Mysterious Seas

This is the twelfth blog from my time in North Wales, dating from the 18 July 2013.

Sitting writing this final entry to my summer holiday blogs with autumn now upon on us, with mornings that now have a decided chill to them, and trees showing distinctive signs of yellowing, it is hard to imagine that in mid July it was necessary to head up into the hills to escape the heat of the day, as the sun would beat down with unforgiving relentlessness.

For this final day we took to the hills to the west of Bala to escape the unrelenting heat and found this spot where the views across to Rhinogs were amazing. Stopping close to the top of a ridge and looking out across the valley, the Rhinogs stood silhouetted, broodingly dark against the brightness of the summer blue sky.

The Rhinogs – 18 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

In front of this dark and brooding scene, there seemed to be a sea of green that lapped against the dark wall of the mountains, seeming to swell and writhe in the breeze that blew. This feeling of movement was accentuated by the waving heads of the browning grass inflorescences that moved like large shoals of tiny fish, dashing first one way and then the next. Over this there moved the dark scudding shadows, produced by fluffy white cumulus clouds that were moving rapidly across the scene, like the hunting of large predatory fish lining up their dinner. On this swelling sea of green, a developing woodland seems to float free, with each element moving as an individual, at the will of the current and the wind, like paper boats being tossed head long down a mountain stream.

Closer to, the rich browns of this sea are made up by a multitude of grass heads from the rich metallic heads of Wavy Hair-grass that rippled with every breath of air, mixed with the loosely cigar shaped heads of Yorkshire Fog, which as the seeds were ripening had taken on a delicate brown hue. Out from amongst these various shades of brown there appeared amazing bright purple carpets, formed from the flowering shoots of young Bell Heather, regenerating amongst the grasses.

Carpets of Bell Heather – 18 July 2013 (Copyright Ross Lockley)

All this I thought I was observing harmlessly from a mountain road, within a felled forestry plantation that was beginning to regenerate into new woodland, and into which I wandered to look at various odds and sods. That was until we moved further along and came across a notice that announced for the area we were just leaving, “Keep to the road – Danger – Explosives”. Oh! You don’t see that every day!!

Y Ddraig Goch

This is the eleventh blog from my time in North Wales, dating from the 18 July 2013.

Mostly my blogs are about real wildlife not mythical creatures, but finding this statue of a Dragon outside a caravan site on the edge of Harlech, I could not resist including it. Maybe having looked for Giant Serpents the day before, its not so out of context, especially as Wales is known as the land of Dragons.

Dewi – 18 July 2013 (Copyright Ross Lockley)

Possibly the most famous of the Welsh Dragon myths is the story of Lludd and Llefelys that originates back in time to the Welsh Celtic mythology. Here the Red Dragon fights an invading alien White Dragon, during which the Red Dragon’s shrieks in pain as he begins to loose. These shrieks supposedly caused infertility, animals to die and general mayhem and madness in the land. Lludd, the Welsh King of Britain, seeks the council of his brother Llefelys, the King of Gaul. Llefelys advises him to dig a hole in the centre of Britain, fill it with beer and cover it with a cloth. Lludd does as he has been advised and the Dragons drink and fall asleep. Lludd then imprisons the sleeping Dragons and buries them still wrapped in the cloth in Dinas Emrys, in Snowdonia, considered to be the safest place in Britain to put them.

Dewi with Harlech Castle – 18 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Mythology – fact, fiction or a touch of both, I’ll leave that for you to decide. As for Dewi he is made out of 78 square metres of steel sheet that has been cut into many thousands of scales and welded on to a solid bar frame, which was then polished with 12 coats of lacquer, and the work of artist Anthony “Fred” Peacock. Wow! Impressive!

Glimpses

This is the ninth blog from my time in North Wales, dating from the 16 July 2013.

Took to the train for the day, as train journeys are a wonderful way to grab a flavour of the surroundings and be intrigued, especially so when on a heritage line as the speed is limited to a genteel rate. The journey on this day was from the industrial town of Blaenau Ffestiniog down to the coastal port at Porthmadog, following the route that the products of the industrial town would have taken to the local port, but I’m sure the landscape will have been been much changed and tamed since it was used by the Victorians.

Leaving the industrial town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, passing on the way a Victorian stretch of ribbon development which follows the railway out of town that has not been enlarged on this side of town in modern times. The landscape here is rocky and rugged, and the train picks a smooth gradient between the rocky outcrops, running at one stage along the edge of the Tanygrisiau Reservoir, which nestles between a number of these outcrops. Along the far edge we catch sight of the original rail route, now sunk below the surface of the water flooded out, when the reservoir was built.

