Five Go Mad in the Brecon Beacons

Chapter Three: Roman Camp

Over breakfast the children discussed what to do that day. It was Rhys who told them of a Roman camp at Y Pigwn about five miles away. It had been uncovered some years before but there was a small group of archaeologists working there for the summer. Everyone thought this would be an excellent destination for a long walk and give them a chance to see the countryside. Aunt Nerys and the girls prepared a packed lunch while the boys pored over maps with Rhys. With the food and drink packed in a haversack and with one of the maps for reference, they set off just after 10.00 on what promised to be a hot, sunny day.

"Oh, this weather is marvellous," said Gwen, turning her face up to the sky. She was in the lead with Jack. They set a leisurely pace as they had all day and also as he was still a bit weak from his experience in the lake.

"According to Rhys this camp was made by Legions on the move, a marching camp they called it. That means most of the buildings would have been of earth and timber so there won't be much to see. Though as you Welsh were so revolting," he grinned down at her, "and took a long time to subdue it may have a stone bath house or temple."

"Who are you calling revolting?" she protested, punching his arm. "It was you Americans that revolted."

"And so we should! No taxation without representation!" he cried.

The others joined in the discussion, all of them having studied the American War of Independence (or Revolutionary War as Jack insisted on calling it) at school. Poor Jack was outnumbered and had to admit defeat, unlike his ancestors. He changed the subject and asked about the druids who had been active in Wales during the Roman occupation. Gwen and Ianto had learnt about this at school so were able to fill him in. They carried on like this until they had crossed the main road and were on a track leading north west.

It was quite hot by now and they had been climbing steadily as the ground rose and Ianto, who had taken on the role of guide as he had the map, decided it was time for a rest. He was concerned about Jack and didn't want him to overtax his strength. They flopped down by a stream and drank fresh, clear water from their cupped hands. The boys wanted to start on the lunch but Toshiko forbade it; they had only recently had a huge breakfast.

"Tosh," began Owen, "what were you saying this morning about a building buried in the lake?"

She and Jack exchanged a quick glance and he nodded that it was okay to tell them. "To be honest, we don't know if it is a building. But just under that red pole is a square opening that goes down a long way. Bomb craters are circular so we thought it must be a building."

"Can you 'bury' a building in water?" mused Gwen, lying on her back looking up at the cloudless blue sky. "Doesn't sound right."

"It should be 'drowned'," said Ianto with such authority that they all accepted he was right.

"How do you know that?"

"I know everything." The others laughed, too lazy to argue the point.

"So it's some farm building then," said Owen, still pursuing his original point.

"There wouldn't be anything to do with the farm, not there. It's the wrong place," said Ianto.

"Oh. Not even for shepherds?"

Ianto laughed, amused by Owen's ignorance of the country. "Not so close to the farmhouse," he said kindly.

"When I was down there," put in Jack, "I saw the roof of the building where it had been blown apart. It was made of a double thickness of bricks, three or four feet thick. And there were lots of wires, that's what I got caught up in." They contemplated this.

"What's your theory?" asked Gwen, rolling onto her front and watching him closely.

"I don't know. I just think that it may have been a base, used in the war. Bombers wouldn't have come out this far from Cardiff for nothing. And it would explain the people Rhys's grandfather saw 'coming out of the ground'."

"He was probably drunk," said Owen with a sad finality, as if he knew a lot of drunks.

"You could be right. It just seems to be a mystery and I love mysteries!" He grinned at Toshiko who returned it with a smile of her own.

"How do we find out?" asked Gwen. She was a determined girl and wanted to discover if there was anything to their speculation. "What can we do?" Like the rest, she regarded Jack as the leader of the group.

"No more swimming expeditions like this morning's," said Ianto emphatically. Jack looked across and smiled gently, seeming to like the other boy's protectiveness. Ianto continued, "I seem to remember that Rhys used to dive in some of the lakes round here. He may have some proper equipment."

"That would be just what we need. Could you ask him?" asked Jack. Ianto nodded. "There may be something in the local papers, the old ones from the war, that would give us a clue," he went on. "I suppose they'd be held in a library in Brecon. We should look at those."

"The one in Llandovery may have something too."

"Right, that's two places to check. Is there a bus we can use?"

"Yes, one to each town. They pass through Trecastle every morning."

