The Bron y Graig Blog

Bron-y-Graig's Best Days Out - Snowdonia

2011-11-07T11:23:00.000Z

Snowdonia National Park - stunning glacial landscape and Snowdon Mountain Railway. If you plan to use the railway, buy your ticket as soon as you arrive in Llanberis as you may have to wait for a train. Betws y Coed is good for eating and shopping on the way back.

February at the Beach

2011-02-26T23:15:00.000Z

I took these photos in February 2010, at a family birthday trip to Black Rock Sands and Criccieth. Proof that you CAN go to the beach, even in February!

Don't Toast My Panettone

2011-02-19T21:38:00.000Z

To Cheshire Oaks Shopping Outlet this afternoon. An unplanned visit as normally I wouldn’t dream of daring the Saturday afternoon shopping crowds, preferring to potter meekly around on a weekday. However this seemed to be the only window available in a packed teenage halfterm to see Black Swan. Oh, OK, I suppose so, I said; I quite like Natalie Portman. You can’t come in with us, Mum: there’s rude bits in it!

I remembered an episode of hideous embarrassment years ago, watching of Land of Fire (or something) with my dad and uncle. Five minutes in, several fur-clad cavemen ambushed half a dozen cavewomen as they squatted at the riverbank, and engaged in vigorous and non-consensual rear-entry sex. So I agreed, that, on balance, it would be much more comfortable for all of us if I sat quietly in Costa Coffee with a large Americano, a fattening cake and my book of the moment (Chris Mullin: A View from the Foothills, since you ask.)

Cheshire Oaks is actually much closer than I’d thought. It’s only 34 miles and 55 mins from our front door to the carpark, going via Queensferry. So it compares favourably with Chester or Shrewsbury for shopping, and of course you don’t have to pay to park. In the last year they’ve significantly increased the choice of places to eat, both around the Vue Cinema and in the shopping park. Last time I was pleased to see a Cafe Rouge, this time I spotted a Frankie and Jerry’s, TGIF, Chiquito’s and an M&S Simply Food - handy if you just want a sandwich in the car. And I have to say that, each time I visit, I’ve always had good, pleasant service in the shops.

Maybe the pleasant service is something to do with my forbidding 50-year-old demeanour. I’m afraid I frightened the nice girl in Costa. Well, she tried to toast my panettone and, being about 19, she moved so quickly, ripping off the cellophane in one practised yank and hurling it grillwards, even before I’d finished enunciating And a Large Americano Please, so I had to yelp: No! Don’t toast it! to make her stop. Are you sure? she said, eyeing me doubtfully. Yes, I’m sure, I said, and while you’re at it, don’t put any milk in my Americano. Thank You. When I got to my single seat by the window, I found I’d forgotten Chris Mullin. So I had to dig in my handbag for some lined paper (Of course I have writing paper in my handbag. I’m 51.) and bung down another fistful of deathless prose for that novel I’ve been writing for the last 5 years.

I don’t know. What with the panettone yelping and the lone writing-in-the-corner bit, I felt a bit conspicuous. Everyone else had a hot chocolate with all the toppings and a pink-down-clad moppet wanting the toilet. So I cut my Costa visit short and headed off to Next.

Next was rather demoralising, to be frank. Having been relieved to see the return of high-waisted jeans I was keen to invest in them – several pairs, if it would stave off the requirement for those terrifying rigidity knickers. Alas, the combination of several big buttons above a ridiculously short zip merely drew attention to my superfluous stomach. Retreating empty-handed through the formal wear, it occurred to me that maybe Next Forbidding Black with Those Geometric-Patterned Tops was not too old for me after all. In fact, some of the customers fingering the separates could give me 20 years.

Hurrah! Instantly I found black trousers – high waisted, flat-pocketed, long zips and hidden hooks instead of buttons! The fabric, mysteriously but maturely, “contained linen”. And they did them in camel colour too!! And only £20. I could have a pair in each colour.... Hugely excited I staggered back into the fitting rooms with All of the Colours in Both of the Sizes.... success! perfect fit at waist and hips – and then, on the all-important leg part, they blossomed into yards of canvas. I looked like Coco the Clown or one of the smaller vessels in Master and Commander.

And now it was 4.30 pm. Time to meet the girls. Maybe Marks and Spencer next time.

