A tour with Mel Harvey
After work on Thursday, I drove to Taunton Railway Station to meet Mel who had travelled up from Plymouth. We then went to Morrisons for dinner to meet Mum & Robert who had come up for a week’s holiday, and to see if the flats they desired were still for sale.
Agreeing to meet the following morning we went our separate ways, Mum & Robert to the flat they were staying in, and us to Cadeside. |
 |
Friday was overcast, and the perfect day to go to Clarks Village at Street. We did not buy much at the “village”, mainly chocolate at Cadbury’s factory shop (it has to be done!), and Mel bought me a pair of hiking boots for my forth coming birthday, - and very comfortable they proved to be too. I did manage to buy 2 brand new M&S cardigans and a jumper from the charity shops in Street though! |
| Cadeside Caravan Club Site |
That evening we all went out to dinner at a Harvester restaurant, Mum & Roberts treat – We all said we did not want much as we had had lunch out. ~ However, we had large bowls of salad and then our main meal (Mum, pasta; Robert, Chicken & Gammon stack; Mel & I Gammon Steak ~ the nicest we had ever tasted). |
|
Mel & I had stuff to do the next morning, so we arranged to meet just after lunch and went to Hestercombe for a stroll around the gardens and afternoon tea. It was a lovely sunny day and we were able to see the restored mill & pump house for the first time. We also walked around the beautiful formal gardens. |
 |
| Next day we went for a drive, it was nice and sunny and we headed for Malmsmead and the Doone Valley via Minehead where we walked along to the harbour, and paused for a rest on the harbour wall. Going up Porlock Hill, Mel had to take over the driving as I had a problem with changing gear – I got stuck in 3rd and couldn’t get out of it, and then I panicked! The drive down to Malmsmead was lovely with clear views out across the Bristol Channel |
| Before we got to Doone Farm (our desired destination) we stumbled across Cloud Farm where we had afternoon tea and hot apple pie (which turned out to be plum and apple), but delicious even so! There was a camp site there with washing facilities etc, and a lot of walks over the moors, and nothing but peace and quiet. ~ We will give it a go one weekend when the children are back at school. |
 |
We then went to book in at Cadeside for the night (they couldn’t let me do it in advance), but we went across country, seeing some places we hadn’t been to before, in particular Bradford on Tone where some of Mum’s ancestors came from. We then went to the Two Magpies for dinner and to say farewell, as Mel and I were to set off on a tour of Wales the next day. |
Monday dawned bright and sunny & we made our way to our 1st site at Monmouth. We went via the 2nd Severn crossing as we both prefer it. We decided to stop and have a look around Chepstow, but didn’t find anything to really hold our interest, so we carried on via the Wye Valley, Tintern and a large diversion (due to bridge works) to Monmouth. |
Once we had pitched up and done our necessary jobs (filling up with water etc) we wandered into the town across the fields, and bought some bread, before waking back to the van for home made lasagne. |
 |
Next day we walked up the wye valley for 3-4 hours taking with us a picnic lunch. It was glorious, and so peaceful. We spent the evening pouring over the map, deciding where to go the next day. We had a book of AA Best Drives in Britain, and intended using it to get us up to North Wales and our rally. We both wanted to go to Hay-on-Wye, - a special place for us, and we also wanted to do some walking. |
|
Wednesday was forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far, and we had a lovely drive along “Golden Valley” to Hay-on-Wye. We went to the Granary for lunch: Mel having home made crab cakes with chilli dip and salad & me enjoying goats cheese on red onion marmalade and garlic bread – delicious! – This was followed by a huge meringue for me & Bread and butter pud for Mel – who declared it superb!
