Pembrokeshire (UK) – The travels of Mary Loosemore

Herefordshire Week 198: Tuesday 10 – Monday 16 October 2023

Pembrokeshire for the Everest Trek Get Together No. 19.

My first full week back home = still catching up.

Tuesday comprised catching up on admin and weeknotes 196 and 197, walking to and from Ewyas Harold for my first in person Physio appointment at the surgery (VG. Assessment = Hip pain, right glute med tendinopathy + some ITB / Iliotibial Band Syndrome symptoms), Pembs Prep, another catch up with Val, more apple collecting, a great update from dad on his jaundice.

Beautiful day.

Pilates in the evening – getting back into the gym routine, even if it’s only for a couple of weeks.

Having failed to book onto the morning gym classes, Wednesday was more admin, mainly money – I’m still working out my “being retired cash flows” – and we had our catch up with Carol. Also some Nepal prep – working out paying, online tourist visa (bearing in mind the max 15 days in advance constraint) and checking eBay for Expedition grade down jackets….

Over to J’s for dinner in the evening. Lovely. On my way there, I spooked an owl down by Blackmoor Farm.

A very rainy day.

Thursday morning featured LBT at the Gym and Chutney Transport Box pick up from the shop, then back home to finish off weeknotes 197, which also entailed fully Flickring Italy photos.

More gym on Friday morning, a petrol fill up at the Forge, more computing (I forget what), then off to Pembs for Everest Trek Get Together No. 19, picking up Hazel at Carmarthen en route to Mayhem where Steffi supplied a Greek Feast as a change from the usual Curries. Replete, Dave drove us to the van and we polished off a bottle of wine.

The heavy rain had cleared to sunshine on the drive west.

Steffi spotted Starlink low on the horizon. It was that or anti alien tracer fire….

Saturday’s walk was the Marloes Circular, with sunshine, seals and a super lunch at Runwayskiln.

Back at the van, a cup of tea then down to the beach for a gorgeous sunset.

Once darkness had descended, we relaxed in the van where wine and crisps were followed by cheese and biscuits, fruit and wine. And bed.

Mandatory Sunday morning stroll on Newgale Beach, then back to Mayhem for Mexican! Lovely sunny day. Cold and crisp overnight and in the shade. October has arrived.

Home by 6pm, got the log stove going – first time this year (well since the spring at any rate).

It had been cold overnight, so on Monday morning we put the heating on. First time…

A couple of hours prepping (these) weeknotes and updating already-flickred photos (Pembs and previous) and doing my new physio exercises, then out to bonfire.

Slow going, and very smoky, but over the next 6 hours or so I got through the three piles of hedge clippings and the older pile(s) of tree / shrub loppings. During the marathon session Phil brought my lunch out to me and laid on the 4pm tea and biscuit on the patio. I was done by 5pm-ish, give or take a few extra bramble cuttings.

In between times I trimmed the broken branches I could reach on our Wedding Plum, deconstructed the old, broken deck chair in the quarry and repurposed it as compost heap “fence” and refreshed the bait in the rodent trap – something had moved the box and dug a path to it; hopefully rats as the bait was all gone.

Listened to a lot of the Empire podcast episodes.

Got my Disney+ subscription up and running in the evening and started The Mandalorian.

The days are definitely drawing in. Dawn colours lingering over Grey Valley at 7.30am, and getting dark by 6pm.

TV: Fleabag, The Ghosts cast on the show’s final series | BFI Q&A (plus the Comic Relief Kylie Special and Bloopers on YouTube), This Farming Life, The Mandalorian.

Podcasts: In Our Time, Shedunnit, Empire.

Photos: Herefordshire week 198 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2023-10-15.

Herefordshire Week 184: Tuesday 04 – Monday 10 July 2023

Pembrokeshire mini break: walking, painting, eating & drinking.

Caerfai Bay to Whitesands and back into St Davids for ice cream: The Three Amigas

Tuesday morning, to Haverfordwest to meet up with M&M for Venezuelan brunch at the Haverhub. Our first foray into the town itself – our previous stops have always been supermarket-focused. Bigger than expected!

Full of Venezuelan arepas we drove south to Bosherton and parked in the cafe (aka Mrs Weston’s As Was) car park – it’s £2 for non patrons, handy to know that’s an option when the main car park is full, which it was.

