Croeso y Cymru

A part from many common, shared or tolerated passions, Wales has always been one of them between EG and me. Since our childhood and so many happy memories there, Wales is engraved in our hearts.
As we commemorated not only Remembrance Day or Armistice but also celebrated our very own 'remembrance day', we drove over to Bristol to get the 'granddaughter fix' and went then further North.
Many times, we have been in the UK in November, be it, because at home the garden is going to prepare itself for hibernation and less demanding or just because the flow of tourists has come to a halt.

Since we have now a season ticket for the ferry and no boss to be claimed anymore for a holiday request, we are in the luxurious position to be spontaneous. So we leave the flaming garden, the beautiful house, take the dog and sail....

My first Bonfire Night in Victoria Park, Bristol. Very cold and very convenient having the big fire burning behind us but a pity that none of  the mulled wine was left anymore.

Sunday morning we headed off to North Devon to the fleamarket event in South Molton, where I met with lovely Niki. As always, it was wonderful to see her again :-). A great time was spent and a lovely drive through gentle Devon was enjoyed.

Then we drove off to the North. The Country House to which EG brought me many years ago, when we found out that we would not want to be separated off each other anymore, is in Criccieth, North Wales. Sadly it was closed in just that week.

But we found a lovely little hotel  (http://www.themoelwyn.co.uk/ )    just on the seaside where the dog was also welcome and where we were the only guests. We had a wonderful stay awaking to this impression:

first morning wake-up

second morning wake-up

We drove round the Llŷn Peninsula to Abersoch. How strange that for both of us in our memory that place had been much bigger when we were children. 

We also had a stop in Porthmadog and despite the rain, enjoyed it. Then further down the coast to Barmouth where we walked the dog who, for the first time in his life, run on the beach. He was as excited as a child and all three of us enjoyed the wind and drizzly rain and the fact that the beach belonged only to us. (Courtesy EG Iphone picture)

On our way back to Bristol, we tried to cover a maximum of Welsh countryside. Still now, I am totally in awe of the beautiful landscape and the totally deserted roads.

Stopped in Llagollen with its steam railway station:

From there we went down to Oswestry, Shrewsbury and joined the A49 to the Welsh borders, crossed the Shropshire Hills over to Knighton where we found a lovely pub with welcoming log fire, went through Presteigne (again ;-) ) and then Monmouthshire passing Tintern Abbey - another landmark in our own map of Love. It was dark by then and Tintern's skeleton was illuminated in flaming red, just magic!

This time, no houses were inspected, just a general 'tour de reconnaissance'. So much to chose from, so many lovely places could be ours! A house near the seaside is so tempting, especially as we are spoiled with our own 'little Baltic sea' just in the middle of the garden. The wishlist is so big, the possibilities seem endless. Cymru am byth!