Yesterday was spent in the depths of the Welsh hills in a cottage so remote that the campervan would hardly fit down the long narrow track wending its way through sheep pastures to the cottage. Even at the end of the track we hadnt arrived. There is no road to the cottage itself, the only way to get there to walk up the steep hill that the cottage sits atop, protected from the westerly winds by a small stand of pine trees. This is the holiday cottage of Len and Rachel Heron. Len and I both used to teach maths at Cambridge Centre for Sixth Form Studies. Inside the cottage seems barely changed from the day it was built in the 18th century. There is no electricity, just gas lights and candles to see by, a wood-burning stove to warm your feet by in the living room and an aga in the kitchen. Outside the views looking across the valleys, moorland and pastures on this sunny day were amazing, including the site of the stately home, whose estate the cottage used to be part of, sadly now demolished. After lunch and an afternoon walk we spent the evening gathered around the fire with a bottle of wine putting the education system to rights, as teachers always do. Poppy is not used to open fires and she lay right in front of it until she could stand the heat no longer then heading off to the coldest corner of the room to cool down, before repeating the process. Rachel sent me off with a hearty bowl of porridge this morning, back out into the rain. Len assured me that the weather would be different back down the valley in Aberystwth. I didnt quite believe him, but he was right; it was dry by the time I got there, ready to catch the bus to Llanrhystud to walk the ten miles back. The coastal landscape is now much more gentle than the stark cliffs of Pembrokeshire. The hills roll down to the sea and the walking is easier, mainly across sheep pastures, rather than rocks or moorland. Nevertheless the hills are still high, but the walk was enjoyable even though we were up in low cloud for a lot of the time and it was very boggy underfoot in places. So back to the van tonight, which has about the same facilities as Len and Rachels cottage, but without the character. Neither will a layby on the A477, my normal place for spending the night, have the absolute peace that I enjoyed last night. A big thank you to Len and Rachel for their hospitality. (They dont live there permanently, just while they wait to move into a house nearby, also eighteenth century, on top of a hill and only reachable by 4x4, but it does have electricity!)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 19:08:57 +0000
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