Fairytale Beauty.

Sometimes, we talk about things as being “like a fairytale,” but what does that mean? Fairytales are stories. Often with a lesson at the heart, or simply a tale of far off lands we can only dream of. So what does it mean for something to be like a fairytale?

Places that are hard to compare to anything we have seen are the most enchanting, the most fairytale like. Places that are hard to describe because the words we are looking for might not actually exist. Places so beautiful that it feels like they are teaching you something about yourself. That is how I have felt so far in Wales.

I know it seems somewhat gauche. I was just looking at a place on the map literally named “Fairy Glen.” So it’s terribly unoriginal for me to call Wales “fairytale like.” Alternatively, maybe everyone was on to something.

I drove here today from Manchester. And after some time in traffic and some unnecessary detours to castles and churches I saw from the road, I made it to Anglesey. Anglesey is an island in northern Wales. It is beach and it is historic with ancient buildings and it is a collection of scenic points. A large part of the island is a designated “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” which is a designation I quite like. Anglesey is also filled with cows, sheep, and horses. Oh, and the roads are 3/4 of a car wide, which I’ve found is standard for a trip where I rent a car.

It is a place that is hard to do justice in photos. On one side you have the sea that is clear and warm, and on the other towering mountains with fluffy clouds. I’ve started trying to avoid description by comparison, but it feels like Alaska, if Alaska was in Provence, or something.

I won’t go into too much detail on what there is to do and see in Anglesey. Aside from myself, currently. I’ve decided that I will be going back tomorrow for a number of things I missed. And in search of more specific words to describe the feeling of incomparability that leads us to think of fairytales.

I’m lying in my tent and have a book to finish, so it’s time to tie a bow on this. But what is that fairytale feeling. We use it to describe places, people, feelings and experiences. Is it just how we describe things that feel like they must be made up? I have no answer now, this is a tomorrow question. For now, something pretty.