Explore our Accommodation

2011-02-18T21:34:00.000Z

We've updated our website, with the help of our website hosts PJWebworks.
Now you can see each of our rooms in detail. Do check it out and let us know what you think!
http://www.north-wales-hotel.co.uk/

Family Christmas

2011-01-02T19:37:00.000Z

We enjoyed a family Christmas here - 16 of us family and friends, ages from 4 to 82 - and including my cousin from Canada. Luckily the weather allowed everyone to arrive and depart safely and did not impede Santa in his mission. My brother as usual provided his fab puddings, christmas cake and of course the famous rocky road. We even managed a wintry walk (a short one) and several board/card games. And yes, I have done virtuous things with the leftovers - soup anyone? But I seem to have forgotten to offer anyone any Stollen so that is my office lunches sorted for the rest of January....

six months later...

2010-12-06T17:58:00.000Z

Oops! Sorry for the long silence.
Since my last post winter has descended and the view of the garden now looks a little different.

Relax in the garden

2010-08-03T23:00:00.000+01:00

We've been improving the terrace, paths and garden furniture so guests have somewhere pleasant to relax.

The roses are the best we've ever had - something to do with the harsh winter maybe?

These views are of the formal lower garden but there is also a more secluded lawn in the upper garden where you can sunbathe and enjoy views over the valley.

Time Capsules

2010-07-13T21:28:00.000+01:00

Today we've been making a doorway out of a window space. It leads from the yard into the wash-house - the ground floor of this will become our sitting room. We've been using one room as sitting room, office and dining room for about 12 years now so this is well overdue.

Funnily enough the new door will be in exactly the same place as the original door to the little lean-to beside the wash-house.

Yesterday we built a low wall opposite the door to extend the yard a little, and we dropped a time-capsule (OK, a plastic Hellmann's 2-litre mayonnaise jar) inside the wall, containing a newspaper, some coins, photos and our signatures. Today when we opened the window space up to make the doorway we found an earlier time-capsule which we buried in 1992.

The December 1992 capsule contained a newspaper too in which the Queen complained of an annus horribilis, some coins again, a security badge with a truly dreadful photo of me, and some supermarket receipts. We've reburied it. I know we've peppered the place with such capsules, mostly in the 1990's, but I can't remember where any of them are - except I do know there is a Glenfiddich tin in the roofspace above the bay window in Room 2. I can't see us getting up there to rediscover it so maybe it will be found, years hence, by whoever follows us in this house.

Nigel Kennedy at Llangollen 2010

2010-07-12T18:44:00.000+01:00

We've had 4 lovely Dutch guests here all week for Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. Last night they opted to watch football instead of going to the closing night concert - well, it was the final of the World Cup.

They very kindly offered me their tickets! So my mum and I thoroughly enjoyed Nigel Kennedy's concert of Bach and Ellington - we had fab top-price seats for a great evening.

Red Kites

2010-07-02T15:14:00.000+01:00

We are just back from a relaxing lunch at Glyndwr Plants & Coffee Shop, just outside Corwen. As I got out of the car I saw a pair of kites, right over Bron-y-Graig. This is tremendously exciting as I have never seen them here before - they look huge. I remember the buzzards arriving several years ago; now we have kites! They are splendid.

Wagtail update - they all flew the nest successfully and the yard is disappointingly quiet. I suppose they are all in the surrounding woodland somewhere. One of them got stuck under the kitchen drain cover and spent two hours calling for help. I know you shouldn't interfere but it was exhausted. Eventually I carried it over to the cobblestones right under the nest and within 10 minutes an adult had arrived to shepherd it to safety. Mungo slept through the whole episode.

Yellow Wagtails

2010-06-25T22:47:00.000+01:00

For the past few weeks we've been watching a wagtail pair fuss about the courtyard with beakfuls of insects. I was sure they had a nest in the climbing rose by the cottage door but every time I got too close, the parents gave a warning "peep-peep" and the chicks fell silent.

Today, noisily, they flew the nest. Too quick to count! Luckily Mungo the cat was snoozing half-way up the back stairs and did not notice....

Bean Counter

2010-06-13T17:17:00.000+01:00

It's Sunday afternoon and perfect gardening weather - warm and damp, ideal for weed extraction. I hurried to inspect my veg plot and can report - nothing. Zip. Zilch. Diddly squat. No carrots. No beetroot. Bugger-all radish. Hurrah! TWO BEANS. Plus a lot of cat poo.

Then and Now - the Courtyard

2010-06-10T20:51:00.000+01:00

Here's the yard in 1989, just after we'd moved in. On the left is the wash-house and lean-to; on the right is the wall covered in creeper (we found a huge wasp nest when we got around to ripping the creeper off) and the original gas lamp.

