A Week in Wales :: a good day

Hello Lovelies,

This was the view I woke up to on holiday. How I loved it. Can you see the three mountains behind the trees? 

I don't know what they are really called, but I thought of them as Daddy bear, Mummy bear and Baby bear.

Waking up to sunshine on the first morning ( last Saturday)  I knew exactly where I wanted to go......to the beach..........

In Wales they are passionate about preserving the Welsh language so all signs are written in that language first.

I liked that. It was a great way to pick up a few words and it made me fell like I was in a different country....which of course we were.

One of the reasons we ended up booking this holiday was because I had seen this particular  TRAETH (beach) on the telly................THIS episode of a favourite programme to be exact (the bit about this beach is at the end and I just loved the look of it.)

We were at Porthor, which is owned by the National Trust............

It can also be written Porth Oer.

There's a steep path down from the car park that leads to a gorgeous sandy bay..............

With great surf............

And icy water!.........

Actually, it's just like the sea off any British beach....flipping cold till you get accustomed to it.

But with the aid of wet suits my boys LOVE spending time in the waves. How I LOVE seeing them having fun..........

The colours and light in this bay are mesmerising too................

I love the way the clouds seemed to mirror the waves and all the wonderful shades of blue.........

It's also got a great little cafe for ice creams (or a warming cup of tea)..........

This is the path down from the car park.....where the toilets were also situated.....I loved the green banks and turquoise sea.............

The weather just got better as the day progressed. By late afternoon all the cloud had vanished and the wind had dropped. I went for a wander and explored a path at the other end of the beach.
It had a great vantage point, to look down on this idyllic horseshoe bay..........

And I discovered a hidden inlet across the headland.............

I wandered the shoreline with eldest who picked up Limpet shells as we walked...........

meanwhile middle son flew his kite............

Before long the sea was calling my boys back into the waves...........

while I did a little crochet and watched them from the beach............

Pothor is also called Whistling Sands as you can make the sand squeak if you shuffle your feet as you walk......it took us a while to get the knack...but we all managed it in the end.

It's something to do with the shape of the sand grains, great fun. But this is still be a special place without that.......

In the cafe I picked up a postcard of this bay........a better photo than I could hope to take with my little compact camera...........

that evening youngest wrote a message on the back, to send to his cousins. I checked and he doesn't mind me sharing a part with you............

Oh, yes, it WAS a good day, a really good day :0)

and it was wonderful to have a cosy log fire to sit around that evening...........

The perfect end to a good day.

Jacquie x

A Week in Wales :: getting there

Hello Lovelies,

I'm back from another holiday......I know.

I do feel a bit embarrassed about blogging this week away, coming as it does, so quickly after our fabulous week in Dorset. But I'm sharing it here again as I  love being able to record these family times that are so precious to me.

I really hope you enjoy my pictures and tales from another beautiful part of the U.K.

This holiday was just the five of us, plus Grandma (my Mum). Mr BM drove the boys in our car, following the quickest roads. I drove Mum and myself in her little car....following the slow roads :0)

 This photo was taken just after we had passed through Llangollen ( a stunning place with lots to see)......

It was raining (as it often does in these hills) but I had to stop the car and photograph the beautiful landscape.

Mum chose the route and remembered a place to stop for our picnic lunch. This photo is taken from inside the car.............

What a view!........across the vast expanse of Bala Lake to the mountains of Snowdonia in the distance.

It's the largest natural lake in Wales, over four miles long and a mile wide. It is obviously a popular place for all sorts of water sports............

and a haven for wildlife too.............

I loved the cute little Black-headed gulls. There were adults and lots of juveniles around too..........

After lunch, while I wandered about taking photos, Mum did a sketch .............

Soon it was time to carry on. We climbed even higher into the mountains, stopping to try and get a clear view of the purple slopes that surrounded this reservoir.........

Patience eventually paid off ...........

Another wow.

The landscape of Snowdonia is so different from home............

Wild and rugged with Heather that reminds me of the Yorkshire moors of my childhood...........

We travel on increasingly narrow and winding roads, climbing higher. Above the tree line now........

Maybe you can see the road on the far left?

Then we are gazing at the mountains, the view constantly changing as the clouds part and illuminate different areas...........

Look, is that a bridge? No, it must be a dam?

We gaze down into steeply sided valleys............

And stop yet again to take in the dramatic views, with rugged hills fading through all shades of blue, into the distance.....and the sea!

Twenty minutes later we are down at sea level.......gazing back at those mountains and loving the flower filled boat in the sunshine :0)..............

We are at Criccieth..........just look at that sky.............

and the amazing 13th century ruined castle that looks down on the beach...........

