Great Orme walking

 The day started with rainy weather but it soon cleared and the rest of the day was bright.  

It was a perfect day for my walk around the Great Orme, not too warm and there was a slight breeze.  I did this walk for the first time last year but you can see more photos on my Driving The Great Orme post from 2021 here

The walk is around 5 miles long, there are a couple of sections with gradual climbs but on the whole it is is fairly level.  You can start the walk at either the North Shore, just behind the pier or at the West Beach.  I chose to start at the North Shore and end at the West Shore.  I did note last year that If you start at the West Shore the incline is longer than starting at the Pier end.

Considering that the weather was perfect for walking there were surprisingly few people around.  I did see some climbers and had an up-close sheep encounter, which made me smile.

I don't think I'd ever tire of these views, I hope you enjoy the photos

A little 360 of a section of my walk

I've a day out planned for tomorrow, a little further afield but somewhere I've wanted to go for a while.

-X-

Alice, and a bit of shopping

 Well what a difference in the weather today, so much cooler and rain on and off all day.

I hadn't planned on going very far today, there were a few shops I wanted to pop into and today was perfect for that.  We don't have  Pavers shoe shop close to where I live, I think the nearest one to me is Worcester, I knew there was one here and I intended to buy a new pair of white trainers, I find Pavers shoes very comfortable and I'm at an age where comfortable footwear wins over fashion.  As it turned out I got a pair of Rieker trainers instead, still a very comfy shoe.  These are leather so will hopefully last.

Next stop was The Wool Shop Llandudno.  I noticed on FB that they had extended and all the yarn now had it's own shop next door to the original.  They only stock commercial yarn and they are still unpacking boxes of yarn but I was nice to have a look.  Bonnie had asked for a hat when I finished Jacobs a while ago, she specified pink and purple.  I bought 2 balls of the James C Brett Carnival again because it knit up so nicely and can be put in the washing machine.

It's a bit brighter than it's showing here, I hope she likes it.

I also popped into M&S.  Our nearest M&S is In the local shopping centre, which I hate going to, so again, I knew there was an M&S I could walk to here.   I needed a couple of new bras and some underwear, so that's another thing ticked of my list.  I also bought some shortbread tea while I was in there, have you tried this?  I hope it's as good as it sounds.

I walked passed Alice on the way so took a snap for Margaret and her sister who are visiting the UK from NZ at the moment.  They were in Llandudno for a few days last week and she mentioned that they didn't find Alice when doing the Alice in Wonderland trial.

So here you are Margaret, she is opposite the railway station.

No eating out today, I've got a Marks and Spencers ding curry for tea later 😉

-X-

Rain didn't stop play

I opened the curtains this morning to find this fella at the window, he came again this afternoon and tapped on the window.  Seagulls are a bit of a menace on the North Shore, they will think nothing of swooping down and taking anything that resembles food.  A couple of years ago I came with Mark and bought an ice cream on the pier, I hadn't even had a lick before it was whipped off me!  It was demolished in seconds and I felt like a right fool.  I've learned my lesson, no ice creams at the pier 🤣

The forecast had been for rain today, but it was fine and bright this morning, I decided to sit and knit a while though before heading out.

The coastal path from Llandudno to Conwy starts at the promenade on West Shore beach and is around 6 miles into Conwy.  The walk gives you stunning views of the West Shore and is fairy flat, majority of the pathway is gravel, but there are some sandy sections through the dunes.

Before you reach Conwy you come to the village of Deganwy with views to the Conwy estuary.

An information board tells us that the house below was the home of Commander Harold Lowe.

This is what it says:

Commander Harold Lowe lived at One, Marine Crescent from 1931.

He served as 5th Officer on board RMS "Titanic".  He assisted in launching sercerval lifeboats before taking charge of No. 14.  After he collected another three lifeboats and formed a raft, he then, with his own lifeboat, returned to the wreckage looking for survivors.  He only found four.  To aid progress he hoisted the mast and sail and headed toward the RMS Carpathia.  On route he spotted another lifeboat in poor shape and took it in tow.  He became a Conwy Borough Councillor in 1932 and in 1937 the extentiosion of the Promenade took place under hes careful eye.  He died in 1944.

From Deganwy to Conwy is just shy of two miles, although that last bit felt much longer, you do get a great view of Conwy Castle, which makes up for it, unfortunately I wasn't able to do justice to the view with my phone camera.

I stopped for lunch as soon as I got into town, today Jacket potato with tuna mayo, I hadn't had breakfast so was more than ready to eat, and this went down a treat.

I did have a stroll around Conwy, but the rain clouds were gathering, I considered hopping on the bus back to Llandudno but changed my mind at the last minute.  

I managed to get over half way back before the rain and thunder came.

I took this little video, not sure you can hear the thunder though, hope it works.

Luckily I'd packed a raincoat so didn't get too wet.

-X-

Another lovely day

I walked down to the West Shore beach this morning, It's much quieter than the North Shore.

Of course I had to dip my toes in the water and I sat for a while enjoying the sunshine and read a few chapters of my book

I decided to take the cliff walk back which leads to Haulfre Gardens, I discovered this walk last year and it's really peaceful with great views.