We did the Bosherton Lily Ponds & Stackpole Quay Circuit: Lily Ponds – Broad Haven – Coast to Stackpole Head, Barafundle Bay & Stackpole Quay – over the Park fields to the Eight Arch Bridge – back around more of the Lily Ponds. Cool and cloudy but no rain.

Bosherton Lily Ponds & Stackpole Quay Circuit: The Eight Arch Bridge

Distance: 6 miles
Walking Time: 2h 10 mins
Elapsed Time: 2h 40 mins
Elevation Gain: 582 ft

Returning north toward H’West we were driving towards blue skies. Screwfix for deck painting kit and Lidl for supplies. G&Ts out on the decking under sunny skies – lovely.

Mexican wraps for dinner.

Wednesday was designated deck painting day! We had a mix of blue skies and clouds – no rain though and not too hot – perfect for painting Steffi’s new decking with wood preserver. We were done by 1.30pm, including a tea / coffee break in between completing the spindles and bannisters and starting on the decking floor.

Lunch inside then out to walk Southwood Estate (short version to avoid possible cow encounters) and for another stroll on Newgale Beach, this time at even lower tide and with more time exploring the rock pools. All under blue skies and sunshine. Gorgeous.

Distance: 5.3 miles
Walking Time: 1h 55 mins
Elapsed Time: 2h 15 mins
Elevation Gain: 1,005 ft

Back at base by 5pm.

Prosecco. Crisps. Olives. Carrot sticks and the last of the dips. Garlic bread. Pasta. Bed 🙂

Thursday started late but we were parked in St Davids and heading off to walk the coast path from Caerfai Bay to Whitesands by 10am. Coffee and carrot cake at Porthclais, lunch at the usual spot (the old copper mine works looking out over the tidal race to Ramsay Island), St Justinians, Whitesands and back into St Davids for ice cream. No porpoises but we did have oyster catchers and rock pigeons, and an adder at St Non’s Stone Stile.

Caerfai Bay to Whitesands and back into St Davids for ice cream: Porthclais

Caerfai Bay to Whitesands and back into St Davids for ice cream: Approaching Whitesands

Strava Map & Graph: Caerfai Bay to Whitesands and back into St Davids for ice cream

Distance: 12.3 miles
Walking Time: 4h 15 mins
Elapsed Time 5h 40 mins
Elevation Gain: 1,155 ft

We were home by 4.30pm just as the wind picked up and the rain began.

Fish & chips / Breaded mushrooms & chips / Sausage, chips & beans from the Back Lane Chippy for tea. Early to bed (again).

Friday saw us return to St Davids, this time on the 09.30 T11 bus from Newgale Bridge. Grey clouds, cool, v windy for the walk south from Caerfai to Solva. We stopped for lunch at The Cambrian Inn… and watched the last of the cloud clear to leave blue skies and a very, very sunny afternoon for the remainder of the coast walk back to Newgale. We lucked out on the tides again and headed down to the beach at Pen-y-Cwm rather than doing the final climb up and over the headland.

St Davids - Solva - Newgale: Solva — St Davids – Solva – Newgale: Solva

St Davids - Solva - Newgale — St Davids – Solva – Newgale

St Davids - Solva - Newgale: Panorama — St Davids – Solva – Newgale: Panorama

Strava Map & Graph: St Davids - Solva - Newgale — Strava Map & Graph: St Davids – Solva – Newgale

Distance: 12.4 miles
Walking Time: 4h 30 mins
Elapsed Time 7h 40 mins
Elevation Gain: 1,823 ft

Ice cream / pints to celebrate the almost end of the walk, then back to the van.

Hot hot hot. Too hot to sit out on the deck. Hoovered, did the recycling, showered. Breeze outside meant it was nice and cool inside.

Tidied up leftovers for tea. Turns out yesterday’s chips revive brilliantly in an air fryer….

Lots of rabbits! And swallows whizzing around overhead.

Saturday morning = packing up, final clean, recycling & rubbish, then driving back to Forty Acres. I drove H, C & P into Hereford for lunch at Zizzi’s and to drop off H at the station, after we all got caught in the downpour getting pork pie and burgers from Neil Powell’s.

C & I spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing in the conservatory as the rain sporadically hammered down until it was time for the football for C (Under 21 European Championship Final) and reading for me – happily devouring Fanfare’s discussion of Ted Lasso season 3. I’m at the forgiveness and mercy end of the Nate redemption arc. And Jade as restaurant staff deliberately gives nothing away to the many many punters who she must have to engage with rather than having nothing to give away.

