A wander around Wales in Betty the Campervan

We decided for our Summer holidays this year we would head off in Betty to explore the Welsh countryside. We had ventured to Pembrokeshire before and knew we wanted to trek more of the coastal path so knew part of the holiday would be back there, meaning we needed spots either side of it. We settled on heading into the hills to Snowdonia and pootiling to Hay on Wye after, with a good stint of Caerfai Bay in the middle.

We arrived in Snowdonia late in the evening, as usual Sam went to on his usual research of finding us a camping spot that had an essence of wild camping but toilets and showers. Sam is great at this, he always finds a real rustic spot for us to enjoy and it's aces as it gives the feel of a wild camp but also allows me to feel clean and have a proper loo (signs i am definitely getting old!!).
Garth Farm in Snowdonia http://www.snowdonia-wales.net/acc/camp/garth/default.asp is a real wilderness spot, it has views to Snowdon and onto the lakes and is a real gem. The farmer that owns the land is a proud Welsh man, it's a working farm and the dogs didn't approve of Socks being there so we had a few barks and hilarious encounters. We arrived on a stormy evening but with the joy of the van and a hilarious attempted bbq from Sam we nestled down to a tasty meal and some bed time book reading, Socks settled herself on the bed and we were ready for a cosy but stormy night ahead.
We woke the next morning with the sun shining and decided to take a ramble to the next village around 6 mile away. Sam and I always laugh (and struggle) when away as when we come across stiles in the country Socks has no idea  what to do, so it ends up with us carrying her over, which as you can guess isn't always the easiest! The walk went through various terrains with beautiful waterfalls and strong green Summer colours, the sun broke through the woods and i couldn't help but take a seat on the hill down to rest and enjoy what was in front of me.  The walk ended in betws y coed, which is a base town for people heading off to hike Snowdon. It was pretty intense after a ramble with no one around, however we got some tasty food and wine and settle down for a nice after walk feast.

We had two days in Snowdonia NP, the sites were breathtaking, the walks were harder, more strenuous especially the 2nd day when we headed for a smaller summit. The views as we walked to the summit were so beautiful, the mountains had colours of purple and various green hues which were breath taking, i found myself stopping and taking photos on so many occasions, wanting to capture it all. Both walks had such difference but both were incredible, being in Snowdonia NP and being able to experience it from two different perspectives was really special. I hadn't know what to expect but felt really in the wilds where we were staying and even on both our walks we hardly seen anyone. It was amazing feeling lost in the heather on the mountainous paths.

We headed off to Pembrokeshire the following day, we were meeting Beth, Cian and Jacob at Caerfai Farm http://www.caerfaifarm.co.uk/camping/ a campsite we visited two years ago on our last jaunt around Wales. It's an aces little site where the pitches are all around the side of the field and overlook onto Caerfai Bay which is a cute little seaside bay. We booked in advance to ensure we got some good pitches and we were not disappointed, as soon as we got there we knew we wanted more time, we settled into the evening content with the week ahead.

The holiday took on a mixture of walking, beaches, eating, exploring and so much sunshine. We had already planned to complete more of the Pembrokeshire trail, however we were mindful that we were with good friends and wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. It worked perfect as our friends are great walkers and had Jacob walking with them or strapped on in his carrier, we played numerous games of searching for things and lots of treasure trails to keep the little dude walking. Some days we stuck together others Sam and I carried on venturing off further on the trail. We covered old ground and new and i especially loved the walk from Solva to Newgale, there was some steep inclines but it was so rewarding espicially when we climbed high coming across another incredible peak along the coast.

My Mum and Step Dad were also in Pembrokeshire so we met with them which was lovely, we took them on a good ramble to St Justinians from our campsite. I could see the enjoyment in their faces with the views ahead and to top it off we came across a herd of seals.

