Pontneddfechan Waterfalls

This is one of my favourite days out I've ever done. Definitely Top 10 (please don't ask me to actually make the list. It's more of a hypothetical list than a real thing). It was one of those days where the weather is perfect for what you're doing, and what you're doing would be pretty great even done in the rain (well ...).

After our successful trip to Rhosilli Bay, Chris and I decided to continue exploring what South Wales has to offer. He'd heard about a waterfall trail in the Brecon Beacons and I loved the idea, so on a gloriously warm sunny day (this was summer last year, I should add!) we set off in search of a watery adventure.



We managed to find the car park with a visitors centre more easily than anticipated, which is always a good start. Although it was hot, I put on my wellies because I try to take any excuse to wear them that I can. It turned out to be an excellent idea. Chris only had trainers on and they were very very wet by the end of our expedition!

Before we even came to any waterfalls we found an area of river with water low enough to just wade through, and climb over rocks. We spent a while there walking along taking photos before we realised we should probably find a waterfall!

The first waterfall that we came across was a fantastic tall thin one that cascaded from a rock above, which we later went onto. This waterfall had a path that ran behind it so of course we had to go along the path and get soaked. The water was so cold that it was literally breath-taking! It was such an exhilarating and fun experience. You always see pictures of people going through waterfalls in exotic locations, but that we could do it here in South Wales somehow added an extra thrill and pleasure to the experience.

Chris decided to swim from the waterfall back to the path, but I stuck to dry(ish) land!

We passed several more waterfalls along the trail - some of them large and plummeting down below us, while others came from above and crashed down onto the river that we were walking alongside. It hadn't rained for quite a while so we were able to walk along the river in several places.

At one point Chris decided to push me, just lightly, but I slipped and ended up far deeper in the water. The rocks beneath were slippery so I flailed about for what felt like ages while I shouted at Chris to pull my bag out of the water so that my phone didn't get damaged! Eventually I managed to regain my balance and pull myself up and out of the water - with a bleeding knee and wellies filled with water. Once I'd ascertained that my phone was fine I was able to laugh about the situation - but only once I'd seen that my phone was alive! I actually still have the scar on my knee as a memento of the day. Thanks Chris.

Interested in visiting Pontneddfechan and doing the waterfalls trail? The best place to start is the Brecon Beacons Waterfalls Centre - the car park for the centre doubles as the one for the trail, and the centre provides some information about how waterfalls form, as well as maps of the area. And of course, there's the all important toilets just across the road as well!

Tintern Abbey

After becoming a Cadw member when I visited Castell Coch a few months back, my mother and I decided to make the most of a shared free day together by visiting Tintern Abbey.

Tintern Abbey is the most well-preserved medieval abbey in Wales, and holds a history spanning around 400 years - think of the numbers of monks that came and went in that time! It's fascinating to imagine the abbey as a hub of activity. Even now, as only ruins, the main church is a vast Gothic building so it must have been awe-inspiring in its heyday.

Five Months Later ...

How has five months passed since my last post?!

See, what happened there was, I moved house - from my parents house to my very own house that I actually own. Because I'm all grown up and stuff. Although, apparently, not grown up enough that I can manage to sort out internet straight away. In fact, I somehow managed to go for three (or was it four?) months without having any internet beyond the 3G internet on my phone.

Now that I've finally got myself some internet, I intend to actually post about my day trip and holiday adventures. I have so many to catch up on. Now I just need to find the time to actually write about them ...

Parga / Greece

Going on holiday with a group of girl friends is a kind of rite of passage thing that everyone seems to do when they're 18/19/20. I missed out on those fun and games, and it took me until this year to have my first 'girls holiday'.



I went with Georgia and Emma (yes, same name), who are friends from university so we've known each other a fair few years now. We all live in different parts of the country, which means we don't get to see each other very often, and when we do see each other we spend all our time catching up, rather than truly enjoying each other's company. This holiday was perfect because we got our catching up done within the first day or two and then we could actually talk. About serious things, and silly things, and about people we know, and just life in general. It was so lovely to be able to do that.




We went to Parga in mainland Greece, which was a really fun area considering none of us had heard of it before we started looking for where to go. Something we all wanted from the holiday was to be able to relax on a beach, read and take long naps. Oh, and drink cocktails. We managed to do all of those things quite successfully.





We also went on some day trips - we did a trip to a Greek oracle and the Acheron river (which is supposedly the basis for the river Styx of Greek mythology), a day trip on a ship (a Boney M playing pirate ship no less!) to the islands of Paxos and Antipaxos, and we went to Valtos beach via a castle and a VERY steep hill (or maybe it just seemed steep in the heat ...).






We also did a lot of eating - plenty of feta and halloumi cheese! Lots of restaurants gave us shots of ouzo to start, as if it's perfectly normal to start your meal with alcohol. Hey, when in Greece ...



It was such a fun holiday that I can't believe I waited this long to do it. It was just the right mix of busy and relaxing, and quality time with friends.

Castell Coch

Castell Coch (Welsh for 'red castle') is in an iconic position on the hillside above the A470, nestled in trees in Tongwynlais. You can see just enough of it for it to be intriguing, and it's somewhere that every child growing up in South Wales visits at least once.

My parents joined Cadw (Welsh for 'to keep') at the end of the summer, which is the Welsh government's service for preserving Welsh history and heritage. When they suggested visiting Castell Coch, I had to tag along - I hadn't been there for so long and was keen to go back. When we got there my mother offered to buy me Cadw membership as an early Christmas present - so of course I said yes!




Castell Coch was owned and created by the Third Marquess of Bute, who also created the Cardiff Castle that we know and love today. Both castles were designed by William Burges, who shared a love for medieval English design and architecture with the Marquess. Castell Coch was built on the remains of a 13th century Norman castle, and looks like an extravagant Gothic version of a stereotypical castle - complete with drawbridge, portcullis and arrow slits. None of these things were actually necessary, though - the castle was built in the nineteenth century, and was hardly used. It was a creation of untold wealth and creativity, rather than ever intended to be a family home. Not sure that's what I'd do with my excess money if I had any, but hey!






I don't often go for a day out with both of my parents, so it was nice to spend time with them. We even had a cup of tea in the little tearoom afterwards, because my mother can't go more than three hours without a cup of tea.



There's some lovely walks around the area that I need to get back up there and do before winter sets in and it gets too cold to be outdoors for long - or I suppose I can go back next year, since I now have my Cadw membership!




To visit Castell Coch, take a look a Cadw's Castell Coch page as a good starting point.
To find out more about joining Cadw, and all of the excellent castles and other historic sites that it protects, visit the Cadw website.