Beautiful Britain - Bodnant Gardens NT, North Wales

Hi there everyone

Remember this?
Back in November 2014 Martin found out that one of the photos he had taken at Bodnant Gardens had been selected to be included in their 2015 calendar.

Well, as well as being included in the calendar, all of the photos selected were to be displayed in the entrance tunnel at Bodnant.

We've been intending to make a re-visit for ages, to have a look at the photo on display, and we managed to call in on the way back from our weekend in Betws-y-Coed back in August.

This is what we found. We were so excited ...

As we had only called in on our way home, we didn't have a really good look round all of the garden, but we did manage to walk down to the pin mill to have a look at the rose garden ...

And we stopped off at the lily pond on the way back, no sign of any children pond dipping today ...

In spite of the time of year there was still plenty in flower ...

There was just time for the piece of obligatory National Trust flapjack 😜before it was time to head for home.

Eglwysbach - North Wales - Back to Betwsy, Colwyn Bay and Home

Day 6 - Wednesday

Today is our fifth wedding anniversary.  We always tend to be away for our anniversary, though we don't normally do anything particularly special on the day.  This year I had put together a photo book of our most memorable moments since our wedding day, but I'm rubbish at keeping secrets so I had already given this to Martin a month or so ago. Seriously, I am completely rubbish.

We woke up to the first real rain we've seen this week and decided that we would head back into Betwsy and have a wonder round the shops, pick up a few caches we missed yesterday, with our detour off the A5, and have a meal out as it was our anniversary.

We had a really nice wonder around in and out of the rain.  I had only said yesterday that we hadn't worn our waterproofs, well they earned their place in the car today.

We picked up a couple of caches, one by an old miners bridge which was really strange as it was really steep going from a lower bank on one side of the river to a higher one on the other side.  It was so steep that there were footholds to help you climb it.  It was well worth a look and, yet again, something we would never have seen if it weren't for geocaching, it's just not somewhere you would stumble across.

We did the obligatory visit to Swallow Falls, both squeezing through the turnstiles.  I remember visiting here years ago and two of us squeezing through in one go so we only had to pay once.  Not much chance of that now.

The falls were as impressive as ever, even in the wind and the rain, and we took lots of photos that I am sure we have already go back home from years ago, not taken of us on our fifth wedding anniversary though.

After we'd finished at the falls we headed into the Swallow Hotel over the road to dry off and have a late lunch, before heading back to Buzzards View for a nice relaxing evening just chilling out.

Day 7 - Thursday
We woke up to more rain and decided to have a drive along the Colwyn Bay Coast.  Martin said it wasn't anything exciting but I'd never been.  Martin was right.  Whilst there is a lovely long sandy beach, which I'm sure gets packed on hot summer days, for a wet and windy day in May it was a bit disappointing.

There is currently lots of engineering work going on and the beach is pretty much off limits whilst big diggers are doing their stuff with sea defences and big pipes.

We drove along the coast to Llandudno, doing our usual, picking up caches on the way.  We both agreed we'd never seen so much litter and decided that we'd pack up and head into the fish and chip restaurant in Conwy, where we'd had great chips on the quay earlier in the week, for fish and chips, to save cooking tea.

Haddock and chips more than lived up to expectations and brightened up our day, before heading back for our last evening at Buzzards View before heading home.

Eglwysbach - North Wales - Betws-y-Coed to Llanberis

Day 5 - Tuesday
We decided we wanted to rest our legs a bit today, though it didn't really end up like that in the end, so we planned ourselves a scenic circular driving route, picking up some caches along the way.

As we had got up to kind of brightish sunshine and some blue sky we decided we'd do something which was a little bonkers but we'd been talking about since we got here.  Now, Mum and dad always reckon that we find the narrowest, scariest lanes to drive up and down when we go on holiday and we have been known, when they have visited us at a cottage, to get them to park at the top and we've picked them up and driven them the last part of the journey, as it's just been too hairy for them to drive all the way.

We knew they would have thought the lane up to Buzzards View surpassed anywhere we'd taken them so far and, as they weren't visiting us this time, we didn't want them to miss seeing it, so we thought we might try and film it.

Well, we've got a video camera and the old lady does have a sun roof!  I drew the short straw and was on filming duty.  Martin said that made sense as he knew the road. Whatever!!  Anyway, there was I, knelt on the front seat, head out of the sun roof, filming our descent.  I know, crazy.  If Martin had  braked hard I would either have had my head chopped off or cracked my jaw and lost most of my front teeth.

