Read by Christian Baldwin-Campbell

Bonfire. Tales from the past. Remoteness. I met Christian and his girlfriend Gaye in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Southern Wales on a mild summer evening in the mountains next to Pen y Fen. We would be neighbors for one night - neighbors in a sense of a 100 m distance between us and no one else around. From far away I admired their bonfire, the simplicity of their set up and the music I could here. The later the evening the closer I got and in the end we would spent an evening together, watching the stars , shooting stars and listening to an old album of "Elbow". 

The two have been hiking that day. "We came from the other site of the mountain today", Christian says and points to a little hidden path in the soft hills. He would explain all kinds of mountains and the related history to them, that surround us. Sometimes you are at the right place, at the right time and meet the right people. Christian, an expert of Welsh history and folklore would then read the fairfolk of Llyn Cwm Llwch,  a folk tale based in the Brecon Beacons National Park. 

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Transcript

A legend passed down through generations tells the story of an enchanted island invisible from the shore of Llyn Cwm Llwch. A passageway leading from a rock to the island was said to be open on May Day each year. Those who had the courage to pass through the doorway would find themselves in a beautiful garden on the island inhabited by fairies. The fairies would play enchanting music, tell stories of future events, and present visitors with exquisite flowers and luscious fruit. But each guest was told nothing must be taken from the island. But one May Day, a greedy visitor placed a flower he had been presented with in his pocket. When he emerged from the rock the flower vanished and he lost all his senses. Since that day, the door to the island has never opened.