A pub stop and a night near Cymer Abbey

Thursday 10 July 2025

Nido's parked up in the Vanner campsite, just outside Dolgellau, with a view of the ruins of Cymer Abbey and Cadair Idris in the distance.  It's been a hot day, so once we arrived, we chilled out in the shade, taking Salty for the occasional walk down to the river for cooling dip (for him!).  It's my 62nd birthday; for the past couple of years we've been in Scotland at this time, but as we're not visiting mainland Europe this year, we're instead spending a month in Scotland in late August/September, including two weeks in the Outer Hebrides.

Yesterday we left the campsite and took a short drive to the Purple Trees plant and tree nursery, which we spotted on the drive in on Sunday.  The co-owner was watering when we arrived and we had a good chat.  It was really interesting to hear he spends two months in the Autumn in forests collecting tree seeds, ready to plant in the nursery.  We bought six plants which are now travelling with us in the van, spending the nights outside in the cooler air.  Moving on we parked up in a shaded area at the Hafod Estate, now owned by the National Trust.  We had a lovely walk down a chasm to the waterfall, before following the river, then passing through flower meadows and ancient forest.  We had a lazy lunch sat outside the van in the shade of the trees, which was welcome given the hot sunshine.

Pampered plants

Chilled dog!

Last night's park-up was at the Halfway Inn in Pisgah, high on the top of a ridge with views down into the valley and across to the other side.  We'd seen this pub on a Welsh language programme - Cefn Glawd - and they were very happy to let us park up for the night in exchange for a meal in the pub. We both enjoyed a very tasty lasagne, a couple of drinks and a quiet night in their car park.  

It was very hot this morning when I opened the van door and took Salty for a walk.  So a quick breakfast and we drove to Lidl in Aberystwyth for a quick groceries top-up before arriving at Vanner campsite.  It's a mix of static caravans and a couple of fields for tents, motorhomes and touring caravans.  It's quite relaxed with none of the myriad signs and many pages of rules you often find at these sites.  We walked Salty down to the river and he enjoyed laying down in the flowing water.  Sadly it was too shallow for us to have a dip, so we had to be content with sitting under the shade of the awning. 

Later we took a walk around the abbey ruins.  It's small so didn't take long.  Cistercian monks were more than religious men. Worldly Cistercians were also pioneering sheep farmers and some of the first rural entrepreneurs. Their network of abbeys included Cymer, idyllically set at the mouth of the Mawddach Estuary.  Founded in 1198, it was one of their lesser settlements, suffering greatly during the conflicts between Wales and England in the 13th century. Nonetheless, substantial remains survive from this simple abbey church.

Dinner tonight was stir-fried vegetables with Salmon and we spent the rest of the evening chilling out and enjoying the cooling air.  We head home tomorrow. Our son is driving up on Saturday and, if his car survives the journey!, me, him and Salty will be off on a Boys' Road Trip on Sunday for three nights; Cathy is very much looking forward to the peace and quiet!

A few days in Ceredigion

 Tuesday 8 July 2025

Nido's parked up on the Nantyrhelyg campsite in the village of Pontrhydfendigaid, about 13 miles south-east of Aberystwyth, in the county of Ceredigion.  It's a beautiful part of Wales, with rolling hills and deep valleys, many small hamlets and smallholdings dotted around.  The Cambrian mountains are visible to the east, separating this area from towns such as Rhayader on the other side.  A footpath trail runs through the campsite which, if walked north, takes you to Devil's Bridge.  The campsite is on a 12 acre smallholding, with lovely views all around and red kites hovering overhead.  At £15 per night including EHU it's an absolute bargain and we've had it all to ourselves. The owners have kindly provided free bantam eggs; six make an excellent breakfast omelette for us to share!

Since our first trip of the year - to Fairbourne and nearby - we've had a couple of trips away in the van, including exploring the Montgomery canal and visiting St Fagans National Museum of History near Cardiff, but I didn't blog.

We arrived here on Sunday, having driven directly from home.  Once settled in we took Salty for a walk along some of the footpath trail, before passing the primary school and walking down into the village.  Until recently there were two pubs but both are now closed.  However, the village shop and post office is well-stocked and friendly.  After the journey here and dinner, we were soon ready for bed.

Yesterday we took a circular walk of about 5 miles.  After the first section along a sunken lane, we very quickly started to ascend the steep slopes of Pen y Bannau, stopping several times to admire the view.....and get our breath back!  From the trig point at the summit we had extensive views over the Cambrian mountains and beyond.  The descent was gentler and took us through bracken and fields, down to the ruins of Strata Florida Abbey.  Strata Florida Abbey (Vale of Flowers in Latin), also known as Ystrad Fflur, is a former Cistercian monastery in Wales with a rich history spanning over 850 years. It was established in 1164 by white-robed monks from Whitland Abbey and became a significant religious and cultural center, known for its association with Welsh princes and poets.   It was free to enter although I did give a donation in the small visitor centre.  We enjoyed our walk around what is left of the abbey, admiring the original decorative floor tiles, before our picnic at one of the tables inside the abbey ruins, with swifts diving and screeching overhead.

The return walk took us along the river Teifi, back into the village. After a quick stop at the village shop it was back to the van to sit outside with a cup of tea, before dinner at the picnic bench on our pitch.  I stayed up a little later to catch up on the Tour de France highlights before a quick read and sleep.

Just admiring the view...not resting - honest!

Some sort of Pilgrim statue on top of the hill

Graves of the monks and landowners

This morning I cycled around some of the small hamlets on fairly quiet roads, although at one point a group of about 50 motorbikes passed me at speed as I puffed up yet another steep hill, with some hairpins bends in the mix; I'm not as fit as I used to be!  The countryside, quiet hamlets and stone buildings strongly reminded me of cycling in France.  Despite the hills, I really enjoyed the 18 mile route and freewheeling the downhill sections made up for the slow slog upwards.

After lunch we walked back into the village and down a road towards the abbey to explore Coed Dolgeod and Coed Cnwch, a mix of deciduous woodland and bog, with the odd small pond here and there.  It's a lovely place to walk around with clear paths and a great variety of trees, plants and wildlife.  By the time we returned to the van I was bushed, so Cathy made a cup of of tea and we relaxed in the sunshine, watching the red kites circling overhead. I cooked dinner and again we sat at the picnic bench until the evening turned a bit cooler.

Tomorrow we're moving on and it's forecast to turn a lot hotter, so we'll aim to find somewhere shady to park up, chill out and have a short walk before moving on to our next park-up.