Lodge Life :: June 2022

Hi there everyone 😀

You are probably getting a bit bored of posts from North Wales ... but before I move on to our Kent trip, which was very different, I thought I'd let you know how we are getting on with our new holiday lodge.

We managed to get two long weekends in June. One early on, with mum, just after we’d got back from Kent, and a totally impromptu and unplanned one right at the end of the month … giving us just two days between getting back home and heading off to the Wye Valley for our annual catch up with old work colleagues.

We wanted mum to be our first visitor and we were so pleased that she liked it as much as we do. We also got to road test the sofa bed which worked an absolute treat.

While there with mum we managed two days out … the first being to Bangor Pier, where we very nearly got blown away …

It was beautiful though and somewhere we will definitely visit again. There is parking for just £1 pretty much right next to the pier and we were lucky enough to find a space …


You have to pay a nominal fee to walk along the pier but it was well worth it …

It was a really bright day but you are very exposed on the pier and the views in either direction are pretty amazing ... 

There are plenty of pops of colour from the old Victorian buildings, housing little shops ...

... the more modern benches, made from recycled materials ...

... and the Pavilion Café at the end ...

We walked to the bottom and had a quick drink in the cafe. We all wished we hadn’t just had breakfast as the food all looked great, especially the cake … maybe next time.

Our second day out was a bit more energetic … we even took a picnic.

We were aiming to do the Morfa Nefyn - Porthdinllaen circular walk. It’s only about 2.5 miles, but quite up and down and the plan was for Martin to take the short cut half way, while mum and I did the full circle.

Martin and I have done this walk before and we opted to do it the opposite way round this time, hoping for an easier finish. We parked at the National Trust car park at Morfa Nefyn and headed up and over the golf course.

It was a beautiful day and the views in all directions were fabulous …

When we got to the path down to the Ty Coch Inn Martin headed down and mum and I carried on upwards … we did have a rest on a bench at the top of the hill and waved like mad to Martin, but he was more interested in getting in the pub for a pint than looking upwards …

The walk carries on through the golf course to the lookout point at the end of the peninsular,…

... where they is a very steep path down to the lifeboat station …

... and the most perfect small and secluded beach, which would have been perfect for a paddle …

The path then hugs the side of the cliff, with plenty of rocky steps up and down ...

... with more fabulous views back towards the lifeboat station ...

... and out to sea before ending at the pub, where we met Martin for very welcome refreshment ...

The walk then carries on along the beach to Porthdinllaen, where there are some very steep steps back up to the car park, where we found a good spot to break out the picnic with a great view back across the bay to the pub showing just how far we’d walked ...

Whilst we only had a couple days out and about exploring we did manage to sneak in a visit to Cadwalladers for ice cream, with plans to re-visit to try out some of their sundaes, which just looked amazing ...

...and a fish and chip supper by the sea ...

I think we may also have caught a view of the super moon from the lodge decking, though I am no expert on these things 😂

Our second visit was totally unplanned but we both felt we needed a bit of R&R and this time we managed to use the lodge as we had both hoped that we would.

We had no jobs to do, no visitors to entertain and no real plans at all. We left home at about 2.30pm on the Wednesday afternoon and were all settled in by about 6.30pm.

We did nip out to the local Asda on the Thursday, but other than that we pretty much spent the whole day watching the gardeners working on the landscaping and planting of the new pond, which is just out front of our lodge ...

The weather was weird on the Thursday and seemed to alternate between heavy rain and warm sunshine … so much so that at teatime, when all the workers had left for the day, we decided to try our the pool for the first time. It was a real treat … only us in there and lovely and warm.

We watched more planting on Friday and went nowhere at all ...

Friday night we watched a local programme on the TV where they were visiting the family home of Clough Williams-Ellis, creator of the Italianate village Portmeirion. A quick Google search showed it was only about half an hour away so we decided we would have a trip out on Saturday.

I'm so glad we’d seen it on the TV as I’m not sure we’d have found it otherwise … it is pretty well off the beaten track.

It was certainly in a beautiful spot ...

Having no real idea what to expect we parked up and followed the mown path towards enticing signs of turquoise blue, the estate colour ...

We spent a very pleasant hour or so there but I think I'll save it for another post as I've rambled on long enough for today.

