Exploring :: Bude with the Family #2 ... Hidden Valley

Hi there everyone 😀

We are back in Bude in the summer for today's post. This time we got to visit somewhere that ... in all the years of visiting the area ... we have never been. We had a day at Hidden Valley with Mum, David, Alison & Bobby. They'd been before and said it was fabulous and we couldn't wait to see what it was all about ...

We were pretty excited, having read a little bit about it. It's a place just teeming with puzzles ... according to David and Alison, not too much walking and ... according to Bobby, a mansion house with an upside-down room.

Once inside it all looked really intriguing ...

As the weather looked to improve as the day went on we decided that we would complete the 'Forbidden Mansion' first, hoping to avoid the rain ... it was also nice and quiet ...

As you can see ... I took this photo later on after the sun had come out. This next one is what the sky looked like before we went in ...

It was really good. There are a series of rooms in the Mansion with information that you need to find and puzzles to complete and yes ... there was an upside down room too ...

After we'd finished in the Mansion we opted to complete the 'Big Blimp' puzzle trail which lead us all over the place looking for clues and puzzles and having to solve them to be able to move on ...

There was a simpler trail for little ones and Bobby and Nanny went off to do this one leaving us to it. There was more walking than I expected, though it is over a fairly small area ... there is a fair bit of toing and froing, but it was really good and we all actually did pretty well ...

As well as the puzzles there is plenty more to see and do, with a miniature railway, a maze, landscaped gardens and a great play area for the little ones ...

There are also plenty of places to eat, either outside or undercover, a cafe and a gift shop.

We spent the best part of the day there ... in rain and shine ... and loved it. We were absolutely shattered by the time we'd finished and our brains were frazzled at some points along the way but I would definitely recommend it 😀

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Exploring :: Bude with the Family #1 ... Boscastle, Crackington Haven & Port Isaac

Hi there everyone 😀

It’s a wet and grey one in North Wales today, just right for hunkering down, with snacks, to watch the first England game of the World Cup.

Today’s post is a bit of a throwback to the heat and sunshine of this year's summer. For once the whole of the family were kind of in the same place at the same time ... the very beautiful Bude in North Cornwall. 

Mum, my brother David, his partner Alison and the little chap were staying in Mum's caravan. My sister Sarah and her partner Mark were staying at their house in Bude and Martin and I were staying in a holiday cottage out in the sticks.

Our first couple of days out found us all just generally mooching about along the coast meeting up along the way.

We started out in Boscastle with mum, which never disappoints ...

Can you spot Queen Victoria? She's up there on the top of the cliffs on the right hand side. You can walk up there but it wasn't for us this time. David and Bobby went up though on another day ...

I must admit my heart was in my mouth when I saw this photo. Bobby looks so tiny all the way up there.

We did bump into Sarah and Mark along the way ...

... and there may have been a quick ice cream before a more leisurely sit in the sunshine at The Welly before making our way back, via Crackington Haven, where we left mum sat on a rock whilst we had a wander along the beach ...

The following day we all headed for Port Isaac ... where we walked into the village around the headland ...

... where the obligatory seagull posed for his close up ...

... and the views across the bay were as glorious as always ...

We spent lots of time looking for seaglass and just generally messing about on the beach or sitting enjoying the sunshine ...

... and we got to see what a 'blenny' actually was. Turns out Bobby knows exactly what he's talking about 😁

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Lodge Life :: October

Hi there everyone 😀

In October we only managed to get away to the lodge for a week at the end of the month. I think with our three week break in September we both felt like we needed to spend some time at home.

We had both been knocked for six by Covid at the beginning of the month and we were both really looking forward to our first autumn break ... hoping for a bit of rest and recuperation, without having to think about housework or all of the jobs mounting up in the garden.

It was another good run over, with a mixture of sunshine, rain and rainbows ...

We pulled in just past Bala to have a look at the reservoir, which still looked seriously low compared to how we'd seen it on our first trip ...

Whilst we'd had a good journey our arrival was not quite the relaxing sigh and drop of the shoulders we'd been expecting. It was more the thought that we'd walked into a bit of a horror film.

Flies ... everywhere ... 100s of them ... live ones, dead ones. Fly dirt all over our lovely clean windows. To say it was stressful is a bit of an understatement. I did take photos, but won't post them ... they aren't very nice. We spent ages getting rid of them before feeling like unpacking.

The next morning they were everywhere again. Just horrible. We had another big clean up session before sitting for a couple of hours in the site office chatting with the salesman, who kindly ordered us some smoke bombs that he was sure would do the trick.

From chatting to a few of the other owners it seems it wasn't only us plagued with this problem. It also seems that it is likely to be a bit of annual thing. They are cluster flies, which like to find a way inside to hibernate for the winter. Then they send out pheromones to all their mates to encourage more to congregate. You'd think they would then just settle down nicely for the winter and come out in the spring. But it appears they might just fancy popping out for  bit first.

Anyway ... it seems that they are getting into the roof space somehow and then when they fancy popping out they don't go out the way they got in. They opt for sneaking down through the gaps around the velux windows. Our next visit will involve ladders, a lot of fly spray and some insulation tape ... wish us luck 🍀🍀🍀

We didn't venture out that much on this visit. We had a short walk around the shops in Pwhelli, lunch at the Fron Goch Garden Centre and a walk along the pier at Bangor ... which gave us time to set off one of our smoke bombs ...

