Carreg Cennen Castle

Carreg Cennon Castle viewed from the circular trail that we walked.

Update from Tuesday Sept. 16:

On Tuesday, we had a lovely 4 hour hike around Castle Carreg Cennen. It only rained a little bit. The dogs got wonderfully muddy and attempted to work sheep at every turn. I wish North America had so many public footpaths and right of ways! They had some really neat gate systems too - which John will design and build for Creekside (eventually).

Tap and Pat on the alter of the chapel.

Posing on the ruins - yes the Muck boots got a lot of wear on this trip!

This was a secret cave / tunnel that was underneath the castle. We didn't have flashlights and Pat wanted NOTHING to do with going down that dark hole...

Bragging rights of this particular castles were "indoor latrines". Basically a chute lead to a hole on the outside of the castle wall, probably designed to empty onto oncoming enemy knights...

Seen one, seen 'em all? No. Definitely not.

The sign says "Lord's Chamber". He had a great view over the land to spy his (probably) many enemies. I hear old lords were a cruel lot...I know this because I am reading Ken Follet's "World Without End" right now.

A neat looking forest...Could be in any Hollywood movie, perhaps about medieval witches...

Walking again.

These Mountain Ponies are basically wild and share the mountains with the sheep. Many of the mares were heavy in foal, or had foals by their side. They were beautiful.

We found a nice, clear stream by a series of ancient caves - all posted with warning signs about the dangers of caving. No warning needed here. We stayed safely in the open.

Another view of the castle, high up on the cliff. If I were the leader of an invading army, I would be turning around at this point. Guess what Tap and Pat are looking at? Baaaaa.

You would think the sheep on these mountains, leading a hard existence, would be small and thin and weathered. Nope. They pretty much all looked like this.

And then it was time to pack...Pack up all the muddy dog towels and blankets, bathe the dogs with the cold garden hose, clean their muddy crates...Ick. And WHY do suitcases never close properly on the way back? We hardly bought anything (everything there is double the price), except some Welsh cheese and Scotch. And it's not like I was coming home with any big trophies or anything...

Update from Wednesday Sept 17:

We packed a lunch an headed off early for London, as I thought we could stop in Bath on the way there (I am a Jane Austen fan!). We forgot that there is rush hour in other countries so were left with only 15 minutes in Bath - not enough time at all! The dogs had a bathroom break, their 2nd breakfast and then it was time to head out again. But I did capture the dogs in the park in front of the Royal Crescent. I bet Jane Austen walked on this grass too...At least most of her characters did! Pat and Tap enjoyed a roll on the lawn. The Crescent doesn't look as nice as it does in the Jane Austen films.. At Heathrow it was pretty hellish with the dogs, but we got them all checked in and loaded. The flight home was long, but not so bad. Good movies make all the difference! I can't tell you how happy the girls were to get back to Creekside.

I am not sure I would ever fly my dogs half way around the world to compete in a trial where the level of competition is so much higher than what I normally see. Next time I would be less nervous, and know more what to expect...And we met some great people over there...

And now the blog comes to an end...THANK YOU for reading and THANK YOU for your support - I am only sorry we didn't do a bit better, so that our generous sponsors would feel they invested in something worthwhile! I will be writing an article for DogSport Magazine, over the next couple of months, but really - everything is on this blog!

Signing off now...Until the next adventure!