And here's the yard today. The troughs in the foreground are waiting to go into window boxes. As you can see by the ladder on the roof, we're still working on the place!

Bron-y-Graig's Guests donate to Help for Heroes

2010-05-30T21:59:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the generosity of guests at Bron-y-Graig we've just sent a cheque for £60 to Help for Heroes. We raised this between January and April this year by having a range of second-hand books for sale in our hall and bedrooms - here's Hero Bear who lives in the hall to publicise the sale.

Help for Heroes is our chosen charity for 2010 and we hope to raise more this year for this excellent cause. For more information, please visit their website http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/

Thank you to all who've donated so far.

Buttercups Like Poo

2010-05-20T16:27:00.000+01:00

Regular readers will remember my excitement over the acquisition of genuine farmyard manure, now spread in smelly quantities across every flowerbed. Last week I got some more peonies as a birthday gift and thought I'd better weed the beds before planting them. Well it is clear that buttercups, hitherto present only in my lawn, LOVE manure - the rosebed is infested. And they are cunning, devilish cunning. They grow up through the "proper" plants, making it extremely hard to root them out. Another gardening lesson learnt?

Rug Chapel

2010-05-04T22:32:00.001+01:00

Last weekend I took a friend to Rug Chapel which is only a mile from Bron-y-Graig. It's a tiny building in the care of CADW (link below).

Dating from 1637, it is crammed with carving and painting - naive animals, monsters and moon-faced angels, as well as a striking tomb with recumbent skeleton as a reminder that we are all mortal.

Tickets for Rug also entitle you to visit Llangar Church further down the valley and a visit to both is like stepping back in time. You won't find any crowds and you might just get them to yourself!

http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp?id=6&PlaceID=115

April Afternoon

2010-04-17T16:50:00.001+01:00

Bliss! I've just spent an hour or more sunning myself in the courtyard - there is a suntrap on the slate terrace outside the Stables. I had 3 cups of coffee, a bar of fruit and nut and an Agatha Christie, so I was happy. And I got my vitamin D. In fact I actually put on a pair of shorts and stretched my pasty white pins out to the sun. It was so hot I needed to slap on some Tesco Factor Twenty.

So glad the weather is glorious as we have a large party guests here attending a wedding at Plas Isaf just up the road. The groom and best man stayed last night and today the family are here - David took photos of them as they set off for the wedding. It's a perfect day for photography - the sky a cloudless blue. Our other largish group of guests are canoeists from Ireland - competing in the slalom on the Tryweryn.

I felt as if I were on holiday myself yesterday - went up past Mold into the Clwydian range to meet a friend and fellow blogger who has an idyllic self-catering cottage with spectacular views (http://www.gwenoldy.com/). I took a circular route and came back via Llandyrnog and Ruthin along sunlit deserted country roads, tootling happily along like a character in an Agatha Christie novel.

From the kitchen now comes the very good smell of the beef casserole ready for the canoeists' dinner tonight so it's time to stop blogging and go and help.

Spring Morning

2010-04-01T11:17:00.001+01:00

Glorious spring morning here at Bron-y-Graig so I was out taking photos while the guests ate breakfast. There's something about the light reflected by a sprinkling of snow which attracts me. The sun was still low and casting the shadow of the twisted oak on to the house.

As I walked all round the garden I heard a woodpecker in the quarry, saw a tatty collared dove sorting out her plumage on the old pear tree and scared the heck out of the pheasant pair who were rummaging about on the billiard room lawn.

Since we removed the ash trees last summer the sun can reach into the quarry and it will be interesting to see how this changes what happens there.

Return of the Derby Roundabout Club Walkers

2010-03-23T12:48:00.000Z

Earlier this month we were pleased to welcome back to Bron-y-Graig the Derby Roundabout Club Walkers. Some of them have been coming back for four years! This is superb walking country and still not over-busy. The group usually arrive on the Friday and most set off for a walk in the afternoon - picture below kindly supplied by Keith Bonsor who organises the walking weekends for the Club.

If you are interested in joining Derby Roundabout Private Members Club, click this link http://bit.ly/roundaboutclub

The Stables gets five stars!

2010-03-19T08:04:00.000Z

This week we had our inspection by VisitWales. They looked at our refurbished Stables accommodation and graded it 5-star. We have opened a new website especially for the Stables http://www.stables-holiday-cottage.co.uk/ where you can see more pictures and availability for the whole of 2010.

