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by
Stephanie Howe and Natalie Nelson
On Friday, September
26, we joined twelve other Liberal Arts students as well as teacher
Catherine Gospel in entrusting our weekend to Tony Lurcock, who
promised to guide us through the Welsh countryside, should we be
able to weather it. Happily, we were accompanied by clear skies
and relative warmth throughout the weekend. Here are some of the
highlights
from the trip:
- We took an
evening stroll under the stars after eating at the Three Salmons
Pub on Friday night. We gazed at the brilliant constellations
and were only disturbed by the occasional set of headlights as
we made our way back to Great Tre-Rhew Farm.
- Each morning,
our stomachs were greeted by a plateful of fresh farm food, including
eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, and bread and jam to help us
survive the treks each day.
- We hiked
up and down never ending hills spotted with sheep and cows, leading
to (literally) breathtaking views. In true Wordsworthian style,
Tony helped us to appreciate the splendor of the natural landscape,
even putting his descriptions in "totally awesome" terms
that we Americans could follow.
- Throughout
our journey, we saw four castles: White Castle, Grosmont Castle,
Skenfrith Castle, and Chepstow Castle. They were magnificent remnants
of a long lost age, and impressive jungle gyms for those not quite
ready to give up their climbing impulses.
- The epicurean
epitome of our experience was the four-course Saturday night dinner,
which included lamb, two kinds of potatoes, cooked vegetables,
salad, hard-boiled eggs, shrimp, fresh pies, and cheese. By the
time we finished, we had eaten enough to make up for everything
we had burned off on our twelve-mile hike that day.
- Our gracious
host, Trevor, started off our Saturday night entertainment with
a traditional Welsh song. Tony chimed in with some non-canonical
English ballads, Katie Woods and Catherine Gospel serenaded the
group in French, and many others joined in with everything from
classic American favorites to Dutch songs as we sang well into
the night.
- On the way
home on Sunday, we stopped at Tintern Abbey, the eighth wonder
of the world. With sunlight streaming through the endless arches
and open ceilings, the abbey was a truly breathtaking sight.
After a wonderful
Wales walking weekend, we all returned to Oxford to relax our legs
and give our hiking boots a rest before returning to classes and
regular life the following week. Although we look forward to many
other trips throughout the semester, our Wales adventure was truly
a journey to remember.
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