Short Break Near Chester - Part Two

10/7/15 Higher Kinnington
We walked back to the Royal Oak pub for our lunch. Once again it was very nice and we were able to sit out in the sunshine to eat it. In the afternoon we watched Andy Murray lose to Federer in the Wimbledon Semi-final. Then had a simple evening meal. A rather uneventful day really.

11/7/15 Delamere Forest and Home
After breakfast we prepared Morag for the journey home. We left Crab Mill Farm at about 10:30 and headed for Delamere Forest for a walk. We had been to Delamere many times in the past when we lived in Macclesfield. We enjoyed a walk round Balkemere Moss (about 3 miles) and had lunch back at Morag.

The journey home was uneventful.

We wouldn't stay at Crab Mill again. The site was fine but there was very lttle to do locally. No good dog walks and nothing that we could visit without taking the bus or Morag. Still, a nice break.

Short Break Near Chester

8/7/15 Leek to Chester

We left Leek in very wet, drizzly conditions to drive over to Crab Mill Farm CL near Chester. Thankfully, the weather improved and by the time we arrived it was bright but very breezy. We set up quickly on hardstanding in a decent sized field. There were 4 other outfits in place. We had a wander around the site finding two fishing ponds and a rough grass meadow where we could walk Button. We watched quite a bit of the men's quarter finals at Wimbledon.

Morag at Crab Mill Farm

Quirky sculpture at Crab Mill Farm

In the evening, we walked into the village of Higher Kinnington (about 12 minutes) and had a meal at the Royal Oak pub. The menu was very interesting and the food was excellent with good portions. Lyn had Goujons of Mackerel followed by Fillets of Sea Bass on a nicoise salad. I had Pigeon Breast, Black pudding and apple salad to start followed by Rib-eye Beef on Horseradish Mash with a Peppercorn Sauce and selection of vegetables. We were both too full for a dessert! We walked back to the camp site and settled down for the night.

9/7/15 Chester

After a reasonably good night's sleep we had croissants for breakfast then walked back into Higher Kinnington to catch the bus into Chester. Despite us starting out in Wales (just) our bus passes were valid as our journey finished in England. We had decided to walk round the walls in Chester. The nearest access point to the walls from the bus stop should have been the Victoria Clock at Foregate. However remedial work was taking place and the clock was not visible and the access point had been closed. It seems that there is scaffolding wherever I go! We were able to get up onto the walls near the Cathedral (no scaffolding there!).

The Victoria Clock hidden behind scaffolding!

The weather was much calmer and very sunny so we were able to enjoy our walk round. It took a little over an hour and we were ready for some lunch by the time we had completed the walk. We found a nice bar/restaurant where we had a sort of tapas type lunch.

Button meets a sand sculpture

Walking the walls

More scaffolding!

The Old Dee Bridge

After lunch we made our way back to the Cathedral where Lyn sat and read while I took a few photos.

The Cathedral Gardens

The bus back to Higher Kinnington was very full and, as usual, Button spread herself out as much as she could! Back at Morag we refreshed ourselves with some dilute orange juice and sat in the hot sun for a while. We enjoyed a lasagne that Lyn had prepared at home and very nice strawberries and cream for dessert. It rained during the late evening.

Holiday in Wales - Hendy and Home

June 9th - Tywyn and Barmouth
After breakfast, Rose and Chris picked us up and we took the train to Morfa Mawddach. We walked across the Barmouth Bridge to Barmouth itself. There were wonderful views from the train and from the bridge.

Panoramic view of the estuary from just before the bridge

Once in Barmouth we gave Button a run on the beach and walked out to the point at the end of the harbour bar. Chris and I had a look at the lifeboat before we all went to "Davy Jones Locker" for something to eat and a cuppa.
We returned to Tywyn by train from Barmouth and went back to Rose and Chris house for a coffee. Another walk along the beach followed, for Button to have a run. She also had a good swim in the sea chasing a stick. We all went back to Morag for yet another cuppa before saying goodbye to Rose and Chris.

Barmouth beach with the bridge in the distance

Easter island style wood carving on the Barmouth beach

Train on Barmouth bridge

June 10th - Home again
We got up early, breakfasted, and prepared Morag for the journey home. The journey through Wales was very beautiful with glorious blue skies and bright, early summer greens. We had a short break between Welshpool and Shrewsbury and got home just after 12:30.
A very enjoyable holiday!

Holiday in Wales - Hendy CL

8/6/15 Hendy
We had bacon and egg for breakfast then went to catch the Talyllyn train at the Hendy halt. We travelled up to Dolgoch and walked to see the Dolgoch Falls. They were very impressive as was the walk through the wooded valley to see them. Returning to Dolgoch station we caught the train down to Tywyn where we had a decent meal from the station restaurant.

