There’s nothing quite like coming across the distinctive yellow blooms of a clump of wild daffodils on an early spring day.
The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and is traditionally worn on St David’s Day, which celebrates Wales’ patron saint, David (Dewi sant in Welsh), on 1 March every year, and there are several theories as to why the daffodil came to be a symbol of Wales.
There’s nothing quite like coming across the distinctive yellow blooms of a clump of wild daffodils on an early spring day.
The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and is traditionally worn on St David’s Day, which celebrates Wales’ patron saint, David (Dewi sant in Welsh), on 1 March every year, and there are several theories as to why the daffodil came to be a symbol of Wales.
It’s a cold day in Ceredigion today, although I suspect, not as cold as the rest of the country. We even have a few inconsequential flakes of snow! That may not seem like much to many of you, but its big news here. Not only because we have two young children, but also because we don’t really get snow.
Its true. Whenever the weather-folk predict snow to fall in tranches across our fair isle, a state of high level excitement occurs in camp Troedyrhiw. Sledges get dusted off, and cold weather gear is dug out from the echelons of the hat box. And then…nothing. Today however, it is snowing. Good, proper, fat, fluffy flakes of snow. And whats more, they are sticking! The children are in school, so we can only imagine the fever-pitch there!
Anyway, it probably won’t last long enough to build a snow-elf, never mind a snowman, so it’s a good time to start thinking of spring, which is just around the corner.
Our little corner of west Wales is the perfect place for a few nights break and is beautiful all year around, here are a couple of photos to show you Troedyrhiw Holiday Cottages and the surrounding area in all its glory, all year round.
Until next time,
Cofion Cynnes / warm wishes
Michelle and Rob
At one time in Wales – New Year’s festivities were even more important than Christmas. In fact, one resident of Cynwyl Elfed, Carmarthenshire, in the 1860s, said that the chief importance of Christmas was , ‘that it was within a week of New Year’s Day, the biggest day of the year’.
Calennig, a well-known Welsh tradition, still seen in some areas, is the collection of calennig (New Year’s gift) where children rise early and carry from door to door, as bearers of good luck, a decorated apple, pierced with three sticks and adorned with a sprig of box and hazelnuts.
The children usually sing a simple verse and in return usually received a gift or food or money for their troubles. Rhymes and songs were concisely worded and their message was to announce the New Year's arrival, to wish the family a prosperous twelvemonth, and to ask from it ‘calennig’ or (New Year's Gift).
Www.troedyrhiw.com
#welsh traditions #calennig #Newyear
https://museum.wales/articles/1188/New-Year-Traditions-Collecting-Calennig/
Albert Camus, the French philospher beautifully encapsulates this time of year when the new colours of autumn are everywhere.
Its easy to see this time of year as the end of things. Summer has ended, taking with it the warm days, or in the case of this year, the too-hot days, and the balmy nights. The flowers are fading and wilting, the butterflies are gone for the winter, and the days spent on the beach playing in the sand and sea seem to be a memory, however, Albert Camus sees it differently. A second spring, a new start. I remember a quote by an unknown writer, “Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go”.
The fading pinks and yellows of the vibrant summer blooms are replaced by glorious cosy reds, and oranges, the very colour of autumn. Piles of leaves are building up on the lanes, just waiting to be kicked into the air by small welly-booted feet. What a joy that is for children! It never gets old, the feeling of wading through a heap of crunchy, beautiful leaves. And who can forget the sycamore ‘helicopters’? I will never tire of watching one spin to the ground after it has been thrown in the air. I collect them up in their hundreds and keep them in a pot, ready to throw from an upstairs window for the children to enjoy! They collect them all up and shout ‘Do it again, Mummy!’ Hard to imagine that there is a purpose for those helicopters, other than just giving us pleasure! Isn’t good old mother nature clever?
This beautiful place we call home takes on a different kind of pleasure at this time of year. Maybe it is too cold to enjoy the sea fully, shrieking with delight at the welcome cold on your hot skin, but the sea is glorious and wild in the autumn and winter, and the beaches are now almost deserted by contrast to the busy days of July and August, making them a perfect place to blow away cobwebs and work up an appetite. We even managed a picnic there this weekend, we don’t care if its cold, as long as we are on the beach! At this time of year, the restrictions concerning dogs on the beaches start to get lifted, so our four legged buddies can come to play in the sand and the frothy surf, and wow, do they enjoy it! There’s no happier doggy than a dog on the beach (except maybe a dog with a leg of lamb!).
