A hidden jewel in the Welsh countryside

After a couple of lazy days on holiday we enjoyed visits to Newtown, to Machynlleth and to a lovely nature sanctuary down the road from there.

Run by the RSPB, the Cors Dyfi nature project is home to the famous Ospreys Monty and Glesni who return each spring to mate and bring new life into the world.

Live web cams greet you in the reception to watch Glesni take care of her chicks who had hatched just day before our visit.

And the highlight is the walk through the reserve, where you can catch a glimpse of a water buffalo and other wildlife.

The wonderful 360 degree observatory is a sight to behold though (pictured) and allows for fabulous views of the Welsh countryside.

 

Perfect for adults and a great chance to educate youngsters about the natural world, the centre exists on donations alone. It's a wonderful day out with just a suggested donation of £2.50 per day.

Find out more about it using the links below, we enjoyed it immensely and hopefully baby Jacob will be going back when he is with us!

http://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/

Time to leave Machynlleth to grieve now

Mark Bridger's whole life sentence for the murder of April Jones needs to be a watershed moment for this quiet Welsh town.

Thrust back into the limelight hundreds of years after Owain Glyndwr's 15th-century parliament was set up in the town, the eyes of the world have been on it in a bid to find the five-year-old.

Now justice has been done, it's time to leave this beautiful town alone and let it truly mourn the loss of one of it's youngest members.

What has emerged from this horrible case though is the how wonderful and friendly community is in Machynlleth.

Something which does not surprise me as I have been going there since I was a young lad and the place (well just outside the town) where my wife and I bought our wedding rings.

If you want to visit, then do so but please let it be for a day out on your holiday, to visit the wonderful cafes and small businesses and take in the wonderful scenery, the local people deserve a normal life now.

As for Bridger, no one believed him, the 'story' was nothing more than a pack of abject lies from a cold-hearted and vile waste of oxygen.

My heart goes out to the wonderful community, to April's family and friends and specially her parents.

If it wasn't bad enough they have outlived the child they lovingly created and brought into the world, they still do not have a body to bury and therefore a place to grieve and remember.

I suspect the black-hearted coward won't ever tell the truth about what he did to April and where she may be.

The truth may be very difficult to hear but it's a story April's parents must be told – they know how April came into the world, the least they deserve is to know how she left it.

For the sake of them, the family, the friends and for the many hundreds of people in Machynlleth, tell the truth you spineless coward.

After you have done so, I hope you rot in hell