Lodge Life :: April 2025

Hi there everyone 😀

After a longer than usual time spent at home … trying to renovate our grass … we managed a two week break at the lodge in April.

We did manage to pack a fair bit in … we explored Dorothea Quarry some more and found the old beam engine … we got up close and personal with the nuclear power station and the old wooden footbridge at Trawsfynnyd and we had a weekend with friends.

In addition to all of that we did get to finally pull in at Plas Tan y Bwlch, The Snowdonia National Park Centre. This is somewhere we drive past often and have always wondered what could be found behind the trees, up the narrow windy track.

We were passing on our way to Trawsfynydd so decided it was time we took a look. We were a little disappointed to be faced with a notice stating that the house and the cafe were both closed due to lack of available staffing, but we drove up for a look anyway.

It was an absolutely stunning spot and somewhere we would definitely be visiting again if the cafe ever re-opens …

The views across the countryside were glorious …

… and there are gardens to explore …

… all laid out around a beautiful 19th century Manor House, which used to be run as a study centre, but sadly it seems it is now permanently closed. 

On another lovely day we had a ride to Aberdaron, where we walked our usual circuit …

… and I had a play at photographing dandelion clocks …

… whilst Martin tried to make the individual ‘wishes’ fly into the air …

From here we had a lovely visit to Plas Yn Rhiw …

It was absolutely glorious … warm with plenty of blue skies and sunshine. We had our picnic lunch in a sunny spot and spent a good while just parked up on a bench taking in the view beyond the garden and across the bay …

We had hoped to return to Rhiw with Jackie and Phil and see the wisteria in full bloom, but sadly the weather was against us.

From our visit to Rhiw we had a very quick call in at Porth Colmon …

… before visiting our very first garden that was open to the public under the NGS scheme … Coed Ty Mawr. We had no idea at all what to expect but it was just lovely. We were greeted by Nonni, who just happened came from a place very close to where we live. Although we were a little early she couldn’t have been more welcoming and told us all about the garden and the best way to make sure of seeing everything. 

We were soon wandering around the garden, which we pretty much had to ourselves and it was a real treat …

We finished our visit off sitting on Nonni’s deck, overlooking the sea and enjoying the tastiest and fluffiest scones that had been made just that morning …

We came away with the NGS booklet for the local area and were thrilled to find a few more gardens close by that we would love to visit later in the year. 

We stayed very local for the rest of our visit with a wander round Pwllheli to see what was occurring at Capel Salem …

… and lunch at Caffi Sol, followed by the regulatory half hour in the amusement arcade …

There was an evening of fish and chips on the prom at Criccieth …

… and our first swim of the season … which was very unexpected …

We came away leaving glorious weather behind … 

… but eked out the last drop with a picnic stop at Capel Celyn on the way home …

*********************************************