Helen

A few years ago my husband wrote and self-published a book on the geology of the NW of Wales. We'd already given a copy to our local library but a friend had asked us to get her a copy. Then covid happened and the friend stopped coming to Quaker meeting so I didn't see her any more to give her the book. I also never got around to driving up to where she lives to take the book to her. And then we forgot all about the extra copy until I found it in a cupboard recently. I did email my friend about it and also linked to where the information is available on G's website for free. We didn't hear back, so I assume it was the information she wanted, not the physical book.

So what to do with the spare copy? Then G had the idea of donating it to another local library and emailed them to see if they wanted it. They did!

Hence yesterday we had a quick trip to Barmouth. After calling in at the library and handing over the book, G set off to walk home over the refurbished railway bridge and along the Mawddach Trail. I went for a wander around the shops. The little market was there and I bought a diary for next year and some new tea towels. I then failed to buy a new sweater for the cooler autumn days, but did get a reel of blue sewing thread and some slate coasters before driving home.

The roads are much quieter now the schools are starting back. As I drove to the Co-op this morning I saw some secondary school kids in their brand new school uniforms crossing the road to get to the playing fields, and on the way up to M's house, the junior school children were playing out during their morning break. As is usual, the moment the schools reopen, the weather improves. After some cool days, it's been hot today with a cloudless blue sky. I doubt this return of summer will last long. There are just the first hints that the trees are starting to change colour as we head into autumn.

( Eowyn Challenge -- weekly progress report )

Doing the big shop yesterday meant that I didn't have much to do this morning. I drove to the Big Spar, bought a few things that the Co-op don't have. Also bought M's copy of the i Paper, then drove up to her house. It was change over day for her carers so S was preparing to leave and new one Z was expected after lunch.

I haven't done much else today. I have polished a few of my earrings. All through covid and since, I've just been wearing small gold sleeper earrings so the holes didn't close up. But I decided recently that I wanted to start wearing some of my other earrings. Of course when I looked into the box where I keep them, they were rather dull so I bought some new silver polish (the old bottle had been pretty much empty and had dried up) and now they're all shiny and clean again.

( Eowyn Challenge -- weekly progress report )

We're getting a mixture of dry and occasionally sunny days, separated by wet and (over the weekend) very windy days. However, yesterday was dull but the forecast said it would be dry so we went for a walk.

Because it was the Bank Holiday Monday we avoided the tourist hotspots like the Mawddach Trail. We didn't drive anywhere either because the roads are busy and the car parks likely to be full. Instead we did a 4½ mile circular walk round some local back lanes. I didn't take my camera due to the light being very blah, but I took a couple of snaps with my phone.

The lanes are quiet because they don't go anywhere, just looping round to provide access to a few scattered houses, a campsite, a small caravan site, a holiday cottage and holiday chalets and a new cluster of glamping pods. We rather liked the sign for "The Herd" which is new since we last walked this way. If you click through to the full size, you might be able to see that above the words is a small herd of cattle.



The lane meanders around and then rejoins the bigger lane that we turned off at the beginning of the walk. Looking back at all the signs to the various cottages we have passed.

The Herd
Tal y Waen & cottages (Owl and Buzzard)
The Pens
Tyn Llwyn
Graig
Gellilwyd Fach



Near the start of the walk it did start to spit with rain, but nothing came of it so we didn't need the waterproofs we were carrying in our backpacks. We were back in time to get a few things done before lunch.

Originally the plan was to meet our daughter A and family in Builth Wells, but the forecast was for a very hot day and she had a headache the day before. We therefore postponed to the following Saturday, by which time our granddaughter E had a cold and I didn't feel like driving all the way to Mid Wales where there really isn't much to do. There is a nice riverside walk that starts from the car park in Builth Wells, but we've done it several times before. The town itself doesn't have much to offer.

Initially I suggested we leave it because we are going to Cardiff in mid-September (apartment booked). We had been texting back and forth and had spoken on the phone then A called back and said, why don't we meet in Shrewsbury? So, last Tuesday we did!

Our daughter caught the train from Newport and did some work during the 2 hour journey. We drove to our nearest station (Machynlleth) and caught the train there. It worked really well and we had a lovely day walking around the path that runs by the river.



The weather turned out fine, though it was quite windy. The town of Shrewsbury sits in a great loop of the river Severn. We didn't manage to walk all the way round, but ended up walking 7½ miles during the day.

( More here... )

We will definitely do this again as way of meeting our daughter. There is still plenty to explore and the travel was easy.

( Eowyn Challenge -- weekly progress report )

I did get plenty of exercise yesterday because I mowed all the grass at the front of the house, but as it was fine this morning, I thought I'd walk part way to M's house for the Quaker meeting.

I drove round the by-pass to the old road (now a dead end at the old stone bridge) and parked in the little car park. I then walked up what we call the Golf Path and over the top of the hill to where the meeting is held.

Sheep problem 1a: Where I took this photo a few weeks ago, there was a small group of young sheep by the fence. One had its head through the sheep netting. I looked at it. The group were bleating, as though calling to the sheep in the field on the other side of the path and I wondered if the one with its head through the fence was stuck. However, sheep do put their heads through fences to eat the grass on the other side and I didn't want to be late for meeting, so I walked on by.

33/52 for the group 2024 Weekly Alphabet Challenge

This week's theme was: G is for Grasses

I passed this grassy field which I thought would do for the weekly photo.



