What time change? Church, Lunch and Dolforwyn Castle

I pulled up to Newtown Evangelical Church and the parking lot was empty.

"Either the time change happened this weekend and I missed it or I have completely lost track of what day of the week this is."

I decided to top up the gas tank and use it as an excuse to ask the cashier. Turns out the time change happened last night so I was actually an hour early for church. I had been planning to check out the ruins of Dolforwyn Castle after church so I decided to visit the site before the service. I drove through the hills for a while and figured I must have taken a wrong turn so I returned to the church and hoped that somebody there would be able to give directions. (Turns out I just read the symbols on the signs incorrectly and the castle was easy to find.)

The church service was really nice - the first time I was able to attend church in the UK (finally!). It was a typical evangelical service but they added half an hour for public prayer - moving through prayers in connection to what had been taught during the sermon, to prayers for the immediate concerns of the church family, and then on to the broader country and world. I love the personal connection at smaller churches. The pastor used a beautiful nearby walk in a sermon example so I got directions from him after the service... always looking for good leads! A man named Rob chatted with me after the service and invited me and an older couple to return to his family's home for lunch. The couple who sat next to me during the service, Mark and Hala, came up to see if I had lunch plans and since I already had an invitation they said they'd love to have me over next Sunday.

I helped with lunch prep and I loved visiting with Rob's wife Jill - she had lots of freckles and looks ten years younger than her actual age... reminded me of my mom. They have four kids under the age of seven and I loved the choas of having kids around! The seven-year-old girl told a story during lunch and I just about turned inside out - the first time I've really heard a child over here speak at length and the accent is to die for! I told Rob why I couldn't stop grinning and he laughed and said, "You do realize that you're the one with the accent, right?"

Yay! My first castle!

Not much left of the castle, but I was excited anyway. I figure since I'm living in Wales, I should visit the ruins of a classic Welsh castle (built around 1275).

Leaf-strewn path to the castle.
Lots of maple leaves... ahhh... home...

Part of a warning sign near the entrance.

I find the squinty eyes on the warning to be awfully funny... reminds me of Homestar Runner for some reason. I figured there must be some area where you get to go inside a room if letting your eyes adjust to the darkness was an issue. Apparently they're referring to the difference between being in sunshine and shadow. (There were also warnings for tripping, falling, etc. - quite a hazardous site!)

The fences are for protection around ledges and the well. Thankfully the place just has warning signs about being careful and not defacing the site so you can climb around and explore the whole area. Each room or area has a large plaque explaining what the room was used for so the exploration makes more sense.

Um, yeah, you can put me on sentry duty anytime!

"It is dangerous to climb on the stonework."
Yeah... I'm tough that way... pushing the boundaries and being dangerous and stuff.

As I walked around the ruins I kept thinking about the men who created these walls over 700 years ago. Each of them had lives, probably had families, and were working to protect their land. I'm sure it never occured to them that 700 years later a team would spend years uncovering their handiwork and tourists and locals would wander the site, enjoying the peaceful scenery.

My favourite photo from the day.