I have totally fallen in love with the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and we are even planning to head back next year. Sam is always against going back to the same place but for me i just think we have found somewhere so nice, why not go back. Were both so happy and content when there and every walk just brings outstanding beauty and breathtaking views. We have been lucky both times with the weather, but i guess the joy of the van is that even when the weather turns we have the warmth to rest down and cosy up with a good game or book.  Socks is also great in the van, she has a super long lead she is attached by which lets her roam around but also hop into the van and jump onto the bed when she is ready for snoozing.

One of my favourite days was a tasty walk from St Justinians to Whitesands, we then carried on to Porthmelgan Beach, some of the beaches on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path don't let dogs on however Porthmelgan does and it is a tranquil little bay. We found some shelter for socks and perched ourselves with the sun on our faces, we had a good hour of reading, toe dipping and (sand) sandwiches and even a rescue helicopter landing close by as a walker had sprained her ankle. It was pretty magical few hours, we met back with the gang and we then headed back to town and went to a delish pizza pop up restaurant called Dusty Knuckle, The pizzas and ciders in the sun was just what we needed after an afternoon at the beach and we ravished them down quickly. Walking back to camp the air was cooling and Jacob and Socks were getting snoozy, once the 'kids' were settled we rested down in front of a fire with marshmallows and fireworks game (hanabi).

The rest of the week was much of the same, us all wanting an extra night and having to move camp to enable us to do so. Next year we agreed 5 days just wasn't long enough - i think we may double it!
With goodbyes had and a few tears we moved on to our next stop Hay on Wye, it was really hard moving on, missing our little holiday gang, however arriving at Walkers Cottage Camping we felt pretty rested and ready for the last few lazy days of our holiday. Walkers is a gorgeous campsite with lots of produce to purchase and a really relaxed field looking onto the hills of the Welsh countryside. We spent the next two days, watching the chickens roam, reading in the sun, bbqing, snoozing and some haphazard walks being chased by cows.

The 2wks in Betty was just perfect, i didn't want to go home, i am already planning next year - is that bad? Who else knows their holidays for 2018, it's what we go to work for hey? That next holiday in the sun!

Claire x

First Adventure in the Van - North York Moors

We did it, we got our first trip away in the van, okaies so it wasn't fully finished but that was kind of our plan, encase we needed to make adjustments etc. We had really blasted through working the Easter weekend and were so happy with how far we had come with the help of my Step-pa. 

We chose the North York Moors as our first adventure, we have only ventured here once and felt it was near enough home if anything went wrong but far enough away to be in the wilds of the moors. We had decided we wanted to stay on a farm esk campsite and found out about Low Bell End Farm online, it's a lovely space with incredible views across the Rosedale Moors. 

There was hardly anyone in the field, and the we were so happy with our chosen spot. We positioned the van so we could see out of our window in the morning, the weather was meek at times so we didn't spend too much time lazing around outside, however if we were we would set up a picnic spot to the front/back of the van so we could enjoy the views when not in bed. 

We did get a bit of rain but it was so nice being in bed, snug under the warmth of blankets, hot tea and a good book, we watched the rain pass then headed out for a lengthy hike/ramble

We had picked the Rosedale Railway walk, however didn't have an OS map, Sam takes on map reading and gets frustrated with walking books as descriptions are easily lost. We walked 3 mile extra, after becoming slightly lost and ended up hiking up the moors (after our picnic, massive fail) to reach the top of the Railway walk. However it was beautiful and rugged and the colours were outstanding, the gorse was in abundance and Spring life was flourishing.

This was just after we made it to the top, the walk was a circular and in total we managed 12.5 miles, i think a record for both of us walking and definitely for Socks, she was exhausted after.

There wasn't much we wanted to change on the van either, a few minor things to stop the baskets and fridge moving about but that would easily be done. We also needed to finish the tiling and sink area but apart from that we were really pleased with our first outing and just both felt the calm evoke us as our travelling toes took us outside into nature again. 

