J M W Turner famously annoyed John Constable by adding a crude blob of orange - a buoy - at the last minute to a seascape which won him the Royal Academy's prize that year - see the story here. Above is my tribute to the great impressionist - he invented the genre before the French even dreamt of it.
Now, let me tell you, I have done Newport (Pembs) over the long Easter weekend and in the process got my own Let's Get Physical! summer campaign off to a good start.
Among many explorations in the gorgeous sunshine I have been out onto the sands and the estuary (see above);
I have climbed up to the west of the village onto Carningli (see selfie below) and down to the east of it;
I have inspected its two castles, one partly intact with a dwelling built into the old gatehouse (local man and Herald Bard Dillwyn Miles rented it for a while I recollect), the other earlier Norman stockade now just some mounds of turf next to the rugby pitch;
I have explored all its footpaths and felt the cool waters of its many streams (see video proof below - if you repeat the film a few times it's quite therapeutic);
I have stared incredulously at the Mayfair-priced menus of its restaurants (but not eaten in them, obviously);
and I have discovered for the first time the medieval stepping stones across the Nyfer (see below).
These are completely neglected and yet are a fantastic monument to another time - shame on whoever is in charge (perhaps nobody knows who is in charge?).
There was a bridge many years ago but it was knocked down to prevent the spread of plague from Nevern. Can you can still detect a little froideur between these villages, or am I imagining it?
The modern bridge is 20th century replacing one from the 1890s so the stepping stones were important until relatively recent times. When the weather improves I will attempt to cross them and report back to you.
Oh, and I rested when the opportunity arose...
