Coed y Berclas, Anglesey Coast
A collection of award-winning luxury holiday accommodation. Stunning views overlooking the Menai Strait & Snowdonia
I’m doing one of my un-favourite jobs – painting the woodwork on the exterior of the Cottage. At the beginning of the week the paint and I were both sizzling. Today I was stopped by showers but as the evening has reverted to blue skies and sunshine, I’ll be back up my ladder as soon as I finish this blog. The Cottage is looking refreshed and prettier than ever! Bye bye for now – sunshine and a paint brush are calling me.
Dorothy
2nd July 2015
The weather seems to have settled into a calm sunny phase and we have had both morning coffee and lunch sitting on the terrace, stripped down to t-shirts and listening to birdsong. We did manage to fit some work in between!
It’s a good job we did – on Wednesday and Thursday this week we will be helping to put up my Exhibition, ