Visiting old memories and fulfilling a wish

My lovely Hubby treated me to a couple of days away in North Wales as an early birthday treat as we will be on holiday with friends on my actual birthday. 

From an early age St Asaph, Llanelwy in Welsh, was my holiday destination, camping in a field on Pen-y-clink farm with the scouts. I was only 11 months old on my first camp and I think the last was 1981 (although we did alternate with camping in Weymouth in the late 1970s)

This is a photo of me in the arms of one of the scouts at Caernarfon Castle on a day trip during that first camp in 1966, and of me at camp a little later. 

I also found a photo of a couple of 'end of camp under the flagpole' must have photos. I think the years are 1974 and 1976 but I may be wrong. All the photos were my Dad's but there were no dates on them.

This is the campsite and the farm as it is today, it was nice to see the name plaque on the fence. We used to get our water and milk from the farm. The water was in a huge metal milk run that we had to take down the lane to full up, it was hard work pulling it back up even on the trolley. The milk was fresh from the milking parlour in a smaller urn. 

I'm not sure it's fit for camping anymore ... times move on with campsites having plumbed in pitch services rather than milk churns, although it was nice to see that the field was not a new housing estate. 

Not far from St Aspah is Rhuddlan, we used to pass by to get to Rhyl for the day. There's a ruined castle there dating back to the 1200s, it is ruined due to being destroyed in the Civil War. It has always been known in our family as 'my tatty castle', it was so lovely to see it again ... even more amazing that our room looked directly over it, we hadn't requested it. 

Before checking in we visited Dyserth Waterfalls, it's quite an impressive drop. We did climb to the top via the steep stairway, with a rest halfway. The views were amazing, a bit hazy, but we could see as far as Llandudno. Unfortunately the river walk was closed due to needing repair but we had a lovely walk through the woods and down the lane to avoid going down the steep steps. 

It was so nice to be back in North Wales, if only one night, added to with our journey home being through Denbigh, Ruthin and the Horseshoe Pass. The weather was very misty, I think at 400m we were actually in cloud but you can see the road snaking down. After breakfast at the Ponderosa Cafe on the very top of the pass we travelled down into Llangollen for a very special birthday treat.

I have always wanted to cross the Pontcycyllte Aqueduct which carries the Llangollen Canal over the River Dee. It is only 13ft wide including one tow path (originally for the horses) and is 126ft high. There is only a rail on the towpaths side so it's quite precarious looking down from the boats. It is only wide enough for one boat and is just over 300m long. 

My birthday treat was a canal boat trip along the canal from Llangollen with Afternoon Tea as we sailed along. It was lovely if at times a little bumpy as the canal is very shallow so the boat bottom scrapes along, and narrow so the sides bump the walls. Our tea was super, of course we added a glass of bubbly each too.

Back in Llangollen we just managed to see the horse drawn trip leaving, this trips goes the other direction along the canal. On the way home we passed by the Aquaduct going over the small bridge in my photo, it is very high and amazing to have travelled across it. 

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We had a super two days, we love a road trip and it was so good to visit old places again. Thank you Nick for a lovely birthday treat! 

Cakes ...

This month I'm taking part in #commonthreadedstitcher on Instagram ... a month of daily postings about various things but mainly my stitching. You don't often see my crafts on here as I have a separate blog  - Aimetu's Stitching. 

Anyway yesterday's post was about our favourite recipe, mine is cake ... I love baking especially for others. 

Mine is for a simple sponge. My grandmother taught me this when I was very young and I proudly passed it on to our daughter. Many people I know use this basic recipe, it works every time. It's a recipe that can be easily scaled to any size, works well as a large cake or as cupcakes and can be made in any flavour 😋

My Sponge Recipe

2oz/50g butter

2oz/50g sugar

1 egg

2oz/50g self raising flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, beat in egg, sift in flour and baking powder. Fold everything together.

Increase these amounts depending on how many eggs you want. A 2lb loaf tin takes a 3 egg mix.

Bake at 180C or 160C fan - for a 3 egg I allow about 45/50 mins but in reality if I can smell the cake it's cooked.

Don't open the oven door if the cake still looks wet in the middle or it will sink. If you think it's done check with a skewer which should come out clean .... yum yum

I have hosted, and donated to, many fundraising cake days. I usually make a large cake, here's a collage of my favourites, some were for birthdays or occasions, they are not all sponge cakes.

Top: Chocolate Guinness 

Middle: Victoria Sponge, Creme Egg Cheesecake, Simnel

Bottom: Blackforest Gateaux, Gugelhupf, Coffee and Walnut

I also love making small cakes, especially on a theme. I have made many different cakes for the stitching meet ups with my friends. The raspberry cakes were mini red wine cakes made for a Hen Party: Boo cakes for Halloween: mini Carrot Cakes and Movie themed cupcakes. 

I have made a birthday cake every year for our childrens' birthday, although now they are 30 and 27 I no longer have a late night decorating a train or castle. I did however make a specially decorated cake for when I completed Clare's Challenge 50 - walking the route of the London Marathon in eight stages. 

Combining my stitching hobby and my love of baking we have a snowman Christmas Cake every year. A rich fruit cake decorated with my hand stitched cake band and a set of snowmen candles that I don't think will ever be actually lit. 

My favourite recent decorating was for the Jubilee in 2012. I made a crown cake to take to our friends party. With it being another Jubilee next year I might make another one as I did enjoy the challenge. 

I haven't been baking as much over the last eighteen months, looking at my photos I think I need to get back to it. There's a big Macmillan Coffee morning at the end of September so maybe I'll start by baking a few things for then. 

