A Walk From Rheidol Falls.

Our walk began at Rheidol Falls on a day that had started with rain but gradually turned warmer. There were a few worrying spots of rain as we began our walk but eventually the sun won through and we ended with a sunny afternoon. (Update - the rain is back tonight.)

We were a small group for our walk today made smaller by some of the group forgoing visiting the falls to make a head start on walking up a steep track on the southern flank of the valley.

 

Everything was flourishing along the river bank and we walked through waist high knapweed and other flowers while butterflies and dragonflies flew around us. We also found, and ate lots of luscious blackberries to keep us fortified on what was going to be a shorter than usual walk.

Our route took us along the single track lane to some pretty farm buildings (now run as Air B&Bs) where we turned up the rough track that would take us up the hillside.

Despite how it looks in the photo the track is very steep necessitating a couple of stops for some people to catch their breath before we reached the point where we turned off. I've ridden down this track and along the valley road several times on the long hacks I've been on. Having the memories of past walks and the rides created a feeling of both familiarity and belonging very different to simply being a visitor to this part of the world.

Almost reaching the top of the hillside we were rewarded with stunning views across the Vale of Rheidol. The hill tops on either side side rise up to almost 250m so I guess we had climbed at least 200m upwards.

A short walk across a field brought us to Suzanna's home where we joined the rest of the group for an extended lunch break. Much later we walked down a more direct track which brought us back down to the road again. 

Back home I cut some wood (a piece of the beech worktop) to put under the side of our bed which I have noticed creaking each time I sat on the mattress. I suspect the creaking is a sign of the age of the wooden bedframe which is relatively modern and therefore not as well built as in the past. Making an extra support should hopefully prevent the sudden breakage of any of the joints which are mostly wooden dowels.

I also went out in the garden and banged in an  extra metal pole by a large fennel to stop it flopping over in the bad weather that is supposed to be coming in.