Tanygrisiau Reservoir – 16 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

On through rough pastures with tantalising glimpses of the surrounding hills and mountains as the train moves forward, circling round the Dduallt spiral, like the Buzzard that circles over head as we passed by. Onwards – only stopping for the odd station to allow passengers to disembark or alight. The journey passes onwards moving from the rough pasture, through scattered trees and shrubs and on into a more wooded landscape, in an area known as Coed y Bleddiau, or Wood of the Wolves. Sadly there are no Wolves in these woods any long, there are supposed to be a couple of Willow sculptures depicting Wolves along this stretch, but unfortunately the continuous moving onwards of the train meant that I failed to spot these creatures, but then that is one of the tantalising things about train journeys – a little only, to tempt and tease, before the next scene is upon us.

Dduallt Spiral – 16 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Passing through the short Garnedd Tunnel and out into a more densely wooded landscape where amongst the banks of Larches and other conifers there stands tall and proud ancient Sessile Oak trees lonely remnants of the once primeval woodlands that would have covered these slopes. By now the downward run to the coast is well on the way and we pass out of the wooded landscape and on to the drop down through a number of smaller villages on the way to the coast.

The final stretch into Porthmadog is across the causeway known as the Cob, which was built originally as part of an Enclosure scheme at the beginning of the 19th century. The building of the Cob, has resulted in the formation of Glaslyn marshes, which now at low tide is full of birds wandering across the exposed mud flats. Even at the genteel rate of our train it is too fast to see very much apart from the mass of Canadian Geese gosling’s gathered in the closest bit of water. To be honest though these took second place to the view beyond the marshes, even in the heat haze which fogs the scene slightly, this is an amazing view of the complete panorama of the Snowdonia mountains, including the iconic Snowdon.

The Snowdonia Mountains – 16 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

There’s Slate in Them There Hills

This is the eighth blog from my time in North Wales, dating from the 14 July 2013.

Blaenau Ffestiniog is famous for its slate mining and was once know as the Slate Capital of Wales, following the discovery of a rich slate deposit in the 18th century, with the surrounding hills littered with the signs that this industry has left. Whole hillsides have been cut away by modern mining activities, leaving sharp, shiny cliff faces, as bright new scares on an ancient landscape, and have seen the removal of hilltops forever. Many more slopes are covered in waste from centuries of mining activities. Made up of irregular shaped pieces of rock, just thrown away as waste from the process of extracting slate from the surrounding hills.

A Modern Slate Quarry – 14 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

The landscape around Blaenau Ffestiniog is industrial, but set against the harsh backdrop of the Snowdonia mountains it has a kind of stark, rugged beauty. The rocky remains form an intricate jigsaw across the hillsides, larger pieces knitted together with smaller ones, with an infinite number of shapes and angles formed, never seeming to be repeated across any of the hillsides. Then to add an artistic touch, there are the remains of the historic workings zigzagging across the hillside, as though the miners of the past were adding their own signatures to the landscape we see today.

Slate Waste Across the Blaenau Ffestiniog Hillside – 14 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

The slopes seem stark and bare at first glance, devoid of life, but nature does not leave them alone for long. Beginning as the odd small spot here and there; that are formed by ferns, turfs of grass and spikes of Foxgloves. Anything that can get a foot hold, which slowly develops to a regular covering of bushes. All of which begin to blur the harsh outlines and will in time reclaim the picture to wooded hillside. Maybe not a natural scene as many of the species presently colonising seem to be non-native, including Rhododendron and Buddleja, but then neither was the starting point. Not only are the scares of mining being hidden under new growth, so to are the remains of the equipment and vehicles that have been left behind when no longer required. As always nature will find a way.

Abandoned Vehicle – 14 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Surprises Amongst the Bracken

This is the seventh blog from my time in North Wales, dating from the 13 July 2013.

Wandering around the lanes on Anglesey, found us travelling down what seemed to be a normal open country lane that would lead us out onto the Penmon Peninsular. Now in general from a first view this seemed nothing out of the usual, a dense cover of Bracken was broken up by a scattering of Hawthorns. As I said nought out of the usual, but then out above the Bracken there stands this tall stately Teasel. In the Scottish Borders, Teasel is a species which is found on open grassy road verges, and is an unusual sight. Later investigation has discovered that Teasels are not uncommonly associated with rough grasslands and woodland edges, so why not a Bracken edged road verge, that produces many of the conditions of a woodland edge, openness followed by later shade.

