Happy Solstice.

It's the Solstice, the year has turned and from now on the days get longer which is something to celebrate.

I was up at 6.00 this morning (pulled myself out of an unpleasant dream,) and had a relaxing time sitting on the terrace waiting for the world to wake. Above me the stars shone through light cloud cover and around me was the sound of blackbirds tchk tchking their alarm calls. I expect the street lights which are on all night (to prevent people driving off the cliff) mess up their sleep patterns. A solitary blackbird came down to the garden to eat the bird seed by the light of the street light before the sun made its appearance.

 

It was such a shame that what began as a lovely sunny morning then turned into a damp grey day. The clouds were looking so dark that I checked the forecast (which gave a 30% probability of rain) before deciding that I would go on the walk in the afternoon.

Todays walk began at Cletwr only 15 minutes drive away and took us into the Cambrian uplands. There were only 7 of us plus Sasha the dog.

We walked up paths and tracks that zig-zagged up the steep hill behind Cletwr. Some of the hill is still managed as forestry but in other places native birches have been allowed to re-establish themselves.

Eventually we reached the more gently sloping fields at top of the hill where we stopped for our lunch break.

With all the recent wet weather the ground was very wet underfoot but thankfully my walking boots are waterproof and I avoided sinking past the tops of the boots.

Right at the top of the hill is the ruined farm of my dreams. That is if I was thirty years younger and had very deep pockets. For now I'm perfectly happy in our finally completed home.

From the other side of the building there are amazing views across the bog, to Borth (that tiny bump below the horizon in the centre of the picture) and onwards towards Aberaeron.

From there we walked along the top of the hill before making our way back down through the woods to Cletwr. We had to rush as we were losing the light and made it down to the village by 4.00. 

It was good to spend the afternoon out in the fresh air as although I'm organised I don't think there will be much opportunity for getting out before Christmas.