Carsington Revisited

February 16, 2023January 22, 2023 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.Leave a comment

Before I became a full time carer one of the places I used to love going for a walk is Carsington Water. Owned by Severn Trent Water it is a wonderful area of beauty set in the Derbyshire countryside. The circular walk is just about 8 miles and it takes you around the reservoir, through countryside, through a small village and back to the visitor centre. It’s a lovely place to go. The visitor centre has lots of information on local attractions and places to visit. It also houses a rather good restaurant where they have the most delicious cakes, snacks and main meals. The restaurant overlooks the wildlife centre, views of the reservoir and also the small shops and snack bar. There are extensive grounds, a barbeque area, boating and cycle hire and therefore it is a great place to visit for families, couples and singletons. I love it there. We used to go at least twice a year for the circular walk and it was lovely to see the changing seasons as we walked through the various areas. I often said I would love to go there and walk four times a year and experience the four seasons on the walk. We’ve not managed this yet due to the various caring responsibilities but we will, one day.

After the trip to London last October https://atouchofirishsparkle.com/2023/01/13/the-london-trip/ we had returned home a day early due to the rail strikes so we had a surprise additional day together to do as we pleased. Saturday morning was chilly, bright blue skies and sunshine so we decided to go to Carsington Water and do the walk. Something we hadn’t done since 2015. We did things just as we did before, baked potato for lunch in the restaurant and then off on the walk returning for the post walk shortbread biscuit with smarties and a cappuccino, well I have just walked 8 miles…

As you can see from the photo’s the water levels are not as they should be. We were told that the reservoir was at 41% capacity and that that particular week was the first week in eighteen months that the water level had not decreased. A very different picture to what we were used to seeing albeit seven years earlier.

It was a fabulous walk and I admit I had to stop a few times to catch my breath on the uphill stretches and it felt so good to be there, in the fresh air, looking at nature and the two of us talking about everything under the sun. This was a completely unexpected bonus day out for us and we savoured every second of it. When we get to do things like this, you escape for a while from real life and you can be free. My caring journey is over however himself is a full time carer and like I used to be, rarely leaves the house. This was so good for him to get out, get exercise and experience some free time which is so important for carers to do.

If you find yourself in Derbyshire or indeed in the Midlands of the UK, I would recommend Carsington Water as a day out. https://www.stwater.co.uk/our-visitor-sites/carsington-water/ and if you do ever go, let me know how you got on and if the shortbread biscuits with smarties are as good as ever. I can also recommend the fresh baked scones with jam and cream. I used to buy those and take them home to my parents as a treat so I bought one for myself as a treat. As I said, I had walked 8 miles…

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

Pre Christmas Lights

January 26, 2023January 10, 2023 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.2 Comments

Lichfield in Staffordshire is such a beautiful city. Surrounded by countryside with an olde English city centre and yet a mix of the modern blends in so well. Steeped in history and with a wonderful cathedral, Lichfield is a lovely place during all seasons of the year, to wander around, visit places of interest and stop off for a coffee or something stronger.

Just before Christmas I visited Lichfield to see the Christmas lights and visit the cathedral. It was a chilly, frosty evening which felt perfect for the season. As you know I’m all about the sparkle and there was sparkle everywhere.

I also visited my usual parish church before Christmas as the priest, who used to visit my parents very often, was saying a mass for them during Advent. The church looked so beautiful and again, a gorgeous Christmas tree with loads of sparkle.

And in keeping with the church at Christmas theme, I have a picture of the Christmas tree and Advent candles from the church I visit when I am over with himself to care for his Mom. As you can see, I packed in the Christmas sparkle during the Advent season.

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

The London Trip

January 13, 2023December 13, 2022 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.7 Comments

Last October, himself arranged to go to London to work with and meet for the first time in person, not online, his work colleagues.

When he first mentioned the trip I invited myself. I haven’t visited London very often and I thought that this trip would cover a few things. We would get to spend some ‘us’ time together (or so I thought), it would do him the world of good to be out in the real world, in the office, meeting colleagues and living life and it would push me and my independence to do things alone.