Catching the train at our very own station

Views of the Cader Idris foothills from the train

Dolgoch Falls

The beautiful Dolgoch valley

Our engine "Tal-Y-Llyn"

 Back on the train again to travel to Nant Gwernol, the last station on the line. We went for a second walk through beautiful woodland beside a casacding stream then back down to the railway at Aberglynolwen. We had a cup of tea while we waited for the train to take us back to Hendy. Back at Morag we sat outside for a beer in glorious sunshine but the chilly wind sent us indoors for our tea.

Nant Gwernol valley

Nant Gwernol valley

View from the train on our return journey

Holiday in Wales - Freshwater East and Hendy

5/6/15 Freshwater East

Morag at Freshwater East

Bacon and egg for breakfast - very nice! It rained quite hard this morning so we did some domestic stuff. While Lyn did some essential laundry, I was able to get the wifi access to work (though intermittently). I downloaded some software to enable me to process some photos on Lyn's laptop and entered the blog entries for the first three days of our holiday.
The rain eased off late morning giving way to bright, fresh conditions. We had a light lunch of sandwiches and set off for a walk. We took Button to the beach so that she could let off steam then walked west along the coastal path. There was quite a lot of climbing so we stopped after a couple of kilometers for a brief rest, then returned the same way.

Feshwater East beach from the Coast al Path

Lyn on the Coastal path

Button and the view towards Stackpole

Relaxing on the Coast path

Button Looking beautiful!

Returning to Freshwater East

We had the remainer of the chilli with some mash for our evening meal then listened to some music while Lyn read her Kindle.

Dinner at Morag

 6/6/15 Freshwater East
We caught the bus to Stackpole Quay. Stackpole is a National Trust estate property with a tearoom (The Boathouse) and extensive coastal walks and beaches. We had our lunch at The Boathouse then walked to Barafundle Beach. This must be one of the best beaches in the whole of Britain. It can only be reached on foot (or from the sea) and is a wide stretch of perfect sand with cliffs on each side. Button loved running on th beach.

Lyn and Button at Stackpole Quay

Barafundle Bay

On Barafundle beach

Barafundle from the climb back up to the Coastal path

 After leaving the beach we walked along the coastal path to Broad Haven. It was very windy along the cliff top but beuatifully sunny. We took a short rest at Broad Haven beach and were pleased to see some Choughs searching for food on the rocky hillside. Near to Broad Haven are the Bosherston Lily Ponds. These are artificial lakes created in the 19th century by the local landowner. They are well-known for their impressive display of White Water Lillies in the summer. We walked past these and across the linking bridges to Bosherston village where we called in at the pub for a pint. Lyn then read her Kindle while I looked for  more photos before we caught the bus back to Freshwater East.

Chough at Broad Haven

White Water Lillies

Water Lillies on Bosherston Lakes

Bosherston Church

7/6/15 Freshwatwer East to Hendy

We got up quite early and prepared Morag for travel after our breakfast. We drove from Freshwater East to Aberystwyth intending to visit the Vale of Rheidol railway but were disappointed to fnd that there were only 2 trains that day and the second train would have got us back too late. I looked at the map and found a woodland with a picnic area marked. When we arrived we found that it is a research woodland for Aberystwyth University. We had a pleasant walk through the woodland before having a snack lunch. 

We continued our Journey arriving at Hendy, near Tywyn, at about 4 o'clock. The Hendy CL is fairly basic but has the essential utilities, electric hook-up, drinking water and a toilet. The field is sloping so we had to use the levelling blocks for the first time. The Tal-Y-Llyn railway passes by the top of the field and the site is surrounded by attractive hillsides.

Morag at Hendy

We walked into Tywyn to see our friend Rose Woodland (who lives there). Rose showed us around her huge house which is still under renovation; more of a job than I'd be prepared to take on! Back at Morag, we had our Tesco "meal for a tenner" including a very acceptable bottle of Shiraz!

Holiday in Wales - Tenby and Freshwater East

June 4th

We had breakfast on a sunny and calm morning before preparing Morag for the journey to our next camp site. We drove to Tenby to look at the town which I had rad was an attractive coastal resort. We were very impressed with Tenby, with its beaches, its multicoloured houses and the castle hill.

Tenby Harbour and Castle  Hill

We had a visit to the lifeboat station and the top of Castle Hill. For lunch we got a Pastie and a Toastie from a Harbourside snack bar. Then we went for a pint in one of the town pubs.

South Beach at Tenby

The old lifeboat station taken from the new one

The latest Tenby lifeboat, the "Haydn Miller"

Lyn and Button at the top of Castle Hill

George and Button

Street near the harbour

Boats in the harbour

Seagull waiting for the chance of a chip at the pub!

Tenby North Beach

We drove from Tenby to Freshwater East in the afternoon. Freshwater East is a fully services Caravan Club site. We chose a hardstanding pitch near the toilet block and the dog walk. After setting up we walked down to the beach where Button had a great time running on the sands. The beach is long, about 3/4 mile, back by dunes and closed in at each end by impressive Old Red Sandstone rocks.
We ate our evening meal of pre-prepared chili=li and rice under the awning - once I had figured out how to put it up!

Old Red Sandstone rocks at Freshwater East

Freshwater East beach panorama

Freshwater East