About Me

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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Monday August 29th - Part 1 - Cynwyd, Llandrillo & Carrog

After a very dull start to the day things began to brighten up by 9am, the grey cloud was gradually replaced with more of the white cotton wool stuff and sunshine and blue sky began to appear. The first brief dog walk of the day was followed after breakfast by a longer walk, first to the lake up the hill just beyond the camp site and then down past a row of attractive cottages into Cynwyd village to find the 400-year old Pont Dyfrdwy bridge over the River Dee.


Finding the bridge was easy enough as it was only just out of the village but taking a photo of it was a different matter. A grassy footpath ran from the lane down one side of the bridge and along the riverbank but not only was that side of the bridge in shade I would also be shooting directly into the sun, so I went across to the other side. The footpath there was only short, ending in a locked field gate, and between the path and the riverbank was a large patch of brambles and overgrown vegetation under the trees. 

Just beyond the gate there was a small clearing which offered me the chance to get a reasonable shot of the bridge so after a quick check to make sure there was no-one around I hitched the dogs to the fence post and climbed over the gate. The view was obscured somewhat by several overhanging tree branches but inching as close to the water as I could get without falling in I snapped my photo, climbed back over the gate and made my way back up the path to the lane. Returning to the camp site I put the dogs in the van, refilled their water container then set out for the next place on that day's itinerary. 


A five minute drive from the site took me to the village of Llandrillo. I'd gone through it the previous day on the way to Bala and saw what looked like a little chapel set in a lawned garden and bedecked with flowers - it would be a good subject for a photo but I hadn't stopped at the time because it had been so cloudy. There was a small car park set back off the road near the river and on what could be called the village green next to it there was a small car boot sale so I parked in the shade of some overhanging trees and went for a quick look, though there was nothing there which really interested me.

Crossing the river by the modern footbridge I went to photograph the little chapel, though when I got there I found that it's actually now a private house. With its hanging baskets and plant pots outside the door and a multitude of colourful flowers in the garden it looked really attractive and was worth several photos. Across the road was the proper church and a notice by the gate said it was open so I went in for a quick look. It was a very pleasant place with some lovely roof timbers and just four proper stained glass windows; with a handful of shots I returned to the van and headed back through Cynwyd to Corwen and from there to Carrog, a couple of miles further on.


I've stayed at Station Camp Site in Carrog many times in the past and I've photographed various parts of the village many times, but with its 17th century stone bridge over the river and great countryside views it's an attractive little place and one of my favourites. Even though I wasn't actually staying there I couldn't resist going back to take another look round, and in the day's now glorious weather it was just as nice as I remembered it to be.



With several shots taken from both sides of the river I wandered back to the station car park where I'd left the van; I could quite happily have spent a couple of hours or so in and around Carrog but I had other places to go to and I didn't want to run out of time or sunshine, so with a drink of water for the dogs and a can of Coke for myself I hit the road for the next part of my day.


10 comments:

  1. I'm sure the converted chapel is ultra modern inside. We stayed in one in the Lake District and thankfully they'd kept a lot of the original features including the stained glass windows and it was lovely. It seems better to me that the one in your photo is a private home (I assume) rather than a holiday let!
    You're photos inside the chapel and the bridges are really good, you go to great lengths to get those shots and it's so worth it. That last photo makes me want to have a picnic on the riverbank :)

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  2. The converted chapel in Llandrillo is for sale so I Googled it and found this - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40890981.html - I like the kitchen and the bedrooms but the rest of it's not me, there's too much dark wood, though it's nice to see that a lot of the character features are still there.

    I don't only go to great lengths to get the shots I want, I also sometimes gain injuries. After I'd climbed over the gate to get the shot of the bridge at Cynwyd I got tangled up with a stray branch from a bramble bush and got some lovely scratches on the back of my leg - it was really sore for a couple of days afterwards.

    The building on the left in the last photo of Carrog is the Grouse Inn. They do lovely meals there and they have an outside dining terrace where you can take dogs - it overlooks the river and has some great views. If you're ever over that way and you want a meal give it a try, it's nice.

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    1. I had a look at the church details and I totally agree with you. This is the one we stayed in. It is dog-friendly and we went with daughter, son-in-law and three dogs. I can recommend it.

      http://www.chooseacottage.co.uk/dgp/old-st-lukes-church-29025?adult=4&pets=3&nights=7&start=22-2-2014

      I'll make a note of the Grouse Inn in Carrog, thank you Eunice.

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    2. I've just checked out that link, and while the outside of that one looks a bit plain the inside is just totally WOW! I love it, it's gorgeous, and those stained glass windows are beautiful :)

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  3. Another busy morning with some lovely photos :)

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  4. And the afternoon was just as busy.... :)

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  5. You are so good with the camea. Wonderful to read.
    Another good day of memories.
    Yvonne.

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  6. Thanks for the compliment Yvonne. I learned a lot from my dad when I was young as he was a very good amateur photographer so I like to think I've inherited his eye for a good shot. I've often thought about getting a digital SLR camera to get even better photos but the thought of needing to carry different lenses and a heavier unit really puts me off so for now I'm quite happy with the bridge camera I've got.

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  7. They sure knew how to build bridges in the 1600s. I suppose these bridges wouldn't have lasted 100s of years if they got heavy daily vehicular traffic. I like how you composed your reflection photo. Very nice. The bridge with the tree limb came out nice, too.

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  8. The bridge at Carrog was built in 1660 and is only wide enough for one vehicle at a time; on each side there are a couple of triangular bits built out slightly where people can stand out of the way of anything driving across.

    The old bridge at Potter Heigham in Norfolk, where I've just come back from, is believed to date from 1385 and again is only wide enough for one vehicle; the village is such a popular place that there are traffic lights controlling the traffic flow over that one.

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I really appreciate good comments - who doesn't? - but due to a recent tide of spam from anonymous readers all comments will now be moderated, and only those with a direct bearing on this blog will be published. I'm sure my regular blog readers/commenters will understand the need for this - and to anyone whose comment isn't published, you know why.