Minera [World’s End] – North Wales
In the absence of van pictures we’ve all had to do a spot of modelling for this post. Some more successfully than others…. The dogs are obviously naturals at this and even Mr. B. is almost a pro [coyly demanding I stop taking his pictures while secretly positioning himself in a most flattering manner. I see what you’re doing Mr. B., busted!]. But me, I am definitely a behind the scenes kinda girl and prefer pulling the strings in the background rather than flaunting myself in front of the camera. [Nobody needs to see my crooked teeth. And pale complexion. Or split ends. And don’t even get me started on those spots. I left puberty behind DECADES ago???!!! ^_^] But I’m also a trooper when necessary and if it’s gotta be done then you might as well use oversized glasses & flattering black & white filters. Thank God I’m the one editing all pics as I’m not too sure Mr. B. always gets the beauty of *filter over reality*, ha!
Here we are then in Minera, once upon a time a lead & zinc mine. Wikepedia tells me that the mine was closed down in 1914 and some buildings now serve as a visitor centre. I’m clearly not yet as Welsh as I’d like to be as although we’ve been to Minera countless times we’ve never actually set foot inside the centre. Oops! Last year we ventured up onto Minera to avoid the fireworks being let off (and unsettling the dogs) on Guy Fawkes night which was a bit of a surreal experience as a) despite the panoramic view from up there we did not actually see any soundless fireworks (boo) b) it was so dark we could not see where we were going and almost missed the path (cringe) and c) it rained [of course!]. So this year we might try Talacre Beach [lighthouse as featured in the recent Dulux ad] and freeze in the van over a midnight picnic or something ^_^
So there we have it. North Wales. Dogs. Crooked teeth. Oversized shades and glorious sunshine = happy days.
We’ve already had 2 day trips in the van and our first weekender is happening mid March. On a scale of 1 – 10 on the excitement level I’m probably already a 12 ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^
vanplusfour roundup – February 2013
February was a bit of a weird one. Snowery. Geekery. 3Dery. Eatery. Teachery. And celebratery. Just about sums it up we think ^_^
There was a day trip to Yorkshire to pick up a sink. There were mussel introductions for me and the mother in law. There was NEWSAR excitement for Mr. B. A new teaching experience for Mrs B. We drank beer on Valentine’s Day & met exciting new friends [while maintaining old ones ^_^]. There was all girl kinkery [oooh ahhh]. 21st birthday celebrations. We upped our level of nerdery and now also love geocaching. And of course – there was more (dog) walkery!
Panorama Walk – Llangollen [North Wales]
We’re still playing at home and I’m still indulging myself with hours of photo editing fun…..
Genius thought of the day: if I was a tourist [and the North Wales Tourist Board were paying me which – I must stress – they’re not/yet ^_^] then what would we wanna do round here?
Well, we would probably stay here. It’s within stumbling distance of a pub with a micro brewery [= no brainer] and you can see this beauty from there. We would spend most of the day walking, maybe here [pics above relate to the Panorama Walk], grab a cuppa and enjoy the views here and if it was a super sunny day we would probably grab a seat outside on the decking here or here. Or maybe even here. We’d have a bite to eat in the wine bar [or here, if we felt like getting changed first ^_^], then we’d have a nice red in the camper looking out onto our glorious Welsh land and we’d be very very very happy campers.
Disclaimer: I can think of many many many many many other places to go’n see. So if you’d like some pointers – all ya gotta do is ask ^_^
Moel y Plas [North Wales]
Random facts of the day:
1. I named our dog after a footballer [what??? why???!!!]. It was a toss up between Freddy Ljungberg and Thierry Henry. The French one came out on top.
2. Mr. B is 6’4″ [that’s 1.93 in metric land] ^_^
3. Wrexham has the 3rd oldest international football stadium in the world. THE WORLD!
4. Neither of us likes football.
5. I think this guy is pretty awesome and this lady is absolutely hilarious.
6. I am always late. For everything.
7. If I won the lottery I’d hire a private plane and get all my friends to come away with us for one heck of a weekender.
8. In a previous life I worked as a translator for these guys.
9. I love cooking. But can’t ever get these right and it’s killing me!!!!!!!
10. I am not a violent person.
11. I met my husband online. And he initially rejected me. Is he insane???? ^_^
So it’s win/win today. Facts and pics. What’s not to like.
PS: snow pics from Moel y Plas. North Wales. Where else ^_^
Foel Fenlli [North Wales]
Here’s what we get up to when the van’s hibernating:
We look at sheep [it’s like the law round here!]
We forget our camera but pretend it’s not happening by taking sky & dog shots on our mobiles:
We look like we can read maps [well, *some* of us actually can] and aimlessly point & shoot in the vain hope that some of the things we can’t actually see on screen will turn out alright regardless of ISO, aperture or shutter speed ^_^
We deal with our Instagram obsession:
We have a good look around some working farms [and reassure our hairy companions: no.need.to.herd.sheep.for.a.living.just.carry.on.enjoying.life]:
We go home and release our inner nerds then let them connect GPSes to laptops and watch them exchange weird data:
And THEN…………..we pour ourselves some pretty pink bubbles and take them outside to the hot tub overlooking some glorious Welsh mountains and count our blessings. Well. I might have made that last bit up ^_^
And there we have it. A fabulous day out in North Wales.
vanplusfour roundup – January 2013
Wowzers, has it REALLY been a month already???!!! Too much red wine on New Year’s Eve already seems like ancient history [and I can no longer remember the subsequent headache at all, ha!] ^_^
We enjoyed some pretty epic walks in January. We battled through high winds, enjoyed the snow and seem to have developed a strange fetish for moody tree pictures…?
