Wales Rally GB

 There has certainly been a lot of hype about this Rally so I thought I'd better see what it was all about.
 In the afternoon before all the cars came on to the main street in Llandudno they went through a thorough  checking procedure

 

then  as they paraded in front of the crowds lining Mostyn Street drivers were interviewed by  radio and TV reporters before setting off around the Great Orme.

As an added attraction there were some old vehicles  to view. 

Traction engine pulling an old carriage

..................and several people were wandering around in traditional costumes.

Some people dressed up in traditional  costumes.

Once the cars were ready to set off I dashed back to Lymehurst B&B, got on my bike and cycled to West Shore hoping that I would be in time to see the cars  finishing their circuit of the Great Orme. The toll road round the Orme is narrow and twisty with sheer drops down in to the sea in places, so definitely a testing place to drive. There weren't as many people at West Shore so plenty of space  for me to park my bike and await the Rally cars.

Toll House with The Great Orme in the background

 The wonderful view the Rally Drivers  ( if only they had time!!)  were faced with  as they raced down the last  down hill section of The Orme

At this point the drivers are returning to the start point

. .

 After finishing the circuits of the Orme there was no rest for the drivers, they then headed off to  race round yet another course before returning to Conwy. More detailed and technically correct information and results can be found on http://www.walesrallygb.comwill/ continue with that tomorrow.

Conwy Feast

    

Yet again The Conwy Food festival has proved to be a huge success.

                            Highlights of this year’s Feast included:

   Blinc: Wales' first digital arts festival

   Celebrity chefs                                        Four Food Halls            

   Three Kitchen Theatres                        Tea Dance       

    Beer Tent                                                  30 Mile Menu Cafe                       

    Historical Re-enactments                    Trees, Birds and Bees

   Two music and entertainment stages and buskers

    Free entry to Conwy RSPB Reserve  & half price entry to Conwy Castle

As ever there was a multitude of food and drink stalls providing plenty of samples for people to taste, cookery demonsonstrations and entertainment. New this year was the addition of a Tea Dance venue in the Civic Hall
On Saturday night an estimated 5,000 people  watched the Blinc Digital Arts Festival light up Conwy Castle with a breathtaking display. Check out this amazing show caught on video on http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news//tm_headline=conwy-food-festival-serves-up-a-feast%26method=full%26objectid=29647628%26siteid=55578-name_page.html  It was the first such light festival held in Europe, say the organisers.

Bumper year for apples

We have a lovely old apple tree in the back garden. Last year we had about 12 apples but this year the tree was absolutely laden. I was convinced most of the apples wouldn't make it to maturity but they did. At first we didn't know what to do with all  the windfallen and bird pecked apples so initially I was putting them in the food recycling bin but thought it would be so much better if they could get fed to local pigs. I always remember my dad saying how the pigs were sent in to the orchard to eat the fallen apples and that the resulting bacon had a fine flavour! In the end we found a willing eater........ my hairdresser's horse. We sent bags and bags over. I think they'll be getting withdrawl symptoms now as the last of the apples have now been picked. Apparently they used to queue up to be fed.

I'm not sure what kind of apples they are but they are certainly very tasty. I've made some lovely apple crumbles with them, just adding a small amount of honey. I spent a whole evening peeling, chopping and and stewing so we have a good supply of crumble base in the freezer. This coming weekend is the Conwy Feast, one of the biggest food festivals in Wales and there is usually an apple tent, so I might well take an apple to be identified. It's well worth checking out this festival http://www.conwyfeast.co.uk/  Hopefully I will get there so I'll add some more info and photos

A visit to the dentist..........spectacular views en route.


On Wednesday I had an appointment at the dentist.....this isn't my favourite pastime but I have to say that the walk there is fabulous and I wanted to share some of the views. The weather, fortunately had reverted to being warm although very blustery so I was able to put shorts back on (probably for the last time this year!!)