After tea in the conservatory we watched The Friday Crossword Masterclass from Cracking the Cryptic on YouTube. If you’re on the fence when it comes to crosswords, it’s worth a watch. Particularly as the one we watched was the day after a lot of drinking the night before for Simon Anthony…. we are all human!

On Sunday we waved Catherine off on her drive home then pottered until it was time to pick up Sue from Hereford station in the evening. It’s all go here! Heavy rain on and off all afternoon.

Admin on Monday morning mainly catching up on weeknotes and Flickring photos (although Flickr was down a lot so that took some time). Army camp busy. Very wet again. More computing in the afternoon, including making a start on a Blurb Book for my Nepal 2022 trek.

I saw the nuthatch on the bird feeder. AND A SQUIRREL HAS WORKED OUT HOW TO GET INSIDE THE SQUIRREL-PROOF BIRD FEEDER. Yes, that merits ALL CAPS. GRRRRRR.

TV: The Friday Crossword Masterclass from Cracking the Cryptic (YouTube), Bridge of Spies.

Podcasts: The Forum, Empire, The Essay, Shedunnit, The Memory Palace.

Photos: Herefordshire week 184 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2023-07-09.

Herefordshire Week 183: Tuesday 27 June – Monday 03 July 2023

Oxford, Highnam, Aconbury Camp & Athelstan’s Wood, and Pembrokeshire.

Monday’s flat tyre meant I needed to rejig my Tuesday plans a bit, so that I could take the car to Bernie Jones’ for some new front tyres. I had already bought an entrance ticket and train tickets to Oxford to visit the Labyrinth exhibition at The Ashmolean Museum, and luckily the exhibition ticket was for the early afternoon so I had time to get a later train.

GWR’s new timetable appears to have given up on most of the direct Hereford-Paddington services, so instead the journey requires a change in Worcester from WMR to GWR which makes for a much longer journey, and carries the inherent risks of dealing with two separate TOCs. On the plus side, the last minute advance First Class ticket was cheaper than the Standard so at least I got some complimentary refreshments on the Worcester to Oxford leg, which put me into a better mood.

I didn’t think much of the exhibition though. Bit of a waste of a day.

Another outing on Wednesday, this time on a group trip with dad and Jean to visit Highnam Court gardens and Highnam church. VWW once I got home.

Thursday was a rare day at home, although it did feature tea and catch up with A in the morning. Mowed in the afternoon (getting a stack of insect bites in the process – and they itched for days) and then got the garden railway track and other dad railway related stuff down out of the loft and cleaned it up. Too much and too tired to inventory it, so I’ll need to reschedule my visit to Hereford Model Centre. Caught up with RG over Zoom, with beer and Bombay mix, then dinner and telly.

I had my first class at GV gym on Friday morning – Stretch with Caz – then home for a quick tidy up my office ahead of H using the guest room elements tomorrow (she and C arriving for our Pembs minibreak) before heading out into Hereford again – tip, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and B&Q for Pembs Purchases, plus fresh cheese supplies for J&J’s party tomorrow.

In the evening, we wrapped up Ted Lasso series 3. Just right. And pizza too.

I decided not to do the Elan Valley walk on Saturday – 90 mins each way would have made the evening plans a bit too much of a rush. So I pottered until lunchtime when Hazel and Catherine arrived. We lunched out on the patio, sat and chatted, checked out the newts and the fish, strolled around the grounds.

In the evening we all walked to Kerrys Gate for J&J’s party. A lovely sociable evening. We returned under an almost full moon, clear skies. No need for torches.

Sunday breakfast then to Little Birch for the GVWC Aconbury Camp and Athelstan’s Wood Figure of Eight walk.

Strava Map & Graph: GVWC Aconbury Camp and Athelstan's Wood Figure of Eight — Strava Map & Graph: GVWC Aconbury Camp and Athelstan’s Wood Figure of Eight

Distance: 7 miles
Walking Time: 2h 34 mins
Elapsed Time: 3h 30 mins
Elevation Gain: 944 ft

Nice route and we managed to follow the path through the broad bean field. Over 20 there and 5 dogs made for quite a slow pace so it was 2pm before we were home for a late lunch.

