EDM Challenge 72 Draw somewhere new

Earlier this week, we went to Machynlleth in mid-Wales, mainly to visit the Centre for Alternative Technology
We arrived to find a single wooden hut in the car park. I was somewhat astonished, until I saw the water-balanced railway going up the hill to the main centre at the top. The railway is entirely powered by water. There are two carriages with a rope between them. The top carriage gets filled with water, while the bottom one has water emptied out of it. This makes the top one heavy, so it slides down the hill, pulling the empty one up as it does so. I’m sure the website explains it better than I can.

There were loads of examples of sustainable living – like energy efficient houses, wind-power, solar and water-power, and gardens which they have managed to grow on top of slate by building raised beds and filling them with compost. There were goats and chickens and a baby duck. Occasionally we spotted a resident – you could tell them by the mugs of tea (herbal, no doubt) that they always carried.

We stayed at a wonderful farm-house just outside Machynlleth called Talbontdrain Dinner was a home-cooked affair, and so delicious we had to eat until we popped. She went to so much trouble, preparing a good mix of vegetables and salad to go with the lamb stew, and then bringing out a huge fruit pavlova for dessert – crispy and chewy in all the right places, with fluffy cream and very fresh ripe fruit. Highly recommended if you are ever in mid Wales.

We took the guesthouse dog for a walk on Tuesday, around the wild hills covered with bracken, foxgloves and slate. Very spectacular. And the dog was perfectly behaved. When she saw any animals, she snuck past them before trotting off again, ears bobbing up and down. She was great company.

I did a couple of sketches in the guesthouse to meet the EDM challenge of draw somewhere new.

Tomorrow, I’ve got my second Open University day school for the writing course. Now all I have to do is remember how to get there.

Blast. I can't upload the images. I'll upload them later, if Blogger will let me.

Edit: Here are my sketches