Wales and family time.

 Usually I end up racing to get connecting flights at Amsterdam Schiphol, so I allowed extra. Of course, for once I didn’t need it. Anyway, it gave me plenty of time to watch the Man in the Clock at the airport. I watched for a long time, convinced some poor soul was stuck in there changing the clock every minute. It’s amazing. Anyway, I then found out they had made a 12 hour video of a real actor erasing the hands and repainting them . It is a perfect optical illusion. 

The weather on arrival can only be termed ‘atrocious’, even for Britain! Freezing sleet/rain and a strong, biting wind!  Never mind, the warm welcome from Ceri, Mabli and Betsi.made up for it a million times over. I was ‘home’ again to my wonderful, yet crazy Welsh family. 

Next day we headed to the next little village with Ben and his two gorgeous children, Nanci and Toby. 

Toby was the star of the coming weekend , turning 1! We were super lucky with the weather, sunny and warm, so much so that some even complained it was too hot! A rapid change!

Mabli and Nanci, cousins, my great great nieces,, showed great control in not touching the delicious cake

Toby sat quietly in a corner for most of the afternoon, doing what he loves most. eating,  As Ben, his Dad says, he is a very happy eating machine!

What a huge family we are, and a number of us were missing! 

It was a lovely, relaxed afternoon, and incredibly calm considering the number of small children.

After a sudden dramatic change in the weather the day after, we were Lucky enough to have a perfect day for a trip to Puzzlewood Forest, on the border of England and Wales, near Chepstow. 

Named Puzzlewood as a result of its maze-like Geology, this gorgeous, ancient and rare piece of temperate rainforest has been used for a number Film sets including Star Wars, Dr WHO and others. It is incredibly similar to Glenorchy, where they filmen part of The Lord of the Rings.

What a brilliant day Ceri, Annie and I had, walking up and down the meandering walkway, between the massive tree roots

And past gigantic Moss-covered rocks and caves

And through 1.5 Miles of the greenest, lushest Forest I’ve seen for many years. 

It was a phenomenal day out and we were exceptionally lucky with a dry, warm day.

It didn’t matter that drizzle returned the next day for our trip to Cardiff. We were only there for shopping, but it’s always a joy to walk through the elaborate arcades.

And stop for a real pot of tea! They know how to serve tea here!

Lunch was delicious too. We had a fantastic curry at one of the many streetfood Cafés in the market. It reminded me of a more basic version of our Riverside Market. 

Downstairs there is a mix of streetfood and the usual market stalls. A great atmosphere.

In Llantwit Major I enjoyed a great mix of family, gentle walks in the area, work in the Library and enjoying this very pretty village/small town.

Some mad moments every now and again, but that’s what makes my family here so very special.. 

Bethan and Rhys doing some after dinner DIY!
 

Starsky and Hatch

, Darren and Cerís chickens!They are NOT allowed Inside!

What a brilliant day at Rhosilli.

An annual visit to the place I love most of all in Wales.

Stunning views and so many cute little foals enjoying this special place.

Worm’s Head, cut off by the high tide.

The magnificent beach of golden sands.. walked down to it with Ceri but had to give up near the end as it got too steep for my poorly Achilles, It was a beautiful walk nonetheless.

As temperatures in Britain soared into the thirties, walking had to be carefully planned. Annie and I went out early to walk on Ogmore Beach, but probably Not nearly early enough!  

The bus ride from Llantwit Major to the beach is an adventure in itself. The rattling bus, virtually empty, heads at an incredible pace down narrow lanes, jamming on breaks when suddenly faced with oncoming traffic. The cars and vans pass us with centimetres to spare, and then off the driver charges again.

Fortunately , we always arrive in one piece, somewhat shaken up by the uneven road but okay! It’s well worth the journey. The beach is lovely.

It doesn’t matter whether you are admiring the rockppols,

Or the estuary 

The rocks at the river mouth with their lush green coating,

Or enjoying cooling off in what were heavenly water temperatures, the whole experience is beautiful. 

Only the walk back up the slight hill seemed to be hard, particularly in the midday heat.

Meanwhile, we were happy to have Daisy’s gorgeous dog, Peaches, to stay in Ceri’s cooler home. She’s so beautiful but somewhat crazy at times.it’s wonderful to have a dog here. I so miss Molly, Ceri’s lovely old jack Russell, who is sadly now in the garden amongst lovely flowers. 

What a fantastic final Friday evening with all of Ceri’s children and her grandchildren. Only Ben’s wife Nancy missed the fun. She was working.  Ben did an amazing job baking all our pizzas.

We all put the toppings we wanted on Ben’s pizza dough and then he popped them into his amazing portable pizza oven. They were delicious.

Toby was so happy, just sitting and eating for the first three hours! He managed half a pizza! And lots of salad and fruit. Bliss!

The kids had so much fun in warm water buckets!

Dessert was chocolate and marshmallow pizza.

It was great to have Stef and Daisy there too. 

A perfect farewell to Ceri’s tribe!

Toby has no end of entertainment.

Funny auntie Bethan!

Next day, my last day, I enjoyed a very laidback few hours at the village Food festival. There was a very clever musician, an entertaining guy playing the fiddle for over an hour. Brilliant!  It was a lovely way to spend a last afternoon with Annie.

Now I’m on the train to London for the next adventure with my other niece Becky.