The Kelpies

Recently, we've taken a little trip up to Scotland for a few days, on a mission to collect the boy from uni in Aberdeen. His course is over and he's coming back home for now. In previous years we've had to rush up and back again in a weekend, but this time we had time to have a stopover to break up the long drive.

We stayed overnight in Falkirk so we could visit the fabulous Kelpies.

" .....The Kelpies are one of the largest equine sculptures in the world, standing 30 metres (100 feet) tall. They are the landmark feature of The Helix Environmental Regeneration Scheme on the Forth and Clyde Canal near Falkirk on Central Scotland. They are the brain-child of sculptor Andy Scott, and will be the largest public artworks in Scotland....."

We found them quite breathtaking, and spent ages just walking around them and viewing them from every angle. Amazing!

It would be a great place to moor a canal boat.

We even went back late at night to see them illuminated.

I can't believe four years have flown by already. It doesn't seem that long ago when we made our first nine hour trip up to Aberdeen, and drove all the way home with an empty car. 
He seemed such a long, long way from home.

And now we're all going to have to get used to each other again. We've had an empty nest for four years and he's been used to living an independent life without checking in with us 'oldies'.

Wish us luck!

Five on Friday

Today I'm joining in again with Amy at  Love Made My Home's  link up 'Five on Friday'.

I've been taking part in an on-line reading challenge since the beginning of the year ( 2015 Reading Challenge). The aim is to read 50 books in the year, which averages out at one book a week, and so far I'm up to date. We're in week  nineteen, and I've read eighteen books so far. There isn't a set of titles as such, but a list of themes instead ..... for example a book translated from another language, a memoir, a book that was turned into a film and so on. My list is on a page at the top of my blog.

The best thing about doing this challenge is that I have read books that I might never have considered before. 

So, here's a little peep at what I've been reading in the past few weeks.

One:

A book set in a different country .....

This is a haunting glimpse into China in the Nineteenth century when foot binding was practised and women were kept secluded. It tells of a friendship between two little girls that lasts a lifetime as they endure the hardships and sufferings caused by life, marriage and motherhood.  I found it quite an emotional read at times.

Two:

a book from your childhood

This was one of my favourites when I was young. I had a battered copy that had belonged to my auntie and I read it over and over again. Later, I loved the film too. When I read it this time I was surprised how faithful the film was to the book, but I also discovered chapters that are not in the film that I'd totally forgotten. A pleasant trip down memory lane.

Three:

a book with a love triangle

Another favourite of mine from long ago, I was determined to re read this wonderful book before the new film came out. This time, I found I was a bit disappointed in Bathsheba, the main character. She is such an independent,  free-spirited young woman at the start of the book, and then makes some dreadful choices in her life with dire consequences for many of the other characters around her. Maybe it's because I'm older now, but I wasn't swept up in the romance of it all, and I wanted to shout "No! Don't do it you fool!  He's the wrong one!!!"  

Four:

a book translated from another language

This was originally written in German.
 A young American woman follows her missing father to Burma where she believes he grew up, and learns of his life before. It is very simply written, almost like a fairy tale, and is quite lovely. 

Five:

I've been wanting to join a Book Club for years and now I have. 

A new group was starting up locally, and we had our first meeting on Tuesday.
I met some lovely new people, all passionate readers, and we had an interesting chat about what we'd read, and what we hadn't.

And this is what we've chosen to read this month, as four out of six of us had it on our list of suggestions.

Again, many thanks to Amy for hosting Five on Friday.

Why don't you pop over there and see what everyone else has been up to?

A Postcard from Lyn Padarn

These days we try to get out for a walk whenever the weather is kind to us. We're working our way through a little book of walks in North Wales. This time we planned to walk right around Lyn Padarn which is the lake next to Llanberis.

We started off with an early lunch at the Caban in the tiny village of Brynrefail. (The photo is from their site) This is an amazing place which is an artists centre, a cafe with a fantastic range of food and is the hub of the local community. When we were there, there was  a 'knit and natter' group meeting up. They weren't just knitting, but spinning as well.

Suitably refreshed we headed off through the woods

Lots of sheep watching Inca warily ....

The path rose steeply giving us great views of the lake and the little town of Llanberis below.... and of course the mountains in the Snowdon range.

At the end of the lake we came across this building which was the old hospital for the Llanberis Slate mine .... now it's a visitor centre.

Next door was the mortuary. Obviously, mining was a dangerous occupation.

We were glad we were going down the staircase ....

Regular readers will guess what came next ....

Yep! She was in before we even got down the staircase.

Sheer bliss. A swim in crystal clear water with a stick!

At the head of the lake is the Llanberis Slate Museum and a little train that will take you back along the lake side. It was a good place for an ice cream stop....

... and a good place to take in the views.

Now we were making our way back along the other side of the lake. A nice gentle path following the shore which was a welcome change from the steep twisting paths through the woods on the first part of the walk.

We realised that we were walking along an old railway track .... which means nice and flat for me!

We kept Inca well away from the nesting swans.

Back through the railway tunnel

to the head of the lake where we had started out from hours before.

A fabulous walk ... made pretty special by fabulous weather.
I'm aiming to walk up Snowdon before too long .... but I need a bit more training I think!

A Postcard from Llyn Elsi

Recently, during the warm spell we took a trip out to North Wales to do a walk near Betws y Coed.

We left the little town behind and took the path that follows the river....

As usual we couldn't keep Inca dry

We crossed the river by the steep Miner's Bridge

This little waterfall was so pretty

We were intrigued by some 'fairy furniture' in the woodland

Who is this? We have no idea.

The path rose quite steeply up through the woods.

As dog owners we dread coming across stiles that have no dog access. We had to lift Inca over one to get into this field. Not easy as she weighs a ton!

So we thought we were scuppered when we encountered this ladder  .... but Inca surprised us by nimbly climbing up the steps and jumping down the other side. No problem!

We were rewarded by this view when we got to the top.

Lyn Elsi.... a huge reservoir high above Betws y Coed. You'd never know it was there.