Fortunately, Martin is a very safe driver and I knew I was in good hands, though I did get a bit worried when he sped up a bit for effect.  It got a bit embarrassing as we approached the farmyard towards the bottom, which we had to go straight through. The farmer was just getting out of his car and, as one of his many cats was sitting in our path, he headed straight for us to shoo the cat out of the way, like we would ever have hit it, we love cats.  We would have sat there all day, rather than done it any harm.

Anyway, I felt the need to explain why I was hanging out of the sunroof and fortunately he was a very friendly and jovial farmer so I didn't feel too bad.

You can watch our film here.

So, that out of the way, we headed on for Betws-y-Coed.  Our plan was to stop there for a few caches, head though the mountains to Llanberis, up to Caernarvon, through Bangor and back along the coast to Conwy and back to Buzzards view.  It was a long old drive.

Things didn't quite go to plan, we made it to Llanberis, having gone just over 30 miles, and it was already 3.00pm.  By the time we were ready to leave there it was 4.30pm, so we ended up just turning round and coming back the way we came.  Amazingly, though it had taken us about four and a half hours to get to Llanberis, it took us just an hour to get back, amazing how caching can distract you with interesting places that you wouldn't normally stop at.

Our first stop of the day went as planned and we picked up a cache at a church in Betws-y-Coed. 

I then decided that, rather than stick on the A5 we would cross the river and take a single lane track through the forest up to a viewpoint where there was another cache.

We picked this one up and linked back up with the A5 by the Ugly House.  Well, there was a cache nearby so we stopped to pick this up and, the Ugly House, which is not ugly at all, was a tea room, well, we hadn't had any cake yet this holiday, so we had to pay it a visit.  We also both needed a toilet stop, which meant that we both experienced a first.  Have you ever used a composting toilet?  We hadn't either.  Interesting experience that was.

Anyway refreshed by cake and ready for more adventures we continued with our drive, stopping every few miles to pick up a cache hidden at a scenic viewpoint, taking lots of photos along the way.

Our next stop of note was to complete a cache at Dolbadarn Castle.  This had been set by someone who used to visit the castle as a child on family days out.  They really were the best weren't they?  No theme parks or retail parks, just something interesting to look at in the countryside with a picnic in the boot.  Just reading the cache description made me remember similar days out with my own family when we'd go somewhere, take a picnic, probably swim in a lake or a river and generally wear ourselves out.  I don't think people do this kind of thing now and it's a real shame.

We loved the castle, the views in every direction were amazing, even though by now, it was fairly overcast.  And to think, without Geocaching it's somewhere we would probably never have seen.

From here we carried on to Llanberis and parked up just in time to see the 3.00pm train heading up Snowdon.  Based on forecasts for visibility it didn't look like we would be making this trip this holiday.  After all, I don't just want to see clouds.

We had a good wonder round Llanberis, including another unexpected walk back to the castle from the opposite direction, which I will never live down, picked up a few more caches before deciding we ought to head back.

As we headed back Martin and I both agreed that we'd forgotten how beautiful North Wales is.  Whilst we've both visited lots of times, neither of us has been for a good number of years.

On the way back Martin also decided that it would be a good idea to film the journey back up the hill to the cottage as it would be more dramatic.  Well, he was right.  Firstly it was raining so it was pretty hairy hanging out of the sun roof.  Secondly we came across a sheep with its lamb in the middle of the road on the way up.  We kept stopping to see if they would either come back down the road or find a way back into the field.  They didn't, we ended up following them all the way up the hill.  There was an awful moment when they both decided they could cross the cattle grid at the top of the hill but fortunately they both made it safely.

As soon as we got back up to the top we turned round and went straight back down to the farm to let the farmer know that he'd got some escapees.  We went back up to find them happily grazing away.

What a day.  And Martin still has a curry to knock up.

Buzzards View to Eglwysbach on Film

You'll know from my previous post how much Martin and I loved the last few miles drive to Buzzards View.  You'll also know that I said I'd hung out of the sun roof of the old lady and filmed the journey both ways.

I've now had chance to have a play with the film and here it is. This is our journey from Buzzards View down to Eglwysbach village on the loveliest day of our week's holiday.  I'm afraid it's a bit bumpy, but it was ........... a bit bumpy!

I hope you like it.

