Wales: Buzzy Baldrick and Stingy Steve

Our final 2 days in Wales began with drizzle on the Thursday. We made first for Hay-on-Wye for a second visit in order to check out the market there. All sorts of local produce on offer, including some lovely preserves that my sister brought back as presents. With the rain seemingly persistent and the dogs not really enjoying it we popped into the Secret Garden Tea Room for a nice warming hot chocolate and slice of bara brith, a Welsh fruit bread that's most delicious.

Suitably warmed up, we had a further wander round the market and then we headed into one of the bookshops, dogs in tow. The dogs loved the fact they were allowed into the bookshops. Henry took me on a tour of this particular one, though what he was looking for I'm not sure. Probably his big sister, who had gone upstairs with my mum.

Books bought, we left Hay with the weather clearing slightly. Drove back to Talgarth, the little village we were staying near to have a look around. Initially, we set out for a walk, seeing as the clouds were breaking up a bit. Unfortunately we couldn't find the path and looking back towards the village we noticed the clouds coming back in and settling in the valley. Indeed, they seemed to have settled right down between the hills, hiding the upper part of the village.

We decided trying to find the path wasn't worth getting soaked for, so we headed back to the village and had a look around a couple of the shops. Lovely little deli there which has flavoured oils and vinegars on tap, plus a lovely selection of local produce. Bought my dad some local honey, plus some cake for tea. Mmm.

We also checked out Talgarth Mill which was recently renovated and re-opened to the public. We didn't go around the mill itself, but there's a nice little cafe and a shop selling flour from the mill. Sat outside with a nice cuppa. My sister had some sort of juice which attracted the inevitable wasps. She nicknamed them Buzzy Baldrick, Stingy Steve and Evil Ed. Oh dear.

Mum and sister checked out the little shop while I kept an eye on the dogs - later turned out sister had bought me a bread kit complete with flour from the mill. Can't wait to test it out.

And then yet another nice lazy evening. The cake I bought from the little deli was delicious.

Our final day in Wales was the wettest yet, to the point that we spent the entire morning lounging in the cottage. The dogs weren't bothered and I have to admit it was quite nice to have a morning of nothing - the first I've had in quite a while.

When the rain finally stopped we headed back to Brecon and this time managed to take a walk along the Monmouthshire & Brecon canal as we'd planned earlier in the week. Kinda muddy, but the path is well maintained so you could avoid the puddles. The dogs hate getting wet so it was funny watching them trying to pick their way through the less wet bits of the path.

Walked the 2 miles from the head of the canal in Brecon down to the Brynich Lock, the first out from Brecon. Timed it right to catch a narrow boat going through the lock. Reminded us of the time we took a canal holiday. More than a decade ago, that was. Jeez...

Anyhoo, we'd done 2 miles by that point and with it still being a bit damp we turned back to Brecon to save the dogs getting too cold. Grabbed a cuppa at the Coracle cafe in the town centre and then headed back to Talgarth. Stopped off at the Castle Hotel to grab some takeaway for tea. Delicious sausage and chips, fresh out of the fryer since they'd only just opened when we got through the door. Good stuff and pretty reasonably priced - I always expected this sort of thing to be expensive because it's relatively cheap in Grimsby.

And then it rained some more and we had a final lazy evening.

A lovely week in Wales, despite the occasional issue with the weather. And proof that going on holiday with dogs shouldn't limit your options.

For part 1 of the trip, go here: Cake, Sun & Travelling with Dogs
For part 2, go here: Sunburn and Hill Forts

Wales: Cake, sun and travelling with dogs...

First holiday of the summer: Wales with my mum, sister and my mum's two adorable dachshunds.

It started... not badly, but, well, getting stuck at Hopwood Services for an hour while Mum was stuck in traffic on the M6 is not the ideal start to a holiday. Worse for Mum, bless her, trapped on the motorway with two fidgetty dogs in the back.

Got going eventually though and after a nice scenic drive into Wales, we made our way up the narrow winding road to our cottage at Berth Fedw Farm in the hills above Talgarth. Gorgeous views across the valley and some lovely sheep in the field at the back, which Poppy (the older dachshund) promptly tried to say hello to by squeezing through the fence. Good job I hadn't let her off the lead...

Holiday proper started with a super lazy morning and then a short drive to Brecon, a lovely little market town. It was rather damp, but having the dogs with us it was a bit difficult to find anywhere we could go inside. So instead, the rain having stopped, we sat outside Cariad Cakes and had a lovely cup of tea and a very yummy cupcake each.

Most delicious. The weather still wasn't looking great, but we decided to try for a walk along the Brecon-Monmouth Canal anyway.

Of course, at that point it decided to rain on us so we turned back towards the car park. Passed these lovely little canal-side cottages on the way.

Brightened up again, typically, as we reached the car park so we decided to brave it again and this time head out along the river. Turns out the riverside path opens out into a nice little parkland and the dogs got the chance to run around off the lead for a bit. Snapped this spooky looking old house while the pups made friends with another dog.

And then it was back to the cottage, up the winding roads for a lazy evening.

On the Monday we headed in the other direction to Hay-on-Wye, the town famous for its secondhand book shops. It piddled down for a large part of the morning, which we spent sheltering in the old Butter Market and Cheese Market Halls (recently restored, I'll have you know) and poking around in some of the lovely bookshops. This got even better when we found out the dogs were allowed in most of the bookshops as long as they behaved. Which they did, fortunately. Of course, Poppy then decided that since she was allowed in the bookshops, she must be allowed in all the shops...

Had lunch at Kilvert's pub - really nice, reasonably priced food. Drinks seemed a bit overpriced to me (£3.10 for a pint of Pepsi?!), but totally made up for with the grub. Plus the dogs were quite happy to sit outside with us and bark at anyone who went into the pub.

After lunch we had a little wander around the rest of the town centre and had a quick walk in the park behind Hay Castle.

Raided tourist information for a map and then toddled off down to the river for a nice little afternoon walk. Got a bit excited for a moment when I thought I'd seen a Red Kite, but it turned out to be a buzzard on closer inspection. Damnit. Gorgeous walk, though.

And then we returned to the cottage for the evening. Obviously.

Took the dogs out for a walk in the field and Poppy promptly rolled in some sort of shit. She loved it. Mum was not so impressed. Henry, the younger dog, was quite happy to just run around pretending he's still a puppy.

Must have been tired though, our Henry. He decided to play dead on the sofa when it was time to go to bed...