A Rum Night At The Priory

I'd made arrangements with my friend to go and do some star photography at Llanthony Priory but he cried off about 10.30pm saying it was cloudy and would be a waste of time. The forecast said it would be clear after midnight, and that proved to be the case.

LLanthony Priory dates back to 1100 AD, and is a partly ruined former  Augustian Priory in the secluded Vale of Eywas, a steep sided once glaciated valley within the Black Mountain area of the Brecon Beacons national Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny.

The main ruins are under the care of Cadw and entrance is free. The priory is a Grade 1 listed building  Within the precincts of the Priory are two other buildings with Grade 1 listed status: the Abbey Hotel, and the Church of St David.

About 1.45am, I was taking a photo when I heard people entering the very dark Priory courtyard as I was leaving. It turned out to be two very pretty girls and male who were well spoken, from Surrey. They were staying the weekend in the nearby barn on a trekking weekend. They all had drinks. We began chatting and I was offered some Rum and coke. Very nice it was too. They thought they should see the Priory lit by the stars seeing as though they were staying there. I don't blame them. There's just something about stars over medieval buildings. I've gave them my details to keep in touch. Some more friends made through photography.

I eventually got home at 3am and went straight to sleep. The phone went off just after 9am with a call out. I've been on the go all day.

At least you don't have to get up to see the Priory stars!

There's no lens data in the EXIF as it's a manual focus full frame Samyang 12mm Fisheye lens set at F2.8.