LLANPUMSAINT HERITAGE
WALKING TOUR

Ann Pettitt and Barry Wade bought Gwastod Bach, a mile north of Llanpumsaint in 1978 to escape the bustle of London and live a quiet life in the country. Things didn't turn out quite as planned...

In 1981, concerned over the nuclear arms race and the siting of cruise missiles at Greenham Common Airbase in Berkshire, Ann Pettitt organised a women's protest march from Cardiff to Greenham. Because of press indifference to their cause, the women chained themselves to the railings and thus began one of the longest civil protests this country has ever known lasting as it did from 1981 to 2000.

Ann spoke at a CND rally in Hyde Park which triggered a wave of sympathy for the protesters and their cause and subsequently arranged to visit Moscow to speak with like minded women in Russia. Her actions attracted the attention of the Kremlin and her subsequent application for a visa for a return visit was denied.

There is no doubt that the attention which the Greenham Women's protest brought to nuclear proliferation and the arms race contributed to a shift in public opinion and changed the world for good. The last missles left Greenham Common Airbase in 1991.