This week I’ve been on an adventure to the namesake of one of our most popular yarns... on Sunday I headed up to the Brecon Beacons with a few friends in tow for a 3-peaks, horseshoe shaped day out. We covered Cribyn, Pen-y-fan, and Corn Ddu in the name of taking pictures of yarn and had a ball (see what I did there?!). We whipped out the yarn and the camera at every opportunity, these were our favourites… Holly, Gorse, Bough, Copse, and Cinder.

Holly

For us, Holly was the colour of the start of the walk, and the pine trees which didn’t grow any higher up than the car park. She’s a dark greeney shade that reminds us of where we started and where we’ve yet to return to. Down in the valley the sun rarely peeked through the ceaseless rows of towering pine trees, and Holly’s dark evergreen shade would glow in the light which managed to filter through.

Holly is the perfect darker shade for when you crave the comfort of returning home. We took these pictures at the end of our walk, when our legs were weary and our faces were windburnt, but we couldn’t help but stop to admire the beauty of the nature which we found ourselves still surrounded by.

Gorse

Gorse was the first phase of the walk, as we were slowly climbing the ascent of the foothills of Cribyn. The fields which we found ourselves wandering through were full of Muirburn and the perfect golden, yellow shade of Gorse. We climbed slowly through the fields, to reach the base of Cribyn, taking time to admire the way the sun seemed to delicately float down and touch the plants which lay beside the path we trod. It was the perfect golden light of an early morning and ahead of us we were looking forward to the green peak of Cribyn.

Gorse is the perfect happy yellow representation of easy sunday mornings, and a reminder that the mountains truly are a kaleidoscope of colours. Perhaps there really is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow!

Bough

After the foothills, we began our ascent up Cribyn which gave way to more green scenery, and the home to the wild Welsh ponies. Moss-covered stones littered the path which we trod, leading the way to the summit in a trail of beautiful green hues. Bough is the perfect marl of the green shades of Cribyn and the way that the hills become mountains. As a darker marl, Bough is perfect for the lower slopes of the mountain, before snow and rocks dominate the landscape.

Bough is a twist of our Kettle and Lichen shades, and the perfect reminder of the views from Cribyn as we scrambled up the last of the slope, completely out of breath. It's the kind of green which changes with the seasons, making a marl the ideal representative.

Copse

Copse was the view from Pen-y-fan, the highest peak in southern Britain, and where the green land below merges with the sky above. As we climbed we watched the familiar pine trees of the valley become further and further away, giving rise to the barren green-ness of the climb, and the summit which we reached. Copse is a marl of Wild Olive and Holly and is the perfect shade for the Welsh landscape sprawled out beneath Pen-y-fan. The views which we experienced are captured perfectly within Copse’s heathery tones.

We took these pictures on the summit, where we felt like we were on top of the world, and where the landscape blurred into one on the horizon. We felt a strong sense of achievement in summiting and Copse captures the moment perfectly.

Cinder

For us, Cinder was the colour of the snow which clung to the windward slopes of the mountains, only visible from above. It was the snow left over from weeks ago and a reminder of the harshness of the mountains. The sun had melted it into almost a ribbed pattern across the north face of Pen-y-fan, and small shoots could be seen trying to break through the icy coldness. In a few weeks time I imagine the snow will be all gone but for now it was a welcome break in the never-ending greenness of the scenery.

Cinder captures the cooler days in the Beacons perfectly, and the exact moment which we all thought ‘better put our layers back on again now’.

I hope you've been inspired and that even if you don’t venture out into the Brecon Beacons anytime soon, at least you’ll be able to bring a little bit of the Beacons into your home.

Freya x