We didn't go anywhere on the Sunday either ... just watched two of the park staff dressing a new lodge to take photographs. I couldn't resist going over for a sneaky peak though and wow, it was stunning. I don't think we'll be moving just yet though.

It was so nice to have some real chill out time, neither of us was really ready to come home and we just can't wait till we can get back again. I think 'lodge life' may just suit us both down to the ground 😀

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Exploring :: North Wales #8 … Pistyll Rhaeadr

Hi there everyone 😃

This is the last of the series of posts from our holiday in North Wales back in May. Having fallen in love with the area and ending up buying a holiday lodge over that way I’m sure there will be more posts in the years to come as we start to make the most of ‘lodge life’ and do more exploring 😃

As we'd done on our journey over to North Wales, we decided to have a bit of a stop off on the way home too ... planning to call in at Pistyll Rhaeadr, Britain's tallest single drop waterfall and pretty impressive by all accounts.

We had a very quick photostop at the dam at the Afon Tryweryn reservoir just before Bala ... it is always so beautiful ...

From Bala we wound our way cross country, through the mountains and small villages until we hit the signs for the waterfall. It is a fair way off the beaten track, down some very narrow lanes, but eventually we managed to get our first spot of the falls in the distance ...

We gradually made our way closer, pulling in for photos where we could ...

There is parking at the site of the waterfall, which costs £5 on a weekday, £10 at the weekends. There is a bit of free roadside parking before you hit the falls car park but this was full when we visited. We did have to wait there though as BT were doing a bit of repair work and blocking the road. 

I couldn't wait to see what we were going to find so left mum and Martin in the car and had a wander up the lane ...

Eventually BT had finished what they were doing and we paid our £5 and got parked up.

It really is the shortest of walks from the car park to the waterfall and we were so lucky and managed to have the place to ourselves for a few minutes, so got chance to take some nice photos, with no other people in the background ...

It really was a beautiful spot and a lovely day. I could definitely imagine there being plenty of paddling going on in the summer months.

We walked a short way away from the falls, to the bridge for a bit of a different perspective, but by now there were a few more people about ...

There is also a tea room at the site of the falls and, as we'd not had breakfast before leaving, we had to pay a visit ... and managed to find a table with a pretty decent view ...

So that was the end of a really lovely week away in North Wales. We knew we would definitely be back, as we'd loved the area so much ... we just didn't know quite how soon 😀

We were off to Kent next so look out for more from the south east very soon.

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What a difference a day makes

Hi there everyone 😃

Last Friday I took this photo of the self set poppies in the raised bed …

I took the photo to show my friend, who had kindly donated me some seedlings the year before last. They gave a bit of a paltry show that first year, but last year they did really well and were beautiful.

I saved loads of seeds and sprinkled them all round the garden and did get excited when lots of small seedlings started to show … none came to anything at all though … other than these which self set in their original growing position, I’ve even tried to transplant a few to try and spread them around the garden, but had no luck whatsoever … they have clearly decided they like it where they are.

This has left me with a bit of a quandary. The raised bed they are in was destined for a rebuild last year, but Martin never quite got round to it. It was a definite priority for this year and I’d even relocated all of the strawberry plants and the perennials that were growing in the bed in readiness … well, of course I can’t be emptying it now, not until the poppies have all flowered.

Interestingly I donated a load of strawberry plants to mum and they must have been loaded with poppy seed too as mum now has a bed full just ready to burst into flower.

Having taken my photo on Friday I couldn’t quite believe my eyes when I looked out of the landing window on Saturday morning …

Aren’t they beautiful? If you look closely you may even spot a plump looking buzzy bee investigating. I am hopeful for a fabulous display and will try again with spreading around for next year. I already have a list of friends and family wanting seeds saving so fingers crossed we all have more luck next year.

On the strawberry front it’s not been a good year … they obviously don’t like their new home, and have been very disappointing … I think I may have to move them back once the bed has been rebuilt.

On another note, still of the floral variety, it does look like it could be a good year for the roses … our rhapsody in blue is going a storm …

… and the pink one out the front next door is really doing well …

We still really have to get to grips with the garden this year. We have done a few bits, but there is still a way to go. We need a good run of decent weather ... but not too hot ... while we are at home, so we can get on top of things.

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