Teasel – 13 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Teasels are fascinating plants, tall prickly affairs with opposite leaves that form a cup-like structure against the stem that catches rainwater. Its this basin from which the Roman name for Teasel comes from – lavacrum veneris meaning Venus’ lips or basin. Above is a flower head that from a distance can seem like an oversized cotton-bud, but on closer examination it is made up of many straight spines, much like a pin cushion, across which passes a tide of lilac flowers. These flowers begin by opening in the centre of the inflorescence and seem to spread up and down, like a parting of the waves in the Red Sea.

The Pin Cushion of a Teasel Inflorescence – 13 July 2013 (Copyright Ross Lockley)

Just as I was about to wander on, a flash of bright pink caught my eye, it was a plant scrambling up through the Bracken. On closer examination and consultation with various books, revealed this pink to come from the bright flowers of the Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea. This plant was using the Bracken fronds as a convenient climbing frame. I love the flowers, they were an amazing rich vibrant pink, but also marked with delicate pink veins, such wonderful contrast that stands out against the background lattice of green Bracken fronds, through which this single plant scrambles, pulling itself up towards the light.

Bright Splash of Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea Flowers – 13 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Shifting Sands

This is the sixth blog from my time in North Wales, dating from the 12 July 2013.

Standing on the main road looking down across a disused airfield towards Morfa Dyffryn National Nature Reserve, is enough to take your breath away. Morfa Dyffryn is dominated by an active dune system and even from a distance of over half a mile, the sheer size of the dunes give them a distinctive presence. They are very much alive, shifting with every breath of wind, even if its just a few grains of sand at a time, like a sleeping giant slumbering, waiting for Jack to disturb him.

Morfa Dyffryn – 12 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Down at dune level the sense of size is lost, for the views are all of short distances and there are no massive heights to be seen or distant views to be had, but still the sense of the dune being a living creature comes across, as the sand shifts and moves in even the slightest breeze. This living thing grades backwards from an embryo on the sea front, growing to its greatest height and then subsiding eventually into the surrounding fields.

Within the Dunes at Morfa Dyffryn – 12 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

The back edge of the dune system is protected from the outside world by clumps of the viciously prickly Sharp Rush that has formed a protective barrier along the landward side of the dune system where the sand has just about consolidated into land. Sharp Rush is one vicious plant, forming huge dense tussocks of shiny dark green leaves, a metre or more in height, which are each pointed with a deadly sharp spike; sharp enough to pierce the skin. Inside the moving sand is stabilised by clumps of Marram Grass, amongst which spread and creep bright yellow carpets of Common Birds-foot-trefoil that contrast with the clumps of the pale pink flowers of Common Century, forming as it were a pattern on the skin of the sleeping beast.

Ripples in the Sand

This is the fifth blog from the my holiday in North Wales, dating from the 11 July 2013.

Standing looking out looking over Afon Mawddach in the early in the evening, with the tide out and the sun dropping lower in the sky, the view out over the estuary was totally amazing. The sun was just low enough to show up every undulation on the mud flats in front of us. Wow! What a sight, as the water had ebbed out of the estuary it had left the most fascinating patterns in the sand, and with the light low in the sky, the ripples showed up so clearly, with every minute detail clearly defined.

Afon Mawddach Estuary – 11 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

I’ve always been fascinated by the ripple patterns in the sand, wondering how the retreating water manages to drop particles in such precise patterns, and in this case, with patterns within patterns. Its as though an army of elves have been out arranging the sand in precise patterns, a particle here, a particle there. Smoothing out the rough and unformed, adding hummocks and hollows to order. I’ve also wonder what chance there is that these patterns last longer than the length that the tide is out. Will these be the ones that the geologists see in many millions of years when they examine the rocks formed under this estuary or will they just be here today and gone when the next wave passes over? Questions that will never be truly answered, though I suspect the patterns of tomorrow will look totally different. So those foot prints I left in the sand the day before, will have long since been been lost to the waves? But maybe, just maybe….

Ripples in the Sand – 11 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Dunes Delights

This is the fourth blog from the my holiday in North Wales, dating from the 10 July 2013.

