Campaigners from anti-nuclear campaign groups in Wales and beyond will march 44 miles from Trawsfynydd to the Eisteddfod at Boduan next month in support of a nuclear free Wales.

The march is being organised by CND Cymru (the Welsh Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), CADNO (the Society for the Prevention of Everlasting Nuclear Destruction) and PAWB (People against Wylfa B). The marchers will also receive the full support of the Welsh Nuclear Free Local Authorities which are equally opposed to the plans being hatched in Westminster and Cardiff to redevelop new nuclear plants at inland Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd and Wylfa on Anglesey.

Since last April, Welsh anti-nuclear campaigners held an exhibition highlighting 40 years of nuclear free Wales touring the nation, with rallies held and declarations made at events in Caernarfon and Cardiff, and with actions opposing the dumping of radioactive water at Fukushima in Japan. A key part of the 2022 campaign was a first successful march, organised in the summer of last year from Trawsfynydd to Wylfa.

This time again the intrepid marchers will set off from Trawsfynydd on 2 August, but this year they are Eisteddfod bound!

For four days, the marchers will walk by stages 44 miles (72 kms) across Gwynedd, flanked by the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, before a final rally at Boduan, site of this year’s National Eisteddfod, on 6 August. As this is a much shorter route than that taken by the marchers in 2022, along the way participants will run stalls, distribute leaflets, and host film screenings, taking their message of protest against new nuclear projects in North Wales.

On 6 August, a public meeting will be held starting at 3.30pm in Pabell y Cymdeithasau 2 on the Eisteddfod site, where there will be a discussion entitled ‘What nation of peace? The nuclear hypocrisy of our government’.

March organiser Sam Bannon from CND Cymru described the motivation and aims of the marchers: “We urge anyone opposed to nuclear power to join us on CND Cymru’s second march against the proposed rollout of small modular nuclear reactors in Cymru. In collaboration with People Against Wylfa B (PAWB) and the Society for the Prevention of Everlasting Nuclear Destruction (CADNO), this action will demonstrate our opposition to the rehabilitation of this unsafe, costly, and antiquated form of energy production that distracts from the goal of zero net carbon emissions and contributes directly to the production of nuclear weapons.

“In CND Cymru, we recognise the need for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels. And so in showing our opposition to SMR’s, we are also advocating for a green new deal for Cymru. Harnessing the power of our abundant natural resources using truly sustainable means and investing in energy storage technologies, would without any doubt be cheaper, quicker, and safer as well as creating considerably more employment for people in Wales.”

For its part, the NFLA Wales Forum will be sending the marchers a message of their strong support.

NFLA Welsh Forum Chair Councillor Sue Lent explained why: “Nuclear projects are notorious the world over for being delivered very late and way over budget.

Bechtel and Westinghouse have been involved in the development of two new reactors at Vogtle in Georgia. Construction there started in 2009, yet only this year will both reactors come on stream, and the project is being delivered at a cost approaching US$30 billion, over double the original budget.

“Wales has wind and rivers, and a long coastline. Imagine what could done with $30 billion, or £23 billion, if it were invested instead in a national programme to insulate every home in Wales to the highest standard to reduce fuel consumption and energy bills, but also in renewable energy technologies to generate and store clean sustainable electricity from wind turbines, micro hydroelectric schemes, and from wave and tidal power projects, drawing on the natural resources with which our nation is blessed?”

“Instead of nuclear, we want to see investment in Wylfa and Trawsfynydd so they can be transformed into sites of engineering excellence for the development and deployment of renewable technologies and storage solutions. Wales can derive a lot more electricity far more quickly and at much less cost, without creating ugly new nuclear power plants that contaminate their environment, operate at risk, and leave a costly legacy of deadly radioactive waste in their wake. Let’s do this – let’s keep Wales nuclear free.”

Supporters of the march are encouraged to walk for the four days, to participate in one or more ‘legs’ or attend the public meeting at the Eisteddford at Boduan that will start at 3.30pm on 6 August.

Food and accommodation can be provided en-route to marchers with advanced notice. The first leg from Trawsfynydd to Blaenau Ffestiniog, starts on 2 August. The next day the walk goes to Porthmadog. The march arrives in Criccieth on 4 August, Pwllheli on the 5th and at the Eisteddfod site on the 6th.