Before the pandemic, you may already know, I was a full time carer for years for my parents who both passed in 2019. Then 2020 brought us the pandemic and in way we are all still coming to terms with life, a new way of living post Covid. For me, I’m learning to build a new life now that we are out of the various lockdowns and I need to push myself to try new things and explore and not stay within the comfort zone. Himself works from home as he is a full time carer for his Mother who has Vascular Dementia so this trip was a huge departure to normal life for him. We are ever thankful to his sister who took a week off work to come and look after her Mom and release himself for this trip.

Not your typical tourist photo’s of London, I do have a thing about buildings, views of buildings and buildings with trees around. I walked around forty miles during my free afternoons. Himself was gone to work first thing and I then worked from the hotel room until lunchtime and then I went out exploring. This was a massive step for me to do this, to leave the comfort of the hotel room and head out alone in our capital city. Isn’t it strange how we can scare ourselves about these things, get anxious about doing things alone, striding out into the busy London streets. I packed up my rucksack and off I went. We were positioned on the edge of the financial district as this was close to his office and therefore I was only ten minutes walk from London Bridge. That was my starting point. I walked around Tower Bridge, Hays Galleria, and St Katherine’s Dock. I walked through cobblestoned alleyways that led out to beautiful little courtyards and coffee shops.

The photo above is within Hays Galleria. I visited the Tate Modern and although some of it went right over my head, I found some exhibits really interesting. I had totally forgotten how into ‘Surrealism’ I was before I left school. I felt very cultured after my trip to the Tate. I also visited St Paul’s Cathedral. I didn’t get inside on this trip as the queues were long but I did have a walk around the grounds which were beautiful. Lots of photographers and their models within the grounds doing wedding photo shoots. Don’t you just love people watching?

Considering it was early October it was very warm in London. Apparently that’s down to the large buildings and skyscrapers. I absolutely loved my trip to the capital. I took the hop on/hop off bus around the city and have earmarked a number of places I want to visit in the future. Hopefully himself will be making another work trip there this year.

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

Ibiza Sunset

July 25, 2022July 9, 2022 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.7 Comments

Finally, after a three year wait we had our holiday to the beautiful White Isle that is Ibiza. I love this island so much. Actually it’s ten years since I was first in Ibiza with himself so really I’ve waited ten years to get back there with him. It’s such a pretty island and apart from the party central areas where the younger people go to dance and enjoy being young and free, the island is fairly quiet. Beautiful resorts and inland villages, a laid back vibe and bathed in the gorgeous Mediterranean sunshine. I am a Spain freak since I first visited Menorca with my Mom back in the 1980’s. I just love Spain.

One thing I have always wanted to see is the sunset in Ibiza. When we were there in 2012 we booked to go on the sunset trip but unfortunately the weather out at sea on that particular day was not good and the trip was cancelled. I visited again in 2014 with my friend and once again the sunset trip was booked. This time we actually got out on the trip but just before the sunset, the clouds appeared as did the thunder and lightening. It was amazing to watch from our vantage point out at sea but no sunset.

So, this year whilst we were there we decided to try again. The day of the trip was glorious, blue sky, not a cloud in sight but I wasn’t going to get too excited after what had happened in 2014. The bus picked us up and we travelled over to San Antonio bay. It was still a beautiful evening. We got on the boat, sipped sangria and the boat set sail. A warm sea breeze and we even had dolphins swimming next to the boat, the chill out music played and it was still a beautiful evening. The time of the sunset approached and the weather was in my favour. I seen my awesome Ibiza sunset and it was something to withhold. My photographs do not do this gorgeous sight justice.

