Looking for Taliesin

Somewhere between Borth and Machynlleth (but a little way inland) lies the grave of Taliesin. Until a few days ago, I didn’t know that Taliesin had a grave, although if he did I would have guessed it was round there, as he’s a bit of a Borth local hero. Schoolchildren have made murals showing scenes from his life all along the sea wall on Borth’s one, mile-long street. And then there’s Nancy Bond’s Borth-based fantasy, A String in the Harp, in which a group of children find an ancient and mysterious-— But I must say no more...

Anyway, a couple of days ago my brother drove his partner, our mother, lady_schrapnell and me deep into the Powys countryside to find it. There’s no signpost, and even when you get there there’s nothing to show that you’ve arrived, but it is marked on the large-scale OS map – up a tiny mossy lane, winding through several miles of wooded hills and sheep farms. At one point the road ran through the middle of a farmyard, and at least half a dozen collies appeared, three of which went on to herd our car for the next mile, in good sheepdog order, until we left their territory. Then there were the gates across the road, and the sudden stops for hedgerow chanterelles, which it was hard not to read as Temptations to Leave the Strait Path, so numinous and meaningful had everything become...

But eventually we made it, and paid our respects to that subtle son of Ceridwen.

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