After wandering a round Hay, we made our way South along the A470 to Brecon and then the A470/A4059 across the Brecon Beacons. |
 |
| The views along the A4059 were stunning as we drove slowly toward Penderyn to walk the Sgwd yr Eird (waterfall). Sadly we never found the track we needed and there was also nowhere to park the motor home other than on the road, which we were loath to do, as it was quite busy, and not very wide. So we continued along the A4109, returning back through the Brecon Beacons on the A4067. |
 |
We stopped to admire the view over looking Cray Reservoir before finding a very secluded lay-by to settle down for a peaceful night. |
| Thursday dawned, preceded by a tuneful dawn chorus, and we were up early ready for our day. We went into Brecon for a stroll around the town, before heading South once more to the National visitor centre. From here we walked across Myn ydd Illtud Common to the summit of Twyn y Gaer at 1204ft. |
 |
 |
The views were stunning. Around the triangulation pillar were traces of an Iron Age hill fort. The hazy views extended to the black Mountain and the Sugar Loaf in the South East. Returning to the car park, we dumped the rucksack and went for tea and cake at the visitor centre where we were entertained by the visiting birds, who apparently liked carrot cake!
Cutting across the Brecon Beacons on unclassified roads, we made our way back to the lay-by of the previous evening for another undisturbed night. |
The dawn chorus woke us early again on Friday. We had planned a scenic route (again from the AA Best Drives Book) to Abergwesyn, but missed the turn because we were busy chattering! We continued on to Builth Well where we wandered the town, viewed a livestock auction and enjoyed a coffee at the local community centre with choccy bickies for a £1! |
 |
 |
We decided on visiting the Elan Valley visitor centre before going to our camp site at Devils Bridge.
The visitor centre was closed until April, but we sat in the sun enjoying corned beef doorsteps. The valley at the visitor centre was lovely and we decided to change our route and drive around the reservoirs and along unclassified roads to Devils Bridge. We are very glad we did. It was the most amazing drive we have ever had. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We are very glad we did. It was the most amazing drive we have ever had.
We started at Caban Coch Reservoir, followed by Garreg-ddu, more stunning scenery followed by Pen-y-Garreg and Craig Goch reservoirs; before driving along a very narrow road along a valley to Devil’s Bridge and our camp site, which was set in a bowl of mountains at the head of a valley. The birds sing louder here and we were awake at 6.30 enjoying the first brew of the day by 7.00! |
| After pottering around and doing some chores which included a machine load of washing, which was building up a bit, we walked along the quiet road into Devils Bridge. Deciding that the waterfalls walk and its 300plus steps were too much for Mel’s knee, we crossed the road and descended fewer steps to view the 3 bridges and the Devil’s punch bowl. |
 |
.jpg) |
The 3 bridges were built across the Mynach Gorge, one above the other, and Devil’s Bridge is the earlier one, thought to be the 12th century work of monks from a nearby abbey. The higher bridges date from 1753 and the early 20th Centaury. We did fancy a trip on the narrow gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway to Aberystwyth, but it didn’t start running until 3rd April. – Never mind- we went for a cream tea instead at Woodlands Caravan & Camping Site. – It was good value at £3.95 with light fluffy home made scones with butter, jam and cream, and a slice of Bara Brith – a very tasty fruit bread. |
We decided to walk back to our site at Erwbarfe Farm, watching the Red Kites Soar as we walked. Once back at the site, we cleaned the van – well, Mel cleaned the outside, and he polished it (it’s a wonder it went after that shock!) while I cleaned and tidied a bit inside, and started to write the notes of our journey so far. The weather started to change as predicted by the forecast, and it became quite cold. While cleaning the van we saw a fire on the hillside opposite – it drew quite a crowd of watchers from the friendly campsite. It soon went out (it was done to control the bracken and gorse), and we returned to watching the Red Kites before settling down for our dinner of curry. |
 |
