Local Area News

We are getting towards the time of the summer shows, dog, agricultural, flower or sheep. Wales seems to be able to magic them all up. The next big one in this area is the Smallholders and Garden Festival, held just down the road at Builth Wells on the 17th and 18th of May. If you click on the title you will find much more information on the Royal Welsh website.

Harry has just put a new album of photographs on the Fforest Fields website, of a wonderful walk that George and I had in February in the Elan Valley, as different as chalk to cheese with today

A lovely walk in the Elan Valley on a sunny February day!

Good news for the frogs and newts of Llandrindod Lake, they have been granted an extra week of car-free access to their mating grounds! Julian Jones of the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust http://www.radnorshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/ said that they had to remember to cancel the council road sweeper too! In past years, for two weeks every Spring, the road round the lake has been shut at night, from this year an extra week will be allowed to give the late developers a bit more time to cross.

They are changing the access parking for the Royal Welsh this year. After the chaos of the 2007 show the committee have looked long and hard at the hold-ups that affect show-goers every year. However the Chairman, David Lewis, said “Obviously, we have been forced to compromise and the proposed changes will not suit everyone.” So we shall just have to wait and see if it works! We are lucky at Fforest Fields because access to the show has always (well for the last five years or so) been good. Hardly a queue, so let’s hope they leave the A481 as it is!

What lovely weather we have been having! It has meant that we have, at last, being getting on with some jobs to get the site ready for Easter. Ken and Cerys are back and we are gearing Ken up to be in bridge building mode……..He’s the Thomas Telford of Fforest Fields! George and I sneaked off for the most lovely walk last Sunday, in the Elan Valley. We walked the ‘far side’ of the second dam. It was sooooo beautiful. We took many photographs, here is just one, the rest will be on the site when I pop them off to Harry.

Sunny Elan Valley in February!

We have found also, that it is a wonderful place to take children to ride their bikes, the gentle slope from the top of the dams to the bottom makes it ideal riding. The whole walk or ride is about 16km and quite beautiful.

George and I took the dogs to the sea today to go for a walk on the sand. We went over the hills, via the Elan Valley. I thought you might like to see what it looks like during the winter months!……….

The first dam in the Elan Valley

The wind was whipping down the valley and the waves were gushing over the top of the dam - it was quite spectacular!

The Royal Welsh Show 2008 will be held on the 21st-24th July inclusive. Make sure to add it to your diary.