Monday August 29th - Part 1 - Cynwyd, Llandrillo & Carrog

After a very dull start to the day things began to brighten up by 9am, the grey cloud was gradually replaced with more of the white cotton wool stuff and sunshine and blue sky began to appear. The first brief dog walk of the day was followed after breakfast by a longer walk, first to the lake up the hill just beyond the camp site and then down past a row of attractive cottages into Cynwyd village to find the 400-year old Pont Dyfrdwy bridge over the River Dee.

Finding the bridge was easy enough as it was only just out of the village but taking a photo of it was a different matter. A grassy footpath ran from the lane down one side of the bridge and along the riverbank but not only was that side of the bridge in shade I would also be shooting directly into the sun, so I went across to the other side. The footpath there was only short, ending in a locked field gate, and between the path and the riverbank was a large patch of brambles and overgrown vegetation under the trees. 

Just beyond the gate there was a small clearing which offered me the chance to get a reasonable shot of the bridge so after a quick check to make sure there was no-one around I hitched the dogs to the fence post and climbed over the gate. The view was obscured somewhat by several overhanging tree branches but inching as close to the water as I could get without falling in I snapped my photo, climbed back over the gate and made my way back up the path to the lane. Returning to the camp site I put the dogs in the van, refilled their water container then set out for the next place on that day's itinerary. 

A five minute drive from the site took me to the village of Llandrillo. I'd gone through it the previous day on the way to Bala and saw what looked like a little chapel set in a lawned garden and bedecked with flowers - it would be a good subject for a photo but I hadn't stopped at the time because it had been so cloudy. There was a small car park set back off the road near the river and on what could be called the village green next to it there was a small car boot sale so I parked in the shade of some overhanging trees and went for a quick look, though there was nothing there which really interested me.

Crossing the river by the modern footbridge I went to photograph the little chapel, though when I got there I found that it's actually now a private house. With its hanging baskets and plant pots outside the door and a multitude of colourful flowers in the garden it looked really attractive and was worth several photos. Across the road was the proper church and a notice by the gate said it was open so I went in for a quick look. It was a very pleasant place with some lovely roof timbers and just four proper stained glass windows; with a handful of shots I returned to the van and headed back through Cynwyd to Corwen and from there to Carrog, a couple of miles further on.

I've stayed at Station Camp Site in Carrog many times in the past and I've photographed various parts of the village many times, but with its 17th century stone bridge over the river and great countryside views it's an attractive little place and one of my favourites. Even though I wasn't actually staying there I couldn't resist going back to take another look round, and in the day's now glorious weather it was just as nice as I remembered it to be.

With several shots taken from both sides of the river I wandered back to the station car park where I'd left the van; I could quite happily have spent a couple of hours or so in and around Carrog but I had other places to go to and I didn't want to run out of time or sunshine, so with a drink of water for the dogs and a can of Coke for myself I hit the road for the next part of my day.