Coasts and Gardens with Good Friends

Hi there everyone 😀

Our good friends, Jackie and Phil, came to join us for the second weekend of our Easter break in North Wales.

They arrived on Phil’s birthday and we celebrated with an afternoon tea in Caffi Largo in Pwllheli. It was our second time having afternoon tea there and, again, it was a real treat and a lovely way to start off our weekend …

As it was a Thursday and the weather was glorious, after spending an hour or so chilling on the decking of the lodge, we headed into Criccieth for a bit of a wander and to watch the weekly lifeboat practice …

As the lifeboat was being sent off for service we didn’t actually get to see the launch but we did get to have a nice sit in the sunshine and to watch the swap over of the boats, which was a spectacle in itself …

On Friday the weather forecast was reasonable so we headed to Anglesey for a big day out … starting with a wander round Church Island …

… before making our way along the Belgian Promenade …

… and under the bridge …

We had a pit stop at Dylan’s for a quick drink … before making our way back to the car.

Then we were off to the viewpoint for Jackie’s home made quiche for lunch … whilst taking in the views across the Menai …

We finished off our day with a very quick call in at the place with the long name …

We did also have our first visit to the shopping place by the station where a few purchases may have been made 🙈

On the Saturday our plan was to head for Aberdaron, have a bit of a wander and then call in at the National Trust garden at Plas Yn Rhiw. Things didn’t quite go to plan as the weather came in a bit and Rhiw was pretty obscured by the clouds.

Deciding we wouldn’t get to see much and none of fancying getting wet and soggy we opted to leave the garden for another time.

Instead we headed for Abersoch and were pleased to find the tide out which meant we could have a walk from the harbour and around the headland on the beach …

This did involve a nifty bit of ducking under the slipway, which was interesting …

On Sunday Jackie and Phil were heading for home and, as per their normal visits, we needed to find somewhere for breakfast before they headed off.

This time we decided to head for Plas Brodanw, a lovely little garden, not too far away from us … with a very nice cafe.

After filling up on toastie specials we had time to explore the garden. It was the first time we’d been at this time of year and we were surprised to find so much colour. The azaleas were particularly spectacular … 

… as were the views beyond the garden walls …

It really is a lovely little garden and such a treat to see it at a different time of year. We will definitely all be back in the summer … when we know the hydrangeas and perennial borders will be putting on a fabulous display. 

After a quick look round the house and latest art exhibition it was time for Jackie and Phil to head for home so we said our good byes … until the next time 😀

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Steam Dreams and Atomic Scenes

Hi there everyone 😀

We are very close now to the end of a two week break at our lodge in North Wales, which seems to have fallen in between two bouts of glorious weather … both before we came and now due for the next week … after we’ve gone home. 

Saying that … we have managed to get out and about in between the showers and explore a few new places that we’d been wanting to visit now for a while. 

It seemed very apt that we managed to fit in a hunt for the old beam engine at Dorothea Quarry within a day or so of travelling much further forward in time to go and have a look at the nuclear power station at Trawsfynydd … though I didn’t have this in my mind when choosing either visits. 

Steam Dreams …

We’ve been to Dorothea Quarry once before and had a walk part way round the main pit, where we explored the ruins of Talysarn Hall. Since then we’ve wanted to go back and try walking round in the opposite direction, with a view to finding the old beam engine. 

It actually ended up being a lovely short walk starting off from where we parked on the roadside just before the track leading to the quarry …

In no time at all we’d reached the main quarry pit …

… where we took in the view before heading down a short, but quite steep, path towards some signs of crumbling industrial activity …

At the bottom of the path we found what we’d come for and we certainly weren’t disappointed …

It was a glorious day and a lovely quiet spot …

We spent a good while just generally mooching around and getting up close and personal with the old engine house …

… before having a look round the back where we found the enormous old boilers …

It was a very thought provoking spot … just imagining what things would have been like when the quarry was in full swing … long before nature had started to reclaim that which is no longer in use … 

Having found what we came for it was time to retrace our steps back up the hill … where we stopped to take in the view before making our way back to the car …

Atomic Scenes …

Whilst we’ve been meaning to explore the nuclear power station site at Trawsfynydd for a while now we were spurred on after watching an episode of ‘Our Welsh Chapel Dream’ … so we were following Keith and Marge’s footsteps with this walk. 

We parked up in the visitors’ car park and headed across to the lake …

We followed the path alongside the lake to a bit of an information point …

… before heading for the twin reactors …

Considering where we were, apart from a constant humming in the air, it really is a beautiful and tranquil spot …

The footpath takes you right alongside the lake …

… and you can really get up close and personal to the reactors …

The footpath then skirts a woodland, avoiding a restricted area, before coming back to the lake and continuing round. We decided to retrace our steps and passed close by the distribution grid …

We made our way back to the car and headed into Trawsfynydd village, where we parked up for another wander …

This time we were heading for the opposite end of the lake and the old wooden footbridge … 

It was a lovely walk across the fields … with plenty of inquisitive eyes upon us along the way …

Whilst the footbridge is closed, with no real idea of if and when it will ever open again, we were really glad we’d found it … though it may have involved less effort looking at it from the other side …

It was time to head back and it was a bit of a slog back up the hill …

… but after a bit of a rest stop on the bench in the children’s play area we were soon back at the car. 

There was then a quick call in at The Cowshed for pasties on our way back. 

Two places that we’ve had on the list to visit for a while and both very worth the effort 😀

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