We found the real stairway to heaven recently… and then the day after we climbed it, we read about the court case Led Zeppelin were fighting over the song’s origins. So strange when that happens. And so today, as the court has decided in the band’s favour, I thought I would post about the beautiful valley in mid Wales that supposedly inspired the lyrics.
We came across it by accident, We’d spotted the sign ‘Artists’ Valley’ and were intrigued. Who were the artists? I imagined a Victorian woman with a bun, watercolours and a flirty-eyed husband in an artistically tied cravat, so it was a bit of a shock later when the waiter in the hotel told us the valley was the ‘real’ Stairway to Heaven. Had we heard of a band called Led Zeppelin, he asked.
Yes, we said. We had. And so the next day, of course we had to climb the path up the hill… and yes, indeed, it was heaven. But what was amazing was how what we were seeing matched so many of the lyrics. Who knows if this is what Robert Plant had in mind. Probably not, because nothing is so literal as that, so I hope he’ll forgive me, after all sometimes words (and pictures) have two meanings….
First though, here’s a link to the song to listen to when you feast on all this beauty.