Monday 16 August 2010

The beach at Tonfanau

On the way back from Wiltshire, I went to Wales for a few days to see Bev and Craig at the Flying shuttle in Newtown, where on Tuesday night in a coincidental continuity with the previous blogs we had a carry out curry from a fellow who used to have a shop on Brick Lane. Food seems to have been a quite noteworthy point of the few days as on Saturday I ate an Italian of the dimensions that I was unable to pour a bottle of cider on top of it all – thanks Bev (who paid).

On Sunday Bev, Giz and me (still straining slightly at the seams with scallops, carbonara and tiramisu) clambered into the car and wended our way across Wales, where we left the car at Tonfanau Station (with it’s one platform that you have to ask the guard nicely if you want the train to stop there) and wandered down to the beach.

Spotted just before the beach, this butterfly. After a rake in the butterfly book later, we recon this is an Adonis Blue.


For the highly observant, Mount Snowdon is somewhere in the hills in the background.


For the first time since 1989 (where it was the Indian Ocean as opposed to Cardigan Bay) I was tempted into the sea) - only as far as my knees granted, and completely undocumented on film so you'll just have to take my word for it. I do have proof for Bev and Giz being in the water.


What I though was a pair of oyster catchers, turned out to be a pair of Curlews when I looked at the pictures later


Between the beach and the railway tracks were a selection of abandoned military buildings, probably dating back to the war. On of them appears to have come a cropper with the retreating cliff and there were quite a few large chunks of brickwork around this part of the beach. Here somebody has put in a bid for a Turner prize with the addition of a shoe.


If I were giving out the Turner prize, then the person who balanced these rocks, and half a dozen more besides, would be more likely to get it.


I don't think I've ever walked over a railway line before (it was an official crossing), so it would be a waste not to take the obvious photo.


And finally, a little piece of Welsh countryside, where we sat and ate a sandwich and a packet of crisps on the way back.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely spot for a picnic, the Welsh certainly do have some glorious countryside, it looks lovely and peaceful there.

Unknown said...

Beautiful country. I have a shot of my Lab in the snow in much the same pose as Giz.

Sandy's witterings said...

That field has to have had the most lucious grass I've seen for a long time - almost turned herbivore on the spot.
I'm reminded of a dog called Rags we had in the 90s - half greyhound, half something else(lab was a strong possibility) - who loved water or fields of long grass or, I'm sure, if we'd had deep snow, would have found the same pleasure in that.