Blogs from Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

I looked out the window around sunrise to see if it would be worth going out for some photography - it wasn't as it was still raining. We went back to the hotel for breakfast - another opportunity missed when they asked for our room numbers. We went to breakfast early (rather than five minutes before it closes, which is our usual routine), which was a really good move. Portmeirion does not open to day visitors until 9.30am and we had the whole place completely to ourselves, so it was a great time to wander around again to enjoy and take some photos, particularly as the rain had stopped and the sun was actually shining. At 9.31am, it was suddenly heaving. A lot of people were there for a wedding that was taking place in the ... read more

Where in the world is Gabby the motorhome ? She was destined for a day out. The plans had been laid . Criccieth Castle . The last of the stronghold of castles built in North Wales to subdue the Welsh. A castle we had passed on many occasions but never actually managed to set foot in. Today was planned . We would head for Wrexham , top up with fuel and LPG , travel to Criccieth and spend the night somewhere near the sea . Well that was the plan . As is always with good plans they sometimes turn out to be not so good . The morning was frosty and it felt cold . We toyed with the idea of moving the car and then getting Gabby off the drive . We were slowly ... read more

The day began with an early bike ride by both of us and a wipe-out crash for Jane. ‘Very’ fortunately she escaped injury. Another cyclist came around a blind corner at speed and wide. Applying the brakes on pea blue metal whilst leaning into a corner has only one result … a slide … into the path of Jane who rode over his bicycle before falling and landing on him as he was under both bikes and Jane. After that bit of excitement and having Jane’s heart rate calmed we departed with Rob and Mary for a place very special to Jane, Morfa Nefyn in Wales. We met very close friends of R&M’s who were moored a little off-shore, had lunch from the “Ty Cock”, which celebrates its 50th year owned by the Webley family and ... read more

The weather forecast was important in our decision making this morning. We want to go up Snowdonia, but the weather needed to be good. It was clear from both the forecast and the sky that today was not the day! Instead we decided to travel on the Ffestiniog railway. We decided to travel from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniogg. We went down to the station early to buy tickets. The carriages were already waiting at the station, we only had to wait for the engine to arrive and couple on. There was also another train to Canarvon, that was due to leave a little after our train. It actually arrived at the station first! There was a bit of consternation as to whether we were on the right train, but the helpful volunteers soon had everyone back ... read more

For all the travelling I have done, I've definitely not seen enough of my own island. By island I mean Great Britain and what better way to do it than to go camping?!In July of this year we went camping in Snowdonia over a weekend. Snowdonia is a National park, a mountainous region in North Wales with an area of 823 square miles and is home to over 26,000 people. It’s around 3 and a half hours drive from my home town of Cheltenham but totally worth it. The campsite we stayed in was called Dolgam and it is both a campsite and a B&B. The campsite itself was basic with washing up facilities, electric hook up points ... read more