‘Beer Shed’ Renovation

Hi there everyone 😀

One of the projects on the list for the garden this year was a bit of a renovation of Martin’s ‘beer sheds’ … two small sheds, behind a bigger shed, where he keeps all his brewing stuff …

Both were jam packed full of equipment for beer and wine making … 

As you can see … both are looking a little unloved … and the pallet bases that they stand on are beginning to collapse …

As Martin is no longer quite so active on the brewing front we decided it would be a good idea to sort out the sheds and just generally clean up the whole area. We are hoping to consolidate the brewing stuff into one shed and maybe turn the other into storage for either pots or the random bits of wood that Martin just can’t bear to part with.

We started by considerably reducing the number of bottles … keeping just enough to do a couple of batches of wine and a batch of beer … with a fair few hitting the recycling bin …

We decided to hang into just two Demi johns with the rest destined for the charity shop …

The Kilner style bottles we plan to clean up, with the hope of perhaps selling on Facebook Marketplace …

We did also find an old bottle of home made blueberry gin … which is actually pretty potent, but quite palatable …

Once everything was sorted we managed to comfortably fit all that was to be kept into one of the sheds …

… and set about dismantling the other …

After a good brush the roof looked pretty sound …

The sides would just need a coat of paint …

… but the base was not in a good state at all …

The more we took it apart, the more rot we found …

 

We were undeterred and Martin headed off to Wickes for a new piece of OSB for the base and a piece of wood to replace the bit that was rotten …there was then plenty of measuring, sawing and painting to get the new bits ready to fit …

The shed itself had a coat of paint … inside and out …

Whilst everything was out Martin made a start on painting the fence panel that was behind the shed and gave the area a good old tidy …

It was then time to fit the new base … which went without a hitch …

… before manoeuvring it back into position … this time standing on bricks rather than a wooden pallet and hoping that this stops any rotting from below …

We just need to re-shelve it and fill it now. 

One down and one to go 😀

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Half Term Fun :: Easter 2026

Hi there everyone 😀

We had an ‘unexpected’, but very welcome, Bobby day last week … before they all headed off for their Easter break.

We didn’t have anything too exciting in the cards but it ended up being a lovely day out.

We started off with word association games on our drive to Melbourne in Derbyshire …

… where a Treasure Trail was on the cards. We get them from this company and they are a really good and inexpensive way to have a day out, whilst exploring the nooks and crannies of towns and villages you may not normally think of visiting.

Melbourne is a lovely little village with plenty going on. We started off in the Main Street and worked our way around the village, collecting clues along the way.

We had a bit of a breather by the lake, just watching the geese and ducks …

… before finding some games, which also kept us occupied for a while …

Having finished the trail it was time for refreshment and we found a lovely cafe with some nice outdoor seating that fit the bill perfectly …

Fully refreshed we decided to head to Staunton Harold for a bit of a wander on our way home … where den building was a big hit … for Martin and Bobby anyway. I was there in a purely supervisory capacity …

It was then time to drop Bobby off and head for home … until the next time 😀

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Lodge Life :: March 2026

Hi there everyone 😀

March is when we get to make our first visit of the season over to our holiday bolt hole in North Wales … and you will normally find us chomping at the bit to get back over there early on in the month.

This year was no different and we couldn’t resist pulling in for our first spring view of Criccieth for 2026 …

We have the settling in and unpacking process pretty much down to a T and, after about an hour, we were all unpacked and ready to chill out.

We never do much on our day of arrival. Sometimes we stop somewhere on the way … but this time we just couldn’t wait to arrive.

I always bring plenty of provisions … normally some batch cooked meals to see us over our first few days … so we don’t have to worry about dashing to the shops. We really like to break ourselves into lodge life nice and slowly.

As per usual, for us, the weather forecast looked a bit ropey, but we did have a lovely couple of days to look forward to, before the rain set in … and we managed a couple of full days out. First … to Portmeirion …

And then a bit further afield on a search for waterfalls …

Day three was a bit more sedate … for me anyway. We met up with friends for breakfast then I had a relaxing afternoon not doing very much at all. Martin, on the other hand, had a frenzy of jet washing going on. I did feel just a little bit guilty … but he likes jet washing so I didn’t feel that bad.

We didn’t go far on Monday either … just did a supermarket shop and it was Martin’s turn for a lazy afternoon.

On Tuesday the rain came and we opted for a trip to our favourite garden centre where I treated myself to a new houseplant for home and Martin got one of those heat wrap things that we are hoping will help with his bad neck whilst waiting for a physio appointment.

We then headed into Bangor for a mooch round Tesco where we bought a right random selection of bits and bobs.

Our last stop was Dunelm … one of our favourites … and we found a nice sisal runner which we hoped would do nicely for the lodge. We also bought one of those cordless lamps, which we are hoping will be handy for a spot where we need light but have no power socket.

All in all it was quite a productive expedition and made the best of a day when the weather was pretty rotten.

We were hoping for a better day weatherwise on Wednesday and our objectives were to resand our block paved parking space, which Martin had jet washed and weeded, and then go out and do something nice.

Wednesday ended up being the loveliest of days. Not only did we get our block paving resanded we got out and did the loveliest walk ever. It was pure joy and something we hadn’t really believed we would be capable of again … but not only did we surprise ourselves, we loved every single minute.

You can read more about our walk here but basically we parked up at Ogwen Cottage and did the circular walk round Cwm Idwal in the heart of the Glyderau mountains …

Quite often when we push ourselves a bit harder we are glad with what we did but wouldn’t be hurrying to repeat the experience. This walk was different and I am absolutely certain that we will be doing it again … and probably fairly soon.

