Well what can I say. The weather was perfect, I got to catch up with loads of people and I had fantastic, fast easy drives there and back.
So, where to start? At the beginning I guess.
We left Harlington at around 0930 on Monday 30th June and took the M1, M6, M54 route out of England and into Wales. My excitement grew as we hit the A44 and saw the mountains looming in front of us. We stopped briefly for a coffee and then on we went climbing and climbing with ever more fantastic views around every corner. I always drive down to Aberystwyth and Peter always drives home hence the reason for no photos of the inward journey. Though to be honest the road is narrow, twisty with mountain one side and drops on the other so it is really difficult to stop safely to take photographs. There was a sad moment when we passed the spot of a recent accident. A car tried to overtake on a blind bend and ploughed into the front of a lorry. All in the car were killed except a two year old girl, whom I believe is still seriously ill in hospital. At the side of the road there was a small tribute of flowers and two men, in hi viz jackets, were still marching up and down taking measurements.
Then we began the downward drive towards Aberystwyth. The road signs and place names were getting more and more Welsh as we went and I knew at that point I was home. Actually it was really funny because I had to let Papworth where I was staying before I left. As I read out the address the lady on the end of the line stopped me at every word and said 'can you spell that?' Not surprisingly she only read the house number and the postcode back to me, but then really that's all they needed anyway.
We arrived in Aberystwyth around two and were both starving. I'd estimated arriving much later than that and had told my mother not to cook for us, so we dived into KFC and had a quick pit stop before completing the final mile into Penparcau. We arrived to hugs and comments of 'you look tired', which I always get. After unpacking we were ushered into the living room and given large mugs of steaming tea and coffee. An hour later I was taking my first trundle along the prom and could feel the stress and strain of the last few months just melt away. Any fear I had of being on edge the whole visit vanished there and then. The phone was put into my hand bag which was place under the seat of my scooter and was only used when I posted pictures or wanted to know Wimbledon results.
We returned home for afternoon tea and a bit of a rest and then we were off out again. We'd arranged to meet up with Peter's sister, Judy, for a meal and a chat. We went to the fabulous Starling Cloud and had a meal to die for. I'd heard it had gone downhill a bit since our visit last year but I though the food was great.
After parting from Judy we headed once more to the prom to watch the sun go down. I hadn't brought my camera as I didn't know how long we'd be at the restaurant. It was something I'd come to regret as the sunset was glorious over a sea that was so still it looked like a mirror. We finally fell into bed around eleven and I slept like a baby.
More tomorrow.
So, where to start? At the beginning I guess.
We left Harlington at around 0930 on Monday 30th June and took the M1, M6, M54 route out of England and into Wales. My excitement grew as we hit the A44 and saw the mountains looming in front of us. We stopped briefly for a coffee and then on we went climbing and climbing with ever more fantastic views around every corner. I always drive down to Aberystwyth and Peter always drives home hence the reason for no photos of the inward journey. Though to be honest the road is narrow, twisty with mountain one side and drops on the other so it is really difficult to stop safely to take photographs. There was a sad moment when we passed the spot of a recent accident. A car tried to overtake on a blind bend and ploughed into the front of a lorry. All in the car were killed except a two year old girl, whom I believe is still seriously ill in hospital. At the side of the road there was a small tribute of flowers and two men, in hi viz jackets, were still marching up and down taking measurements.
Then we began the downward drive towards Aberystwyth. The road signs and place names were getting more and more Welsh as we went and I knew at that point I was home. Actually it was really funny because I had to let Papworth where I was staying before I left. As I read out the address the lady on the end of the line stopped me at every word and said 'can you spell that?' Not surprisingly she only read the house number and the postcode back to me, but then really that's all they needed anyway.
We arrived in Aberystwyth around two and were both starving. I'd estimated arriving much later than that and had told my mother not to cook for us, so we dived into KFC and had a quick pit stop before completing the final mile into Penparcau. We arrived to hugs and comments of 'you look tired', which I always get. After unpacking we were ushered into the living room and given large mugs of steaming tea and coffee. An hour later I was taking my first trundle along the prom and could feel the stress and strain of the last few months just melt away. Any fear I had of being on edge the whole visit vanished there and then. The phone was put into my hand bag which was place under the seat of my scooter and was only used when I posted pictures or wanted to know Wimbledon results.
We returned home for afternoon tea and a bit of a rest and then we were off out again. We'd arranged to meet up with Peter's sister, Judy, for a meal and a chat. We went to the fabulous Starling Cloud and had a meal to die for. I'd heard it had gone downhill a bit since our visit last year but I though the food was great.
After parting from Judy we headed once more to the prom to watch the sun go down. I hadn't brought my camera as I didn't know how long we'd be at the restaurant. It was something I'd come to regret as the sunset was glorious over a sea that was so still it looked like a mirror. We finally fell into bed around eleven and I slept like a baby.
More tomorrow.
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