iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I was wondering if you'd mention Kilpeck. Here's a photo I took about 15 years ago.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

There's another pub on the other side of the road with no sign of life. Sad to see.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

If I had the money I'd buy this and turn it into a quirky craft ale bar, with food, live entertainment, fun staff and customers, and keep the prices low enough to attract a good crowd of students and trendy types. I'd call it 'The Tap on the Shoulder'.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The bus stop is right outside Swansea railway station. Good thing, really, because the bus station is about a 10-minute walk from here. Not quite the integrated public transport politicians like to talk about.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

We've just gone past the football stadium. I know where I am now.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I'm on First Cymru service 4 to Swansea bus station - and it's a double-decker. Not to be confused with the disappointing chocolate bar I didn't buy the other day. I knew shrinkflation was a thing, but I swear that bugger wasn't even a people carrier.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Swansea Council and First Cymru might have jumped the gun by calling this bus stop 'Morriston Cross Metro'. It's just a bus stop. The enhanced train services around Swansea are still some way off; one proposal for tram/trains to Neath and Tonna was thrown out last week on the grounds of cost.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Wouldn't you like that as the view from your house?

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

It's another great day to travel through beautiful scenery.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Powys County Libraries were selling deaccesioned stock a few weeks ago. I spotted this for a whole pound. Tom Robbins has been a name I've known for ages but I'd never taken a chance on his books. Worth a punt. I started reading it on the bus this morning. It's brilliant! What took me so long?

The front cover of the No Exit Press paperback edition of 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues' by Tom Robbins

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It turns out the 81 did run after all. But I'm much too far from home to start backing the outsiders.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

From the bus station you can glimpse a very high isolated peak in the distance. I've a feeling it's the Wrekin. (I could be wrong.) I'm sure I've read somewhere that the Wrekin is the highest point on a direct line west of the Ural Mountains. If that's true, it's a helluva fact.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Welshpool is definitely an attractive little town with beautiful scenery on all sides. You could walk from end to end in five minutes, but there are plenty of interesting nooks and crannies to explore as well.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Considering I'm so close to the border, it's taken me a while to find a half-timbered building.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The war memorial in the churchyard of St Mary's is unusual, listing men from the town as well as men from the nearby estates.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It's a very attractive little town, fair play. This is definitely on the agenda for next summer. I can save the money I'd have spent on bus and train fares and have a nice break around this area.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

And there's more tucked away behind the Pheasant Inn.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I had absolutely no idea there was a big event here to revisit WWII memories. It's amazing how I keep stumbling across things like this. I think it's my strange mutation.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Possibly the biggest second-hand bookshop outside Hay-on-Wye.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

We're in Welshpool. Look at this lovely old cinema building. Pity it isn't still a cinema.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I didn't go into Merthyr Tydfil itself today because of the Rizla-thin connection, but if I had, my route would have crossed four major Welsh rivers: the Taff, the Usk, the Wye and the Severn. That's not bad going. This is officially the furthest I've ever been on scheduled 'walk-on' buses.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

We've just entered the old county of Montgomeryshire. Proper rural scenery. And we've been around the Devil's Elbow, mentioned in my article. I'm really glad I forced myself to get out of bed at 5.30, or I'd have wasted the whole day.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

You can get to Hereford from here. That's given me an idea for another adventure. It'll cost me three quid, though.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

We're in Llandrindod Wells. Not bad going, is it? It's a very attractive (if neglected) little town. It also has one of the best rail/bus connections in the region, I reckon.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

We're following the river Wye, more or less. I fancy the walk along the course of the river, but bus stops are very few and far between - and so are pubs, cafes, shops and other handy stops. There's literally nothing between Erwood and Builth Wells, for instance. That's got to be ten miles at least.

Mist hanging over the valley of the river Wye

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Well, we've left Llyswen without a hitch. This is where things have fucked me up twice before, so could it be third time lucky?

The front of the Griffin Inn at Llyswen. I've whiled a few unhappy hours there while waiting for the buses to sort their shit out.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I always feel that there's a lot of wasted space on these buses. Walkers and other visitors would find overhead luggage racks useful, rather than piling all their gear in the small area at the front.

