Exploring :: A Llyn Treasure Trail

Bore da Pawb 😀

Day two of David, Alison and Bobby’s visit was forecast for rain again but by the time we were all up, breakfasted and ready to head out it was just very grey so we decided to have a day out and about doing a Treasure Trail … which would offer regular opportunities to take cover should the need arise …

We started off in Criccieth where we parked up along the front and this is just before the little man got caught unawares … which was very funny …

Our trail took us up the hill and past the latest bit of yarn bombing … I think it’s about the fourth different post box topper we’ve seen on this post box … we always go and have a look at it every time we visit Criccieth …

Our walk then took us up past Cadwalladers and the castle to the viewpoint …

We then retraced our steps and headed for the High Street, stopping to take in more Eisteddfod decorations along the way …

After a quick mooch along the High Street our route took us back down to the sea front and we couldn’t resist a quick visit to Cadwalladers before heading off to the next stage of our trail …

Our next stop was Llanystumdwy, which is the small village where David Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister, lived until he was 16. 

We parked up in front of the church and made our way across the river where there was more bunting being strung …

Our trail took us to the grave of Lloyd George …

… and then round to the museum …

It was then back to the car and off to Pwllheli for our next stop … where we had a quick pit stop at the arcade before heading down towards the beach …

The last stop on our trail was Llanbedrog and The gallery, where we were just in time for a quick look round before picking up our final clues …

We’d had a really full day out and managed to find all of the clues we needed to solve the case … and we hadn’t got wet … so it was time to head back to base for an evening of food and an escape room 😀

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Exploring :: 80% Chance of Rain

Hi there everyone 😀

Having been at the lodge for almost a week we were really looking forward to my brother, his partner and my nephew visiting us for the first time. So far we’d had a mixed bag on the weather front but the forecast was for 80% chance of rain for pretty much the whole of the time they were staying. 

We were well prepared for the weather … we’d scoped out the small arcade in Pwllheli, which would be good for an hour or so …

We’d got plenty of supplies in so we definitely weren’t going to have to keep nipping to the supermarket …

… and we’d got a trip to Airworld on the cards …

David and Alison picked Bobby up from school and they arrived for about 7.30 … and within about 10 minutes the rain started and we cosied down for the evening. 

Saturday morning the forecast was still for rain all day so we decided to head for Airworld … a small air museum on the airport just outside of Caernarfon. We’d never been before but we were all looking forward to seeing what we would find. 

It’s not very far from us and we spent the journey looking for stuff for Bobby to tick off in his I-Spy Wales book as well as looking out for signs of the Eisteddfod, which were everywhere …

Whilst it is a small museum it was actually a very good way to spend an hour or so. There is certainly plenty crammed into the small building housing the exhibits …

There was plenty of opportunity to interact with the exhibits … including climbing into the cockpits of a good few of the aircraft …

We’d expected it to be raining when we came out of the museum but it was actually fairly pleasant … grey, but dry … so we decided to not visit the cafe but to have a walk back along the front back to Dinas Dinlle …

We even ended up having an ice cream before heading off … for a drive through the clouds for a quick call in at Nant Gwrtheyrn on the way back … where it was actually unexpectedly bright …

… and David, Alison and Bobby made the effort to walk down to the beach and back …

We’d had the loveliest of days … been so lucky with the weather and seen lots of cool stuff. It was time to head for home and start to make a dent on the fridge full of beige food 😜

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Exploring :: Zipworld for Lunch

Hi there everyone 😀

We are back to our July break at the lodge for today’s post and after a day spent confined to barracks with heavy rain for the whole day we were so glad to find it dry and bright the following day.

We decided to have a drive over to the Ogwen Valley to have a look at another lodge park owned by the same company that own the one we have our lodge on. We’d been meaning to go and have a look for ages but had never quite got round to it.

It was a nice drive, about 45 minutes away, and after having a quick look round and a good chat with everyone we were recommended to call into Zipworld, which is just next door.

Oh no … we said … that’s definitely not our thing … but we were assured we could just go in for a coffee without having to partake of any death defying activities so we decided to go have a look.

I have to say it is honestly one of the most fascinating and still strangely beautiful places I have seen in a while …

The car park was packed but we managed to squeeze ourselves in and, before heading for the main centre, we spent a good while taking in the view and watching those brave enough having a go on the lower zip wire …

It was a fairly short walk over to the activity centre where we were pretty fascinated by the views of the ‘aero explorer’ …

We could see the people on the lower zip wire sailing past down below …

Across on the opposite side of the quarry was the launch point for the higher zip wire …

We did ponder for a while as to how the intrepid participants got up there but after watching for a while could see a steady flow of red lorries making their way up and down the mountain. 

We spent a fair while trying to actually see a launch from the top but only ever managed to spot the riders as they were already well on their way …

There was plenty of outdoor seating and we found a spot for lunch with a great view …

Before we headed off we went up to the upper viewing area for some fabulous views across the quarry to the mountains beyond …

I’m so glad we went. I’d definitely recommend a visit … even if not wanting to partake of the activities. I think we had just as much fun watching. 

And it may sound strange … but development of the site hasn’t spoilt it or changed it beyond recognition. It is still most definitely a quarry. The colours are amazing … the turquoise of the pool, the grey of the slate and the red infrastructure just really pops against the grey backdrop. 

I’m sure we will visit again 😀

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