It dawned on me on the train up to Liverpool that I’ve really not seen much of the country I was born in, have grown up in, and lived most of my life in. Or, at least, I’ve seen not much of the pretty, countrysidey sorta stuff. And so, after a quick text or two later to Alex we were on our way to (hastily) organising a trip to deepest, darkest, rural Wales. And we were going to stay in a Yurt! Just like the Mongolians!
Following my time in New Zealand I’d argue that there are not many places in the world that can rival the beauty and serenity of the South Island; but Michael and ChaNan’s ‘Eco Retreat’ (http://www.ecoretreats.co.uk ) achieved just that.
7 hours after leaving Brighton & Hove, and a few wrong turns, u-turns and near misses later we found ourselves driving down the forestry track to the site; Our first glimpse of the tipis and yurts in the cool Welsh rain was a sight to behold – Not an electricity pylon, house, or even tarmac road in sight. Paradise!
We quickly settled in and took a short, but steep walk up (one of) the nearby hills and gazed, exhausted and excitedly at the natural beauty in front of us. Fluffy white clouds set against a rich blue sky, lush green hills and the odd waterfall or two. It was so incredibly beautiful. We both stood, and when tiredness got the better of us, sat, there watching the sheep below us go about their business. And once Alex had managed to check us in on Facebook after finding a little bit of mobile signal (maybe we weren’t that secluded!) we gingerly headed downhill back to camp. Alex thought it’d be best to go down on her bum, front, and any part of her body that wasn’t her walking legs! I may have also fallen over once or twice too…
Our life in camp revolved around chopping wood (badly – my wrists still hurt!), lighting the fires (again, badly) star gazing, taking ridiculous cold showers, chasing and evading sheep and generally just enjoying what nature had to offer, whilst not worrying about the stresses of work, having to be somewhere, and all that sort of lark.
After a stray sheep (or maybe it was a rabbit?) woke us up at about midnight on the first night we ventured outside to look up at the night sky – The clearest night sky I have witnessed within the UK! It was like a fairy had sprinkled dust up there. There were that many stars. And they were so bright; brighter than Doris Day (Sun shines brighter than Doris Day… *ahem*)! It was truly stunning and something you really cannot see in the South East due to light pollution – Which really is a pity.
On the second night we once again had a sheep intrusion. We managed to get the indoor fire (in the wood burner) going a little too well, and because of the smoke, we had to leave the Yurt doors open all night (for fear of poisoning ourselves with smoke inhalation!). Come about 3am a little Dolly The Sheep was brazen enough to walk into OUR yurt! We had been trying to befriend them all trip, but this was taking the friendship thing a little bit too far! I still hate it when one of my jebby mates calls/texts me late at night (even though I may (occasionally) do it myself) , let alone a sheep I’ve just met, freely wandering in. Baaaahhhh Ram You little sheepy head!
Despite our successes with the indoor fire, we weren’t so lucky with the outdoor one. The first night’s attempt went so poorly we ended up cooking inside. The second night’s fire went – but took a lot of effort, and poor Alex was constantly breathing life into the fire whilst I swanned off to an hour of meditation offered by the camp site. She complained of light headedness when I got back – And she hadn’t even touched the Pinot Grigio…Yet!
And so, following a weekend of hill walking, and simply just getting back to nature (albeit in a rather posh way) we felt both invigorated and relaxed – And ready to explore more of the UK! Next stop…The Scottish Isles? Hopefully Miss Lyons won’t sing so much next time…
Piccie below – More to come soon!
Our Yurt - Next to the stream, nestled in the Welsh Mountains.
