Country diary: South Wales’s summer of fires will linger long in the memory | Eben Muse

Tylorstown, Rhondda Valley: These coal areas are shaped by fire and ash. I find a high point to try and survey the damageMy friend John and I are climbing Tylorstown Tip – a summit also known as Old Smokey, named after the hot ash it was partly made with. We want to see how much of south Wales has burned.The tip towers over the surrounding hills, a perfect crow’s nest from which to witness the blackening of the region. From the summit, with its sitka spruce and flowering heather, the