Morning run in the sun! Fri 17

Another virtuous start to the day with a morning run - managed to get a break in the weather and a glimpse of some blue sky....

It was a crisp morning with the first signs of frost

Dad, Dave and I took a quick trip to Narbeth for sausages and burgers for Sunday's BBQ.  Narbeth is a cute little town, with a cute puppy.  Thought he was an Irish Wolfhound but turns out he's a Scottish Deerhound. 

Katherine arrived from Bristol early afternoon and we took a drive to Newgale Beach....

Dinner was at Feast, a marquee restaurant on the reiverbanks of Cresswell Quay specialising in smoked meats and craft BBQ 

A bit of a hold up on the way there as we waited for a herd of cows heading to the milking shed 😀

And a few atrociously bad but funny piccies.....

Newly found relatives! Thur 16

Exciting day for Dad and the reason we came over!  The photos below are of Dad and Dave's two newly discovered half first cousins Dorothy and Wyn, who share the same grandfather - Rupert Williams - but have different mothers.  The meeting was the culmination of DNA testing and research from two main players - Bev - a family friend with experience and an interest in genealogy and Viv - a distant South African rellie also with an interest in genealogy and who got the ball rolling when testing revealed a small but enlightening DNA match through Rupert's brother Lambert.  Fascinating stuff!

The main photo L to R: Dorothy (half first cousin), Dave, Ros (daughter of half first cousing Wynfred), Dad, Marilyn (half second cousin)

St David's where we met the rellies

Solva - lovely small port town between St David's and Haverfordwest...

Pizza for dinner! 😀😋

Preseli Hills Hike #1 Wed 15

The Preseli Hills in northern Pembrokeshire are known for their wild landscape, ancient prehistoric sites like stone circles and hill forts, and as the source of the bluestones used to build Stonehenge. 

Today Dave, Faye, Clive and I set off at the very civilised time of 10:00am to hike through the Gwaun Valley in the Preseli Hills.  

Here's some of the sights on the 7.4 mile trip...

Grey skies but at least the rain and wind held off...

Mushrooms and a lone foxglove along the river bank...

And just like that the sun came out....

Delicious salmon tray bake and cheese instead of dessert.

Tenby

 Woke up to a gorgeous day and to make the most of it we nipped over to Narbeth Cheese Shop...

And then off to Tenby.  Dad had a hankering for cockles and apparently the delightful town of Temby was the place!  So glad we got to see this place on a bright sunny day...

Very chilled robyn

Top left piccie looks almost tropical

Delicious brisket cooked on the green egg for dinner followed by a fabbo lemon tart, jeans are getting tight! 😱

On to Haverfordwest

On Monday (the 13th) we set off for Haverfordwest via historic Dinefwr estate.  

Sights just out of Brecon

Dinefwr Estate house

We met up with a guide within the house and he showed us a couple of large paintings in the house, the first with the image of a man who looked young when viewed from one angle and old when viewed from another.  And then even more spooky - a painting of three children born in the house in the 1700's but from a particular angle you could see the ghostly image of a fourth child who had died and had been painted over.  Fascinating stuff!

The grounds were home to a large range of mushrooms and fungi....

After a thorough explore of the house I left Dad behind and set off to view the nearby castle...

Whizzed around here for about 30 minutes checking out every nook and cranny and viewing platform - stunning!

Then on to Dae and Michele's at Haverfordwest for some delish barley and caramelised onion soup for dinner.  Yum!

Brecon

Very impressed with myself - started the day at 9am with a Parkrun.  And then it was goodbye to Tony and Avis and off to Huw and Bec in Brecon.  Dad and I stopped at a Venison Farm for a quick lunch and then doubled back to the lovely town of Crickhowell where I picked up a pair of Brooks sneakers I'd found on FB marketplace.  As you do.

Had a lovely dinner with Huw and Bec - massive steaks cooked on the Green Egg barbie, with Carol and Bob joining us 😀

We started the next day with Brody's rugby union game, although he has a fractured femur so couldn't play....

They won the second half!  Then it was off to a roast lunch, no piccies but it was a lovely surprise to walk in and find Dave and Michele unexpectedly sitting at the table 😀

After digesting Huw, Bec, Dougie and I went for a walk up a nearby hill with spectacular views all around...

Cheddar Gorge

Whooo hooo.  Off to Cheddar Gorge today.  I went there as a kid and have vague memories of impressive caves and a steep rocky gorge.  Turns out my memories were pretty spot on!  We drove up and back down through the gorge......

with a stop in Cheddar Village

and then I left Dad and Tony in a pub and whizzed off on a solo explore to Gough's and Cox's Caves

I was the only person on the tour!  The photos don't do the caves justice.

And then up Jacob's Ladder (274 steps) followed by a long scamper along the top of the cliffs - gorge-eous views 😉😆😏😳 and quite hot!

The scenery was beautiful...

Goats!

I missed lunch with all my exploring so was ravenous by the time we had Indian for dinner.  Dad ordered a dud dish and mine was ok, Tony's and the entrees were just fine though 😀

Bristol ferry and driving

Today was a day of exploration, starting off with the Bristol Ferry.  I drove because Avis's large van, being old and diesel, attracts a 9 pound "Clean Air" charge to travel in the city.  Our brand new unleaded Hyundai Kona hire car on the other hand does not, plus being smaller it should (emphasis on "should") be easier to park.  

Fast forward to the Ferry departure point and me attempting for around 15 minutes to squeeze a mid size car past two vans and around a pole into a very skinny parking spot, all the while Dad and Avis gave very helpful instructions that seemed completely different to what the car's camera  was showing.  Yeah NO.  Didn't happen.  Instead I went back and forth, the car got more and more wedged and my face went red and hot and my bottom lip was a bit trembly.  Just when things were looking dire another car left and whoosh - straight in their spot.  Drama over, crisis averted and so ended my first (but not last) driving challenge in Bristol.  And then it was a dash to the ferry for a cruise around the docks....

We were lucky with the weather and managed a couple of hours of blue sky.

Bristol is nice to walk around, but not so great for driving - so many road works, diversions, skinny roads and parked cars plus Avis disagreed with the Sat Nav so told it off - repeatedly!  

I left Avis and Dad on a bench and whizzed around a few sights...

Bristol has strong historical ties to piracy, famously being the birthplace of Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, in approximately 1680.

Back on the ferry for our return trip past the SS Britain and on to the downs for a look at the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Fan-friggen-tastic fish and chips from Fairbanks across the road.  And then a run the next morning....