Monmouthshire is rich in castles; there must be a dozen within 15 miles of my house, although not all are open to the public.

My local postal town is Caldicot, which just happens to have a fine example of a residential castle.

There has been a fortification of some description in Caldicot since Roman times, possibly earlier.

The present castle is Norman and being privately owned, is one of a handful in Wales not under the control of Cadw.

Medieval banquets and jousting tournaments are regularly held and open air theatre occasionally takes place inside the walls on summer evenings.

Unfortunately the castle is still closed at this time of year, so all my photographs are from outside the walls.

A few notable facts about Caldicot:

In 1376 Caldicot passed to Thomas Woodstock, third son of King Edward III.
When Edward died the throne passed to his grandson Richard (Richard II).
In 1391 Thomas was kidnapped and murdered by his nephew Richard II.
In 1399 Caldicot was passed to Henry V and became part of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The stewardship of Caldicot passed to the Herbert family on the fifteenth century and in the sixteenth century was then leased to the Somersets, whose powerbase was at Raglan.
It is said that Henry VIII was conceived at Caldicot in 1490 when Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth were visiting Caldicot.

As usual, click an image for a larger view.

Okay, there's a song title in here - who'll be the first to spot it?

Well it's Friday evening and that means you're just a few hours away from the A Little Something For The Weekend; this week's Teaser will be available around 8:00am in the morning.

But before I get completely side-tracked I have a few sensible images to share with you; some Treescapes.

Fenced-in Oak

Land Reclamation

Secret Cow

Primeval Trees

Hope you enjoy: as ever, the images are clickable for larger views.

Last Christmas I gave you my heart
And you gave me a...

!! R O B O T !!

This charming little chap, Robosapien, is programmable, so you can make wander around avoiding the furniture and picking things up if you really want him to.

Obviously based on the human male, Robosapien yawns, belches and farts when he wakes up...

Perhaps most endearing is Robosapien’s in-built dance routine; he certainly puts me to shame on the dance floor (although that’s not really very difficult).

Every home should have one.

As well as shaping our modern towns and cities the Victorians also tried to shape the lives of the people who lived in them. One of the great legacies passed on to us by our Victorian forebears are some of the parks and open spaces we still enjoy today.

There are several parks and gardens in my home town of Newport and while all serve their purpose I think my favourite has to be Belle Vue Park.

The land on which Belle Vue Park stands was a gift to the town from Lord Tredegar in 1891 to provide a public park for the people of Newport.

An open competition to design and construct the park was won by Thomas Mawson (1861-1933) of Windermere.

Belle Vue Park was Thomas Mawson’s first win in an open competition. He went on to become one of the foremost landscape architects of his time, responsible for the design of many gardens in his adopted Cumbria, including Holker Hall and Rydal Hall as well as Dyffryn Botanic Garden in Cardiff.

In November 1892 Lord Tredegar performed the ceremony of cutting the first sod; construction began and the Park opened on 8th September 1894. The final cost of the Park is recorded as £19,500.

Belle Vue Park has many features typical of a Victorian public park, including the conservatories and pavilion, bandstand and rockeries.

Additional features were added to the Park throughout the years. The Gorsedd Stone Circle was erected in 1896, for the National Eisteddfod, held in Belle Vue Park in 1897. The bowling greens were opened in 1904 and a Tea House added in 1910.

In 1924 the adjoining house and grounds of Belle Vue House came into the Council’s ownership and the additional 11 acres of land were absorbed into the Park, which now extended to 26 acres.

Here are a few images of the bandstand, pavilion and conservatories.

Please click the above images for a larger view.

Now that Spring is most definitely with us and the weather is getting warmer I thought I’d remind you all of those cold Winter days when you just had to put your hat and gloves on before stepping out for a walk in the weak sunshine.

In these pictures the winter sunshine was being enjoyed by walkers, their families and pets at Ogmore; one of the beaches local to me.

