Peaks, Pints and Pub Food - Part One

After two and half weeks since last seeing H, that felt much longer, I was heading away again to explore the Brecon Beacons with him. The plan was to stay in his camper van for a couple of nights of minimalist freedom in nature and then head to Brecon town for two nights in a swanky hotel.

I’m getting used to flying back and forth now and know that arriving at the airport an hour before my flight is enough time when I’ve only got hand luggage. I thought travel was supposed to be glamorous but it was raining as I arrived at the airport and, to save space in my bag, I was wearing my walking boots! H says I still look glamorous to him! The flight was delayed by about an hour and to make it even better there was some pretty nerve wracking turbulence. By the time we landed my palms were slick with sweat and my heart rate was through the roof, the girl sat behind me was crying and all the sharp intakes of breath had about sucked all the oxygen out of the cabin! But I’d had a window seat, the huge cloud formations were beautiful and we stayed relatively low so the breaks between the cumulus gave glimpses of the sea and farmland.

H was there to collect me and, although there had been mention of him showing me where he lives, we set straight out for Crickhowell so I guessed he’d had second thoughts and wasn’t quite ready yet. And that was alright with me. I’d been giving it some thought, come up with some ideas and reached the same conclusion as before - that it really didn’t matter just now. I was just happy to be back with him and taking it easy and seeing where things were going.

We got to the campsite - a really neat and small spot with immaculate facilities and very quiet. Then came my lesson in putting up the awning and setting the van up ready for the night. H had brought almost everything we needed, and more, and once everything was ready we headed out for a walk round Crickhowell and dinner.

We walked through small streets of pretty cottages, past the church and to Crickhowell castle. There's not much left of it but it is a landmark in the town and there is a mound to stand on top of to admire the view. There's a nice mix of small independent shops and the place was quiet.

The Bear was about a ten minute walk away and has a really nice restaurant upstairs. We struggled to choose what to have and everything we chose was exceptional - salt and pepper squid, crab cakes, beef short rib and steak plus an Eton mess sundae to share for dessert - well, I ate the fruit as H isn’t a fan, (I’ll work on that) and he ate the rest. We finished off with a drink in the bar downstairs and he told me a colleague had finally asked him about his new relationship, but in a very unusual way - ‘older or younger?’ were his only words. H has rewritten history by saying that we are the same age, which received no more than an appreciative nod from his colleague. I’m bemused by the question and amused by the answer. I said I thought I could pass for younger than him, which he laughingly denied. I said I’d take a poll from random strangers….

We spent the night in the van with the doors wide open, enjoying the fresh, cool night air under two cosy blankets, and the birdsong at six in the morning that began a lazy wake up with a cup of tea in bed. Then, a simple porridge and cereal breakfast, shower and tidy up and into town to pick up a couple of missing items. We needed a regulator for the gas bottle, two nice firm new pillows and a kitchen knife in a case to keep in the camping kit. Everything ticked off, we wandered along the main street and then found a cafe for coffee and cake for me and a second, proper full English (Welsh?) breakfast for H - I don’t know where he puts it all!

It was still early so we decided to go for a walk along the river. It was a lovely day with bright sunny spells and impressive darker clouds on the horizon, so we just kept walking. The river is wide and shallow, bubbling over stones and rocks and very peaceful. I pulled out my Merlin bird app to identify a song as a sandpiper and then spotted it - a first for me. Eventually we found ourselves crossing a picturesque bridge onto the Glanusk estate, along private lanes, and out the other side. H spotted a sign to a walk back along the canal so we took that. We had a few rain showers along the final stretch, but it was lovely and, we think, about eight miles in total. Just as we got back and sat down under the awning the heavens opened and so we enjoyed a cup of tea and a late lunch roll with H’s homegrown salad while listening to the rain on the canvas and country music on the radio.

Once the downpour was over we headed out for a drink at the Bridge End Inn and sat in the low, late afternoon sunshine in the tiny beer garden overlooking the beautiful old bridge and horses on the riverbank across the water. Then we found another pub that did decent food and got accosted by the local character who was a bit worse for wear and almost unintelligible and asked us if H was going to propose. H decided to go all in and attack that question by saying we’d been married 25 years. How do I feel about that? Still pondering that one but pretty flattered I think... This is third time this sort of conversation has happened - we must look good together. H says three people saying the same thing can't be wrong.

After a night with better pillows we woke slightly later and set about packing everything away so we could get on the road towards Pen y Fan - the highest peak in South Wales. It was a slightly higher, but hopefully easier, climb than the Hidden Glen we had done last trip and I know I’m very unfit, but at least my knee wasn't playing up as it had been the previous week. We threw a picnic in a rucksack along with some warmer clothes and set off up a path which was NOT the easiest route. But we enjoyed watching the skylarks and the climb soon repaid us with spectacular views across the Beacons. We stayed relatively dry and took it steady. We scaled the steep path up Corn Du first and then crossed to Pen Y Fan a few hundred yards further along the ridge and 13 metres higher. We took our photos at the marker and then perched on the edge to eat a good picnic and admire the amazing view and sunny spells. Heading back down we held hands all the way on the wider, easier path - my legs were getting tired and I could feel my knee starting to stiffen up. But it felt good! The walk was about five miles and took us three hours plus a half hour picnic at the top.

And so, having survived the glamping and hiking, what other surprises will the next two days have for me? Watch out for part two...