by John Brooks | May 15, 2020 | churches, heritage, pub, Tintern Abbey, Uncategorized, walking
The last trip I completed from the farm before the coronavirus shutdown was a walk with the poet Wordsworth with a side helping of the artists Turner and Gilpin. First leg was a route to Tintern for lunch at the Anchor, which had just re-opened after extensive...
by John Brooks | Jan 21, 2020 | Brecon Beacons, heritage, Uncategorized
On the 6th July 1942 during WWII, a Wellington Bomber crashed into a mountainside in the Brecon Beacons killing its five Canadian crew. I’d heard about the memorial that had been erected at the site and on Sunday we visited. What I wasn’t expecting after all these...
by John Brooks | Jan 8, 2020 | churches, events, family, heritage, pub, Tintern Abbey, Uncategorized, walking
Christmas starts for us with the traditional Carol Service in the ruins of Tintern Abbey. It is held on the first Saturday in December and begins with a torch light procession around the grounds and into the Nave where a great host gathers to celebrate the season with...
by John Brooks | Nov 25, 2019 | Autumnal trees, churches, dogs, heritage, horses, National Trust, Tintern Abbey, walking
Hats off to Mathew, Jodie and their beautiful Hungarian Vizla, Gwen, for climbing the Skirrid and the Sugar Loaf in one day during their stay with us. Good effort. The couple stayed in the Skirrid cottage, named after the mountain, which they climbed one morning in...
by John Brooks | Nov 11, 2019 | churches, dogs, events, family, heritage, Tintern Abbey, Uncategorized
Daredevils Danni and Mel from Bristol, who stayed with us in the Skirrid with their dog Chester, took on one of the UK’s longest, tallest and fastest zip slides when they visited the National Diving Centre at Tidenham near Chepstow. Despite the rainy weather...
by John Brooks | Nov 4, 2019 | churches, dogs, heritage, National Trust, Uncategorized, walking
Our Skirrid cottage is named after a small Monmouthshire mountain which rises to 486m from the Gavenny Valley in splendid isolation. In Welsh, it is known as Ysgyryd Fawr and its owned by the National Trust. Ysgyryd translates as “shake” or “tremble” while Fawr is...