Stone-throwing

2010-03-15T14:00:00.000Z

Yes, well. More horticulturally-minded friends have hastened to advise me that manure should be "well-rotted" before distribution. Too late. I have already flung it far and wide and it will just have to jolly well rot in situ. Glorious farmyard pong at the moment; luckily it is too chilly still for even the hardiest guest to think of lingering on the terrace, so they must settle for admiring my hard work from the drawing room windows which will provide sufficient olfactory protection.

However. Even more exciting than the manure purchase is the sudden delivery of a metric tonne of slate chippings which will beautify my tatty paths. The truck came on Saturday and swung a squat bag of lovely purplish stones expertly over the wall ready for spreading. First I have to weed the paths, though, and remove the detritus of the harsh winter.

Muckraking

2010-03-06T11:36:00.000Z

It's a lovely spring day here and we've been to the dump with three Laguna-loads of detritus from bathroom refurbishments and garden clearance. On the way back I treated myself to 10 bags of manure from one of the farms up the road. They often have sacks of the stuff for sale and an honesty box (50p a bag). The farmer was just on his way out and helped load my smelly purchase. "Fresh off the field today," apparently. Can't wait to pile the lumps round my inexpertly-pruned rose bushes.

Stables Refurbishment - Bathrooms

2010-03-01T10:46:00.000Z

The refurbished bathrooms for the bedrooms in the Stables are now completed - just in time for our first guests who are visiting from Germany.

Bargain Bed and Breakfast Prices all this week and next!

2010-02-04T10:52:00.000Z

It's quiet here but spring is definitely on the way - a couple of lambs already in the fields across the river, snowdrops appearing in our flowerbeds. So why not have a quick break?

Grab this very special limited offer - available from Thursday 4 February to Thursday 11 February inclusive -

Special bed and breakfast prices per room per night

£30 - single room
£40 - double or twin room
£60 - family room (double bed, single bed, airbed - 2 adults & children up to 14 years)
Double room only - no breakfast - just £30 per night

For these special prices phone 01490 413007
or email info@north-wales-hotel.co.uk

All our rooms are as usual sumptuously furnished, with kingsize beds and sparkling bathrooms.

Snow Story

2010-01-16T13:15:00.001Z

Remember the snow?

Snowy convoy on the A5 outside Bron-y-Graig

2010-01-06T19:53:00.000Z

The Stables Refurbishment - "Kentish Rose"

2010-01-05T20:40:00.000Z

Over the Christmas period we've been refurbishing the Stables. So far we have almost completed a whole new look for the hall, stairs and landing, repapering in Morris & Co "Kentish Rose" and painting much of the woodwork in Farrow & Ball Pea Green which became such a favourite in the main house.

The Stables hall was originally the tackroom and of course there were no stairs; merely a trapdoor to the hayloft above. When we moved into Bron-y-Graig in 1988 the tackroom had tongue & groove panelling, with iron saddletrees and bridle hooks still on the wall.

Here's the Stables in 1988. We created a front door for The Stables using the tackroom window and added another gable.

Below is the Stables in 2009.

The hall, stairs and landing have now been repapered in Morris & Co “Kentish Rose” and painted in Dulux Firstlight and our favourite Farrow & Ball Pea Green which we’ve used such a lot in the main house.

On the right is the tackroom in 1992, just before the Stables was restructured. The door in the centre of the picture now leads to the sitting room. The small window became the Stables' front door.

Here is a comparable view from halfway up the stairs, showing the front door. Next job will be pictures and furniture.

A Walk in the Park

2009-12-16T10:18:00.000Z

I had a wonderful escape break in London last week. Perhaps the most enjoyable - because not planned - part was a lovely walk from our hotel in Paddington through Hyde Park to Knightsbridge. It was sunny and clear. We went into the Park at Lancaster Gate by the Italian Gardens and followed the Long Walk. We lingered by the Peter Pan Statue and watched a surprising variety of birds including terns and cormorants, the latter holding their wings outstretched as they stood on posts in the water. Hyde Park is an amazing wildlife sanctuary - there are nest boxes and feeding stations dotted round the park, and we enjoyed watching bathing blackbirds and very tame squirrels.

