The Wardens’ Blog – Lake Brian

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The Wardens’ Blog – Lake Brian

The Wardens’ Blog is back! We’ve been requested to get blogging again! We are rather happy to hear that we’ve inspired folk to seek out new places and that we’ve managed to surprise those of you who have been coming to the Woodlands for years yet not heard of some of the places we discovered so far. So the challenge is on – to find even more unusual locations and discoveries to share with you all.

We’ve not had much time to go exploring so far this season, with various errands and work on our van needed to be done. So this week marked one of our first trips worth writing about…. and it started with wanting to go the cinema. We decided to venture further and go to the multi-screen in Carmathen so we had more choice of films and timings. And then we decided to go the “long way” to the cinema 🙂

Upon arriving in Tregaron, we took the small road headed east into the southern end of the Cambrian mountains. The road is a little steep at times and a single track for most of it, but well worth the adventure with its stunning views of the hills and trees and valleys. We then just kept following our noses along the road through the forest until we reached the incredible sight of Llyn Brianne, or as we like to call it “Lake Brian” (thank Meryl for that one!).

Llyn Brianne is HUGE and absolutely breaktaking. The circular route around the mountain tops looking down is incredible, a little scary at times, and takes a good amount of time to drive around. There are plenty of places to stop to admire the view, and picnic spots dotted around with paths that lead you down to the lake edge. Peaceful and rather epic looking, this was a great way to drive to the cinema but also well worth a visit in itself 😉

For more information check out Trip Advisor and the route here on Google maps, or there are some good tips on the doggy friendly website Dog Days Out which are useful even if you’ve not got four legs.

 

 

The Wardens’ Blog – Corris Mine Explorers

Wherever you go in Wales, it seems you end up passing a mine. We’ve been tempted to venture in and explore them, but decided it was best to get a guided tour with someone who actually knows what they are doing! So we thought a good place to start would be the Corris Mine Explorers.

You have a choice of trips – 50 minutes as a taster, 2 hours for a bit more exploring or a half day expedition for the more adventurous. Obviously we went for the half day tour! But we are certain whichever you choose, you will learn a lot and enjoy the experience.

A lot of the enjoyment comes from the amazing guide and host “Mr Mole” who is incredibly enthusiastic, passionate and knowledgeable about his mines, as well as entertaining! And he is a trained paramedic with experience of search and rescue, so he makes you feel super safe and looked after whilst you venture deeper into the tunnels. No tour is the same, and he will get to know the group and tailor it to suit the needs, interests and abilities of everyone.

The mine itself is HUGE with incredible openings and chambers and tunnels. What was more surprising were all the artefacts kept in place along the way, remnants of the workers’ tools, belongings and equipment, all found within the mine. From old cigarette packets, tea cups, chisels to lamps, wagons, candles and even explosives!

The 4 hours flew by, we could have stayed hours longer and quite sure Mr Mole’s stories and facts could have filled days or even weeks down a mine! We definitely recommend this experience, and will be going back again ourselves.

Check out the website  for more information, its worth booking ahead and make sure you take warm clothes, wellies and a snack to eat if you go on the longer tour.

(We loved it so much that we forgot to take any pics, even outside the mine, so here are some photos from their facebook page!)

 

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