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June 7, 2005
Snippets from Ynys Mon - #1
Beaumaris, a charming town on Anglesey, superficially peaceful and pleasant. ctually, to all intents and purposes it is peaceful and pleasant. There are a number of pubs, but in the four nights I've spent here so far there has been no obivous alcohol related problems. Yet perhaps all is not what it seems. There are at least two shops displaying signs banning the wearing of hoodies and baseball caps. And guess what, I've yet to see anyone wearing either garment (apart from your's truly). So either the garments weren't the problem or else the trouble makers have changed uniform. If anyone reading this hails from this part of Wales, your insight would be appreciated.In any case, the law has returned in the form of a local policeman pounding the beat (only daytime, but welcome all the same) and a traffic warden (unwelcome by one and all it would seem). My suspicion is that the very low level of graffiti, the lack of obvious street crime (apart from the odd boy-racer) owes more to the sense of commmunity than any new regulations. Which shows how treating the symptoms (banning hoodies, taxing purveyors of alcohol) is not the way forward. Instead a return to a sense of community of the type that appears to endure here would appear to be the best approach.
The Welsh Highland Railway shows that in some cases it is possible to have a win-win situation. Traffic in Snowdonia is a problem, especially during the tourist season. Towns like Beddgellert almost suffocate under the burden of tourist traffic, and being a national park imposes strict restrictions on options to increase the capacity of the road network. Besides, who wants to see such an area disappear under widened roads. Anyway, back to the WHR. Over recent years they've gradually been extending their route from Canaerfon to Dinas, Waunfaur and now Rhyd Ddu. Their plan has always been to join up with the Ffestiniog Railway at Porthmadog, thus providing a route for rail-based public transport from North to South through the heart of Snowdonia. The challenge was to find the £10.5 million needed to complete the line. Both the EU (£5 million) and the Welsh Assembly (£5 million) have guaranteed funds, conditional on the WHR raising £500,000 itself. Well all credit to the WHR, who've raised over £800,000 so far, thus ensuring receipt of &10 million
in grants. By 2007 there will be a new route through the heart of a beautiful national park, sympathetic to the environment (locomotives are all fuel efficient oil burners rather than coal) and integrated with the rest of the public transport infrastructure. The only tragedy is that this sort of joined up thinking is sadly lacking elsewhere in the UK.
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Posted by Clive on June 7, 2005 11:38 PM in the category Old Stuff