April’s Adventures

April was a very good month for me in regards to photography. I managed two separate trips each to locations I had planned to visit for a long time. My first short break was at the beginning of the month. I visited a place called Porth-Wen on Anglesey, Wales. 

Porth Wen lies on the north coast of Anglesey, a few miles west of Amlwch and are the remains of a brickwork.  It was opened at the turn of the last century to make refractory bricks for use in the steel industry.  Despite the good quality brick and tiles produced, transport was always a major problem for the works. All raw materials and products had to be transported by sea. A small quay was built for the loading and unloading of ships.  However the position of the works meant that as well as the effects of tides, a heavy swell was often encountered. The small vessels were often battered while at the quayside - hitting the rocky seabed caused much damage to the craft. Many owners refused to risk their ships mooring there.The bricks were exported by sea from the works' own harbour.  The whole operation closed down at the start of the first world war and most of it has slowly rusted away ever since.

I first heard about the site a few years back but never had the opportunity to find it until recently. It was a lovely location to visit and photograph despite the very hazy / foggy start of the shoot. 

 

During the evening the haze / fog lifted though and the shoot became less difficult as the paths were clearer to make out.

 

The next morning I walked the coastal path for a while in order to get a different angle on Porth-Wen.

The views were absolutely fantastic but it was a shame that the sunrise I had hoped for did not happen. 

My second trip of the month took to to a totally different are of Wales. I wanted to re-visit Tintern Abbey for a very long time. I already been once way back in 2008. I thought a revisit was well overdue. However, before stopping off for a couple of days at Tintern I visited Monmouth for a day. Totally lovely place, especially the walk along the river Wye. 

Again, I had a hazy start, but it was all good as I really enjoyed the walk and the amazing views across the river. 

The Wye Bridge was a lovely subject to photograph that early in the morning. 

I stumbled across this lovely church in the middle of no-where while walking along the Wye river. St. Peter's Church is a Church of England parish church at Dixton on the banks of the River Wye, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Monmouth, Wales. The church is a Grade II* listed building.

Some very lovely ladies I met during my walk along the river pointed me to another very photogenic location in Monmouth - Duke of Beaufort Bridge

The Ross and Monmouth Railway line opened in 1873 terminating at Monmouth Mayhill railway station. A further single line and three-span bridge of almost 300 feet was constructed to join the two Monmouth railway stations, opening on 1 May 1874. It consists of 3 spans of steel-lattice girders on paired steel tubular piers with squared rubble abutments. The main span is 46 metres long and the shorter spans are 18 metres each. It was built by Edward Finch of Chepstow.

The line between Monmouth Troy and Mayhill was closed on 6 January 1964. The R&MR Duke of Beaufort Bridge remains in use as a footpath.

I stayed in Monmouth only a day and a night but I managed to take many images during my stay there.

I moved onto Tintern the next day, but by then the weather had worsened quite a bit. Despite the drizzle I managed however to get some interesting shots of Tintern.

Tintern Abbey (Welsh: Abaty Tyndyrn) was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, on 9 May 1131. It is situated in the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye which forms the border between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. It was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain, and the first in Wales.The village of Tintern adjoins the abbey ruins, which are Grade I listed from 29 September 2000.

The two trips in April sure was a lovely experience and a learning curve in regards of my photography and my staying in Velma. I am looking forward to my next trips.