Beacons

It was Autumn, and, finding myself with a stretch of free time from my work in Bristol, UK, I took my friend’s offer to come to stay for a week (although he argues it was two days), which ended up spanning three weeks. Located on the lower hills that rise up to a panoramic sweeping view of the Brecon Beacons, it was a much-welcomed respite from a busy summer living and working in the city.

‘Rodge’ asked if I could take shots of his cabin, ‘Hideout on the Hill’, while I was staying. The weather remained defiantly Welsh throughout the stay, but it was nothing that a light raincoat and a pair of hiking boots couldn’t solve.

In the final set of photos, I met with two childhood friends from my hometown, Hay-on-Wye, to walk from the ‘town of books’, as it’s known, to the top of Hay Bluff, which is part of the Brecon Beacons National park in Wales. We met another old friend at the foot of the Bluff before ascending to the peak and back down into town.

There are semi-wild horses in the Beacons, but the shetland ponies are Rodge’s part pets, part lawnmowers. They add a mystical dimension to his guests’ city breaks as they briefly escape the endless distractions of city life existence themselves.