The Folly

At 10.30am I met up with a former work colleague I hadn't seen for about twenty years who is also a 'blipper'. After a coffee near the hotel he's staying for the week we set off on a walk along Pontypool canal for a coupe of miles followed by a hike up the 'roman road' which is in a poor state to reach The Folly which is atop the mountain overlooking Pontypool and can be seen for miles.

About 3.15pm near the end of the walk we enjoyed another coffee sat outside the canal cafe. It was great to meet up and talk cameras, discuss former colleagues, blip, etc...

As the walk was around The Folly, I've chosen a picture of it that I took in black and white. It's my wide angle wednesday entry for the theme 'shapes' - the shape of the folly and stones in the wall.

The Folly is octagonal in shape and roughly 40 ft (12 m) high and is approximately 1,000 ft  above sea level.  that the original tower was built around 1765 to 1770 by John Hanbury, a local landowner and ironmaster who owned Pontypool Park. The local name of The Folly was in use as far back as 1865 when the Free Press of Monmouthshire described it as:
"...an elevated spot where a Tower (formerly a Roman watch-tower) was many years since rebuilt as an observatory and which is popularly known as 'The Folly'."
Around 1831, the tower was renovated by Capel Hanbury Leigh. It provided a vantage point over the local area and quickly became popular and a well known feature of the area. In May 1935 an estimated 15 to 20,000 people gathered at the Folly Tower to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V with the lighting of a bonfire.