Storm Brian

Would a storm put you off staying in a caravan on a cliff-top?

Storm Brian visited western parts of the UK this weekend, but we still went ahead with a last-minute weekend away to West Wales.  A friend had very kindly said we could have use of their static caravan before the site locked up for the winter season, so as one never to say no to a free trip away, we packed up the car and headed into the eye of the storm.

First stop en route was Newcastle Emlyn, where there are a couple of very good (and very reasonably priced) antique shops.  We were last there a couple of years ago, just after we got married, and I remember buying a rather sumptuous 1960s' velvet and gold lame stole from one of them.  The shops have a fair selection of clothes and jewellery, and I enjoyed trying lots of things on, including a Victorian mourning cape, and a beautiful 1940s' coat.  Once again I was powerless to resist their wonderful selection, and I came away with a wool jacket from the sale rail, a belt, and a bed jacket.  My husband found a classical guitar that tempted him, but he came away empty-handed.

Above: I was rather taken with this Victorian mourning cape, and at £30 I was seriously tempted.

Short Trip to West Wales (again)

Last weekend we had a jaunt to West Wales again.  On the Saturday we went to Llanelli - my husband's home town - and did a spot of charity shopping in the afternoon with his Mum.  I did make a few purchases, but you'll have to wait for September's purchases post to see.  My mother-in-law did really well, she bought some adorable 1970s Clarks shoes that she got as part of a 'fill a bag for a £1' offer, so they probably only cost about 20p.  In the evening we headed to a party at a friend's house,.  It was a lovely evening catching up and swigging prosecco, apart from the bit where someone dropped a champagne flute on my foot.  Unfortunately my shoes were peep-toes, and so I had a bit of a bruise and some under the skin bleeding.  On the plus side, my toe broke the fall of the champagne flute and it survived!  It wasn't a late night as we had a full-on day planned for the Sunday.  It was my toe hurting in the morning, not my head...

After a big breakfast, we headed to a recording studio in the countryside, where my husband was being filmed as part of a series on Welsh musicians.  I'll share the link when it's published.  The studio is in a couple of outbuildings on a former farm, with pretty views across the fields and a little babbling stream.  It felt rather idyllic.  The sun was blazing hot, and I hadn't packed facial sunscreen so I was a bit worried about burning, whilst at the same time sweltering in a too-thick shirt.  Ah well, it was a fun morning spent with some nice people - relaxing for me as I was mainly just drinking tea - and I got into the spirit of things towards the end, yelling 'Action!' at Chris.

Bernie Dexter Jeans for a Walk In The Welsh Hills

This wasn't meant to be an outfit post.  I'm not wearing anything particularly exciting here, but it was a beautiful day when we took one of our Sunday strolls along the top of the hill behind our house.  So, this is really about the pretty scenery, with a few photos thrown in of what I was wearing for those that need an outfit-fix!  It's been a busy time (again) and I just didn't get around to having a specific shoot this week, so you'll have to make do with this rather casual ensemble of jeans, trusty Clarks brogues, and a cosy jacket.  It's a typical weekend outfit for a day spent walking, tidying the house, and doing a supermarket shop. 

I need to talk a little bit about the jacket though.  I picked it up in a local charity shop, I think it was £5, which is a lot by my usual standards, but it has faux fur.  I love faux fur.  It's always so cosy to have a faux fur collar to nuzzle into when faced with a chill wind, and it increases the glamour factor measurably.  I think it originally would have had faux fur cuffs as well, which is taking glamour to another level!  Such a shame they were missing.

Abergavenny Food Festival

The UK has very good food festivals, and one of the best is right here in Wales.  Every September, the town of Abergavenny on the Welsh-English border hosts a weekend food festival that draws a large crowd of hungry visitors. Being from the town originally, I took the opportunity to visit family and then head to the food festival with my husband to get stuck into all of the cheese.  Here's a little pictorial roundup of what were the highlights for me.  We tried salmon jerky, dozens of cheeses, English brandy, gourmet pasta, cured meats, chocolate, chutneys, gin, and many more tasty morsels.

Above: Abergavenny town hall's spire rising above the throng of visitors

Glamping

After all that glamour in Portmeirion on our recent North Wales trip, we needed to be brought back to earth.  What better way to get back in touch with basics than with a bit of camping?  I'm a bit too delicate for full-on tents these days, so 'glamping' in a yurt seemed like a better idea.  We booked through Air BnB and stayed on a working farm on the Llyn Peninsula near Nefyn.  The setup is incredibly private, with just the one yurt in its own field, a short walk from the farmyard.

Our base for two nights

Portmeirion

Following my post about dawn at the estuary, here are some more photos of the wonderful private village of Portmeirion in North Wales.  For those not familiar with the history, the village was the dream of a chap called Clough Williams-Ellis, who painstakingly brought his vision to life over the decades from 1925 until his death in the late 1970s.  It's a complete indulgence, all this Italian style architecture in the far North of Wales.  Today it's owned by a charity, and day visitors can pay an entrance fee to explore the village for the day.  Alternatively, you can pay (fairly heftily) to stay in the guest accommodation on site.  There's the main hotel building, the village buildings, and the castle further up the hill.  As we were travelling a fair way from South Wales, I decided we should definitely stay.  We couldn't have timed it better with the weather - arriving in 31 degree heat, it felt like we'd stepped off a plane rather than out of my car!

