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Nostalgia Trip #7: Leaving Wales
It’s time to leave Wales after our terrific few days here, and head to the Peak District on the final leg of this nostalgia trip. I (Phil) was born and grew up in Derby, so regular hikes in the Peak District were a regular feature of childhood. So far on this trip we have remembered two people who were very special to us and were significant influences on our respective lives, my Dad (Stanley) and Michaela’s Nan (Yvonne), both of whom passed away in 2018. Those two special people met each other just once, at our wedding in 2013, so this photograph itself is particularly special, capturing laughter at their…
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Nostalgia Trip #6: Llanon Memories
It’s about 50 years since my childhood trips to Mid Wales began, 50 years since my Nan and Grandad first bought a static caravan at Llanon on the Welsh coast. Perched on the cliff, overlooking the Atlantic sea, Cliff Edge Caravan Park holds wonderful memories for me, family holidays, fun and adventure. But more than this, the place for me and my Nan to form a special bond during our times alone there together. This rocky shore was my playground, rocks circling a pool created by monks way back when in order to catch sprats and other delights of the Atlantic. Prawning and picking shellfish off the rocks, cooking and…
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Nostalgia Trip #3: From Warwick To Rhayader
We have a time commitment to meet today so it’s necessary to take the earliest breakfast we can at the rather excellent Old Fourpenny Shop and head out of town promptly, although first there’s the strange business of fetching the car from its overnight berth. Strange because the arrangements are to park in front of the grandstand within Warwick Racecourse, and as I unlock the large iron gates to let myself in, two policemen sit in their squad car and watch my every move. “Why is that old git in a “Rebel Rebel” T shirt letting himself into the Racecourse?”, I imagine them asking. Heavy rain on the M5 soon…
