Aberporth Adventure

I have returned from a short summer holiday to West Wales, thanks to the incredible generosity of a friend who has a caravan in the charming seaside town of Aberporth.  Last time we were there, Storm Brian hit.  I was hoping for some hot weather this time, but alas the first few days were rather typical of a West Wales summer, with quite a bit of rain.

This post isn't chronological, as I usually do - instead, I have photos grouped by three categories - gardens, antiquing, and beaches - so feel free to scroll past the ones that don't interest you.  This is a whistle stop recap of my holiday!

Beaches
Our last day was the most glorious.  We went to Mwnt, and from the rocky outcrop that towers over the beach, we could see a pod of dolphins below us.  An incredibly magical experience!  I couldn't get any good shots of the dolphins, too far below, so you'll just have to take my word and instead admire my new yellow playsuit (charity shopped, a fiver from '80s brand 'Menu').  It was time for a paddle after that hot climb up the rock, but I wasn't brave enough to go past my knees (the water was still fairly cold!).





The previous day had been more overcast.  We visited the coastal town of Newport, and went for a breezy walk along the beach.  A couple of dead jellyfish were washed up, which I gave a wide berth (they can still sting you when they're dead!).







Our first night in Aberporth, and we strolled down to the beach.  It had rained - torrentially - all day, but the evening turned out to be fine.  It was a lovely spot to sit on a rock and watch the muted sunset, enjoying the calm after the storm.





Shopping
In the inland town of Newcastle Emlyn, we were disappointed to find that one of our favourite antiques warehouses had closed down.  I had some great purchases from there in the past, including my 1940s' hacking jacket.  Some of the dealers there have joined forces in a new shop, which I popped into.  It has a rail of vintage clothes at the back, and the rest of the store is mainly furniture, and nice things like painted tiles, soaps, etc.  I didn't buy any clothes this time, but was tempted by their good hat selection.





Whilst in Newport, we found another antiques and bric-a-brac shop, stuffed to the seams with all manner of items.  It had a particularly impressive range of old tools - I have no idea what half of them were for!  Opposite was a really good fairtrade shop, with lots of good products and a deli counter.  I bought some proper Turkish delight as a holiday treat (I love it, but it's full of sugar), and stocked up on a few ingredients for our evening meal in the caravan.





On our first day, as it had been so wet, we went around the town of Cardigan.  The warehouse with all of the 1970s deadstock items was still there, but like last time I found that most items left were either tiny, or huge sizes.  A couple of pairs of flared jeans were somewhere in the middle, but alas, the '70s catered for a somewhat straighter figure than mine, and I couldn't get them past my derriere...  Always a deflating moment!  There are a couple more antiques places, and also quite a few charity shops.  We also visited the lovely town of Narberth, which again has quite a few antiques places, though I was sad to see that 'Giddy Aunt' vintage clothing store had also closed down.  It's a tough time for retail I think with the expensive overheads that running a physical shop entails.

On the whole trip I don't think I bought anything vintage other than yet another sewing pattern.  I think it was 50p and luckily all of the pieces are present and correct.  I like the look of the belted playsuit on the far right.  I wonder if the previous owner, Mrs Thomas of Carmarthen, chose that design too.



Gardens
We only went to one garden, Dyffryn Fernant.  It's a bit of an unusual place, as you are actually visiting someone's private garden, with their home slap-bang in the middle.  It's all run on an honesty basis; there's an honesty box at the entrance for you to pay the admission fee, and there are lots of plants that you can buy to take home.  The one thing that I found really odd was that the only toilet facilities for visitors are actually in the house itself - you let yourself in the back door into a sort of washroom and utility room.  I was laughing as I had to use the facilities whilst a cat perched on top of the washing machine going around was staring at me intently...

This is a close up of my new dress (Peacock's, from the car boot sale), and necklace.

There are a few more chapters in this adventure to share, but they might get their own post.  Until then,  I'll leave you with a photo of the view from the caravan...



Linking up with: #iwillwearwhatilike, Visible Monday, Fancy Friday