One of my favourite things to do when I have some spare time with my children is to get out into the countryside and explore.  Heading out with no fixed place in mind to visit is all part of the fun; we always happen upon a new discovery!

We especially love roaming the Black Mountains in Wales; one of my favourite places of all time is a beautiful crooked little old church called St Martin’s which sits atop the hills of Cwmyoy.

Last week we decided to go on another explore so we bundled the kids into the car and headed out eager to discover more lovely places.  We were not to be disappointed; this time we discovered the beautiful Llanthony Priory, an ancient Augustinian Priory situated in the green Vale of Ewyas.

My kids loved roaming, climbing, hiding and playing within the ruins surrounded by the green valley, enjoying the beautiful views amid the Winter sunshine.  My son loves climbing so he had a good clamber and my daughter played alongside.

Little did we know that my children were soon to make an exciting discovery.  While exploring, my son spotted a colourful rock lying high up on one of the ledges and climbed up a little to reach for it.

What a find!  The rock was beautifully painted: on one side was the priory and on the other side a tree.  My children soon found the same tree which had been painted in the grounds of the priory and marvelled at the likeness with great excitement.

After a long while of admiring the rock we made the decision that we should return the rock back on the ledge where we had found it.  After all, discovering the rock had given my children great excitement and we imagined the delight that other children would have discovering it, too.

Long after returning home that night my children were still talking about the beautiful painted rock that they found at Llanthony Priory.  My son described it as ‘a discovery within a discovery’ and I thought this a fitting name.

You never know, if you visit Llanthony Priory, your children might discover it too!

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