Of course not everyone visits the beach with family or friends, but this solitary chap seemed to be enjoying himself just the same.

As usual, feel free to click the images for a larger view.

Inspired by Kiki I decided to post a few images of Tretower Castle, Powys.

Tretower is a medieval motte-and-bailey castle established during the Norman conquest of Brycheiniog. Entrance to the castle is via Tretower Court.

Tretower Court is a restored courtyard house with origins in the fourteenth century. Rebuilt by Sir Roger Vaughan in the fifteenth century. Magnificent timberwork survives in the northern and western ranges, with later Classical-style windows dating to the 1630s. I'll post some images of the Court if there's any interest.

The usual click to enlarge applies.

So there I was lying in bed at 2:30am this morning, wide awake and wondering what I was going to do with the rest of the night...

Well in the end I got up, as you do and wandered my way downstairs. I toyed with the idea of turning on the TV and subjecting myself to some midnight dross, which would be sure to put me to sleep. Decided I didn’t want to end up with a stiff neck though, so I answered a few Blog comments, posted a few Blog comments of my own, carried out a short email conversation with an old friend and then started playing.

Standing on my patio the other day I was taken by the way the sunlight was dancing in the droplets formed by my pond’s fountain.

While quite a pleasing image it’s not exactly inspiring, so I thought I’d play with it a while to see if I could enhance it: here follow the results...

You'll want to click on these to see the proper effect.

It looks more like November than March outside this morning, although I guess the mist may burn off once the sun gets going. The air feels chill though and I note this morning’s temperature is 1.8 C so it’s really not too warm out there.

Well now here’s the thing. My coffee grinder decided to have a bit of a fit this morning and I ended up spilling half ground beans and coffee dust onto the work surface while I cleared the jam.

Once sorted, I scooped the detritus into the palm of my hand and headed outside to the bin. Auto-pilot took over at this point and I dumped the part-ground coffee onto the step where I normally put stray bread crumbs. Bugger! Oh well, I’ll clean it up later.

Sitting enjoying my morning cup of Joe, I look out the window and what do I spy? Why it’s my family of blackbirds pecking at the cracked coffee beans; well blow me, thinks I, birdies what likes a morning lift!

Ten minutes later and the step has been cleared, aside from the odd specks of dust, which brings me to my morning question: do blackbirds naturally enjoy coffee, or were the pair that have set up home in my garden also operating on autopilot this morning?

Answers on a postcard please....

Do you see monsters in the trees around you?

Be afraid....

Be Very Afraid!

Just thought I'd post a few images from my stroll around the fields on Sunday morning. Nothing particularly outstanding here, just some interesting shapes that caught my eye.

Spring is sprung and all that...

As ever, click an image for a larger view.

Unashamedly nicked from Wales' national newspaper, The Western Mail, this article just needs to be shared.

LONELY hearts farmers are to appear on the side of milk cartons to help them in their search for love.

Missing person appeals have successfully been placed on the side of milk bottles for decades, now shoppers will be able to pick up a date when they get their pinta.

"Fancy a Farmer?" stickers will appear on Calon Wen's range of organic milk, featuring the faces of rural singletons who are looking for love.

The stickers include details of how shoppers can get in touch.

Iwan Jones, whose own lonely hearts advert might read - farmer, 30, likes backpacking, listening to The Killers/Norah Jones, WLTM easy going woman, not too thin - is a director of Calon Wen, and runs a 250-acre dairy farm at Groes in Denbigh.

He said the "lonely hearts" stickers were a similar idea to the missing persons ones that have already appeared on milk cartons UK-wide.

Iwan said, "The Welsh countryside is a great place to live, with stunning scenery, but it can be a hard place to find a date, as I'm finding out.

"The stickers idea started off as a joke when I mentioned that unless people find partners, there might not be many family farms left to pass on in Wales in future.

"But the idea snowballed when other singletons agreed and wanted to appear on the milk cartons, as well as myself.