However the most interesting life in the park is without doubt the urban human. I felt I was in the background of Absolutely Fabulous - fur-wrapped, nattering mums, men barking instructions into mobile phones while ignoring their dogs, a lycra-clad woman with her own personal trainer doing weird stretches with giant rubber bands attached to a park lamp-post, very pale people emerging wanly from the open-air lido and removing their rubber swimcaps like penitents dropping their flails - and, best of all, a 50+ dad running, in full running gear, while pushing a child in a trendy 3-wheeler.

All this activity was extremely fun to watch as we had no plans in mind beyond coffee in Harrods. Actually coffee in Harrods turned out to be hot chocolate in Harrods Chocolate Bar before a visit to Christmas World. The chocolate was so thick it wasn't really a drink so thank goodness we hadn't ordered a chocolate pastry as well.

While in London we stayed at the Cardiff Hotel in Norfolk Square. I thought it was good value, being clean, warm, quiet and very well-located. You can find it here http://www.cardiff-hotel.com/

Escape in the Opposite Direction

2009-12-08T09:47:00.000Z

Most people would escape to the country. But if you live in the country, every now and again you need the bright lights... well, I do. So I am off to London today meet up with college friends and breathe deeply of culture, entertainment and all the capuccino I can gulp.

I'll be meeting friends under some pleasingly archaic derriere in the British Museum, and later that evening we'll go to the new Bennett play, Habit of Art at the National. I've loved reading Bennett over many years but have only seen a couple of his plays so I'm thrilled BFfC was sharp enough to get us tickets as soon as they were released. We might hang around like groupies to catch a glimpse of the Great Man beforehand.

Then on Wednesday we will "do" the V&A - new Renaissance Galleries and Buddhist sculpture. And the shop. Then high tea with friends at Rocca on Old Brompton Road, before the highlight of our trip - Rufus Wainwright's Not So Silent Night at the Royal Albert Hall - link here http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/a-not-so-silent-night/default.aspx

Walk up Pen-y-Pigyn for great views over Dee Valley

2009-12-01T11:27:00.000Z

Went for a wintry walk up Pen-y-Pigyn -

great views of Caer Drewyn hillfort opposite and of Corwen below. My toes froze. Likewise my nose.

Get some Latin in Your Life - "Desire"

2009-12-01T09:51:00.002Z

Today's phrase - libido consedit - "the storm of passion has abated"
When can you use this?
Right after you realise you've just made an enormous fuss about something which really doesn't matter all that much - like Jamie Archer being chucked off X-factor.

Painting the Stables

2009-10-21T21:34:00.003+01:00

We had to remove all the roses and geraniums first ..........

New Sign for Bron-y-Graig Reception

2009-10-21T21:28:00.004+01:00

We now have a sign over the entrance and it looks very smart - why didn't we think of this before?

The sign also shows the Edge House name which we use on some websites.

Painting the Porch

2009-09-23T22:12:00.002+01:00

Rubbing down the masonry and painting the porch

Bron-y-Graig Maintenance - Washing the Stables roof

2009-09-10T18:47:00.003+01:00

Looks great now it's done but now it makes the roof of the main house look decidedly dirty .....

Days Out - Rhosneigr

2009-08-28T18:31:00.003+01:00

Spent a couple of seaside days on Anglesey at Rhosneigr which has a fabulous beach with something for everyone- rockpools, clean sand, exciting swimming, boats, jetskis, kitesurfing and - my personal favourite - scope for long walks along the beach and back through sand-dunes.

Rhosneigr is about 1 hr 15 mins drive from Bron-y-Graig - follow the A5 west through Snowdonia, cross the Menai Strait and pick up the A55 across the island; Rhosneigr is on the north west coast.

Days Out - Wroxeter

2009-08-28T18:19:00.004+01:00

Just one hour from Bron-y-Graig is Wroxeter Roman City - much of it is under fields, but the impressive leisure complex - bath house, shops, basilica- is still visible. To reach Wroxeter from Bron-y-Graig, follow the A5 round Shrewsbury and look for the signs.

Butterflies on Bron-y-Graig Buddleia

2009-08-22T17:14:00.000+01:00

It's a glorious August afternoon and the buddleia bushes are alive with butterflies. We pruned the buddleia back hard this June and it really seems to have paid off.

We've gone digital!

2009-08-05T22:43:00.000+01:00

Bron-y-Graig is gearing up for the digital switchover - October 2009 for our part of Wales.

Today we had a new aerial installed - during the previous week David has set up 10 new digital tellies, with integral DVD and Freeview, in each bedroom. The tellies look a lot smarter and hopefully our guests will enjoy the increased choice.