We had periods of rain, but nothing like what we're experiencing in London right now (105km/hr winds and terrible rain). In fact, it was downright sunny, as you can see from our squints here. Swiss Miss even managed to get a mild sunburn!
Here's the gang starting out on our Saturday journey, an 11-12km trek:
Our goal: Hay-on-Wye, also known as The Town of Books. It's a top destination for bibliophiles in the UK, as there are over 30 bookshops in the little town, many of them selling second-hand and specialist books. By the time we got there, though, I was more in the mood for sampling the brews at the pub than the literature in the shops, but I did take a moment to ponder my next literary creation.
Nobody was feeling like trekking back, and certainly not in the dark, so Swiss Mister proved his procurement mettle: he managed to secure a 16-person minibus on one hour's notice for £2 per person! Not only this, but when the driver showed up at precisely 6pm, he made sure to cue up The Best of Tina. Let's just say the trip back to the barn was simply the best.
The next day we took to the hills, exploring Black Mountain (not to be confused with the Black Mountain range some 45km to the west). Technically, I think Black Mountain is a Marilyn. According to Wikipedia, a Marilyn "is a category of mountain or hill in Britain and Ireland with a relative height of at least 150 metres (492 ft), regardless of absolute height or other merit. The name was coined as an ironic contrast to the designation Munro, used of a Scottish mountain with a height of more than 3,000 feet (914.4 m), which is homophonous with (Marilyn) Monroe." Whatever you call it, it yields some pretty awesome views on the way up.
It also yields WILD PONIES! Miniature ponies!!! They were quite fun to play with, though I couldn't quite figure out how to ride one.
Looks positively lovely!
ReplyDeleteIan, quit pondering over your next snazzy car!! I definitely think you have found your ride. You can probably run it on the sidewalks in town as well and probably even bring it into some of the larger shops. And hell, think of the mileage for a few bags of oats. Plus when Banana comes home, he'd have a friend his own size.It would trim your bag yard etc. There are good things to think about here...really.
ReplyDeleteThey might need their own special lane on the M4.
ReplyDeleteRight, with sweepers following.
ReplyDelete