"Although it can sometimes seem like most farmers are married, it turns out there are a lot of single rural people.

"The ratio of men to women is skewed where I live because a lot of young women have moved to other areas like Cardiff to find work after leaving college.

"I've been through the clubbing scene in my early 20s and had a few relationships while at Aberystwyth University, where I studied business and agriculture.

"Running a dairy farm can be a tie, although I do get some nights out to Ruthin and Chester. If I met a nice partner I would be prepared to travel - I have had long distance relationships in the past.

"I have just turned 30, an age that makes you think a bit about settling down."

The group decided to launch their venture to coincide with St Dwynwen's Day - the Welsh day for lovers.

They hope they might get a date for the big day but if they don't manage to pull in interest from superstores, they won't mind as long as they get the message across that online dating is not something to be embarrassed about.

Calon Wen (pure heart) has joined forces with a Welsh online dating agency to help farmers both male and female find that special someone.

By logging onto www.pishyn.com they can find out more about meeting the farmer of their dreams, in Welsh and English.

Iwan added, "We want to encourage farmers to consider online dating and thought by getting involved ourselves we could help to make it less of a stigma and make it lighter.

"When you get talking to friends about online dating, it is surprising how many people have tried it."

Iwan and four other singletons spent two hours placing a few thousand stickers of themselves onto milk cartons as they came off a conveyor belt this week.

He said, "We underwent a lengthy health and safety check, the cartons were moving really fast, so we needed to be quick."

Iwan who supports Wrexham FC, likes to watch Wales play in rugby internationals and enjoys travelling, is hoping to find a non-materialistic girl.

He said, "I have no set ideas on what I'm looking for in a partner. I'd rather she wasn't too thin.

"I enjoy travel and spent a month in New Zealand last year which was fantastic.

"I like exploring Europe too and enjoy good Welsh food. The scheme is anonymous to the degree that our names and details are not on the stickers, just our faces.

"Anyone wanting a date can access the website. The others are all better looking than me so I will probably be the only carton left on the shelf."

But readers and shoppers have the chance to prove Iwan wrong.

Researchers based at a university have created an environmentally-friendly race car with tyres made from potatoes and brake pads from cashew nut shells.

Eco One is the idea of WMG, a provider of innovative solutions to industry based at the University of Warwick.

Virtually the whole of this car, capable of speeds in excess of 125mph, is made from bio-degradable or recyclable materials, which is pretty amazing in itself. The project manager says his aim is to end up with a race car that's 95 per cent biodegradable or recyclable.

"If we can build a high-performance car that can virtually be grown from seed, just imagine what's possible for the average family car."

It will be at the Sexy Green Car Show alongside green offerings from major names in the motor industry at the Eden Project in Cornwall from Friday.

I can't imagine the guys in the various Formula 1 teams quaking in their boots just yet though...

The chances of crashing your car could increase if you drive in Devon and Cornwall or decrease if you are driving in Scotland, according to a new survey.

A poll, carried out for a price comparison website, revealed Britain's wildest drivers are from the South West while Scots are the safest.

Apparently the West Midlands is the hotspot for motorway accidents, while you're reasonably safe in Wales unless you happen to be in a car park!

So the area of the country with the most motorways is where you're most likely to have a motorway accident and the area with the least motorways, but the most holiday traffic, is where you are most likely to have any other kind of bump.

I'm really not sure what the survey says about Welsh drivers who seem to have the most accidents in car parks!

Who pays these pollsters to come up with such stunning stuff?

I blogged yesterday about the Cefn Coed Viaduct was built in 1866 to carry the Brecon and Merthyr Railway across the river Taff at Pontycapel, Merthyr.

Being neither engineer nor architect I find myself drawn to these structures mostly by their form, but also because of the impact such technical innovation had on the historical aspect of the surrounding area.

This morning I want to take a brief look at the Hengoed to Maesycwmmer viaduct, known originally as the Rhymney Viaduct and at various times as the Hengoed Viaduct and the Maesycwmmer Viaduct.