I found this experience to be very emotional and spiritual. I could feel tears in my eyes as I watched the beauty of this event. The sunset was toasted with Cava and we sailed back to the harbour. I felt so grateful, blessed and happy that I finally got to witness this event. Of course, now I want to go again but there are other places to explore and other sunsets to see before I head back to my beautiful White Isle. Bucket list item ticked ✔

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

Boomers

May 30, 2022May 24, 2022 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.4 Comments

I recently stepped back in time to the 1940’s and 1950’s when I met a friend for lunch. We visited a beautiful tea room in the centre of Lichfield City in Staffordshire, UK. The downstairs is dedicated to the 1940’s and is decorated from that era with so much memorabilia you couldn’t possibly view it all in one visit. There’s even a very small, working, black and white television from back in the day.

Walk upstairs and you are transported to the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. Once again there is so much memorabilia I’ll definitely have to return for a second trip. A jukebox, free to use, containing some popular songs from the 50’s and 60’s. I was in my element playing Connie Francis, Del Shannon and Elvis amongst others. There were original newspapers, copies of Woman magazine, toys, games, records and I swear my Mom had some of those very brightly coloured glass fish (see picture below) adorning the living room when I was a child. There was an old fashioned, retro telephone on the bar and believe it or not, I have one of those at home that belonged to Mom and Dad in the 1970’s and it still works.

It was a wonderful experience being in this restaurant/tea room. There is just so much to discover. The food is also very, very good. A varied menu, from traditional old English fare of Rabbit Pie or Pheasant Stew and also Cod Fish Finger sandwiches. Delectable cakes and pastries and of course pots of tea. All the food is home cooked on the premises using fresh, locally produced produce. There is an extremely friendly welcome from the staff who make time for a chat when time allows. I’m so looking forward to another trip to Boomers. I can do more exploring of the memorabilia, enjoy delicious food and play that jukebox.

https://www.boomerslichfield.co.uk/

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

And she’s off again…

February 17, 2022February 11, 2022 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.9 Comments

Yes, I grabbed another opportunity to head for a little Lanzarote sunshine recently to celebrate my cousin’s 60th birthday. It was a short trip, just four nights and we packed a lot into our three full days together. There were nine of us altogether for the birthday celebrations. Three of us had travelled for the four night break, the rest were out there for varying times between a week, a fortnight or six weeks (how lovely).

The sun was setting as we came into land in Arrecife.

Costa Teguise is known as quite the foodie resort these days and I have to say, in my limited experience of visiting here, (this was my third visit), there is a vast array of restaurants of every style within the area. I have not had one bad meal so far and this visit was no exception. Thursday evening we visited El Bocadito https://www.instagram.com/tabernaelbocadito/ a typical Spanish restaurant and when you see somewhere frequented by the locals and a waiting list to be seated, you know the food is good. Lanzarote was on level three covid restrictions when we were there and therefore mask wearing outside was mandatory as was no more than six people to a table. All the restaurants were very accommodating ensuring that our tables were close enough together to converse whilst also being within social distancing guidelines.

This restaurant accommodates all food tastes and is very much a meat eaters dream. There are huge display cabinets containing award winning cuts of meat and you can watch your steaks or burgers being cooked on the grill. I am not a meat eater so I chose the Cod Steak with Mash which was just delicious. I also tried the Polvita for dessert. Polvita is a thick caramel sponge, drizzled with caramel sauce, chopped meringue and topped with cream and more caramel sauce. It’s a surprisingly light dessert and moreish. It’s a lovely restaurant, very friendly staff and gorgeous food.

Friday was my cousins birthday and the celebrations commenced at 11 am with eight of us going into the sea. My cousin has always gone into the sea at all times of the year and she really wanted to do this on her birthday. Surprisingly it wasn’t as ice cold as we expected however it was quite rough on that day so we all felt like we had been exfoliated once we got out. Main meal of the day was at 1:30 pm and it was a long, leisurely lunch of homemade paellas. One fish paella and one meat paella served with homemade warm bread rolls and Canarian wine. We ate at El Guachinche de Luis https://www.instagram.com/elguachinchedeluis/ and Luis does all the cooking himself. Absolutely delicious food and excellent service. Luis is open for breakfast, brunch and lunch and also has a takeaway service. Luis was close to closing his lovely restaurant due to the lack of trade from tourists over the last two years so it was wonderful to see the restaurant full and bustling with trade once again.

