Beddgelert

The watercolour sketch was one I did when Alex, Jac and I visited Beddgelert last year. A lovely spot with a heart-rending legend. Well it is if you are an animal lover like me. The legend is written on the "grave" of Gelert as below:

"In the 13th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, "The Faithful Hound", who was unaccountably absent.

On Llewelyn's return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood.

The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound's side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry.

Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but near by lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain.

The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here".

Today we dropped off our camper van and picked up paintings from the Ceri Richards Gallery in Swansea then came back to pick up the grandchildren. A meeting of the co-operative tonight.