Wales - Llansteffan Castle

 Heather, Don and I were very lucky with our weather but the forecast for my week in Wales was pretty abysmal. On the best day, Chris and I drove over to Llansteffan Castle and lucked into a lovely day.

Stopped first for coffee and scones at the tea room

then along the beach and up the stairs

and into the woods.

Chris saw a new path that looked like short cut but turned out to be a bit of a scramble, muddy and brambly.

Nearly there..

I visited it alone last time I was here. It is still free

and still a fabulous castle.

Minimal signage

Views across the estuary to Ferryside

and out to sea.

It would have been a great defensive position.

Chris got plenty of excellent pictures of her own feet

but did finally got one of me.

We walked back down the road (much easier) with its view of the local manor

and sheep.

Back down the footpath to the carpark

where we saw some very wet Bearded Collies and Dandie Dinmonts (a rare Scottish breed)

Wales - The Mill

 For those who have been reading this blog for a while, you may recall my previous visit to Chris and Chris and the mill (dilapidated ruin) that they had purchased to renovate. That was in April 2018. More pictures can be found on the blog (the last of the Wales posts for that year).

This is what it looked like then

Since then there have been inspections for bats (none were found), sale of the previous house, living in a quickly built "shed" in the field behind, son Ben helping re-slate the roof and re-point the stone, changing decisions (underfloor insulation materials, locations of rooms), plumbing, electrical, energy generating systems (solar and water turbine), sandblasting, whitewashing, construction of custom windows and so much moving of stone and dirt.

Chris and Chris actually moved in to the ground floor in August and last week set up a bedroom for me in the unfinished second floor (it did have windows, curtains and a quickly installed staircase to replace the previous ladder).

It looks fabulous now. The postman stopped to commend them on their work, while I was there.

The back was buried in rubble and now has a nearly completed south facing patio

and terraces up the bank with the creek beside. The second level will hold the clothes line and Christine has plans for flowers cascading over and climbing the walls. The waterfall at the back of this picture ran the first turbine installed to generate electricity but it proved insufficient for the underfloor heating.

The weir has been resurrected and now feeds a turbine to power the house. It will be edged with rocks and probably fenced (to stop the grandchildren from playing in it)

This machine has been indispensable.

Most of the back had to be resurrected from rubble and they were able to put new, double glazed windows in, but some of the windows were still intact and had to be left. Some had the metal frame remaining and Chris built custom windows to fit the opening (single panes of glass). This results in lots of condensation. Light also comes in from skylights in the roof (funny some of the things they were allowed to do, while other practical solutions were not permitted) and old trapdoors are covered with glass to help light the lower levels.

There is need for a constantly running dehumidifier. Moisture has impacted the renovation in many ways. The mill was open to the elements (caved in roof) for decades and is still in the process of drying out. Christine whitewashed the walls (10 coats), so the walls can "breathe". The underfloor heating and wood burning stove prevent it from feeling damp and continue the drying out of the stone and mortar.

All the inner workings of the mill had to remain. Christine took a wire brush to all the metal

and then oiled it all to protect it. This lot was at one end of my bedroom. In some places you really have to watch your head. There are various mill stones on each level and they have found parts of more in the rubble outside. The mill was used for barley, for beer, with the section on the second floor at the back being used to dry it before grinding. That area will be a second bedroom with an on suite, eventually.

The main floor is complete with a kitchen at one end, dining table and then a living room before you get to the mill workings at the other end. Behind is the bedroom and bathroom. When the lounge is finished on the second floor some of the furniture will be moved upstairs and the kitchen will be enlarged. They were allowed to use some new wood for missing roof trusses and rotten floorboards but as much as possible must use rustic materials. When reinstalling the old ladder to the second story, Chris used a couple of trees from their woods, bark still on, and an old ladder for a hand rail.

Originally Chris intended to get the old mill wheel working and use that to help power the house but has since installed a new turbine in the weir and is not going with the original plan.

On one side is an old stone shed (that the neighbours have submitted for planning permission)

On the other the renovated mill cottage.

The little stream splits above the mill, part going down the weir and part on the opposite side, sometimes there is a waterfall from Chris' initial turbine structure.

Although he thought he would like it, Chris says the constant water noise is sometimes annoying.

Wales 1

 I have been in south west Wales for the last week, staying with Chris and Chris. They live out in the country, down in a dip, and use satellite internet which is not always reliable. In addition they are mostly "off grid". They use solar (when the grandkids want to watch TV they are usually told "the suns not shining", then, of course, when it is, they are told to play outside) and a water turbine, but were awaiting the arrival of new batteries to assist with the added drain of turning on the underfloor heating. The long and the short of all of that is that we just turned the internet on long enough to check emails. So I will load up pictures from that week in a number of blog posts.

I spent my first night in the Tilman Hotel in Barmouth, on the coast near Snowdonia.

The view from my window was towards the sea, grey and windy.

It was a trendy and pricey hotel.

I couldn't resist looking at the "Ladybird" books

as I remembered the real ones from my childhood.

I had a tough time finding a place for dinner as it was the last weekend of the English school holidays and the first weekend of the Welsh school holidays. All the pubs and restaurants were hopping, most with a queue. I ended up, with others, in the least popular spot, which was the last to fill up.

A walk around town revealed why it was such a popular spot. A tidal river between steep hills

flowing out, past dunes and a long sandy beach.

A yacht club,

crabbing and fishing,

dolphin sightings and it is on a railway network.

Leaving the next morning, I was actually following the Sat Nav instructions, when it decided to send me down a tiny road that lead to a toll bridge. The lady who I paid the toll too said that it happens a lot as it is a short cut. 60p please.

It was a lovely spot with an information board about the ship building once based there.

Most of the rest of my pictures from that drive were taken when I was stopped for road work

or when

I found a lay-by

to pull into.

Chris had sent me written instructions but even with turn left at the + road sign with the bus stop on the right, I would have missed it if not following the Sat Nav instructions. Then off down hill on a single track road.

There it was, right at the bottom of the hill, with Christine sweeping leaves off the parking spot for me.