Cwm Clydach RSPB Reserve

 Today's adventure took me to the RSPB Reserve at Cwm Clydach for a fairly sedate wander through the woods and up to the donkey sanctuary. It was hot, even cowering under the foliage didn't offer a lot of respite... but I am loving the sunshine we're having at the moment, it's certainly a welcome change from the grey, rainy summers I've become accustomed (and resigned) to. 

Beware of Ring Wraiths!

A cute little bridge over a bit of a sad looking river - the water levels have dropped super low at the moment. It was so tempting to take a dip to cool off, but the thought of damp feet in hiking boots was enough to put me off!

I was a bit wary of the donkeys (wuss), but I always forget how big they are. They came trotting over at a fair clip hoping for some goodies, and were well rewarded when some members of the group produced some tasty carrots. 

The alpacas looked on enviously, sporting particularly fetching, freshly-shorn haircuts. 

Some lovely open views across the hills on the way back, it's so lovely having access to open land like this, especially when it's barely outside of the city. 

 I was intrigued by this field. There is a lot of scorched land around at the moment, it looks like this field was tilled and then left to dry out. Are these failed crops or dead weeds? Was there a plan to plant crops but the parched conditions have forced the farmer to hold off? It's a mystery, if anyone has any ideas please let me know.