Wandering in Wales - 1 - 26th/27th August 2013

At the end of August we set out in our camper van for a holiday in Wales. There was Alan, myself and our daughter Mairi who was to stay with us for a week.
We had no particular agenda and had booked the first 2 nights only as we wished to see the red kites at Gigrin Farm in mid-Wales
We trundled off from Cambridge to the campsite at Llafadog fields on the outskirts of Rhayader, arriving on a warm afternoon.

The site was very pleasant and had a small stream running across the bottom of it which was fenced off, but had a stile which we had to lift our elderly and rather heavy dog over.


We drove to see the nearest reservoir which is the bottom one of the chain and then made a return journey after supper to try and catch a sundown. Mairi used the opportunity to run back to the campsite.





The bridge is on the top of a submerged dam that separates the Garregdu (right) and Caban-coch (left) reservoirs.The reservoirs were built to provide water to Birmingham, an aquaduct runs to the Frankley Reservoir in Birmingham, but they now also are used to generate electricity. The church in the photograph was built to replace one lost under the waters.

Dawn from Llafadog campsite


The next day Alan went out for a spin on his bike and Mairi and I went in to discover the delights of Rhayader. We met up with Alan at the Old Swan Tea Rooms.



Cycle clothing is not the most attractive.

A walk around the town does not take long and we discovered some old trees in the churchyard, a very interesting event we could have gone to but somehow overlooked, and a sheep auction at the cattle market.





On the way back from Rhyader Mairi and I explored the upper reaches of the Elan Valley and after a quick late lunch we set out for Gigrin Farm which is only a stone's throw from Rhayader.











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