Wales

Let's see how much I can type while the baby sleeps.

We chose a family-friendly place called Bluestone. It's kind of a cross between a resort and a self-catering holiday. I've never seen the like in America, although I've not lived there since becoming a parent. Still, it seems very British to me.

The cottage we stayed in was wonderful! B and I in the upstairs master, with the baby, Granny downstairs, E in the middle bedroom with a skylight that he loved. Big kitchen too, with a really nice table that I'm envious of. I so wish we had space for a dedicated dining area! One day we will, I hope.

Stairs up led to the top bedrooms (all en suite) and a little snug area with a beanbag and a small TV (there was a large TV downstairs - and no, we didn't watch either very much!). The stairs/upper level was the perfect place for launching paper airplanes:

Spent the night, woke up, got in our golf buggy, and went to get breakfast. E LOVED the buggy - actually, we all did. The site was huge, and although we could have walked from place to place, it was really nice not to have to. Breakfast was in the little woodland-style cafe, a very kid-friendly place with little hiding areas and a TV showing a Welsh folktale.


After eating breakfast....
...we went downstairs to the adventure playground, which was quite good! Even the baby found something to do:
...while E was a tad more adventurous (although B was bailing him out, here).

After a quick round of miniature golf, we headed back to the cottage.


Have I mentioned yet the golf buggies were amazing?


They're electric (lots of charging stations all over the place) with a top speed of about 10mph. The site is supposedly "car-free" although cars are allowed in to load and unload and there are maintenance vehicles, so to be quite honest, we did run into a fair few vehicles and it wasn't as car-free as I might have liked. Still, everyone drove slowly so it wasn't too bad.

After a rest, we all went swimming at the water park on site, which was amazing! The lazy river wound its way from the indoors to the outside, with little hot pools to rest in and look up at the sky, then back indoors again. There were four waterslides (I managed 2, so did B, E was too small) and a wave machine, fountains, and a pretty good shallow/kid pool with a miniature slide that E enjoyed.

I think we could have managed another few extra days on site. It had its own little "town" with restaurants, a pub (Tafarn, in Welsh), shops, a bakery, and a little playground which E liked:

With the kids tuckered out from swimming, B and I dined at the more high-falutin' restaurant while Granny babysat - it was refreshing to have an uninterrupted, non-whispered chat with B. With a glass of wine as well! Or maybe two. And the food was good.

This being my first visit to Wales, I really wanted to see some of the countryside, and thankfully everyone else was up for it. We went to see a castle that Granny had visited as a young girl.

Entering Llawhaden castle....

Exploring....

Going up high....
Misty views....

Dadden below....

Then into the car and off for a Sunday roast. After visiting the tiny tiny settlement of Landshipping two or three times more than we wanted, we took a very circuitous route and found a waterside pub. Both kids napped in the car on the way, and woke up to eat.

There was a little boat with Sausalito on it floating out there... a mystery?

Back to the cottage we went. C ran herself a bath....

...and absconded cheekily:

I have a few more pics, but will post them later - I hear baby waking, and I need to get started on prepping dinner. Let me just say that I really enjoyed myself and it was great to get away for a few days!