The sixteen arches of the viaduct stretch majestically across the Rhymney Valley and dominate the skyline.

Construction began in 1853 and was completed in 1858, the viaduct being opened for use in 1857. The 270 metre long, 40 metres tall viaduct stands as yet another testament to the skills of Victorian engineering. Construction costs came to approximately £20,000.

The viaduct was commissioned by the Newport, Abergavenney and Hereford Railway and designed by their engineer Charles Liddel; the contractors employed to carry out the work were Messrs Rennie and Logan.

The Rhymney Viaduct formed part of the cross-valley rail route that linked Pontypool to Swansea, via Aberdare and Neath. Interestingly, the first arch on the eastern side was constructed at a skewed angle to accommodate the Brecon and Merthyr main line that passed under it.

The Beeching Axe fell and the line closed in 1964 during the Re-shaping of British Railways. The viaduct was offered for sale at a nominal sum of one pound.

Today the Hengoed to Maesycwmmer Viaduct forms part of the Celtic Trail, the network of cycle routes across South Wales.

As ever, please click the images for a larger view.

As some of you already know, I have a bit of a thing about local history. My interest is broad based and I’m as happy rooting about in the Industrial age as I am digging around in Romano Celtic times.

Ever since reading Alexander Cordell’s Rape of the Fair Country I found myself fascinated by this area’s industrial past. There’s little evidence left of the old mines, but plenty of blast furnace sites to explore.

One of the dynasties of Gwent iron masters were the Crawshay’s, who’s Cyfarthfa iron works at Merthyr was one of the major producers in the United Kingdom.

The Royal Navy was a major customer during Richard Crawshay’s reign, the iron being used to make cannon and other weaponry. Admiral Lord Nelson paid a personal visit to Cyfarthfa in 1802 in an effort to boost production for the war effort.

Transportation of iron, coal and limestone from Merthyr was a growing problem, but when Cornishman Richard Trevithick demonstrated the world’s first steam locomotive, The Iron Horse, on a tramway between Penydarren and Abercynon hauling 10 tons of Merthyr iron, a new age was born.

Railway companies were formed and soon established routes that linked Merthyr with coastal ports or other parts of Britain. They included the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, Vale of Neath Railway, Taff Vale Railway and Great Western Railway.

These railway companies often shared routes to enable access to coal mines and ironworks through rugged country, which presented great engineering challenges.

The Cefn Coed Viaduct was built in 1866 to carry the Brecon and Merthyr Railway across the river Taff at Pontycapel. The design was by A. Sutherland, a friend of Robert Thompson Crawshay, and it was built by Messrs. Savel and Ward It consists of 15 openings, each one 39 feet 9 inches, a length of 725ft. and a maximum height of 115ft.

The viaduct was built on a curve, this curve being the viaduct’s main point of architectural interest. The original cost of the bridge was £25, 000, it is the third largest viaduct in Wales and this is it:

Have you ever noticed how some organisms have the ability to cling to life, even under the most extreme conditions? Nature certainly is a wonderful thing.

Conditions here aren’t exactly extreme it’s true, but this tree is performing a balancing act worthy of any high-wire artist on an earth bank above a public car park.

I’ve no idea what the weight of the tree would be, but I’d have thought it considerable. Nevertheless the tree has been growing here for a considerable period of time and despite its apparent instability we humans seem happy to park our cars beneath it and walk with our children in its path should the tree topple.

Looking at the root structure, you can see the base of the tree is no longer embedded in the soil, but that doesn’t seem to have bothered the tree itself. Indeed the upper trunk and branches seem concentrated to the rear, acting as a counter-balance to hold the tree upright; Mother Nature has taken on the role of engineer too apparently.

I wonder how many of you know of trees growing in similar situations; somewhere where our eyes tell us the tree may be dangerous, but our brain tells us to ignore the apparent danger.

