It's been a very long time since we last went to Wales, and, inspired by a recent television programme called "Coast" which showed some of the beauty of the Welsh coastline, we took a road trip around the coast this summer, starting in the south, on the Gower Peninsular, and finishing with a brief visit to Snowdonia. Some spectacular scenery, although the weather, as ever, was variable. I hope, though, that these few images will show something of the wonderful beauty of Wales, a part of the country with which I feel a particular affinity (my maternal grandmother came from Carmarthenshire).

A few words about the Welsh language, and Welsh place names. The Welsh are (rightly) very proud of their language, and many towns have names which differ from the Anglicized ones I have used in the titles. I have also given the Welsh names in the captions, and it might be helpful to know that the Welsh language has 7 vowels - a, e, i, o, u, together with w and y, pronounced "oo" and "ee" (or "uh"), respectively. Also, there are two more consonants: dd is pronounced "th", and the double L, ll is kind of pronounced "cl" in a gutteral sort of way, said while breathing out. Actually, there is no exact equivalent to this in any language other than perhaps Greenlandic Eskimo and Zulu, so I'm informed!