As you ride around the reservoirs, you might not know that in 1942, Barnes Wallis came to the Elan Valley to test out his ' dambusting theory' on an actual dam; the abandoned Nant y Gro dam being a 1/5 scale replica of the Mohne Dam in Germany. As you ride past the Visitor Centre , with the Caban Coch reservoir to your left, the remains of Nant y Gro are across the water in the hills above the Caban Coch dam- look for a wooded valley stream.
The tests were successful and today the ruins of Nant y Gro are exactly as Barnes Wallis left them. There is an information board at the dam dedicated to 617 Sqn.
To crown a stunning day, a pair of Hawks with their unmistakable howl came over the mountains at eye level with me, I could see the headlight on full beam on both of them, 70 years on from when their predecessors first flew over the Elan Valley.
Per Ardua ad Astra!
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