April 13th

We left the Pembrokeshire Coast today to head up to Bala in Snowdonia National Park. We took the Coastal Route, the A487. It was an absolutely stunning drive, on an undulating coastline through little villages close to the water, and then further back in farm country and green rolling hills, then back again down close to the ocean. It was predicted to rain the day we were travelling but we woke up to sunshine which made the day

We didn’t leave the campsite until 10 am. We have been having late starts. We drove the two hours to a town called Aberaeron and planned it as a stop to have lunch. We parked the van at the car park by the ocean and then wandered up to the main street passing rows of colourful houses.

Aberaeron, in the county of Ceredigion, is a newer town as far as Britain goes and one of the first planned towns in Britain. Construction started in 1805 and many of the houses were built in the Regency style of the early 19th century. Unlike other welsh towns, the town was designed around the town square. The Harbor was a port and used as a centre for shipbuilding in the 19th century. (Wikipedia).

The multicoloured houses were a delight and sure reminded me of the colorful row of houses we saw in 2018 in St Johns Newfoundland.

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We had a nice lunch in an upstairs cafe above a gift shop. Guy had a full English breakfast and I had a jacket potato with chili and a salad. We meandered back to Paddington (the van) and carried on up the very scenic coast to Aberystwyth. Our plan was to have a quick look at the castle there but it was a sunny Saturday and the parking lots were full. So we drove by the castle ruin, got a pick of the busy promenade and colourful buildings then set off out of town to Bala. It was a quick looky loo.

The drive from Aberystwynth to Bala went North East into the hills. The views were classic Wales with the green rolling hills, stone built walls and windy roads. It wasn’t that busy being a Sunday and less motorbike riders out than we have seen in other places on sunny days. In Heredfordshire, Sarah and Arch had a name (which I’ve forgotten). for those sunny days when all the riders are out in groups and drivers must be very careful.

We arrived at our campsite around 5 pm, another Camping and Caravanning Club Site of which we are members. I joined before we left Canada. The sites are very reliably clean, with showers, wash up and laundry facilities. As members, we also get a discount. These sites are often positioned in areas close to amenities and things to see and do in the area.

April 14th

We set out in the morning from the campsite to see the town of Bala, get some groceries and go for a walk. After a whirl around the town including buying some Easter decorations to decorate the camper, we drove across the town to the train station where we had a quick lunch in the van. Our plan was to take the train down the lake and walk back. It’s a done thing. There are trails from Llanuwchylln back to Bala. We walked out of the station, thinking the trail would be easy to find, but it wasn’t and there was no one to help us. It was 3pm by this time and it was at least a 4 hour walk back to Bala. Ominous clouds were rolling in so we made the decision to take the next train back to Bala. It ended up being the right decision. Not an hour later, we were into major rain out on our consolation walk up the lake a couple of miles from the town.

That night, Guy had an early to bed and I worked on my blog and decorated the van.

April 15th

We woke up to a showery morning. It was supposed to be a wet day and we decided to spend the morning writing and reading. I managed to almost catch up on the blog, Guy got his diary up to date and did some Sudoku. After lunch, the full on rain hadn’t manifested so we went for a walk in the hills near the campsite where we found some footpaths through farmers fields. It was such a great walk through green hills and with lambs, many just days old, in the fields.

The farmer and son were out feeding the sheep in the fields in their all terrain vehicle. We got to watch the process. They went on to the field, honking their horn as a signal to the sheep that it was time for a feed. One of them took a bag of feed down to the field. All the mature sheep filtered down to the feed, often leaving the lambs on their own on the outskirts. Then of course the lambs started crying because they were not sure where mom was, the kind of cry that breaks your heart. Things got quieter once the lambs were reunited with their mothers.

The sheep below were following us as we walked. the perimeter of the field. I think they thought we were the farmers with more feed 😄.

The past few days have been a much slower pace than we have been doing most of the trip. We have been lying low which I think is needed once and awhile on this long of a trip to rest and replenish.

We are off to Anglesea tomorrow for the Easter Weekend meeting our friends Patricia from Victoria ( a friend from Tsawwassen where I grew up) and Susan from London. I did the Camino Frances with both of them in 2023.

Also joining us is Karen from Milton Keynes, guys friend who we have spent time with already on the trip near Stonehenge and in Milton Keynes.

We plan to go on some walks, see some castles and other sites and I’ve got reservations for us all at a restaurant for Easter Sunday.

Night night from Paddington.