Snowdonia has attracted painters and printmakers for more than 250 years. While working on this programme I was astounded by the sheer quantity of artists who have visited the area. Different generations have been drawn by different things. Some, like the pioneer Welsh landscape artist Richard Wilson, highlighted the majesty of its peaks and castles, imposing his own order onto the landscape. Others, like J.M.W. Turner, went in search of drama, relishing the stormy, changeable weather and the stunning light effects that this produced.

When we arrived with our camera, there wasn’t a cloud in sight, let alone a Turneresque storm. Standing on the edge of Llyn Nantlle, where Wilson viewed Snowdon in 1765, the sky couldn’t have been bluer. And this was exactly how Wilson liked his landscapes; he bathed Wales in the warm, glowing light that he had experienced while living in Rome.

What excited Turner was something many of us will have experienced in the mountains. I certainly did when my father led my teenage self across Snowdonia’s famously rocky ridges. Clinging on for dear life, I came to know that combination of terror and exhilaration often found in paintings, particularly Turner’s: the Sublime. It’s one thing to admire the immediacy of Turner’s sketches in an art gallery, but experiencing the actual views that inspired him brings a very different kind of insight and understanding.

Surprisingly artists also came to Snowdonia for company rather than solitude. From the mid-nineteenth century, a vibrant artistic community established itself in Betws-y-Coed, meeting at the Royal Oak Hotel. Filming there, it was easy to imagine the convivial gatherings of visitors from all over Europe. But it’s the stay of a Welsh painter that stands out for me.

In the early twentieth century, J.D. Innes regularly visited the area between Ffestiniog and Bala. In this remote district, he and Augustus John applied the colourful language of modern European art to the Welsh landscape, to dazzling effect. Standing at the foot of the imposing mountain that inspired him, Arenig Fawr, was a highlight of the filming. Apart from the fact that two of my grandparents hailed from nearby, it’s always thrilling to stand on the spot where an artist has worked and see how their renditions compare with the view that inspired them.

And maybe that’s what makes these Snowdonia landscapes so compelling – for everyone. They present familiar and much-loved views at different moments in history and through very distinctive artistic filters, always casting the familiar in a new and revelatory light.

Inspired by Snowdonia is on 成人论坛 Two Wales, Saturday 13 June 2015 at 10pm

To find out more, and catch up with other programmes you may have missed, visit: bbc.co.uk/realnorthwales or join the conversation on social media #RealNorthWales.

Porthcawl Harbour about to be swamped by a large wave. Image by Allen Lloyd.

Barri Elford took this amazing shot of Coney Harbour, Porthcawl on Monday.

Scwd yr Eira Falls, Pontneddfechan. Image by Mike Davies, Neath.

Aberystwyth at high tide by John Mason.

Blossom by Belinda Evans.

An adder basking in the sun at Parc Slip by Steve Gunter.

Frog spawn by Angela Roberts.

Fox cubs at the back of the house. Image by sandra 45 near Carmarthern.

A female goosander in Snowdonia by Jeanette Cohen.

Conwy Castle and swans by Ian Owen

I've been reliably informed that we have around 427 castles in Wales - not bad for such a small country but then again castles were built for a specific purpose and we all knew about King Edward I and his "iron ring of castles"...

and feel free to send in some more either via the Flickr group or by email to wales.nature@bbc.co.uk

Please send in hi-resolution versions of your digital photos or we can't use them online.

To find out more about castles in Wales, take a look at the .

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A dramatic snow scene taken by Nigel Lewis.

Merthyr Mawr bathed in glorious sunshine at noon on Monday by Andrew Owen.

A temperature reading of -17C in an car on Monday morning in Bala town centre by Keith Humph.

Pontsticill Reservoir on Sunday, taken from the Brecon Mountain Railway Station by Tim Borman of Church Village.

A swan finds out the hard way in Roath Park lake! Photo by Jo Bird in Cardiff

That's it for now. Keep them coming - wales.nature@bbc.co.uk or add your favourite snaps to our .

Thanks

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A hungry sparrowhawk hunting in the snow by Sarah Bowen.

Nantgwynant Pass, North Wales by Anthony Tully

Snowdon and the surrounding mountains from Cwm, overlooking the Vale of Clwyd by Matthew Griffith.

A pheasant stays out of the snow in the hills above Carno, Powys by Griff Evans.

Cardiff Bay in the snow by Mike Fudge

Castle Coch, Tongwynlais covered in snow by Gale.

If you've taken any nice photos recently then why not email them to me here at wales.nature@bbc.co.uk or join our - it's free.

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Flt Lt Mike Castle saw the water spout forming about 4 miles directly in front of the aircraft.

Mike turned the on board camera towards the water spout to record these remarkable pictures.

Mike commented: "In 12 years of being at RAF Valley I've only ever seen four of these and two of those were today."

Waterspouts are fairly common and occur when a tornado forms over oceans, lakes, or rivers. Apparently, there are .

Waterspouts can vary in size from a few feet to more than a mile in height, and from a few feet to hundreds of feet wide.

Witnesses say they make hissing and sucking noises as they move and these water twisters can move at speeds ranging from 2 to 80 miles an hour!

