Through the gate

Through the gate we walked into the woods and after following the meandering path the small, rustic Shell House emerged in a glade in front of us. What a beautiful little gem this is.

Made of local stone and quartz, the hermitage was built in the late 1820s, by an unknown architect, as a woodland garden retreat for the Jones family for contemplation, reading and for taking tea.

Nestled in the glade

It was also built as a tribute to Morgan Jones who was renowned not only for his reclusive and rustic way of life, but for his extreme piety and generosity.

Stained glass and shells

The arched door opens onto the small room adorned from floor to ceiling with a profusion of seashells, minerals and coloured glass arranged in primitive gothic patterns and impressed into lime mortar panels.

Incredible owls of shells perch above the fireplace and in each corner; lamps festooned with decoration – what a glorious light they would give if we could see the candles flickering around the walls, the glittering and sparkle of the glass crystals in the ceiling and the panels in the walls…

Feathers of Shell

The floor is laid out in a delicate design using the knucklebones of sheep and oxen – the useful by-product of a once thriving, estate farm – maybe this might sound rather macabre but what a wonderful effect. This beautiful retreat is simply magical as it stands in the peace and seclusion in the depths of the wood, a celebration of the beauty and variety of nature.

The judging takes place at Penralltddu fields, near the primary school, at 11.30am and the stallion classes include classes for Welsh ponies and cobs, heavy horses and donkeys. There are also classes for heavy horse turnouts, including a class for the best tradesman’s turnout, a chance to see vehicles such as milk floats and other interesting old carriages.  The ultimate prize is the Valiant Perpetual Cup, which was won by a section D Welsh cob last year.

Following judging, the horses all parade through the streets at 2pm, a spectacular sight. If you can come this year make sure you get a good view! If you would like to plan a stay in the area we have a number of cottages in and near Cardigan.

All photos: copyright ceridwen

the Summerhouse

Colby Woodland Garden, South Pembrokeshire, is an 8 acre, National Trust garden set in a secluded valley with lots of lovely walks through meadows and woodland, leading down to the sandy beach at Amroth.

Apart from the gallery and shop, there is a tea room… so first things first, morning coffee in the courtyard before we set off!  Mmmmm, delicious cakes too!  Already planning a return visit after our walk!

We walked across the meadow and through a bamboo walkway decorated with what looked like coloured flags – on closer inspection they proved to be messages from visitors, with the lower messages from children who couldn’t reach any higher!

Bamboo decorated with messages

We left our message in the leaves – somehow it made it more real, acknowledging our pleasure to be there together in the peace of the garden with the sun on our faces…

Pembrokeshire had many small coal mines dotted about and there were several sites on the estate showing evidence of past mining activity.

As we came out of the woods we saw the small fishing village of Amroth before us, the sea sparkling against the sand.  Oh, nearly lunchtime!  There are several places offering refreshments but we chose the little pub, which offered well-cooked, unpretentious and reasonably priced meals such as coq-au-vin and home-made pie, delicious.  They also had shelves of second-hand books for sale – can never resist a browse.

An elegant gate latch

After sitting watching the waves, (really feeling like a long siesta rather than a walk!) we meandered back along the paths to the walled garden where we visited the beautiful summerhouse with its ‘trompe l’oeil’ decoration.  It was just exquisite…

Trompe l'oeil stork

The castle on the shore

The Laugharne Weekend is an annual festival of literature, music and the arts, held in West Wales this coming weekend 13-15 April 2012.

Laugharne, home of Dylan Thomas, will be buzzing with visitors, authors, musicians and comedians over the weekend, with concerts, talks, discussions, poetry and prose.

A lively atmosphere is promised during this exciting and stimulating weekend in the town where Dylan Thomas wrote Under Milk Wood, a fictional version of Laugharne.

As Dylan Thomas wrote:  ‘This timeless, mild, beguiling island of a town…

The Boathouse, home of inspiration...

…with its seven public houses, one chapel in action, one church, one factory, two billiard tables, one St. Bernard (without brandy), one policeman, three rivers, a visiting sea, one Rolls-Royce selling fish and chips, one cannon (cast-iron), one chancellor (flesh and blood), one portreeve, one Danny Raye, and a multitude of mixed birds, here we just are, and there is nowhere like it anywhere at all.’

A place to feed the imagination...

Events are held in a variety of venues from the intimate Boathouse, to Browns Hotel, Dylan Thomas’s iconic local haunt.

Weekend tickets are now sold out but tickets are still available for virtually all the individual shows, details available from The Laugharne Weekend website.

