Thursday 20th May...

[byslantedlight]

Thursday's forecast was not promising for holidays - "Gales and heavy rain" was the headline around here, but I decided that I wasn't going to let the weather beat me entirely, and that I could at least do an enjoyable shopping chore that I'd planned to squeeze in somewhere - so Blue Car and I headed off for an hour's drive to Lush in Carmarthen. *g* That didn't quite work out as planned either (the smell I'd fancied sounded better than it smelled...) but on the other hand, the heavy rain at least turned out to be somewhat intermittent, so I had a brief wander around town in the gales.

There was a castle, which was sort of castle walls and... town infrastructure more than a castle, but I strolled around it between showers, and managed to not be blown off. There was a church up another street, looking as picturesque as anything could in that weather, but it was all a bit grim and grey. Still - castles... they have indoor bits, right? *g*

So I headed off for Kidwelly Castle, not far away - and that was a proper castle - huge and maze-like, and I can't imagine having to find my way around in its hey-day. It was pretty well preserved too, so you really could imagine it all.

Plus I accidentally found a bat! There was this narrow dark passageway, and I wanted to know what was at the end of it - so I inched carefully down, and took a flash-lit photo to see. It turned out to be a garderobe, of course, but I also spotted this wee chap hanging out in the corner on the photo!

I picked another nearby castle from my map - Laugharne Castle - and headed off... Unfortunately it was too late to book and visit this one, which is a shame because it looked like the best yet, and that heavy rain also decided to put in another appearance, so I didn't even stroll around the outside - I shall save that for another visit.

So I headed home - via the seashore, for just a quick look at the gale-driven waves... ...and then tucked up snug for the night. But really, it'd been a much more holiday-like day than I'd expected. *g*

Comments

[tinturtle]

The town where I live, despite its drawbacks, is excellent for batwatching. I saw a large group of them hunting in the twilight when I took my dog to the park yesterday.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh cool — I do like bats! They fly around my garden here at home too, and I can actually sit inside on the long summer evenings and watch them flitting about. *g* I've only seen one at a time though — how cool to see them in groups!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

So lovely! And a bat! How cool is that? From the picture, it almost looks like two of them hooked together.

We went into Wales my last trip, and it did seem to me that they did a better job of keeping up their castles, building back the castles to their original form as much as possible.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

D'you know, I wondered if it was two bats together too — but I can't tell from the picture, and of course I didn't want to go back and disturb it/them...

To be fair, I think Wales has more castles than England (because they were built by the English to help conquer the country, of course...), particularly from that particular period. Cadw (the Welsh version of English Heritage) seems to be doing a good job — though as with St Davids yesterday, I would have liked more story... I was all keen to buy the guide book when I got back from wandering around, to see what was what, only they said they didn't have many English language copies left, and they had to save what they had for online orders. I mean — what?! Wtf?! I was actually there, looking at the castle, and was a definite sale, but they had to save them for theoretical online cusomters? Makes no sense to me — and especially for encouraging interest in their sites...

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Hah! Excellent use of a rainy day! All the photos look marvelous but I'm especially drawn to the gale-driven waves. Wow. (Mind you, that's largely because, as a middle-of-the-US-person, I'm endlessly fascinated by oceans and sea and all that!) I hope you had some good food to accompany all the wandering about.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I knew the rainy days were coming, and I'd sort of planned to stay indoors, snugged up and working, but somehow... *g* I couldn't resist heading off to see the waves at the end of the day either — in fact I did that at some point every day! I like oceans and seas too... including good stormy ones! *g*

Good was a bit more problematic than usual, because places are only just opening up to indoor dining again, and I'm cautious enough that I still want there to be lots of space and fresh air... *g* Plus I'd actually ordered myself three food-treat recipe boxes from Riverford before I knew I could go away on holiday after all, and I decided I'd be good and not cancel them, and cook for myself in the caravan. Which I managed to do, and the food was yummy. Plus I had left-overs from the meal I made before I drove down, and that was delicious too. Let me see... honey and sesame halloumi with bulghar, and then aubergine, black garlic and carlin pea curry were the two I made in the caravan. The other one was... such a long time ago now! ... coconut dahl, courgette curry and rice? Something like that. Very good, anyway! *g*

But most importantly there was holiday ice cream. *g*

[keli]

Gorgeous pics!! I love castles so much. I am glad you are enjoying your holiday!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Castles are fun, even when it's pouring with rain! *g*

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

It's a pity about the weather but those photos look great. I'm glad you enjoyed exploring the castles.

[stellar_raven]

Glad you were able to make the most of the rainy day!

[freetraveller15.livejournal.com]

Great pics and beautiful places, despite the rain...
English (actually, Welsh *g*) weather being what it is, is your caravan well insulated against the cold and humidity outside? In general, I mean, against outdoor weather?