Back again!

Remember Grey Hill? Yes back again.

I can't help it - I just like the place. I also wanted to take the new camera out for a trial to see how the view from the top turned out.

I haven't got past the auto settings yet! It is far more complicated then my old manual SLR ever was and much heavier than the little Sony Cybershot I've been using so I expect a decent payoff from dragging all that extra weight around!

So - here is the view from the top. It was a rather hazy day but you can see the Severn Crossing and the coast of England across the other side.

Of course I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the circle again. It was looking a lot better this time. The vegetation has mostly grown back and the circle and the stones are again part of the landscape.

The hazy effect is NOT my camera- just the flower heads on the grasses but they give an interesting softening contract to the stones.

We planned to take another route down this time, one we hadn't done before. It was a nice walk through the old forest even if part of Coed Gwent looked like it had never before seen human footsteps.




Can you spot the path? The bracken was head height down here. After battling through the undergrowth and some serious work with map and compass ( and GPS)  the navigators got us back to the car and off to....

 ....the Greyhound for a well earned drink. We shared the garden with a couple of Viking invaders in full costume. Most surreal but dozing in the sun I forgot to sneak a quick picture.

A Grey Hill on a sunny day

Glorious glorious weather - End of January so it must be a trip to Grey Hill. This seems to becoming a bit of an accidental tradition but no matter. It is not a place I tire of.

It's a steep pull up to the top but the views across Wentwood Forest are worth it. I'm also getting quicker at it - must be getting fitter at last!


On the top is Grey Hill Common, an expanse of bracken and heather with fabulous views of Wales on one side and the Severn Estuary on the other. Good view of both the crossings too, the hill is about in the middle. Not quite so keen on the view of the nuclear reactor but you can't have everything.

Buried in the bracken is a small stone circle. On our first trip here in high summer we completely failed to find it although we must have passed very close. A return visit at the end of January 2010 was much more successful. It is much easier to spot without  the head height bracken.

Reaching the circle itself we were in for a shock.

This was the circle almost exactly two years ago. Not a very good camera then so the quality isn't great but you can see the circle nestling into the undergrowth.

This is the scene now. Utter devastation. More stones have been uncovered but at a cost. The vegetation will of course grow back but it was a sad sight this morning.

The circle is now confused with a jumble of stones around it.

It has also  unfortunately been visited by the sort of neopagans who leave the detritus of their rituals behind them, in this case a Native American dream catcher ( WTH?), polyester ribbons and of course the usual tea light cases.

 
Somewhat saddened we walked on past one of the outlying standing stones and back to the path to continue our walk along the common before adjourning to our usual lunch haunt around here - The Greyhound.

I'm sure we will return soon though.