All my plants and seedlings had come on in leaps and bounds while I was away, my new sowings of runner beans were only just beginning to show when I left, they grew about a foot in a week!  

The garden needed a good tidying up after being unattended for a week, I spent all day Sunday doing that as well as my holiday washing.  Good job I did as it hasn't stopped raining since, looks like I chose the best week to go away 😉

Tons of strawberries just waiting now for a bit of sun to ripen them.  The birds have been eating some of the ones on the allotment, we've covered them in netting now so hopefully that will stop them.  It's not a problem I've had with the ones in my garden

Beautiful yellow roses, all came out in the week I was away, hopefully the rain won't destroy them all.

Monday was a Bank Holiday, I met up with Joanne at the allotment and we spent the day there, it drizzled most of the time but we managed to fashion a structure to grow our courgettes up.  We finished just as the rain started to come heavier.

We have lots of lovely lettuce and rocket already and still picking radish.  We will plant more in the coming weeks so that we have a supply through the Summer.

Do you like our cute signs?  We bought a few different ones from the Malvern Spring show and I've ordered another couple from Amazon.  They are metal so should last longer than the wooden ones we used last year.

I didn't get home until late on Saturday, I decided to have a ride to Bangor and Beaumaris on the way home.  Bangor town was much the same as Colwyn Bay, a bit run down.  I did walk to find the pier, It was a bit of a trek though and there was a charge of £1.  

Nice views looking out over the Menai Strait though.

This house looked like it would a bit too close to the water for comfort when the tide came in. 😨

Beaumaris was only fifteen minutes away so I thought I might as well go there too as I was so close.  

In hind sight I should have given Bangor a miss and gone straight to Beaumaris.

I managed to get a parking spot right by the pier but It was limited to an hour I did take a walk along the pier but is was so windy, honestly I've never experienced trying to walk in wind that strong! and I was wearing a dress not a good combination, never mind hanging on to my hat, I was making sure I hung onto my dress to save my modesty😅

Beaumaris castle stands on the edge of the town, sadly I didn't have time to explore either the castle or much of the picturesque street but I did stumble on a little doorway that said Castle Garden Centre.

What a gem and what a great entrance to a garden centre 

And beyond that was a lovely space, more garden than garden centre selling not only plants but garden ornaments, pots and quirky things with lovely winding paths, beautiful,  I could have spent more time there but was aware that I had to be back to my car before the hour was up.

So if you are in the area my advice would be to bypass Bognor and head to Beaumaris instead.

On a completely different note, we have new neighbours.  My lovely neighbour, Doug, died at the beginning of the year, he was 96 and was such a lovely man and I still miss popping in to see him and taking him some cake and having a natter, he did love my homemade cakes bless him.   Anyway now his family have sold the house.  I haven't seen anyone yet, a small van came yesterday and bought some bits of furniture and I saw lights on last night.  

It's always a bit of a worry getting new neighbours isn't it?  

-X-

A little train ride

Colwyn Bay is only 20 minutes by train from Llandudno and as Llandudno train station is right on the edge of the town centre and Colwyn Bay station is right on the beach, that's where I decided to go yesterday.  The weather didn't look very promising first thing, It was cooler than the day before and looked like it might rain, but it blew over and the afternoon turned out quite warm.  

There is no pier at Colwyn Bay, it fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished following a fire, all that is left now is the small boardwalk.  From what I've read there are plans reinstate a pavilion in the future, but like everything It comes down to costs I suppose, but it would make such a difference. 

The Bay is stunning, the beach stretches for miles, (or so it seems) and I would imagine the previous day it wasn't so deserted.  I have to say though that the beach is the highlight of Colwyn Bay, although there didn't seem to be any facilities there on this particular day, one lonely coffee / ice cream van wasn't doing much trade and it was a bit windy to sit outside so I took the short walk into town to get a coffee.

The town was a disappointment, mostly boarded up shop fronts, very run down and neglected.   There was a small shopping centre and I ended up going there for coffee while I waited for the next train back.   I suppose every area has a town that isn't what it used to be, such a shame.

I've been packing up my things tonight and will be heading home tomorrow, I want to visit one more place while I'm this way, if the weather holds.  I've been so lucky with the weather this week, it's been warm and sunny every day, I think next week is all change with rain coming in for most of the week, the gardens will be happy.

-X-

A drive out

 I took a drive out yesterday.  The Menai Strait separating the mainland of Wales and the island of Anglesey and it's famous suspension bridge is only thirty minutes from Llandudno.  I had never seen it, so something to cross of my list of things to see while i'm here.  

Designed by Thomas Telford it was the worlds first major suspension bridge.  Work started in 1819 and was completed in 1826, it still carries road traffic and is a Grade I listed structure.   Before the bridge was built crossing to the mainland was difficult as this particular stretch of water has strong currents and whirlpools created by the four tidal flows each day and the twice a day tides.   These kind of structures always amaze me, built without modern day tools and machinery, (and all the risk assessments and method statements needed to do anything today,) they managed to build something that not only looks good but is serviceable and has stood for almost 200 years.

I didn't visit the town instead I drove a few miles down the road to the Hidden Gardens and spent a lovely couple of hours walking through this hidden valley garden.

(playing around with my phone, i'm quite impressed, lol)

I can highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

 I couldn't visit Anglesey without seeing the station with the longest name in Wales and perhaps the world?