| Sunday dawned and we lay deciding whether to move on or stay. We stayed…..and we were very glad we did. – W did a walk described by other campers as good. Good…….It was great!! We set off to a nearby chapel where the path started. So fat so good; - then the path plunged steeply down a gorge to Parsons Bridge, a very narrow bridge spanning a deep gorge, scoured out by millions of years of water. The “bowls” were deeper than the punch bowl of the previous day! Our route then forked. – We decided on the left hand fork which took us up over farm land, and eventually a lane on the hillside opposite our camp site. The lane continued behind the hillside to a T junction where we sat down to eat our lunch of corned beef sandwiches. We got the flask of coffee out – but we had forgotten the cups!!! While we sat there a lady stopped her car and said we were the first visitors of the season and that we were very welcome. But we must take care and stick to the tracks because of the vent holes and mine shafts of the silver and lead mines. We followed her advice and were soon back at the farm where we forked left. We then had a very steep path down to Parsons Bridge before ascending the other side of the gorge. All through our walk we watched and were watched by the Red Kites and could hear their eerie call. Pausing to draw breath we watched a sheep dog at work bringing the sheep and lambs down to the shed for the night. |
 |
|
|
We had been walking for over 4 hours and were glad to see the camp site in front of us. We soon revived following a shower and a vodka and coke while waiting for our dinner – although it wasn’t as hot as the previous day, we were able to sit outside until 5 pm with a book. – A good end to an energetic and enjoyable day. |
| Monday was sunny but slightly chilly, and we packed the van for travelling. Today we headed North to Dolgellau, Port Merion and Port maddoc.... Once again we passed stunning scenery, and paused by a reservoir lying at the foot of Calder Idris, it was so peaceful. |
 |
 |
We arrived at Port Merion around 3.30pm and wandered the streets of this unique village. It was designed by Bertram Clough William-Ellis in 1925 to remind him of his tours of Europe. It was a magical place, full of colour intriguing buildings, some of which were just facades, and some were buildings (shops tea room, and expensive holiday lets). Several buildings were salvaged from demolition sites, giving rise to Williams-Ellis' description as "a home for fallen buildings". Every few yards presented a different view. I've not seen anything like it. The village is now a trust to ensure its upkeep and its architect bequeathed to the estate all woodland and farm land around it to ensure it isn’t spoilt. – What a legacy! |
Moving on we came to Port Madoc. There wasn’t much there except the start of the Festiniog Railway and small harbour. After wandering around the town looking for somewhere to park for the night, we bought fish and chips for tea and then took the road toward Pwelli and a business park, where we whiled away some time reading before settling down for the night. |
 |
 |
Tuesday dawned slightly overcast as we were awakened by the nearby Gelert Camping Factory starting its day at 6am. We had, however, had a very quiet night. We had bacon and mushroom sandwiches before a stroll around PortMadoc and Tesco, and a very nice strong coffee before getting on the road at 9am! We made our way along the narrow and winding roads of the A4085 and A498 which afforded beautiful views of Mountains, Valleys and lakes. In particular LLyn Gwynant, before we turned off up through the pass to LLanberis. |
| Because we had been forecast to have showers, and the weather had brightened, we made the decision to go directly to LLanberis and “go up” Snowdon – (via the mountain Railway). The train only went ¾ of the way up because of snow and ice only a few yards from where we stopped and got off. The whole journey was well worth it. The views were staggering! Starting with an immediate climb over a viaduct, where each arch was 4ft higher than the previous (and there were 8 of them), we were given a birds eye view of the houses below before travelling through an ancient oak forest and past a waterfall. Further on, at a station called Hebron, we saw a ruined chapel which went into disuse in 1952. |
 |
 |
The spectacular landscape was dotted with sheep, dry stone walls and small infrequent farms. The rail track was toothed to ensure the train cannot run away. The train engine only drives a gear wheel which engages with the teeth. It took 700 gallons of water and 7cwt of coal to do the round trip. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Part of the route was along a ridge with a sheer drop into LLanberis Pass. Halfway up the track divided into 2 to allow trains to pass. There is a seasonal café here too for walkers (and there were many of them even at this time of year!)It was very cold at Clogwyn Station – but we were up at 2,556ft. We sat in the train to eat our sandwiches and get out of the wind (as well as to secure a window seat on the way back. (each minute carriage seats 8 people and we got the middle going up!) The railway was built in 1896 and runs diesel and steam trains – sadly our was diesel! |
