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Wales in a nutshell: Castles and sheep
It was a blustery, rainy day in Wales Wednesday when Paul and I set out on our adventure to see some of South Wales' treasures. From what I've gathered from being here seven months now, I would call the rainy weather something like, "typically Welsh." There are exceptionally beautiful days, but rainy is by no stretch of the imagination uncommon. Nor is it the most ideal for climbing mountain trails, exploring caves or sight-seeing. Most Welsh tourist attractions are outside. So here's the thing I've realized/learned: In Wales, you let weather slow you down in any way, you will most likely miss all of the wonderful things this country has to offer. With that said, Paul and I pressed on. (For those of you who don't remember, or have joined my blogging world recently, Paul Murray is my host counselor here in Wales. He and his family have been absolutely wonderful to me-- making sure I have my neccesities and staying out of trouble! Wednesday, Paul was able to take a day off of work and volunteered to take me around Wales to see some of the sights off the main road- or at least the one the bus goes to!)
-->The main stop of our day was at Carreg Cennon Castle, Paul's favorite castle and now mine as well. In this picture, you can see it perched atop the hill. Most castles are on top of a hill-- having a cliff on two sides of your castle means two less sides to worry about being attacked from. Nowadays it means two things: breathtaking views and steep hikes to get to them!
--> This picture is from the inside of the castle looking out over the cliffs at the Welsh countryside. There's a few reasons why this castle has become my favorite. Wales is the country with the very most castles per land mass of anywhere in the world. They are everywhere-- in town, out of town, next to each other (there was actually another castle within a mile of Carreg Cennon), some are round, some are square... Anyway, although I know that all of them have had some sort of restoration work done to preserve them, I really appreciate when they are left as close to how they were as possible. Some are rebuilt so that tourists can see how it would have looked when it was alive and well, but I feel like the ones that are toppled a bit and missing peices have the most character. You walk in and can feel the history within their walls. There are small stairs that wind and twist into small chambers... your imagination can't help but soar into a different world full of knights and princesses, horses, bows and arrows, cannons and battlefields. Carreg Cennon is also unique because of the natural cave below the castle. Pictures don't do the dark tunnel justice, as the flash takes away all of the ambiance created by the darkness-- but it was pretty cool. You climb down into it by way of old, crackled steps, and it isn't lighted so you have to make your way with a flashlight, ducking because the space is kind of crampt. Mom, you would definitely be too clostrophobic to do it. And I made it all the way to the very back!
--> Paul and I made a day of it. The family (Bernard is in the picture with me) whose land Carreg Cennon is on are friends of the Murrays. It is a working sheep farm in addition to also having long horn cattle. Spring is lambing time.. which means baby sheep! Although we didn't get to see born while we were there, I did get to see several day-old baby lambs :) They are a little bit more cozy looking than the pigs and cows we're used to in Iowa, haha. After hiking up to Carreg Cennon and exploring the grounds and cave, Paul and I had a bowl of homemade "cawl" (Welsh stew). It was delicious. The rest of the day we drove to Brecon and stopped in at the cathedral and then drove back to Swansea through Brecon Beacons National Park, which was a beautiful drive through the South Wales mountain valleys. The only thing we forgot to do was get a photo of Paul and I together!
-->The main stop of our day was at Carreg Cennon Castle, Paul's favorite castle and now mine as well. In this picture, you can see it perched atop the hill. Most castles are on top of a hill-- having a cliff on two sides of your castle means two less sides to worry about being attacked from. Nowadays it means two things: breathtaking views and steep hikes to get to them!
--> This picture is from the inside of the castle looking out over the cliffs at the Welsh countryside. There's a few reasons why this castle has become my favorite. Wales is the country with the very most castles per land mass of anywhere in the world. They are everywhere-- in town, out of town, next to each other (there was actually another castle within a mile of Carreg Cennon), some are round, some are square... Anyway, although I know that all of them have had some sort of restoration work done to preserve them, I really appreciate when they are left as close to how they were as possible. Some are rebuilt so that tourists can see how it would have looked when it was alive and well, but I feel like the ones that are toppled a bit and missing peices have the most character. You walk in and can feel the history within their walls. There are small stairs that wind and twist into small chambers... your imagination can't help but soar into a different world full of knights and princesses, horses, bows and arrows, cannons and battlefields. Carreg Cennon is also unique because of the natural cave below the castle. Pictures don't do the dark tunnel justice, as the flash takes away all of the ambiance created by the darkness-- but it was pretty cool. You climb down into it by way of old, crackled steps, and it isn't lighted so you have to make your way with a flashlight, ducking because the space is kind of crampt. Mom, you would definitely be too clostrophobic to do it. And I made it all the way to the very back!
--> Paul and I made a day of it. The family (Bernard is in the picture with me) whose land Carreg Cennon is on are friends of the Murrays. It is a working sheep farm in addition to also having long horn cattle. Spring is lambing time.. which means baby sheep! Although we didn't get to see born while we were there, I did get to see several day-old baby lambs :) They are a little bit more cozy looking than the pigs and cows we're used to in Iowa, haha. After hiking up to Carreg Cennon and exploring the grounds and cave, Paul and I had a bowl of homemade "cawl" (Welsh stew). It was delicious. The rest of the day we drove to Brecon and stopped in at the cathedral and then drove back to Swansea through Brecon Beacons National Park, which was a beautiful drive through the South Wales mountain valleys. The only thing we forgot to do was get a photo of Paul and I together!
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