The interior of the T4, showing the wasted space above the seats that could be used for overhead luggage racks.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It's shaping up to be a good day weather-wise. It's always a gamble when you cross Bannau Brycheiniog because you never know what's waiting on the other side of the mountains. I've enjoyed glorious sunshine in Brecon while it pisses down in Aberdare - and quite recently, vice versa.

The sun has only recently risen at the tiny village of Libanus.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A good thing about the book trade was that Ordnance Survey maps weren't returned to the publisher for credit when new editions came out. We returned the barcodes, making them unsaleable. I got to take them home. I think I've got all of Wales at 1:25000 scale. Too old for the digital add-on, though.

The front cover of Ordnance Survey Explorer map 214 (Llanidloes and Newtown) features a stunning photo of the dam across Llyn Clywedog with the mountain in the background.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It's surprising how many buses are already on the move across the western part of the South Wales Valleys.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'm a copy editor and proofreader. I deliberately didn't go to see a show in Cardiff last month because the publicity material used an open quotation mark when a close quotation mark was needed. I thought it was a poor advertisement for the production as a whole. Neurodivergent, me? Never! 🤣

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

We've just been chatting to the owners of the Staggeringly Good brewery in Portsmouth. I love their quirky branding.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Arrived in Brecon just past 1700. Plenty of time for bus to Merthyr ... but we stopped an easy stagger from the Brecon Tap. I couldn't walk past without saying hello, could I? It's glorious! More people outside (newly pedestrianised area) than inside. Why couldn't last weekend have been like this?

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Had a nice haul of books from the charity shop. Who knows - I may actually attempt the Cotswold Way at some time. Failing that, my mate Gaz is looking for a new adventure now he's circumnavigated Wales and walked the Thames Path as well. He reckons the Pennine Way would kill him. (He's right!)

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Al fresco pint at the Bear Inn to round off the trip - £6.50. Another place that doesn't do CAMRA discount. I don't think I'll bother renewing my membership next year. Ironically, the beer is from Barry, where I spent quite a few Saturdays enjoying the jazz sessions. Anything's better than Aberdare.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

And a farmers' market in the town square. It's a perfect little place, tucked away in the hills but a train ride from Swansea and a short (albeit recently reinstated) bus ride from Brecon. I don't know why Mother and I didn't venture here when I was recovering from my shoulder operation years ago.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The church was locked, but the view from the graveyard was worth the walk uphill.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is St Mair's church ('Mary' in Welsh). It's on another high point overlooking the town and the countryside beyond. The information board tells me it was originally the site of Alabum (Roman fort), then possibly a Celtic church, then this medieval building. The tower dates from the 15th century.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I've found the railway station, which isn't a long walk from town but isn't next to the bus station. There's a bus stop nearby. It's a pity the bus from Brecon doesn't extend this far. Then again, the X80 is subsidised by Powys County Council and I'm currently in Carmarthenshire. Go figure. 😉

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

You must be able to see this tower from miles around.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is St Dingat's Church. Not 'Dingbat', as I thought at first glance. I love looking around old churches. It never ceases to amaze me that all this work was carried out by using hand tools.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The war memorial is in a weird spot to get an angle on. I don't think I've ever seen the 1939-45 conflict described as 'the second great war' before.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

When I was young and we visited Carmarthen regularly, I often used to wonder why the A40 took such a meandering route across South Wales and the south of England. It was a long time until I worked out that it connected the key market towns, long before the railways - or even the canals.

A statue of a drover outside Llandovery Museum.

(Bilingual text)

Llanmyddiri (Llandovery) was an important drovers town. Over 30,000 cattle and other livestock were taken by drovers to London from Wales each year.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This rather menacing statue of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan guards the approach to the castle. He was a supporter of the Welsh prince Owain Glyndŵr. After Glyndŵr's unsuccessful campaign against Henry IV of England, Llewelyn was executed before the king because he refused to betray the prince.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

There's not much left of the castle, but you can see why it was built on this spot. It overlooks the valley of the River Tywi for miles around.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I've arrived at Llandovery, which the traveller and writer George Borrow described as 'the pleasantest little town'. First impressions bear him out. It's extremely attractive. The bus stop is right by the castle, so that can be my first stop.

The remains of Llandovery Castle stand on a hill overlooking the bus station/car park.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The bus has just arrived at Brecon Interchange. It looks more like the sort of thing you'd hire for a night out than a service bus.

A cute minibus that operates Williams Coaches service X80 from Brecon to Llandovery.

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