A wet Preseli walk and a bit of World War II history

On Saturday we headed off for a walk on the Preseli Hills with H9's friend G10 and her mum Lins and their dog Topsy. Scamp led the way with an energetic enthusiasm that remained undimmed for the entire walk.

Rain skirts the hills, heading in our direction.

We were chased along the path by heavy showers interspersed with bright sunshine.

Brian had no choice but to head off into the distance hauled along by a small but determined dog.

The rest of us attempted to keep up. Heavy rain forced cameras into bags at this point. Between showers we had views across to the north Pembrokeshire coastline and to Cardigan and beyond. We ate our sandwiches and drank coffee and hot chocolate perched on Bedd Arthur then decided to head back to the cars.

On the short drive from our home to where we parked for the walk I'd been telling H9 and R7 about the aeroplane that crashed onto the Preselis during World War II. I had vague ideas about where the site of the crash was but had never found it. Of course, when I wasn't looking for it, I fell over it in the rain.

The RAF Coastal Command Liberator EV881 crashed on the slopes of Carn Bica on September 19th 1944. We stumbled upon the site just two days before the 67th anniversary of the crash.

Six crewmen were killed but three survived the crash. This memorial was erected at the site by a local aviation group on the 50th anniversary in 1984. 

Parts of the melted fuselage can still be seen, 67 years later.

R7, G10 and H9 hurtle back to the car in the wake of Brian and the astonishingly still enthusiastic puppy.

Going back down was a fast process. Meanwhile the sun suddenly reappeared and Lins disappeared with her camera (she was taking some fabulous pictures of the clouds and the view).

This shows the steepness of the side of Carn Bica. The Liberator crash site is at the top of this slope. If the aircraft had been able to fly about 50 feet higher it would have cleared the hill.