Llanrhaeadr trip

MikeBLeave a comment

I’ve had a lovely, relaxing 4 days away in the delightful village of Llanrhaeadr, just inside the Welsh border. This visit was primarily to attend my Aunt Isobel’s funeral, but I was overdue for and ready to come anyway.

This is my lovely Aunty May who I am always happy to spend so much time talking to, about family and things.

She used to make jars of marmalade and jam but now seems to concentrate on pickles!

There’s not much in the way of street lighting in the village, which makes for a slightly creepy but pleasurable night stroll to the pub. The smell of the smoke from the house fires adds to the atmosphere.

ME!
In front of the spectacular Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall, an almost 4-mile walk from the village of Llanrhaeadr.

A rare selfie!

Continue reading “Llanrhaeadr trip” →

A bus to Oswestry

MikeBLeave a comment

For my last day in Llanrhaeadr I’ve been on a bus trip to Oswestry. There’s only one bus out, at 10am, and one bus back, at 1:30pm, so I had three hours to fill. This is more than enough! An amble and a tea, cake and browse in the bookshop just about filled my time. A very interesting chat with a villager on the way back made it a worthwhile excursion.

View from the bus
View from the bus
Continue reading “A bus to Oswestry” →

A walk to the Llanrhaeadr waterfall

MikeBLeave a comment

It’s all very well blogging from an iPhone but it does require a signal and here in the village there is no Wi-Fi in my cottage and a very intermittent mobile signal! Nevertheless with a bit of perseverance I’ve managed to construct this post.
The walk to the waterfall from the village is a relatively gentle hike, nearly 4 miles along a single narrow lane. It’s a beautiful walk marred only by the occasional vehicle. The waterfall is stunning and with all the rain there’s been it is particularly spectacular. The rain also means there’s water pouring down the hills and onto the lane as well as filling the river.

Continue reading “A walk to the Llanrhaeadr waterfall” →

My trip begins

MikeBLeave a comment

Blogging from a small iPhone – is it possible? I’m on a trip with no laptop or iPad, so I’m evaluating the possibilities of travelling light.
The trip began with a train cancellation and consequently a squeeze to catch the connection in London, but it turned out ok. Another connection from Birmingham and then buses from Gobowen and finally from Oswestry took me to the lovely village of Llanrhaeadr. This final leg wasn’t without incident due to diversions that required the bus to negotiate even narrower country lanes than the normal route.
After a settling in at my holiday cottage, followed by an hour or so with my aunt, I picked up a few basics from the small supermarket.
Being a Saturday night, a pub meal for dinner seemed very appropriate, and a steak and ale pie and a Shiraz were duly consumed.

And now, the final episodes of Spiral.