Mynydd View
I took the wolf up the mountain this morning. We wandered for about two hours, not quite lost but a little ... misplaced. It's a little difficult to commune with nature when you're being jerked around by a dog as large as a human on an extend-a-lead, but we did the best we could.
There's supposed to be some burial mounds over the mountain (mynydd in Welsh) but I've not found them so far. Today was my third attempt with no luck, but I did manage to find the old slag heaps at the top.
Below are some photos I took whilst out and about. There are some beautiful trees up there, lost in a sea of pine needles. The sheep weren't happy to see the wolf and we got yelled at a few time by mothers trying to keep us away from their lambs.
The walk up is quite steep and I'm not hill walking fit despite walking several miles a day, every day, with the wolf.
The path leads up and along the village facing slope, leading further and further into the trees. Traffic noise begins to fall away and the noise of rushing water gets louder. It's muddy and rocky and the path is all cut up from the dirt bikes, it's a gruelling slope, but it's beautiful and so, so quiet. The squirrels ran about, teasing the wolf and making him jump and pull at the lead, unfortunately I knew there were sheep and lambs loose among the trees so letting him off wasn't an option.
The trees started to crowd the higher you go and the path started to disappear. The only option available was to keep climbing. It's not quite as bad as the slope I once had to climb on my hands and knees due to the incline but it's not far off. 20 minutes in and I was on my third rest stop!
After what seems like an eternity climbing, stumbling over the stones of the path, I finally noticed grass and the sound of sheep through the trees. The ground leveled out, making walking easier, and we followed a sheep and her lamb through a gate-less wall and into a meadow. The view behind was reminiscent of Fangorn Forest, except walled and slightly less forbidding. There's safety in those trees for those that need it.
The meadow stretched out, higher still and became rolling, mist covered hills for as far as the eye can see. There's a whole other world up there, hidden from sight by the trees on the lower slopes. The sheep, the farmers and the dirt bikers seem to be the only ones in the know. And now me and the wolf know too.
The ground up there still rough, with steep inclines in places. Behind, the sound of motorbikes was getting louder and louder and in moment of panic I hopped off the path to keep from being mown down, but the engines cut out before they reached us. After glimpsing the coal slags and not seeing a way through, I turned back to head for the wall and the forest.
Greeting the bikers (after all, I wanted them to be on the look out for me as they race through the trees!), I returned to the forest, following one of the small roads.
There are trees here the likes of which I've not seen before. Twisting into the air, moss covered and unique in their little patch of sunlight.
These are the hidden beauties of the forest. If I can figure out how to find them again I think I'll be a regular visitor.
Wearily, I wandered past. Home is a down-hill climb away, a knee breaking descent with a longed for and hard earned cup of tea waiting at the other end. In fact, the idea of joining the wolf for a nap seemed like a better idea with every step!
After two hours we finally reached home. There was some nervousness, brought on in part by losing my bearings and in part by the crazy men racing through the trees on motorbikes. Thankfully neither caused us any serious problems and I'll probably return to the mountain later this week. Possibly armed with a map. And a compass.
Please note that these photographs are copyright and should not be used or posted elsewhere without my permission.
There's supposed to be some burial mounds over the mountain (mynydd in Welsh) but I've not found them so far. Today was my third attempt with no luck, but I did manage to find the old slag heaps at the top.
Below are some photos I took whilst out and about. There are some beautiful trees up there, lost in a sea of pine needles. The sheep weren't happy to see the wolf and we got yelled at a few time by mothers trying to keep us away from their lambs.
The walk up is quite steep and I'm not hill walking fit despite walking several miles a day, every day, with the wolf.
The path leads up and along the village facing slope, leading further and further into the trees. Traffic noise begins to fall away and the noise of rushing water gets louder. It's muddy and rocky and the path is all cut up from the dirt bikes, it's a gruelling slope, but it's beautiful and so, so quiet. The squirrels ran about, teasing the wolf and making him jump and pull at the lead, unfortunately I knew there were sheep and lambs loose among the trees so letting him off wasn't an option.
The trees started to crowd the higher you go and the path started to disappear. The only option available was to keep climbing. It's not quite as bad as the slope I once had to climb on my hands and knees due to the incline but it's not far off. 20 minutes in and I was on my third rest stop!
After what seems like an eternity climbing, stumbling over the stones of the path, I finally noticed grass and the sound of sheep through the trees. The ground leveled out, making walking easier, and we followed a sheep and her lamb through a gate-less wall and into a meadow. The view behind was reminiscent of Fangorn Forest, except walled and slightly less forbidding. There's safety in those trees for those that need it.
The meadow stretched out, higher still and became rolling, mist covered hills for as far as the eye can see. There's a whole other world up there, hidden from sight by the trees on the lower slopes. The sheep, the farmers and the dirt bikers seem to be the only ones in the know. And now me and the wolf know too.
The ground up there still rough, with steep inclines in places. Behind, the sound of motorbikes was getting louder and louder and in moment of panic I hopped off the path to keep from being mown down, but the engines cut out before they reached us. After glimpsing the coal slags and not seeing a way through, I turned back to head for the wall and the forest.
Greeting the bikers (after all, I wanted them to be on the look out for me as they race through the trees!), I returned to the forest, following one of the small roads.
There are trees here the likes of which I've not seen before. Twisting into the air, moss covered and unique in their little patch of sunlight.
These are the hidden beauties of the forest. If I can figure out how to find them again I think I'll be a regular visitor.
Wearily, I wandered past. Home is a down-hill climb away, a knee breaking descent with a longed for and hard earned cup of tea waiting at the other end. In fact, the idea of joining the wolf for a nap seemed like a better idea with every step!
After two hours we finally reached home. There was some nervousness, brought on in part by losing my bearings and in part by the crazy men racing through the trees on motorbikes. Thankfully neither caused us any serious problems and I'll probably return to the mountain later this week. Possibly armed with a map. And a compass.
Please note that these photographs are copyright and should not be used or posted elsewhere without my permission.