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On
these pages I have added some images of a day I spent walking in Wales.
We started the day in the pretty harbour town of Porthmadog. As you can
see, some people were already fishing for their supper. I think this man
had just caught a crab on his line. |
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| Porthmadog
is set on the north Wales coast, not far from the mountainous region of
Snowdonia National Park. In fact you can see a wonderful backdrop of mountains from
the town. The 'Danger' sign is there to warn people of the steep drop
from this wall. |
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| We
then headed for a little seaside resort along the coast, Borth-y-gest,
to start the walk. The tide was out and the boats stranded, but it was a
very pretty spot. |
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We
climbed up into the hills above the town. The countryside around here is
very green (due to the high rainfall on this coast) and it really is a
lovely area, with walks from the very gentle to the seriously steep!
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The
heather was just starting to flower in the hills.
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This
was steep enough for us, but the glimpses of the coast made the climb
worthwhile. There are a number of ancient castles along this coast, and
if my picture were better, you would be able to see one of the castles
on a promontory in the distance! |
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| Wild
blackberries are very common in the British countryside. Here they are
in flower, before the berries form. You have to watch out for the spiked
braches when you are walking. We call the bushes 'brambles' and you
sometimes see blackberry jam described as 'bramble jelly'. Delicious! |
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| We
stopped for lunch in the hills. As everywhere in Wales, there were lots
of sheep grazing. |
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Of
course the Welsh people have their own language. Everywhere you travel you see signs in both the English and Welsh languages. Here is an example,
warning people not disturb the sheep, especially if you have a dog with
you.
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While
we were eating our lunch we had this wonderful view of the estuary to
admire, stretching out before us. The dry stone walls are all hand-built
from local materials.
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Nearby
we noticed this house, with only a tiny hill path leading up to the
property. A
wonderful place in summer, but quite a remote place to live in the
winter I should imagine.
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Not
really what you expect to find in Wales, and certainly not a native
species! These llamas were being kept for their wool. They seemed
very friendly and rushed down the hill to the fence as soon as they
spotted us. Perhaps they thought we would have some food. Farmers in the
UK are trying to diversify their businesses to help them survive
financially, so perhaps this is the reason we found llamas in such an
unusual location.
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The
end of the walk brought us back to Borth-y-gest. The tide was starting
to come in.
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On the
edge of the estuary there were some spectacular homes and attractive
hotels with views of the sea and mountains.
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After
we had finished the walk, we all drove over to this beach for a
barbecue. At low tide Black Rock Sands has a vast expanse of beach onto
which you are allowed to drive to park. Many people use this beach for
picnics, bathing, beach sports, kite flying and so on. |
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Even
the drive home had its highlights. A beautiful Welsh valley in the
evening sunlight.
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