"Okay. We can split up and go and check those then. Shall we do that tomorrow morning?" The others agreed. "We could also ask around a bit more, see if anyone local knows anything. I'm old enough to drink now so I could go to the pub." He looked a bit smug as at seventeen he was the only one of them old enough to do this: Gwen, Toshiko and Owen were fifteen and Ianto sixteen.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "We're in the country, Jack. They don't take much notice of licensing laws round here. As long as we stick to soft drinks, we'd all be allowed in." Jack's face fell and the others laughed. Realising how silly he was being, Jack joined in. "We'll meet people on the bus or on our walks," pointed out Ianto. "I say we take any chance to ask about it."

"That's a good idea but we don't want to make people suspicious. It's got to be done casually." Everyone nodded at the sense of that. "Okay then, we'll start right now. Rhys said there are people up at the camp, we'll see what they know." Jack got to his feet and rubbed the seat of his shorts to remove the loose grass. "Let's get going."

"Lords, this is like an expedition. The form captain at school is just like him!" complained Owen, clambering to his feet.

Jack had overheard and laughed loudly, startling some birds nearby. "That's right, I'm Captain Jack Harkness!" He strode off and the others followed.

Ianto walked up beside Owen. "Look what you've done!" he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

-ooOoo-

At the Roman site they were surprised by the scale of the camp that had been uncovered. As Jack had predicted, it was mainly earthworks and postholes but there were actually two camps, one inside the other, which made it unusual. The team of students working the site were happy to explain what had been found. The children split up and looked at the bits that interested them most. Owen and Jack walked round the earthworks astounded by their size, especially as they were thrown up in just a few hours by soldiers who had already marched all day. They helped some of the students make detailed measurements of each camp. Ianto was intrigued by the way the students were scraping at the surfaces so delicately and was pleased when he was allowed to have a go himself, on an insignificant area. Toshiko and Gwen helped wash and catalogue the finds, which included part of a leather shoe, coins and even a delicate comb.

When the students stopped for lunch the children joined them, sharing the generous amount of food that Aunt Nerys had thought appropriate for their healthy appetites. They learnt a lot about the dig but none of the students knew anything about the building in the lake. They promised to ask around and let them know if they found anything. After lunch, the students went back to work and Ianto suggested a walk along the ridge cutting across to Halfway where there was an obelisk.

"An obelisk? What for?" demanded Owen.

"When horsedrawn coaches were the only way to get about," explained Ianto, hefting the haversack on his back and starting off, "one of them went over the edge of the cliff and they put up the obelisk in memory of the accident. I've heard about it but never seen it."

"You mean people were killed?" asked Owen, grinning ghoulishly.

"Owen!" remonstrated Toshiko.

"Well, you've got to admit, it's more interesting if they were." Toshiko looked away, dismayed at the glee in his voice.

"I think the coach was full of people," said Ianto, "but let's go and see."

He and Jack led the way, their long legs covering the ground without effort. The others straggled behind them in a small group as there was plenty of room to walk together. The two groups got further and further apart as the pair in the lead stepped out and the others kept stopping to look at the view or, in Toshiko's case, to pick wild flowers. Eventually they lost sight of one another altogether.

"Which way do we go?" asked Gwen when they reached a place where another track crossed the one they were following.

They looked around helplessly until Toshiko cried out, "Here!" She ran over to the side and plucked a piece of paper from under a small stone. It had a large arrow on it. "This way."

Owen groaned. "Now it's a paper chase!" He really did not like the countryside.

Gwen threaded her arm through his and pulled him along, laughing. "Come on or we'll lose Tosh too."

They continued in this fashion for the rest of the walk, with Toshiko taking great delight in finding the markers left for them. Gwen and Owen found they had a common interest in books and discussed their favourite authors, agreeing more often than not. Eventually they came to the end of the track and saw Ianto and Jack sitting close together on a fallen tree trunk eating apples.

"At last!" shouted Jack as they came near. "What kept you?"

"It was supposed to be a walk," said Gwen, "not a route march."

She took the apple Ianto offered her and rubbed it against her shorts before taking a huge bite. It wasn't that long since they'd had their lunch but she was hungry again. They all enjoyed the fruit and finished the lemonade.

"How much further is it?" asked Toshiko.

"It should be just over the rise," replied Ianto, pointing a few yards ahead. "That's why we waited for you." With everything packed away again, the five children set off and found the obelisk where Ianto had predicted.

Owen went up to it and read from the plaque. "It says, a packed coach went over the cliff here in 1835. They all died, about 15 people in all, and all because the driver was drunk."

"How sad," said Toshiko. "And the horses must have died too." She peered over the edge.

