Having lived here for two years now, the other day was the first time we actually walked up the hill and went inside the local church, even after some guests have visited to trace their ancestry advising that we should take a look and on top of that one day back in July 2018 a large helicopter landed nearby, which is very rare around these parts, for us to find out later it was Prince Charles dropping in. This may have been due to the interesting story behind the intricately carved pews, or that the church is Grade I listed as it is one of the most complete medieval churches in Ceredigion.
Whatever the reason it is well worth a visit if in the area. The church is mainly 14th century, although the south chapel was probably built on 6th century foundations. Or that an old holy well that used to be known for its healing properties, with the spring that fed it still running off and actually passes through our property, I must give it try sometime.
We are currently working on totally re-furbishing the ensuite bathroom to a bedroom we plan to introduce in early 2020, which has double aspect views to the surrounding garden/fields and hills beyond. The photos show some boxing in and panelling for the new shower and recently re-plastered walls, waiting installation of new bathroom suite.
29.12.2019 – I am slowly getting there honest, all plumbing done and whiteware plumbed in and now working on the tiling and walls. The new floor is in just waiting for final finish when everything else is complete. Had fun with the Bidet as there was a fault in the casting so it wouldn’t stop leaking no matter what I did, so next time I shall avoid Victoria Plumb, not only for that reason but I have had to replace all the associated fittings supplied as they where utter rubbish. Take for example the plastic pipe connections made out of thin, soft plastic that you can strip the thread of no problem, so replaces with McAlpine fittings which first time every time. Thanks also to Ceredigion Plumbing in Lampeter and Screwfix who have been excellent.
07.01.20 – Just had an online chat with Phoebe from VictoriaPlum and she has now resolved the issue and refund been arranged, much happier now 🙂 … tip don’t try their phone customer service go straight to online chat.
16.01.20 – Very nearly there, what with fitting in with all the other jobs. Then on to a refresh of the bedroom itself ready for release on March 1st.
30.01.20 – Finally gone live on our website, together with Booking.Com and Expedia, offering a large comfortable bedroom with private ensuite facilities in the re-furbished bathroom. So we now offer three B&B rooms all off the first floor landing, with the other double and the single sharing the bathroom.
Addition of more boxing in and positioning of the white ware 🙂
The penultimate stage is almost now complete with the deck and side rails/balustrade in place, with just a few finishing touches to do. Then it will be all about building some steps to ease access to the bridge, until such point that I can formulate a plan to construct ramps up to both ends so I can get equipment across more easily.
When we first moved here back in 2018 the footbridge over the river was a simple construction using telegraph poles that had seen better days, but was still serviceable with care as there were no handrails to speak of. Then in October 2018 along came the floods and kind of finished the job, especially as the river actually went over the top of it for a short while. So the decision was made that we had better get something better installed, that could take lawnmowers and stuff across etc…
OK it took a while to research and cost up the options available, but in the end we went for a wooden bridge made from oak timbers for the more traditional look and feel. The next stage after much discussion was how to do the foundations in such a way would keep the bridge safe and secure even if we had another big flood. So concrete foundations were installed at great personal effort, as Jeff and myself constructed the hoarding to form the concrete foundations, 6.5 tonnes in total and yes that is the cement lorry in the field.
Then after measuring the actual gap to bridge, it was just the long wait for the timber to turn up on site so Alwyn (local carpenter) could get cracking. The three support beams duly arrived weighing in at around 1/2 tonne each and are 16″ x 4″ in size, or in metric 400mm x 100mm. The pictures and video below tell the story….
So now all we have to do is make it so we can actually cross it, then build the ramps that will lead up to each end…
This year saw the first Hay Harvest from this field, after many years of just having sheep running around, our decision earlier in the year to let it grow and give the land a rest has meant that in June our grass was quite long so decided to let Gareth cut it for his silage and a few bales for ourselves. Over the course of a week two tractors came to cut the hay wizzing around the field to produce rows of cut grass as photo above and first two photos below, then a day or so later it was turned and spread before channeling back into rows to make it ready for the baler (3&4), baler in action late one evening (5) resulting in 62 bales by about 10pm (6), then a day or so later wrapping them (7) which was fascinating to watch, see video…
We have managed to make some time in our schedule and decided to try out one of the lovely beaches around here that guests rave about in Cardigan Bay. We parked in the free car park at the top of the village, which proved to be a wise decision and would recommend approaching via the B4334 as yes it is narrow in places, but way better than the other way. Then walked down to the beach front where there is a choice of cafe and pubs but to a more discreet level than that found at New Quay and the beach is exceptional, plus very explorable and it is possible to walk around a rocky outcrop to the second beach at low tide. Although you can also get to it via some steep steps from the main beach beside the cafe, over the top and down some even steeper steps the other side, it has got a handrail so not too bad.
It is also possible to make a number of circular walking routes starting from Llangrannog, we chose to venture north to Ynys Lochtyn which is a stretch of land that reaches out into the sea, that gave us a taster of some glorious views that can be enjoyed on the Cardigan Bay coastline.
