Departure For Wales

Welshie Big Adventure in Wales

The view from Yr Hen Beudy

Most of the trip to Wales was on highways until GPS had us head towards Brecon.  As we started up the mountain, cars slowed down to a stop.  Looking ahead, we saw police lights and cars stopped in the other direction.

I was begining to regret our late departure for Wales.

GPS said it was a ten minute delay, but as we waited, we determined it was going to be much longer than that.  Making a U-turn, we headed back towards Swansea and found an alternate route that was longer but without trouble.

The narrow Welsh countryside roads, lined with tall hedgerows, demand careful attention to every curve to avoid accidents. It is not uncommon to hit a curve in the road and see another car baring down on you.

There are layby along the roads, and cars are expected to back up to the nearest one to let oncoming cars pass.  It’s a great way to enforce conscientious driving.  People generally give a wave of thanks to whichever car pulls over.

The drive up to our cottage.

As we made the final turn into the driveway, the Linden hedges squeezed into the sides of the rental car.  A continuous chorus of alerts came on from the dash board indicating we were about to hit something.

The front yard of our cottage with Winston performing an inspection.

Yr Hen Beudy means the old cow barn in Welsh.  Thankfully the place no longer looks like a barn.  The first floor has lovely wood floors while the second floor is covered in thick carpeting.  There is a wood burning stove in the corner for chilly nights and a solid wood dining table to eat on.

The main living areas plus Winston's tail.

The wood burner in our living room.

Karen and Emyr, our hosts, welcomed us at the top of the driveway along with their dog Pixie.  They had just finished up the last of the lambing and were now taking care of the lambs that needed some extra attention.

Sheep outside our cottage.

Hearing the different calls of lambs and their mamas was lovely after our long drive.  With sheep right outside our front door, I knew the dogs would be kept occupied for quite some time. 

Winston meeting the sheep.

And when Maisie and Winston came out of the car their ears perked up and their noses started some serious sniffing.

Tregaron

The Talbot pub with the hotel next door.

The small town of Tregaron (population 1250) will be our home base for the next month.  The town has a lovely small hotel called The Talbot and an attached old pub.  In town there is also a fish and chip takeaway, a Chinese takeaway and a Spar convenience store.

The River Brenig runs through Tregaron.

The Talbot is our go to place for conversation, a pint, and food.  That first night at dinner I met a woman who insisted that she take me around the corner to see the small batch brewer as well as the local coffee shop. 

The logo for the small batch brewer around the corner from the Talbot.

At the end of the evening we knew Tracy, the proprietress of the pub, and the barkeep called Adam.

Easter Day and Dinner

I thought it would be nice to attend the local church for Easter services.  In a small town that is not a center of tourism, two Americans attending church is something to talk about.

We were welcomed warmly by the woman who plays the organ along with the junior vicar.  Many other people came up and greeted us so we felt very accepted.  Sometimes standing out can be a benefit.

The church in Tregaron.

Church services in Wales are done in both Welsh and English.  It was impressive how they easily switched from one to the other language.  Hymns were sung in Welsh and it was a bit of a challenge to follow along because the English hymnal had no musical notation.

Saying the Lords Prayer while the rest of the congregation said it in Welsh was a challenge.  Their sentences seemed to take much longer to finish than ours did, so I just quietly mumbled the words to myself and waited for the others to finish.

We had reserved a table for Easter dinner at The Talbot the night before.  Three healthy slices of lamb were served on each plate.  Several dishes of cabbage, Dauphine potatoes, baby potatoes, and a fresh pea and carrot medley accompanied the meal.  It was simple fresh food that was full of flavor.

Easter dinner at the Talbot.

Heading home with our stomachs full, we discussed where we would explore the following day.

Strata Florida Abbey

We went down several small lanes to get to this quiet and remote Abbey founded in 1164 by Cistercian monks.  This was our first attempt to bring the dogs with us to a cultural site and they behaved beautifully.

Brian and the dogs at Strata Florida Abbey.

Several chapels with decorated tiles still remain at the Abbey.

All that is left of the monastery is a large Norman doorway and several chapels where patrons of the monastery would be prayed for daily.  This was a very large monastery with areas for weaving, for milling and for farming.

Aberystwyth

Brian and I went into Aberystwyth to get dog and human food but before we did that we parked the car along the promenade and walked along the beach. 

Promenade at Aberystwyth.

The weather was sunny and dry and people were out walking the beach and even swimming!

The remains of a castle and even earlier Pictish stones.

We didn’t have the dogs with us this time because we were grocery shopping.  We don’t like to leave the dogs in the car, even if the weather is not hot.

Maisie and Winston

Maisie Found a good place to recline.

The dogs transitioned over to British dog food before we left Virginia.  They ate it without intestinal problems and without complaint.  When we reached Claire’s they were groggy from the jet lag but ate readily their food.

This was not the case when we arrived in Wales.  Claire had leant me two puzzle bowls to slow down the dogs eating.  When they approached their bowls, they sniffed, and turned away.  Never in Maisie’s life has she turned down food.

Maisie saying hello to the rams.

I experimented by softening the kibble with warm water and I sprinkled some dried salmon treats that they love on top and mixing it in.  I felt like I was trying to get a toddler to try a new food.

After several attempts I left the bowls down and sat on the couch wondering what I should do.  The last thing I wanted was to have the dogs go on a hunger strike and then get ill.  That night, I gave in and fed them some ham, local cheddar cheese and green beans.

Winston meeting Destiny.

The next day the same thing happened.  No matter how soft the kibble was, they refused to eat it.  Finally, I sat on the floor and hand fed them one piece of kibble each.  Each gently took it from my fingers and chewed.  I did this several more times with success.

At this point I figured all was well and gave them their bowls again.  Boy was I wrong.  Both dogs took one sniff and turned away.  Desperate to get food into them, I hand fed them both the rest of the meals.

Today, I went to Pets at Home to see what kinds of toppers I might find and if there was a soft version of the kibble. 

Tonight, at dinner, the dogs dined on Lily’s Lamb Pot with gusto.  Since it wasn’t a full portion of food I got out some of the Lily’s kibble and hand fed them again.

Traveling with pets can be a challenge and the dogs’ refusal to eat was our first challenge on the Welshie Big Adventure.

Getting her rest after a long day of smells and walking.