Pitsyll Rhaeadr (waterfall)

On Saturday we took a trip to Ludlow to meet my parents for lunch as they were in the area. Nice town with a Saturday market. We found a pub for lunch which had a huge vegetarian choice. I was a bit sceptical at first, however, the food was really good. Ludlow is worth a visit, not got for shopping all little shops which were overpriced, but it was good to wander. – A nice day trip.

Sunday it rained and it rained. The evening before, Scott had said that he wanted to go to the local car boot sale. We have been before; it is huge and very busy. The alarm was set very early, however, I heard the rain and snuggled back into the covers to have a long lie-in. However, the rain did not deter Scott who was up within a second still wanting to go. After some persuading, I decided to join him and we drove first to McDonalds to have breakfast. It has been a long time since I have been in a McDonalds and despite it being cheap I did not rate the food. I had a bagel which was akin to eating rubber. After breakfast we drove to the car boot sale however it was empty, not a car in sight. I was sort o f relieved as I did not fancy walking around a cold, wet muddy field. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching movies until the sun came out and we took a walk to get some fresh air.

Yesterday we drove to a waterfall called Pitsyll Rhaeadr. It is 240ft high and the UK’s tallest single drop waterfall. The journey to the waterfall was not without incident. The satellite navigation decided to take me along what can only be described as a ‘road which is clearly for Land Rovers’ that got more and more off road the further down we drove. Getting concerned over the state of the track I decided that I had to reverse back which was quite far, despite Scott saying that I should carry on. The Sat Nav, then took us along a series of mini country lanes with hardly any passing points. I was very grateful that there were no other cars coming towards us. As it was a lovely day you could see for miles and the sheep were little white dots in the distance. Once we arrived at the waterfalls, there is a way to walk to the top by ‘steps’. It was very steep, precarious, my poor knees suffered and I somehow managed to choke not once but twice drinking from my water bottle. However, the top was amazing and I just sat at watching the water whilst Scott leaned over the edge. I started to reflect on our year as a part of me wondered if we should have spent our time doing something different, perhaps saved up more money to get a round the world plane ticket or continued to travel on the boat. However, when I sat and watched the waterfall I felt content and tranquil. Having read the website about the waterfalls it actually states that people when they visit find a sense of peace and this location has been held and revered in the hidden orders of druidic folklore as one of the most special and sacred locations. I could clearly see why.

On the way down, I decided that it was best to go the long way down the slope rather than risk the ‘steps’ The ground was rather wet and I was telling Scott that my trainers were really not very good for this as they had lost their grip. Within a second I slipped and fell. My whole behind was wet and muddy, which stayed with me throughout the afternoon and our trip to Oswestry to purchase a memory card. I must have looked a sight.



Today is a ‘pyjama day’. We have been out and about so much recently that we decided to save a bit of cash by staying on the boat, perhaps to a bit of cleaning, pottering and if the weather improves go for a walk later on this afternoon.

Photos: Top Two are in the Berwyn Mountains, next are the waterfall and finally photos along the way to the waterfall.