"Time we were heading back," said Jack, taking the haversack and putting it over his shoulder. "Is it straight down the main road?"

"Yes," replied Ianto, folding away the map and putting it in his pocket.

"Onwards!" cried Jack, making off. The rest of them groaned and stayed where they were. After a minute or two Jack realised he was alone and turned round to face them, hands on hips. "What?" he asked. "Why aren't you following your captain?"

"This is all your fault," said Ianto to Owen as they accepted that Jack was going to be a bossy leader. "There's no rush, Jack." Ianto and Toshiko strolled past the American who was staring at them confused.

Owen smirked as he followed the other two, pleased to see Jack taken down a peg or two, and it was left to Gwen to link arms with Jack and pull him along. "Don't try so hard," she said, "and we'll follow more willingly." He pondered this and accepted it. He fell in with her and they ambled down to the road, stopping to admire the views on the way.

The main road was reasonably busy and without a pavement so they had to walk in single file when they couldn't use the verge. This meant they couldn't talk much and so just trudged along. Toshiko developed a blister on her heel and was hobbling badly after a little while. Owen took a look at it but he did not have anything with him to dress it: he made a mental note to always carry a first aid kit in future.

"You can't keep walking on that," said Ianto. "I'll give you a piggyback." After a lot of protesting that she could manage, Toshiko was eventually persuaded to accept and Ianto hitched her onto his back and walked along with her. He, Jack and Owen alternated carrying her and all three were getting tired when they reached Trecastle. It was Jack who carried her up the twisty lane.

The day was hot and they had walked quite a long way and so it wasn't surprising that they were all tired - Owen especially as he was unused to fresh country air - when they got back to the farm. They went straight to the tower where Owen dressed Toshiko's heel before falling asleep in an easy chair, snoring noisily. Toshiko and Gwen went to change and lay on their beds for a few minutes; they started talking but soon fell asleep. Ianto and Jack took the opportunity to have a bath before taking a nap themselves.

-ooOoo-

Refreshed and changed into smarter clothes, the five gathered in the sitting room. "We need to decide what we're going to do tomorrow," said Jack. He was sitting at the head of the table. "If we're going to visit the libraries, that's a least two people: one going to Brecon and the other to … Clan … Clandoov … the other place."

Ianto and Gwen laughed at his failed pronunciation. "Llandovery," supplied Gwen.

"Like I said, the other place. Who wants to go where?"

"I'd like to go to Brecon," said Gwen. "I want to send a postcard to my mother and get a couple of other things. I can do the library at the same time."

"I'll go with you," volunteered Owen. "Anything to get back to civilisation."

"Then that leaves … the other place," Jack grinned, "to the rest of us." They all nodded agreement to the plan.

"I'll ask Rhys about the diving gear if I can get him on his own this evening. It might worry Aunt Nerys if she hears us talking about it," said Ianto.

"Good. I also wondered if it would be worth doing a bit more exploration round here. No," he held up his hand to stop Ianto interrupting, "I don't mean underwater. I meant seeing if there are other traces of buildings."

"It's light enough for us to take a look this evening, after supper." Ianto got up and retrieved the map from where he'd left it on the dresser. "We could use this to explore some of the bridle ways."

"Could we ride?" asked Jack enthusiastically.

"I doubt it. The horses are retired and only ridden occasionally. We can ask Uncle Bryn but don't get your hopes up."

"Horses! I am not riding a horse!" proclaimed Owen, aghast at the mere thought.

"Nor me," said Toshiko more quietly.

"I won't be able to come tonight," put in Gwen. "Dad's ringing to tell me how Mam is and I must be here."

"Of course. We're all pleased she's doing so well." Jack patted Gwen's hand in reassurance.

"I'll stay with Gwen," said Toshiko. "It'll give my blister time to heal."

"Okay. Oh, we need to find out the times of the buses, unless Uncle Bryn would trust me with a vehicle."

"We can always ask," said Ianto in tones that did not promise much hope of success. They were still mulling over their plans when Aunt Nerys appeared at the open door.

"Supper will be ready in about a quarter of an hour," she announced. "If you have any washing, bring it over at breakfast time tomorrow. My help will be here then and she can do yours along with ours." They all promised to do just that. Toshiko and Gwen went back with her to the farmhouse to help with supper and the boys ambled over 10 minutes later.