We had a brief return to winter in the UK earlier in the week, freezing temperatures, frost, snow the lot. Did we welcome it? No, of course we didn’t. Perhaps we should have though, for without it these images would not have been possible.

These were all taken in the Brecon Beacons National Park, from the A470 tunk-road.

Please click the images for a larger view.

Okay I’m starting to get quite pissed about this whole retribution for our role in the slave trade thing now too. Funky Farmer had his rant on the topic yesterday, but it looks as if it’s my turn now!

Let me make my position clear from the start: I abhor the concept of slavery and champion the likes of Wilberforce who did so much to end Britain’s involvement in the African slave trade. As a member of Her Majesty’s armed forces, as a trade unionist, as a local councillor and as a member of the human race, I have spent my life fighting for the rights of others. Neither I nor as far as I’m aware any other member of my family has ever been directly involved in any form of slavery, so why the fuck am I being told I have a moral responsibility to apologise and make retribution for the sins of others?

I refer to an article in this morning’s news; Milton Brown, mayor of Clarendon in Jamaica has called on Wales to compensate his country for the legacy of poverty he says has been left by the slave trade.

Brown says that countries involved in the trade had a "moral responsibility" to help those affected.

The town of Clarendon was once dominated by a Welsh slave-owning family and the mayor argues that slavery has left a lasting legacy in the Caribbean, whereas Wales made long-term gains in the growth of industries like copper and iron, which were boosted by slavery.

It’s all starting to get a bit out of hand isn’t it? Apologies have already been made for Britain’s historic past by various politicians and prominent members of society. Cities like Bristol and Liverpool have erected monuments and city and town councils have publicly apologised for their past. Education covers the topic of Britain’s role in slavery and shows it for the disgrace it was. What more are we supposed to do?

Let's not forget that Britain led the world in the abolition of slavery...

Conveniently it is always forgotten that the indigenous peoples of the British Isles have in their past been invaded, subjugated, shipped as slaves to foreign countries and generally down-trodden: who’s paying retribution to us?

And while we’re on the subject let’s not forget that slavery is alive and well in some areas of this modern world, only of course it’s not called 'slavery' any more. Seems to me some of the people who are now spending their lives bleating about retribution would be better employed making lasting changes in their own back yards!

Unashamedly entitled:

Reflections of...

Lydney Harbour, Gloucestershire, March 2007

A little about the histroy of Lydney Docks and Harbour.

It was the Romans who first used Lydney to ship out iron ore that had been mined in the Forest of Dean. The harbour and docks at Lydney have undergone many changes since their day.

Easy access to the Severn Estuary increased Lydney's importance as a trading centre and a harbour was built to transport iron and later coal from the forest.

Lydney harbour was the last port on the Severn where sea-going boats could unload.

The River Lyd flows into the estuary at Lydney Pill, however silting up of the river at Lydney Pill closed the medieval harbour and a new wharf had to be built.

With the charcoal, iron industry and coal production thriving and roads through the forest remaining poor, Pidcock's canal was constructed from 1790 onwards, connecting Upper and Lower Forge at the head of Lydney Pill.

The current canal and basin complex was built by the Severn and Wye Railway and Canal Company between 1810 and 1813. A horse drawn tramway was laid, to move the coal and iron to the wharves after it was brought down from the pits and forges on the Pidcock's Canal.

The new dock on the estuary was started in 1809 and opened in 1813. The outer harbour was finally completed in 1821.

During the hey-day of the docks there was around 300,000 tons of coal being exported annually in over 2000 vessels. The final export of coal from the harbour was in 1960.

Lydney harbour ceased to function in the 1970s and was finally closed in 1977 from which time it fell into disrepair.

In 1985 the harbour from the swing bridge downstream was scheduled as an ‘Ancient Monument', due to the historic importance as a transport link for the Forest of Dean to the Severn; the swing bridge being designated a Grade II Listed Building in 1988 due to it being ‘a very good example of the direct and sturdy quality encountered in the functional tradition of quay-side design'.