Welsh Wanderings 2016
An assortment of pictures from South and West Wales.
Approaching Llanllawddog (the church is visible on the left) in the Afon Gwili valley, Brechfa Forest. Llyn Llanllawddog (awesome name) is in the trees to the right of the church.
Allt y Bwbach on the right, and Allt y Cware ahead. Bwbach are little brownies that live in houses and farms, helping the owners if the owners are kind to them, by leaving food for the brownie. Apparently they dislike the clergy, non-drinkers and lazy or cruel people.
Allt y Cware. Approaching Penybanc.
Looking into the mouth of the Afon Galfros from Penybanc.
Young grass snake, the largest of our native snakes; a harmless colubrid. They will almost always flee, but if that is not possible, they may reer up and try hooding like this, pretending to bite (rarely actually biting). They may squirt musk to make a rotting smell, and may play dead. Because of how rarely they are seen due to their secretive nature, when they are finally seen, they are often mistaken for dangerous (such as Indian cobras) or non-native species. This one was mistakenly reported as a venomous American ring-necked snake (which would also be harmless to humans despite being technically venomous, but has a much brighter coloured belly).
I'm off! They are able to cope with the cold winter conditions by brumating, and can usually be found near streams or rivers. Their preferred diet is frogs, fish, earthworms and insects. They do not like to eat mice. Because their food does not breathe in the same way as mice, grass snakes usually eat their prey live without constricting; they are therefore neither a constrictor nor venomous, though they are usually grouped with the constrictors.
Grass snake swimming into its hiding place.
Habitat of the grass snake, near Cardiff.
Early part of a looping walk through Coed-y-wenallt, between Cardiff and Caerphilly.
Descending path.
Most of the trees are relatively young beech trees, characterised by their tall trunks without branches. This one hasn't heard.
Red leaves of autumn. Looking down the slope.
Autumn leaves.
Coed-y-wenallt at its finest.
Next to the field half way along the forest, where we take a lower path looping back along the slope.
This way.
The lower path.
Closing the loop.
The Wenallt farmland that gives its name to the forest.
Approaching Llanllawddog (the church is visible on the left) in the Afon Gwili valley, Brechfa Forest. Llyn Llanllawddog (awesome name) is in the trees to the right of the church.
Allt y Bwbach on the right, and Allt y Cware ahead. Bwbach are little brownies that live in houses and farms, helping the owners if the owners are kind to them, by leaving food for the brownie. Apparently they dislike the clergy, non-drinkers and lazy or cruel people.
Allt y Cware. Approaching Penybanc.
Looking into the mouth of the Afon Galfros from Penybanc.
Young grass snake, the largest of our native snakes; a harmless colubrid. They will almost always flee, but if that is not possible, they may reer up and try hooding like this, pretending to bite (rarely actually biting). They may squirt musk to make a rotting smell, and may play dead. Because of how rarely they are seen due to their secretive nature, when they are finally seen, they are often mistaken for dangerous (such as Indian cobras) or non-native species. This one was mistakenly reported as a venomous American ring-necked snake (which would also be harmless to humans despite being technically venomous, but has a much brighter coloured belly).
I'm off! They are able to cope with the cold winter conditions by brumating, and can usually be found near streams or rivers. Their preferred diet is frogs, fish, earthworms and insects. They do not like to eat mice. Because their food does not breathe in the same way as mice, grass snakes usually eat their prey live without constricting; they are therefore neither a constrictor nor venomous, though they are usually grouped with the constrictors.
Grass snake swimming into its hiding place.
Habitat of the grass snake, near Cardiff.
Early part of a looping walk through Coed-y-wenallt, between Cardiff and Caerphilly.
Descending path.
Most of the trees are relatively young beech trees, characterised by their tall trunks without branches. This one hasn't heard.
Red leaves of autumn. Looking down the slope.
Autumn leaves.
Coed-y-wenallt at its finest.
Next to the field half way along the forest, where we take a lower path looping back along the slope.
This way.
The lower path.
Closing the loop.
The Wenallt farmland that gives its name to the forest.