First stop then was a dip in the pool, which is heated these days, a step up from when there would have been a bracing freshwater pool in the 1920s.  The pool is small but was just what we needed after a 4 hour drive in warm weather, and feeling refreshed, we explored the village a little.  It's a compact site, centred around some beautiful gardens.  There are lots of little shops and places to eat, including a 'diner' style cafe in the Town Hall, and an ice-cream parlour.  If the filming of the 1960s TV series 'The Prisoner' interests you then you can visit the gift shop, which I think was Number 6's cottage in the programme.  The village is surrounded by woodland, and there are lots of paths veering off if you're feeling exploratory.  You'll come across little follies and look-out points if you do.  After a quick change, it was then time for drinks on the hotel terrace, followed by a picnic overlooking the estuary.  Apparently the restaurant is top-notch, but it is pricey, and we were a bit too hot to sit inside for a formal dinner.  We had cold salmon and salad off plastic plates, washed down with some wine.  Classy!

West Wales for Gin, Cheese and a Wedding

Back to a focus on the positive today.  The other weekend we were invited to a family wedding near Tenby, and so decided to make a weekend of it.  I need little excuse to head to West Wales for a mini holiday!  First stop was the town of Narberth, so that I could re-stock my much loved seaweed gin.  Narberth is a very foodie place, and has a selection of delis, butchers, cafes and bakeries.  Feeling a bit peckish, we popped into Ultracomida, a deli and cafe that specialises in French, Spanish and Welsh cheese.  We lingered a little long over our food, a to-die-for selection of cheesy and meaty tapas that conjured up Spain, so I unfortunately didn't get to pop into Giddy Aunt, a fabulous vintage shop down the road, before it closed for the day.  We did manage a mooch around the antiques place though, and although we didn't buy, we were thoroughly entertained by some of the weird and wonderful items on display.

Vintage Cardiff: The Pumping Station Antiques Centre

On a bitterly cold day we visited the Pumping Station, an antiques centre in Cardiff.  It's a fine Victorian industrial building from 1899, and today houses a collection of antiques, interiors (the obligatory shabby chic pervading), a stove showroom, and collections for model hobbyists and Sci-Fi fans.  The inside is huge, with a little warren of rooms spilling out on various floors, with galleries, basements, and occasional glimpses of the wonderful industrial architecture.

We were in search of an Art Deco mantlepiece, lighting inspiration, and as always, vintage guitars and dresses.  Read on to find out if we found treasure...

Afternoon Tea Review: Waterloo Tea Penarth

The British winter can be a little dampening on one's mood, so I think why not allow yourself a little solace?  I know it's trendy for people to have gone tee-total, joined a gym, and forgone most sins whilst in the first few months of the year, but I think that at a time of year that is hardest for many, the treats should continue.  Before Christmas, my husband and I went to Waterloo Tea's Penarth branch for a full afternoon tea.  We don't eat this kind of thing very often these days, so we were quite excited at the prospect of bread and sugar in one sitting.  The afternoon tea was actually a gift from some colleagues as a wedding present, isn't that a lovely gift?

Abbey-Cwm-Hir Hall at Christmas

I am off work for two whole weeks over Christmas, and to help us get in the festive spirit I decided to take my husband on a day trip to mid Wales, to see the Hall at Abbey-Cwm-Hir.  Open to the public, this historic gothic Victorian mansion is a family home owned by a retired couple with a penchant for collecting just about anything.  Each year, the 52 rooms of the sprawling house are decorated from top to bottom for Christmas.  Located in a small village that was the site of a Cistercian Abbey back in 1143, the house was originally built in 1833 by a gentleman farmer, and has been subsequently extended and lived in by many different families.  The present owners bought it back in the mid 1990s for just £400,000 (which by today's prices would be about £687,000 - an absolute steal for a 52 room gothic mansion!!) and have lovingly re-decorated it over many, many years, using the services of an artist, soft furnisher, and painter-decorator.  Their collections include vintage signs, china, hats, gramophones, dolls houses, vintage books, wine, taxidermy and much, much more.

Cardiff At Christmas

If you are thinking of visiting one of our glorious UK cities for a spot of shopping, a pre-Christmas meet-up with friends, or simply a day out over the festive season to share some precious time-off with family, you couldn't make a better choice than to visit Cardiff.  I am a bit biased, because I lived there for many years - and still work there - but I honestly feel there's something for everyone.  Read on to find out what festive fun can be had in Wales' capital city.

Shopping
Cardiff has become a shopping hub thanks to the whopping St Davids shopping centre, where you can find all of the high street brands you desire, along with a great selection of restaurants which have really helped Cardiff to become more family friendly.  One of the delights of shopping in Cardiff however, is if you leave St Davids and cross the bustling Hayes, you end up in the wonderful Victorian arcades, crammed full of more individual shops, such as Spillers Records (the oldest record shop in the world!).  The Arcades are just magical with all of the Christmas decorations, and will help you feel a bit more of that Christmas spirit.

