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The following memories of Soar-y-mynydd chapel were sent to Gathering the Jewels by the Rev. David Idris Owen (b. 1913, Old Colwyn):

 

'When I was a Theological student at Aberystwyth (1935-7) one of our regular weekend duties was to conduct services at places of worship in Wales. On three occasions I was selected to visit the remote chapel of Soar-y-Mynydd in the beautiful Cambrian Mountains. In those days the Great Western railway (formerly the Manchester and Milford) ran south from Aberystwyth via Strata Florida and Tregaron to Pencader. I would set off on a Saturday afternoon and disembark at a small halt called Pont Llanio about a mile or so from Llanddewibrefi. There I would be met by a member of the congregation (usually one of the Edwards brothers who owned two sheep farms) and two horses and we would then travel on horseback the seven or eight miles up steep paths, fording streams, to his farm. Hospitality was warm and generous. Meals were a major feature with large slices of ham (carved from shanks suspended by hooks from the kitchen rafters), home-grown vegetables and potatoes, farm butter and freshly baked bread. A rare treat for a poor student! On the Sunday morning I would conduct the service in Soar chapel. There was neither electricity nor any other source of power for lighting so services could only take place in daylight hours. In the afternoon I would conduct a second service in the kitchen of the farm. It was a very cosy affair before a large, open, semicircular peat fire which, as the heat built up, caused the congregation to retreat. The next morning the horseback journey to the railway would be repeated.

 

On my final visit (in early March) we set out for Soar in good weather but as we entered my hosts' farm gate the first flakes of snow began to fall. Overnight it snowed heavily and by Sunday morning the snow was lying several feet deep. All thoughts of conducting services were abandoned and I spent a very pleasant day with the farmer and his family. The next morning I was advised that it would be impossible for me to travel on horseback but that it might be possible to travel on foot. I set off at about 11 a.m. to walk the ten miles back to the railway, wearing a heavy coat and shod in light shoes and galoshes. As I descended over the brow of the first hill I discovered that the snow, which was initially several feet deep, had settled into high drifts. I struggled on, staggering and falling. In places the cold, wet snow was up to my chest. I began to fear that I would never survive and tears of despair welled- up. Eventually after many hours and near to total exhaustion I reached the welcome sight of Llanddewibrefi. I called in at the local Co-operative Store, where I knew the manager Eben Ebeneezer (the brother of a fellow student) and was able to bathe my tired, cold feet in hot water and given a change of hose and a very welcome meal. I still had at least a mile to walk to the railway and this last stretch was excruciating. The train departed at 7 p.m. and I arrived back in Aberystwyth an hour later. My colleagues were amazed to see me. "Soar is back!" they shouted. This was poignant because many of the other student preachers did not return for several days!!'