A Welsh Sketchbook - Day Nine

Day Nine- Weobley Castle and Port Eynon

Our last two days were to be spent on the Gower, an area we did not know, and I have to say we both struggled to see its attraction as the weather got worse and we took more than one wrong turning. Eventually we stumbled on Weobley Castle, a strange polyglot of a fortified house, and stopped to explore. It was interesting, and mostly out of the wind and rain which was a bonus, and in the room set up as an exhibition I found another dead bird on the windowsill (this was to become a theme in the closing days of our holiday). As I returned to the car two escaped sheep followed me, so I managed to draw them before they scuttled up the drive in search of freedom.

We were staying in Port Eynon (or Einon depending which map- Welsh or English- you have), and arrived to find it bleak, closed, and the only activity being a funeral attended by what appeared to be most of the farming community- judging by the number of four-wheel drives arriving. Even the pub was shut until some obscure mid-afternoon hour (which I'm guessing was the wake). Having two or three hours to kill we were relieved that the sun made an appearance long enough to picnic on the beach, which was mostly composed on the leeward side of shells, with some interesting pebbles which were holed with bubbles and seemed to be a form of pahoehoe (Lava with bubbles of gas- the word is Hawaiian). The fantastical geology proved to be the cinch for me however as the shapes and cracks in the rocks were heightened by some form of dark lichen or algae growing in the cracks.

And this is what it became later in the studio at home...

The beach was really rather nice, it was a shame about the town, in the words of Chris Rea it really was an "out-of-season holiday town in the rain". The nearest shop proved to be a garage some 4 miles and two villages away. Luckily the hostel here is a converted lifeboat house quite a way from the town (and the parking) so after lugging our baggage over the distance we were quite happy to relax and take stock. It also helped that the guests and resident warden were an interesting cross section who were all prepared to join in with conversation, so we tapped their local knowledge, planned the morrow, and listened to the rain beating on the windows....