What will I remember most?

It's now a grey rainy Sunday evening in February and the sun-filled days of my Welsh Adventure seem a long time ago. So I thought I would pick out my very favourite moments, to remind me what a life-changing magical time I had.

I loved the peace and isolation I felt when I sat outside my little cottage in Snowdonia every evening and watched the sun go down behind the mountains.

The fun of eating wild field mushrooms and the meal I had in the 'Boatel', reading ancient history by candlelight.

Discovering the secret oak wood and my first visit to the Isle of Angelsea - I will return ...

Meeting up with Emily and Jordan.

The view from the Panorama and finding the painted Church.

Slow days spent getting to know so many beaches, sea swimming, and having the time to watch beautiful sunsets.

Knowing I had my beloved home to return to when I pressed the SatNav button for the final journey.

Feeling like this again.

Beach Art

I have written before about my love for beaches and how this time away from everyday life has reminded me how to play. Because I am not in a rush and have time to potter about, I have found so many unexpected things of beauty on the seashore. Whether it is in the intense colours of crystalline rock structures, or the patterns left by the receding tide, there is art all around me.

I think beachcombing is in my blood because I always have an eye open for shells, colourful pebbles, unusual seaweed and driftwood. As children, my brother Jon and I would spend happy hours making 'the perfect rockpool'. The beach would be searched for pebbles, shells, seaweed, and if we were lucky, a crab or two and then we would create our own beautiful miniature worlds.

I was lacking the pool but making this little scene took me straight back to my childhood. I remembered the concentration and intensity of feeling and the delight at making something so lovely.

The writer Elizabeth Goudge writes about a collection of  'Little Things' in a couple of her books. These were tiny china ornaments, yet I felt I was following her lead when I made this little gathering of perfect tiny shells, carefully placed in a clam-shell. I do so hope a child found them before the sea washed them away.

I am always surprised by the variety of colours found in the pebbles on beaches. The best place for beautifully coloured perfectly oval pebbles has to be Budleigh Salterton, yet with a bit of time spent searching, there is usually a rainbow's worth to be found.

I was especially pleased when my friend Carol told me that she had come upon one of my colourful collections and immediately thought: "That must be Jane's doing".

 I also love beaches that are full of dark stones foliated with white quartz stripes. It is endlessly fascinating to look for letters within the pebble's patterns.

I also enjoy making shapes by connecting the lines within the stones. My friend Pippa taught me how to make hearts.

I become totally absorbed when I make my little beach creations, it feels like a form of meditation. Time flies and I feel refreshed and satisfied by what I have made.

And then I came upon the sublime work of Rachel Shiam   http://www.quietearth.org.uk/

She draws these delicate intricate designs on the sand. I watched her work and then, at her suggestion, climbed up the cliff-top path so that I could look down on the beach and see the whole pattern.

Hey ho- there is playing and there is true art and I know what I create!

Ancient sites and Sacred places

In the summer, before my journey around Wales, I had gone on an interesting walk all around Stonehenge with a friend who volunteers there. Perhaps because of this and because the Neolithic monuments are so clearly marked on my maps, I was keen to visit some sites during my travels.

It was a clear and sunny day when I set off to find Brynn Celli Ddu.  According to my Welsh heritage guide it’s in the south of Anglesey quite close to the Menai Strait. I’m not great with following directions and so I found myself wandering around some fields in a vague and hopeful manner, thinking, maybe it’s that lump in the distance?

Once I actually saw the beautiful dome of this chambered tomb- I was in no doubt that I had reached the right place.

 

I had learned that this site was originally a henge (3000BC) with standing stones and it was about 1000 years later that a passage grave was built, and that the burial chamber would have been entirely enclosed within a huge mound. Now a smaller mound has been reconstructed and you can walk into the chamber from the back. At the front is a replica of the decorated stone that was part of the original henge.

I was so lucky to visit on a day when the sun was shining and quite low in the sky. As I entered the burial chamber it was glowing in the sunlight.

 

It felt very peaceful and special. People had placed gifts and messages and so I was glad to find that I had a lovely piece of sea glass in my pocket, which I left as my offering.

 I came upon my second site entirely by accident. I had just left Newport and was driving home when I noticed one of those interesting brown historic monument signs. So I turned down the road, past some very modern houses, and there, in a tiny field not much bigger than the bungalows’ back gardens was Carreg Coetan Arthur.

I was soon joined by a young man who was most knowledgeable and friendly. He explained that this burial chamber would have originally been covered with earth and that it dated from around 3000BC.  He was slightly shocked to find out that I had yet to visit Pentre Ifan and in fact had not even heard of it. I promised to follow his instructions and make a visit.

 And so I did.

It is breath-taking and beautiful and set amidst the hills away from any sign of modern life. It had a presence and a majesty that moved me greatly.

 

I decided to make a little wreath of Hawthorne and blackberries from the nearby hedges and spent a happy and engrossed hour creating my offering. The sun shone, there was birdsong on the breeze and peace and beauty surrounded me. It was a truly sacred place.

“Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!”

All my life I have loved the sea. My mother says that when first taken to the beach as a toddler, I broke free of her hand and ran straight into the sea- I just didn’t stop- and it nearly gave her a heart-attack!

No matter how fine or foul the weather, no matter how sad or bad I feel, a walk on by the sea will cheer me. The beaches I love best are small coves with a mixture of sand and pebbles, where I can beach-comb and am most likely to be tempted to swim.

 I have always wanted to live close to a little cove and get to know all its moods and seasons, to watch the ebb and flow of the tide and learn how it changes with the seasons and weather.

Every day during my week at Banc Cottage I have spent time by the shore. In a few short days, I have already learned the best time of day for the beaches of Cwm-y-Eglwys and Pwllgwaelod and these became two of my very favourite places, which I returned to again and again. It was here that I finally took to the water and have felt the joy of long slow swims across the bay.

Every beach has such a different character and of course the state of the tide and the time of day makes such a difference. The little beach at Mwnt seemed almost crowded when the waves crept up the sand and everyone kept moving further and further upwards as the tide came in.

There is a tiny little beach close to Banc Cottage which I often walked down to at the end of the day but one evening I discovered it was better to climb up the cliff path and watch the sunset from a better vantage point. The coast faces west, so every clear day I had the chance to watch the sea and sky change colour as the sun sunk into the ocean. Some were pastel and gentle, others red and dramatic- all were beautiful and such a gift to me.

Late one afternoon I found myself near Penbryn. I was a few minutes too late for the cafe but not too late to enjoy the beautiful golden light on the beach. The tide was coming in and it was a bit choppy but I took off my shoes and trousers and splashed around the headland to see the little cove on the other side. I kept a weather eye on the waves and soon decided that I had better return to the main beach.

 The sunshine was catching the tops of the waves as they broke and the sands were golden in the evening light. I changed into my costume and had the most exhilarating time jumping the waves and feeling that brilliant shock as the larger ones broke over me.

At that moment I was brimful of energy and happiness. I felt completely free and absolutely me!