Tuesday, June 16, 2009
MdS Reunion... The Class Of 09!
Once again a bunch of ultra nutters descended upon peaceful little Brecon, for our grand reunion, kindly and most ably organised by Perks!
Sadly, some couldn't make it but there was a good group of us- some folks had brought their families and camped nearby, joining us for meals. We were so lucky with the weather- it was warm and sunny the whole weekend!
It was great to see everyone again, and it soon seemed as though we'd never been away... especially once the beers flowed and we all got chatting.
Group Shot!
Matt from Likeys had drawn up two possible walking routes- Sharky, Gilly, Jeff and Kev opted for the longer, tougher option, and decided to leave at 9am so they would be back in the pub by 1pm. Me and Rose opted for the shorter, 12 mile route, climbing to the side of Fan-Y-Big and descending to the Tal-Y-Bont Reservoir. Rose doesn't have confidence in her navigational skills so left navigating to me, which I think she regretted later...
We left Rose's car at Tal-Y-Bont and walked along the canal to Pencelli, before gradually ascending with views of the Beacons unfolding behind us.
We reached the small summit of Bryn, where there was obviously an army exercise going on; a tent had been set up, and loads of blokes in full fatigues were running up and down the path we were to take, carrying rifles... I always feel a bit nervous around men with rifles!
Brecon Beacons Scenery
Our route took us on quite a steep descent to the side of Fan-Y-Big- the impressive sheer side of the mountain formed a pocturesque back drop for our ascent.
Fan-Y-Big
Once we reached the top, I saw a descending path I thought must be our route, so suggested we follow it, yeah, famous last words!! The path was clearly defined at first, and we reached a load of tangled and twisted metal, which was marked by a memorial cairn and turned out to be the site of a World War Two plane crash- the plane had obviously smashed into the side of the mountain and the crew, Canadians, were sadly all killed.
The Site Of The Aircraft Crash
From here the path became increasingly indistinct, and I had to concentrate to follow it. I first got an inkling that it wasn't actually going the right way, but cutting across was difficult as it was really boggy, so we opted to follow a path by a stream.
Following The Stream
This brought us out at the road to Tal-Y-Bont Reservoir, but rather than bringing us to the bottom end of it, as we should have been, we had rather a long road walk back to the Reservoir, then down the whole length of it to the dam- oops! I felt quite bad, but Rose didn't complain once and said she was enjoying herself!
Waterfall
It was really hot, and after what seemed ages, we finally reached the dam at the bottom end of the reservoir and picked up the fire road back into Tal-Y-Bont and the pub!
Tal-Y-Bont Reservoir
It turned out the other group had done exactly the same as us- taken the wrong path from the top! They managed to cut across, but it did cheer me up a bit- especially as Jeff only lives 60 minutes from Brecon so is a local, plus they had two GPS's!
Martin and Sue from Likey's came for tea Saturday night, and Martin gave us a talk on the 6633 Ultra, which enters the Arctic Circle and sounds rather too extreme for me...
Rose had brought a lovely cake, iced with MdS 2009 on it so we had a piece, Gilly got out the Veuve and we toasted absent friends.
The Cake- I Forgot To Take A Photo Before It Was Cut!
Sunday we had a leisurely lunch at The Star in Tal-Y-Bont before going our separate ways. It was a really enjoyable weekend, with some very special people, and hopefully it won't be long before we are all together again!
Sadly, some couldn't make it but there was a good group of us- some folks had brought their families and camped nearby, joining us for meals. We were so lucky with the weather- it was warm and sunny the whole weekend!
It was great to see everyone again, and it soon seemed as though we'd never been away... especially once the beers flowed and we all got chatting.
Group Shot!
Matt from Likeys had drawn up two possible walking routes- Sharky, Gilly, Jeff and Kev opted for the longer, tougher option, and decided to leave at 9am so they would be back in the pub by 1pm. Me and Rose opted for the shorter, 12 mile route, climbing to the side of Fan-Y-Big and descending to the Tal-Y-Bont Reservoir. Rose doesn't have confidence in her navigational skills so left navigating to me, which I think she regretted later...
We left Rose's car at Tal-Y-Bont and walked along the canal to Pencelli, before gradually ascending with views of the Beacons unfolding behind us.
We reached the small summit of Bryn, where there was obviously an army exercise going on; a tent had been set up, and loads of blokes in full fatigues were running up and down the path we were to take, carrying rifles... I always feel a bit nervous around men with rifles!
Brecon Beacons Scenery
Our route took us on quite a steep descent to the side of Fan-Y-Big- the impressive sheer side of the mountain formed a pocturesque back drop for our ascent.
Fan-Y-Big
Once we reached the top, I saw a descending path I thought must be our route, so suggested we follow it, yeah, famous last words!! The path was clearly defined at first, and we reached a load of tangled and twisted metal, which was marked by a memorial cairn and turned out to be the site of a World War Two plane crash- the plane had obviously smashed into the side of the mountain and the crew, Canadians, were sadly all killed.
The Site Of The Aircraft Crash
From here the path became increasingly indistinct, and I had to concentrate to follow it. I first got an inkling that it wasn't actually going the right way, but cutting across was difficult as it was really boggy, so we opted to follow a path by a stream.
Following The Stream
This brought us out at the road to Tal-Y-Bont Reservoir, but rather than bringing us to the bottom end of it, as we should have been, we had rather a long road walk back to the Reservoir, then down the whole length of it to the dam- oops! I felt quite bad, but Rose didn't complain once and said she was enjoying herself!
Waterfall
It was really hot, and after what seemed ages, we finally reached the dam at the bottom end of the reservoir and picked up the fire road back into Tal-Y-Bont and the pub!
Tal-Y-Bont Reservoir
It turned out the other group had done exactly the same as us- taken the wrong path from the top! They managed to cut across, but it did cheer me up a bit- especially as Jeff only lives 60 minutes from Brecon so is a local, plus they had two GPS's!
Martin and Sue from Likey's came for tea Saturday night, and Martin gave us a talk on the 6633 Ultra, which enters the Arctic Circle and sounds rather too extreme for me...
Rose had brought a lovely cake, iced with MdS 2009 on it so we had a piece, Gilly got out the Veuve and we toasted absent friends.
The Cake- I Forgot To Take A Photo Before It Was Cut!
Sunday we had a leisurely lunch at The Star in Tal-Y-Bont before going our separate ways. It was a really enjoyable weekend, with some very special people, and hopefully it won't be long before we are all together again!
Labels: Brecon, Brecon Beacons
Comments:
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Looks fantastic.
Re' the Smithy Bullock, have you done it before ?
Friends of the GF have done a 50miler in 24hours in the Strettons before.
I'm going for the rather more sedate Belper Rugny Rover on the otherhand.
Re' the Smithy Bullock, have you done it before ?
Friends of the GF have done a 50miler in 24hours in the Strettons before.
I'm going for the rather more sedate Belper Rugny Rover on the otherhand.
# posted by 
: 8:27 PM
: 8:27 PM
Hi MB, I tried the Bullock Smithy last year, but got rather lost in the middle of the night so we were timed out! It's unfinished business...
I don't blame you, 50 miles + is a blooming long way! Good luck for the Belper event!
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I don't blame you, 50 miles + is a blooming long way! Good luck for the Belper event!
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