The residents' lounge
Access to CAT via gravity/water powered carriage
OH and I have been away for a long weekend to Mid-Wales. We left Friday afternoon and arrived back Monday afternoon. It was a lovely break and nice to not think about housework or cooking for 3 whole days!
One always takes a chance booking accommodation online but, fingers crossed, we've been lucky so far. We stayed at the Buckley Arms Hotel near Machynlleth where we were made to feel thorougly relaxed and at home. All the rooms were large and comfortable with everything we needed at hand. On 2 out of the 3 evenings we ate dinner here too and the food was delicious. The Residents' Lounge was a dramatic room with an old-fashioned feel, but everything looked quite new (see top photo, sorry all the photos didn't load the first time and then I couldn't move them around).-Saturday was a bit of a wash-out weatherwise but we managed to find an indoor boot sale (didn't buy anything) and a craft centre to visit.
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Sunday was much better and we took the opportunity to visit the Centre for Alternative Technology which was one of my reasons for staying in that area (and can now be crossed off my Things I Want To Do list).
The veg garden at CAT (above and below)
An insect home wall
The new conference and education centre (called WISE but I can't remember what it stands for)
Ducks by the pond at CAT having a thorough grooming session and taking no notice of us at all.
In the afternoon we drove to the coast. It was very windy and not terribly warm. The people there were almost willing it to get warmer by dressing in shorts and t-shirts (there was even one brave girl in a bikini!). We kept our jumpers firmly on and I don't think I'd have been too warm if I'd worn a coat too! I saw one chap wearing a woolly hat and sandals - this weather is very confusing!!
Despite that we had a lovely relaxing afternoon:
admiring the views........
watching people trying to catch crabs (OH said he thought it was a competition as they all had the same buckets. We didn't see any crabs getting caught - they usually fell off the bait before the fisherman was able to pull the line back up)...................
and eating icecream (well, you've got to at the seaside) while relaxing on a bench and people watching.
On the way back to the hotel we passed this beautiful lake (or is it a reservoir, I'm not sure) where 2 lads were fishing from a little dinghy.
It really was a lovely, relaxing time but all too short.
We had a couple of cream teas while away (not this one, I didn't take photos unfortunately) and I did quite a lot of thinking (thinking in general for a change instead of about what I have to do next). At one point, I mentally planned my perfect day which involved:
1 A sunny summers day
2 Me selling craftwork and sewing from my Shed
3 DD selling her products and promoting her business
4 DS making and serving cream teas on the lawn.
I aim to do at least part of this at some time in the future but it seems a long way off at the moment.
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There were shelves of books in the hotel lounge so one evening after dinner we sat there and had a browse. I didn't want to start reading something and then have to leave it so I picked the smallest book in a set of classics and read it in an evening. It was The Wizard of Oz!! (they were children's classics :-) I was surprised at how different they made the film to the book but enjoyed the quick read. I already knew the shoes were silver and not 'ruby red' (due to the fact that silver wouldn't show up well for the film on a yellow brick road) but a lot of the other changes surprised me which was good because then it wasn't too predicable. And I can add another book to my reading list for 2010, meaning I'm almost on track for one a month (pathetic really!)
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Bye for now
Teresa x
4 comments:
What a lovely time! I am really fascinated by the insect wall and love the rich beauty of the hotel where you stayed. I hope your perfect day comes true! I love the wonderful picture your description paints. I am going to look up what a cream tea is...is that something more than cream in the tea?
Okay, so I looked up cream tea and it is exactly like the picture you posted. (I apologize for being so dense.) It looks delish! I've tried making scones but they don't ever come out quite as light and pretty as the store bought ones do.
Wow, what a lovely trip. I visited CAT in 1992, it seems to have developed a bit. It was the first time I'd ever used a composting toilet! DH was obsessed with the solar panels I seem to remember. Looks worth a revisit.
I didn't know the ruby slippers were silver! I'm going to have to find a copy to read.
I tried to go to CAT once but the trip was doomed from the start and after a great many setbacks we were ready to get in the minibus. But it didn't start. Looks good though :)
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