Hello! I’m checking in from the Brecon Beacons this week, enjoying listening to my husband trying to wrap his head around the Welsh road signs. (He’s complaining that the language makes no sense .. but then I reminded him that he’s Polish, and that we feel very much the same about his language!)
Anyways, we’re heading north through the country at the mo., to spend a couple of days in Snowdonia, which, according to the forecast, looks like it’s going to be pretty wet unfortunately!
We had a party last weekend – an actual party! With music and dancing and PEOPLE! It was simultaneously super weird and sooo happy and familiar. Since we got married last year, and spent our wedding day sitting in our own garden with just our immediate family, we’d always said we’d have a party this year. But it was only when we had spent 5 hours in a production line making mini cheesecakes on Friday that I realised it was actually going to happen! It was nothing fancy – just an excuse for a good old dance really, but I am probably one of the few people who have actually been able to wear their wedding dress to an event more than once, so that’s great! And we were super happy to be able to have some extra pictures taken too, by an excellent photographer that I would recommend if you’re in Northamptonshire / Cambridgeshire area. Funnily enough, last year, we had planned to have our pictures taken in a field of wheat right by the house – and I was awoken at 4am by the sound of the combine harvester THE DAY BEFORE!
The harvest is obviously a week or so later this year, so we were able to get the pictures we’d wanted all along!
During these few days, we camped out on my parents’ driveway … which doesn’t really look it to the naked eye, but is quite the slope! After having laid there for about 10 minutes and suddenly feeling like I might die, I learned a very valuable lesson for van life and camping in general – NEVER sleep with your head downhill! After re-arranging ourselves to the other end of the bed, and pointing our feet down the slope, we agreed that a really nice perk to van life is being able to go visit people, but without having to be a nuisance. We don’t require a spare bedroom, and a load of clean sheets and towels etc – we can even make our own coffee in the morning if the hosts are particularly ungenerous!
After the fun and reunions of the weekend, we headed to Wales where we’ve had a lovely week so far enjoying the views (and the valleys of course), and the fresh air and nature that we’ve been craving.
Again, I’ve been working in the morning so that we can get out and do something in the afternoon. We loved climbing Sugar Loaf – the
weather was beautiful, and the vibrant green ferns growing alongside the purple heather is just so calming and refreshing to see. At times, it felt almost jungle-like, and when the sun came out too I could almost believe that I was trekking somewhere in the mountains of Borneo!
We also wanted to try out our inflatable paddle board – but could we find a beach anywhere?! That would be no. But, on our trip yesterday to go and climb ‘The Blorenge’ (love that name!), we happened upon a quiet little lake, if we can call it that, and were able to set it all up and give it a go – we loved it! I know it’s early days but I think this was a really great purchase – we’ll always have an activity to do, and won’t be always having to pay to rent equipment.
On Wednesday, I did encounter my first internet issues, which of course, you can’t be too surprised about when you’re in a mountain range. It was really nice though actually, as I was forced to go and sit outside, and wasn’t able to stream anything else at the same time. I’ll usually have the radio, or a podcast on, as I don’t tend to like the quiet. But being outside, surrounded by hills of heather and green, with only the occasional bleating of a sheep to keep me company, was very relaxing, which, let’s be honest, we can’t always say about work!
One last thing for this week, a tip for anyone really – get yourself a Tastecard! (Disclaimer: we have no affiliation with Tastecard – just think it’s fab!) We were bought a 6 month subscription as a gift, and membership entitles you to 2 for 1 or 50% off at hundreds of restaurants, as well as other deals on cinema and other attractions. We are living on a budget of course, and are trying not to ‘eat out’ too much, but to be clever with what we can make with our limited space and resources. But, if you’re going to eat out, paying for 1 meal instead of 2 does make quite the difference! I think it’s £20 for 6 months, so really, you use it once, and it’s paid for itself!
That’s all for now.
Next week, we’ll be attempting to climb Snowdon, most likely in the rain, and making our way up to Scotland. Read more about our adventures here.
