First passed the post

It used to be a race to shout  "I can see the sea!" and it's nice when you do get to the top and can still shout it out loud.  So a bit of a theme going on here now, who's the first to the top....

Run f'rit

Every now and again an image captures the dynamic of a relationship, and this tells a story of my kids as they play games. Chase me, don't chase me. Tickle me, don't tickle me! I forget what they were playing but we spent a happy hour or so at Llantony priory despite them not being interested in looking at the antiquities on offer.

Naturally i got bored with trying to talk about the history and migrated towards the sounds emanating from a bar in the walls of this magnificent structure, and just as I was stepping across the threshold who appeared at my side but three children... "Where are you going, ....can we come Dad!"

Riding on the Black Hill

One of the objectives of our short break before we even left was to go horse riding, this started last year as a request by Gregory and it became the Holy Grail. Anyhow we were in the right place, and there are some superb hills to ramble on.

We chose Grange Farm in Capel-y-Ffin as the location and boy did we have fun, epic view, rugged landscape and happy bottoms

Blaenavon World Heritage Site

It's been on my list of recommendations to follow up for some time. My Mum and Juliet took my Grandfather to Blaenavon many years ago to see the working coal mine. It's not a particularly big mine although it's known as Big Pit, but the experience of going underground accompanied by real former miners is unmistakably realistic. The narrative is passionate and plausable, the sense of danger and toughness of life palpable.

We were able to combine this with a visit to the Ironworks too, where there was a series of authentic workers cottages - what a superb way to be able to explain my family histoies to the kids

 Big Pit

 Awesome staging within the Blaenwavon Ironworks

This picture on the wall of the ironworker's cottages remeinded me of a particular image on my grandfather's wall in Underwood Road. Grampy's painting was of Chateaux Chillon but we cannot miss the exoticism of travel to the early twentieth century coal miner...

Shining Example

My brother Christian, do I need to say any more?

Pen y Fan

It's quite a climb to the top of Pen Y Fan, and on a hot summer's day like last Sunday no mean feat. So this is a record shot of Miranda and Lola at the summit looking pleased with themselves

YES ...we Can!

Chris and Alison

On the way down from Pen Y Fan after a tiring walk, no kids in sight!

White Clawed Crayfish

We love nature, and we love all the little critters that makes the natural world special. Sitting by a small brook after climbing Pen Y Fan with my brother Chris and our respective clans we were lucky enough to see a White Clawed Crayfish crawling his way up the stream. There's something magical about experiencing things like this with the kids, it's what we used to do ourselves as kids growing up in Carmarthen.

Check out this little video clip with Bill Oddie for more info

 "The White-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) is the UK’s only native crayfish species - the White-claws originate from the UK whereas other crayfish species have been introduced from other countries. Since the 1970s there has been more than a 50% decline in the areas where White-claws occur in England and Wales and they are still declining rapidly both in numbers and in the places where they are found."

The White-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) is the UK’s only native crayfish species - the White-claws originate from the UK whereas other crayfish species have been introduced from other countries. Since the 1970s there has been more than a 50% decline in the areas where White-claws occur in England and Wales and they are still declining rapidly both in numbers and in the places where they are found. - See more at: http://www.buglife.org.uk/uk-crayfish#sthash.D8IDp6Wd.dpuf

The White-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) is the UK’s only native crayfish species - the White-claws originate from the UK whereas other crayfish species have been introduced from other countries. Since the 1970s there has been more than a 50% decline in the areas where White-claws occur in England and Wales and they are still declining rapidly both in numbers and in the places where they are found. - See more at: http://www.buglife.org.uk/uk-crayfish#sthash.D8IDp6Wd.dpuf

The White-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) is the UK’s only native crayfish species - the White-claws originate from the UK whereas other crayfish species have been introduced from other countries. Since the 1970s there has been more than a 50% decline in the areas where White-claws occur in England and Wales and they are still declining rapidly both in numbers and in the places where they are found. - See more at: http://www.buglife.org.uk/uk-crayfish#sthash.D8IDp6Wd.dpuf

Pie eater

Seen on the high street in Brecon, delivering nourishment to the masses...

Raglan Castle

I have driven past this place many times and wondered what it might be like to visit. With time on our hands and the sun shining we found out - it's the last castle to be built in Wales, modernised a few times along the way, and much like the rest of our heritage vandalised by Cromwell...