Blogs from Brecon, Powys, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe
Another day, another waterfall, another ruin!
Published: July 5th 2011Europe » United Kingdom » Wales » Powys » Brecon
July 1st 2011
We decided that Kath and Albert needed to see at least one waterfall while they are with us in Wales so we drove down to the Waterfall Visitor Centre at Pontneddfechan (apparently pronounced Pont-neath-vaughan) because Sgwd Gwladus is an easy walk from there. We thought that we might walk in further to a couple of the other falls so asked the guy at the visitor centre about accessibility. He advised that the track is along the riverside as far as Sgwd Gwladus, but then rises up to the rim of the gully. He said that he would not recommend attempting to access the falls further upriver by going down the side of the gully, but said that if we were careful, we could walk along a stone shelf along the riverbank as far as the third ... read more
June 28th 2011
Today we set out to see some Welsh waterfalls. From Bailea we headed towards Brecon on the A40 before turning south onto the A470. We stopped briefly at the car park opposite the Story Arms as this is the highest point on the A470. Walkers can set out from here to walk to the summit of Pen-y-Fan. We thought that the view would be more impressive but, according to the information board, we were only half way up the mountain. I'm sure if we had more time, a hike to the top of Pen-y-Fan would have been on the agenda, but there is a limit to what can be achieved in a week!! After our brief stop, we continued along the A470 until we turned off for Penderyn on the A4059. Before we reached Penderyn, we ... read more
A photography course in Wales
Published: June 30th 2011Europe » United Kingdom » Wales » Powys » Brecon
June 27th 2011
Today we headed off on another photography course. We thought that we were going to photograph waterfalls specifically, but we ended up being taken on a more general tour of Welsh scenery. It didn't really matter, we've never been in this part of the UK before so all of the scenery was new for us! We met the photographer, Will, at Glasbury a few miles NE of Brecon. We transferred all of our gear to Will's car and he took us to a viewpoint above Llangors looking out over Llangorse Lake toward Pen-y-fan, the highest point in southern Wales. With the weather being fine and sunny today we had a really good view of the mountains. Our next stop was down beside Llangorse Lake. Will was really bemused about the ponies because they are usually grazing ... read more
June 26th 2011
With the SatNav programmed for Wallingford, we said our farewells to Marilyn and Jim and headed off for the cottage in Wales where we will be staying for the next six nights. We headed away from London along the M40 until we reached the A329 where we turned off to Wallingford. Hmmn, so glad we made the effort to drive through Wallingford ... not!! We didn't see a single thing that was reminiscent of Causton in Midsomer Murders. Ah well, it wasn't far out of our way. After taking a couple of (very ordinary) photos of Wallingford, the SatNav was re-programmed for Burford which is at the gateway to the Cotswolds. We headed along the A4074 towards Oxford and after taking the ring road around the south of Oxford we joined the A40 heading west and ... read more
Abergavenny to Brecon to Newtown to Welshpool
Published: April 25th 2011Europe » United Kingdom » Wales » Powys » Brecon
April 23rd 2011
This morning we woke to another beautiful and sunny day. We took a drive around Abergavenny and then drove onto Brecon in the hope of having a ride on one of the long canal boats. Sadly, as we drove into Brecon and struggled to find a park, we watched the canal boat pulling out :( The next ride was at 2.30pm which was too late for us. Not to worry, we had a lovely long walk along the canal. I also had time to just sit and relax in the shade, on the bank of the canal, and write some postcards - 20 of them. Ummmm.....don't hold your breathe as I have not been able to get a chance to post them yet! Steve and I then had a wander up through the town. Brecon is ... read more
August 7th 2010
Hi Friends & Family, I'm back and not before time it seems. Sorry for the long delay...! Today, we decided to go on our own personal trek. Bwlch is so well situated and even has its own trekking route which starts just behind our hostel. Its called the LLANGORS LAKE CIRCULAR TREK. Its an energetic walk of 12.04 miles or 19.26km and basically took us all day but what a walk....! The weather was so-so but good enough for me at any rate. Thank goodness for our very reliable Jack Wolfskin jackets LOL as we were constantly having to take jackets off when it got too warm and then struggle to put them back on again when it started to rain. Layering at its finest! Suffice to say, it was excellent trekking weather and the views ... read more
August 4th 2010
Hi Friends and Family, Time to get a move on. After going to the very lovely Caerphilly Castle it was time to go to the Brecons 'cos they're expecting us! Our hostel was called” The Star Bunk House” and I picked it ‘cos it was slap in the middle of the Brecon Beacons National Park and it was a bunkhouse. A bunkhouse is a hostel or barracks-like building that historically was used to house working cowboys on ranches in North America. As most cowboys were young single men, the standard bunkhouse was a large open room with narrow beds or cots for each individual and little privacy. The bunkhouse of the late 19th century was usually heated by a wood stove and personal needs were attended to in an outhouse. While the modern bunkhouse today is ... read more
July 14th 2010
This is not so much a travelblog as an event blog. The 4th July is usually associated with American Independence Day, but now there is another reason to remember the date. Jenks and Jane were married on this day. And also, by happy chance, July 4th is when Jane's son Dave has his birthday: so it's a multiple celebration. All that cake !! Jane had done the traditional wedding eve thing of staying away from the groom: in her own house with her good friend Ann-Marie Morgan (no relation) and partying with her son Dave, daughter-in-law Kim, granddaughter Rosie, daughter Caroline and future son-in-law Louis, and Kim's parents Pam and Trevor Burdett. Gareth and Liane stayed with me at the Chateau Jenks. The wedding day began not too well with a heavy drizzle in Cardiff that ... read more
December 18th 2009
A morning out shooting clay pigeons with the Williams family shooters!... read more
Brecon Beacons National
Published: November 28th 2009Europe » United Kingdom » Wales » Powys » Brecon
November 27th 2009
Friday 27.11.2009 Day 44 Brecon Beacons National We went to a River and saw the cenarth falls and the salmon leap and a 17 century mill it was a very pretty place. We then we had lunch at the west end café which was a motorcycle hang out and there was a castle and sculpture of a knight in the car park. We then when to the Brecon Beacons National Park that has that lake in it that is said to the birth place of the wizard Merlin and Llyn y Fan the home of the Lady of the Lake. We could not get to the lake as it is only accusable by a 4 mile walk and it was sunset. We went home and had a home baked salmon dinner, maybe the salmon lived in ... read more
