Day 109: Hay on Wye

“To my mind the life of the lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

Two more lambs were born overnight and another this morning followed in quick succession by another one! Most of the sheep seem to be having triplets or twins. It’s quite surreal looking down  onto the field and seeing a small bundle of lamb sitting there when it wasn’t even in the world a few minutes before! Once in the world, lambs are able to very quickly suss things out and are walking within a few minutes, drinking within a few more and moaning by the first hour of life!

After another amazing breakfast of fresh sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes, we headed to Hay-On-Wye (The town of books!) Last time we visited it was a Sunday in October, hardly the busy bustling tourist season that we expected so we sort of had dubious thoughts about how amazing it would be today. We weren’t disappointed though!

The town was buzzing with locals selling their handmade crafts, lots and lots of bookshops, plenty of craft and trinket shops and lots of pretty buildings! Hay-On-Wye also has its very own Gold Post Box courtesy of Paralympian Josie Pearson. In 2012, Josie achieved gold in Discus. Although not her home-town, Josie chose Hay-On-Wye because she spent a lot of time living there. The Royal Mail traditionally paints a post box gold in the hometown of gold medalist competitors during each Olympics.

The car park was full by the time we decided to leave and we took a slow wander back to our base in Knighton. We had to take a detour when we saw signs to the Orgasmic Cider Company. It looked pretty deserted but the owner was happy to let us sample the different ciders that were on offer and we departed armed with a couple of bottles!  We continued on through beautiful scenery, dipping in and out of England along the way and the small glimpses of sunshine provided a bit of warmth.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and reading and enjoying the views (and the sheep!) – tomorrow it’s time to head back home to Hampshire and to the prospect of turning 25 years old as it will be my Birthday ;)

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Day 108: Brecon

“Air, mountains and silence – that’s what happiness is all about…”

 The quote was somewhat adapted from Sylvia Plath for today’s blog entry, but it pretty much sums up how the day went! It started fairly late in the morning as we mastered the art of a ‘lie in.’ (Something I’m not familiar with as when I’m awake, I have a hundred and one things that I’d like to get done before seven AM…) The sun rose in a hazy way and we almost thought that our views would be similar to yesterday – a little on the grey side. But within an hour the hills around us had lit up with a gorgeous glow and already the camera was out and I was capturing the moment.

On arrival yesterday we found a fully stocked fridge (for breakfast) and so this morning we cooked the fresh bacon, sausages, egg and mushrooms that had been left for us. It was delicious – combined with a cup of coffee and some pineapple and coconut juice (a new ‘like’) the day started off fantastically. We spent a few hours taking a leisurely scenic route to the Brecon Beacons. For those that don’t know the area, the Beacons are a mountain range in Wales. We had researched the road through the most scenic part of the Beacons, but we weren’t quite prepared for the incredible views that we saw. The views were incredible and the peacefulness was stunning.

I’m not quite sure which part of the Beacons we ventured into, but we ended up on one small ‘mountain’ eating a picnic lunch before doing the ‘drive’ down through the peaks along with a handful of other people – motorcyclists included. It was surprisingly quiet for Good Friday and the traffic was minimal. We later enjoyed an ice cream at the top of another peak before heading back down on the long trek back to Knighton (where we are staying.)

The sun set in a much more impressive way this evening and lit up the hills once again. There were no more lambs today (so far) but there  are lots of grouchy sheep below our balconey making themselves heard. We’ve learned to spot the telltale signs that a sheep is giving birth, by the time our holiday is over I’m sure we’ll be considered experts in the farming world…

Tomorrow, we’re heading to Hay-On-Wye which is considered the town of books. Last time we visited, it was a Sunday and not much was awake so we’re hoping to get a bit more exploring done this time around. We can’t come to Wales, be within a short drive of a town of books and NOT go…!

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