Downton Abbey Costume Exhibition & Afternoon Tea at Llanelly House

After our wonderful trip to Highclere Castle in the summer, where Downton Abbey was filmed, I was keen for another Downton Abbey related adventure.  As luck would have it, historic Llanelly House here in Wales held a costume display from the first two series.  The timing was perfect for one of my sisters' birthdays, and my mum and husband's mum came along too for a proper family outing!

Costumes from the garden party scene - Edith's, Mary's and Sybil's.  Two are original vintage Edwardian dresses, can you tell which ones?

Cardigan Quayside Granary Lofts and Pizza Tipi

We make several trips each year to West Wales, and were last there for 'Octoberfest'.  One of the highlights is always when we get to visit the Pizza Tipi in Cardigan, which is a riverside mini festival of bars, food and music.  It's run by the Fforest enterprise, which also offers a range of accommodation from pods, bell tents and cabins to swanky riverside apartments.  We've stayed on a few occasions now in the apartments, which have been marvellously converted in an old 18th century granary loft.  With Scandi-Welsh interiors, the apartments are fully kitted out for a self-catering stay in comfort.
 

Vintage Aberystwyth

My tourism promotion of my lovely homeland Wales continues today with a feature on the mid-west seaside town of Aberystwyth (click here to hear the pronunciation!).  I was in the town for a few days with a career development programme through work, and took the opportunity to head up a bit early so that I could enjoy the sights.  I took a winding route through Lampeter and Aberaeron and arrived at lunchtime, to cloudy skies and a bit of drizzle.  A university town, it has a pleasant sea front, and more pubs per person than any other Welsh town.

St Davids Hotel & Spa Cardiff Review

The only 5 star hotel in Cardiff, St Davids Hotel & Spa is in an unrivalled location overlooking Cardiff Bay.  I recently stayed there through an event with work, in one of their standard rooms.  My only previous experience of the hotel was years ago when my sisters were staying there.  I remember the rooms higher up had super balconies, but I hadn't liked the decor, and unfortunately received a substandard meal in the restaurant.  I was keen to erase those memories and see if my visit this time would be up to the standard I hoped.  Read on to find out if I was impressed!

Vintage Adventures in Pembrokeshire

Wherever you are in the UK there are lots of historical attractions and hotspots of charity shops and antiques, and Pembrokeshire is no exception.  West Wales is a wonderful area to visit, and on our Bluestone holiday a few weeks ago we did venture off site to explore.  Here's a round up of what we got up to, with some signposting to vintage-related attractions in the area. 

Tenby is a fabulous seaside town and harbour, and has been a popular tourist destination since the early 19th century.  The National Trust has opened a late 15th century Tudor Merchant's House to visitors, complete with tudor furnishings and staff dressed in clothes of the era - it's a great option on a rainy day.  If the weather's better, then just wandering around the streets you'll see a lot of architecturally interesting buildings, such as the former Assembly Rooms from 1811 and a range of colourfully painted Georgian town houses.

My Bluestone Holiday in West Wales

You've probably noticed that I'm a huge fan of my homeland Wales, as I am always writing about it and showing you photographs of some of the stunning scenery we have.  One of my favourite parts of Wales is Pembrokeshire, and I take at least a few trips to West Wales each year.  I was delighted then to become a #Bluestoneblogger and was treated to a stay with the husband-to-be in one of their fabulous lodges. Bluestone is a resort of luxury lodges (a bit like Centre Parcs) nestled in a valley in the glorious Pembrokeshire countryside, with views over to the Preseli mountains in the distance.  The lodges surround a small 'village' with shops, a pub, and restaurants and the whole site is car free.

Exploration

Dry days mean more time to explore these mountains, and the view never disappoints.

Birthday Adventure: Taf Fechan Valley

Thank you all for the lovely birthday wishes!  Yesterday was a fun day, despite the atrocious weather.  It rained, non-stop, the whole day.  But when you're British, you don't let the weather stop you, else you'd never leave the house.  So off in the car we went, heading up to the Southern edge of the Brecon Beacons.

First stop was a second-hand furniture store, but nothing exciting there, so we went around some charity shops in Merthyr of all places (it was en route!).  It's not one of those places that's a 'destination', as a lot of it is the usual depressing array of betting shops, cheap clothes shops, Wetherspoons and kebab places that you generally find in historically deprived Valley's towns, but as always, we are spoilt silly with history here in the UK, and if you look for them, there are a few architectural gems.  The magnificent Grade II listed Old Town Hall dating from 1896 caught my eye straight away, as did a water fountain outside a church.

Sunday Walk

Are you all rested after the weekend?  We've had a few exceptional Autumn days of clear skies, sunshine, and cold, cold air!  It was a freezing Sunday when we explored a local country park.  Just beautiful, see for yourself from these photos.