GVWC: Aconbury Camp and Athelstan's Wood Figure of Eight - Through the Bean Field — GVWC: Aconbury Camp and Athelstan’s Wood Figure of Eight – Through the Bean Field

Lovely drive to Pembs via Hay and Brecon, once we had Tetris-ed everything into C’s car. Gorgeous sunny evening – perfect for a glass of wine on the deck before dinner.

Monday was cool and cloudy after heavy rain overnight, and very windy, so we settled for a long stroll on the beach south to explore the rock pools. Out in St Brides Bay a kite surfer was making the most of the surf and the wind and a few folks were heading out with surf boards.

With the tide on the way out we walked north to Pen-y-Cwm Beach and back over the headland for views of Newgale Beach …. and a couple of pints at the Duke of Ed. Thatput paid to our plans to do the Southwood Estate walk in the afternoon.

Super sunset.

In garden news – I have a pea pod!

… and a cucumber big enough to pick!

TV: Ted Lasso (finished season 3 – a bit baggy in places but still lovely).

Podcasts: History Extra, The Forum, Empire, The Essay.

Photos: Herefordshire week 183 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2023-07-02.

Herefordshire Week 179: Tuesday 30 May 2023 – Monday 05 June 2023

To Pembrokeshire for Everest Trek Get Together No. 18. This autumn’s Nepal trek comes into focus. Frogs!

Tuesday morning, cool and breezy, a good time for admin: weeknotes, banking, emails, flights…. The morning brightened and I had time to rake some of the mown grass into more readily collectable lines and piles before lunch, and to take the ride on mower for a grass collecting (and more cutting!!) spin after. Just enough petrol….

We also topped up the pond with the 4 buckets of tap water we’d left standing for 24 hours to let the chlorine out.

Strawberries from the greenhouse for pudding at dinner.

Quite cold on Wednesday. Good for indoor jobs, and for an afternoon outing to Tescos. Second top up of the pond. More strawberries from the greenhouse for dinner.

The cool and cloudy weather continued on Thursday. Phil and I booked our Turin hotel for September’s trip, then on to more computer admin for the rest of the morning. I ought to feel like I’d achieved more.

In the afternoon – sunny, of course – I had my last under-the-radar 1-2-1 session with my LW successor. Good luck PH! P’s weekend guest, D, arrived and we had dinner in the conservatory before I headed on on a fast drive to AGV to collect H. Back for cheese and wine.

Another cool and cloudy start to Friday. P made two fresh loaves and we ate half of one for breakfast. Yum Yum. P and D headed out to walk Tremorithic while H and I waited for the courier to collect my work IT kit… in vain.

Just before lunch, as the sun came out, dad arrived with 2 bags charcoal ahead of the Annual Birthdays Party BBQ later this month, soon followed by D&G and P&D. Time for a potter around the garden, primarily to check on newts and tadpoles / froglets / frogs, then lunch on the patio. Lovely.

Mid-afternoon, D, G, H and I set off for Pembs taking the Bredwardine / Bridge Sollers route to avoid the Hay Festival. A gorgeous afternoon – blue skies and sunshine. Nice to be able to look out of the window; I’m usually driving.

We arrived at Steffi’s around 6.30pm. Gs&Ts on the deck waiting for CN to arrive – the M4 route turned out to be a bit rough – then the usual fantastic Friday night curry feast.

Then to the (still new) caravan!

Fantastic weather all weekend. Perfect for walking. Perfect for al fresco eating and (moderate) drinking.

On Saturday we caught the fflecsi bus Steffi had booked to Strumble Head and walked the Strumble Head Circular: 8.82 miles, elevation gain 1,460 ft; lunch at the memorial to the last invasion of mainland Britain; lots of wild flowers; TWO seals!

Strumble Head Circular: Strumble Head Lighthouse

And on the return fflecsi, our driver was all set to drive us all the way back to the caravan until we convinced him we were fine walking up the final hill.

Back at base, drinks on the decking, dinner inside, wonderful sunset.

The glorious weather continued on Sunday. Breakfast outside, a stroll on the golden sands of Newgale Beach at low tide, then back to Steffi’s for one of Maurice’s wonderful, table-filling Sunday lunches.

D&G drove me home, dropping off H at Carmarthen for the new direct train service to London. Back at 40A we found Phil & D had done some scything, the first of the year. Much easier than last year, Phil says.

