Can you Smell Like a Shark?
Can you Smell Like a Shark?
Today we are going to a beach in North Wales to help collect and count shark eggs as part of a citizen science project.
To help us learn a it more about sharks, we did a great activity about how sharks smell.
The North Wales Wildlife Trust has great activities on their website that are for families and children to better explore their coastlines. Although, this is for Wales, it is equally relevant for us in the Maritimes!
See cool activities from the North Wales Nature Trust.
There are challenges, activities and creative crafts all listed here on the website.
We selected the Shark Sense Test to try.
Smell sense test
We wanted to see if we were as good as a shark!
We set up 8 glasses of water, as per the instructions.
Each cup contained a more diluted solution of water and lemon juice, until the final cup was full of just water for a control.
We then smelled each cup.
We each marked down where we could no longer smell the lemon juice in the water. Then we did the taste test and did the same thing.
Unfortunately, none of us could smell like a shark!
We all stopped smelling or tasting the lemon juice around cup 3-4 (1 part in 100 or 1 part in 1000).
Interestingly, their father could smell and taste even less, as taste buds start to go when you get older. We would love to try this experiment with a variety of ages!
How are your shark senses?
Irishman’s Road Recreation Centre
Irishman’s Road Recreation Centre
Tucked in West Hants, towards the Rawdon Hills near Windsor, is a hidden gem of a recreation site full of hiking trails to explore!
I first learned about the Irishman’s Road Recreation site through Facebook posts and new I had to check it out with the family!
How to Get There
Irishman’s Road is equidistant between Halifax and Kentville. It takes about 35 minutes, coming from either direction.
Driving Highway 101, take Exit 5, turn left at the bottom of the off ramp, (towards the Rawdon Hills). Drive about 2.5 km and turn right onto Irishman’s road-drive.
Drive that road about 1.5 km and Irishmen’s road recreation site is on the left.
Drive through the gate and park in the parking lot.
Now, you are ready to begin your adventure to this hidden gem!
The Trails
There are approximately 7 kms of trails in the recreation site. There are also a few soccer fields and an archery club!
Before you start walking, we highly recommend that you print out the map, or take a picture of it on your phone. The trails are incredibly well marked, but there is not really an overall map telling you how they all fit together.
This is our favourite map we found. Because it is open sourced, there are a few discrepancies with the trails and the map, but it still makes the trails far easier to follow!
Website with the map
The distances are not yet marked except on the main two loops.
The Glooscap Heritage Loop is 1.6 km and the Interpretive Trail is around 1.4 km.
Our Hike
To get around the fence, head to the right, towards the archery club, and walk around that way, and join up with the main road again.
From here, the Glooscap Heritage Loop is well marked and is on your right.
We wanted to start with the Interpretive Trail, and it took us awhile to figure out where to go. Here’s how to access it:
When you are in the parking lot, in front of you on the left is a hill with a soccer field. Walk up that hill and to the far corner of the soccer field.
The trail head is at the back left corner. Once you are there, everything is extremely well signposted, and easy to follow, especially if you take the above map with you.
We basically did a “choose your own adventure” walk at the Irishman’s site. We started with the Interpretive Trail, and did a few side loops that are more meant for biking, and eventually hooked up with the Glooscap Heritage Trail and back to the car.
We walked about 5 km for about 1 hour 15.
Our Recommendations
The Interpretive Trail is made of crushed gravel and is flat and wide and easy to navigate.
If you are going with small children, strollers, or children with bicycles, this is your best route. Just still to this trail and you will have no troubles.
It’s a beautiful trail that weaves and wends through the woods.
You will also get a first-hand look at the topography from gypsum karst.
Karst is a distinctive topography in which the landscape is largely shaped by the dissolving action of water on carbonate bedrock, like gypsum.
All Seasons
The Irishman’s Road Recreation site would be a great place to explore in all seasons from snowshoeing to seeing the leaves change in the fall.
We will definitely be back to explore some more, especially now that we are familiar with the lay of the land, and we know more trails are being built all the time!
Enjoy!
Volunteering at Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve
Volunteering at Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve
Before leaving Canada, we connected with the North Wales Wildlife Trust to find out about volunteer activities at the local nature reserves.
Every Wednesday, a group of volunteers gather at the Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve in Penrhyndeudraeth to work on conservation projects around the nature reserve.
Before we started, we had a tour of the site.
Gwaith Powdwr was once the biggest explosives works in Europe. It was donated to the North Wales Wildlife Trust in 1998 and is now managed as a nature reserve. The reserve offers fabulous views of Snowdonia and the Dwyryd Estuary.
Gwaith Powdwr started producing explosives in 1865, supplying munitions in both World Wars and, in the latter half of the twentieth century, explosives for the mining industry.