 

7 minutes walk from Lymehurst B&B and this is the view from West Shore across to the mountains

 
The coastal foot / cycle path starts here and you can walk all the way to Conwy with it's  impressive castle and walled town

 The beach en route to Deganwy where the dental surgery is situated.



 As I rounded a bend in the river I spotted three small boats bobbing around. These are the mussel men from Conwy out raking the mussel beds to collect the  famous Conwy Mussels. There are now only 6 regular mussel men and they use the very traditional method of collecting the mussels. It looks really tough work as they basically use really long wide rakes to rake up the mussels from the mussel beds. When Michael Portilo visited the area while making a TV programme, he went out with them and discovered just how strenuous it is!!.

Conwy mussel man using long rake to rake up mussels

This photo gives more idea of the amazing surroundings they work in. Conwy Mountain is in the background.

This is the view looking towards the  mouth of the estuary. It is not every day you can see such a sight as  mussels being harvested in such a traditional way, which probably has not changed in centuries.

Good job I'd left myself plenty of time to get to Deganwy as I'd got so distracted with photographing the Mussel Men. This view from the beach is of the main street with the Vardra in the background and the level crossing  and station signal box in the centre. Deganwy Station has to be in one of the most picturesque settings.

Looking back , a view towards Deganwy Marina

I survived the dentist having nothing more than a clean and polish (the best kind of visit!!!) So then it was just to make my way home.

Heading towards West Shore with the impressive Great Orme  dominating the sky line. So can anybody beat that as a route to the dentist's??

A walk to the dentist's.....with amazing views! Can anybody beat this?

Last Wednesday the weather changed yet again to warm but windy and once again it was back into shorts. I had an appointment at the dentist. This is never my favourite past time but I think it must be one of the most scenic routes to a dentist. So I thought I'd share some of the spectacular views.

Having crossed the cricket ground you come to West Shore and the start of the coastal foot/ cycle path with views to the mountains.

The beach  with Conwy Mountain in the background.

As I was approaching Deganwy I spotted the local Conwy mussel men out in their boats gathing  mussels in the traditional manner.

Fantastic weather in Llandudno

After all the rushing about during the summer, bookings suddenly came to an abrupt halt on Sunday, so I thought I was going to have a leisurely time till the next booking on the 20th of October. When I say leisurely I mean doing other catch up jobs like the garden, accounts etc!! That was short lived when I got two calls on Monday one from some people who had stayed at Lymehurst before and were desperate to have a 4 day break starting on the Thursday and then a call from a couple who had arrived in Llandudno and had been given our details and they also wanted a 4 night stay so suddenly I was back in business.
The last 3 days have been fabulous weather wise. As soon as the breakfast things have been sorted and the bedroom cleaned and tidied I have made up a picnic and headed for West Shore. (4 minutes by bike ) High tide is happening about  midday  which is brilliant for swimming as it's possible to swim straight off the prom steps so there's no debating .......it's straight in and swim!!!

The sea is lapping over the three lower steps....just as well it's no higher as I have my bike parked on the top step. At first the view is a  little hazy................

......... but as the afternoon progresses and the tide goes out it becomes less hazy................

...... until finally the beach starts to be un covered and the fabulous views to Conwy Mountain become clearer

To be able to spend the afternoon in such a fabulous location and be only a 4 minute bike ride away from home and business still amazes me. It's times like this that make it all worthwhile.

Results of The 24 hour Commonwealth Race

So Gloddeath Road in Llandudno is now back to normal. having been partially cordoned off for the runners. I have just checked the results on  www.ultramountaincommonwealthchampionships.org site to see how one of my guests got on in the race. Sharon Scholz ran over 197 laps so 197.1 kilometres. The overall winner was Lizzy Hawker from England who ran an incredible 247 kms which apparently is a new world best. Second was John Pares from Wales and he clocked up 244 kms. I still find it hard to believe that people can keep running for that amount of time.