Sheep problem 2: As I came over the top of the hill and started walking down the road towards the turning that leads to M's house, I was confronted by a group of five sheep walking up the hill towards me. It looked as though the had been heading down into town, then thought better of it and turned back. I didn't want to turn them again and send them back down towards the main road and I could see the entrance to a garden to my right. I thought that if I could slip in there, the sheep could go past me up the hill. Unfortunately, the sheep had the same idea and could run faster than I could, so they ran into the garden.

Feeling a little guilty that I had inadvertently herded a bunch of sheep into someone's garden, I continued to meeting. There were five of us and it was peaceful though time seemed to run slowly today. Perhaps because I was tired? Anyway, we had cups of tea and homemade cookies and caught up with one another's news.

A gate near M's house.



After meeting, heading back the way I'd come, I found the sheep were still in the garden and were busy nibbling the shrubs and plants as well as the grass. As the house seemed to be empty, I did briefly slip in through the gate and attempted to herd the sheep out, but only succeeded in moving them from one part of the garden to another. I gave up and left them to it. To be honest, even if I'd got them out, I had no idea where they'd come from and, even if I did know, I wouldn't have been able to herd them back on my own past various other open gates leading to succulent gardens.

Sheep problem 1b: Heading back down the footpath I discovered that the young sheep still had its head through the fence, so was definitely stuck. Fortunately I could just reach to put my hand on the top of its head and, after a bit of maneuvering, by pressing down and twisting slightly, the sheep suddenly found it could pull its head free. (Of course it had been trying to free itself by pulling straight back.) It gave a little bleat as it trotted off and I hope it was saying "Thank you!" in sheep.

Just the usual Friday routine of a visit to see M and the big weekly shop in the Co-op. I may or may not be meeting our daughter A in Builth Wells tomorrow. The meet up was supposed to happen last Saturday, but A had a headache on the Friday and Saturday was forecast to be one of the hottest days of the year. We therefore postponed to the following Saturday, i.e. tomorrow. Unfortunately our granddaughter has a bad cough and runny nose, so we're considering abandoning the idea. We've booked an apartment to stay in Cardiff in 4 week's time, so the Mid-Wales meet may not happen.

I messaged A about cancelling, but I'm waiting to hear back.

( Eowyn Challenge -- weekly progress report )

Two things were cancelled today, or rather postponed. But I'm happy with that. Tomorrow is going to be very hot and though I want to see our daughter and granddaughter, leaving it another week should mean cooler weather for a long drive down to Mid-Wales. This also means that tomorrow I can attack the back garden, which is still not really under control.

Meanwhile today has been very successful. Although the gas engineer had finished by lunchtime yesterday, I didn't feel like driving to Barmouth to collect my rings. However, when I saw that it was raining and very dismal this morning, I decided to go and get them, rather than wait until next Thursday.

( Barmouth in the rain... )

And here are the rings, as good as new! Combining my mother's wedding ring with my own has worked really well. I must thank curiouswombat for the idea. I would never have thought of it myself. I've ended up with a slightly chunkier and much larger wedding ring that fits nicely and I don't have an old wedding ring hanging around in the jewellery box.

I'm putting the photos from the walk down the valley in a separate post because there are a lot of them.

After entering the woods, the path descends quite steeply, cut into the valley side some way above the river.

We did this walk nearly two years ago in October 2022. Though it's summer now, there was about the same amount of water going over the falls as back then. One of the few advantages of a wettish summer is that waterfalls look more spectacular.

( A green valley with waterfalls and rapids... )

The path was a bit precarious in places. This is the path to the viewpoint where you can see the biggest waterfall.



And here it is looking splendid.



( One more photo here... )

Tomorrow the gas engineer will be coming to service the combi-boiler and the gas fire. As far as we know, everything is working OK, but of course today I've been tidying and cleaning because he needs access to most of the house. The house always gets a bit scruffy at this time of year because I'm focusing on keeping the garden under control.

I also did the weekly shop a day early so tomorrow I can concentrate on Waiting In For Something To Happen. Unfortunately there is no specific time, just "between 8 am and 6 pm".

In other news, I had a text to say that my re-made and enlarged wedding ring is ready for collection. Due to boiler service prep, I couldn't go today and unless the engineer comes early (unlikely, based on past visits), I can't go tomorrow. The jeweller's doesn't open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so it will have to be next Thursday. They would be open on Saturday, but at this time of year we avoid Barmouth at the weekend in the summer because it's heaving with tourists.

Yesterday I drove us to the little car park at Arthog^[*] but instead of walking to the coast, we walked back towards town and then reached a path up into a part of the woods I'd not visited before. I therefore had different things to photograph.

View from the old railway bridge. This is the point you join the Mawddach Trail once you've left the car park. It is a small car park with only room for about six cars, but we were only the second car there when we arrived.

One of the many small rivers that flow into the Mawddach.



Early signs of autumn to come. All the rowans we saw were thickly covered in berries which are turning red.



( More about the walk here... )
The walk back along the trail was less enjoyable than the walk out. By lunchtime it gets very busy and cyclists were riding past all the time so we had to walk in single file right at the edge of the track. But we made it back to the car and thence home in time for lunch.

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^[*] My husband says that he always has the urge to add a W in front of the name Arthog. :-)

( Eowyn Challenge -- weekly progress report )