Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means
With the settled weather due to break at the weekend, I decided to make the most of it and head into the hills to bag a few more Nuttalls. Most of the local ones are already ticked off now, so it meant a longer drive, but the Black Mountains and Bannau Brycheiniog still had plenty...
Yesterday afternoon’s stroll over to the beach here at Ynyslas brought an unexpected surprise. Out across the water, the distant outline of the Ll?n Peninsula appeared to be floating above the sea — stretched, distorted, and shimmering in the warm haze. It was a classic Fata Morgana mirage, caused by layers of warm and cool air bending the light...
I only work part-time, four days a week, with Fridays as my day off. It’s fairly easy, though, to accidentally get sucked into some work on a Friday, so it’s best to have a plan to get out of the house and do something. With the forecast looking like a cracker, I decided to make...
Windsurf sessions have been few and far between lately, but with Alastair visiting on holiday with his family, a weekend sail had been on the cards for a while. Fortunately, the wind gods were on our side, delivering a solid north-westerly forecast for Saturday. I rallied the troops and we gathered on the beach —...
Gogerddan, where I work, was officially the hottest place in the UK yesterday, reaching a maximum temperature of 20.9ºC. Not bad for March! It really was a lovely day. Even at home, where temperatures are cooled a little by the sea, we managed to hit 20.4ºC on the Borth and Ynyslas Weather Station in our...
I very nearly went to Scotland at the weekend to backpack and wild camp along the Affric Kintail Way. But then I realised that it would be dark by 6 pm in Scotland, and sitting in a tent on my own in the dark from 6 pm onwards could be a bit of a drag....
Just a few photos from around Ynyslas over the past week or so. Snow in the hills, sun in the sky, sand on the beach and surf on the beach. The surf was good again on Saturday morning, and I managed to get out for a morning session without feeling too cold.
After a busy week at work, it was time to make the most of my Friday off and head into the hills. The forecast was nothing special — just chilly, with possible showers. Most of the recent snow had melted, with only a few stubborn patches lingering above about 500 m here and there. I...
I took these sunset and snowy sunrise photos just over twelve hours apart, on the same stretch of beach here at Ynsylas. Last night’s sunset was one of those understated ones. No big colours or drama, just a steady fading of light and a calm sea. The sort of evening where nothing much seems to...
I somehow ended up coordinating the Plant Science Wales Meeting at work. Somewhat stressful, but it all came together in the end — and it meant a trip down to Carmarthen last week. It was a joint event organised by IBERS, hosted by the National Botanic Garden of Wales, and supported by the Learned Society...
Fitness / Technology / Triathlon
Fixing the Altimeter on my Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Monday, March 17th, 2014
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