Welcome To My Second Year Part 2

09/04/17

 Setting up my Quadcopter ready for flight and a walking test along the riverside with the gimble.

10/04/17

          A bike ride in and around Barnton Village Cheshire.

12/04/17

Fitted a150 watt solar panel on the van this morning , after shopping around and looking at them in Spinney motorhomes Cheshire and A&E  Northwich both  of which wanted in the region of £300  for a 120 watt panel without fitting both where a little reluctant to sell a panel with out fitting it for me  they worked the price out by taking two hours labour off (£150 ) ? per hour and around £599 fitted. got mine from E-Bay

 lowenergysupermarket  Brand new at the cost of £129.99  it came well packed and arrived quickly  it to 1 hour in all to fit My charging controller is telling me its charging the battery so hopefully all is well just need the sunshine now.

24/4/17

Been in Chirk for a week now Weathers ok managed to do some fishing a lot of walking and cycling along the canal towpath. Did see a barge from Anderton moored up just outside of Chirk called Dreams of Avalon.

While out on bike got a puncture the front tyre near blew off the wheel rim with 50psi they go with on hell of a bang. The bike will be out of action now shops are few and far between around this part of the country.

Next port of call is Builth wells for some more fishing therapy  after that don't know the plan is as always no plan.

                                 Chirk Video

                  

25/4/17

Going into Oswestry to look for a Halfords and get my bike shorted no use carrying it around  if its unusable. 
Got bike shorted new tyre and tube i also spent some time walking around the town it’s a lot better than i thought it would be just starting to rain first we've had for a week .

Got myself down to Rhayader on the river Wye close to the Elan Valley will stay in this area now for a few weeks if possible i feel a bit of river fishing coming on.

25/4/17

Rhayader

South Gate Toll

Plaque on toll house

  

The River Wye at Rhayader.

                                                                    Rhayder

       I,m  Sat in the Crown inn in Rhayader having an early lunch of chilli con carne with rice and tortilla chips sounds nice, well it is.
having this before i go on a bike ride i have just had a new set of tyres and tubes put on the bike as i thought the road tyres were not the best for the type of riding i was doing.
I did last week get a Kevlar puncture resistant tyre from Halfords total waste of good money this set  of tyres will not let me down Their Schealbe Smart Sam Plus G-Grd ss rated puncture resistant 5.
update:
Just got back from a 25 mile ride in and around the Elan Valley the bike felt a lot better working off road.

2/05/17

Walked to the Elan Valley visitors centre best part of 3 1/2 miles along the cycle track weather was burning hot .I must of walked nearly all the way before i meet any body else on route the feeling of freedom was fantastic and the total solitude was amazing all i could hear was nature at its best. I had my lunch in the visitors centre cafe this was a jacket potato filled with pawns and a side salad well worth the £5.50 asking price. The views in and around the valley are priceless the information centre it’s self can keep you occupied for a good hour before you head off for a walk along the side of the first reservoir all in all it was a good day.                               Elan valley 

                      bike ride along Caban coch Reservoir  and others in the Elan Vally

 

                                                 Arrived in Builth wells this morning .

 Spending a few days in crickhowell a small town that lies on the river Usk  between Abergavenny & Brecon on the river Usk
   Crickhowell

A Quick in Crickhowell.

10/05/17

Went to Llandrindod Wells which was going to be my stopover for the night first called in at Tesco

to stock up the fridge then to the only car park that i could safety part in which was by the side of the train station.  After a walk around the town which to be honest was quite nice but looked very neglected the nicest part was the lake, while in the town i noticed small groups of people hanging around the train station drinking cider.

                                                                         

The Lake

Station

This was not a real problem but i felt a little uncomfortable leaving my van so close also a fun fair was setting up just the other side of the railway line. Im not the short to judge people live and let live

you do your thing and I'll do mine but i erred on the side of caution this time and decided to move on.

I went back towards Rhayader and beyond stopping at the Gilfach wildlife trust

Managed to fly my drone in there but for some reason the drone was so unstable it was not worth the risk i think it had something to do with it being unable to hold its GPS signal. I tried again after a few

hours this time along the river but it was worst i was hoping to get to  fly down a small stretch of the river.Going under a footbridge  which i managed to do the gimble kept the camera steady enough to give me some film which is usable.

                                                                             Gilfach

19/05/17

Still in the Wonderfull Rhayader /Builth Wells area

My friend Tec drove up from Northwich and stayed for a few nights so fly fishing was on the agenda which to say the least with the strong wind and the rain pelting it down for the whole of the first day made it hard work.

