Brecon Beacons 2015

This year we tried a holiday on our own, just the two of us, Mother and teenager. About time too! Having seen a BBC documentary about Wales, we decided to try the Brecon Beacons as the countryside looked awesome. I found what appeared to be an idyllic campsite, and booked a spot. Good choice!

 

I heartily recommend 'Camping at Ynysfaen' near Trecastle, in Powys. it is, officially, pretty much the middle of nowhere, with no mobile reception or WiFi, but with a huge green campsite. Cars are not allowed on the camping area, but wheelbarrows are provided for carting things about. A small river flows nearby, and at night all you can hear are sheep and the occasional hoot of an owl. Heaven. Jane and Nigel, who run it, are lovely too. Oh, there are fabulous showers, a covered washing up area, and a communal fridge, so that you don't have to rough it too much! Go there.

 

We arrived on Sunday afternoon, post festival, tired but glad to have made it. The weather was still dry, so we chose a pitch and erected the tent and settled in. We woke on Monday to a beautiful, sunny day and decided to go walking while the weather was nice, and headed south for the famous waterfall walks. Good choice. We parked in the forest car park, then walked downhill through the forest for about half an hour until we came to the first waterfall. We paused to admire it and chat to other walkers, then carried on, following the red route. This encompassed all the waterfalls, all magnificent, and a lot of walking. The waterfalls were all down side paths, which led steeply downhill and then, of course, back up hill. At the end of six miles we were very tired and had extremely achey legs! Absolutely worth it though.  Back to the camp, and tea cooked on a trangea.

On the Tuesday we had a lazy morning, playing Frisbee and catch in the campsite before lunch. After lunch we set off to find the Red Kite Feeding Centre. And got lost, or had a grand tour of the countryside if you prefer. We drove up the lane to Trecastle and turned left, ending up in Llandovery. I asked for directions and found that if we had turned right instead, the journey would have taken 10 minutes! Ah well. We attempted to follow the directions across the hills, and got lost a few times before finding the feeding centre with ten minutes to spare.

The feeding centre was simple, consisting of a bird hide with an honesty box, facing onto a small paddock. At 3pm the farmer drove up, said a few words and then scattered chicken joints around the paddock. After about 15 minutes, kites began to turn up, flying around but not swooping down for some time. When they did swoop, they were magnificent! We saw 11 birds in total. Definitely worth a visit.

On Wednesday the weather changed and the rain poured down. I attempted to cook breakfast, under an umbrella, but it didn't really work. We headed off to The National Show Caves Centre, and spent the day exploring Dan-yr-Ogof, Cathedral Cave, and Bone Cave, then admiring the dinosaur trail. We went to the café for lunch and had a nice hot meal! Delicious. Afterwards, we toured the small farm which had alpacas, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats and pigs. There was also  Shire Horse Centre so we admired the horses. Once we'd left I headed down the road to find my old caving haunts, which was interesting to me, although not necessarily to the teenager. We went home via Brecon and got a Chinese takeaway. Yum!

On Thursday it continued to rain. We headed for the Brecon Mountain Railway and had a picnic in the waiting room, and a chat with a volunteer who was fixing an enormous piston. After that we got on the steam train and headed up the mountain admiring the view. On the way back there was a brief stop off to see the steam museum and café.  Once back at the campsite we packed up as much as we could as there was a lull in the weather, had tea and prepared for our final night camping.

On the Friday morning, we packed up the tent, paid our dues and headed home via the Chilterns and lunch in Gloucester. We got back to the ferry rather early but weren't allowed on so we lurked in Mayflower Park for a bit.

Random standing stone on a mountain.

Waterfall you could walk behind.

Dinosaur at Show Caves Centre

 

Crab Cottage

In a change of theme, we accompanied my Mum and her friend to view the garden of Crab Cottage in Shalfleet. This was open under the National Garden Scheme, and for a mere £3.50 (children free) each, we got in, having parked in the free car park on the way up the lane by the New Inn.

To our right was a perfect croquet lawn, with metal hoops, and a collection of wooden mallets and balls leaning against a low wall. Beyond the croquet lawn was a path leading through a wildflower meadow, full of flowers and grasses. Very pretty and something I aspire to having one day. At the end of the meadow was a row of sweet peas held up by twigs, and then the path led to a pond.