We also cooked and ate a lot & might have to reintroduce some form of exercise regime jn February [for the females at least……#oops].
At home: SNOW!!!! yayayayayay :) heavy snowfall unfortunately brought with it the collapse of our beloved Pergola [blame the builder ^_^] but mainly we will remember January for good food shared with good friends, having the best bowler in the family and being excited about the year ahead.
If you love pictures as much as we do you might wanna share the fun we’re having on Instagram. It’s not rocket science to find us: @babsboardwell ^_^
The long drive home – from Scotland via Gretna into Wales
This was our last meal in the camper on an epic Scotland road trip: minced beef on garlicky tomatoey mushy Greek butter beans in pita bread with acovado on top and olives on the side. Delish!
Anyway. We start the day by making our way home. Our trip has taken us from Wales to the Scottish Border, from there straight into Scottish wonderland and into heaven on Earth: the Isle of Skye. We’re a little sad that we have to go home now but are already planning new adventures in the van. Yesssssss!
As we hit the road again [there’s a song in there, right?] it begins to rain. Which wasn’t the worst part of the day…. that was when the van started to pull to the left and we had to stop to discover a bust rear left tyre, boo!!! When we pull into a rest area to take stock of the damage we find a blue camper parked in front of us with exactly the same problem; when we strike up a short conversation with the female driver she tells us that she is waiting for the AA to turn up to fix her tyre. It’s when we see a discarded tyre in the ditch behind us that we are more than certain that there must have been something dodgy on the road. Bummer!
Mr. B offers to change her tyre but she’s happy to wait so we get on with changing ours. More bad luck – the spare is pretty low, too. We end up having to find a tyre place nearby with the TomTom and drive there V.E.R.Y. slowly only to spend a fortune on 2 new wheels.
Still. Life goes on. And so does the drive home. Totally off track we come through a nice little village and decide to have lunch by a lake. It’s the first time Big H is out on a little trot, albeit on a lead and with a very sore back leg.
For the drive to Gretna we decide to come off the motorway and explore some roads in the lower mountains with fabulous views (despite the ever present rain……) and great gems – like this haunting yet gorgeous old church.
And then, finally, we’re in Gretna – the very last stop on our Scotland trip. Two of Mr. B’s siblings were married here and so we can’t resist to pop in to have a good look around. Legend has it that by touching the famous Anvil, good fortune in the affairs of the heart will be yours. We think it works ^-^ Gretna is the probably THE most famous wedding spot in the UK and still a popular venue to this very day.
And that, my dears, is that. But rest assured we’ll be back (soon). Now that both dogs are fighting fit again we’ve recently been on some great treks and looked at some more gorgeous places that we can’t wait to share with you. Stay tuned ^_^
Bunchrew Caravan Park, Inverness, Highlands – Scotland
Not bad for a very last minute pitch…???!!! We arrive at the park with 10 minutes to spare before closing time. It’s full. There’s a rock concert on in Inverness that night and hordes of party revellers have turned up for a meet. It doesn’t bode well but it ends up working in our favour ^_^
The owner’s unsure about where to put us. Jokingly I suggest *right outside your window?* and he goes for it, yessssssss! He quickly produces an extra long hookup and connects us to his office. Through the window. Different!?
It’s not the type of site we would normally go for but could not find any other more rural/urban/remote campsites near Inverness so settled for this one. It’s quite commercial with its fair share of privately owned and up for hire static caravans running along the left hand side of the grounds. The right hand side seems to be taken over by large groups of caravan friends (the friendly & quiet type I might add ^_^). Vans and tents occupy the bottom half of the grounds, which is where we have to traipse to in the middle of the night (in the rain….) to wash’n flush. Although somewhat dated, facilities are well laid out, spacious and clean. *The Green* we’re occupying (with no neighbours, yay) serves as a playing field in the summer. We were initially a little concerned about being unable to get off the wet ground the following morning (remember the heavy rainfalls in August folks?) but would rather struggle to get the van off the field than squeeze into a tight spot between other caravans and so happily set up, cook, sip wine and relax.
The verdict:
Bunchrew Caravan Park, Inverness, IV3 6TD – £17 for the pitch, £2.85 for EHU, £0.50 for each dog
A tad on the expensive side. Why then do we have to pay extra for the dogs? Hm.
Facilities were okay but not memorable. Location is secluded but busy (with that many statics & caravans on site, this is not surprising). Close to Inverness. It’s not that we didn’t like it (the owner was extremely helpful and very accommodating)….it’s just that there’s too many other great campsites out there and this one has already been forgotten about…. 3/5
van plus 4 