The Gwrdu June 2013

We set off early on Friday morning with Charlotte, Rog , Val and Med for the  long journey to mid Wales. Our destination was the Gwrdu, a remote farm house in the depths of the Hafran Forest in mid Wales . The house has been in Charlotte's family for generations and has many fond memories for her. The weather and the traffic were grim as we left, but by the time we got to Bristol the sun came out and it was absolutely glorious . We met up in Abergavenny for a quick cuppa and then it was off on the final leg of the journey.

 When we were almost there we stopped for lunch at the Llyn Clywedog reservoir

Not a bad spot for a picnic!

                      

Apart from a few fishermen and an overly curious sheep, we had the place to ourselves.

The Gwrdu. Can you see it?

 No, well here it is.

                                      

Unless you had the exact location, you would never, ever find this place. It is so well hidden. We got unpacked as quickly as we could  and  got outside to soak up those precious rays.

    

  It was very hot and you can just see Val and Med slapping on the sun cream.We had a bit of a snooze to recover from the journey  then we went for a walk around the estate.

So much space and not another soul in sight. This bench is  just in front of a small lake where a family of ducks had taken up residence. In the background is the Hafren Forest.

        

                                                              

  The edge of the lake.

              

On the move again

                           

The boys 

                                            and the girls.

                                  

                                     

               

As the house is so remote and the nearest shop is miles away we have to take everything with us. The men took beer and we ladies took everything else. The kitchen isn't exactly full of mod cons but we managed to knock up a pretty impressive curry 

 Not bad.

                                 Cheers!

        

The next day was beautiful so we set off on a walk over the hills to the reservoir. Although it was part of a long distance path called the Glyndwrs Way we didn't see another soul.

                          

Me and the old boy, it's a long way to go ! 

                    

             

We are half way there.

                       

                 Just got to get round these trees

               

                       Rog, planning the route.                  

We made it, just got to get down to the water's edge and walk home along the road beside the reservoir . When we set off we thought we might be cold but we were so warm by the time we got here we had all taken off our fleeces and were wearing them around our waists.

           

  

These sheep were loving this, I think it's called a salt lick. Whatever it was they were not going to stop just because we were there.

On Sunday we went to a little town called Maespoeth for what we thought was going to be a 50 minute ride on a steam train. The ride lasted about 5 minutes and the rest of the time was taken up by a very enthusiastic railway buff telling us lots of facts and figures about the railway. If you were an enthusiast it was probably very informative but unfortunately we aren't and it wasn't ! 

We went on from there to Aberdovey. It was absolutely heaving and as there was nowhere to park we drove on to Tywyn

      People were sitting on these steps and some had BBQs on the go. Children were playing in the water and it all looked very lovely.

                                                 

Back to the Gwrdu for some more R&R

  Earlier in the year Charlotte's mum Ethelwyn sadly died. Charlotte arranged for a bench to be placed at the Gwrdu in her memory. Ethelwyn spent many happy years holidaying here and I think we could all imagine her sitting on this spot in the sunshine. 

  On Saturday night we went to the nearest, and only pub. It was about 4 miles away on the edge of a quarry. We had been there before and although it wasn't great it was friendly enough. After carefully choosing our food, a decision based on what might be edible rather than what we wanted, it became obvious that the other dozen or so people in the bar all knew each other and the publicans very well. The family who ran this pub were without doubt the most enormous  people I have ever seen. The"Mrs" could barely walk and the son who did all the cooking was a dead ringer for Smiffy, from G&S. Mid way through the evening " Smiffy" walked in to the bar with a huge cake and champagne and thanked everyone for their custom. It was their last night as owners and we had unwittingly gate crashed the farewell party. We got cake and champagne as well.

                                                    

   

We had a fabulous time. The weather was perfect as was the company

And finally...............

 

What do you think happened here?

A)He was hit by the table when it was caught in a gust of wind

B) He was dancing on the table and fell off when it collapsed or,

C) He was using it as a wind shield.

In case you couldn't guess, it was C.