The last few days we have been off work, yes again but don’t forget we worked between the last days off for eight days. And now it’s back to work tomorrow for another eight days.

This few days we planned to go away because it was Nikki’s big birthday although she would not own up to it and insisted that everyone had got it wrong by ten years. It was also our ten year anniversary, apparently that’s Tin. The camper also needed a run out.

We could not decide what to do or where to go. There was a campsite we wanted to go to but by the time we made up our minds it was fully booked so we needed another plan. I tried once more and the dates we wanted came up, well almost we could only get the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so I hit the book button and it was done.

Red kite touring park was the site we were heading for at Llanidloes in mid Wales. An adults only site with great views and only a short walk into town for a drink or two and a meal. We arrived at the site in glorious sunshine and pitched up with great views down the valley.

The next day we walked into town which was about twenty minutes to see if we could book somewhere for a meal for Nikki’s birthday. Things weren’t looking good, all the pubs were closed Monday and Tuesdays and the ones that were open were not doing food. All the shops were closed or most of them. That was good news as Nikki could not go in them. Nikki’s birthday was on Wednesday the day before we set off back to base so we really didn’t want to go out then. We wanted to go out on the Tuesday. Eventually we found a pub that was open all day and did food. The Red Lion had good reviews so that’s where we ended up on the Wednesday evening. And a good time was had.

Back to our walk into town with all the closed shops. In the centre of town is an old market hall which is a loverly old building built in the early 17th century. Must have been the hub of activity in those days.

The campsite has some nice walks from it around some fishing lakes and up in the woods. I got up early one day and went for a walk around and found a load of dew covered cobwebs glistening in the morning sun and the fishing lake also looked so calm.

About four miles from the campsite is Clynedog dam and reservoir and some old building left over from the lead mines. Nikki did not fancy a long walk so I went out on my bike to see the old lead mining buildings and the dam. Good excuse to get out on my bike and stretch my legs.

The lake surface covers an area of 615 acres about the size of 230 football pitches, and is 216 ft deep at its maximum depth. The dam itself is very impressive also.

The old buildings left over from the lead mining days are at the bottom of the dam. They closed in 1884. The remains are of crushing houses, roasting ovens, not the Sunday roast versions, ore bins, smithy, and the mines managers house/ office. Must have been hard work and all that lead getting in your lungs and on your skin would have been bad.

That was our few days away which we really enjoyed. The weather was fantastic so we had a BBQ and chilled in the sun while having a nice cool drink, beer for me and wine for Nikki. We had a laugh in the pub as we always do and now we are back and I got out on my bike for a short ride. Back to work tomorrow.

We have just had six days off because our work rota has changed for the last two months. This means we work eight days and have six off. Only two months to go which also means we only have two more paydays then no income until next March.

We have been busy on our days off but more of that in a minute. The selection come out on Monday which means we know where we will be going next year to work.

We are going to be working on a site just outside of St David’s in Pembrokeshire South Wales. You can walk into St David’s in about half an hour from the site. St David’s has a cathedral which makes it a city and it’s the smallest city in Britain. A fifteen minute walk from site also takes you to whitesands bay which will be really nice. The surfboard will be loaded for next season as just down the road is Newgale which also has some good surf. Hope the managers aren’t expecting me to do any work. 😁

About 45 minutes drive from here is a farm shop called The Rhug estate which we have passed several times when out and about but never stopped at. Always one of those moments when we say we will do it another day. They have a big Bison outside and naturally do Bison meat which I wanted to try. The thought of a Bison burger on the BBQ got the taste buds going.

The weather was great the day we went so we had planned to have a BBQ that evening after going to the farm shop. All their meat is farmed on the estate and everything they sell is organic etc. I went off hunting down the bison burgers and found them amongst the sausages and steak and chicken and all looking so nice. Next to the bison burgers were two fillets of bison steak. I nearly choked when I saw the price £67 a kilo, no wonder that bison is up on stilts out of reach of everyone.

We bought our food for the BBQ minus the bison fillets but I did get the bison burgers, Nikki chose some chutneys. There is also a farm walk which takes you past some of the animals and around the fields which we decided to do as it was a nice day and we had plenty of time. First we went past the turkey field where as we walked past a load of them come running out from the shed towards us. I am sure they were shouting save us save us. So I wished them merry Xmas and walked on.

The walk was about three miles in total, down some lanes and along side the river. We saw the bison in a field but they were too far away to get any pictures. At the price they demand I expect that’s why they were so far away and all the gates were locked. We sat by the river to chill out and the only thing we could hear was bird song, so peaceful. Occasionally a fish would jump out of the water to catch a fly.

As we got back to the car eight VW beach buggy’s rolled into the carpark, they were on a tour around wales. Being a big fan of VW’s I had to get some photos and have a chat with the owners. The funny thing was Nikki had seen them the day before when she went shopping at Porthmadog.

After dragging myself away from the buggys we headed home for our BBQ and beer in the sun. The bison burgers were ok, not as good as a nice Aberdeen Angus beef burger but at least I had tried them and now I know not to save up for the fillets of Bison.

The next day was going to be a beach day as again the weather was looking good and the sea was so tempting to get in. The beach we chose was Criccieth beach. We found our spot in the beach and while Nikki chilled I went for a walk to the other end of the beach and back and to explore some rock pools. I can’t just sit on a beach for too long.

By the time I got back to Nikki she was having a paddle and I needed to get in the sea for a swim. Yes it was cold at first but once fully in you soon warmed up. I never found anything in the rock pools.

Yesterday we went to Caernarfon to have a look around. A lot of the town is within the castle walls with the castle at one end. It’s all by the sea and a loverly marina right next to it. You hear of walled gardens but a walled town is the first I have seen. Some loverly old streets within the walls and lots of little places to eat. Some bits a bit further out were looking a bit shabby and rundown. The castle looked very impressive and in a great position to see anyone coming by boat to attack.

Today was a chill out day and it’s back to work tomorrow just as the rain has arrived. Our next time off we are going away in the camper to a campsite about and hour and half away from here. It’s Nikki’s birthday so we will go out to eat and drink in the small town nearby. Not every day though, I don’t want her to lose her skill of cooking.