There are many lovely self-catering cottages in and around Laugharne so why not make a date for next year’s festival and see what else this spectacular part of Wales has to offer?

The Wonders of the Solar System

The choice starts with an opportunity to experience the wonders of the universe for yourself by coming along to the Star Gazing Event at The Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth on the evening of Friday, 06 April 06:30pm - 09:30pm.

This is a fantastic opportunity for total beginners, amateur astronomers and professional stargazers to explore the night sky and the evening will include talks, planetarium, telescopes and cakes!   Suitable for all ages just make sure to wrap up warm!  Places are limited so please book in advance.

Can there be TOO much chocolate?

Good Friday offers a traditional Easter Egg Trail at Picton Castle.  See how many eggs you can find on this annual event set in the most beautiful gardens around this lovely castle.

Over the whole Easter Bank Holiday weekend, 6th to 9th of April, the Gwili Railway is holding Days out with Thomas.

A fantastic event for all the family and a chance to join Thomas, Haulwen, The Fat Controller and other characters for a great family day out. Molly the Cow, the mischievous driver and the Station Master will make sure to keep The Fat Controller on his toes, as stories are brought to life in the open-air theatre!  Booking essential

The largest span glasshouse

The National Botanic Garden is hosting many great events over the Easter weekend, which promises to be full of fun and includes traditional Welsh dancing on Friday from Llanarthne dancers, the most entertaining display of herding ducks, yes, DUCKS! from Quack Pack on both Saturday and Sunday.  Dyfed Carriage Club will be putting on a most impressive show on the Monday and the incredible magic skills and fire juggling performed by Jugglestruck on Sunday and Monday, along with the talented musicians Fiddlebox.  …Not forgetting the wonderful gardens to explore!

Between 1-16 April the National Wetland Centre in Llanelli has a full programme of exciting events including Den building, a duckling search, pond dipping, craft workshops and a self-led Easter egg hunt, running every day between 11am – 5 pm.

We hope the sun shines on us all for the weekend!

Miles of sandy beaches

We decided to explore Llanelli on a brilliantly sunny spring day.  Carmarthenshire is much overlooked – generally people head for Pembrokeshire, beautiful as it undoubtedly is, yet Carmarthenshire also has a huge amount to offer the visitor.  There are spectacular coastal paths, tracks and beaches – not to mention a great shopping centre at Trostre Park.  A little retail therapy before lunch, work up an appetite etc!

The tower can be seen for miles

We had an absolutely stunning lunch at ‘Sosban’ located in the recently rebuilt old Pump House on North Dock, set in a fantastic location with views to the water beyond.  This most impressive Grade 2 listed industrial building dates from 1900 and is dominated by its 90ft stone tower.  The food was excellent, serving the best of Welsh produce and very reasonably priced, ranging from a set menu to full a-la-carte.

Innovative chandeliers

After lunch we walked down to the sea where the Millennium Cycle Path runs from Llanelli to Burry Port along the coast.  At the Discovery Centre there, we met Sandra from Merlin Cycles – oh, if we hadn’t eaten quite so much…!  We are returning for a half day cycle hire to cycle the trail to Burry Port Woodlands and Nature Reserve.  It sounds delightful, cycling through the woods and around the wildlife ponds – all totally FLAT, which is an added bonus!

Cycle before lunch?

Merlin Cycles are holding a ladies-only cycle ride along the cycle path in aid of Action Medical Research on April 8 – this may be an incentive to shed the pounds after all those Easter Eggs?  The weather has been so glorious let us hope it continues so we can enjoy cycling in the sunshine, the gentle sea-breeze cooling as we pedal along with just the sound of the gulls overhead and the waves breaking on the shore…

Yesterday Bonnie, my friend’s dog came to stay for the day – the perfect excuse for a walk on the beach!

We started from Penbryn Church and walked along the footpath through the woods down to Penbryn Beach.

There were people sunbathing, children building sand castles but only two were brave enough to test the water, Bonnie and another dog. It is still March and the weather is fantastic. After a nice walk we went up the path to the café where we both had a cold drink, I think mine was the nicest.

After a rest we walked through the woods again, this time past the waterfall and back up to Penbryn Church. We are so lucky to have such beautiful beaches and walks on our doorstep.

If you would like to try this walk or any of the others in the area go to Cottages near Penbryn. I hope you will enjoy the walks like Bonnie and I did!