Eglwysbach - North Wales - Bodnant Gardens

Day 4 - Monday
Today, we spent the afternoon at Bodnant Gardens.  A National Trust property literally just down the road from where we were staying.
From the minute we entered the garden we were enthralled with the place.  It was beautiful and we could see that it would still be beautiful, but completely different, in another month or so too.  It's one of those gardens where something always looks fabulous but you can see that there is still lots to come.

It was pretty hilly and steep in places but we managed to have a really good three or four hours wondering around the different parts of the garden, though the map did leave a bit to be desired.  At one point we found out we were completely at the opposite end of the garden to where we thought.  We felt a bit better when another couple heard us talking and said they'd done exactly the same thing.
At this time of year the rhododendrons are spectacular, a whole array of bright colours, which take your breath away.   

We were a little too early to see the laburnum arch in its full splendour but we could see how impressive it will look in a few weeks time.

Bodnant is one of those gardens where there is always something interesting to catch your eye and we both took stacks of photos and not just of flowers.  The layout of the garden leads you to surprises round every corner, with interesting planting and features, such as the Old Pin Mill and the waterfall. 

The garden is a great mixture of formal and natural planting, with the bluebell wood being one of my favourite bits.  Martin really liked the garden down by the stream.

This year Bodnant is having a photography competition and we will be having a really good look through what we've taken to see if there anything that looks like it will pass muster.  The theme of the competition is about why you love Bodnant, so we will really will need to give that some thought.

By the time we made it back to the car we were both creaking at the joints and I was really looking forward to a nice soak in the huge bath overlooking the open countryside once we got back to Buzzards View, followed by another nice and easy picky tea.

Eglwysbach - North Wales - Arrival, Llandudno & Conwy

Early May always sees us going away for our Wedding Anniversary.  This year was our 5th Anniversary and we spent it on our second cottage holiday of the year.  We stayed in Buzzards View, a fairly remote cottage near Eglwysbach in North Wales, not far from Llandudno, Conwy and the Snowdonia National Park.

Day 1 - Friday
As Martin was at work Friday morning, we didn't get to set off until early afternoon and decided not to take the route suggested by the sat nav.  This wanted to take us up the M6 and then cut across west to the A55.  We decided to take the A5 to Betws-y-Coed and then head North on the A470. I'm glad we did.  It has been such a long time since we have done a long journey that has not been on a motorway.  It was so much more interesting, loads to look at along the way and we missed any Bank Holiday weekend, Friday afternoon, M6 traffic chaos, so we arrived nice and relaxed.

We unpacked the car, met the owner, who sorted us out with some nice big fluffy bath sheets that met our exacting requirements, settled in and put the chilli on that I had made earlier in the week to bring away with us.  The joys of not having to work!  It just makes such a difference.

When I was working I would probably get back home on Thursday night, having been away from home for a couple of nights, having done no holiday prep, all of which would have to be done on the Friday morning.  By the time we set out I would be stressed out and shouting at Martin for nothing in particular, the poor love.  This time, I'd done most of the packing, made a chilli to take for Friday night tea and done most of the housework in advance - you need to leave it nice to come back to.  Come on, admit it, I bet you all do it.

Day 2 - Saturday
Saturday was a very lazy start.  By the time we were up, showered, breakfasted and ready to head out it was gone 12.00pm.  We decided we would head for Llandudno for the afternoon, followed by a holiday grocery shop at Tesco on the way back.

Llandudno was a great call.  It's a really nice Victorian seaside town anyway, but today, and for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend, the town was taken over by the annual Victorian Extravaganza.

We managed to park up on the front and decided to head to the pier to start us off.  However, on the way we saw that loads of people were gathering along the roadside so we thought there must be something happening that would be worth watching.  We weren't wrong and spent the next hour watching a procession which included lots of people dressed in Victorian costume, marching bands and lots of steam engines.  As you can imagine we managed to find a front row spot to watch
from so we could take loads of photos.

The procession over, we headed to the pier, which was jam packed with people.  The whole town was really busy.  Normally we would prefer it to be really quiet, but today, with the procession and people all over the place dressed in costume it just added to the atmosphere.  We stopped for a drink and a snack at the café on the end of the pier and emerged just in time to catch a fly past by a WW2 Super Marine Spitfire.

We then wondered back into town, which had been completely taken over by a funfair consisting of all manner of rides, some of which looked pretty hairy.  The steam engines had all parked up too so we had chance to have a really good look round.

We finally headed back to the car and off to Tesco where we stopped off to stock up for the rest of the week, before heading back to Buzzards View for a picky tea, our fave, a log fire and a good film, if we could stay awake long enough to watch it.





