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.

The End of the 24 hour race

Sharon Scholz and fellow Australian team member nearing the finishing time.

Having made breakfasts and cleaned the rooms at Lymehurst B & B I headed towards the finishing line of the race. Some competitors were still running, quite a few had slowed to a walk but most were still on the go...........how do they do it?





As competitors were nearing the finishing time their team mates handed out flags for them to display on their final lap.

I think this was the winning female

The winning male competitor from wales

Sharon and Justin (her husband) who kept her fed and watered throughout the 24 hours. Check out Sharon's records on http://www.sharonscholz.com/

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The Commonwealth 24 Hour Ultra Run

The Scottish team tent

I went to watch the start of this competition at midday on  Friday 23rd not really believing that the competitors would still be running around the the track in 24 hours time.....it seemed impossible.  

Sharon Scholz who stayed at Lymehurst representing Australia

 Midday.... and off thet go

Some of the Canada team followed by some Australians and welsh runners

Sharon Scholtz representing Austalia in the Commonwealth 24 hour Ultra Race held in Llandudno.

Views towards Conwy Castle from Deganwy





After cheering Sharon on and watching all the other competitors from Wales, Scotland, England, Isle of Man, Canada,  India and New Zealand. etc I got on with my chores and also went for a lovely walk to Deganwy. It is such a scenic walk but  Meanwhile the laps were being completed by those stalwart athletes.

At 11 pm I  decided to head out to see what was going on.  It was quite an unusual scene to come upon in the middle of the night seeing some people running, some walking while having a bite to eat or drink as they continued on their way. Some runners did look like it was hard going but others showed no sign of struggling. About 12.15 I headed off home to bed leaving them to many more laps of the course. 

CONWY HONEY FAIR

 Last week the main road in Conwy was closed so that local beekeepers could sell their honey and other hive products. The Royal Charter permitting this fair was introduced more than 700 years ago. This year there were 30 beekeepers selling their honey. It was wonderful to see that there was once again plenty of honey. Two years ago there was so little that it was all sold by midday. Along side the beekeepers were plant stalls, vegetable stalls, local crafts and cake stalls. Unfortunately my camera decided to jam so I was only able to take one photo but I'm sure there'll be pictures on the beekeepers site. http://www.conwybeekeepers.org.uk/ 

Once home and after a bit of camera man handling!! I was able to take some pictures of my purchases.

Wonderful fresh carrots and cauliflower

There were so many different types of honey, different flavours and consistency. It was hard to choose so I ended up buying a variety from different areas. Now I can offer local honey on the breakfast table at Lymehurst.

Interesting guests

Again I have not added anything for ages but today I have to add this. I have an Australian couple who arrived today having cycled up from London. I thought that was impressive but they have informed me that Sharon will be taking part in a 24 hour .....yes 24 hour Ultra race on Friday. She is representing Australia in the Commonwealth Ulta Distance Championships.The race is run along a kilometer stretch of road very nearby so I will go and cheer her on but not for the whole 24 hours!!! I didn't know such races  took place. Will keep you posted as to how she does.Check it out...it's for real  http://www.cmudc2011.org/

Lymehurst garden

The garden has needed some rain and it is certainly getting plenty today. Having just finished a mamouth ironing session I thought I'd sit at the computer for a while as I can't be tempted out in to the garden!! Now of course I have seen how long it is since I added anything to this blog. You definitely need to be pretty dedicated to do this regularly or have spare time.
Always on the look out for different places to advertise I decided to try advertising on a bikers site. http://www.thebikersguide.co.uk/ The lady who runs the site said that the gated parking at the back of the house would be perfect for bikers to park their bikes safely off the road and out of sight  so I thought why not. It seems to be working. I have already had two lots of bikers and another enquiry.

Getting back to the subject of the garden I thought I'd include some pictures. Flowers are so amazing when you look closely at them

I really like bleeding hearts. They are so elegant. The pink variety (I have to get one) always remind me of Gunilla's  garden outside her kitchen window on Hogsara where we used to live. Hogsara is a small island off the coast of Finland.



One of my guests bought me a selection of bulbs when she realised I loved gardening and this amazing anenome  is the result! What a colour.



I have wanted one of these rock roses for a long time so when I was able to get a cutting!! I was delighted and even more delighted when the first flower appeared

An alium. Just like an exploding firework but better as it lasts longer and is peaceful as it sways in the breeze

Another rock rose, grown from a cutting taken from a friends garden. Very colourful but not as elegant looking as the white one

Why this picture you might ask.  Dill..... I love dill for it's looks , flavour and for many memories of summers on Hogsara where we used to grow masses of it to sprinkle on the smoked flounders and turbot we sold to sailing boats that were moored in the bays around the island.



I have several Penstomen plants but this is special as it took a long time to find. I love the purple, blue hue.

 As the weather is still so horrible outside it has really cheered me up looking at these pictures. I think it would be very hard not to have a garden now. When I worked in a day unit with the elderly who had mental health problems I found that when I came home  I'd make a cuppa and then just wander around my garden....and what a relaxing therapy that was.