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.

Carol's Cottage Pie

This is a real favourite, a real Winter warmer and real comfort food.

 

The recipe started out as my mums but it's evolved over the years and I am now most definitely claiming it as my own.

 

 

There are lots of potential variations on this recipe and you can really make it your own.  You could make it healthier by using turkey mince instead of beef.  You could be creative with your mash and use a leek and potato mash as your topping.  You could make a cheese and chive mash or you could make a mustard mash, whatever takes your fancy.

 

 

You can also be really flexible with the ingredients, both in what you use and how much of it.  You don't like celery?  Don't put it in.  You love mushrooms?  Put in loads.

 

I'll tell you how I cook mine, but you just need to adapt it and cook it so that you will love it.

 

Serves 4
Preparation time - 40 minutes
Cooking time (in the oven) - 30-45 minutes, depending on whether being cooked straight after preparation, when ingredients are still hot, or whether is being cooked from cold, if prepared earlier.

Ingredients

Oil for frying

500g lean beef mince

1 large onion - chopped

1 celery stick - chopped

1 large carrot - chopped

Mushrooms - as many as you want

500ml pint of beef stock - made from a cube

1 415g tin of baked beans

2 bay leaves

Worcestershire Sauce, enough to suit your taste

Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks - sufficient to make enough mash to cover the top of your pie

Knob of butter

Splash of milk

Grated cheese as much or as little as you like

1 large tomato - sliced

Black pepper

 

 

1. Fry the onion, celery and carrot together in a large frying pan or wok until starting to soften.
2. Add the minced beef and fry until browned all over, constantly stirring to break up the mince and mix in with the vegetables.
3. Add the baked beans, stock, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil.
4. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for the time it takes to prepare and cook the potatoes.
5. Put the potatoes in a pan and cover with water.  Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat.  Cook the potatoes on a constant simmer for 20 minutes or until soft.
6. When the potatoes are nearly ready, use a slotted spoon to remove the minced beef mixture from the pan.  Strain the last bit and retain the remaining liquid to be used as gravy.  Keep the mixture fairly wet as you don't want your pie to be dry.
7. Drain the potatoes and mash well, adding a knob of butter and a splash of milk.
8. Spread the mashed potato on the top of the minced beef mixture.  Top with grated cheese and then sliced tomato.  Finish off with a dusting of ground black pepper.
9. Cook in the oven at a temperature of 180 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, until the top is nice and golden and the pie is hot all the way through.

Serve with vegetables of your choice and the gravy.

 

This dish can be made ahead, though may take longer to heat through.

 

It can also be made ahead and frozen, though ensure fully defrosted before heating.

Will Sidney and the Queen's own Yorkshire Dragoons

As you'll know from my last post Will was  mobilised at Doncaster on 4 August 1914 and embodied as a member of the Queen's own Yorkshire Dragoons, being required to attend at Doncaster, by 11.00am on 5 August 1914.

Before I tell you about Will's time in the Dragoons I want to share with you what I've been able to find out about the history of the Regiment, which was formed on the creation of the Territorial Force in April 1908.  It was headquartered in Doncaster, and under the command of the Yorkshire Mounted Brigade, with the squadrons being headquartered as shown below:

'A' Sqn: Sheffield (with a drill station at Rotherham)

'B' Sqn: Wakefield (Dewbury and Pontefract)

'C' Sqn: Doncaster (Barnsley and Goole)

'D' Sqn: Huddersfield (Halifax).

When initially set up, the Territorial Force was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country.  However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for service abroad.  As a result, Territorial Force units, of which The Dragoons were one, were split, in August and September 1914, into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units.  Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line Regiments.

1/1st Yorkshire Dragoons

In June 1915 the Regiment was split up and then deployed to France in July, as Divisional Cavalry:

• 'HQ' and 'B' Squadron joined 37th Division on Salisbury Plain. Landed at Le Havre on 1 August 1915
• 'A' Squadron joined 17th (Northern) Division at Winchester. Landed at Le Havre on 16 July 1915
• 'C' Squadron joined 19th (Western) Division at Bulford. Landed at Le Havre on 20 July 1915. Was attached to 3rd Cavalry Division between 21 April and 9 May 1916
• 'D' Squadron was dissolved and men dispersed to other squadrons.

In May 1916 the Regiment reassembled at Hazebrouck and became II Corps Cavalry Regiment, with whom they remained until November 1917, when they were transferred to the Cavalry Corps. Up to this time their only chance of mounted action had been during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line in April 1917. They were present at the battles of the Somme (1916), the Ancre, the Somme (1917) and Ypres (1917). Although in these battles there was no mounted fighting, they were often called upon to support infantry attacks with their Hotchkiss machine guns.

