Almost Spring in the Banwy valley

Fri 6th March

Carol did dialysis. Got married (our upgrade backdated to our civil partnership in 2008). Went shopping.
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Married again!
Married again!
Halifax Registry Office
Halifax Registry Office
Sat 7th March
Drove to new holiday cottage in Llangadfan. The cottage is part of an old farm now owned by working artists (Shani Rhys James and Stephen West) (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shani_Rhys_James) We are in the calf shed. It’s clean and well equipped and remote enough. Short walk along the lane by the river. Omelette for supper. Watched the last half hour of a really bad movie with Angelina Jolie in it.
Sun 8th March
Lovely lie in and lazy start to day. Drove a few kilometres up the hill to park in the forest. Went along forestry tracks to find the Lookout Tower. I went to highest spot of forest but no lookout tower anywhere in sight. Beef casserole and baked potatoes and Cavolo Nero at home. Watched Gosford Park but both dropped off at different points. Annoying murder mystery that is not clear as to who dun it. Carol says the point is that it isn’t a murder mystery.
From the outside looking in?!!
From the outside looking in?!!
Forestry trail
Forestry trail

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Serious mating in progress
Mon 9th March
Giant rabbit and a robin outside the door. V. Beatrix Potter.
Melverley wooden Jacobean church. Lovely but intensely cold. Welshpool for a small bit of shopping.
Delivered Carol to holiday dialysis. You can’t just turn up. First of all she has to send in blood samples in advance. Then she has to book the sessions. She basically gets the slots the local patients don’t want.
I drove back towards Criggion passing several old MOD buildings http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2005/04/09/20th_century_criggion_masts_feature.shtml to park near the hideous scar of a giant quarry that has torn most of the hillside away. Walked up Breidden Hill 300m to Rodney’s pillar (Admiral). It only rained a bit on the way back down. It was so windy at the top that I couldn’t walk round the pillar and had to wedge myself against the trig point to take a photo.
Picked Carol up. Whilst waiting a fellow renal patient asked me if I was her mother (because we look alike)!
We watched a couple of episodes of the Twilight Zone.
Top secret MOD radio station, Criggion
Top secret MOD radio station, Criggion
Vast quarry at Criggion
Vast quarry at Criggion
Rodney's wotsit
Rodney’s wotsit
Melverley church
Melverley church
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River at Melverley. Terribly cold there.
Tues 10th March
Drove into mountains via Lake Vyrnwy. Nice dry day with some sun. Walked from Llanymawddwy along a good track. Carol managed a bit further and higher than when we were here last year.
Back to cottage and out to Just 3 Drops bistro in Llanfair Caereinion for a large meal. We both ate too much. Peroni on draught, I’d never had that before and it was a proper treat! I had pate selection and toast followed by fettuccine in creamy sauce with chicken, mushrooms and Parmesan. Carol had goats cheese log followed by beef and chorizo cassette with mashed potato, dumpling and petit pois. She also had chocolate ganache and a cup of tea. I had a fruit tea and 2 chocolate truffles. We were so full we couldn’t move. Greedy old gits!
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Ha ha!
Ha ha!
No idea what was going on here
No idea what was going on here
The rivers meet
The rivers meet
In the stream
In the stream

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Garage at Pont Llogel
Garage at Pont Llogel
Weds 11th March
Oswestry for shopping and market. Then to Welshpool for Carol’s dialysis. I went off to climb one of the other of the 3 volcanic peaks. Moel y Golfa. Climbed up through woodland very steeply. A little bit of hands on scrambling to reach the top. Romany monument at top to father and son Romany Chell, not sure if this means a Romany leader or if it is contraction of Romanichal. Down along the spur on the other side nearly to the bottom then contoured back along past several farms. Back up into the wood and round to where I started.
Picked Carol up. Back to cottage and watched Airplane. Very sophisticated holiday viewing schedule!
The Romany monument
The Romany monument
MOD establishment with strange dead ring around it.
MOD establishment with strange dead ring around it.
Uriah Burton, Romany Chell
Uriah Burton, Romany Chell
Ernest Burton, Romany Chell
Ernest Burton, Romany Chell
This is a small quarry.
This is a small quarry.
Thurs 12th March
Lazy start to day. Drove to Pont Llogel and walked along the river Vyrnwy to Dolanog and back. This was along the Ann Griffiths Way. We thought we had completed this walk last summer but actually we only did half of it then, so this does now finish it off. River badly polluted by strands of agricultural plastic festooning the trees overhanging the river for the entire length we walked. I’ve reported this to Powys Council and to Keep Wales Tidy. Weather forecast had lied and the rain came on heavily just as we got back to the car.
I bought some non self service diesel and that felt like a treat.
C had fun with the washer and dryer.
Chicken and veg pasta with purple sprouting broccoli.
More Twilight Zone.
Derelict hall at Dolanog
Derelict hall at Dolanog

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Managed to take photo without a dangling piece of plastic festooning the branch
Managed to take photo without a dangling piece of plastic festooning the branch
Fri 13th March
My birthday. Went across to Borth to see Chris in her new flat. Chris and Carol gave me a tarp which I’m hoping to use on my Pyrenean trip later this year. The idea is so that I don’t have to sleep like a sardine with complete strangers. We went out to Ffarmers and had spicy bean burger (me), beef burger (Chris) and fish and chips (Carol). All very yummy. I had almond slice with ice cream and have now forgotten what the others ate. This was my 3rd visit and continues to be a good place to eat. Back to Borth and along to Ynaslas to look at the estuary and the mountains. Drove back via Cadair Idris and a quite exciting long road down to the Brigands’ Inn and back to the cottage.
Sundown at Borth
Sundown at Borth

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Sat 14th March
Packed up. Said goodbye to Shani and Steve. Went back via the little lanes to Llanfyllin. Home in good time for Carol to get unpacked and onto dialysis machine. This is where we stayed: http://dolpebyll.co.uk/
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Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map and use a compass with me and my navigation partner, Cath.

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