Archive for September 2007
OM Meet – Brecon Beacons
Last month I had to miss out on the opportunity to walk and wildcamp with the Outdoor Bloggers in the Brecon Beacons. The other bloggers had a great time and I was convinced that I was going to have to leave the area alone until next year. Well, thanks to the efforts of OM's Metric Kate, I got another chance to go at the weekend, and I'm happy to report that we had a great time. Old friends were reunited, new friendships were made, bizarre events ensued. Top stuff, as always!
The first pair to set up at the Dan yr Ogof campsite were meet-newbies Tel R and Colonel Blimp. Tel was car-camping with a vengeance, his tent was stacked to the roof with luxury items such as a table, chair, fridge, wine store, air-con, billiard table, man-servant, etc. etc., whereas the Colonel was a tad more minimalistic due to his having to carry his stuff over from the Emerald Isle. After introductions, I set up the virgin Spectre next to them and we all dossed for a while until Kate arrived. Then we dossed some more, being sure to stay a good distance from the mutant livestock in the adjacent field.
Eventually we could doss no longer, so we went off to the local pub to claim the table that Kate had pre-booked for us. During the (excellent) meal, Sam (NNPB) arrived, followed a while later by Marns and Nikki, two more newbies. At last our Fellowship was complete.
After several more drinks we went back to the site to help Marns and Nikki put up their tent, an operation not helped by the pole-breaking habit of the group troublemaker. Later we sat out under the stars chatting away and watching meteors. There was no moonlight, no cloud and hardly any urban light pollution, which meant that we could see the Milky Way stretching right across the sky - it was really impressive stuff, the usually-dull background stars were so bright that it was difficult to pick out the regular constellations. Eventually we had to hit our respective sacks and try to sleep whilst being serenaded by Sam's snoring and Kate's zip-fiddling antics.
Saturday morning was clear and bright with a heavy dew. Breakfasts were devoured and we made ready to embark on a walk that Kate recommended. A while later, six of us set out for the hills while Kate went to the pub to nurse her dodgy knees and watch the rugby.
The 22km route took us up Allt Fach, along Fan Hir, and over to Fan Brycheiniog, where we stopped for lunch, watched the Special Forces candidates making light of walking straight up the escarpment, and encountered a dog that pissed on Sam's pack. Oh, what larks! Then off we went to Twr y Fan Foel, then across to Picws Du, walking the full length of Bannau Sir Gaer and around the top of the cwm of Llyn y Fan Fach. After that we dropped down southwards over Brest Twrch to pick up the path through bizarre shake-hole territory for the walk back to camp.
We had warm clear weather throughout the day, and all went to plan until the group troublemaker was afflicted by one of the worst nosebleeds I've ever seen, a full 25-minute jobby during which time so much blood was lost that the emergency services were contacted. Tel raced ahead to the campsite to intercept the expected ambulance/rescue crew, but the folks at 999HQ had scrambled the big red bird which couldn't be stood down even when the emergency had passed and the casualty had (allegedly) recovered, so we made ready for the group troublemaker to be air-lifted out under protest. Then things became a little confusing... the casualty became more concerned with her lipstick and nonchalant about her physical condition... the allegedly-handsome HEMS paramedic's professional services were rebuffed... the big red bird flew off without it's prey.
Eventually we started down the slope to the site, where we passed a couple of walkers who were curious about the goings-on with the rescue helicopter. Suddenly the combined smell of aviation fuel and dog-piss was replaced by the not-so-subtle aroma of bull-shit as the group troublemaker denied any part in events, throwing up a smokescreen-story about training exercises etc..
Of course, we wouldn't let it lie. The group troublemaker was ribbed mercilessly all night at the pub (where, concidentally, the bull-shitted couple were eating at the next table), then Stuey and Jules arrived for a beer and a chat, so they got the full (true) story too. The ribbing continued back at the site, and again in the morning during breakfast (when the site-owner informed the casualty that events had featured in the media), and then during packing away. All good-natured stuff, given in jest and taken in good spirit.
Eventually we had to decide what to do with the day - Stuey and Jules met us at the site in the vain hope that we might be going walking, but we decided that a visit to the showcaves would be more fun, seeing as how the Colonel was still in recovery after his first ever proper mountain walk, Kate still didn't want to risk aggravating her knees, the group troublemaker was reluctant to risk another outing and I had blistered heels (again). It was a good plan, but it failed right at the start when we saw the entrance fee for the showcaves - not extortionate, but it was money better spent on beer and/or food, so we upped-sticks to find a pub with space for us to eat.
Well, it was Sunday lunchtime and, as expected, all the pubs that we tried were catering for bookings only, so we drove on up to the Mountain Centre and dined outside on the terrace looking out towards Pen y Fan. The group troublemaker's services were called upon when one of the tourists fell ill, so she sort of redeemed herself for the events of the previous day.
And then it was time to head home. Handshakes and/or hugs and/or kisses were exchanged all round, then we were off. In less than 24 hours we had gone from being strangers to being good friends, having learned from each other, supported each other and, of course, laughed with each other. Nobody could ask for better than that.
My thanks go out to Kate for arranging this meet, and to Tel R, Colonel Blimp, Marns, Nikki and Sam for making this weekend such a brilliant event. It was good to meet Stuey and Jules too, at last I can put faces to the names. Our hosts deserve thanks too, as the site was well-kept, good value and the facilities were excellent - a place that I will recommend to others.
31 pics - click on the following one to get to the lightbox:
A sign of things to come…
I'm packed and ready to go, I'll have to be wary of the road signs, though. Methinks it's a p155-take!
🙂
Deep Thought
Maybe I'm being a bit dim, but how is it possible to have multi-grain corn flakes?
Multi-grain flakes... yes, I can understand that concept, that would be flakes made from a range of different types of grain, one of which may or may not be corn... but multi-grain corn flakes? Is it possible to have multi-grain corn? Whatever, it still doesn't sound right.
Maybe next time?
Due to, er, family commitments, I didn't enter the 2007 World Beard & Moustache Championships. It looks like fun - I must remember to get my entry in for the 2009 event.
The trouble is, they don't seem to have a category for "Wild and Unkempt". Maybe I should contact them to see if they can sort it out?