I do love a project but there's nothing like enjoying the completed product. 

Project Van Life pt4

We started to build and build we did, the designing of the van we had been doing for some time, we had to change a few things with the addition of our lovely long dog, however we were happy with what we put together and enjoyed masking the tape down to measure out the space.

We had gone back and forth about having a bed that stays out or one that rolls back to being seats. We decided that if we had the bed out all the time it would allow us to relax on rainy days and allow Socks the chance to get up and look out the window/s. We also felt by having the bed out we could have storage underneath for baskets, clothes, fridge etc,

We also know for Socks to travel she would need a space, her spindly legs are so long that without a contained area she would fall all over when in transit. We felt by making a box behind the seats it give her a travel style cot where she could still see us and look out the window. When camped up we could then use the box for storage, placing a lid on it and a cushion for seating area. 

We used various size ply for the bed, and 3x2 timber for the frames. My Step-pa came around to help and really shifted us on with the building, it felt exciting seeing it all come together.

We added some hatches into the bed, the longer one for storage and the smaller one for access to the battery. We then placed the table and storage underneath the bed. For us the table wouldn't be used to eat from, it would be more of a storage spot when cooking and a bedside table when in bed. We wanted to not take bags into the van so made a storage spot for baskets in which our clothes would go in. 

We made a cupboard out of timber frame and pallet, i had seen the idea on the interweb and felt it would fit perfect with our style of van. We took the pallet apart, sanded it down then covered it in teak oil. Sam then put the boards together and put hinges on to make three doors. The top we used old scaffold board, which Sam sanded right back and again we stained with teak oil. The big cupboard space will hold the water and waste water and the calor gas. The smaller cupboard would be for cups, teapots and all the cooking equipment. 

We hadn't measure the top, doh, and at one point worried we couldn't fit a two hob stove on, however Sam found an old stove called a Tilly Trojan, he found a guy selling them on gumtree and we got a brand new one that fitted perfect. We also loved its retro style. For the sink we bought a bowl and are going to put a plug hole in and a hand powered tap. 

Decorating came next and i looked in the shed for what i already had, i picked the yellow from our bedroom wanting something bright and then used magnolia for the kitchen area as we are tiling above the sink/stove area. I also used blackboard paint above the door so we could write good camping spots and notes on.

I had made curtains so we got them up and the obvious maps had to go in. I got a great children's map that sat brilliant against the yellow. 

We made a couple of shelves again out of pallets, one for books and the other sits above the sink area with tea/coffee etc on. 

I need to get some better photos of it all complete but will do that in another blog.

Enjoy, any comments, questions feel free to ask, we found so much helpful information on the internet and wanted to be able to share that back. 

Project Van Life pt3

We had a really good weekend in the van this weekend, Sam has been working like a trooper as i haven't been well enough to be in there, however this weekend i found the energy to get outside and really help out and it felt great. Sam has been working on the electrics, he seem's to read about it day and night and this weekend we started to wire everything up (i will do another blog about electrics). I got on with insulating using the loft roll as mentioned in Van Life pt2 ~  https http://claire-yvonne.blogspot.com/2017/02/project-van-life-pt2.html and started to make templates for the ply that will cover the insulation. 

I also started working on the ceiling, Sam had started it but it needed to be finished and it was a job i could do, (electrics i wasn't going near), the panels on the ceiling were actually going to be used on the floor, however we decided there were too femur and felt they would bring some more light and colour to the van if we put them up top. A friend of ours owns the http://welovewood.org/ wood recyling yard and we were in love with these as soon as we saw them, loaded in the car, home they came and onto the van they were drilled. 

Socks even came out and visited us, she normally looks at the van then pootles off but this time she took her time and jumped on in, we were so happy, she took a good sniff around, posed for some photos and looked out the windows. 

Next stage is more of the ply boarding going up, finish electrics then we will start building the frames for the furniture. We know the layout so it's just starting to build.