One beach that is not open to dogs yet, or people for that matter, is Mwnt. Beautiful Mwnt, where we spent so many summer evenings watching the dolphins is now temporarily out of bounds because a seal pup and its Mum have set up camp there while it grows up enough to go it alone. Seal pups have to be left completely in peace for their own protection, so for now, Mwnt has to be left alone.
I wonder how much that family had to pay for exclusive residency at one of our most lovely beaches?!
Our personal favourites, the butterflies are now all gone away for the winter, along with many of the bugs, which means our bird feeders are now teeming with activity once again, now their buggy-takeways have run out. Masses of bluetits, tree creepers, wag tails, nut hatches, gold finches and woodpeckers adorn our feeders battling for their share of the loot, including homemade bird cake, and our local family of squirrels are back.
These regular cheeky chaps come to collect sunflower seeds for their winter stash, and are not averse to sitting on the fence staring in at us, like we are exhibits in the zoo! I wonder what on earth they think of us? Whatever they think, we think they are awfully cute!
If you are like me, then the meals, snacks and treats that you enjoy on holiday form a big part of the memories you take home with you, and Cardigan has no shortage of special places to help you create your own foodie memories of your holiday here. From ice cream, to fine cuisine, pizza in a tipi, Mexican street food and locally sourced sea food, Cardigan has a diverse menu on offer.
The weather is being really lovely to us this week. We must have been ever so good! The daffodils are ìn full bloom now, bluebells are in the queue awaiting their turn to flower, the tadpoles have all hatched, and new life and summery sounds are everywhere! Even the butterflies are venturing out.
The low spring sun looks especially beautiful when it shines through the trees, casting stunning light and shade patterns in the fields, making our little valley look as pretty as a picture.
We’re welcoming six new arrivals here this week, a sure sign that spring has finally sprung!
This little orphan lass and five flock-mates arrived on Sunday, just a few days old, and have already made the stable their home.
They're eager to get out into the field and meet the sheep and last year’s lambs, and Blossom the Shetland Pony is desperate to know who is making all the noise in the next door stsble, but for now they'll all have to wait as they are just too small.
Also spotted in our pond is a lovely big batch of tadpoles, so we’re keeping an eye on them too, to protect them from birds, cats and other monsters! It’s a regular maternity ward here! Lovely to see new life all over the place.
#holidaycottages #westwales #selfcatering #farming #ceredigion
Today marks a celebration of one of my favourite things - Books. We’ve just spent a rather literary few days away, visiting the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studios in Watford, and the Roald Dahl museum in Great Missenden. Our eldest daughter was lost in wonderment at the magic of Harry Potters world, brought to life before our very eyes. I have to be honest and admit it was pretty magical for us too.
The Roald Dahl museum, by contrast was tiny, but charming in its own way. Perhaps more for me than the children as one of them is a bit young for Roalds books and one has somehow passed them by without noticing them . For me, it was a wonderfully nostalgic way to spend an hour or so, reliving the books of my youth, written by a fellow Welshman, and the youngest daughter has gone into school today as Matilda, complete with lizard to pop into Miss Trunchbull’s drink!
Our day trip into London while we were there reminded me what a bunch of country bumpkins we must be. So many sirens, so many cars, so many people, and I didnt know any of them!
The busy life of the towns and cities is a great novelty to us in the country, and its nice to go and have tea with the Queen occasionally, but I am soon ready to get back here to our quiet corner of Wales, where everyone says hello to you, even if they don’t know you. As I sit here writing this, I am appreciating the peace and quiet of the countryside, and thinking what a wonderful place this would be to write a novel. Maybe I should try!
#harrypotter
#wbstudiotour
#worldbookday2022
#welshwriters
#selfcateringcottageswales
#holidaycottageswales
#westisbest
A new visitor to our shores has featured in the news recently, so we decided to combine a business trip to beautiful Tenby to check him out.
The giant walrus, affectionately named Wally, thought to be from the Arctic, has been making himself at home on the lifeboat slipway at Tenby and proving a great pull to bring the visitors back to Tenby after the long lockdown!
We popped down to say ‘Hi’ to Wally, and he was suitable underwhelmed by all the attention he was getting, preferring to just keep chilling!
The lifeboat crew have to make some noise to get him to move when they have a shout and when they’ve got out of his, he just gets back on to keep sunbathing!
