We work hard and play hard or to be more precise we work hard and try to play hard but as the years roll by and we get older we seem to have more nothing days.

Nothing days are where we are just so knackered after doing three 12 hour days and a half day before having any time off. When we finish at lunch time, we tend to have lunch and then lazy about to recharge our batteries.

But we must not give in to age and there is so much we want to see and do while we are here. When I say here I mean while we are on this planet not just while we are here in this area.

So a day off and a plan. Go to Llangollen. Only about a twenty minute drive away, park in the centre and walk along the canal to the motor museum. We were there early so we got in the main carpark and paid our fee and headed off to the canal path.

Over the bridge over the river past the old railway station and up to the canal. The old railway station is where the steam trains go from and we are actually booked on one in June.

The canal path is about a fifteen minute walk to the motor museum which is a private collection of old cars, old motorbikes and memorabilia. Not your Haynes style museum at all. It’s only five pounds to enter the big old barn which houses all the old stuff. We really enjoyed it and spoke to the owner who bought the barn with money from his dad when he passed away. It’s a great collection and if you’re ever in the area it’s well worth a visit. Just don’t expect shiny warehouse type buildings and polished cars and bikes.

After spending some time in the museum we started to walk back along the canal path and I heard the whistle of a steam train, the track is right next to the canal path. I peered through the trees to hopefully get a glimpse but no it was nowhere to be seen. Then the whistle went again and I said to Nikki, it must be on its way so I desperately tried to find a spot through the trees to get a photo.

Then another blow on the whistle and I saw it coming around the bend and towards us. I scrambled down the bank through the trees to get a good spot with Nikki shouting don’t get too near the railway lines. I know I wanted a good photo but I also didn’t want it to be the last photo I took. As the train passed I got a great photo of it that I was very happy with. Hope you like it.

What a day we were having, the motor Museum, the steam train. All I needed now was to see the horse drawn barge come along the canal. No sooner had the words got out my mouth, around the bend in the canal came a big ol cloppy horse pulling a canal boat. It’s a tourist thing but again something I had wanted to see.

So on a day where I got three things to tick of my to do list while we are in the area, the only thing to do was on the way back to the carpark we passed a very nice sandwich, pie and cake shop. It would have been rude to just walk by, so we ventured inside and bought ourselves some lunch.

The next day was also our day off, so a drive out to Pistyll Rhaeadar the highest waterfall in Wales apparently. At 240 ft or 80 metres it’s the tallest single drop waterfall in Britain. After you turn off the main road and start heading towards it you are on single track roads and the scenery is fantastic. Again we were up early to get there before the crowds.

There is a small carpark and cafe right next to it. You walk through a gate and down to the bottom of the waterfall and look upwards towards the sky to the top. That was fantastic but I wanted to see it from the top down, which meant a hike up the mountain which was a bit too much for Nikki so she stayed down below while I hiked up to the top for a different view. Wow that’s all I could say on reaching the top and looking over the edge and down the valley.

One slip and you’re over the edge until you hit the bottom 80 metres below. But what a view. Stunning, I then hiked back down to meet Nikki who was sat in the safety of the cafe having a coffee. Very sensible.

To finish our days off we headed to a pub only about twenty minutes walk from base. We sat in the beer garden with a view of the aqueduct in the distance and had a beer or two and one of the pubs famous burgers. Nikki’s burger consisted of a 8 oz burger with bacon on top and mine was a 8 oz burger with a Cajun chicken breast on top and topped off with bacon and salsa and onion rings. Both meals came with chips and salad and coleslaw. Good job we were walking back to burn a few calories off.

We have just returned from a weekend away in the camper. We went to the Wirral and a site overlooking the estuary. We walked into west Kirby along the old railway line which was about three miles. Had lunch in a cafe called the sail loft over looking the estuary and the marine lake.

The marine lake is a man made lake for water sports which has a path all the around the edge which at low tide you can walk around. When you see people walking around it from the other side it looks like they are walking on water. I persuaded Nikki to walk back to the site which meant we had walked six miles. Ok for me but a little too far for her but she did it and slept well that night.

We had a chill out day the next day and only a short walk to the beach and a lunchtime stop in the local cafe for tea and cake. Then a BBQ in the early evening with a beer or two and some wine for Nikki and yes we both slept well again.

So that’s us up to date and back at work. It’s bank holiday weekend so busy busy and next weekend we have another bank holiday and the coronation so we will be busy yet again. More to plan for our next days off.

Not long after posting my last blog when we were having a loverly mild spell at the end of February the weather forecast was saying we were going to get some snow across the U.K.

Our local weather said we would get a bit of snow and ice. I was getting a bit excited about having some snow around. It does make nice photos. As the days passed the weather forecast changed as if the forecasters had no idea what we were going to get. They have been known to get it wrong before. Think back to Michael fish.

I went to bed on the evening before expecting to wake up to a huge snow drift outside my door, but what did we get the next morning, a few snow flakes in the ground. So the forecasters got that wrong.

Some parts of the country had snow, others had none. Anyway just as they were saying no snow in our area it started snowing. And by the morning we woke up to see a huge blanket of snow covering everything including the trees. It was as white as white out there.

Now as nice as it looked this was going to cause us a problem being on a campsite because we had people arriving and people leaving. Or so they thought. The road leaving the site is flat until you get to the top then it’s a slope down if leaving and a slope up if you’re arriving. And to add to that the site has some slopes.

A couple of small camper vans made it out of the site but the rest booked another night and we had to cancel all our bookings for two days as it would not be safe on site and most people were thinking the same and could not even get their caravan or motorhome out from where it was parked anyway.

The next two days were spent shovelling a lot of snow so people could get to the toilet block etc. After two days the forecast was for the temperature to hit double figures and rain and as quick as the snow arrived it was gone and life on the campsite was back to normal or as normal as it can be with us working here.

We had a trip out to Chester shopping outlet on one of our days off. I hated every minute of it and Nikki would have enjoyed it if I wasn’t there moaning about all the shops etc. I don’t like shopping and the only reason I went was because I wanted to get some winter boots for my mountain biking. I never got them.

We had friends come and visit us. They had a nice time exploring the area and of course we had to go and have a beer with them and a bite to eat down the pub.

And now we’re into April already. Can’t believe we have been here for three months already. The snow drops have been and gone and now the daffodils are all over the place and next will be the bluebells.

Chirk castle which is right on our doorstep has some loverly grounds to walk around and we often walk up there as it changes every month. Now we’re into spring all the trees are leafing up and all the buds are coming out. The birds are singing and building their nests. And the evenings are getting lighter.

New in the Chirk estate is a garden area they have made which is a peaceful area, no dogs allowed and hopefully only very well behaved children. It’s an area where you get in touch with nature. There are benches around and areas just to sit and ponder, listen to the birds and watch life go by with your thoughts. I love the area and will be visiting it more.

Nikki says this wording on this totem pole sums me up. I think she is right. we spent a very nice quite half an hour in the garden with nobody else coming in.

We had the afternoon off yesterday so planned some weekends away to give the camper a run out and to get us off site. More on that as and when we have those weekends. I also booked us onto the train ride from Llangollen to Carrog in June. I booked this because in the weekends the steam train runs this route so I am really looking forward to this. Plan is to get off at Carrog walk up to the pub for lunch and catch a later train back.

That’s us up to date. Still lots of work to do and of course lots of things for us to see and do while we are in this wonderful area. I will keep blogging and hope you are enjoying our journey with us. Cheers.