Today Carmen and I went on quite an adventure! We hopped on a bus at 7:50 in the morning headed to Glynneath, where we were dropped off in the middle of a small town where more signs were in Welsh than in English. We asked a cashier who sold us our pack lunches for directions and walked two miles down a residential road to the Brecon Beacons natural park.
The weather was just right; a little bit cool and slightly humid with no real threat of rain. After a short trek, we entered the Welsh forest and found a beautiful wonderland awaiting us.
Ancient, twisted trees arched over the path from all sides, and moss grew on everything. The path was muddy in some places, but nothing our hiking boots couldn't handle.
The scenery was like something right out of Lord of the Rings; I almost expected to see the elves of Lothlorien or Mirkwood drifting through the trees after us. When I thought it couldn't get any better, we came upon the first waterfall.
Pretty cool right? They just got better from there.
Like seriously, look at these things.
They were one after another after another where the river had eaten through the bedrock.
Some were layered almost on top of each other.
Most of the waterfalls fell into really deep, clear pools that had been carved out of the stone over the centuries.
Some of these pools were perfect for cliff jumping, which will definitely be happening on a return trip.
Everything was mossy and so slippery, Carmen almost fell in at least a dozen times!
I had to go stick my head in most of the falls, of course.
This was my favorite, falling from a ledge of smooth rock that looked like it could have been cut with a knife.
I climbed to the top of course.
And played in the caves
And learned to use Carmen's auto timer!
The forest was absolutely unreal, and the eerie beauty of it made it easy to see where the Romantic Poets and writers of Tolkien's era got their aesthetic from the mysterious surroundings.
10/10 would definitely go again! With a towel this time to go cliff jumping!
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