Supper was lamb stew with masses of vegetables and potatoes followed by apple pie and cream. They enjoyed the meal and when discussing their plans for the following day, found out that Aunt Nerys was going to the market at Llandovery to sell her eggs and goats milk. Uncle Bryn was planning to drive her and he was happy to let Jack do it instead if he could manage the car; they decided on a test drive in the morning. The horse riding was not approved and was put off to another day. When everyone had eaten all they could the girls stayed to help clear up and to wait for Gwen's father to ring while the boys headed out for the planned walk. Ianto invited Rhys to join them and was pleased when he accepted; he'd be able to get that private chat with him.

The three boys and Rhys set off from the tower, taking torches in case it got dark before they were back. Ianto and Rhys led the way and set a good pace through the fields and into the woods. They went a different way to before, more towards the boundaries of the farm. Jack was impressed with the size of the farm and the good quality of the animals, though he'd be the first to admit he was not an expert. Owen was less taken with the whole idea of farming, taking elaborate care not to step in anything soft and smelly and hating the open space all around him. Perhaps because of this, it was Owen who spotted the man-made structure.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to a level area about two feet above the surrounding ground. It was off to the right of their path and was only visible because the recent dry weather had caused the brambles and ferns to wither away from it.

"Don't know," said Rhys, breaking a path through the undergrowth. The boys followed, getting scratched and caught on the brambles. It was still light enough to see clearly that it was definitely a man-made platform of some sort. To the left of where they were standing was an overgrown entrance with a dozen steps leading down to a doorway. "This is odd." They pushed over to it and used the torches to look round the opening which was almost totally clogged with brambles and other plants: it was still moist enough for them to flourish in this protected area. It was not possible to get through the undergrowth to the door, it would need to be cut back.

"I wonder where it leads," said Jack, taking a step forward but having to stop. He really wanted to explore and was frustrated that he couldn't.

Owen had climbed onto the structure. "Look, it's made of brick. Could be a floor."

"Or a roof."

"Why would anyone want to build an underground room?" queried Rhys.

The others were quiet, not sure whether to include him in their speculation or not. They looked at one another and finally Jack said, "You said your grandfather saw people coming out of the ground. Could it have been from places like these?"

Rhys considered and looked around him, making sure of his exact position. "Might be. He always said this place was good for pheasant and partridge. They nest around here, see, and he'd have set his traps here." He turned to them. "But why would people be under the ground?"

"We don't know," said Ianto, taking up the story. "When Jack was swimming in the lake this morning, he found something that had been damaged by the bombs. Something square and made of brick, a bit like this. Of course, he couldn't get a good look." He paused artistically. "Say, didn't you use to do some diving?"

"Yeah, still do from time to time. Oh, I see. Yeah, I wouldn't mind having a look for you."

It wasn't quite what they had wanted – they would have preferred to do the diving themselves - but Rhys looked so enthusiastic and pleased to help that Ianto could not disappoint him. "That would be great," he said, shrugging apologetically at Jack.

"Thing is though, Rhys," said the American, "we haven't said anything to Uncle Bryn and Aunt Nerys. Don't want to worry them or for them to stop us exploring."

"That's okay, you can trust me." Rhys grinned. "I know how to keep my mouth shut. My gear's up home but I could get it Friday, day after tomorrow, that's my day off. If I can leave it in the tower there's no reason for anyone else to know. Could probably have a dive that day too."

Jack grinned back, warming to the Welshman. "That would be great. We'd like to know what it is."

Ianto marked the map with the location of the structure; they would come back soon with tools to reach the door. They continued their walk but didn't find anything else of interest. It was quite dark when they came back in sight of the farm buildings and their torches were invaluable. Rhys went off to the farmhouse shouting his goodnights and the three boys went into the tower. The girls were waiting for them and were keen to hear about what they had found and the planned diving.

Owen started to yawn and it became infectious with all the others joining in. They decided it was time for bed and trooped up the stairs, Gwen and Jack bringing up the rear. "Gwen, how are things at home?"

"Fine, thanks. Dad said Mam was much better but in quite a bit of pain still. She won't be out of bed for at least a week and then she'll have to learn to walk on crutches. It'll be about three months before they take off the plaster."

"I'm sorry it'll take so long," he said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Me too, I'm the one who'll have to look after her!" she moaned, then clapped her hand over her mouth. "That sounds awful, I didn't mean it. It's just I'll not get to enjoy the summer holidays." Her eyes watered and her bottom lip trembled.

He gave her a hug. "I'm sorry," he said again. When she had regained control of her emotions, she smiled weakly and continued up the stairs. Jack looked after her and shook his head in sympathy before going into his bedroom.

Next time, Toshiko gets a shock ...