Joy!

Saturday was a long day. After tidying and packing, I left Pool Cottage and set off down the west coast to the tiny village of Moylegrove, not far south of Cardigan. I needed some supplies, so stopped at a local store and also grabbed food for lunch. Remembering my rule of ‘picnic when you are able’, I turned off the road onto a small track. There was nowhere to park and so I kept driving and ended up at the sea!

I enjoyed my cheese, oatcakes and a perfectly ripe pear and then went for a potter along the shore. The tide was out and I have never before seen such a collection of beautifully coloured seaweeds.

Needless to say, I spent far too long and ended up arriving later than planned at Banc Cottage. It is a dear little place, and I soon unpacked and settled in for the night.

I awoke to a sunny morning and a feeling of such happiness, for today I was going to see Emily and Jordan, who were down for a holiday weekend with Jordan’s parents, celebrating a family birthday

What joy it was to see them! They wanted to show me the beach they love so well, so we all walked down there, except Julian, who nobly agreed to come and pick us up later and drive us all back up the steep hill.

Tresaith beach is most charming.  It has that beautiful curve, there is sand, there are rock-pools, and it has the most amazing waterfall!

It was such a happy time, Emily and I beachcombing, Jordan and his Mum chatting. As Rhian said afterwards, it was such a treat to spend time with our children.

It was a perfect start to my week where I have spent every possible moment by- or in-the sea.

Moving onward

There are so many experiences and days that I’m not recording here. I have snuck off to see the sea- although I’d planned to keep the beach days for the latter part of my holiday.

This is the lighthouse at Penmon Point on Anglesey

 I gazed at quilts and ridden on the cliff-side train at Aberystwyth.

And I have fallen in love with the mellow countryside with its woods of mossy trees, glowing green meadows, lakes, and rivers. The tiny winding lanes with grass growing in the middle have always led me to beautiful places.

The mountains and their dramatic passes are still there to be explored but there is a gentle feel to this part of Wales. I have felt at home in Pool Cottage and met kind and interesting people in my week here.

A Perfect Panorama

 A Perfect Panorama

I always smile and say ‘hello’ to the people I meet when out walking and this often leads to a cheerful conversation and on many occasions this month, some useful local information.

 (I have – for example, been shown how to get through the turn-style of a public loo without paying if you are caught short and penniless...)

On my walk through the old oak wood, I fell into conversation with a friendly and most interesting woman. Before we parted she asked if I would like to meet up and she would show me how to find the path that leads to the panorama above Barmouth.

 A few days later we were pleased to see the misty morning clear to sunshine. I would never have found the tiny turning myself and I was relieved to find that the path wasn’t too steep or rough- even my creaky body coped! As we walked up through a wood, we caught glimpses of the river below.

The bird’s eye view estuary was wonderful. I could have sat and watched the patterns made by the channels of the river for hours. The light and the tide was constantly changing, it was an entrancing sight.

When we reached the summit of the rocky outcrop, you could turn in all directions and see a beautiful view -I suppose that’s why it’s called a panorama... 

I felt as if I was living within a vast painting by John Martin and expected to see gatherings of Heavenly host on the slopes beneath me.

It was a truly glorious sight.

Afterwards, when we had climbed back down from the celestial heights, we went onto the beach at Barmouth, where I treated us both to fish and chips as a small thank you to Ros. It was a perfect end to  our little jaunt.

Serendipity

 Sometimes you can come across something beautiful and it is such a surprise and so unexpected, that it stays with you and lights up your imagination.

I had found some wonderful places due to my Welsh Heritage card, given to me by my friends Martin and Madeleine but on this particular Wednesday afternoon, I wasn’t following any plan or searching for a special monument.

The church caught my eye merely because it was so overgrown. It was a very ordinary building, grey and slate coloured but something made me turn round- I thought I might enjoy exploring the old graveyard.

I read the notice-board which said that St Mark’s Church in Brithdir was still consecrated but no longer used for services. However, there was a colony or protected Lesser Horseshoe bats living in its belfry and it was looked after by that wonderful organisation ‘Friends of Friendless Churches’.

I mooched about the graveyard for a while, which was full of huge rhododendrons and overgrown dark slate headstones. To be honest, it was all rather dank and depressing and I nearly didn’t bother trying the church door, as so many are still closed due to Covid.

The heavy door did open and I stepped inside. It took me a few moments to understand what I was seeing. The weak sunlight lit up a scene that glowed with rich colours. I felt I had been transported to a different country- it was the opposite of the simple rather dour interior I had been expecting.

It turns out that St Marks is one of the finest Arts and Crafts churches in Wales and was designed and made by Henry Wilson from 1895-1898. I will put a link at the end of this post in case anyone wishes to learn more.

