Walking in Wild Places

This weekend I was co-facilitating a workshop called Walking in Wild Places- all the way down south in Wales.  My role was primarily to help with teaching outdoor skills to ecotherapy practitioners and those interested deepening their connections with nature. This was quite a departure from my usual work, but really enjoyable- giving space to stop and listen and explore what was going on around us.

Sitting beneath oaks on the banks of the Loughar which rises straight out of a cave in the mountain fully formed at the "Eye of Loughor" (Llygad Llwchwr)

On Saturday, we followed a gentle route around Carreg Cennen, crossing streams, passing caves and wandering through woodland.  We were surrounded by birdsong, including the calls of the summer migrants- now arriving in numbers, including chiffchaff, swallows and the fluting song of the willow warbler.

Carreg Cennen is a 13th Century welsh castle that sits on top of wooded crags that form amazing natural defences.

 An oak growing on the edge of the woodland around Carreg Cennen.

Sunday was our chance to get up high on the Black Mountain (Y Mynydd Ddu), following an ancient drovers track up the hill, and then clambering up through the shake holes and heather to the summit of Blaenpedol, with it's huge bronze-age cairn on the top. The views were fantastic, and a bit of compass work soon established that we could see the North Devon coast, The Preseli hills and even Caldey Island.The weather was wonderful, and we had fantastic views of red kites flying over the moorland and fields.

A pool formed by a shake hole near the summit of Blaenpedol.

A huge thanks to everyone who took part for a wonderful and thought provoking weekend.