Monday 11 May 2015

The Tardis has Re-materialised!!

The Tardis has Re-Materialised

Hi to everybody who reads this.

If you've read our blog before you will know that we were thinking this holiday would be in Cornwell - but no - we're actually in Wales.  We now have 17 days of rest and relaxation with only ourselves to please, so we plan to wend our way form South to North, and when we're not relaxing we will fill our time with walks and cycle rides so that we can take in all of this beautiful scenery.

However, I also need to confess that we did cheat a bit, and took a short 3 day extra  break in early April that I never got around to writing about.  We went to Bempton Cliffs, specifically to see the sea bird colonies at the RSPB Nature Reserve.  The Reserve has just been fully rebuilt and now provides modern facilities where visitors can view the masses of sea birds that put on a non stop show of aerial acrobatics and neighbourliness in the very close proximity of their nesting sites.  There were Gannets, Razorbills and Guillemots in huge numbers, but alas, no Puffins - I think we were just a bit to early.






I am not alone


9th May - Now back to this holiday

We set off from home at about mid-day (following being assisted with our packing by our 3 year old grandson, Thomas).   I think it was a case of I put it in and he brought it back out, but now we're settled we don't seem to be missing any vital components.  We've set up our first camp on a little site at Rhydywernen Farm near Brecon in the South of Wales.  We only have the company of one other van and a babbling river that chatters along just behind us, but it is really quite idyllic with lovely sun-shine, plenty of wild life  and peace and quite all around.  All in all, a lovely place to put my feet up and relax - however, that didn't last for long!  John said 'we'll go for a walk tomorrow'  (for walk read strenuous hike)

10th May

On our first morning I soon found which essential component was missing! (today incidentally, is the day of our 40th wedding anniversary).  We started the day with a champagne breakfast of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs with goat's cheese and, whoops, what, no champagne?  It must be in the kitchen at home!  Oh well, maybe just as well as our planned walk looks rather hilly.

We had decided to tackle Pen-y-Fan.  We packed a simple picnic and set off from the camp site to hike the mile or so before the 'proper hike' started, and this turned out to be a very pleasant stroll beside a babbling brook that tumbled and fell through a wooded area that was a mass of wild flowers which included blue bells, forgetmenots, celandines and many more that we couldn't name.


At the end of the track we came across Waterfall Cottage - a really idyllic little spot, and then we proceeded along the very narrow and traffic free roads until we arrived at the Cefn Cwm Llwch track which we followed all the way to the top of Pen-y-Fan.  On the notice board at the bottom it warned that the trail would be arduous and this certainly proved to be the case.  The climb was unrelenting, and in places, quite technical due to erosion and the attempts to repair it, and added to this the wind was determined to blow us back where we came from.   However, in the end we won the day, and although we didn't spend long at the summit we have photographic evidence to prove we made it!  In our time we have climbed many hills, but the route that John picked up Pen-y-Fan, was one of the most difficult we have undertaken in a long time, but having said that, it was well worth the effort for it's sheer grandeur and beauty.


We thought we'd finished climbing but there was still another little sting in the tale as the trail required us to climb another small hill - Corn Du.  From the top of here we could see all  the easier  'tourist trails' meandering back down, however, this was not our route.  We descended a very steep path towards the Obelisk which is a monument that marks the spot where Tommy's remains were found.  Tommy was a five year old boy who went missing for 29 days back in the 1900's, but even back then, it would be hard to imagine why a small child would be wandering alone in such a desolate spot.  The monument was right on the edge of a quite sheer cliff overlooking Llyn Cwm Llwch (Lake).  We descended to the edge of the lake and stopped for a quick snack and then continued down the much easier part of the trail to Nant Cwm Llwch. By this time we were quite foot sore and tired but only had a couple more miles of easy downhill walking to go, and we were much cheered by the fact that we'd actually made it!




We finally arrived back 'home' about 6pm to a very welcome cup of tea and biscuits, and following an hour's rest we set about cooking a very lovely anniversary meal in our own bijou bistro.  We then made good use of our Children's present (posh glasses)  to make our little tipple all the more enjoyable - a lovely way to round of our day.

11th May

Today has been an easy one.  We got up to overcast skies but the wind soon blew the clouds away and for most of the day we have enjoyed bright sunshine.  We had a walk into Brecon in the morning to have a little meander around the town, and we sat by the river for a while before doing a bit of shopping and then returning to The Tardis for late lunch of Aldi fish cake sandwiches (which were all the better because John cooked them while I napped).  Since then we have been messing about with the Blog but as my battery is nearly flat so  I'll sign off for now and try and fit in a bit more relaxing!

Have a lovely evening x