Monday 2 August 2010

Day two. Felindre to Abbeycwmhir. 15.75 miles.

The day started with a delicious full breakfast, only marred by the constant presence of a bowl of something unidentifiable. Any ideas?


I was away by 9:30 which is really good for me. Nowhere near as much to report today though, chiefly because the weather was almost identical to yesterday, which is a good thing, and the scenery was too, which is also a good thing as long as I haven't walked back the way I came yesterday. I'll assume I haven't because I'm somewhere else now.

That somewhere else is Abbeycwmhir, a beautiful little village somewhere in mid-Wales. It's tiny but has an enormous abbey, third only in size when it was built to Durham and Winchester, and therefore the biggest cathedral in Wales, as you can see in the picture..................oh.


Apparently the headless body of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (Llywelyn the Great) is buried here, which of course raises an obvious question! The village also has a pub which sadly let me down by only having Brain's super cold creamflow bitter, so it's been a slow, one pint evening and I'm now back at the b&b, Mill Cottage. The pub was empty when I got there at 9, but by the time I left it was heaving with four people. None of them could think of anything to say until one of them mentioned Dragon's Den, then revitalised they managed to discuss that for a very, very long time.

Mill Cottage is a more normal b&b experience than the previous two. The owners are very welcoming and the evening meal, well, it was a beauty. Chicken on a bed of leeks and peppers with veg accompaniment, followed by meringue and ice cream with fresh apricot. No not apricot, the one that's like peach. Is it nectarine? No, can't remember what it's called just now. Anyway meal rating 9/10. Just one point docked for referring to the vegetables as a 'medley'. Elvis did medleys.

I'm aware that this is red kite territory, and as its the national bird of Wales I'm keen to see one. I've seen loads of birds of prey but they all look like buzzards to me so I texted Bri (brother and twitcher) for a description, which I duly received. I then spent far too much time staring up in the air instead of at the path, but nothing doing.

Today's walk followed the same pattern as yesterday's. Rolling hills in the morning and more dramatic moorland with great views in the afternoon, with a pretty village to stop at midway for a pint. Almost. Today's pretty village to stop at midway for a pint was Llanbadarn Fynydd. But it's not really a village, more a row of houses. On the A483. And the pub was shut. All of the above helped to shape my opinion of Llanbadarn as a god-forsaken hellhole, but especially the last point. The pub is open every evening and six lunch times a week, but not on Mondays. All I could do was sit opposite with my packed lunch and stare at it, and still it stayed closed. So, not a good pub day, but a good day nonetheless.

2 comments:

  1. Pat and I reckon they're Apricots and Prunes,
    Barry

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, they are def. apricots & prunes & dear me Kev I am shocked you don't know this!!

    ReplyDelete