So the Covid 19 pandemic seems to be continuing longer than anyone thought. I know that I definitely didn’t foresee my husband losing his job after 7 years in the travel industry. Like others we have had losses on all sides.
In the past week lockdown has eased and we can go anywhere within our country. Myself and Dan are fortunate enough to live in Wales. It’s a beautiful country, green, hilly and wondrous…with a lot of rain. Sooooo much rain! But that’s what makes it green right?
Although I have lived in Wales for most of my life and Dan 8 years, we don’t travel round it as much as we should. We are pretty quick to go abroad. So as soon as we could travel anywhere within Wales, myself and Dan went exploring. Our first trip was to the Black Mountain range which starts around Ammanford and stretches to Sennybridge.
We drove through the towns which gave way to lovely villages with pubs promising amazing food. We took note of them as pubs aren’t open yet and continued on weaving through the winding roads. Everything seemed so lush and colourful even though the sun wasn’t shining. We talked about it and we came to the conclusion that after being stuck in for a long time, everything seemed new despite the fact that we have driven some of the roads before.
As soon as we hit the mountain road, we were hit with hail. It was coming down in sheets. We were going to pull into a car park and take a picture of the first stage of our journey when we noticed a coach taking up most of the space and a truck with a camera mount. We had a good nosey while we drove past. I had to take a couple of pictures. I will admit that it took a bit of the mystery out of how vehicles are filmed.
We then came to another smaller carpark up the road which had a stone called Davies’ stone (we found that out after) next to a fort. I will admit that I wanted to explore more but my legs were really bad that day and the hail was smashing me in my face! Still because I couldn’t I made Dan walk up to the stone and took an epic picture of him while he read it out. (The burden of being my travel companion!).
The stone reads “David Davies age 22 years of Glynclawdd Farm was killed at this spot on the 21st May 1884 his horse bolted and he fell under the wheel of his cart which was laden with lime.” (I’m assuming not the citrus)
This was a really sad thing to read and it seems such a lonely spot. to die in. When I did a bit of research, I learned that it wasn’t a peaceful area when he died, it was an industrial workplace full of quarrymen and clamp kilns. Now it’s a quiet spot on a mountain road that overlooks a stunning valley.
Stunning views were all around us and to top it off we were in the clouds overlooking the valley. I always think it’s weird that you can’t feel the clouds around you when you are standing in them! Dan did have a scientific explanation for that but I can’t remember it. Instead I asked if we could take a selfie of course!
It was getting colder and colder so we got back in the car and turned on the heated seats (brag). As we drove into the valley we lost signal and had to find our way via the road signs. We passed a field with sheep and lambs with the snow covered mountains in the back. The clouds were rolling along low in the sky, Hail was smacking me in the face but I was determined to capture the moment. I loved seeing the lambs skipping about, having fun with not a care in the world with the snow covered mountain backdrop.
We were having 4 seasons in one day as we had left Swansea in the sunshine.
Driving through the mountains as it snowed was definitely an experience neither of us have had before and I loved it! Maybe because I wasn’t the one driving.
It was enjoyable driving without a plan for a change. We spent a leisurely afternoon stopping at random beauty spots. Eventually we found ourselves in Ammanford and then on the Welsh end of the M4.
When you live in an area it can be easy to take for granted your surroundings. This past year being in and out of lockdown has taught us to appreciate our wonderful country. So check what’s in your area. Get exploring and make some memories.
For more information on The Davies Stone click on this link: https://www.grahamwatkins.info/post/2013/05/10/davies-stone
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