After our amazing lunch we returned to the house and had birthday cake with champagne. Oh wow the cake, I know it looks in the photo like it is a very heavy, stodgy kind of chocolate cake but it was quite the opposite. Light chocolate sponge with light chocolate cream layers alternating with a semi sweet layer of cherries. Think a variation of Black Forest Gateaux and you’ll get the picture. Talk about a lifetime on the hips and well worth every mouthful.

In the evening we visited a wonderful Italian/Spanish wine bar called Eat Italian. This really is a hidden gem of a wine bar serving the most delicious tapas and the ladies that run it have extensive knowledge of wine and stock quite an array of wines, spirits and liquors. Think chilled out music, warm breeze evenings, plentiful tapas and delightful wines all served with huge smiles and time to stop and talk. We had a fabulous night there and my cousin was joined by a number of ex-pat friends made on her many trips to Lanzarote over the years.

It’s safe to say that we were all a little delicate on the Saturday morning and we had a very quiet, relaxed day. We had no plans except to sit in the sunshine, go for a walk, have a coffee and chat. Perfect. The sea was a lot calmer on Saturday so we did have a paddle.

Saturday night was my final night of the trip and we ate at Restaurante La Chimenea https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g659633-d3374635-Reviews-or320-Restaurante_La_Chimenea-Costa_Teguise_Lanzarote_Canary_Islands.html None of us had ever eaten there before and we all really enjoyed our meals. We would visit there again for dinner, once again, beautiful food, friendly staff and great service.

I am so glad that I decided to grab this opportunity to spend the time with my cousins celebrating a special birthday in Lanzarote. This trip did take place just before I commenced my healthy eating and fitness plan, hence the desserts, chocolate cake and wine consumption. Life is for living and if the chance comes along to do something, especially with family you love, grab it.

Cats of Teguise – just because I love Cats.

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

Irish Road Trip – The Next Steps

February 14, 2022February 11, 2022 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.2 Comments

So, following on from part one, part two of my Irish road trip was full of time spent with wonderful people, the open roads, country music, good food and travelling through towns and villages I last visited with my parents. It was nostalgic, happy, sad and just wonderful to be there again. I feel it was meant to be that I made this trip alone to experience the different emotions and process them. To have my quiet reflective times, to watch the world go by and to jump right in and participate when I was ready.

Night one of my stay was spent in Ashbourne in Co Meath. One of the most lovely friendships forged online during lockdown was via Instagram with my friend Sinead and so I took the opportunity of being over in Ireland to be in her neck of the woods. We had a wonderful girls night having dinner in a gorgeous restaurant named Fifty-Fifty in Ashbourne and then back to our hotel where we sat up half the night talking.

After breakfast the next morning and after saying goodbye to Sinead, the next stop was the trip to Knock for which I have a separate blog post https://atouchofirishsparkle.com/2022/01/10/an-irish-road-trip-knock/ Whilst I was staying in Knock I had the opportunity to visit some family and enjoy some wonderful family time with cousins I hadn’t seen in too long a time. Such beautiful days. Also I must mention the fabulous Drum House B & B which is where I stayed in Knock. I can’t recommend it enough, definitely a 5* The house was decorated for Christmas and it was stunning. Absolutely outstanding breakfast, take you through the day. John and Donogh cannot do enough for you to ensure that your stay is comfortable and that you have all you need. I highly recommend a stay here.

After my few days in Knock I travelled to Athlone in the Midlands of Ireland. In my younger years I spent a lot of time in Athlone as my Dad was working in the area. There were also family living in the area on the banks of the River Shannon who are no longer with us so this was also a nostalgic trip in a way and also a town of discovery. Some areas remain the same and some are brand new like the various shopping malls all sparkling with the Christmas decorations. At times it can be a little lonely travelling alone and at times it felt quite healing for me. I felt strong, independent and sometimes, yes, a little vulnerable.