Day 3 - Sunday
We managed to get up and out before mid day, big achievement!  We decided to head into Conwy today. We had a day of sightseeing and a few caches on the agenda.












We started off with a really nice walk round the town walls, which was a lovely way to see great views of the castle, the town and the quay, as it's so high up.

We ended up on the quay, by the smallest house in Wales.  We followed our walk with a bag of chips, and excellent chips they were too, sitting watching the world go by, before having a wonder round the town, taking in a visit to Aberconwy House, the oldest house in Wales, which is owned by the National Trust.  It is only a small property but worth a visit if you are passing.

As time was getting on, and we were flagging a bit, we decided to save a visit to the castle for another day.

We made our way round the outside of the castle back to the car, picking up ice creams on the way.  Ameretto and blueberry for me and Ameretto and Turkish delight for Martin. Lush!!

Having seen the castle from a distance from every possible angle on our walk, it was amazing how huge it was close up.  We definitely wanted to come back for a visit to do it justice.

Back to Eglwysbach and up the narrow, steep but very beautiful lane to the seclusion of Buzzards view for Abruzzi Lamb, which Martin had set off in the slow cooker this morning, while I was still fast asleep.  He really is a cracker! 

Buzzard's View - Eglwysbach - North Wales

When did we visit?
2 May 2014 - 9 May 2014

How much was it?
£449.00

Who did we book with?
Sykes Cottages









What were our initial impressions?
We loved the last couple of miles drive to the cottage.  It may not be for the fainthearted driver - a narrow, steep, shale country lane, more of a track in places, going right through a rough and bumpy farmyard.

The location of the cottage was fabulous.  Fairly remote, though the owners' house is next door.  Whilst the cottage is one of a semi-detached pair, the way that they have been designed means that neither cottage overlook the other at all, so you do feel really private.

The outlook from the cottage was amazing.  It's really high up and you couldn't have asked for better views from the decking.  The deck was accessible from the sun room, off the lounge and was furnished with a table, four chairs and two sun loungers.  How we hoped for sunshine.

After a quick look round we were impressed.  The cottage was really clean, tastefully decorated, with some beautiful artwork and felt nice and cosy and warm.

There was lots of purple - I love purple!

There were two bedrooms, one en suite with a shower, and the other opposite a nice big bathroom, with a huge bath.

The only thing that wasn't hitting the mark for us was the bath towels.  These were neither wide nor long enough to protect either of our modesty - you know how we feel about bath towels.  As we didn't want this to put a downer on our holiday, or my review, I decided that I would ask the owner if they had any bigger towels.  I was glad I did.  Not only did I end up getting some nice big fluffy bathsheets, but we were given a guided tour of the attaching cottage by the lovely Lucy, who couldn't have been more friendly or helpful. 

Note to self - if there's anything that is not quite right, you can't lose anything by asking the question!

Whilst there wasn't really a welcome pack, there was enough tea, coffee and sugar to get us started, no milk though.  There was also a delicious locally made Bara Brith loaf.

There was a nice big basket of logs, with firelighters and kindling also available, for the log burner, with good detailed instructions, which we looked forward to testing out later in the week.




Our likes over the course of the week

• This is truly one of the cleanest cottages we've come across - even the cutlery drawer was sparkling, with no crumbs.
• There was a nice empty cupboard for us to store our provisions, with no random left behind bits and pieces from previous guests.  I mean, like we are going to use someone else's Bisto or flour that's been there goodness knows how long.
• The location did not disappoint.  The views were amazing, whatever the weather, and we saw it all, apart from snow!
• The wildlife was pretty varied too.  There was always a different bird or squirrel to try and take pictures of.
• The drive to and from the cottage was great fun.  When coming back after a day out, you had a real sense of getting away from it all.  I did hang out of the sun roof of the car on a couple of occasions to film the ascent and descent of the road.  You can see the descent here.
• The cottage was always nice to come back to.  As well as being nice and cosy and warm, there was a good DVD collection of some fairly up to date DVDs, we could connect the PS3 and the Wifi worked a treat.

Anything that could have made it better

• A downstairs loo would be ace, but then, we are a bit lazy when it comes to going up and down stairs.
• You could only get a phone signal for Orange when outside of the cottage.

Would we recommend this cottage to our friends and family?
Yes, we most definitely would.

Would we stay in this cottage again?
We would love to.