Winds within the waterspout can spiral around at 60-120 miles an hour and usually last up to fifteen minutes with some lasting for more than half an hour.

Waterspouts are often seen in groups and ships out on the ocean have reported as many as 30 in one day.

Waterspouts, like tornadoes on the land, can suck up and transport some interesting objects. Other than rain itself, fish are the most common thing reported falling from the sky, but rains of frogs, tomatoes and even lumps of coal have been known to fall too.

Waterspouts are most frequent from May to September over warmer waters.They are usually not as dangerous as tornadoes, but can still cause serious damage to ships.

Other examples of waterspouts around the Welsh coast:



A water spout off Barry Island on

Huw Beynon from Llandeilo captured this startling image of a Brocken Spectre.

The name comes from - the highest peak in Germany's Harz Mountains, where it was first seen by mountaineers.

Legend has it that a climber was startled by the sudden appearance in the mist of a human figure with a ring of light around its head.

Frightened, the climber fell to his death, killed by his own shadow and the ring of light was his own glory ring!

To see one, you must have your back to the sun and there must be many water droplets in the air. Sunlight hits the water droplets and bounces back off them. The reflected light comes back towards the sun and the observer.

Here's another one sent in from Phil Edwards who snapped one in Pontcanna Fields recently:

A Brocken Spectre in Pontcanna Fields by Phil Edwards.

Even if you are in a group you can only see your own shadow and or your own Brocken Spectre.

Brocken Spectres are usually confined to high-mountain areas when the sun is low but they can also be seen from an aeroplane flying in sunlight above clouds.

With the sun above the aircraft, the glory is visible around the aircraft's shadow, projected onto cloud below.

So if you're out walking and see your shadow in the mist. Don't be scared - It's not a ghost; just a harmless Brocken Spectre!

Derek

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Keith Evans from Llangollen spotted this swan out for stroll on the pavement, racing the locals to the bingo hall:

There's a very good reason why people come from all over the world to go hikiing in North Wales and Christian Roberts has shared one of them with us.

Llyn Anafon is a mountain lake approximately 510m above sea level in the Carneddau mountains in North Wales:

It's a great time to see wading birds currently, especially after the big tides we've been experiencing over the last few days. Did you see the size of the moon on Saturday night?!

The next shot is unusual in that it shows a sparrowhawk attempting to take on much bigger prey than normal - in this case a greenshank. Forget sparrows, this bird of prey was super sizing his meal!

Moses Davies captured this incredible scene which somehow saw the greenshank escape unscathed:

I've witnessed peregrine falcons dive bombing flocks of wading birds before but I've never come across a sparrowhawk attempting it?

Great pics everyone. Keep them coming!

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Strange patterns on Skrinkle Bay. Photo: Ian Collier

They say, "Can you or anyone explain the pictures we saw on this sandy beach at Skrinkle Bay on the Haven Coastal Path, near Tenby?

"We saw it on holiday on 7 October 2010 and although we've asked many people, including Tenby Tourist Information, no one knows who did it or how it got there. We think its a wonderful piece of art. Do you agree?"

Can you help the Colliers and solve the mystery? If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have a 成人论坛 iD account, you can - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of 成人论坛 sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? , or get some .

Here's the description:

"Slightly smaller than a reed bunting with a well marked head pattern, chestnut nape and chestnut wing panel. It spends most of its time on the ground and often seen in small flocks."

Lapland Bunting by Mike McCarthy:

"Occasional birds are seen in Scotland in the summer, when males have a striking black crown, face and throat."

These birds are normally found along the east coast of Britain, arriving from September through to November and leaving by May - no doubt to avoid our lousy summers!

So we should consider ourselves quite privileged to have them visiting us in South Wales.

If you've seen anything unusual visiting our shores then do get in touch and let me know - wales.nature@bbc.co.uk

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These clouds are actually known as Fallstreak Holes and .

If you spot any unusual cloud or weather formations in the sky, please get in touch.

You can send your pics to me here at wales.nature@bbc.co.uk along with any questions you may have and I'll do my best to answer them here in the blog.

And you never know - they might just turn up on the telly during one of my weather forecasts!

Happy cloud spotting

Derek

The reserve is home to a wide variety of birds and mammals and attracts many migrant visitors in winter and summer time. These include avocet, black-tailed godwit, shoveller and bittern as well as the resident otter, water shrew, brown hare and polecats.

Avocet with chicks down at the saline lagoons. Image courtesy of RSPB:

Over the last ten years a whole range of new habitats have established themselves across the site - ranging from grazed pastures and hedgerows to ditches (known locally as reens) as well as saline lagoons and the largest area of reedbeds in South Wales.

The centre is open daily from 9am - 5pm so why pop along to the photo exhibition and then have a go at spotting the animals for yourselves!



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Mike Davies always takes a nice snap and this one features a damp jay sheltering from the rain in his back garden. Check out the vertical lines of rain in the background.

Whilst we're still on a watery theme -Tony Llewellyn did a double take on a recent Skomer Island visit when he saw a frog, (yes a frog) swimming out at sea on it's back. I somehow don't think this story will have a happy ending.


And finally to end on a high note - local rowers in Fishguard have helped save a confused by herding them out of the harbour and into deeper water. Well done to everyone who helped! .

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