Whilst Will's personal diaries don't begin until 1917, we have found a page at the back of his 1917 diary that details his specific whereabouts for the early parts of the war, you can see the full detail on this a later post. For the later parts Will just lets us know whether he was in England or in France.

From looking at the dates and locations in Will's diary we have come to the conclusion that, at the beginning of the war, Will served with 'C' Company of the Queens own Yorkshire Dragoons and, as such, set out on his first of three visits to France on 19 July 1915

This picture shows some of Will's badges that he would have worn whilst serving with The Dragoons.

The horseshoe at the bottom right can be seen on his left arm as you look at the picture above, of Will in his uniform.

The brass badge in the middle is one of a matching pair of collar badges.

You can also see Will's original dog tags in the picture.  The silver one showing to the back is his Yorkshire Dragoons one, the orange coloured one is his York & Lancaster Regiment one.

From Will's official war records we can see that, in January 1917, he left The Dragoons and was transferred to the York & Lancaster Regiment.

In December 1917, after Will had transferred to the York & Lancaster Regiment, the Yorkshire Dragoons went on to be posted to the 8th (Lucknow) Cavalry Brigade, 4th Cavalry Division, where they relieved the King's Dragoon Guards and took part in the Battle of Cambrai 1917. As such they were one of only six Yeomanry Regiments posted to a Regular Cavalry Division.

The Yorkshire Dragoons were dismounted in February 1918, and returned to II Corps as Corps Cyclists.

From September to November 1918, the Regiment fought with the 9th Division in the offensive east of Ypres. In action on 15 and 20 October they captured over 100 prisoners with 7 field guns, 5 heavy guns, many machine guns and much transport.

After hostilities came to an end on 11 November 1918 the Dragoons were selected as the army of occupation and acted as advance guard to the 9th and 29th Divisions during the advance into Germany. The Regiment was stationed in the Cologne area until demobilization in July 1919, when Lord Scarborough received a letter of appreciation from the Corps Commander. "They have earned the gratitude of their country and county, in the way they have worked and fought all through the war, and have made a name for themselves which will never be forgotten".

My next post will tell you more about how Will spent his time from the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, up until the end of his first trip to France with the Queen's own Yorkshire Dragoons.

Good bye April, Hello May

I thought April was going to be hectic and I wasn't wrong.  The month started off with us on holiday in Holmesfield.  We had a lovely week in The Peak District and were joined by mum and dad for a couple of days, which was really nice.  You can read about our holiday adventures here, here and here.  And, if you want to read my first holiday cottage review of Gooseberry Barn, you will find that here.

After we got back from holiday, we really started to see the garden coming to life, following all of the earlier legwork that we'd put in.

We had a huge push at Easter, which you can read about here, and finally the new fence is in place and the majority of the veg planting has been started off.  Here are a few pictures of how its looking right now.

 

We've caught up with friends and family, and spent a great Saturday night in with good friends, with great food. 

We've also spent a lovely lazy Sunday afternoon with more good friends, Jo and Steve, and their girls, Hannah and Megan.  Megan baked us a scrummy chocolate cake, which went down very well whilst watching Hannah try on dresses for her first prom.  All of which looked absolutely stunning.  Oh, to be 16 again!

We also had a bit of a walk, picked up a few caches on the way and topped the afternoon off with a very nice meal in Miller and Carter's overlooking the lake in Sutton Park, where Hannah said she wouldn't mind be taken on her first date - now there's a young lady with expensive taste!

I've had a bash at film making, starting with the blue tits nesting in the garden.  I've obviously not quite got the hang of the uploading process yet, as you can only watch the film on a PC and only then, if you use Google Chrome.  I need to work out how to make this viewable on tablets and phones.


May will start with another holiday to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary, in North Wales, so look out for more tales of our adventures and another holiday cottage review soon.  I can't believe how quickly those five years have gone.





Whilst we are away, our decorator friend, Tom, will be in doing some of the decorating prep work in one of the bedrooms, so I can crack on with the easier stuff at my leisure.  I don't think I'm going to change the room much as Martin and I both love it as it is, but it is in desperate need of a freshen up.

I haven't done any decorating for years, Tom has always done it for us since Martin moved in.  He normally comes when we're on holiday, so we just get back and everything is done and looking lovely, well, that's always the plan anyway!  Decorating in an old house certainly has it's challenges, you never quite know what you're going to find.

I'm sure there will be more garden activity, including getting the new gate fitted and planting a couple of hanging baskets.

The garden always looks good in May, so hopefully I'll have some more photos to share and who knows, I may even get chance to do the next instalment of my garden planning post and you should get to find out what happens to Will Sidney following the outbreak of WW1.

So, another busy month coming up.  I'm definitely not bored with my new life yet.  This Life of Pottering seems to be suiting me down to the ground.

If you keep on reading, I'll keep on pottering.