Well that was a wonderful weekend! We're planning a family ascent of Snowdon (A mountain in Wales) in 3 weeks time, so the in-laws came over for the weekend to get a couple of practice walks in - as we live near the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains there's plenty of practice hikes near us! No weekend is ever completely knitting/crochet free in Claire Clutterbug land though, so I spent the 5 hours hiking up The Skirrid Mountain in Abergavenny thinking about yarn bombing!
My husbands cousin is a fellow knitter & crocheter, but she's much younger & cooler than me & is into yarn bombing. As she'll be coming on the Snowdon trip, we have decided to do a joint venture - we're going to decorate Llanberis with knitted & crocheted pot plants! So en-route I took a few inspiration photo's & I plan to design pot plants based on these flowers I saw along the walk from Abergavenny to the foot of the Skirrid:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpxWdOL7Rq00xOZkeZtCFAZ_VJYx-WKOC_QH4uJG9GB7Cnh685pCckbqc7iylrQ0ANJDdwJvBPbqnTj9YiwXopVndD-cyy7N21DnSfZ5Y6emMLAN0Jee7BMmMa1sbI3oEVhCX7prDjbNr/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+016.jpg) |
Dog Rose |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQ8WeEqyV-hi_JOQvEGVZTnVyyErAvDt4uZtGWys9-2AcPy0bVQKj_MMMjqLXLHM4kfF-Y8timbDqclxLrtfmo2lmaS5Yo8NKswszHF_NWYC2pJo690zSup_xlDVbFD_7u5sUq7-p90uN/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+007.jpg) |
Wild Geranium |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoG_ZTiO9dvrHYJEmkjd0R4sqfrOAdqIsewTDKpHyPrOIBD6RQliLTK1j1tmrPzHKacBrt22Yxp7wk5n3ugivzf1B0CJO52tvycC56c09fX62nANPNPQZOuTrNGq5_XPrII-T09N4q7xX/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+018.jpg) |
Blue Geranium |
I had lots of thoughts on how I could make the stems & leaves & stamens...amazing what your brain comes up with when you're refusing to let it think about how much your thighs hurt! The Skirrid isn't that high - 1,129 ft from the foot of the mountain, but it's very steep - about as steep as you can get without needing climbing gear!
But the views from the top were worth it!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeTmgGnVQK5-0w6Z5uZGDOU_0qP_fOHcr9QkKwQNiNGxXqSgyOZrrgjwxut1MecCzJkTf2c1slM9hhmS-tIx30jnt8AO5-y6tD4SnL6b8xA3C3plni-UKCt7wyHfzAAHBEtP5l_BjUQKb/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+041.jpg) |
Abergavenny is to the far left, Sugarloaf Mountain is in the centre |
And we couldn't have picked a better day - it was sunny but not too hot with some amazing cloud formations, breezy but not too windy & perfectly clear - we could see for miles & miles!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVh8iTdNZ8UQqLrxQVyG4_xynJZgG9ntdneoHYiMhm8X95utepLbpFjsiikdViIGZ6EwkEC9JG8vQbMgMW1vh5_06VZAFZl4f8XpermDdWWa7hao2XBKQNtks1ly5ZJq65gqza5yLhGUmM/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+046.jpg) |
Sugarloaf mountain to the far left & the Brecon Beacons |
Isn't South Wales just beautiful? I'm so lucky to live here!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGdLVWN74OUlkEZKUvwZHo7ubPJoTpUZsRgNZQ7nKydcHv2sNQ78G4RF1ZXvWMvhSCE8v8H8_BmFybcvyD1HkUVUpjw8B-rRQYCohfYYkqMwtp7YKI3CFLctikd9li6NoUNGQsBHSyhIP/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+048.jpg) |
Herefordshire - England looks so flat compared with South Wales! |
Once we'd made the steep climb, there was a long gentle climb along the ridge to the highest point - to the left was Wales, the Black Mountains & the Brecon Beacons, and to the right was the flat fields of Herefordshire & England - the difference just looking to your left, then to your right was amazing!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfs4HFEwmh9EQuVAHyFnDp1WAiM-l-CXT7CrwyqbOXMJ5VSMA3aPmUd1vqmTj3BVd3Qhb5W-7nnh563As44FxphOEq7CZ7EDMBfM6F8ZAOgSWb6gasO-tdJyL3SBiKU5rAV0hgdlhFWbWM/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+050.jpg) |
I love clouds - I find them fascinating! |
I could have sat up there looking at the views & the clouds all day long...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0SM2J_XOlck8eEPHL7oE5_ynAgTZDB440ob0rd5E9_xEKbB456Ys9494Nzrxqdw8cKflLhUCm_klINQ4o3SUxEip3tId0Q-tdXTTHe2KQIagnbqJIUEl5EV4ahfx5tHU2zwJdCfBLWuX/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+055.jpg) |
An arty black & white photo of Sugarloaf from Skirrid |
But we didn't have any food & were running out of bottles of water!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqawN4Sp1jBy3lBr-L5v8aN6tciXi4uH0_ORLZUnmrsbsu2laQjwLn6F_fkLveclz7-qOXlIzZboJUjIfQYXAqaLcsCsPYtjFX9zDofFoUqtalNVp074obp60IIVD9VDyFEBqmC_rKkKb/s1600/Y+Skirrid+Fawr+056.jpg) |
The top - finally! |
But we finally made it to the very top :o) All I was fit for when we got back home was eating my dinner, snuggling on the sofa with my husband & sleeping! So I didn't get to write down any of my design idea's...so I'm very glad I took the photo's - can't wait to get started on them tomorrow! I only have 3 weeks to make them, so I'm hoping to be able to add a new pot-plant pattern each week for the next 3 weeks - hope you like them!
Well, we've been for another 6 mile walk around Penarth Marina, the Barrage and Cardiff Bay today & my legs are starting to feel rather achey, so I think it's time for a long soak in a hot bath. And I think I deserve a treat so I may take a glass of Baileys & ice with me! Oh I hope I'm not in too much pain tomorrow...
Love & hugs
Claire Clutterbug xx
Hi Claire, Thank you for sharing this journey :) My Nana was born in Wales and we were very close. I was able to visit with her and my Grandfather, many years ago, and it was so very beautiful! I loved the photos :) I always remembered Wales looking like a 'patchwork quilt' and the photos still make me think of that. She was born in Pontypridd, Glam. I can't wait to see the flowers you design. The foxglove is beautiful. I shared it on my pages.
ReplyDeleteHugs from across the 'pond', Rhondda