The Most Beautiful Place on Earth
Ah, Easter - and time for the two Senior Hodmanods to crawl out of their shells and into the beloved land. We travelled along the coast for a few miles west to where the mountains meet the sea and took a short stroll....
upwards, and upwards thinking of the cakes and the tea that were waiting for us when we came down in the promising-looking tea shop we had just passed,
along the way encountering sheep which had rather obligingly provided us with sweet little Easter lambs
and a mare with an Easter foal
until we came to a cromlech where the ancient people buried their dead
and the modern Hodmandod is still trying to get out
then admired the view of the river Conwy
and came across the medieval remains of the shelters of shepherds
and the site of a Neolithic settlement (the mound on the right protected by motte and ditch to the left)
then a fourteenth century church with services every Sunday in the summer
with its bell still in place
and gravestones, most worn smooth
and pews, two organs operated by bellows, inscriptions in Welsh looking oddly pagan (with skull and cross-bone below) - and a sledge on the wall hung high on the wall for when the winter was cold
then at last, down again through woods and fields filled with sheep and mud to the tea room which was very tragically SHUT! Pah.
upwards, and upwards thinking of the cakes and the tea that were waiting for us when we came down in the promising-looking tea shop we had just passed, 
along the way encountering sheep which had rather obligingly provided us with sweet little Easter lambs 
and a mare with an Easter foal 
until we came to a cromlech where the ancient people buried their dead
and the modern Hodmandod is still trying to get out
then admired the view of the river Conwy
and came across the medieval remains of the shelters of shepherds
and the site of a Neolithic settlement (the mound on the right protected by motte and ditch to the left)
then a fourteenth century church with services every Sunday in the summer
with its bell still in place
and gravestones, most worn smooth
and pews, two organs operated by bellows, inscriptions in Welsh looking oddly pagan (with skull and cross-bone below) - and a sledge on the wall hung high on the wall for when the winter was cold
then at last, down again through woods and fields filled with sheep and mud to the tea room which was very tragically SHUT! Pah.
posted by Clare Dudman at 9:08 pm
3 Comments:
Home sweet home, whether north or south across that border!
Thank you for the pics Clare. They evoke so many memories.
I'm ashamed to say that my only Easter pics are those of my cat with his new black collar! Sexy beast though! Roll over Ray Winstone, my Oscar's got you marked. A first for him, but the Georgy Boy looks good in black!
The tea shop might have been shut but at least the church was open If I'm correct in thinking it's the one on the old drovers' road above Rowan, this is now unusual, presumably because there was a service that day. When we first went, you could stagger over the mountains for several miles, taking in a Druids' Circle or two, then drink in the atmosphere of the church by just walking in the door. But now you have to make arrrangemnts to get hold of the key. Sign of the times.
Anon: I would love to see those pics - a Ray Winstone cat, that sounds like something.
Adrian: Exactly the same - I was surprised the door was open too. The windows are covered in mesh, so I guess they've had trouble. Amazing place.
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