We then followed a path back through tree and hedges, dodged under a shrub propped up with an old wooden rake, passed the croquet lawn, and paused on the gravel driveway to peruse the bookstall and natter with some acquaintances we bumped into, looked at the plant stall and then headed round the side of the house. As we passed the front door, clearly rarely used, we admired dark leaved dahlias,  towering hollyhocks and a wisteria which was trained across the house wall. On through an archway and onto a less formal lawn in a walled garden, bordered with flowered, with many varieties of dahlia among other things. Here we stopped for a cup of tea and a slice of cake which was of high standard! Very nice.

After tea we pottered through another arch and into a sunken garden with many interesting plants, and a raised area at the far end with a summerhouse and formal pond; the latter had no plants in it, but had beautiful reflections of the potted lilies grown next to it.

 

This was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon; I do enjoy nosing round other peoples gardens, and of there is good planting, tea and cake, all the better! Crab Cottage is definitely worth a visit if you get the chance.

 

Plants bought: Sedum spectabile

 

http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/find-a-garden/garden.aspx?id=13779

View to cottage from croquet lawn

 

Afternoon Amble

We tried the Dark Lane walk again, with friends. Another beautiful sunny afternoon on the Island, so the cool dappled shade of Dark Lane was deeply welcome! I insisted that the teenager navigate this time so that we didn't get lost, and she did a jolly good job. When we got to the sweetcorn field we went down the correct side of the hedge, down a dusty, root-strewn path past a paddock of over-excited, barking foxhounds, and came out on Snowdrop Lane.

 

From here we turned right and followed the lane uphill. Snowdrop Lane is deeply sunken between steep banks topped with trees and was lovely. When we reached the top, at Garstons, we turned right along a footpath and eventually joined back up with Dark Lane and went back to the car. A very pleasant afternoon. 

 

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4143541.html

Distance: 3.4 miles

Footpaths: G6, G7a

 

 

Bembridge Fort Walk

This was a walk we had long planned to do, but kept missing the date. The walk takes place every year at extreme low tide, from both St Helen's beach, and Bembridge Point. Now, I thought there was a causeway from both sides, so dressed in jeans and hiking sandals and was prepared to paddle. Unfortunately the causeway only goes from St Helen's, so we ended up wading almost waist deep through the sea for a while! However, the water wasn't cold and everybody was in a good mood. After a while we joined up with the causeway and strolled along to St Helen's Fort in the Silent, took photos and strolled then waded back to Bembridge. The tide was a bit lower on the way back.

 

I would say that at least a couple of thousand people took part, and it was a very sociable and enjoyable experience. Must do it again next year.

To supplement my terrible photos, here is a link to an aerial video made by someone else.... http://www.yoppul.co.uk/yoppulv1/2015/08/watch-this-amazing-aerial-footage-of-the-bembridge-fort-walk/
 

 

 

Dark Lane .... Again!

We love Dark Lane near Carisbrooke Castle so decided to head that way today, planning to follow the Shepherd's Trail to Gatcombe and then back toward the castle. This sounded lovely, not too difficult as we were out of practice, and incorporated a picnic. Perfect, yes?

 

Well, no as it happened. My dodgy navigational skills came to the fore. We left the car park opposite Carisbrooke Priory and proceeded along the road for a couple of minutes before turning onto the Shepherd's Trail. We headed up the path and soon entered Dark Lane, a sunken lane between high chalk banks covered in ferns, ivy,  and herb Robert, and topped with oak, elder and hazel. Lovely and cool and quiet on a summer's day. The path had been scoured by a recent rain storm and glowed white in the shade. The lane came out next to a wheat field, glowing in the sunshine and rattling in the breeze. So far, so good.

 

The path continued clearly for a while longer, before coming to a crossroads. Now. I thought the path continued straight on to the right of the hedge, while teenager thought it went to the left. I assumed I was correct, of course, and we carried on downhill, through a field of sweetcorn as there seemed to be a path through it rather than round the edge. The sweetcorn petered out and we came to a meadow, waist high in flowering grasses, wildflowers and thistles. We carried straight on and realised there was no escape at the bottom of the field. OK, thought I, we'll follow the edge of the field until we get out. We waded through the grass, disturbing hundreds of grasshoppers, and avoiding nettles and thistles, but could find no escape. We continued, and ended up back at the sweetcorn plantation, so found a pathway between towering plants, so we could avoid the pickles, and eventually came to a lane and escaped. Phew! We looked at the map, carefully, turned right and continued until we found another lane. We turned up there, and followed it until it joined up with the Shepherd's Trail again, and were soon plunging down Dark Lane again.

