Well, here I am back in a cloudy Essex after a week in cloudy (but not cold or rainy) West Wales. No dolphins or seals this year, but we still had a lovely time once we’d recovered from the drive down. Today’s cover photo shows the cottage we stayed in – the blue one! – taken from the beach so you can see how close we were.
Sunday started with an early solo dip, accompanied by a rather insouciant cormorant ducking and diving near the rocks. I named him Kevin, and he didn’t seem to mind. The water all week was around 14 degrees, and completely flat – not a wave to be seen.
At lunchtime our cousins Jane and Sal (last featured in this blog when we did Race to the Stones) arrived in Sal’s camper van Hetty. After coffee and things with chocolate on we headed back to the beach for an explore: Thing 2 was keen on rockpools and we found Thing 3 en route. He was all about the solo walks, as apparently he doesn’t like walking with ‘old people’.
We wound up the day with a family swim, even convincing Jane to come in although I am not sure she enjoyed it! Sunday dinner was cooked by Tan (with prep assistance from Thing 2 and I, in the shape of vegetable peeling and chopping. There was a gadget for doing julienne veg but not a peeler, so it took a while and a lot of mangled carrots) complete with amazing Yorkshires and cauli cheese.
Monday started with an early dip with Tan and Sal (Jane hung out on the beach and made friends with dogs). Despite the drizzle, once we’d warmed up we took the coast path to Tresaith to see the waterfall. We had lunch in the Ship Inn watching people fly kites on the beach and then walked back to Aberporth in the sunshine. Thing 2’s geography learning has had practical applications this week as she talked about erosion and meanders, and compared the caravan site to a favela (I’m sure they’d be delighted!)
On Tuesday, leaving the kids with strict instructions to stay out of the sea, off the cliff path and to get a chippy lunch (Thing 2 had popcorn cockles again), Tan and I headed back down to Raglan to say goodbye to an old family friend, Little D, who for a tiny person will be leaving a big space in the world. We spent many holidays in Wet Wales with her and her family, watching them attempt to put up their caravan awning and find a signal on the telly. The memorial service was lovely, an outpouring of memories and lots of laughter as well as tears. We had coffee in the Beaufort Arms before, where we met a group of elderly ladies chatting away in Welsh. One of them liked my hair colour, so we ended up chatting to them as well.
Poor Tan got sleazed at by the local barfly – honestly, I leave her alone for five minutes and a disgraced politician hits on her.
We called in on lovely Faye who fed us banana bread and tea (hello Faye!) and marvelled at the fact that the Wicksteed horse is still in the park despite it being quite lethal. The drive back was foggy and autumnal – the trees had turned in just a few days, and were showing off gorgeous oranges and yellows.
On Wednesday I hopped back in the sea first thing, and then we went to Cardigan where we wandered round the town. There’s a lot of crafty gift shops, and the town felt busy and buzzy. We had lunch in The Fisherman’s Rest, where Thing 2 ate crab and Thing 3 ate a lot of cheese.
In the evening we had a message from Mum to tell us that one of our favourite writers, who had become a friend of hers over the years, had died. Phil Rickman wrote atmospheric crime novels set in and around Herefordshire and Glastonbury, and we always looked forward to new books. If you haven’t read his novels you’ve missed out.
Thursday took us to Aberaeron, where the harbour is mostly inaccessible while they reinforce the walls and improve the flood defences. After a wander we headed up into the hills to Bwlch-Nant-yr-Arian to see the red kite feeding. Thing 3 had stayed in Aberporth as his toes were hurting, so we did one of the walking trails and then had pasties in the visitor centre before making our way down to a bench to watch the kites being fed. A few crows have taken to chancing their arm (wing?) for a share of the chicken pieces while the kites are still feeding. I hope that Natural Resources Wales keep this centre open, as it’s so well used by walkers, cyclists and geography students from Wolverhampton as well as the kites themselves. On our return we coaxed Thing 2 into a wetsuit and headed in for a dip.
Friday kicked off with a dip for Thing 2 and I, and then we headed back to Aberaeron with Thing 3 in tow as well. We bought pasties from Y Popty and went back down the coast to New Quay for lunch on the quayside, where we were watched intently by a hopeful seagull and a jackdaw. The dolphins and seals were nowhere to be seen, so we had an excellent ice cream and went down to Mwnt for a walk – we visited the tiny church and climbed the mwnt, then went down the steps to the beach. I love the waterfalls that parallel the stream, and the little wagtails that skip around them.
In the evening we went to the local Indian restaurant for dinner, which was delicious but also entertaining – the waitress is very local and was carrying gossip from table to table. Asking for dessert came as a surprise to them – quite possibly no one had wanted one for a while!
The drive home was much more straightforward than the drive down: we knew the A40 was closed again and so hit the M4. Less scenic but behaving itself for a change! And now back to work we go on Monday….
Things making me happy this week (other than holidays):
- Helping out behind the bar at the annual school & Scouts firework display – I love fireworks, and this is always a great village event.
- Working on a jigsaw with Thing 2 (we didn’t finish it so we’ll have to do it again at Christmas!)
- Not politics, which seems to be loopy all over the place.
- Not having to get on public transport of any kind.
And that’s it! See you next week.
Kirsty x
What I’ve been reading:
The Spellshop – Sarah Beth Durst
Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments/The Mystery of Dungevan Castle – TL Huchu
The Crow Folk – Mark Stay
What Kirsty did next 