On Thursday the weather was a shocker. Heavy rain and high winds all day so we had a well deserved rest day and didn’t venture out at all.

It was a bit better on the Friday, our last full day, so we did venture out … but not far. A mooch round Home Bargains in Pwllheli and an hour in the arcade feeding the slot machines, was followed with a drink at Caffi Largo, before heading back to the lodge for an afternoon of cleaning and packing.

Saturday and we were homeward bound … not really ready to go home but knowing it wouldn’t be that long before we are back 😀

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What a Walk :: Cwm Idwal

Hi there everyone 😀

What a walk we had while we were away earlier in the month. It was absolutely joyous  … and so lovely for us both to do a proper walk with very little pain or getting worn out. To be perfectly honest, it was the type of walk we hadn’t really imagined ourselves doing again.

We paid for it a little bit the following day, with aching limbs, but it’s fair to say we were both darn proud … and so pleased to have made the very best of, what ended up being, the last sunshine and dry day of our stay.

So … where did we go?

We headed for the Ogwen Valley. As we got nearer and the skies began to change, with clouds rolling in, there were a few moments where we debated changing our plans. I’m so glad we didn’t.

It turned out to be a walk filled with fabulous views, strong winds mixed with warm sunshine, the constant sound of trickling water, rocky scrambles, rock slab bridges and stepping stones, plus a fair share of slippy, slidey and boggy ground.

And We Loved Every Minute 💜

And I really want to share it with you guys 😀

We parked at the Snowdonia National Park car park near Ogwen Cottage, with the optimistic plan of walking around Llyn Idwal … but with plenty of options to shorten the walk if we decided the full circuit was too much for us.

We headed out along the stone path to the left of the visitor centre, towards the tall slate “window” stones …

… engraved with the names of the surrounding mountains …

It is a stunning spot, with fabulous views all around. 

From there we passed through the wrought iron gate … and this was as far as Martin had managed to walk the last time we were here …

So he had never made it as far as the bridge and the waterfall, which today was in full flow. It took him totally by surprise and he was very impressed …

From this point on the route was brand new for both of us. A well-defined stone path stretched away into the distance … heading towards the mighty Tryfan …

We were right in the heart of the Glyderau and everything looked glorious. We couldn’t wait to press on and see what we would discover … and just how far we might get …

We were actually on the trail of more waterfalls from our Hidden Waterfalls book. This time we were hoping to see Cwm Cneifion Falls and Devil’s Kitchen … from a distance.

It was a nice easy walk to the lake and we were both feeling good … no pain and plenty of energy …

We headed left and the wind really picked up …

It was still a great path though, and we made our way alongside the lake …

Before the path began to climb a little, we stopped to take in the view looking back the way we had come …

The incline wasn’t too bad …

And then, all of a sudden, we were at the waterfalls. They hadn’t been that noticeable on approach but we soon found ourselves stood at the bottom and looking up to see the ribbon of water making its way right down the mountainside …

… and down into the lake …

Just beyond the falls the path becomes more challenging as it climbs up towards Devil’s Kitchen. At that point we chose the easier path to the right …

…which took us across the top of the lake and over to the other side.

There were more fabulous views looking back towards the waterfalls …

Across the top of the lake, the path led over large stepping stones crossing crystal-clear streams … perfect for paddling in if it had been just a little warmer.

From there the path began to wind upwards …

… bringing us back towards the opposite shore of the lake … 

At this point our route took us up and away from the lake itself, where we had wonderful views across Nant Ffrancon and back along the A5 towards Bethesda …

We tentatively clambered over our first stile…

…and into ground that was rather boggy under foot …

It was here that we encountered a hoard of blue-clad teenagers making their way towards us on an immersive geography field trip. We happily waited for them to pass before attempting to find a less slippy route down … wondering at what age we suddenly become paranoid about falling!

Looking back we could see the geography lesson taking place at the top of the rocks …

By now we were beginning to get tired and I wasn’t feeling quite as sure footed so we were taking it very steadily.

Once past the wet and boggy section we found ourselves back on a nice solid footpath leading us gently downhill towards the end of our walk …

It wasn’t long before the gentleness turned into a full on scramble and I did begin to wonder if we had somehow missed the path …

At the bottom of the scramble we found ourselves in a long, narrow gorge, or defile. This is the view looking back up the path … I’m not sure we would have fancied attempting it had we done the walk from the opposite direction …

And this was the view looking down the gorge …

Down in the gorge it was incredibly quiet … not a sound to be heard.

At the bottom was another stile, from which it was only a short walk back to our starting point …

This was our last look back up the gorge …

What a walk. We absolutely loved it. While it was only about two and a half miles, parts of it were challenging — and it was certainly further than either of us has walked in a long time.

We had decided we would treat ourselves to a lamb and mint pasty from the café… but they had sold out. We were both gutted … and slightly relieved that we hadn’t blown our diet for the day … so we made do with an emergency banana instead.

Not quite the same, I know 😜

We did get to see two jets flying low up the valley though … so it wasn’t a completely disappointing end to our walk.

As we drove away, we both agreed that this walk would stay with us for a long time. Not just for the spectacular scenery … though Cwm Idwal certainly delivered that …  but for the reminder that sometimes we are capable of more than we think. It may only have been a couple of miles, but for us it felt like something much bigger… and that had us heading for home feeling very happy with ourselves 😀

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