The forecast was for rain coming in from the west, and so today we headed east. Chantal wanted some scenic photos from the upland road that we travelled along on the way to the cottage. Now imagine a road cutting across the moors, mostly fast and straight, but with some sharp bends, and with a steep long drop on one side, and with few stopping places. Chantal wanted me to drive very slowly so that she could get the shots that she wanted. Unsurprisingly we often had cars coming up behind us, and I had to speed up, to Chantal’s displeasure. I had to travel that stretch of road three times while Chantal tried to get the photos that she wanted, and even then it seems that I didn’t drive along the road slow enough or often enough. I did stop when I could, and Chantal took her life into her hands in the interest of her craft
We continued east to Lake Vyrnwy, a very large reservoir with a visitor centre and associated shops and a couple of cafes, plus various “trails”. The “blue trail” described itself as a 3 mile walk, with a couple of “fairly strenuous” climbs and great views across the lake and dam. Chantal agreed that it clearly had potential as a photographic expedition. Unfortunately the trail was mostly along tracks through quite dense woodland, the climbs were definitely steep, and there were no views until the final half mile.
I was impressed with Chantal’s increasing fitness. Its not been long since she would have not have been able to make the ascents without the risk of turning blue with anoxia, and here she was able to walk uphill while at the same time berating me at length for choosing a walk (it had she advised me, ceased to be a photographic expedition soon after the start) with steep hills and no views. I was even more impressed when she told me that she would rather have been walking up Snowdon.
We got to the café at the end just 10 minutes before they stopped serving, and Chantal enjoyed a well-deserved cream tea, and I opted for a more substantial pheasant stew. Afterwards we discovered a hide, with feeders on the other side of a window, and for the first time we had a go at ornithological photography before we headed back to the cottage.
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