A few good size fish were caught and supper for the next few nights shorted so thank you Llyngwyn one of the best Trout Master Waters around, its a 16 acre lake in  Wonderfull peaceful  surroundings.

A walk along the river Elan and the rivers Wye & Marteg allowed us to short out some favourable spots for the next adventure which for me will be in the next week or two.

21/05/17

Sat on the bank of the river Wye on this warm and sunny  Sunday morning watching some small wild brown trout rising and taking the fallen flies off the water.

It would be so easy for me get my fishing tackle and fish for my supper but not today had enough fish  out of the water in the week  so I shall leave these little beautiful fish alone.

Thinking I might go into north wales for a couple Of weeks not sure yet  I find it's a little more difficult to wild camp  in north wales maybe it's just me being picky.

                                                   The river wye south of Rhayader.

22/05/17

Another Drone View Of Rhayader trying the camera on HD1920x1080 @ 120 FPS Slow Motion this also gives you a zoomed in view of the subject

23/05/17

Gone back to Builth Wells for a few days weathers overcast but vey warm  I have just heard the very sad news about the incident in Manchester last night. Being a Mancunian myself it hurts and saddens me to know that these horrible barbaric acts of cowardliness are going on. My heart goes out to all the families involved in this and any other acts of terrorism .

In the short time I've been living on the road I've seen many of the beautiful things this country has to offer, In my time i have also seen the beauty of Italy,Greece, France,Malta,Germany, Yugoslavia and Switzerland. We do live on a beautiful planet and I believe there is room for all to live peacefully their are more peaceful people walking on the planet than war mongering cowardly tyrants.

25/05/17

Now In Brecon.

Brecon its trying to be a nice little town,the town its self is full of old buildings most of which are in need of some attention. But this adds character to the town the canal and river walks along with the views are out of the world it really is a must see place.

24/05/17

Still in in Brecon  but move to the waters edge of the river Usk at the Promenade about a mile out of town easy enough to get to. With it being  Friday night not sure if well will get the boy racers up here,  while out on a bike ride this morning  i meet a bloke stood on the river bank playing of all things the bagpipes. They were Scottish pipes not Welsh never mind  it was great just listening to the guy i believe(Tony) has been in the local papers on a few occasions.  Managed an hour flying my drone wind was at 14 miles per hour thought what the heck lets go for it got my self in a wide open space and bob's your uncle.

See video below I've got a lot of learning to do before i get any real confidence in controlling it instead of just sending it skywards to 400ft. Im off now for a few bottles of the good stuff.

Update the night ended with a rollicking good thunderstorm!.

               Prunella Scales and Timothy West on the set filming great Canal Journeys

   

Love This Picture

Part of Brecon from above

28/05/17

Last nights rain has long gone this morning is nice and bright looking good for the rest of the day. I shall be going on a long bike ride to get away from the crowd that no doubt will be heading this way. Well the crowds people did not show in fact Saturday was the hottest and busiest day I've seen this year. bank holiday Monday was dry but dull all day this prompted me to pay a visit to the local antiques centre where i picked up a nice  playable1937 (dated) chromatic  harmonica .

01/06/17

Sat beside one of the lakes(Cantref Reservoir) which runs along the side of the A 470 between Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil unfortunately its way to windy to fly my drone today. I will be staying here overnight hopefully the wind will settle down yesterday i went for a hike into the Brecon Beacons using the path at ( Pontar-Daf )unfortunately this time the mist was so low i could not see bugger all so no photos .

My view for the day.

After arriving at the picnic area at sugar loaf view and managing to get the drone airborne for 15 mins before the wind picked up. I spent the best part of the next two days confined to  the van only because the wind became Gale force and the rain just battered the hell out of the van continually.  When the weather settled i went into Llandovery for the rest of the day  nice place but nothing going for it the usual pubs/cafes and charity shops and a antique centre near the train station where the staff appeared to remove anything i handled or took an interest in?. Moving on i headed towards Carmarthen stopping on route in a layby on the A40 in the morning i carried onto Carmarthen hoping to spend the day there.

No such luck it was hell trying to find a parking place out of the four car parks i could get into there was no suitable bays to park in.

Another one i tried turned out to be an underground/multi-story car park for the main shopping centre you know the type with height barriers  and a one way in and one way out system luckily i only got 30 foot on the run up before i realised what was in front of me.

After backing back onto the main road coursing hell in the process i thought  stuff this and got out of the place as fast as possible back onto the nice country roads with a destination of nowhere.

