I left my butt in Brecon Beacons

Or I left my arse in Aberhonddu (if you use the Welsh name for it)

Whew! Last week we went hiking with the Carmarthen Vegans in the Brecon Beacons.   It was a blast as usual but with a bit more exertion than our regular walks. Dave from Swansea said it was about a mile and a half walk to a lake where we could picnic. He said it was suitable for munchkins so we brought the vegan kiddos.

 

Well, it was and it wasn’t.

It was about a mile and half but it was a very vertical mile and half  through quite marshy ground with lots of rivers and tricky, uneven areas to cross. It took about two hours to get up to the top.

Here’s me mucking about pretending to recreate that famous painting of John Ruskin by Millais (who later ran off with Ruskin’s wife after their marriage was annulled due to non-consummation).

 

We were beginning to doubt the existence of this mythical lake but then it appeared and we all rejoiced.

Once we were up at the top we could take off our soaking wet shoes and socks and let them dry on a rock and walk around barefoot which was lovely.

We waded in the lake, looked out for interesting insects and ate lots of delicious vegan food. We had certainly worked up an appetite.

Here’s me trying to go find a discreet hill where I could have a wee. Yes folks, I had to pee behind a hill. Not as glamorous as it sounds!

Spiderman hiked a bit further up as his shoes were dry and snapped us down below on our little peninsula.

with the zoom lens

without it--you can just make us out if you look hard

After several hours of resting, it was time to go back down.

 

Here’s where things got a bit sticky. It was decided to go an alternate way down that was supposed to be drier.

Well….it was drier.

It was also longer, steeper, more treacherous and in the opposite direction from the car park.

 

Perhaps because we were all tired and we had several exhausted munchkins (including a very cranky three year old who needed to be carried the whole way down) it took us more than three hours to get back to the bottom.

It was a glorious day and we certainly exhibited lots of teamwork carrying Little Dude and playing distracting games and singing distracting songs to keep the increasingly tired kiddo’s minds off the long journey home.

It also taught me I needed to invest in better footwear. I was muddy and sore from head to toe after several slips while trying to hold the hand of small child as we tried to cross various canyons.

But despite the length and difficulty of the climb we had a blast because being with friends and exerting oneself in the open air actually feels pretty good.  

Plus the view was spectacular.

So despite getting home bone weary and wet and feeling I left my butt in the Brecon Beacons--it was brilliant.

 
I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

 But with better shoes.