Dafydd's Blog
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See the pictures also at http://ambiorix.druidcircle.org/wales2003/

DAY 1 : AUGUST 4, 2003

After a long journey I arrive in the small train station of Ruabon. There, while waiting to be picked up, I am first of all greeted and welcomed by a cat. Unfortunately my allergies prevented me to greet her back. Then an elderly man walked by with his dog, and told me he does this walk every day. He had spoken to people on this place, from all over the world. I told him why I had come here, and he told me I would find no King Arthur here, it was all a myth. And as for the Knights of the Round Table, he found them most comparable with the Greek Gods.

Then my lift arrived and I was brought to Llangollen. Upon nearing the town, I could behold the hill ("bryn" in Welsh) on where I could see the remains of castle Dinas Bran.

When the next few days were more or less planned, thanks to the help of the people of the Bed & Breakfast, some visitors arrived, friends of theirs. Thanks to those visitors, I had almost been able to get in contact with the writer of the book "The Keys to Avalon", one of the books that inspires me most to write my own. Almost, because he happened to be out of the country.

A good start for my quest nevertheless.

DAY 2 : AUGUST 5, 2003

After visiting Old Oswestry hillfort in the morning (where legend says queen Guinevere lived with her father King Leodegrance, before she married King Arthur), I went to make my tour through the most important locations of the Vale of Avalon.

First there was Valle Crucis abbey, quite large and impressive. Then there was the pillar a bit further on, and then the long walk around. People are very helpful here, and one even gave me a lift with his motorcycle, saving me time and energy, toward castle Dinas Bran. Before that, I intended to visit some cairns and standing stones nearby, but they were on high, steep and rocky hills and there was no safe track toward it. So I climbed the large hill to find Dinas Bran, an impressive place. The ruins make me wonder what it must have looked like once as a full castle. The view from there stretched out far over the landscape, showing Llangollen village far below, and a number of hills all around. The ones who lived in this castle, could keep an eye on everything that happened in the valley below.

After descending from the hill, I went on a boat trip of 45 minutes on the Llangollen Canal, on a boat that was brought in motion by a horse. Upon the stop to change course backwards, the horse curiously came up to face me. The animal even tried to get as close without falling into the canal.

After returning to the village, buying some souvenirs and having dinner, I concluded my day.

DAY 3 : AUGUST 6, 2003

Today was, once again, a remarkable day. I was brought by car to the foot of a hill, from where my journey began. On the top of this hill, I was to find a stone circle. And quite a walk uphill it was! Regularly visited by white butterflies, and also any insect that buzzes, though I did not let it bother me, I went uphill through the fields of grazing sheep. I recall my own thoughts when soon the steep uphill path got me tired, and I told myself that the path of a Druid is not an easy one indeed. Be it spiritually, or physically. Today I felt it physically, and figured that Druids must either have lived up the hill, or else have strong legs and good physics! What a climb it was, but most worth it. Strangely enough, I could not see the stone circle itself, until the very last moment I walked right to it. As if it wants to stay hidden, except for those who already know it is there.

Once I beheld the first sight of the stones in the distance, I had a breathless moment. I had made it, I was right there. And there I stood, beholding the first stone circle I ever saw in my entire life. It was impressive, though the word dos not do it quite justice. My tiredness was soon gone and forgotten, and I began to make pictures from all corners. I beheld the landscape that surrounded me, distant hills that were hardly visible through a sudden mist (had I simply not noticed the mist before, or was it suddenly there?). I was alone on the Earth there. Me and the stone circle, and the sheep. It was peace I felt when I sat down on one of the rocks, and began counting and observing the stones. The stones did not speak to me, but it seems as if they left me a gift of energy I did not truly feel until now that I write it.

I went a bit downhill to see two cairns (burial places), both unfortunately in bad state, when I was no longer alone. Two people, a man and a woman, were just marvelling about finding the stone circle at last. As if it was the most normal thing to do, I went back uphill to greet them. Almost as if I welcomed to the stone circle, since the stones had no voice to tell them themselves. I just had to meet these people who were also willing to do this tiring long climb I did, to see this place. They were no ordinary people, oh no, and that did not take me long to find out. The woman stood in the middle of the circle, where the ground was a bit lower, and said that her feet began to feel really warm. It turned out they had visited quite a number of stone circles before. I showed them the two cairns, since they clearly didn’t know there were any there, and politely requested if I might join them on the way back down the hill. To this they gladly agreed, and I asked them on the way if they were into Druidism, which they said they were not, but I made it no secret that I am. They inquired what my Druid training was about, and I gave general answers such as balance and nature, leaving the details inside a veil of mystery, since mystery is a power of its own. I immediately felt I could trust these people, and I was right. They gave me a lift to a second stone circle, they were heading for anyway (and so was I), which was near a farmhouse. The farmer appeared not to be home, however, so we briefly trespassed his land to see the stone circle. The rocks were fewer, but larger, but this one did not contain the energy of the first one. Perhaps it was too close to the farm, and the inhabited world. They dropped me off at Corwen, where I left the branch I had used as walking staff, on the grass in front of a graveyard and church, and awaited my lift.