In fact, at the top of the hill is a place where they used to test ammunition by putting it in a cannon and firing it into this 2 tonne pendulum. The experts would know how strong the ammunition was, based on how far the pendulum swung!
I can just imagine how loud that would be!
We got a wonderful tour of the area and a description of all the wildlife that live there from the plants and animals.
After that, we were able to help with a few tasks including helping to clear brush around one of the buildings. The building will be getting a new roof to make it a better roosting spot for lesser horseshoe bats.
We will definitely be back again. What a great learning opportunity, and it was nice to meet some of the local people!
A day in Betws Y Coed with fairies, dragons and rhinos
A day in Betws Y Coed with fairies, dragons and rhinos
Betws-y-Coed is known as the gateway to Snowdonia National Park. Many people stop here before furthering their adventure of hiking, biking or heading into the mountains. In fact, there are apparently more trail shops here per capita than anywhere else!
I like to call it the Banff of North Wales!
Plus, it has a great building with a great name!
And, a bridge that is as old as Napolean’s battle of Waterloo!
Daniel gives a great overview of the town in his video:
Our first stop was at Fairy Glen.
Tucked away in behind a farmer’s house, is this amazing gorge where you are sure fairies live!
We had to climb down some steep and slippery slate steps.
The climb down was well worth it, when we realized why it’s called Fairy Glen!
It was so peaceful, sitting and listening to the rush of the water, imaging the fairies fluttering by!
From here, we headed into town.
We first stopped at the foot suspension bridge!
Then for a visit the St. Michael’s Church, dating back to the 13th century.
It is also a memorial to Gruffydd ap Dafydd Goch, a 13th century soldier from the area.
At the train station, we found a row of dragons welcoming us.
Also on the platform is a gorgeous mesh rhino. It is an art installment to remind people of the devastation happening to rhinos in the wild.
Children are to feed it milk caps or bottle lids. We will remember to bring some the next time!
After walking around the lake at the edge of the golf course, and finding this lovely friend,
we headed back into town and found a bakery. Little bakeries are everywhere, and it’s fun to try the traditional types of bread, including this eccles cake made from raisins.
There is plenty more to discover in the beautiful little town of Betws y Coed in the Welsh mountains. We will definitely be back!
The Mawddach Trail in Dolgellau Wales
The Mawddach Trail in Dolgellau Wales
Today’s adventure took us along a flat trail along the Mawddach estuary and river.
In fact, according to the website , the trail goes along the disused railway between Dolgellau and Barmouth in Wales.
Like most days so far, it was absolutely “chucking it down” with rain, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the views.
There were plenty of bridges over the river, which, because of the rains, were running at full force.
Our favourite place was the end! Not just because it was the end of the walk, but because after 2.5km, we came out near Barmouth at a former train station.
And, no station is complete with its own pub! This one was called the King George III and dates back to 1650 when it serviced the boat building industry at the time.
We had a fantastic meal and had a great time chatting with Stephen, the bar tender who even gave Daniel a bag of “crisps” to try for his quest to try new types of chips! He also helped to connect David with some people in the village who will be able to help David with his mining research.
A quaint part of the area is the wooden toll bridge that goes across the river.
We paid our tolls and headed home in that direction.
We had a beautiful drive home along the coast, and have now warmed up with a cup of tea, ready for our next adventure!
Follow our adventures, and find out where they are on our adventure map.
Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales
Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales
We arrived in Wales on Friday night in the midst of a snow storm. It was hardly any snow, but driving through the mountains without any snow tires, was a bit more difficult than driving in Nova Scotia.
We started by getting our bearings in the nearest town of Porthmadog (which has an incredible harbour). We did some shopping and discovered where all the best shops were.
For our first adventure we went across the street, and up a hill to the site of ancient Roman ruins called Tomen Y Mur.
According to the website, Tomen Y Mur is one of the most complete Roman military sites in Britain, established in order to secure Roman power in Wales.
Visible features include the remains of an amphitheatre, a parade ground, a bathhouse and a reconstructed wall, complete with a replica of one of the centurial stones found on the site.
We drove to the top of the hill and took a public footpath across a field of sheep, towards the ruins.
The scenery from the top was outstanding!
There is a reconstructed wall on site, and a replica of one of the carved stones.
On top of the old Roman ruins there is the ruins of an old farm house that lends to the incredible scenery.
A Norman motte – the grassy mound in the centre of the fort – is hard to miss. The name Tomen y Mur means ‘mound in walls’, so the motte has also given its name to the location.
Since Daniel will be studying Roman civilizations and working on a project about it, we will surely be back several times!
I wonder if we will ever tire of this view outside our door, and take it for granted, like we do at home!
Or, will we grow tired of taking pictures of sheep?
