Cotswolds & North Wales

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This time it is UK and to the Cotswolds and then on to North Wales.

 

We have abandoned using our Smart car trailer as it proved difficult to find places to park the trailer on small sites and it was also becoming a chore to connect up the ramps to load & unload. We also found it took quite a time to lash down the car once it was loaded on the trailer and it was not a pleasant job in heavy rain.

 

Instead, we are now using a ‘Smart Tow’  A-frame.  This equipment effectively makes the Smart car itself a four wheeled trailer and the connection is a simple task.  The A-frame can be collapsed and will stow in the Smart car boot if you want it to.

Our first stop was at the Caravan Club site in Broadway for 6 days.  This is a very busy site but beautifully maintained and the staff were very friendly.  Broadway is right in the heart of the Cotswolds and was a good base for us as we were visiting friends in Shipston-on-Stour, Bourton-on–the-Water and Cheltenham.

 

Shortly after arriving at Broadway we were off out to ‘The Pudding Club’ which is held every Friday at The Three Ways Hotel in Mickleton.  Here we met up with Brian and Geoff and Graham (Geoff’s father-in-law) and enjoyed an excellent evening of being thorough ‘piggies’.  Desnée was the only girl in our party but she put in a spectacular performance to ‘out pudding’ the men!

 

‘The Pudding Club’ is dinner for around 60-70 guests and it is essential to book in advance.  You are served a very tasty main course and then a whole range of puddings are made available for you to sample.  It is expected that you will eat at least 7 portions (the record stands at 23 portions!).  At the end of the evening a vote is taken for the best pudding of the evening. The Syrup Sponge won but we all thought that the Rhubarb Crumble should have been the winner!  An excellent do and well worth a visit.

 

Puddinged Out !

Did you bring any back for us ?

Beautiful Broadway town centre

Snowshill Manor, near to Broadway. It is a National Trust property and the previous home of  Charles Wade who was an avid collector of everything from miniature toys to Samurai armour.  The house is packed with over 20,000 items. The right hand photograph shows Charles Wade’s sitting room where he lived in a smaller cottage within the grounds.

Well worth a visit if you are in the area.  Unfortunately, photography inside the main building is not permitted.

A short drive away from Broadway, near to Chipping Camden, are the gardens of  Hidcote.  This is another National Trust property. The garden is divided into several smaller gardens all with their own, very different themes.

Another day out was to Bourton-on-the-Water.  A very pretty small town with a small river running through the centre. Very busy with tourists but still well worth a visit.   We had a look in the Motor Museum which was actually much more interesting than we had expected.  Photography was prohibited but a picture from the brochure tells the story. Many cars, motorcycles and memorabilia from our childhood years!

It was wet and rainy outside so no photos of the town—sorry.  You will have to visit yourselves.

Yes, that is a photograph of Kenneth Williams in the Riley!

After a week in Broadway we turned north west into Wales and the Llyn peninsula.   Here we stayed on a lovely CL site. However, when we first arrived we overshot the site and ended up in Aberdaron village. After making enquiries we found we had to turn around and go back the way we came. This meant unhitching the Smart car and turning everything around in the very confined space out side the pub.  Much amusement for the drinkers sitting in the garden!

The view from our front garden in Aberdaron.

The Llyn peninsula is a very lovely area and was a mass of wild flowers in the hedgerows. It is quite isolated and it took quite a while to get to the shops.  If you were without transport you would need to ensure that you were well stocked up.  There is a small Spar in the village which supplies the essentials.

Whispering Sands beach on the northern coast.  The sand granules sound as if they are whispering as you walk!  A lovely beach with a pleasant café.

There were many footpaths around the headland. Above is the view looking north east towards Snowdonia and below looking south east from the same spot

The sandy beach is Aberdaron. The white dots are sheep!