The meandering River Teifi

The picturesque, bustling market town of Newcastle Emlyn is holding a special Community Event over the Palm Sunday weekend, 30 March – 1 April.  Newcastle Emlyn is situated in a most beautiful location on the banks of the River Teifi, the castle ruins standing above the meandering river below.  Come and find out for yourself about the history of the castle by coming to this event.

Through the arch...

The weekend will include talks and exhibitions and local historian Ken Jones will be available at ‘Hanes Emlyn History’, offering his experience and knowledge regarding local history.  There will be displays of harp music, Welsh singing and clog dancing and on Saturday afternoon there is a performance by Apple Dance Studio.  A Tea Dance will be held in the Church Hall followed by Afternoon Tea and in the evening a rousing Welsh singing festival will take place in Ebenezer Chapel.

Past the clocktower down to the river

The Palm Sunday procession through the town will begin at 10.30am outside Ebenezer Chapel and the organisers suggest bringing a small bunch of flowers with you, if you would like. The flowers, palm branches and palm crosses will be blessed in the Service at Holy Trinity Church at the 11am service.  The procession will be filmed by the S4C which will be shown on ‘Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol’ Programme on Sunday night April 1^st.

A gateway to the past ...

In the afternoon there will be a guided walk from the castle, live harp music and, in the evening the Emlyn Arms Hotel is holding a Welsh Night where you can sample Welsh specialties such as Cawl, Barabrith and Welsh cakes.

This promises to be a really enjoyable community event where history and heritage become part of the present and where the significance of the procession will encourage us to make time for contemplation…

Dramatic rocks at Ceibwr

If you would like a spectacular yet not too strenuous circular walk of about 1½ hours, then follow our path from the centre of the pretty village of Moylegrove, a collection of traditional painted cottages and chapels.  Moylegrove is set in a most picturesque location on the Pembrokeshire coast, 6 miles south of Cardigan.

Although the walk starts with quite a climb, the whole walk is paved and easy underfoot, ideal for muddy days!  Follow the lane up the hill until the first turning on the right which is a gentle (and thankfully level!) walk between hedgerows to the crossroad where we turn right and head down hill as the splendid view is revealed.

The erupting blow-hole

This is a spectacular part of the coastline where the magnificent strata of the cliffs can be viewed in all their glory – and one of our favourite walks.   It is awe-inspiring to witness the power of the sea and although the day was calm, the swell of the incoming tide provided some spectacular displays from the blow-hole and booming sound effects as the waves rebounded from the caves below.

The walk follows the lane round to Ceibwr, a small, secluded bay; in the autumn seal pups may be spotted.  Then back to the car and up to Penrallt Garden Centre for warm scones and a cuppa to round off the afternoon!   If you are feeling really energetic there is a walk down to Ceibwr from the garden centre – ‘down’ is the clue, heading back is really quite a climb – but then you could justify having one of their delicious cakes as a reward!

Pampering at Picton

A real treat is in store at Picton Castle and not just for your mother! Spend the afternoon enjoying a splendid afternoon tea in the elegant State Rooms and feel like royalty!

Dining in Style

After travelling up the beautiful main drive you may park right in front of the castle where you will be welcomed with a glass of Bucks Fizz. After being led to your table in the gracious State Rooms, you will be served a wonderful selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones.  As a memento of this special afternoon, your mother will be given a complimentary gift.  Pre-booking for this exceptional treat is essential.

Hellebores and Harp

On Mothering Sunday there is a day of activity at the National Botanic Garden of Wales and admission is free, once more!

Carpets of Hellebores

A visit to the garden is always special and on this Sunday there will be a local food and craft fair held in the magnificent Great Glasshouse where their will also be wonderful harp music from Shelley Fairplay and lively Welsh folk music from Fiddlebox – moving music from the harp and foot-tapping from the fiddle…

This is also a great opportunity to indulge at the award-winning Seasons Restaurant, a treat not only for mother!

wistful strings

This is one of the most beautiful times in The Garden with drifts of daffodils and carpets of hellebores under the trees and the promise of more to come – it really is a wonderful way to spend the day.

The Garden is open from 10am to 4.30pm, with last entry at 3.30pm.

Floral Feast

One of the prettiest gardens to visit at this time of year is Aberglasney where admission is free for Mums all weekend in celebration of Mothering Sunday.

A Perfect Bloom

Open between 10.30am and 4.00pm on Saturday and Sunday, bring your mum along for an enjoyable afternoon walking amongst the  daffodils and narcissus where you can appreciate the arrival of spring and listen to the birds singing amongst the Camellias.

We’d love to hear how your mum spent her day, just write any comments below…