the Rhondda one more time.' This valley is perhaps the poster child for valley's life in general. Happy coal miners and salt of the earth folk fill the descriptions of Wales and it's valley's. It's all a lie. Today the valley may be green, but it sure isn't idyllic. Indeed, the gentleman from the song above may wish he'd died before he got to see the Rhondda on a cold, soggy January day.

In fairness the Rhondda is full of lovely people and great scenic views if you drive out of the valley to the mountains. But the towns like Treorchy, Porth and Maerdy are all in decline. Just yesterday, Treorchy and Porth lost their HSBC branches, leaving people from the tops of the valley's to travel down to Pontypridd to do their main banking. It's a trip of around an hour or more for some. There's no heavy industry left here and with an aging population, little money in the local economy to keep the plethora of small businesses afloat. Currently the most common new business started here is that of the Tattoo parlours, often staffed by people like the self proclaimed 'legendary' Lee Tattoo. It's a sad story. 

Treorchy on a January evening. 

In the winter, even getting to the Rhondda from home is a tricky prospect. There are just 4 main ways into the valley itself. Three of which involve mountain roads. Two of those mountain roads are accessible to us, with the closest taking us into the main Rhondda Fawr valley. The mountain road is treacherous in winter. If it snows, the road can be closed, and quickly. But while the snow can make things slippery on the top, in the wind and the rain, the road becomes incredibly tricky to navigate. Having worked in the Rhondda for almost 10 years, I know the road like the back of my hand, which really helps when the cloud comes low over the mountain and you can't see more than a few meters ahead. It's best not to think about the sheer drops climbing out of the rhondda that sit just to the left, nor to consider the massive drop as you crest the peak before heading down to home. 

Somehow, I think that had this road been in Austria, they would have tunnelled through the mountain, creating quick access to the valley and providing a road that's open all year. 

So for that reason alone, I can't wait to move. After 10 years of driving over the mountains, I'm ready to leave it all behind and let the trams take the strain.