The British countryside is like a desktop wallpaper

A planned journey. An unexpected turn. Hell breaks loose. Does this scenario sound familiar? There are countless stories written on this theme. It is the successful premise for a thriller. Is there a better way to jolt the ordinary person out of his daily existential routine? The change in pattern and the horror associated with the change is the best way to frighten anyone. After highlighting the mistakes related to taking a different step to discourage anyone and everyone to do so, we complain about man's resistance to change. Doesn't this statement show that we are all hypocrites? This Good Friday, I made an unscheduled stop which was a change in our original plans. But I ended up discovering something pleasant. To tell you the truth, a re-discovery or even a re-affirmation could also be an apt term.

After visiting the ruins of Tintern Abbey, we started off to the Brecon Beacons National Park. The plan was to visit some of the waterfalls. The Brecon Beacons has many waterfalls in all sizes - small, medium and large. We were using the non-motorways otherwise known as the A road from the ruins of Tintern Abbey. On the way to the waterfall center at the Brecon Beacons, we noticed a castle also known as castell in Welsh. The name of the castle was Raglan Castle or Castell Raglan in Welsh. The words are inverted in Welsh when compared to English.  I have been noticing this fact from the road signs. The road signs are both in English and Welsh. Any novice could decipher the sentences like "go slow" in English written as "slow go" in Welsh. 

My companion interrupted me. Why don't we take a look at the castle? I obliged. If you are looking for a single cause for my subsequent discovery, then the above decision is not the only one contributing factor. Similar to Michael A Roberto's analysis of 1996 Mount Everest disaster, there are multiple factors which lead to the event. Unlike the example I used, mine did not end up in a catastrophe. But it produced a beautiful picture for my collection. I took a U-turn and followed the directions to the castle. When we reached the castle, our interest vanished as our memories were still fresh with the images of Tintern Abbey. So we decided to continue our journey. At this point, Garmin navigator kicked in. As the navigator was already configured to avoid u-turns, it showed me a new route to travel to my original destination. Little did I know then that the navigator was taking me to circle the castle through village roads, emerging at the first U-turn I took for the castle.

I would have consumed more fuel than what I would have if I had made a U-turn. But the bright, warm day presented a clear sky. So the horizon was displaying blue. Below the horizon was green pastures for sheep.  We were not very far from the nearest city, but we were in the countryside. Sheep were grazing the pastures. Cows were resting inside the designated sheds. The road was empty. The view looked perfect for a desktop wallpaper. Would I have obtained this view if I had embraced the change the quirk of fate threw against my best-laid plans? Britain is blessed with abundant greenery and a sky, when not plagued by rains, displaying handiworks of a graffiti artist. I knew this fact before. But the country surprises me always and catches me unawares.

Tags: Travel,Raglan Castle,Change,Garmin

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