Take Caer Leon

The final day of our weekend saw us heading back to Sarah's friends to collect her two dogs, Lola and Lacey. We then headed off the beach for them to stretch their legs before taking them on the long journey home. A small bit about the dogs; Lola is a bouncy, yapping Jack Russell, with a penchant for killing letters; Lacey is a laid back Labrador who has an appetite to put Mr Creosote to shame.

Lola Monkey - looking for something to bark at

Lacey Pups - looking rather exasperated at her sister

We walked them on the beach, but it was not actually that much fun as the beach was a pebble beach rather than a sand one meaning every step was precarious. So, we admired the view for a few moments before heading back to where we came and after meeting up with a friend for lunch at a local pub, we made our way slowly back to England.

On the way back though i couldnt resist stopping off at Caerleon, a Roman town with a lovely ampitheatre and garrison. It is also a place steeped in Arthurian legend, with Arthur being crowned there (allegedly) and the ampitheatre being a possible source for the "round table" part of the legend. I always love monuments that you can clamber over, and the ampitheatre was one such monument.

Source of the round table? It was more egg-shaped to me

We clambered around the ruins for a short while, and visited the remains of the garrison just across the car park all to the dulcet tones of a Jack Russell yapping at everyone who dared to pass by the car, before deciding we really should head off and return home.

Sarah likes clambering as much as i do....perfect match!

Carreg Cennen

Now, England has a fair few castles in it, and some of them are quite impressive, but i have to confess that nothing prepared me for just how wonderful my first real Welsh Castle visit would be! I am lucky enough to have a friend who knows a good few things about British history and Castles in particular and he recommended this one to me.

Boy was i not disappointed. Sitting atop a promontory, was the spectacular Carreg Cennen castle. We could see it from miles away, showing just why it was built in this location, the chances of sneaking up on this were about as low as Ross Kemp's brow.....I stopped off to get a couple of nice distance shots of the castle, and to finish the scene perfectly, we could see buzzards and kites circling on the thermals around the castle. It was enough to put goosebumps on my goosebumps!!

Carreg Cennen approach

The dots you can see in the sky are buzzards and/or kites - not some bits of grit on the lens!! If you are sitting there thinking "what dots? i don't see any dots." then you clearly have not expanded the image (click on it). As i am getting the hang of photography, i am slowly learning things about composition too, and i know this photo is not very well composed, as i am showing too much sky (ooo i almost sound like i know what i am talking about ;) ).

Anyway, i digress (you will find that a lot in the blog), we popped back in the car and drove up to the castle. I was not disappointed. It was a steep enough ascent to the castle, but well worth it when you got there as it is set against a sheer cliff.

Sarah (my girlfriend) is not a big fan of sheer drops, but i could not resist leaning over the wall and looking down at the wonderful scene below. Sarah is from Wales, so i suppose these sort of things are much of a muchness to her, whereas i come from the fens (not born and inbred there, but spent all my life) where we call speed bumps hills, so this was a real novelty to me!

The castle has some really good history to it, ranging from iron age hill fort to strategic castle in the War of the Roses. It also sits on top of some caves which appeals to the Morlock inside me! I was a little disappointed with this to be honest, as when i got there the caves didnt seem to go very deep, and there was no lighting to guide your way or anything, so i turned back (i was too tight to spend the extra money on a helmet with a torch!!). My lack of enthusiasm had nothing to do with having watched The Descent: Part II only a few days before!!

the descent....

I was half expecting to see a strange sub-terranean cave dweller on the camera screen, having taken this picture in complete darkness.....that would have been a real Hollywood moment!

First post of a new blog

Ok, i am really missing blogging, and thought that i would widen my presence on the blogosphere. This blog is going to be a focus on the things i get up to while i am on my travels around Britain, which will mainly involve me visiting historical buildings (castles and churches). Those of you who know my other blog will realise i love climbing on old things - although don't worry that doesnt necessarily mean i will be clambering all over your Grandpa should i get the opportunity to meet him!

The blog will also include pictures of wildlife I see on my journey around this Sceptred Isle. Since my Egypt tour, i have discovered a fondness for photographing wildlife, in particular birds. This love really started when i went to Wales for a weekend with my girlfriend. The scope of the weekend initially was to visit a couple of her friends out that way, but as we made a weekend of it, we decided to stay in the Brecon Beacons and see a Carreg Cennen castle as well as heading over to Llanddeilo (pronounced "clan-die-low" to Welsh speakers, not "landy-low") where there was a Red Kite feeding station.

I have always been something of a twitcher, marvelling at the vast array of birdlife that we seem to have; i confess, i struggle with some of them as one brown looking bird is much like another, but i am learning slowly! Anyway, rather kindly, my friend let me borrow his digital SLR camera, which saved me trying to take pics with my trusty compact that has accompanied me on many a journey. It was a revelation! The pictures i managed to take were unlike anything i could have snapped with my compact camera and from that point on i was a convert!

So, i have managed to get my hands on a digital SLR and i find it rather relaxing to wander the English countryside with a zoom lens. So, in summary, this will be a blog of Birds and Buildings.

Anyway, enough wittering, i will write up my Welsh weekend in a few moments, including some thoughts.