Exiting Wales September 2011

We went to Rhayader this time via Gloucester, Ledbury, Hereford: how to avoid a £5.60 toll but we saw some lovely countryside - the road from Ledbury to Hereford was lined with apple orchards and hop vines and smelled divine! This is our free exit. I do love the design of this bridge.

Brecon September 2011

We left the Cambrians and dropped down for a night to Brecon on the edge of the Beacons.

This is the canal basin of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal at the back of our very nice b&b. I thought I might take a stroll along the length of the canal to walk off the full Welsh breakfast but decided to leave it till another time and strolled along the riverbank of the Usk instead.

Glad I changed my mind - I found out the canal is 35 miles long!

A close-up of those cottages beside the canal: Click on the photo to get the full effect of those flowers. They were being watered when we walked along the path and the man doing this was planning his winter display!

Brecon has military connections - we found that the Ghurkas are on the edge of town.

A fortnight or so ago Mike watched for the umpteenth time "Zulu" - I was then googling for attractions of Brecon and found that the history of this campaign is in the South Wales Borderers Museum - in Brecon! We actually spent 2 hours in the museum - totally engrossed.

I can only think that the Roman Fort at Y Gaer just outside the town is still occupied - and on a bus route (see below) ....

Llandrindod Wells September 2011

Llandrindod Wells is a lovely Victorian spa town and has an annual Victorian Festival hence this window display. And Mike's mum had a cot just like that!

We tasted the spa waters - ever sucked a 2p piece? Try it. Nice - no? Nor were the Llandrindod waters!

Hey! We've found where Nessie goes for her summer hols!

... and Mike finds a friendly Llandoddie to read him a story!

Early April 2006 Claerwen Dam, Elan Valley: the snows had melted filling the reservoirs of the dams which overflowed: the noise of the falling water with a drop of 56 metres/183 feet was deafening: there's Mike having a closer look and then not being able to hear anything else the rest of the day! We then drove across the top (ugh!) and ate the home made carrot cake we bought in Rhayader to recover whilst we watched a silly sheep on the edge of the reservoir and hoped it didn't fall in because no-one was going to rescue it! Oh fond memories!!

And in Sep 2011 we find what the dam structure is like because the levels are so low that the water barely comes halfway up the other side of the dam - that maroon blob is Mike! Housemartins and swallows were diving through the arches chasing insects. (We both opted out of crossing the top this time!)