Later that evening, in the town of Llangollen, I saw them a second time. I gave them my name, email address and website, since they wanted to know when my book would come out so that they could buy it.

This day I had to conclude with a good meal, and will now be followed with a well-deserved rest.

DAY 5 : AUGUST 8, 2003

I specifically did not write anything yesterday, because I was mainly travelling from Llangollen to Caernarfon (and had a brief visit to Chester on the way), and once I arrived, I only went to explore the nearby town centre. I was too early to make up my mind yet, as I had to get rooted here first a little. Well, today I did and I have a more clear view of Llangollen VS Caernarfon.

The people of the Bed & Breakfast here are nice and friendly (as about every single Welshman I met) but they are not the kind of people who will be able to help me figuring out where to go, and how to get there. Indeed that is the difference between people living in a town, and people living in or near a village. Llangollen, since it is a village only, is more peaceful, and there is less distance between people. My location in Caernarfon, however, enables me to get about anywhere I want with public transport, which was practically impossible to do from Llangollen. I am much closer to the town centre here too, only a 5 minutes walk instead of a 20 minutes one. Quite a difference, I would say, if you need to make that walk in the evening, after dinner with a full stomach, and going uphill.

Either way, both have their advantages and disadvantages, and so far I have not been disadvantaged at either place, though I must say I feel more at home back in the hills of what must be the realm of Avalon.

But to come back to our present day in Caernarfon, I can tell quite a few things. After booking a ferry to visit Ireland on monday, I visited Caernarfon castle. It is a huge medieval castle, and very much intact. I did spend quite a few hours there. In one of the towers, was a small theatre for a 23 minutes movie on the history of the castle. But what interested me most there, was the beginning, where the speaker in the movie quoted the words of Merlin on the creation of the land of Wales, the dragon fights and the formation of the hills and mountains, before man ever set foot there. Interesting words, and very useful for my book! It went too fast to write it down at the very moment, so I went to ask if this movie was for sale on video. It was not, and neither did they have the text available. But they could tell me that it came from Geoffrey of Monmouth, of which I have a book at home. I will have to wait, then. But find this text, I will!

Next, I set out to a Roman museum, near the remains of a Roman fort. It was certainly interesting to see, but also interesting to talk to the man who worked in the museum. He believed that Druids come from outer space (from the region near the Black Sea? Naww, from Venus!), as time travellers. We still have the genes of these same time travellers, and through those genes we carry hidden memories. When we remember something of a past life, it may not necessary be a memory of a past life of our own, but perhaps that of our ancestors of long ages ago. Is it possible? I don’t know, but perhaps it is something to consider, as every theory deserves the right to be at least considered. He also claims that Anglesey is still the Isle of the Druids it once was. It is full of Druids, he said, but they wear clothes like every one else, so you would not likely recognise them.

As a conclusion, he told me he would sell my book right there in the museum, once it’s ready. It looks like once my book is published, I will have to travel to Wales once more to find customers more easily. Why not?

As a conclusion, he told me he would sell my book right there in the museum, once it’s ready. It looks like once my book is published, I will have to travel to Wales once more to find customers more easily. Why not?

DAY 6 : AUGUST 9, 2003

Today was not so much a day of discoveries, bur rather of experiences. Yes, a few, quite actually. Oh, and not to forget the trespassing. Let’s start with the beginning.

As I had thoroughly planned before, I took the bus to Bangor, and from there another bus to Anglesey, and to be more specific: Plas Newydd in the southern part of the isle. Once I got there, I found myself at an open-air theatre. Some play about Vikings, I believe. I would have loved to see it, but I didn’t know if time would allow me. I had no idea how much time I would need to find the places I intended to find.

The first on my list was a burial chamber, supposedly to be right behind the theatre’s domain, in a "public place" according my map. But according to the people of the theatre I could only get as close as the fence would let me, which was still pretty far.

But of course, I did not travel halfway Britain to see prehistoric Celtic places, to then be stopped by a simple fence! No, I did not climb the fence, but I was being nice and walked into the entrance road toward the domain. There was no fence or portal to stop me, only a "Strictly Private" sign, and that was easy to walk by and pretend I hadn’t seen it. In other words, I did get to touch the stones of this impressive dolmen, and when I calmly made my way out, I was even greeted by a passenger who walked in on the domain.

The second one, a chambered tomb, proved not to be so easy. I had to trespass deep into the domain of Plas Newydd farm, and ignore more than just one sign. I even had to make my! Way into the wild of the forests there (not that I didn’t enjoy that), and almost gave up on finding this chambered tomb, when it occurred to me that on the nearby field, was a small hill with three trees on top of it, of which one was dead. Finding a place where I could easily climb over the fences, I trespassed not only the farmer’s land and forest, but also his field. Apparently there were no grazing cows or sheep there at that moment. And indeed, a small stone chamber at the foot of the small hill could be found. It was not effectively barred (since I shouldn’t have been there in the first place) but getting inside would not have been a good idea. For one, it was too small, and there was a nest of bees inside I rather did not want to disturb.

