A different experience: CYMRU
Cymru, the welsh name of Wales and Wales is known for its rugged coastline, mountainous national parks, distinctive language and Celtic culture.
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I and another volunteer had the chance of visiting Wales, going from Holyhead through Snowdonia down to Lampeter. We went there to participate to the launch of the visitor centre of the Long Wood Community Woodland. This is a social enterprise based around the woodland, they manage timber, growing, cutting, selling in the community but also working as an educational and recreational centre. Now, they opened their visitor centre, all timber, solar panels and compost toilet! I was so happy to be present at the launch and find out how the participant perceives and relates with nature.
Visitor centre
Also, our accommodation was in an Eco Lodge, Denmark Farm. More to admire here, because it’s an amazing place, a conservation centre where you have accommodation in the middle of wildlife in a place that fits so naturally in the environment. It runs on biomass and solar energy and they also has a system in place that saves water and treats waste water using natural processes.
The campsite has an outdoor wood kitchen and a compost toilet. If you don’t have a tent you can rent the ‘Yurt’. What is a yurt? Is a Mongolian portable round tent. Traditionally it is covered with animals’ skins, sustained by wood, and is used as a dwelling by nomads in Central Asia.
The yurt in the camping site is the modern version, very spacious, has place for 4 persons but can have extra beds, it’s heated with wood stove and it keeps the heat in a very efficient way. Also if the sun is shining it gets very, very warm. You can admire the stars at night through the wheel on the roof that sustains the frame.
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- The Yurt
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- Wheel on the roof
It’s an amazing place to really be in nature, forget about electricity, internet find other ways to entertain yourself, have nature walks, enjoy quality time with others.
At least for some days…then back to technology otherwise I won’t be able to write this post!
The trip made me more aware of the possibilities that nature offers us through biomass, very useful for my current research!
Amazing Wales…I was impressed to see that people there speak Welsh and kids are going to bilingual schools so they preserve their old language through time.
They care about nature, they are very proud of their green forests and the Snowdonia mountains.
The place and the people made me feel very cosy and welcomed, I can also say there are similarities with the Irish atmosphere and that is normal since we are talking about a Celtic culture.
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- Aberystwyth
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- Caernarfon
Alice