A couple of weeks ago we headed out on another bit of a random meander, not sure where we would end up but wanting to have a look at a new place to eat that I'd come across on another blog that I follow.
It's the Canalside Farm, Shop and Cafe in Great Haywood, and it looked like it might be a good spot for meeting up with friends and having a walk, followed by something nice to eat ... but of course, we needed to test it out first.
We managed to get there early enough to take advantage of the breakfast menu. It was really busy but we managed to find a table that was reserved, but not for an hour or so. Martin went for the full English, but I had oat cakes and they were fab ...
The Cafe sits right alongside the Trent & Mersey Canal and there are lots of walks and bike rides in the area, taking in both Cannock Chase and the Shugborough Estate. Before we left we picked up a handful of cards with lots of different routes on and will definitely be coming back over this way again ...
Having finished breakfast we had a mooch around the farm shop before deciding we would head for Shugborough Hall, to make a long awaited return visit to see if we could manage to visit The Lichfield Apartments, which had been closed on our last visit.It was a short, but lovely drive, through Tixall village, to Shugborough and we were delighted to find the apartments open. We picked up timed tickets at the entrance kiosk and had plenty of time so headed for the walled garden, which had pretty much been under construction on our last visit.
It's now in full operational order and whilst there wasn't that much in flower, what there was was lovely ... and some of my favourites ... plenty of allium ...
... cornflowers ...
It's been planted with dahlias of all shapes and sizes and I'm sure these will be stunning in the summer ... maybe cause for another visit 😀Although we've been to Shugborough many times, we've never really explored the farm area, but as we had plenty of time today, we decided to have a look. We were both pleasantly surprised with how much there was to see and how many of the buildings were open and ready to be explored. I didn't take any photos but it was definitely worth the look.
We decided that we would walk through the estate to the main house and have a pit stop in the cafe, which would pretty much take us up to our visiting time for The Lichfield Apartments.
... and just about managed to find a table in the cafe before the heavens opened. Perfect timing and chance to enjoy a cream tea before having the regulatory quick look in the gift shop ...
... before presenting ourselves at the apartment ready and eager to explore how the 'other half' really did live in the more modern of times ...
There is plenty to see ... Patrick Lichfield's private office with his year planners showing where he was at different times of the year and lots of his photography equipment; his sitting room; bedrooms; bathrooms; the breakfast room; a very ordinary 70s style kitchen and, not to forget, the cocktail cabinet in the bedroom corridor.
There are lots of photographs from all over the world ... off royalty, film stars ... formal and informal and anecdotes that really raise a smile ... it was a real treat.
It was also really interesting to see how the Earl would have lived in the apartment, whilst the rest of the Hall was open to the public. It really was very homely and didn't feel that 'stately' at all ... although it's fair to say that it doesn't seem, at the height of his photography career, he would have spent much time at home at all.
We really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend a visit ... for us, it was far more interesting than the rest of the hall, though only the ground floor of that is open at the moment.
That was it then really for our visit. We decided to take the easy option and wait for the buggy for a lift back to the car park, as neither of us fancied the walk ...
Next time, we might just do it accompanied with an afternoon tea at the Canalside Cafe 😀
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... and the road was a real adventure to drive down ...
We started off in the old chapel where there is an exhibition telling the story of the quarrying village of Port Nant and the development of the Welsh Language School. It was fascinating and really humbling to think about how the residents of the tiny village would have managed back in the day ... they must have been made of hardy stuff.
There are some fabulous views out across the coast ...
We would loved to have had the chance for a walk down to the beach, but we didn't have time today, definitely one for a re-visit ...
... and a quick nosy inside one of the old cottages ...
So that was the end of our week on The Llyn Peninsular. We both really fell in love with the area and were sad to be leaving, though both pretty confident that we will be back again soon 💜💜💜
The plan was that we would wend our way via Criccieth and Porthmadog and, if the weather was terrible, we would continue our drive up through the mountains to Blaenau Ffestiniog. If it wasn’t too bad we would go ahead with our visit to Portmeirion.
...where we stopped for a cuppa, in Portmeirion china of course ...
... and had a good look at the map to get our bearings. The map was really useful and divides the village up into quite distinctive zones, so it’s easy to make sure that you get to see everything ...
We decided we would have a wander through the village and down to the hotel and then perhaps see if we could find somewhere for lunch. We basically just followed the map in the order it was laid out starting with the Cliffside area ...
As you can see ... Portmeirion is not your typical Welsh coastal village ... to say it’s quirky is a bit of an understatement ... you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a Italian lakeside village, but then I believe that perhaps was the intention ...
One of the things that is really striking is the colour ... in the paintwork of the buildings, the planting and the other sculptures and bits and pieces that you come across ...
Inside the dome is an exhibition showing a bit about the history of the developing of the village which was well worth a look ...
...where we found the campanile ...
It was all a bit overwhelming, a crazy mass of colour, with so much going on ... it was hard to know where to look or where to explore next.
As you round the bend to pass the gift shop there are some lovely views looking down through the Central Piazza ...
... and back the way we had come ...
Whilst the colours were really vibrant there's not much we wouldn't have given for a bit of blue sky and sunshine.
... and past the boat ...
... to Caffi glas where we stopped for lunch ... and what a treat that was ...
... which made easy work of the woodland walk, with a stop at the top for a fab photo opportunity, looking out over the whole of the village with the estuary beyond ...
It was a bumpy old ride but I managed to catch a couple of shots of the Chinese garden as we bounced past ...
It was time for us to start to make our way back so we retraced our steps, taking more photos on the way ...
We finished off our visit with a walk down to the first viewing point that we’d passed on the way in ... and we were really glad we did. The views across to the hotel were fab ...
... and the views looking back up to the village weren’t half bad either ...
We’d had another lovely day, visited another lovely place that we hadn’t seen before and I got to tick another off my list of 50 things to do before I’m 60.