Rosebush is a small village at the site of a former slate quarry - years of excavations were mainly hidden from view by the extensive pine plantations which have now been felled and cleared. This gives a view that was lost a long time ago and my recent visit revealed the extent of the enormous 'step-like' quarrying.
In previous years I had wandered with our dog in this unusual landscape and had taken visiting friends to see the 'hidden' lake - amongst the heaps of discarded slate was a pit, maybe an old shaft that had collapsed. Here the rainwater had collected over the years and now filled the void with crystal clear water where dragonflies darted during the warmer months. Nature has regenerated in much of this barren space, hawthorn and blackthorn not daunted by lack of soil. Amazingly there are bilberries sweet on the tongue when picked during the summer.
On my visit yesterday I was due to lunch at the Tafarn Sinc - an unusual hostelry with much memorabilia on walls and ceilings. Warm and inviting the sawdust on the floor is a regular feature but the building itself is in fact a 'shed' situated alongside the platform of the former railway station. The tracks have long gone, probably when the quarry ceased, leaving the shed a well-known landmark not least of all because it is made of corregated iron! Tafarn Sinc translates to Tavern of 'Zinc'. Food and ale are available here throughout the year.
The surrounding countryside is amazingly beautiful. Wild and remote there are few welsh cottages to be seen beyond the village which is set on the lower levels of a valley where the rain off the hillside feeds down through the Gwaun valley and runs into a reservoir supplying most of Northern Pembrokeshire. Today the unexpected overnight snowfall had dusted the fields and hills leaving them white though areas exposed to the sun had melted away to reveal the spring - vivid colours, trees in bud and spring lambs new to the world.
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