The Thrill of the Countryside, The Company of Friends

Here are just a few more photos I wanted to share from the last three days I followed local hunts as they exercised their hounds.

This is Cabalva, a home on the River Wye not far from Hay-on-Wye (another wonderful place to visit) and site of one the opening meet for a local hunt. The view across the Wye is spectacular.

Later in the day I spied some friends enjoying the stone walls and the splendid views of this border (as in Welsh-English border) country.

My buddy Phil enjoys a day out on his new steed Louis. And (for Americans) the young gentleman who looks like a lord surveying his manor may be to the manor born, but not to this manor; he sports a top hat which is a fairly unusual sight in these parts; very "old school."

Some folks still like to to follow the hunt on foot and that is the best way of all. I love it, too, but I admit my cameras get a bit cumbersome and I usually choose the easy way -- following in a 4WD vehicle at least part of the day. It provides a nice respite from the wind. Here Ted makes his way up yet another hillside among the reeds.