The Great Wales Adventure
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.

October 2003

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