Someone has been making themselves cosy and making the most of the lockdown here at Troedyrhiw this spring…
Whilst getting the Coach House ready for the return of visitors very soon, we spotted this little nest tucked up against the window pane in the narrow window. We aren't sure if it's been abandoned, or if it's a work in progress, or who it belongs to, so we'll watch this space for activity!
Who would live in a house like this….?
Let's hope they stick around and raise their babies here!
We’ve waited for what seems like a lifetime for this moment! Finally, we are allowed to do what used to seem the most normal thing of all. At long last, we are allowed to get into the car and drive. Not far, admittedly, as we are still under ‘stay local’ restrictions here in Wales, but drive, all the same. And lets face it, round these parts, staying local is pretty darned beautiful!
Sunday saw the four of us, and the dog, pack walking shoes and a picnic and hop in the car (which until recently has been doing roughly three months to the gallon) and vroom off to the fabulous Pengelli Forest.
Just a short ten minute drive from here, with the Iron age fort of Castell Henllys for a neighbour, is this national nature reserve which forms part of the largest block of ancient oak woodland in West Wales, and is home to wildlife including badgers, polecats and doormice. We even saw deer hoof marks on our walk.
With a variety of paths to follow, or varying lengths, we whiled away a good three hours with our three mile walk and picnic, and never saw a soul. Social distancing at its finest!
Not much else to do but bake in this weather. By the time we're allowed visitors again, I won't be able to get out of the door! These little gems were requested by my ever chocolate-hungry nippers, and went down a storm. Thank you BBC Good Food!
www.troedyrhiw.com
#baking
#Chocolatebiscuits
#bbcgoodfood
www.bbcgoodfood.co.uk
As long as there is chocolate….
Finally, a beautiful frosty day in our little valley. Long overdue after weeks of rain, at a time where the last thing we need are grey skies, it put me in mind of one of my favourite Welsh sayings. “Daw haul eto ar fryn” or the sun will come again on the hills, is a beautiful and poetic sentiment for the world in which we find ourselves these last few months.
It's awful odd here these days without our lovely guests too share this beauty with, but we have to keep moving forward. As Annie says “the sun'll come out tomorrow". We hope….
www.troedyrhiw.com
It's a crazy mad world at the moment, but in a dry moment this morning it struck me that nature is carrying on as normal. This tranquil haven was full of birds and squirrels, going about their business as usual.
www.troedyrhiw.com
#welshwildlifecentre #wetlands #ceredigion #selfcateringcardigan #wildlife
Lots of dark skies lately, and it is hard to feel positive in these strange times we find ourselves in, but mother nature still takes her time to remind us to stop, breathe and find something to appreciate and be grateful for. However small.
This was a wet, cold, windy coast path at Aberporth this morning. The sun broke through, there was the beginnings of a rainbow on the horizon and a robin was eating on the path right next to me.
A gang of pigeons (or are all groups of things called a bubble nowadays?!) were clearly flouting all covid rules, sheltering on the cliff!
Nature is beautiful, and this place we live in is beautiful.
Rainbow in a dark sky at Aberporth
The sun shining on Aberporth
Hiding from the wind, safety in numbers!
In Welsh we have a saying: "Fe ddaw eto haul ar fryn" 🌄 . . "The sun will rise again over the hills" and shine over beautiful Cardigan bay. And when it does our welcome will be warmer than ever 🙏 . . Wales officially goes into full lockdown for 17 days from this Friday. Many people's half term plans are shattered but remember Wales will be there to enjoy again when it's safe to do so. . . #waleslockdown #firebreak #lockdown #covid19 #westwales #westisbest #wales #stayathome #visitwaleslater #mwnt #nationaltrust #mwntbeach #
Making the most of the late summer sun at Poppit Sands. Almost exclusively ours today, so social distancing was very easy! Time spent in the sea works up quite an appetite, so a delicious lunch and an ice cream at the cafe at Poppit Sands was just the ticket.
www.troedyrhiw.com
#westwales
#holidaycottages
#selfcatering
#beaches
Poppit Sands
Finally made it to our lovely local pizzeria, the Pizza Tipi. We couldn't let the summer end without a trip there, and what a beautiful evening for beautiful food! www.troedyrhiw.co.uk #pizza #westwales #holidaycottages #selfcatering
Teifi evening sunshine.
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