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