travel stories: brecon beacons

In August, we were lucky enough to be asked to take part in an exhibition in Wales. We knew straightaway that we wanted to create some large vessels for this installation, in fact - our largest yet, but even though we could have sent them via courier there is always an element of risk and we really didn’t want to worry about them until they arrived safely….. so we thought it would be the perfect reason to take a trip away!

Barley was tagging along on the girls trip too, so we booked a little dog-friendly airbnb near the Brecon Beacons for the night and after unloading the kiln straight into the car, we set off for Carmarthen. While delivering our finished pieces to the Oriel Myrddin Gallery we managed to steal a glimpse of the talented ladies at work who were busy putting the floral exhibition together. It looked incredible!

Back at the Airbnb later that night there was a huge storm. Thunder and lightning filled our bedroom in the loft, Barley was not too happy. We were due to head home in the morning, but by the time we’d had our morning cuppa the clouds had cleared to reveal the pure blue sky and the sun was glowing through the trees. And with that, we decided to book another night and explore some of the local area.

We’d heard about a place nearby steeped in folklore legend, Llyn y Fan Fach, also known as ‘The Lady of the Lake’ where the ridgeline of the Black Mountains dramatically plunges into a swirling lake. When you’re up high and see the patterns and ripples sweeping across the waters surface you can understand how people thought there was a mythical inhabitant!

At the very top, you are rewarded with incredible views across Carmarthenshire. At this point for us the heavens opened and it wasn’t rain, it was hail! Maybe we’d pushed it a bit far with Barley, she is 9 months after all. But after sitting with her tail between her legs and her shaggy coat blowing around in this weather she hadn’t experienced before, she probably realised there was no other way to get back to the car but to continue walking.

We felt with this trip could be a beautiful message about climbing a mountain and achieving your goals but we can’t really figure the words right... We know we’re on the right track now for sure. Here are a few photos from our trip. We’ll always remember this as our first *official* trip as Every Story.