I can’t believe I’m old enough to say that!
ANYWAY.
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| A view of Rhossili. |
It seems disgraceful that, going to Bristol weekly and having lived in London for ages now, I hadn’t gotten Wales-way since it is “just” a three hour drive to the border– but there you have it. (I put just in quotations as this distance seems ridiculously far to a British person, but piddling to me.)
A few weeks ago, I went to visit a new friend in Swansea. The train ride was grueling, which slightly reinforced my reticence to go to Wales. In addition, unlike most of my travels, I decided to approach my trip as a minibreak rather than a culturally immersive experience, leaving the planning to chance…and my lovely host. But any doubts I had quickly dissipated because we ended up at one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever, ever seen, Rhossili. And, because of the confusing Welsh accent, narrow roads and my fascination with sheep, I would never have found it on it own, regardless of research and planning.
Rhossili clearly isn’t like the sunny shores and warm waters of Koh Phi Phi, or the busy, colorful beaches of Brazil. Its something entirely different- achingly desolate, dreary, windy and, yet, breathtakingly gorgeous. Then again, I like the rain, so I guess that makes sense.
The company wasn’t too bad, either.
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| Looking out at the sheep…and choppy water. |
The weather that day was good and bad in equal measure. The clouds hovered pretty much all day, spitting pellets of cold rain that seemed to seep into every little exposed crevice- between gloves and jacket sleeve, hat and nape of neck, etc. But then every few minutes the clouds would part and a little sun would seep through, producing an effect my sisters and I used to call “God’s light” over the water. You can see why I think that term fits perfectly with what we saw that day.
Sunset in Wales comes early, as it does in the rest of the UK. But what a sunset it was a soul food-ly stunning end to a soul food-ly stunning day.*
*Sadly, I cannot take credit for most of these photos. Sam is definitely the artist extraordinaire between the two of us; he clearly has a very keen eye for what makes a beautiful photo! Keep up with his amazing shots on Instagram.