Wandering the dunes behind Harlech, with the sun beating down and the sand rapidly soaking up this heat to re-radiate it back as we pass, it was almost possible to think that we were on the edge of somewhere like the Sahara. It was hot, very hot, but unlike the Sahara where it is mainly sand, here the place is vegetated, with a good covering of Marram Grass, which spreads along way back from the beach, and waves almost continuously in the gentle breeze. The Marram Grass produces a grey green background, against which a mass of colour brings the place alive. This mass of colour is like a canvas, where the artist has taken a number of colours and thrown them higgledy piggledy across the place but some how the picture doesn’t jar or jump out at you, it all seems to wash together into a neat harmonious picture.

Harlech Dunes – 14 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

The mass is amazing but some of the details catch the eye, like the patches of bright pink Pyramidal Orchids that grow almost like triangular lolly pops against the grey green background. Or the prickly grey green of the Sea Holly with their distinctive Holly-like leaves and their round balls of florets ripening in the sun, preparing soon to spring open and reveal their deep mauve petals hidden inside. But what catches my eye, are the tall stalks of Evening Primrose, with their pale canary yellow flowers that stand proud like sentinels watch towers amongst the stalks of Marram Grass.

The Sentinels Stand Proud – 10 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Sentinel straight they stand, rugged below and securely anchored in the ever moving sand, but above the delicate flowers of the Evening Primroses burst forth. They appear from sturdy, almost Okra shaped buds, to form delicate, yellow petals, that traditionally first open as the sun drops in the evening and remain for just a few days before they dry and wither away to nothing more than crinkled brown tissue paper. Delight to the eye for just a moment, before soon lost to nothing more than a memory.

Evening Primroses – 10 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

After the Fire

This is the third blog of my holiday and dates from the 09 July 2013.

While wandering the back roads through the foothills of the Rhinogs to escape the heat of the day, every now and again we would glimpse this mass of purple, standing out bright against the various greens of the hillside. Closer examination revealed these areas of purple colouration to be dense collections of Foxgloves. They seemed to be growing out from areas that had recently been cleared of Gorse by burning, for amongst the spikes of flowers there were tall stalks of burnt wood, dark charcoal black, against the the lush green of new growth. These burnt stalks stood straight and stark, testament to the fire that had passed through the area.

Hillside of Foxgloves – 09 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Apart from the presence of these charcoaled stalks, the surroundings now show few signs of devastation that would have been present following the fire. By now the ground is covered with a healthy growth of lush grass topped with the straw coloured seed heads of Sweet Vernal-grass, drying in the warmth of the summer sun. This rich green though, makes the purple bells of the Foxglove stand out all the more, as the colours contrast and catch the eye.

Foxgloves Amongst the Charcoal Remains of Gorse – 09 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

I love the purple bells of the Foxglove, they are large but also delicate. The flowers are just so full of detail, especially with their distinctive pattern of dark spots on the lower surface of the bell, each surrounded by its own distinctive white border. These spots seem to hypnotise and entice you inwards to discover the further wonders inside, which is exactly what they are for if you happen to be a passing Bumble Bee. According to folklore these marks are made by the fairies, and are formed from where they have put their fingers. This together with the shape of the flowers which look a like bells, leads to one of the other common names of this species – that of Fairy Bells.

Foxglove or Fairy Bells – 09 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

The Oldest Yew or Not!

This is second holiday blog of my holiday and dates from the 08 July 2013.

Originally this blog was going to be about the oldest Yew tree in Wales, the one in the churchyard at Llangower, but when I came to do a bit of exploration on the internet I discover that there are several Yews that claim to be the oldest in Wales! So much for the wonders of information boards, however the Llangower Yew is an amazing tree, oldest or not is immaterial I think when it comes to considering a tree. As for is age – unknown, but its definitely been here for many centuries.

The Llangower Yew is growing within a disused churchyard and though the church is now disused and in a state of disrepair, with trees and assorted vegetation growing out of the bell tower, the Yew is growing strong and healthy, and has been for a long time considering the size of its massive girth. I wonder what events in history this tree has seen, but of course the tree will never divulge.

Llangower Chapel – 08 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

For once it is a tree not confined, as many ancient trees are within a tidy fenced area. Nor is it reduced to just a remnant stick, it is full and spreading as a tree should be. Wow! I’m impressed and I love it! Oldest or not the Llangower Yew has caught my heart, and here’s hoping that it will continue on for many more centuries and see many more phases of history as it passes onwards. Long live the Yew!

The Llangower Yew – 08 July 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)