By: Blonde Two

‘Don’t go chasing waterfalls!’ Was possibly the only sage piece of advice from 80s group TLC but we all know that taking advice from 80s pop bands isn’t necessarily the best way to live your life. With only a week to go until National Get Outside Day, I can tell you from my experiences of two weeks ago that chasing waterfalls is in fact lots of fun. Even if you don’t quite find the waterfall you were looking for. This was a slightly complicated and incomplete adventure but I thought I would give you a bullet point synopsis and encourage you to consider a waterfall visit for next week’s National Get Outside Day outdoor adventure.

  • I have a beautiful painting that my Grandfather painted (I actually have many and this could be a repeated story very soon)
  • One day I was dusting the painting and decided that the waterfall it depicted it would be a lovely spot for an outdoor swim
  • By some weird technical magic, the same waterfall popped up on Instagram with a swimmer (slimmer than me but definitely in the water)
  • Mr B2 and I had a trip to Ludlow planned and a couple of spare days to use up on the way
  • We decided to visit the waterfall
  • The only clue on the back of the painting was ‘Sennybridge’
  • After some careful OS Maps perusal we decided that the best bet was Waterfall Country around Pontneddfechan and Ystradfellte (despite trying, I still don’t know how to pronounce either of them but I just spelt both correctly without checking)
  • We compared online pictures with the waterfall walks maps in various carparks
  • We opted for a walk up Afon Nedd (River Neath) in the hope that Sgwd-y-Bedol was the Horseshoe Falls we were looking for
  • We had a beautiful walk and were rewarded with dappled sunshine, deep gorges and fantastic waterfalls

But not the right waterfall…

Copyright Ordnance Survey 2019
  • A bit disappointed we headed back downstream
  • I was much cheered up by my lovely swim in the flow beneath the small waterfall at the confluence of Afon Pyrddin and Afon Nedd

We will be searching (and I will be swimming) again…

Searching for that special place is just one way of encouraging yourself to get outside. In just a week it will be National Get Outside Day. Have you got a special place you have always wanted to visit? Do let us know!

 

Join us and the nation outside on Sunday 29th September for National Get Outside Day

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