Whilst in Athlone I met up with another beautiful lady who has become a friend and we also met on Instagram. Corrina has a gorgeous boutique in the town and had to work extremely hard during the lockdowns to stay afloat and stay afloat she did with her enthusiasm, risk taking and feeling the fear and doing it anyway approach. I visited the boutique and had a good mooch around, the clothes and accessories are just fabulous. Corrina and I had a lovely evening out to dinner and as with Sinead, we could still be there talking. You hear such negative things about social media and yet here I was with two wonderful women as friends from Instagram.

The black hat with the sparkling stars became mine.

The final leg of the trip was down to Abbeyleix in Co Laois where I met up with two more cousins. My cousin Marji had booked us in for a girls night at the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel and yes, there was prosecco involved. Her brother joined us for dinner and we had a great night talking about old times and my many holidays with them in Bansha, Co Tipperary. Marji and I would be put the other end of the house from everyone else at night as we really would be up all night talking, singing, dancing and giggling and do you know what, we haven’t changed a bit. Every time we meet it’s like we were together a week ago.

As you can see I made good use of my week in Ireland and I’m so proud of myself for making the trip, navigating around, visiting friends and family and having that feeling of independence and empowerment. Every now and again I get an insight to the gifts my parents gave me and wonder why I never realised before that they had raised a strong, independent woman who could stand on her own two feet even whilst experiencing the waves of grief and sadness that can totally overwhelm you. We may have one life yet it’s only now I am realising that within this one life we can live so many different roles, take different paths, make difference decisions and we change and transition and yet stay the same in many ways. Deep, I know!

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

An Irish Road Trip – Knock

January 10, 2022January 2, 2022 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.6 Comments

November 2021 I was lucky enough to visit Ireland for a week. I was supposed to go for Easter 2020 but with the lockdowns there wasn’t any travel at all. Since then I have been checking various rules and restrictions both in the UK and Ireland and I was able to plan my trip just before additional restrictions were imposed due to the Omicron mutation of Covid. This was the first time I had ever undertaken a road trip and the first time I had done anything like this alone. I was excited and scared. My mantra was ‘You’re a strong, independent woman, you can do this’. After all, it was Ireland I was going to, it’s almost like home plus, I am blessed with cousins the length and breath of Ireland should I get into any dramas, I would have someone to call on.

My first night was spent in Ashbourne, County Meath and the following day I made the journey across Ireland to a tiny and internationally known village named Knock, in County Mayo.

Knock is famous due to the appearance of Our Lady in 1879, you can read all about this story and the shrine here https://www.knockshrine.ie/ Growing up, the Summer holidays were always taken in Ireland so that my parents could visit their parents and families. Mom’s family were located in the West of Ireland, around County Galway, County Mayo and County Roscommon and therefore whilst we were there, there was always a day out at Knock. As a child I always found this boring because of course I wanted to be out playing or running around on the beach or the farm. I remember returning to school in September and we would all be saying to each other ‘Did you have to go to Knock’?

Knock became very special to my parents when their health declined and they couldn’t go out to Mass. They would watch Mass daily at 3pm online and I would join them for Mass on Sunday. I often thought to myself when watching the Mass online what I wouldn’t give to be in Knock right at that moment with them and how much they would love to have been there. After they passed away I knew in my heart that I needed to go to Knock and therefore as soon as I could get to Ireland, the visit to Knock was my main agenda.

I felt many emotions being in Knock. I was so happy to be there at last, emotional at the memories of past visits with my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Sad that I didn’t have my parents with me yet at peace that I was there. There is something about Knock Shrine, the stillness, the quietness, the air of peace and tranquillity that makes an impact on you. I needed to experience this healing and I needed to experience it alone, to have the freedom to spend hours looking around, to having a cappuccino to just doing things in my time without having to worry about anyone else.