We got back to find another batch of dead critters so had another clean up session, including re-cleaning all of the windows and frames.

With our annual Halloween walk with Bobby being cancelled we decided to stay another day but spent it not really doing much, but finally managing to chill out a bit.

We are back again this week and I have to say I'm just a little nervous about what we might find. Fingers crossed they have all settled down for the winter and we won't have to do quite as much vacuuming 🤞🤞🤞

It seems that life at the lodge isn't all sunshine and roses 😀

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Lodge Life :: September 2022

Hi there everyone 😀

Back in September we had our longest stay at the lodge so far. Though we hadn't exactly planned it we ended up being there for nearly three weeks and it was just so relaxing. 

We did do a few 'jobs' like cleaning all of the windows and the glass around the decking and we did have Lesley & Tom come to spend their first long weekend with us, but other than that we spent a lot of time not doing very much at all, other than sitting enjoying the view and reading.

I think I managed to read about five books and we did spend a few days glued to the TV watching the events following the passing of our Queen. It was so nice to have some real down time.

Within our first couple of days we'd had a right mixture of weather ... ranging from glorious sunshine and blue skies ...

... to wet, wild and very windy ...

We'd arrived on a Thursday, with Lesley & Tom arriving the following Thursday. We spent a few days of our first week doing some outside cleaning and plenty of batch cooking. I think, other than shopping, we only ventured out anywhere the once before they came. We had a bit of a drive out through the mountains, via Beddgelert, with a quick stop off in Caernarvon.

We did stop to have a bit of a closer look at the Aberglaslyn Pass, which we'd driven through before, but not actually stopped. It was beautiful ...

Once Lesley & Tom arrived there was plenty of activity ... there were so many nice places that we wanted to share with them that we were spoilt for choice.

We spent our first afternoon staying local with a short drive for a walk at Trefor ...

... before moving a bit further along the coast to make the hairy drive down to Nant Gwrtheyrn ...

... which has fast become a favourite for Martin and I ...

I really do hope that at some point Martin and I feel up to the challenge of walking down to the beach but that was not for this visit …

... but we did take advantage of a great spot for tea and cake ...

Lesley and I just couldn't resist jumping out of the car on the way back up to try and get up close and personal with the goats ...

... before heading back to settle in with and fish and chip supper from our favourite chippy to finish off the day ...

The next day we had a 'big' day out. We headed over to Anglesey, through Beaumaris and onto Penman Point, somewhere that Martin and I had both seen on Facebook and thought we definitely wanted to go and have a look.

The point is accessed via a private toll road, costing £3, which starts by Penmon Priory. We decided to drive down to the beach and the lighthouse first, maybe have lunch at the cafe, and then have a look at the priory on the way back.

We had absolutely no idea what to expect and the toll is pretty bumpy in places but once you hit the end of the road the view near took our breath away. The beach really does have an ends of the Earth feel to it. It’s remote and rugged and on the day we visited it was pretty breezy to say the least.

From where we parked we didn’t see the lighthouse straightaway, but it was a real ‘wow’ moment when it first came into view …

We could tell there were going to be lots of photos taken and we waited patiently for a gap in the slow trickle of visitors to get some good up close and personal shots …

… and plenty of windswept selfies …

… and I had to wait for just the right moment to catch the boat in exactly the right spot …

I don’t suppose we were there that long really but the tide was certainly coming in …

We had a walk along the beach in one direction …

Then back along the other, where we left Martin to wait for us …

We spent ages watching this yacht … which was really struggling against the tide …

… before making our way back to Martin who told us he’d seen a seal and a puffin … there was no corroborating evidence to back his claims but he was adamant that he wasn’t making it up … we were gutted to have missed them.

We decided to check out the café, which had plenty of outdoor seating and a reasonable choice of options for lunch …

… before heading back to the priory and a very impressive dovecote for a good look round …

Both the lighthouse and the priory were definitely well worth the drive and I'm more than certain that we will visit again. I'd love to go at low tide when I believe you can actually walk out to the lighthouse.

We had a quick stop in Beaumaris for a wander along the pier on the way back, but didn't stop long as time was getting on and we were all ready to head for home.

We had another big day out on the Saturday, with a trip to Llanbedrog, where Martin and I surprised ourselves making the walk up to the tin man ...

Sunday and it was time for Lesley and Tom to head for home. We had breakfast at the local garden centre, which has become a bit of a regular treat, and a quick wander along the front, and a sit in the sunshine at Criccieth ...

There may also have been a sneaky ice cream from Cadwalladers 🍦🍦🍦🍦 

After Lesley and Tom had headed for home we had another relaxing week or so to go. We did manage a visit to Barmouth, somewhere else that we'd not been to before. That was another real treat and somewhere that we will definitely visit again ...

I wouldn't say we were ready to come home at the end of our three weeks, but we really felt like we ought to. It was time to get the garden ready for winter, fulfil a few appointments and social engagements ... hoping to get back again in a few weeks 😀

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