Colour was the first thing I noticed- towards the altar, the walls are warm red ochre and the ceiling is a beautiful strong blue, the rest is rich warm cream. I looked around and the gleam of metal caught my eye. Both the pulpit and the altar are made of beaten copper- breathtaking and vibrant.

I walked slowly down the aisle, looking to left and right, making for the choir stalls and there I saw a tortoise, carved in the dark wood! So I searched everywhere and found a mouse, squirrel, dolphin and rabbit- although nothing quite equalled the surprise of seeing a tortoise.

I do not know how long I stayed in St Mark’s. Everywhere I turned brought me new discoveries. The clear glass in the windows let in a beautiful light and I sat and gazed at the details on the altar.

I even found a bat! He was lying on the floor under a pew, still and seemingly dead. Then he blinked. I pondered a while, not sure what to do but in the end decided he was safer outside and that he might have become trapped within the church. I gently scooped him up with the visitor’s book and placed him outside on a gravestone in a dark corner where he was hidden from sight by overhanging ferns. He squeaked and spread his wings briefly but still looked rather poorly, so I went to find a leaf, collected some rain drops on it, put it near to his head and then left him in peace.

Entering the church again was such a pleasure. I sat for a while and looked again at all the treasures, nothing disturbed the peace and I felt at home and very happy.

Finally I said goodbye and closed the door carefully. On checking the little bat, I found him perched on the leaf, where had obviously been drinking and he looked much better, so I felt I had done the right thing.

A man I know well taught me how to rely on serendipity when out exploring, he said that sometimes you have to follow your instincts and trust that something good will happen.

Thanks to serendipity I have had the most memorable and beautiful experience.

https://friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/church/st-marks-brithdir-gwynedd/

St Mark's Church

Brithdir

Dolgellau
Gwynedd
LL40 2RN

OS Reference

SH 764 184

How green is my valley

 

Over the next few days, the dark clouds lifted and so too did my spirits. I had known that I was surrounded by beautiful countryside but I'd not been able to appreciate it properly before.

Once the light came back into my days, the colours took my breath away. I have never seen green like it. The rain makes the fields and meadows so verdant and at this time of year when the new autumn grass is growing, the whole landscape glowed!

One perfect example is Pont Minllyn. I had read about this old pack-horse bridge, which had been built by Dr John Davies in the middle of the 17^th century and so I went to find it; now disused and covered with grass, it is such a lovely thing to see.

The following day I packed myself a picnic and was looking for a secluded place to sit and dream the hours away. I have been letting Fate take me where she wills and I was not disappointed. I followed another steep and tiny winding road until I was high in the hills. I noticed a path leading into trees, so I went exploring.

It was an enchanted place. The ancient Oak trees were covered in moss and ferns, there was an ancient crab apple which had more lichen than fruit and the berries of Rowan trees shone a bright orange. The woodland was quite open with small meadows and patches of gorse and bracken.

The path led me upwards until I came to the top of the hill and I could see across to the valley below. The sun came out and it was like looking down on Paradise.

I have fallen in love with these lush wooded hills and valleys, they are so different from the wild and bleak mountain tops, each has a very different spirit.

 I am so glad I decided to move from place to place- it is exciting and challenging getting to know the feel of different landscapes.

An elegant residence

 

Life is full of happy coincidences. Not many months ago I was reading about the huge redwood - the Wellingtonia or Giant Sequoia and I longed to have the chance to travel to California and see these mighty trees. Well goodness me- who would have guessed? Mr Humphries who originally owned the house where I am staying and created the gardens, brought over a Wellingtonia from Canada to add to his collection of unusual trees and plants. It’s now over 100 foot tall and as soon as it has stopped raining, I am going to go out and hug it.

My body has been complaining about the uphill walks and so I spent a quiet first day at Pool Cottage. There are several holiday lets here but it is quiet and still has the feel of an old country house. 

The gardens are full of winding stone paths and fern lined steps. I enjoyed playing with some colourful leaves...

The next day dawned dank and dark with grey clouds and rain. I know that I can’t be in alt all the time but I felt rather ashamed of feeling so down-hearted. I missed the clear blue skies, space and clarity of my week on the hillside.

However, I gave myself a talking to and in the afternoon headed out to do some gentle exploring. I followed a quiet winding lane, with moss and grass in the middle and pootled along trying to get a feel of the countryside. I found a place to park and continued my travels down the lane on foot, enjoying the sound of robins singing and the peaceful feel of misty rain on my face. Then to my delight I saw that the hedgerows were full of blackberries. Now I had a purpose I felt much more cheerful, I gathered a large handful and also picked a little posy of late summer flowers.

Returning home to my cottage, I felt much more at home.