 

Back at the car we noticed a sign for a tea garden at Carisbrooke Priory opposite, so decided that a brew was needed and headed across. The Priory is a former Benedictine Convent that is now looked after by a trust (I think). I got a pot of tea for one for a quid, and got two nice cups of tea out of it, and teenager had a pleasant lemonade. We then had a quick stroll around the walled garden, admired the dovecot, had a peek at the book and produce stalls then went home.

 

We'll try that walk another day.....

 

Route (don't follow!): http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4136489.html

 

View towards Carisbrooke Castle

Wheat Field

Carisbrooke Priory

Nyman's Gardens

Mother and I ventured to the north island in June, and headed to West Sussex and a visit to Nyman's. We stopped off at Amberly and had lunch in a pleasant pub by the river. Enormous portions and we didn't need to eat for the remainder of the day!

 

Nyman's was everything I hoped for. From the moment we got into the car park, there were magnificent trees, most notably a type of weeping conifer. I didn't recognise it, and failed to find out its name unfortunately. Once through reception we entered the gardens proper, and discovered a truly well planned garden, planted with foresight and flair. Everywhere we looked were magnificent specimens of trees, many flowering, and those that weren't had interesting foliage and bark. We were still in time to see Rhododendrons and Azaleas flowering, though most were just starting to go over.

 

The path wound around, and we came to an enclosed rose garden, planted with many old fashioned varieties. I wandered round inhaling the scent deeply in the drizzle. Lovely. Next was a wooden pathway through a bamboo plantation, with many of the plants dating from the beginning of the gardens. There was quite a variety of bamboo to see.

 

Along one side of the gardens was a 'Lime Walk', an avenue planted with lime trees. This overlooked  a vista of pasture and woodland, rather swathed in drizzle and low cloud on this occasion. Still lovely. The path brought us to the ruins of Nyman's House, which suffered a great fire in the mid twentieth century. Most of it is now uninhabitable, but it is still glorious to observe. In front of the remaining living quarters was a pleasant courtyard garden, enclosed on three sides by garden walls and by the house on the other. The planting was just my style; lots of deep purples and reds from the many herbaceous plants in the borders and roses on the walls.

 

Finally we went to the wild garden; this was across the main road from the back entrance to the garden, and led steeply down the valley so we didn't go far as Mum was tired. Many more interesting trees and shrubs, with long grass and wildflowers. Very peaceful.

 

Nyman's is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area, plant lover or not.

 

Rosa mundi

Courtyard garden

Styrax obassia

Gunners manicata

 

Headon Warren

Quick walk today as I needed a blast of fresh air. I parked at The Needles Park (I got a free parking pass this year), headed through the park and back to the road, where I picked up the coastal path after a couple of minutes. Turning left off the main road I followed a lane towards the pitch and putt course, with woodland on my left and a field of cattle on my right. One rather frisky cow, quite young, with horns, decided to follow me and made a couple of mock charges before running up the hill. Good job there was a hedge in the way!

 

Just before the pitch and putt course, the path turned to the right through a wooden fence, and headed uphill. The path was stony to begin with and later turned sandy in places. It followed the boundary of the field and was bordered with brambles, gorse bushes and stinging nettles. Stout trousers required! After a little while the path turned sharply right; however, straight ahead was a clear space so I investigated as there wasn't a no entry sign. The space was a large turfed area, sprinkled with yellow trefoil flowers, with the grass kept short by rabbits. At the far side was the remains of a battery installation. I climbed the concrete steps to the top, sat by the remains of a gun emplacement, and admired the view across Alum Bay to the Needles. The sea sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine. Glorious view.

 

I made my way back to the coastal path and continued steeply uphill to the top of Headon Warren, past flowering yellow gorse, purple heather and wild honeysuckle. The wildflowers were abundant and the view from the top magnificent. The Needles were dead head, Tennyson Down to my left, and Hurst Castle to my right. Gulls and buzzards were swooping through the sky and there was barely a human being to be seen. I followed the path round until it began to descend towards Totland, and followed a track back round the other side of the Warren, coming to a Barrow after a few minutes. This was about 3500 years old and a site of national importance apparently. I made my way back to the coastal path and headed downhill. When I was back in the lane, I took the footpath to Alum Bay Chine which went through pretty woodland, then walked up the wooden steps to the Needles Park and went home. A lovely walk for lifting the spirits.

 

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4105762.html

Distance: 2.2 miles

Footpaths: coastal path, T17, T22, T23

The Needles from Headon Warren

Alum Bay Chine