Swn y nant

"A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare." 
W H Davies 

An impromptu visit to Garn Lakes this afternoon to enjoy the autumn sunshine. The traffic around Abersychan was unexpectedly heavy so I detoured up towards Talywain, but when we came to the sharp bend by the railway bridge K1 "wondered out loud" what was through there - so I quickly detoured for a ramble around the derelict colliery site, now overgrown, leading up to the British. How different the place is today to when I was a teenager, when the mine here was still working. Today the only sounds to be heard were distant barking and running water from the streams criss-crossing the hillside - Swn y nant as the name on the gate announced, so much more soothing in Welsh. We eventually made it to Garn Lakes and spent half our allotted time talking to L about her move from Portsmouth to a new life in the Welsh valleys. It's incredible what experiences can be shared when we take the time to "stand and stare".