The name is 58 letters long and the translation is -

"Church of St. Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio near the red cave"

That's a bit of a mouth full to say, instead the village name is shortened to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, still unpronounceable in my case, as are most Welsh words 😄

-X-

My week so far

The apartment is in a great location, just a short walk to the promenade and the town, it's only small but has everything you would expect, I can even see the top of the Great Orme over the rooftops from the windows and most important the bed is really comfortable.  The drive here was longer than it should have been, I hit three road closures on the way, one was unplanned, one had started two days earlier than it should have so the sat nav didn't pick them up and there were no diversion signs.  I ended up going out of my way several times and adding almost an hour onto the journey, never mind, I still arrived by lunchtime and was able to access the apartment at 3pm.

I've already done a fair bit of walking, Haulfre Gardens is always a pleasant walk with great views across the west shore and it's where you will find Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

I caught the tram up the Great Orme, walked down one side towards St Tudno's Church and around the rest of the Orme.  I thought It would be a shorter walk but it ended up being as far as walking the whole way round.

I'm having a slower start this morning after all the walking yesterday but I will head out later, not sure where but I'll let you know next time.

-X-

Sun is still shining here

We made the most of the good weather last weekend and spent Saturday at the Malvern Spring show  We've visited the Autumn show a few times, the Spring one I thought was a bit smaller but very similar in the way of plants.  I came home with some herbs and Joanne bought some ferns and hostas for a shady part of her garden and we shared the cost of some wood to  make a brassica case for the allotment.

New herbs, spearmint, strawberry mint, thyme and a cola plant, (yes it does smell like cola).

I also got a mind your own business plant, It's  creeper so I'm on the look out for a pot with a face so that It will look like hair when it grows.

Our allotment space has doubled.  I knew the plot next to us had been given up and then Joanne announced that she had requested it!   It's still mostly coved in weed control, although Joanne has managed to clear a good section already.  The rest will be cleared a bit at a time. 

The other plot is looking good with everything doing well at the moment, we have even had our first radishes 😋

Last Sunday was our Quarry Bank Stitching day, always a lovely get together and I even won one of the raffle prizes this time 😉  

I stitched on Mary Margaret again, no photos this time, I'll share again when I closer to a finish.

 I'm on a countdown to a week away and so looking forward to a change of scenery, but before that comes the preparation.  I cleaned and tidied my greenhouse yesterday, my son in law is going to come and water my plants and seedlings for me so I wanted to leave everything grouped together so that It will be easier for him.  My tomato plants are mostly in the conservatory, there are a lot, and hopefully they will be ok for a week, I think it's still probably too early to plant out at the allotment just yet.

I'm looking forward to some rest and relaxation, lots of knitting and stitching time and hopefully the good weather will continue and I can get a fair bit of walking in too.

Take care

-X-

Catching up

 It's been a couple weeks since I mentioned that I was going on a stitching day and a trip the day after,  I always plan on posting and then I keep putting it off.  Anyway, I originally missed getting my name down for this recent stitching day, It's a popular venue hosted by two lovely ladies at a hotel about 20 minutes drive from home.  The places fill up fast so you have to be pretty quick once they start taking names but, I was lucky this time as they had switched rooms and had a few more places available. 

  I had a lovely day stitching, chatting and eating yummy food, I forgot to take any photos though, I was too busy stitching.  I took Mary Margaret with me to work on, still a fair bit to go on this one but every stitch takes me closer to a finish, right?

The following day was my day trip - I've never visited Bakewell so when I saw a coach trip advertised I booked myself on it.  We had a bonus stop in Matlock Bath en route, only for 45 minutes but it was enough to stretch our legs and get a cuppa, (or in my case an ice cream).  Matlock Bath is very pretty and I imagine there are some nice walks so perhaps somewhere to re-visit another time.  One thing I did find very strange, In that small stretch of shops there were no fewer than 7 fish & Chip shops!

We couldn't have chosen a better day weather wise for a day out and although I didn't find anything on the market in Bakewell to tempt me, (well except for a couple of books, I can always find a book or two to bring home), It was a really lovely day.  I found a lovely wool shop, and yes I did make a purchase, I sat with a coffee and read my book and I had a walk around the beautiful town. It was perfect.

The centre piece of Bakewell are the Bath Gardens, a very nice place to sit a while and take a break from the shops.

The Old Original Bakewell Pudding shop building with it's interesting window dates bake to the 17th centaury.  A Mrs Wilson lived there and she became aware of a new pudding that had been created by accident by the cook at a local inn, the pudding, although not what was requested was a hit and Mrs Wilson saw a potential business opportunity for making and selling the pudding and 'acquired' the recipe.  

The Bakewell Puddings are still made by hand to that original recipe today.  They are very different to a bakewell tart, which has icing and a cherry on the top.  

I took one home with me to try and although it was ok I think I much prefer the bakewell tart.

​

 And speaking of puddings, have you heard of the Book & Pudding club? 

  They were a new one on me, a friend mentioned at the stitching day that she goes to one, although that particular one is full I found another local to me held at the cafe in the park.  As the weather was beautiful that night the meeting was held outside this time, there were a fair few there and the previous books discussion was lively, Sarah, the host, had prepared some great questions to put forward.  There was also a raffle with three book prizes were up for grabs, (sadly my number wasn't called) and a free book table.  

The next months book is chosen by a vote, three books are put forward, a leaflet with a photo of the books and a synopsis is handed out and you simply vote for the book you would like to read and discuss next time.  You do have to source you own copy of the book for these clubs and there is a monthly fee for attending but I thought I would see how it goes.   Unfortunately, (for me), the book that received the most votes is one that I have already read, In Memoriam by Alice Winn.  I don't mind too much, I really loved the book and it will be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on it next time.

  And last by not least, I finished a pair of shorty socks using left over yarn.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, I have yet another stitching retreat day to go to on Sunday, so I'm sure I'll have a good one😁 

-X-