Crime Scene Inspiration

​Dinas Rock and the Silica Mines

​For my most recent book, ‘Lies of Mine’, the initial spark for the story concept came to me while I was hiking around Dinas Rock and exploring the Silica Mines. I do a lot of walking and, fortunately, living in Wales provides plenty of stunning places to inspire my imagination and feed the world of Winter Meadows.

I’ve been to Dinas Rock quite a few times. Actually, I once got lost for a few hours, wandering through the beautiful landscape at the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The limestone cliff, Dinas Rock, is a popular climbing spot for mountaineers. Although, I’m not a climber, I do enjoy walking the trails around the area.



​Some of the many inspiring sights to see are –

• The Sychryd cascades 
• The large rock known as Bwa Maen
• Dinas Rock hillfort and the old gunpowder works
• Sgwd yr Eira waterfall

---

I’ve spent hours getting lost in the tranquil and calm setting of this National Park – although the peaceful ambiance does little to stop my imagination from conjuring up a couple of murders. I guess it’s only logical that the beautiful yet eerie Dinas Rock and Silica Mines would eventually become a crime scene for Winter Meadows to investigate.

​As always, I take pictures to take home with me, so I can have a little piece of nature when I’m stuck at the computer. These are some of the images I used while writing book 5 in the DI Winter Meadows series. 

---

So, if you’d like to enjoy one of the natural beauties of Wales, or want to see for yourself where the murder in my book, ‘Lies of Mine’, takes place, go visit Dins Rock.

---