Knock Shrine has changed a lot since I used to visit with my parents. As you will see from the website, Knock has a lot to offer from youth centres to counselling, retreats to concerts, walks in the grounds and a visit to the museum. Although I was there for three days I didn’t actually get to the museum, that’s for next time. I did however visit the newly created Chapel of Reconciliation. Absolutely beautiful in there, calming, serene and still. Whilst I was there I decided to go to confession and ended up having over an hour in conversation with a lovely, elderly priest. I told him my story of looking after Mom and Dad and how I was now starting on another phase of life. He asked me if I had ever thought of writing a book, he felt my experiences of working, becoming a full time carer, the feelings when the caregiver journey ended and rebuilding life, could be invaluable to others in a similar position. I told him that I have this blog and also about my music, perhaps I could reach people via these mediums? Maybe the motivational posts on my social media could help? All I know is that I came out of that conversation feeling like a weight had been lifted from my soul. I felt a sparkle of excitement for the future and also a knowing that you can’t wait to do things. We don’t know how long we have here so we have to make the most of everyday. That conversation made me feel inspired, gave me confidence to be me and just go out there and do what I feel I need to do. To be me, to believe in myself and what I can give, or share with others.

I do have more to tell about my trip to Ireland but I felt that my visit to Knock Shrine needed a post of it’s own. The visit meant so much to me and did so much for me, I couldn’t have covered it within a few sentences within a travel blog. I hope I’ve given you a sense of the beauty of Knock and whether you are of faith or not, I think everyone who visits this place leaves with a sense of peace and tranquillity.

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

A Surprise Getaway

October 23, 2021October 22, 2021 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.2 Comments

During a Houseparty video call my cousin said ‘Dawn, the flights are £9.99 each way, book and come out for a week’. So I did! I admit I was apprehensive about travelling even though restrictions had been lifted. I decided that if I didn’t go for it, I would keep putting it off and end up never going back out there. I completed the relevant forms, downloaded apps, booked flights and packed my cabin bag. I was ready for off.

Restrictions were in place at Birmingham Airport and people complied. All documentation was checked, I had a row to myself on the plane and mask wearing was mandatory. All documentation was checked at Arrecife, Lanzarote’s airport and the bus company had provided individual taxi’s rather than the usual mini bus to Costa Teguise. Oh how good it felt to feel the warmth of the Spanish September sunshine. We took so much for granted before the pandemic. We could choose to go away for a trip, research the trip, book and go. It’s a very different story now with the various rules and regulations and I felt very lucky to actually be in Lanzarote after such a long time.

It’s so lovely to wake up everyday to beautiful sunshine, to know there was nothing to do but relax, stroll, swim and enjoy the day. After the previous few months dealing with and healing from burnout, this week away arrived at just the right time.

We walked every day, we swam and I was so pleased with myself. I went from four lengths of the pool to fourteen. Although we had our treats, especially some delicious cocktails and ice creams, I didn’t gain any weight, what a result!!! I can only put it down to the exercise. So much easier to go out for a long walk in the sunshine than the cold and pouring rain. Note to self – must push myself to exercise more over the Winter.

The Black Russian with the Guinness top was the best cocktail ever!!

Summer clothes were bought and worn. Lockdown weight gain had ensured my usual Summer wardrobe no longer fitted me (a definite note to self – fit into your clothes for next Summer). There was something so healing and gentle about having the week with my cousin in Lanzarote. Regular readers of my blog will know I love Spain and all things Spanish. I was so happy out there. There’s something very therapeutic about being away from home. I can’t worry or stress about anything because I’m not there to deal with it and that thought somehow completely relaxes me.

Back home and feeling empowered to follow my dreams. My cousin is wise and when I am caught up in my head with all the things I am doing, want to do, need to do, hope to do and yet nothing is getting done because of demands on time. Talking things through with her helped as she forced me to see the obvious way forward which I hadn’t been able to see as I was trying to do everything with no real organisation which isn’t really like me at all. Anyway, since the week away I am far more organised, I have implemented a more structured approach to my week and what I’m doing. No-one can make things happen but me. I am definitely emerging from the hard times and leaving some things and some people behind. Life evolves, time evolves, people evolve. We learn lessons and we teach lessons. Sometimes we need the break from the day to day to put life into perspective, take an outside view and move forwards.

