Wales Beach Ride (with Video)
by: Darley Newman
Go pony trekking on the beach in Wales with this Equitrekking Video and story!
I’m pony trekking in Wales with Olive Edwards at Parc le Breos, a Victorian hunting lodge with about forty Welsh ponies and larger horses that Olive’s husband uses for show jumping. Olive’s been leading riding tours on the Gower Peninsula for over 44 years. That’s a long time!
I felt so free galloping along Three Cliffs Beach, a vast beach backed by tall mossy cliffs topped with a castle ruin. Rascoe, my sizeable, adorable Welsh pony seems to enjoy the beach too.
Our trek today took us climbing up through heather and moorland where sheep and a band of wild Welsh Mountain ponies graze. These hardy ponies are able to live off of the land all year round - even in winter. We trotted, cantered and walked along the top of a high ridge with beautiful views of both coasts of the peninsula before reaching the King Arthur’s Stone. For centuries, people have made pilgrimages to this Neolithic tomb. There are many fables and tales surrounding the powers that King Arthur’s Stone holds.
Olive told me that there is a legend that if a single woman crawls three times around the stone on her hands and knees that she will find her true love shortly thereafter. The terrain around the stone is pretty rocky, so I don’t know if I would try that, but it’s a funny visual. Just today, I was able to ride to castles, Neolithic tombs, through a herd of wild Welsh ponies and along the widest beaches I have ever seen. On any given trip, I would be delighted to visit just one of these destinations, let alone all of them all of them in one day.
Darley Newman is the host of the Emmy Award-winning Public Television series Equitrekking®, which takes viewers on horseback riding vacations around the world. Watch Equitrekking video promos and purchase Equitrekking DVDs in our Store. Book equestrian vacations featured on Equitrekking, including the Wales Countryside Equestrian Vacation which visit the Derwen Stud at EquitrekkingTravel.com.