         Suger Loaf View

A view from the sugar loaf

A view from the sugar loaf

Gone back to Builth Wells for a day or two  will be able to have a decent shower here and weather permitting a few good walks/bike rides and a days fishing on the river Wye . I might base myself around here and Brecon for a few  more weeks yet  must admit going in to the black Mountain's and the Brecon Beacons is fantastic .  Did you know you have the black Mountain  which shadows Llandovery and the black mountains which shadows Abergavenny and Hay-on-Wye and in the middle you have the Brecon Beacons which shadows Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil. Its a great place for walker's and hikers were so lucky to have all this on our doorstep. The canal and river walks in Brecon are breathtaking as is the whole area .

Went into the town in the evening for a few beers being Friday night the pubs were getting busy drinks where cheap at £2.60 a pint most brews were around the same price.

Later on i called into the local Chinese takeaway  ( China kitchen)

 i last had a takeaway when i was down south with my friends Dee & Andy about eight months ago.

 It was good along with a glass of Bushmills and a DVD ( girl on a train ) this set me up for a good nights sleep.

Have moved off from Builth wells having spent 2 nights in the main carpark gone about eight mile heading in the direction of Llandovery stopping near Beulah on the A483

Moved up to Llanwrtyd wells this morning this is known to be the smallest town in Wales

Its has nice and brightly painted buildings pubs a corner shop and a few cafes. Strange

Thing to me about these lovely place's they all seem to have a very sad and lonely atmosphere attached to them is it me just getting old and sentimental?.

Anyway as with all the places I've been to in the last few days the weather has been dismal so photos are few and far between.

I intended to make way to Lampeter this afternoon unfortunately the road this side of Llandovery has been closed off leaving me unable to access the A482 and the only alternative route is one hell of a long detour .As you know my plan is no plan so no rush to get anywhere I'll just see what the rest of the day brings.

Llanwrtyd Wells

Stopped at sugar loaf again last night woke up to wet and windy weather yet again its not doing much for my suntan around here .

The weather brighten up in the afternoon so i took advantage and went for long walk  instead of driving anywhere, I need to find a library tomorrow i have a few recurring renewals on standing orders mostly for unused email addresses that i want to cancel in fact I'll be looking at ending my phone contract with EE as well and going on to a sim card only deal then just using My WIFI for access to the internet on my computer and ipad. In total this will save me the cost of my motorhome insurance not a bad saving .

What a fantastic day to day has been sun was hot enough to give you a tan at 8 o'clock lock this morning and it was to stay like this till sunset at 9.40 .

There was an event on though the day called the Fan Dance basically this was a organised walk by the Special Forces it involved a circuit around three of the mountains about seventeen miles in total.All competitors had to be signed in and numbered and carried a 37lb back pack plus 2ltrs of water I was told there was 390 walkers signed in.

I myself walked about 12 miles up two of the known walks and had one of the best days out to date I've walked up PEN Y FAN ( 886 meters) 3times,CORN DU 3times ( 873 meters),CRBYN 1 time ( 795 meters), and FAN FAWR 1 time ( 734 meters) in four days not bad for a old codger like myself

Me on top of the World

Went back up FAN FAWR mountain this morning  to see if i could film the horses again  they must of been able to smell me  from at least half mile away.

As they were constantly moving forward  and watching out for me so i stayed put and sent the drone over the top of the horses i only managed to get a few still photos and a small video . I would of walked a hundred miles to capture the photos shown here and these were taken on the drone with me at least 1/4 of a mile away.

Load Of Posers

                         
               Just Horses Short and Sweet Video

Moved on to Hay -On -Wye yet another beautiful place to visit  if your a avid book reader or collector this is the town to visit. It also has some top notch out door adventure shops its by no means a big town but easy enough to spend the whole day in.

The walk / bike ride along the river wye ( the walk ) is plenty long enough and flat enough for most people to tackle but the cycle route along the river is not much more than a mile long.

The road network for cycling is however quite rewarding and challenging if you like walking/hiking you will find plenty of paths ! Offa's Dyke being one.

HAY ON WYE is famous for the Literary Festival and also home to a cycling festival in April and a Walking Festival  in October  not bad for a small town.

                      Hay On Wye

Have now moved up to Abergavenny for the day it has a good shopping area managed to find an EE shop and get my phone shorted not staying over in the town so moved to Crickhowell its only 5 mile back towards Brecon which is where I’m basing myself while am around this area i might see if I can find a suitable spot a bit near to Abergavenny first as i did not get to see all of the town .

Am now back in Brecon need to spend some time in the library this is the best library in the Brecons! it seems my blog site is infected with some sort of bug and my pages are being misplaced.

I will try to rectify this over the next few days not sure if its worth it thou I only have two people following me on the blog. I’m really disappointed about this because I do put a lot of time and work into the blog.