Having that location resolved, I returned to where I entered the farm, to run into two men and a dog, who saw me coming out of a "private track". They were friendly, and presumed I was simply lost, and I acted as if I was making my way back to the main road and had just found my way back. Good enough, and I went on to the next location on the agenda: a passage tomb called Bryn Celli Ddu. That one was easy to find, as a track went straight to it. It was impressive indeed. A small hill, surrounded by a henge, and a chamber inside. Entrance to the chamber was barred, but the impression was there nevertheless. As I climbed the top of the small grove hill, and I sat down on the grass, a peace came over me. I did not want to leave this particular place, I felt connected here. It was unexpected, that this came onto me. I felt at least as good here, as at the first stone circle I visited. Perhaps I can compare the sensation with that of a tree’s connection, though not quite the same, but close enough. Eventually I moved on, searching for a nearby standing stone. I made pictures of what I thought this standing stone should be, and even now I’m still not sure. Having completed my list, and wearied my feet enough for the day, I made my way back to the bus station at Plas Newydd, and returned to Bangor. As it was still too early to go back, I decided to have a look at the centre of Bangor. As I walked there, through the main street with shops and all that, the feeling suddenly washed over me: I was home. The same feeling I had felt about three or four years ago, when I set first foot on British ground. I felt at home. I could live here and be happy, even if I knew no one there. Strange that it did not happen in Llangollen or Caernarfon (though Llangollen does have my affection) but in one of Wales’ bigger towns. I realised that I could take the bus there as simply as at home in Belgium, not having to worry if I took the right or wrong one, feeling completely confident as if I had done it all my life. I wished I had discovered this connection with Bangor sooner, and resolved to locate my Bed & Breakfast there next time I visit Wales. It was there also, that I found a few very useful books on the Arthurian legends, books that would tremendously help me on my novel.

And to conclude with one endnote for today: I decided to buy an extra bag, or I would never get all those books I bought here, back home!

DAY 7 : AUGUST 10, 2003

Today the weather did not look very promising when I woke up. In fact, it was typically British: rain. For a moment I feared I would have to cancel my plans for today’s visit to the hill Dinas Emrys (the hill where king Vortigern wanted to build his fortress, and at night it fell apart, until Merlin told him it was because of an underground pool under the hill, where one white and one red dragon fought each other at night). A bit later than planned, I did go anyway. It had stopped raining, but it was still very misty. The mist cleared too, by the time I arrived at my destination. The bus driver was so kind to drop me off where I was supposed to be. Turned out it was too far, and I had to walk 20 minutes back, but at least the intentions were good. I reached the hill of Dinas Emrys, but there was no track leading to it. No way to get near. For a moment I feared I had come for nothing, but I didn’t give up, and found this little sign that said Dinas Emrys could be accessed through the tracks of a nearby walking path of a restored nature domain. The maps provided at the entrance of this domain, once I got there, gave no indication of a track leading to the hill I intended to visit. So I took my chances and began to walk the track that went the closest to it. This track leaded me around the hill, allowing some nice views on it. But the hill was surrounded by fields with sheep and fences. Yet, I went on until the track had gone nearly all around the hill. Until I saw a sideway track, not displayed on the map, that I figured might bring me at least closer. As it is in the Snowdonia area, which exists of alot of hills and mountains, going uphill and downhill was normal for this track. This sideway track happened to lead uphill, and it kept doing so. On the way I saw some beautiful capricorns. At one point, I reached the top, and it was not until then that I noticed I was actually on top of Dinas Emrys! Somehow I had gotten there without realising it. The view on the surrounding hills, mountains and valley, and also a lake, was beautiful there. And thus, I had found my way to the top of Merlin’s hill. But if I thought Merlin would make it easy on me to descend from it again, I was wrong. The path had stopped on the top, and to go down on the other side meant guessing which way might be the safest, or in other words: less dangerous. Steep it was and without holding on to the rocks, and the branches of the trees, it would have been impossible. The rocks and sand was also still wet of the rain that morning, not making things any easier or safer. One step wrong, and I would fall into the depth. I did realise this, but I was not afraid. Every step was calculated, and it seemed as if I was totally used to such things. But at least, there had been no sign that said I couldn’t go here. Not that there was a sign that said I COULD go here. I warned myself not to lower my guard and keep alert with every step I took. And that is how I did get back safely to the foot of this hill. Then it was just a matter of crossing fields with sheep, crossing some small rivers with calculated steps on the stones, and climbing over a wall to get back to the "public area". Well, there isn’t more to be said. I walked on to the nearest town, had something to eat and drink, and took the bus back. I guess this was my last walk in the nature of Wales. At least for this vacation.