Thursday 9 August 2012

cymru

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A couple of weekends ago (what is happening to the summer?!) Albert, who is now based in Bristol, a friend from Germany and I, took a weekend trip to South Wales. I've been wanting to go for about ten years, since I met a Welsh friend of my parents, who sang us folk songs and lullabies for an evening, and I fell in love with the language. I even made a not-very-successful attempt at learning it from some tapes and a book she sent me, but my linguistic ability basically only extends to ordering a cup of tea with milk and no sugar and saying good afternoon! I gave up in confusion when I realized there was no straightforward way of saying "yes" and "no."

We checked into a hotel in Swansea, and then drove along the Gower Peninsula to see some really fantastic and unexpected beaches. I always forget how beautiful the beaches can be in the UK, probably because it's usually too cold and wet to go anywhere near them. These were all interesting rock formations, endless expanses of sand, and grassy sand-dunes, which reminded me a lot of stills I've seen from that movie The Edge of Love. The first beach in particular was gorgeous; you had to get to it by walking down a narrow path through enormous bushes and brambles, before arriving at the sand dunes. I immediately took off running down them, and was instantly rewarded by tights and shoes full of sand. Worth it. ;)

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I'm kind of feeling scruffy chic this summer. Although after an afternoon in the unceasing wind, I think this is more just scruffy...

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Can you see the outline of a castle on the hill?

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The second beach was at the very tip of the peninsula, and there was a blasting wind, and I wished I was wearing my winter coat, but I'm glad we didn't miss it, if only to see the sun set, and horses grazing on the edge of the cliff.

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P.S. Thanks for all the well thought out comments (essays!) on my last post. I'm mulling them all over!

20 comments:

dr.antony said...

So naturally beautiful.
Calm and peaceful.
Are they wild horses?

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

I'm not sure although I imagine not. There were also sheep up there, so I'd think they belong to a farm.

Kezzie said...

Oooh, I love it there! Your photos are beautiful! We went to stay with my boyfriend's best friend who lives in Swansea and the best place we went to was Rossily bay, near the end of the Peninsula, I think! We went in the October half term holiday but the day was so sunny and beautiful, it seemed almost summer! We bought a kite and flew it all afternoon! Did you make it to Mumbles at all? It's so cute and kitsch!

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

Some of these pictures were taken at Rossily Bay, I'd just forgotten the names of everywhere! The top one, and the ones with the horses, were there.

We didn't make it to Mumbles, partly because the hotel proprietor was looking down his nose at it, and partly because it was late when we got back from the Peninsula and we were so hungry we were considering cannibalism, so ended up at Pizza Express. ;)

Closet Fashionista said...

Ooh, how beautiful!!! I love the last shots with the horses!! :D
Unfortunately all the beaches around here are always crowded because it's always nice XD And we don't get wild horses.
http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

Shybiker said...

Beautiful photos. My ex lives in Wales and she learned the language to fit in. It's spelling is bizarre!

Amber said...

are those wild horses? I've always wanted to see wild horses but we dont have any here in Connecticut. Just a lot of argyle and leaves.

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

I would imagine they belong to a farmer, but I don't really know...

ZZ said...

Looks fantastic. You look like a natural English rose.

I'm surprised you can pronounce any Welsh at all, I know I can't.....

Laura said...

Ahhhh, so lovely! I would love to travel to Wales...my brother learned Welsh a couple of years ago and it's such a fascinating language.

thejoyfulfox.blogspot.com

Melis said...

I love your color palette of all your separate outfits. they all go together! and it looks like a beautiful trip. what kind of camera do you use?
and thanks for the nice words about my blog :)

Monique said...

these photos are stunning emily. goodness those horses are majestic.

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Laura: woah! Your brother learned Welsh? That's awesome... now I feel extra useless though. ;)

@Melis: On this trip we used my camera, which is a Nikon D3100 with a 35 mm lens. About half the time we use Allbert's which is a Pentax K-5.

Valerie EnrĂ­quez said...

That looks like just the kind of landscape that I love; mountain formations by the sea. Wild horses also make me weak in the knees and I bet what you experienced was so peaceful! x

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Valerie: the first beach was quite peaceful. The one with the horses was just really windy!

Kasia Sarna said...

lovely dress,
I like how you paired it with navy tights and shoes :)

Ashley/ MILK TEETHS said...

ahh these photos are just gorgeous! I was going to mention The Edge of Love but you beat me to it. There is a scene in the movie where two of the characters sing a welsh song together and I thought the language sounded really pretty and dreamy. The horses photos only add to how picturesque the setting it :)

Emily, Resplendent Tranquility said...

It all looks perfect, cold beach and sandy shoes included.

Ashley said...

"Worth it."

Best sentence :)

Ceri said...

As soon as you said you stayed in Swansea, I was like, "OMG! NO!" Hahaha. Not the nicest area in the world. My hometown is about a 40 minute drive/20 minute train ride away. :) Thank you for the beautiful pictures of my homeland. <3