Monday 27 November 2023

Lodge Life :: September 2023 #1 … A Drive through the Mountains

Hi there everyone πŸ˜€

We ended up just managing a weeks stay at the lodge in September and it ended up being pretty much all about the mountains this time. 

In fact I think our only visit to the coast was to try out a different fish and chip shop in Cricieth … which was a real winner …
Our first full day out was a bit of a meandering drive taking in Nantlle …
… before a stop off for a bit of a wander around Beddgelert …
… where the river was very high …
From Beddgelert we continued heading for Nant Gwynant …
… stopping at the viewpoint to take in the view of Yr Wyddfa in the distance …
We carried on through Capel Curig where we hit the A5 and took a left to head through the Ogwen Valley, stopping to take in the vastness of the lake as we passed …
We pulled in at the National Trust car park for a bit of a waterfall fix …
… and then decided it was time to head for home … but not without finally getting to call into Y Bryncynan, which is somewhere we have been meaning to try for ages. We weren’t disappointed …

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Monday 20 November 2023

Exploring :: Warwick Castle in the Rain

Hi there everyone πŸ˜€

An absolute age ago now I bought some discounted price tickets for Warwick Castle for Mum, Martin and I. It was following a tip from Martin Lewis and it was through either Visit Britain or Visit England … I can’t quite remember which now. But I do remember they were only £6 each which was a real bargain as full price adult tickets for Warwick Castle actually cost nearly £40. 

I have to say if we hadn’t booked ahead we probably wouldn’t have gone as the weather forecast for the day of our visit was absolutely shocking and there was no doubt we were going to be getting wet. 

As it was pretty quiet we did at least manage to park in the closest car park and we had all come prepared for the weather …
Once all booked in we picked up a mobility scooter for Martin, which was a real bonus as there is quite a lot of ground to cover and we headed for the castle to make the most of what we could see indoors whilst the weather was so bad …
We were pleased to find that there is actually a fair amount to see inside and it was definitely good to be out of the rain for a while …
The wax models were amazing … so lifelike …
There were also some very good views out down to the river …
After we’d finished inside the main part of the castle the rain had eased off and we had a wander through the grounds …
… down to the edge of the river to catch the rest of the birds of prey show … The Falconer’s Quest … which was pretty spectacular …
By the time show had finished it was raining again and it felt like a good time for lunch so we headed for The Orangery …
It was lovely and warm and cosy in The Orangery and we whiled away a very chilled out hour or so over lunch …
… before heading back out into the damp …
We were heading back for the castle to have a look at The Kingmaker exhibition … passing this dude on the way …
We decided to give the gaol a miss as none of us could face the steps …
By now it was really lashing it down but there was one last thing we wanted to see … the mill and engine house. Mum and I took the short route … 
Martin, on the other hand, had to take a more circuitous route …
… and was soaked to the bone by the time he reached us … where we were sheltering under the trees …
He parked up and we made our way down the steps … 
… to find some very good views of the river … even with the rain … and The Mill Garden at the bottom …
We had a look round the engine house before bracing ourselves for the walk back up the steps … which was a bit of a grueller …
We decided to call it a day and headed back to the main entrance to hand back Martin’s trusty chariot and to find that … as a result of the castle’s wet weather guarantee … we could visit again within the next 60 days for just £1.  It was unlikely that we would fit another visit in but good to know that we could if we fancied it. 

Whilst none of us would have chosen to visit in the pouring rain we all agreed that we’d still managed to have a lovely day and had actually only really got wet right at the end so it was definitely a day well spent πŸ˜€

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