Many many moons ago

Not sure whether this is an international report or not, but it is a different century.

I grew up near Cilcain, Flintshire in an old Welsh farm house built around 1590. The house, Ty Isaf had been one of the main farms on the Penbedw estate near Nannerch on the A541, but over time the farm land had gone to Ty Uchaf up the hill and we only had about 1.5 acres.

The water supply for the house came from a stream that starts just South of Moel Arthur and runs East to the Cilcain road, and then South to join the river Alun near Mold.
Some way above the Cilcain road the stream disapears in a limestone hollow and reapears alongside the Cilcain Road. At some time before the 50s someone had excavated a short shaft in to the hill where the stream reapears looking for a cave system. Our water supply came from a hydraulic ram in the stream bed which was fed from a small concrete dam, which over the years had filled up with silt with 2 small channels and a deeper spot at the dam. and from the ram our supply was by a steel pipe for over a Km. Consequently our cold water supply was a mere trickle through the rust build up.

The stream both above and below the underground section had a good supply of small trout, with always 2 or 3 in the dam. I used to creep up the stream and cast a worm over the dam, usually caught at least one. The stream also supplied a farm on the Cilcain road, Tarth-y-dwr which had a round concrete tank on the hill behind the house which was used to filter the water supply. The tank had no top and usually had a few fat little trout in it. Same as the dam, cast a worm in and dinner was soon there.

Of course this was all done on the sly, much skulking around checking where the farm's ocupants were. I never heard or saw anyone else doing this.

The stream both above and below the Cilcain road kept me and friends out of mischief for days catching small trout by hand from under rocks, roots, banks and water vole holes. I knew every spot that held a fish, and there were only a couple of holes too deep for welly boots where I had to lie on the bank.

I could fish a stretch of the stream and get up to 6 big enough to eat, about 8 or 9 inches, but try again soon after and lucky to get one, but 6 months later good again. All to do with territory and food supply. The streams were too small and overgrown to target with a rod.

I cannot remember how the land lay now but it is possible that if the stream had not gone underground it would have gone in to the Clwyd.

That's a very interesting ramble through the passed.

Like that

Rhod, is that Ty Isaf at Star Crossing Road?

If so

See this link

https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300000299-ty-isa-cilcain

And there is also a video on you tube that you may care to watch

https://youtu.be/hvnzDnsuGqE