| Once back down we walked into LLanberis itself to view the many climbing/walking shops and locate “Pete’s Eats”, which my brother Terry had recommended. It was also the place where “Squirrel” told us to go to. No we are not communicating with wild life – it is the name of the parking attendant at the Royal Victoria Hotel, where we parked all day for £6. – not only that , but we stayed all night too, alongside a stream, teaming with coins which people had thrown in – I threatened to throw Mel in for a bath to see how much he could collect. Before we had dinner, (homemade fish cakes, sautéed potatoes and peas followed by Raspberry Pavlova) we walked the Oak woods at the back of the car park and climbed up to the remains of Dolbadern Castle to view the lakes and the power station opposite. |
 |
 |
During the night we had the heavy showers that we had been promised for the day before, and didn’t get. We awoke on Wednesday to a wet morning, and after a lie in we walked up to Pete’s Eats for Breakfast (egg, bacon, sausage, black pud, hash browns, beans and toast washed down with a pint mug of tea)!. To walk down this cholesterol, we walked up under the viaduct to the waterfall and were lucky enough to see a train (albeit a work one) come chugging round the bend. |
 |
| As it was still raining, we went back to the Snowdon Mountain Railway and watched (for free) the film showing the railways history and the major landmarks we had seen the previous day. In the afternoon, because it was still damp and overcast, we got the bus to Caernarfon. As we did so, there appeared a patch of blue sky in the North. It grew and grew and we wandered around Caernarfon in the sunshine. |
 |
Every where we went there were road works – a thing we noticed on our travels through Wales – the Welsh are making a good job of repairing the winter damaged roads. We stopped for a drink in the “Black Boy” public house, as they did real ales and even a mild, which I enjoyed. By 4pm we were ready to get the bus back to Llanberis, where we removed our boots and enjoyed a coffee, while planning the next day and tidying the van ready for travel. |
 |
| Our £6 car parking had proved value for money as we had stayed put all day and were planning on stopping on for another night(with permission of course), and apparently we could make use of the facilities at the hotel – Squirrel said so!) However, we made our way to the more affordable “Pete’s Eats” for dinner and had Liver & Bacon. We had a very slow waddle back to the van. – The amount of liver was enormous _ I would have made 1 portion serve 2 people! This together with a rasher of Back and streaky bacon, mound of chips as well as fried onions and thick gravy – we did not have room for anything else! What a way to complete our stay here. |
| Next morning after a blustery night, we said our goodbyes to Squirrel and made our way to Swallow falls. It was an overcast day, but the Llanberis Pass still impressed us in its moody cloak. We parked at a picnic spot just before Swallow Falls, and walked down the road to the turnstile. After the previous nights rain the falls were spectacular. It was well worth stopping off. |
 |
 |
 |
| We continued to Betws-y-coed. There was nothing there except walking shops and coffee shops. We did not find the town very welcoming and soon moved on (It even cost 20p to go to the loo!) We drove over B roads (but missed the one we wanted) to Denbigh and our CL for the night in a walled garden at the back of a Hall, which once would have been the impressive home of a wealthy banker dating from 1600. We were quite sheltered and it was nice to be back on mains electric, although it cost £10 a night. We spent the evening transferring photos from camera to computer, and labelling them all before we forgot where they were taken. |
 |
Next day our last, after a wet and windy night, we headed South to Dolywern via Denbigh, Ruthin (where we stopped at Tesco for Bread), before travelling up to the Horseshoe Pass, which gave us fabulous views of the Dee valley. |
 |
We couldn’t find a sign to the Horse shoe Falls which we wanted to see, but we did see a horse pulling a barge along the canal, and a steam engine pushing four other steam engines. Suddenly after turning right, we were climbing up over the mountains on a narrow pot holed track before a steep descent into Dolywern, and the start of the first rally of the year, and also the first in four years that I had not organised. It felt very strange to be twiddling my fingers, but lovely to meet up with friends and for Mel and me to receive their good wishes and congratulations.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