 

After yesterday's fish and chips I wasn't hungry until late afternoon so stopped at the little cafe before walking back down towards town.  I opted for something lighter today, Welsh Rarebit, which is basically posh cheese on toast with added Worcestershire sauce and mustard, I'm sure if you want to try it out google will come up with the recipe.  It was very tasty

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to change, still on the warm side but with scattered showers, I had planned to walk the coast path but it will depend on what it's like, I do have plenty of project to keep me occupied if it's too wet 😉

-X-

Beside the sea in Llandudno

I'm away this week on a much deserved break.  I intend to do lots of walking and have bought knitting and stitching with me, definitely far more projects than I will have time for in the coming week, but you know, us crafters have to be prepared don't we.

I had a lovely drive here, with yet more beautiful Welsh scenery to admire so again I didn't rush, I arrived about 3.30 and was able to get into my apartment even though a time of 5pm was specified.

It took a while to unload, mainly because, as I said, I've bought far too much with me but also because I am three floors up!  Man, lugging my things up those stairs was a bugger, I did really start to question my reason for bringing so much then!  

Anyway, after I'd got my breath back, wiped the sweat from my brow and had a glass of water, I headed out for a walk, just to the supermarket first to stock up on some essentials, I dropped those back, (climbing all those stairs again!) and went for a walk along the front, the tide was out and there were still some people on the beach enjoying the last of the days sunshine, it's been a warm one today.

I spotted an information board on the sea front with a photo of how the pier looked in the 1890's

The large building just before the pier was the Pavillion Theatre, It has seen it's fair share of celebrities preform there including Cliff Richard, Petula Clarke and George Formby, it has also regularly hosted political conferences and rallies with various Prime Ministers over the years.   Apparently when Winston Churchill made his speech there in 1948 a young woman named Margaret Thatcher decided to change her career and go into politics.

The pavillion fell into decline over the years as variety entertainment went out of fashion.  Various plans were put forward for redevelopment but none came about, eventually the exterior began to crumble and a fire put paid to the interior.  The ironwork of the pavillion is still there, now there are stall holders selling various wares.  What a shame it couldn't be saved.

 

I wasn't in exactly the same position but this is the view today, only the pavillion missing.

So after that good long walk I was ready for something to eat, well there is one thing you have to have when you're at the seaside, fish, chips and mushy peas, with a lovely cuppa tea :-)

It was lovely 😘

-X-

Wonderwool weekend

 It's been a good few years since I went to the Wonderwool fibre festival, It usually coincides with our meet up at Nimble Thimble, but this year it didn't so I was able to go.

Initially I was only going on the Saturday but I really didn't fancy the drive there, all day walking around and the drive back, it's about 2 hours, not that far but that does depend on traffic and weather.  Anyway, I decided to make a weekend of it and stayed in a lovely little pub just on the edge of Hay on Wye.  I had a few hours in Hay, a lovely little place which has around twenty book shops.  I did browse but didn't buy but If you are looking for that hard to find book Hay on Wye is certainly the place to go.

After a lovely cooked breakfast I set off around 10am for the Royal Welsh Showground, which is where Wonderwool is held, it was supposed to be a 30-40 minute drive from where i was staying but just outside Builth I hit a traffic jam, all heading to Wonderwool, that 40 minute drive took me an hour and a half in the end!

The festival is held in three sheds with plenty of food and drink vans inside and out.  Saturday wasn't a nice day weather-wise, it rained most of the day but that didn't put visitors off, it was heaving! 

It was difficult to get to look at some of the stands and it was all a bit overwhelming with so much choice.  The last time I'd gone the show wasn't as big, I think it was only in 2 sheds and there were definitely fewer vendors then. 

I managed to buy one of the things on my list that first day, some stitch holder cords to use when knitting jumpers, I can't remember who I bought these from as the stand was really busy.

I bought a set for DK and thicker yarn and a set for 4ply.

By 2pm I'd had enough, the crowds and the fact that it was hard to get to some stands was making me irritable, plus the queues for coffee was stupidly long everywhere so I decided to call it a day and head back to my B&B room.

The next day was so much better, the sun was shinning and there were no traffic jams to get to the venue :-)

I didn't want to get single skeins of yarn, I've got plenty of those so bought a sweater quantity of Falkland merino.  I think I'll make another Trescao with this.

From Lay Family Yarns I bought a hot water bottle kit, I've never tried colour work so I thought this would be a good small project to have a go at and it won't matter if it's not perfect.

This is the pattern, you do have to buy that separately from Ravelry, but it's only £4.  l'll attempt this later in the year.

This Beatrix Potter set of minis caught my eye, I did think of a pair of scrappy socks, but will have to do some working out.

And my last purchase was this lovely basket.  I've seen these on sale at lots of the yarn shows, they are a bit pricey for a basket, but they are all handmade and as I hadn't bought much in the way of yarn I decided to treat myself.

I love it!  and it's already proved to be very useful.

I did meet up with a few ladies on the Sunday.  If you watch Anita from the Gaga Knits podcast you will know that she and her friend were also going to Wonderwool and when I mentioned I was going too she said to come and meet them at lunchtime, which I did.  Anne from No Excuses podcast was also there with her friend Penny and two other ladies, Pip and Sal, I think Pip has a podcast too but I haven't got round to watching yet.

Here's something you don't see very often, a photo of me, lol

 I'm on the left, Anita (Gaga knits) on the right.  

So that was my weekend, I had a lovely time, the drive back was wonderfully scenic so I took my time and enjoyed the views, I'll leave you with some photos I stopped to take.

See you soon

-X-