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.