Adventures in Wales

In desperate need of a holiday after several hard months, we took a week off and went to Wales and the national park of Brecon Beacons. We once again found a great little cottage within convenient reach of a train station – though this time much closer to a store, pub and chip shop. The place was really cosy and quiet and the owners were extremely hospitable and drove us to a larger shop where we could buy a few more substantial things – thank you Nichola!

The cottage is called the Coach House and sits on the grounds of a country estate – Pantybeiliau, which according to the owners was a hotel which enjoyed a rather seedy history before being bought by the previous owners as a weekend country escape from London. The house of the estate looked fascinating and certainly would have been interesting to explore – apparently the basement which still contains hanging chains!

We had dry but fairly cloudy weather the first two days, perfect for long walks of 10.5 and 9 miles respectively. The first day was up the 600 meter tall peak of Sugarloaf, which included some rather steep paths. For much of the walk it was just us, Guinness and sheep.

We saw a few people at the top, but it was still quiet enough to enjoy a bundled up lunch on the lee side of the mountain – out of the wind.

After tackling such an arduous peak on day one, we settled on a more relaxed walk along the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal. We walked the 3.5 miles down to Crickhowell, a lovely little village on the Afon Wysg (or River Usk in English).

Along the way we were lucky to come across some very dog friendly stiles which saved us the hassle of picking Guinness up and over each one.

We settled into the cosy Bear Hotel for lunch, which was extremely dog friendly and included a bowl of chicken for Guinness! He was quite surprised when the waitress placed it under the table in front of him, but he quickly recovered his senses and dug in.

After lunch, we took advantage of the many hills and valleys of Wales and managed a halfway decent climb in the afternoon, one that included a herd of curious cows, a few random collies here and there protecting their territory and the most secluded youth hostel we have ever come across.

The weather closed in on us after that and though it broke a bit on the fourth day, enough to climb up to the Lonely Sheppard, another 300 meter high ascent, we spent much of the week reading, working on photos, playing games, watching movies and preparing for the wedding shoot on Saturday. Guinness meanwhile enjoyed his long bouts of fresh air followed by wonderful long naps in between.

It was a great mix of relaxation and physical exertion, one that was desperately needed and enjoyed!

A Walk in Richmond Park

We recently had our good friend Kris visiting from the US and took advantage of a day off to take her to Richmond Park, probably our favourite place in London. We had lunch in a sun-filled Richmond pub garden overlooking the Thames before walking up Richmond Hill. It was a wonderful autumn day with the smell of drying leaves being carried by the breeze.

The park dates back to around 1300, when King Edward called it the Manor of Sheen. It was Charles I in 1637 that controversially enclosed the park and made it a Royal hunting ground for the deer. The walls and deer (well their descendents) still remain.

One of the great things about Richmond Park is how close to wild animals and a secluded sense of nature you can get, whilst still having unencumbered views of St Pauls Cathedral 12 miles away. The park is famous for its herds of Red and Fallow Deer, totalling 650 animals between the two species, that usually roam the open spaces in large herds.

September and October are mating season for the deer and therefore we knew that they were potentially more dangerous, especially should Guinness startle one whilst it was having a nap in the high grass. However, we wanted to ensure that we found at least some of the deer to show Kris, and we certainly did not fail.

The deer were everywhere! We saw a single male lounging in the ferns within ten minutes of being in the park and then kept on finding small pockets of them scattered under trees, in fields and wandering in the undergrowth.

Several of the males were quite vocal, but none were aggressive and towards the end of our circuit we were able to get quite close to several males and females, who seemed more interested in sleeping or eating conkers, then in whatever we humans were doing.

Kris was amazed at how many there were in the park and how close you can get to them, whilst even we had to admit that it was the best deer sighting trip we have ever had in Richmond Park.

It was a great day out and all four of us were completely exhausted by the time we got home!