Brecon weekend away
A weekend in the Brecon Beacons with Sale Photographic SocietyOur spring weekend away this year was to the Brecon area, a place where I had never been before. I was looking forward to it, as I had often heard of the outstanding beauty of that part of Wales.
The drive down took us along winding quiet roads, through gently rolling hills, and all of it lit by bright sunshine. We arrived at our accommodation, and were pleased with what we found. The only drawback was that our group of fourteen was split between two houses, within 200 yards of each other, instead of sharing one larger house. Not really a problem, except that, with only seven in each house, mealtimes were much more civilised events. And fewer people cluttering up the kitchen must have made life easier for John and Kate, who undertook the catering in their respective houses, with a little help from galley slaves as needed.
This time Ken had surpassed himself. He has taken us to many beautiful places on our weekends away, but the next day, as we looked down from a viewpoint high above the Usk valley, we both agreed that this was probably the most spectacular. Well done, Ken! He’d even got the weather right, for once. The spring-like sunshine was a bonus. Our weekends usually take place in a steady downpour interspersed with spells of heavy drizzle. Not so this weekend. We returned to our warm and comfortable accommodation, to enjoy another of John’s super meals.
We tucked into a delicious oriental first course, but our main course was somewhat delayed by a very dramatic fire in the kitchen, the details of which need not be disclosed here. Luckily, some quick thinking averted what could have been a hideous tragedy, and as we escaped outside into the freezing air, to avoid inhaling too much of the thick black smoke, we began to see the funny side.
So, having cleaned up, we continued our meal, and the party from the other cottage joined us for an evening of digital presentations shown on the club’s new equipment. Plenty of wine was consumed, and by the time we went to bed, our friends had staggered off to their accommodation through the beginnings of a snowstorm.
Imagine our delight the next morning to find that the magnificent view of the Brecon Beacons was a snow-covered wonderland. Our initial excitement was somewhat dampened by the realization that the thick layer of snow over the previous day’s ice had made the narrow, winding access lane almost impassable.
However Sale photographers are a resourceful bunch so, after a hearty breakfast, we set about making the most of the photo opportunities presented by the snow. Our next merits competition has the set subject of Minimalism, and soon the fields around us were scattered with bodies lying or kneeling in the snow, taking advantage of every clump of grass, or twigs, poking up through the snow. Catkins with icicles, footprints, tyre tracks, drifts of snow in tree roots, the intrepid Sale Photographers missed nothing. I only hope that other people’s efforts turned out better than my own!
The more energetic club members went for invigorating walks in the snow, whilst the rest of us lazed around on the sofas, reading or watching the rugby on television,
whiling away the day very easily. It was a rare opportunity for some of us to do absolutely nothing.
Late in the afternoon, Ken and John drove out to see if the road was passable, and to pick up a few extra supplies. We had mixed feelings when they returned with a thumbs-up, to tell us the road was open. Sadly, we realised that there would be no excuse not to leave as planned the following morning.
Once again, Kate fed her hungry band, John fed us, and we shared another evening’s entertainment. This time we had a slide show of Pat’s trip to Porto Rico, a far cry from the scenes we had experienced during the day. A little more drinking brought the evening to a slightly noisy conclusion.
And then it was time to clear up and set off home. Several of us took the opportunity to drive around the Elan Valley, a magnificent sight in summer, we were told. Covered in snow, it was breathtaking, if a little dangerous. As the sky became darker, more snow began to fall, and we thought it wise to drive out, slowly, as the road was slippery, due to frozen snow. There was a real danger, too, that we might accidentally run over one of the many sheep, which merged in so well with the snow that they were barely visible. It was here that we caught sight of several red kites, which thrive in that area.
The drive home was dreary and dark, quite the opposite of our drive down on the previous Friday, when we had seen the landscape at its spring-like best. We were quite glad to arrive back in snow-free Sale. But we are, as usual, thankful to Ken, the organiser, and John and Kate who fed us so well. We look forward to our next trip. Any ideas, yet, Ken?
posted by joyceh @ 4:17 pm
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