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| River Usk |
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| Llangorse Lake |
I'm back from the wilderness. Camping was a triumph, and I'd definitely do it again. We stayed in the Brecon Beacons (a range of mountains in South Wales), somewhere I hadn't visited properly in years. I'd forgotten how beautiful it is there.
We camped by the River Usk, a particularly pretty river that's designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its importance to wildlife. We saw dippers and kingfishers right outside our tent.
The littlest boy made a new best friend at the campsite and spent hours playing with him. The middle boy made the camp fires with his flint and steel fire starter. The biggest boy photographed the wildlife and wandered along the river banks birdwatching.
It rained a bit from time to time. We climbed partway up Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in South Wales, but the weather turned nasty - horizontal driving rain - and we were soaked before we'd even reached halfway. The littlest boy wanted to turn back, although the others were desperate to get to the top. We came down, passing plenty of people still going up. I was intrigued by what they were wearing. Some were favouring the shorts approach - freezing legs, but at least they dry off quickly.
We rowed around Llangorse Lake for a bit on our last day. It's a bit bigger than the local boating lake. Everyone had a turn at rowing, and when we weren't rowing we all gave helpful tips to the person who was rowing.
It was short but sweet, just two nights away, and I think everyone would like to go again. I feel as if I have discovered something with camping. It's a whole community of people out there, sleeping in tents and eating breakfast in the great outdoors and playing outside until dark. The littlest boy was particularly sad to leave and I know he's already thinking about next time.
It rained as we packed up the tents, so my job for today is spreading them out, drying them off, sweeping bits of grass out of the big one that we borrowed and tackling the laundry mountain. I'll be thinking about next time a bit as well.
That sounds brilliant, the boys must have really loved it. Kudos to you for taking the plunge. Not in the lake, obviously!
ReplyDeleteI knew you would love it! I am glad you all had a great time, despite the rain. Making friends and playing outside until dark is one of my little boys favourite camping activities. Hope the tents dry quickly! xx
ReplyDeleteThere is something primordial about living outdoors, especially sitting around a fire, and eating outside. Add a water activity to that feeling (I prefer canoeing) and it is a genuine get away from modern life. I actually quite like it when it rains and you're sitting under cover but still outside.
ReplyDeleteWe camp regularly with little kids and keeping on top of clothes and washing up and general tidiness is a skill, not that we have mastered it, but we find now that we have a mini bus / van that taking everything in lots of large plastic storage boxes that stack makes life so much easier than bags and cases.
Glad you enjoyed your experience :) Great photos too.
A most enjoyable post and wonderful pictures. It's good to see that you enjoyed a couple of days camping. Have a good weekend. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great time and you chose a lovely area :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad it went well, CJ! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I love how wild your camping areas are there. Ours are often much more proscribed, with lots of rules and regulations. Seeing your fire right on the grass is amazing to me. I hope you have many more camping adventures in your future.
ReplyDeletehurray! glad you had fun xxx
ReplyDeleteAre they 'smores, but made with jaffa cakes?! Oh my goodness that's genius. I need to try that.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are dreamy and you've made me remember what I love about camping; the freedom, eating around a fire in the dusk, breakfast outside. I especially love how feral the kids are when we camp and I feel like they're having a "proper" childhood, what with all that roaming and exploring. I'm so glad you enjoyed it CJ. xx
Bravo on your wonderful camping trip! I can see many more in your future. We are leaving for up to two weeks camping at our lake next week.. I wish you could see it there. It's the 2nd largest natural lake in Oregon, one of the 3 purest lakes on Earth and the water is purer than distilled water. I hope you get to go again soon! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteJaffa s'mores - you know you're spoiling them for proper wild camping when I'm afraid they will be fishing or catapulting their supper! Love the Brecon Beacons, we had a memorable off-road cycling holiday up there a few years ago. Here's to many more camping trips for you and your boys.
ReplyDeleteSomething the boys will remember. Great to see kingfishers and dippers
ReplyDeleteOh, you are giving me serious Britain envy. I just finished reading Bill Bryson's book, Notes From A Small Island, which introduced me to a lot of interesting sounding places. We just bought James Herriot's Treasury for Young Children, which my daughter and myself love. Then of course there are the old issues of British Country Living that I took on vacation with me. I have pastoral British countryside on the brain and your photos, especially that one with the open gate, make me want to see it in person even more! Sounds like you had a wonderful trip despite the rain.
ReplyDeleteCatching up on everyone's blogs. Sounds like a perfect boy summer, lots of bugs, beasties, camping and jaffa cake 'smores (I must try these, although I find jaffa cakes already hard to resist, melted marshmallows may just be the final straw :) ) Enjoy the rest of the holidays, they go too quickly.
ReplyDeleteSounds wonderful, so glad you enjoyed it. I haven't been for years but the thought of breakfast outside and camp fires brings back some fond memories.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed your camping trip CJ, you chose a beautiful site. What's that mouthwatering Jaffa cake thingy? Great photos xx
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed your camping trip CJ, you chose a beautiful site. What's that mouthwatering Jaffa cake thingy? Great photos xx
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! It sounds absolutely lovely. You were wise to come down off pen y fan when the weather changed. I've been up there before in bad weather when the fog came down in seconds and you couldn't tell which way was up. So pleased it went well xx
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing isn't it, your boys will get so much from it, you too! :) xxx
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you, it sounds like a great success all round! Your campfire treats look super yummy what are they? (Just been informed by my teen Paperdoll they are s'mores.... she thinks)
ReplyDeleteAnna xx
oh, it looks brilliant! what a gorgeous place to stay! i'm so glad you enjoyed yourself and all went well....horizontal rain, notwithstanding. xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt does feel like traveling into another, magical world; definitely a happy place of mine as well. I'm so glad you all enjoyed yourselves! The rowing bit made me smile particularly because I can imagine it would be the same way in my family. <3
ReplyDeleteJaffa cake? smores - how divine. It sounds like you all had a perfect time. I'm pondering on a small camping trip next year, just Mike the boy and the hound. Just for a couple of days - a trial if you like just to get it out of my system. x
ReplyDeleteLovely photos - so glad you all had a good time. You're right about the camping experience. There's something very special about all the little rituals that go with it, and waking up outside every morning that makes you feel connected. I can smell the scent of tent and grass even now. Wishing you many more happy camping expeditions!
ReplyDeleteCathy x
Great photos. Normally anything sheep would win as my favorite, but I love the one of the boys meandering up the slope. I'm glad you had a good time and you make me wistful for campfire cooking and knitting.
ReplyDeleteSounds amazing! Pen y Fan is good at catching people out with its weather not getting to the top just means you will have to go back! Camping is wonderful, she says having spent one night under canvas last week which has got to the worst in my life. I lived near Llangorse Lake for four years it's a beautiful spot.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the camping was a success,the Brecon Beacons was a good place to try it out. It was the first holiday destination for my daughter when she was a baby (we did hire a farmers cottage.) Sarah x
ReplyDeleteGald you had a good time. I can't quite decide if I like camping or not. I think I need more practice probably. We went to Fairthorne Manor near Portsmouth last year and had a great time and would really recommend the site. It's run by the YMCA and is next to their outdoor activity centre so there are loads of things for older ones to do and there's a stream to play in and loads of space. It has a very relaxed feel.
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