Peregrination

"The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases."
Carl Jung

About thirty years ago I planned a walk to the Chartist cave in the hills above Tredegar, on Mynydd Llangynidr.  I ended up somewhere else that day, at the lonely shepherd overlooking Clydach gorge I seem to recall.  And so today I took the long postponed walk, with P and A for company.  As always it's a relaxed wander through the landscape, stopping frequently for photos or to pontificate on the numerous 'sink holes' and get the benefit of A's geological knowledge. We manage to find sheep and other tracks to follow up the incline onto the top, where the views across the tops show not only the varied geography and geology of the landscape, but also the numerous fires that are still burning in the extended hot spell, from Twmbarlwm to Mynydd Troed overlooking Talgarth.  As everv we're on the lookout for red kites, and are not disappointed. I also get the bonus of the sight of wheatears, which I haven't seen for some time. The walking is easier today as the ground is so dry, no boggy marshes to skirt around, our path is meandering but straightforward and easy to discern.  "It's on this ridge somewhere" says A, and as we round a hillock there it is, complete with plaque in case we were in any doubt. It's interesting to think how far people will go to have a look at a hole in the ground. And because it's taken us less time than we thought, we also have time to visit another even bigger hole in the ground at nearby Trefil quarry, a scheduled monument and a new one for me.  The approach road is pitted and potted, so we weave our merry way there raising clouds of dust as we go. It's another world and a step back in time to the quarry, which was opened in 1794 to extract limestone for the ironworks at Beaufort.  Drama in the landscape for me and most of my time there is spent looking for angles for photos, preferably with something of the fast receding blue skies as the cloud - and much later rain at long last - heads in from the north as we wend our way home.