 It proudly flies the Welsh flag and seems a prefect welcome to the Llyn Peninsula. An area we are looking forward exploring over the next seven days.


Time to meet up with the rest of the family, who arrived a couple of hours earlier:0)
We do a food shop and head off to our holiday home.

This was the first thing my eyes landed on as we entered our cottage...........

a gorgeous old Aga cooker. Wow.

Thankfully there was also an electric cooker, something I understand how to work!

Then I found a lovely metal jug for my  supermarket chrysanthemums............

We settle in and I hope this week, which I've been looking forward to since we booked it right back February, doesn't fly by too quickly.

I do hope you will pop back soon for part two.

Jacquie x

Dorset Holidays :: Part 5

Hello Lovelies, 

are you still with me? I do hope you are finding something interesting in these marathon holiday posts.

I could write three more, but I'll make this the last.

On Thursday the weather forecast wasn't optimistic so we decided to drive along the coast, past Lyme Regis and into East Devon.

We ended up in a delightful village called Beer.

 It happened to be regatta day and there was a real party atmosphere............

It's was a shame about the showers. We ended up having lunch on the beach.....sheltering under these parasols to keep off the rain............

While a steel band played and the man on the public address system said something like.........

 " good news about the sailor who had to be rescued ........he's just got hypothermia and a couple of other issues....but he'll be fine in a few hours." 

 I'm glad it wasn't bad news!

The wetness did make the pebbles shine , and I had to smile when we spotted this one :0)

The Village it's self was very picturesque, and decorated with flags of all nations............

I loved the old cottages............

and the unusual sight of a stream running  down the side of the road...........

After our evening meal back at the "van" the children decided to go crabbing on West Bay pier again. We walked past the harbour and I was delighted to see the gorgeous glow of the sunset...........

But that didn't prepare me for the amazing beauty of the coastline at this time of day........WOW, it took my breath away.............

And just LOOK at the East Cliff..............

That stunning hot orange colour and the contours all displayed in stark relief by the evening shadows........

Those 140 million year old rocks, towering above the people enjoying an evening stroll.  I think you can see why this part of our coastline has been designated as Britain's first natural world heritage site.

And looking west as the sun sets is really special. Each bay is illuminated by the suns rays, creating the illusion that there is light shining out of each one.
I tried hard to capture it in a photo, but it's much more spectacular in real life...............

I wandered around revelling in so much natural beauty while the children enjoyed catching crabs, shrimps and tiny fish..............

West Bay was bathed in a mellow glow............

and many people enjoyed the atmosphere, both on land and sea............

Just look at that sky...........

East Cliff turned an even deeper orange, while fishermen landed their catch..............

And then the sun was gone..............

and soon the lights came on .........

Seeing this sunset was another highlight of the holiday for me.

On Friday we woke to sunshine and the weather forecast was good........

We headed back to Lyme, with MANY other people. When we got there the sandy beach was packed. It did feel a little claustrophobic, so I went for another walk on the harbour wall.............

The children spent ages in the sea and by evening the beach was pretty deserted, but again we didn't want to leave............

Further out in the bay a swimming club were doing circuits around the bouys..........

Beats a few lengths in a chlorine filled pool, don't you think.

This photo was taken about 7.30pm......the sun was just about to disappear behind the hillside, but still the children were  still in the sea. There was a Reggie party going on in one of the bars on the seafront and music drifted out across the beach. It was so calm and warm , the sea almost still with the tiniest of waves gently lapping the shore.......

The sort of moment you want to remember for a long time too.

That night (late at night) I attempted a little postcard sized watercolour of Lyme on a sunny day.......

It's not great, but it makes me smile.

Then Saturday morning arrived and it was time to say goodbye to our little caravan..........

The weather was good and we decided to squeeze a few more hours out of our holiday.

We drove past thatched cottages with Roses around the door..........

Along the coast road heading east. And what a stunning route it turned out to be. There were high places you could stop and drink in the view.

One last look at Lyme bay............

and a first glimpse of Chesil beach and the fleet lagoon...........

another wow

and look, there's St Catherine's Chapel.............

Somewhere else I feel I know from Lucy's beautiful posts

This whole road was stunning on a sunny morning....We loved the B3157 :0)

It had such gorgeous elevated vantage points and  it travelled through pretty villages........

It was a shame we didn't have longer to explore, but we had a plan to visit somewhere we holidayed when the boys were very small.

One last day on the beach.............

At Weymouth, where the ships are tall............

 the deck chairs are unique..........

The dingy got a last outing...........

And there was time for me to sit in our tent and do a little more crochet before the long drive home.........

 I'm so happy that I've managed to record our lovely week, before my memories fade. It was a really wonderful holiday.

Thank you for indulging me and leaving such lovely comments.

Jacquie x