Same goes with my you-tube account the idea behind selling up and living on the road was to give myself the freedom to choose what I want to do with my days I seem to be sitting in a different library every other day doing all this for nothing


Play with a new camera and a moan about this Blog.

     Started today off with a drive into Merthyr Tydfil for an hour then thought i would call and see the four water falls near Ystradfellte which you can get to off the A470/A4059 .
Or off the A465 near Hirwaun i stopped  at a road side cafe at the junction on the A4059 onto the unnamed road that lead to Ystradfellte and managed to get my drone airborne for a while. After driving about seven miles i got to the car park boots on backpack cameras and drone all ready off we go Suns out going to be a nice day. The walk to the water falls is six miles one way not to far for most hikers after about four miles i slipped on some loose gravel and sprained my left ankle quite badly . So that was my days adventure ruined this would be one hell of a struggle to get back to the van.
After about an hour one of the volunteer park warden's turned up in a jeep to pick me up turns out somebody had told them there was a guy struggling along the pathway.
When back in the van got my foot in a bowl of cold water which was nice but didn't help any the warden turned up at my van a few hours later to make sure i was ok.
Im fine other than I cannot depress the clutch to drive can i stay in the car park overnight please ! sure you can was the reply, other than asking somebody to drive my van to the main road and find a layby with me than get some one to pick him up  well that wasn't going to happen was it.


My ankle is a lot better after a few days rest so lets get on with the show managed to get to see all the water falls, stills and video below. I got a parking spot told to me by the warden which meant i only had half a miles walk to the first water jfall. This made it so much easier i still had to put a lot of effort in for the other three the last one being down  some one hundred and sixty steps  well worth the pain though.

Waterfall 1 Sgwd Clun Gwyn.
Waterfall  2 Sgwd isaf Clun Gwyn.
Waterfall 3 Sgwd Y Pannwr.
Waterfall 4 Sgwd Yr Eira.

Sgwd Yr Eira is the furthest one to walk to this is the on with 160ish steps down to it and by far the nicest and the biggest with the added bonus you can walk behind it. Which of course me being a big kid i did.

Made my way to a place named Seven Sisters im not sure if is a town it was certainly a long place the main road went on for ever i only came across two shops a cost cutter and a kebab house. There was row after row of very well kept terrace houses certainly a nice place to drive through on the way to Neath stopping off at Aberdulais Tin Works and waterfall run by the National Trust . After an hour walking around the place trying to find something interesting to photograph i gave up and made my way into Neath.
Neath is a large busy place loads of shops and not many empty one's either which makes a change the indoor market hall is brilliant and open six days a week no empty units in there either. Both Seven Sisters and Neath are worth a visit so is the tin mine in Aberdulais don't go expecting to be impressed sadly you won't be

Found out today that waterfalls two and three are counted as one waterfall and the fourth waterfall is the one that they all jump off into a deep pool below  so it looks like I'll be going on another long walk soon.

Some of The Waterfalls inThe Brecons

 

Two of the views close by

A really bad video of a bike ride through Brecon town centre taken with my camcorder straped to the handle bars of my pushbike at least you get to see some of brecons town.

Had a bit of an issue with my computer over the last few days some programs mainly my  photo and video editing program was stopping the computer from switching off.
After two full days in the library reinstalling  and then uninstalling at least nine times I had had enough so started to pack my stuff away.
When i Picked up my computer two small screws fell out from the air vent at the side onto the table after opening up the back  I replaced the screws to their rightful place turned the computer back on reloaded the program and hey presto no more shutting down issues.
But I still had the issue of a missing link for getting some programs working turned out to be two anti virus programs running at the same time one which has been on since the computer was built for me and an other which had installed itself when iCloud made an appearance on my hard drive.
I have now turned off automatic downloads ?
Update: A big part of the issue turned out to be the Dynamic Link Manger that Adobe use in their programs the ( Dynamic Link Manger EXE.) Had been corrupted do not know if the loose screws had any part in the problem?.


Spent the morning in the town of Abergavenny  a nice busy and tidy town with a good market hall, and castle, and gardens along with good views and walks along the river this makes for a good day out

Taking a trip to Abergavenny  Drive to and back from Abergavenny plus me having a natter

                                                                   Abergavenny

 

Is this taking wild camping to far.

This to me is just going a bit to far there is no restrictions on parking here and motor-homers do overnight here a lot but never to the extent of setting the stall out like this.
I'm all for a free night somewhere with a good view I think this time next year they will be parking restrictions along the canal bank here one selfish act can and usually does spoil it for everyone including themselves.

END.