Morgon and Ventoux

It sounds like a solicitors or estate agents doesn't it - hee hee. In fact it was out latest online tasting with friends. 

Both wines were from Lidl as part of their French Wine Tour. Our first wine was a Ventoux, an area and wine Hubby and I know well however this was a new experience as it was Ventoux Blanc. 

We have tried and enjoyed many white Cotes du Rhone wines and as expected this was a lovely pale honey colour in the glass. It was hard to pinpoint the exact grapes used in this blend but white Grenache was present with its appley pear notes, maybe a touch of Clairette giving a white peach flavour and possibly Rousanne's delicacy. 

I really enjoyed this wine, it wasn't as dry as a Sauvignon Blanc yet had a lovely crispness. It had tropical notes but not overpowering, all in all a very enjoyable wine with a good body and medium length to its finish. 

It did make me think of our trip up Mont Ventoux, in the car, but I have evidence to show we did reach the Summit! 

Our second wine was Morgon, made from Gamay and not to everyone's taste. It is the grape used to make Beaujolais. We tried a little experiment with this wine trying it chilled and at room temperature. Many people chill their reds especially in hot weather and in hot climate countries as no-one wants to drink warm wine.

However I have found through tasting chilled and decanted wines that often the reduction of temperature also reduces the flavours and tannins ... the latter I'm quite happy to be softened. 

And so we decanted some of our Morgon and popped it in the fridge whilst leaving the remaining bottle at room temperature. 

I will say 24 was slightly high but it did drop to around 20 as evening fell. Hubby and I had a glass of each at the same time, we both found the chilled wine had less nose and less fruit, a bit thin in taste. The room temperature wine had much more fruit and slight tannins with a weightier and longer finish. It was interesting to see our glasses with the room temperature wine were emptied first.

However, and here's the thing, neither of us are particularly keen on Gamay. We don't dislike it, there are other grapes that we certainly do dislike, but it isn't a wine we would often select from the shelf. 

We have however enjoyed a very good Gamay, Duc de Belmont available at Majestic, one we would add to our order when it's available as it is not often on the shelf. 

We had a great tasting night, another hopefully soon, maybe next time from Aldi. I'm thinking a New World wine especially if there's a good selection of new vintages but we'll see what the shelves hold. 

Walking The Bay

A few weeks ago Hubby and I visited our daughter in Cardiff Bay. It's a superb area with such a variety of bars, restaurants and attractions. It's quite a distance for me as it's a good 6 mile walk but I was up for the challenge so off we set to 'walk the Bay'.

We have walked it before a few years earlier but walked anticlockwise from the Pierhead so this time we set off along Clarence Road crossing the River Taff. To walk in the opposite direction. The Cardiff Bay Trail then follows the Taff out to the Bay giving great views of the magnificent road bridge carrying the A4232 out of the city.

The trail path passes by Cardiff Rowing Centre and through Ferry Court apartments. Cardiff International White Water is worth a pause to be amazed at the canoeists and kayakers racing down the fast flowing water.

Further along and we meet another river. The River Ely brings boats, lots and lots of superb boats. It's an amazing sight seeing all the tall masts against the background of tall apartment buildings.

Time for a break, coffee and toasted teacake at Coffi Co. We've been to many places around the world but this has to be one of the best places to sit with a coffee and enjoy the view. 

The footpath crosses the River Ely via a swing bridge to allow the tall yacht to pass through. Upstream is the massive road bridge, more apartments and plenty of yachts, downstream is the Bay. It is amazing how it opens out, stunning views. 

This part of our walk brings back memories as when she first moved to South Wales our daughter lived in Penarth Marina. So many beautiful boats, lovely apartments and houses all along the waterfront. Penarth itself is high on the cliffs to the left, I remember it being a steep walk up but worth it for more magnificent views across to the city.

The highlight of the Cardiff Bay Trail must be the Barrage, locks that allow the boats and yachts out to sea. There is a swing bridge here too lifting the road (pedestrian and emergency traffic) as the locks are in operation. We stood and watched the rise and fall of the water inside the locks bringing boats in and out. It's also a great place to stand and see how far we have walked ... and how far we have to go! 

There is a breakwater at the Barrage stretching out to sea. From the very end we could just see the Severn Bridges in the distance. The English coast was also visable looking past Steep Holm and Flat Holm.

Leaving the Baraage behind we set off on the leg leg of our walk, along the embankment past the Aqua Park. Tempting though it was we hadn't brought our swimmies so we couldn't have a go! 

Instead we took breather on one of the many benches and watched a large container ship sail into Cardiff Docks. This is the sea side of the Bay and there is a separate lock for these large vessels to enter the docks. It was huge passing by us, amazing how they float!

Nearly back we passed by the Norwegian church and the sailors statue. The church is now a community hub with a cafe, it was originally built for the Norwegian seafarers and settlers.

The views around the Bay are amazing, whichever point of the trail you are on you can see for miles. One of my favourite views is the Pierhead and The Senedd (Welsh Goverment) as you approach the bustling bar and restaurant area. There is so much history here, it's very different to when it was all dockland. 

Having now walked the Bay in both directions I think this walk was my favourite. It is, as I said, around 6 miles, very do-able with so many places to stop and enjoy a coffee, drink and/or a bite to eat.

Our final stop was The Mount Stuart, our go to pub when in Cardiff Bay. It's a Wetherspoons so we know what to expect regarding food and drinks with the most spectacular views. Our pint and glass of wine was very much deserved and enjoyed looking across to the Norwegian church.

Hopefully we'll be back in Cardiff again soon to enjoy another 'walk the Bay' and of course see our lovely daughter.