National Botanic Garden of Wales

If only you could trust weather forecasts, life would be much easier. There was a loose plan to walk on Friday as the forecast looked reasonable. Then it changed and Wednesday was forecast as "broken cloud" and Friday as rain. A quick phone call and arrangements changed. However I had not realised that "broken cloud" was Innuit for "deluge of snow"!! Other than a walk to fetch daily papers the walking plan was abandoned.

Thursday is usually my day for volunteering in the National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW), but clearly with snow still laying across the countryside I cried off work but decided instead to have a local walk which would include the NBGW and take some some snowy pictures.

Route

I walked from Llanddarog to Porthyrhyd and then onto the NBGW.

 It was indeed a snowy scene and I walked on through the gardens  and spotted some local wild life

The NBGW have always recognised Alfred Wallace on equal terms with Darwin and from recent stories on the news Wallace's relevance with the theory of evolution is spreading.

My volunteering work includes with my colleague, John, the maintenance of the Willow Play Area.

.I then walked into the wooded area known as Pont Felin Gat.  I returned via the minor road and then onto the traffic free section of the bike route 47.

It was here I saw a rather wiggly cycle track and thought the rider may have had a slippery time.

But then I met the said cyclist coming back and we had a chat.  He regularly cycles from the village of Llanarthne to the post office in Porthyrhyd.  Whilst talking I noticed that the bike did not have the usual chain drive but a drive shaft.  I had not seen this before but the chap explained he had two such bikes and they needed little maintenance and no need for cycle clips! Such an arrangement is however very expensive.

A little further on I came across some animal prints which I assume belonged to a fox or the local yeti.

My wife met me as I neared Llanddarog and treated me to soup and a half of Felinfoel ale in the Butchers Arms where a roaring log fire soon warmed us up.  A good end to a walk - I wonder if "the navigator" could arrange similar endings to our walks.