Captivated by the tales of the Mabinogion – considered to be some of the earliest prose stories in British literature – and re-enacting the tales while walking the stunning Powys landscape on Thursday, May 3 made for a mystical and highly memorable day.
“With four seasons in one day, we experienced a changing landscape throughout the day which seemed appropriate with the tales of the Mabinogion which draws upon the mystical word of the Celtic people intertwining myths, folklore, tradition and history,” said story teller Wayland Boulanger.
Teacher Caroline Phillips believes the day inspired the children and got them thinking about where the story might go. She said: “They were so excited and interested to know what happened next as we walked on to another point of the hill.”
Many of the 26 children aged between 8–10 years live locally and pointed out their homes as we walked across Llanbedr Hill near Painscastle.
The day started with one of the moorland managers explaining the work of the project to protect the rare ground nesting birds which are in serious decline.
With over 200 children out on the moor so far, the aims of the Powys Moorland Partnership (PMP) project is to restore the condition of the heather to encourage ground nesting birds back and help boost biodiversity. It is a three year project which ends next spring.
It’s a collaborative, landscape scale project engaging with local farmers and all stakeholders to make better links between our natural resources and the well-being of the people.