Hi there everyone 😀
Just thought I’d check in to thank you all for following my ramblings for 2024 and to wish you all a Happy New Year and all the very best for 2025.
After spending Christmas at home with friends and family we saw the New Year in at our lodge in North Wales, with our good friends Jackie and Phil.
We managed a couple of quiet days at home before heading over on the Saturday, with Jackie and Phil joining us on the Sunday.
The weather forecast for their visit was a bit mixed to say the least but started out well so we had a short drive to Nefyn to find the tide in just the right place for a wander along the beach …
We wrapped up well and just had a wander along to the small harbour …
… before making our way back and leaving our mark in the sand …
And once we’d made our way back to the car we were ready for a bit of a pit stop and ended up trying out The Lion in Tudweiliog … and very nice it was too …
Once warmed up and refreshed we were ready to go again and we headed down the narrow lanes to Towyn beach, where the high winds due were starting to pick up …
We parted company here for a while, with Jackie and Phil deciding to walk the coastal path round to Porth Ysgaden and Martin and I opting to take the car and meet them there.
We did sit for a while watching their progress and if you zoom right in you can just about spot them in the middle of this next picture. By the time we headed back to the car the weather had really taken a turn for the worse and it was starting to rain …
Once parked up at Porth Ysgaden Martin and I headed back towards the trig point to meet them part way … by now it was really blowing a bit of a hooley …
I did have a bit of a panic when I caught sight of Jackie and Phil making their way across the side of the cliff … it didn’t look very safe at all. I was pretty relieved to see them retrace their steps and reappear a bit higher up and walked back along the very muddy path to meet up with them.
All ended well and other than being wet and very muddy I think they were both pleased that they’d made the effort to do the walk …
After a short detour out to look at the fishermen’s huts, a fair few of which had taken a real battering from storm Darragh the previous week, we headed back to the car and the short drive back to the lodge for a bit of a chill out before heading out to Dylan’s in Criccieth for dinner …
The following day was New Year’s Eve and we didn’t venture very far. We had a ride to Plas Helli, where we had a short walk on the beach … in an effort to rid our boots of some of the previous day’s mud …
From here Jackie and Phil walked back into Pwllheli and we drove and met them at Caffi Sol for a quick cuppa and a warm up …
… before having a wander around town before heading back and battening down the hatches for our New Years Eve celebrations … which consisted of trying to solve a murder, plenty of food, drink and chat before settling down to Sophie’s Kitchen Disco and fireworks …
We all had a bit of a lie in on New Year’s Day but headed out for a bit of a walk around lunchtime. Our plan had been for a walk on the beach at Trefor but as we pulled up the heavens opened and none of us could face it. We decided to just head to Caernarfon airport cafe for a coffee and see how it went.
We ended up being very pleasantly surprised by the weather. We were literally just a few miles up the road but it was looking very promising so we braced ourselves for a walk along the beach path at Dinas Dinlle … which was looking absolutely stunning …
We finished our walk with a pit stop in the airport cafe, which really was just the job …
It was then back to the lodge for a cozy afternoon with an escape room before tea.
Jackie and Phil were heading for home on the 2nd and we were all up and ready to head out pretty early. We were accompanying them on the first part of their journey and heading for the Lakeside Cafe at Tanygrisiau for breakfast and one last walk before they headed off.
We did this the last time they visited and the breakfast was every bit as good as the last time. This time we opted to have a walk along the reservoir dam, rather than heading up to the waterfall and the views in all directions were beautiful. It was an absolutely glorious day … cold with plenty of blue sky and bright sunshine …
After a lovely few days together we waved off our guests and headed back to the lodge. We made a short detour to have a quick look at Maentwrog, somewhere we’ve wanted to have a look at for a while. I couldn’t resist jumping out to take a picture of the church which just looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale …
We also stopped on the main road to capture the view over towards Snowdonia reflected in the fields which were still flooded following the heavy rain we’d had. We were not alone here … there were several others snapping away having had the same idea … it wasn’t quite as impressive as when we’d passed when going out as the water wasn’t quite as still nor the sky quite as blue … but it was still definitely worth the stop …
Our last stop on our way back was at the top of the hill on the way into Criccieth which is a view we just never tire of …
Finally we were back at the lodge for what turned out to be a very lazy afternoon before raiding the fridge for leftovers to fill our teatime calzones … which have become a bit of a favourite …
We now have a few days of R&R, cleaning and winter maintenance before closing up for the season and heading for home 😀
Oh … and we have snow forecast for this evening ❄️❄️
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