Bit of a blue day Monday. Pembs took a bit out of (introvert) me, plus arranged to see JC when we’re in Birmingham in July and planning to visit Temple Fields.

On the plus side, I bought flights to Kathmandu for our Oct/Nov trek. And prepped and published my Where Next: Kangchenjunga & Lumba Sumba blogpost.

It warmed up in the afternoon.

Phil did some more scything.

In the small pond I spotted fully formed (small) frogs, together with froglets (front and back legs, but still with a tail) and the younger generation still at tadpole stage.

Frog(let)s in the small pond: A more mature specimen, with no tail left – centre of the photograph

Phil watched the Apple Keynote in the early evening. I’m all good to buy my Mac Mini. Thank heavens.

TV: Poker Face (finished season 1), Colin From Accounts (not for me), The Gallows Pole.

Podcasts: History Extra, Anglo-Saxon England, Empire.

Photos: Herefordshire week 179 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2023-06-04.

Herefordshire Week 171: Tuesday 04 – Monday 10 April 2023

Easter in Pembrokeshire.

Tuesday saw a frosty start after another cold night. Beautifully sunny though, so after weeknotes I headed out for a walk: Abbey Dore – Cwm Hill – Tremorithic Road – Fair Oak Farm – Bacton – Kerrys Gate. Gorgeous.

Hatterrall Ridge Panorama, Tremorithic Road

Usual work week, with VWW but no Family Zoom. Turned one of the bags of Wild Garlic into soup, riffing off Felicity Cloake’s How to make the perfect nettle soup.

Hazel arrived Thursday evening – good excuse for cheese and a glass of red wine before turning in for the night.

Up early on Friday for the drive to Pembrokeshire to spend Easter Weekend with Steffi in The New Van. Gorgeous day. The van’s lovely. We settled in on the New Decking for a late lunch and early afternoon van-warming…. which ended up lasting into the early evening.

Good Friday afternoon drinks on the decking at Steffi's new van, Newgale — Good Friday afternoon drinks on the decking at Steffi’s new van, Newgale

We eased into Saturday, walking to Newgale village to catch the 9.30am bus into St Davids. Coffee at the Really Wild Emporium, Oggies from Losh’s Pasties, and buying brownies/blondies for emergency rations from the Easter market at Oriel y Parc before setting off along the coast path to Solva.

A lovely sunny day and a lovely sunny walk. Spring flowers galore.

A stop in Solva for pot of tea in The Ship’s back beer garden then on to Newgale – where we polished off the brownies with a pot of tea back at the van.

Dinner was fish & chips from the Back Lane Chippy in H’west AKA the Coronation Chippy. Mushy pea fritter + chips + sweet ‘n’ sour sauce = Heaven.

Sunday was cloudier and brought more of a breeze. I drove us to Angle where we parked at West Angle Bay and set off on the Angle Circular. At Cafe Môr, The Old Point House, we tucked into a seaweed-themed second breakfast, then continued on towards Freshwater West and back to the car park for a cup of tea and a crumble slice from the Wavecrest Cafe. Yummy.

Angle Circular: Hazel and Steffi on the path

Then back to Steffi’s for the mandatory Maurice Sunday Feast – the Sunday Lunch (Dinner) that never disappoints!

The rain arrived.

We had pencilled in more walking on Monday, but the weather forecast was more rain so once I’d dropped H off at H’west and S at home, I continued the drive east getting home in time for lunch. And sunshine.

Phil had some sad bird news: he’d found two tiny green birds dead on the patio, and identified them as goldcrests. I’ve never seen them here.

The afternoon was a strange mixture of sunshine and occasional heavy showers, one of which featured hailstones. Phil and I sat out in the conservatory reading on the New Corner Sofa. A bit fidgety, I made Wavecrest-meets-Whitworths-inspired Brandy Apple Mincemeat crumble slices, and once I’d finished Barbara Kingsolver’s heavy-hitting Demon Copperhead, did (a version of) Meera Sodha’s New Potato, Chard & Coconut green curry for dinner – which we ate watching Succession, season 4, episode 3. Oh my!

In sprouting seed news, seedlings have emerged in the rocket and mixed lettuce trays.

Retirement Days Tracker: 16 ½ days to go

TV: Shetland, Succession.

Podcasts: Anglo-Saxon England, The History of England.

Photos: Herefordshire week 171 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2023-04-09.