Bracken and Bryn - from the mountain to the mine — - from the mountain to the mine

Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description

Stori am ferlen arbennig a gŵr ifanc a'u siwrnai o Fynydd Hiraethog i fywyd ym mhyllau glo Sir y Fflint yn y 1860au. Hanes bachgen ifanc a merlen sydd wrth wraidd y stori, a llanw a thrai eu bywydau wrth iddyn nhw aeddfedu ac ehangu eu gorwelion.

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

The story of a special pony and a young man and their journey from Mynydd Hiraethog to a life in the coal mines of Flintshire in the 1860s. Cornerstones to guide the story are a young boy and a pony, and the ups and downs of their transformative lives as they both mature and extend their horizons.

Dosbarthu

Byddwn yn dosbarthu eitemau sydd mewn stoc o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith, fel arfer drwy Royal Mail Tracked 48. Ar gyfer archebion o flaen llaw, byddwn yn dosbarthu’r eitem o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith ar ôl ei derbyn gan ein cyflenwr.

Dispatch

In-stock items will be dispatched within 3 business days, usually by Royal Mail Tracked 48. For pre-orders, we’ll dispatch within 3 business days of receiving the item from our supplier.

Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

This novel is set in the Flintshire coalfield of North Wales around the time of the Mold riots of 1869. We follow the story of a young man and a pony, both born on Mynydd Hiraethog, both destined to work in the mines. The story starts in a snowstorm on Mynydd Hiraethog, a huge area of upland between the Conwy and Clwyd river valleys. This mountain is home to both wild ponies and a boy who lives in a community of smallholders. A remarkable connection is forged between the boy and one of the wild ponies. The novel is divided into two - historically and geographically, and the two parts are contradictory in many ways. The story opens in the rural area of Gwytherin, Mynydd Hiraethog (Denbigh Moors), before moving on to the coal mines of Mold and Alun vale. There is a clear contrast between the mountainous scenery, freedom, and fresh air of the highlands, and the underground, confined scenery, and the unhealthy blackness of the coal mines. This is a time when the coal mines in Flintshire are expanding rapidly. By the time the boy is a young man, he and the pony find themselves underground ... Review: ‘We follow the story of Ifan, who has to look for work as the small homestead where he lives is not big enough to keep him. He feels that the wages of a farm servant are low, and so he joins the Irish who work in the area as they take a group of mountain ponies to the coal mines in Mold. He has some unexpected connection with one of those ponies, and we see the relationship deepen as Ifan gets work in the pits. We will learn a lot from this historical novel - about the poverty of the Welsh countryside, and about the frightening reality and injustices of the dark life of the coal mines. We will also learn about the geography of the area, and an explanation of the meaning of Mynydd Hiraethog, together with the beautiful names of the mountains. In addition, we will learn a lot about the cleverness of the methods of handling wild ponies in the mountains, and the habits of young people when having a bit of fun with them.’ — Awen Schiavone