Self belief is a must, whatever it is, we can do it. Take the first step and go for it.

With love and sparkles xxx

Travel Sparkles.

A Quick Trip

July 19, 2021July 18, 2021 Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.5 Comments

We had booked to go to Ibiza last Summer. I love that beautiful White isle. Like everyone else on the planet, plans were rescheduled due to lockdown. We re-booked for June of this year and once again with all the uncertainty surrounding international travel, PCR tests, quarantining etc, the holiday has been rescheduled to June 2022. Fingers crossed. Here I would like to thank TUI for their flexibility, speed of access to speak to someone to rearrange holidays and also for their communication throughout the pandemic so far. Regular updates were received with details of government guidelines, foreign regulations and what to do if you had a holiday booked with them. Well done TUI.

Anyway, we were lucky enough to be offered a little cottage in Broad Haven, Pembrokeshire in Wales for a few days. As himself had cover for that period to look after his Mom anyway, we decided to drive down for quick trip. I was very excited. It’s a long time since I packed up a car and set off for a holiday. We were up and on the road by 6:45 am and although it’s a four hour drive from Birmingham, it was a pleasant trip, no holds ups!!

Broad Haven is a small seaside resort with a huge, beautiful sandy beach. There are a couple of pubs/restaurants, a supermarket and one or two beach shops and that’s about it. It’s a busy little resort, plenty of room and we found everywhere to be covid secure following all the various guidelines in place.

We visited St David’s which is the smallest city in the UK. There are a lot of small independent shops and fresh food delicatessens alongside some of the more usual high street shops but no large stores. The Bench had been recommended to us for ice cream and we weren’t disappointed. Two scoops of home made deliciousness the size of your head. We didn’t need lunch that day! St David’s Cathedral was wonderful. I love to wander around reading about the history of a place, everywhere has a story.

The following day the weather was amazing. Blue sky, slight breeze and not too hot so we looked at the map and decided to walk the coastal path to Newgale Beach and back. It’s been a very long time since either of us done any walking like this, I’d say at least six, perhaps seven years. Walking boots were on and away we went. I was so proud of myself. I’m usually huffing and puffing on the uphill climbs and whereas yes, himself would have to wait for me at the top, I definitely wasn’t as slow as I have been in the past. I put this down to the Lucy Wyndham-Read workouts and that I was going out running for thirty minutes every other day.

The above is Broad Haven beach as we were leaving for the walk, the coastal path and a view back to Broad Haven. It felt so good to be by the sea.

As all good coastal paths do, there was a lot of uphill and down dell. This path is extremely well maintained, well signposted, clean and tidy and no very close to the edge paths. In some areas they have had to change the path a little due to erosion and it’s a popular path, we met quite a few people of varying abilities strolling along.

Newgale beach is beautiful, another pure sand large beach. However it was a lot further away than we thought it was. So after another huge ice cream for lunch at 4pm and a half hour rest we commenced the walk back. To say I was tired was an understatement. By the time we reached Broad Haven I ached all over and couldn’t even speak. Imagine that, me not able to chat!!! It was however a fabulous day walking. My phone thought I had climbed 98 flights of stairs and calculated we had walked 18 miles. We think going by the maps and google, it was more like 13 miles, but even so, that’s good going especially for me. We started the walk at 11.10 am and staggered back to Broad Haven close to 8.30 pm. Himself had a very quiet evening…

The day following the mega walk we were homeward bound and another four hours in the car probably wasn’t the best for aching legs. I was barely able to walk the day after we got home. It was a lovely break away from the routine though, so good to discover an area we’ve not visited and have good food, fresh air and the sea breeze. Something I’ve not done for a very long time is Trip Advisor reviews, neither has anyone else I expect. So I will review the various places we visited for meals and yes of course I have pictures.

A couple of sunset pictures from the night we arrived in Broad Haven and also the Prince of Wales Bridge which we crossed on our travels. It’s very impressive.

With love and sparkles xxx