Woke up feeling a bit on the 'meh' side - and found it quite tough to decide what to do , where to go, and, to be honest, when to get out of bed - always a tough one! Decided, for a change to head up the Rhondda Valley, a place I rarely visit - but one full of suprising beauty and spectacular sights, as well as a place of contrast and anachronism. Fantastic pine covered hills & mountains, sheer, deep valleys, awesome rock formations & superb waterfalls, along with valley towns & villages, reminiscant of the 1950s, complete with Elvis walking down the high street, and a fantastic array of flared trousers, shell suits & other way-out-of-time stuff. Interesting!
First stop was a smallish town called Treorci / Treorchy; where the first Elvis's were spotted eating chips, suprisingly, outside a rather scruffy chip shop. He seemed to find it odd that I too wasn't dressed in an Elvisesque manner, and couldn't comprehend the concept of black skinny jeans & Converse... I don't think that style has reached the Rhondda yet, but will arrive in perhaps 2038.
Even odder - and somewhat amusing - was being referred to as a 'f**king f@ggot' by a chip-throwing chav in a pink fluorescent Kappa shell-suit (collapses in shoulder-shaking hysteria) - who was also wearing an oil-stained Burberry baseball cap.... Hmm.. What CAN a man say!
The picture above shows Treorci from the Rhygos mountains. Sadly, pictures can't show the contrast between the heights of the mountains, alongside the depth of the valleys. Good view of Treorci in the distance, anyhow. Standing outside the car to take this picture was almost an impossibility - with gale force north-easterly winds being impossible to stand vertically with the camera stable!
The one disappointment - the 'Welcome To Rhondda' sign was accompanied by one of the BIGGEST Speed camera warnings I've EVER seen!! Not the warmest of Welsh welccomes, but sadly, the kind of high profile traffic control made fairly essential by the standard of driving by some local youths - aka chavs.
Then headed down ot Neath, a small town about 8 miles outside of Swansea. Not a quick stop - had to get passengers back home in time for the sheer unmitigated thrill of Strictly Come Dancing. Nice town though - and open, friendly people who are more than happy to talk, however busy or pressurized they are at the time!!
Back home now... Pub later. Star, Dinas Powys calls, as do three bottles of Bulmers Pear, with copious ice!!
Chris @ Torchwood, Cardiff.
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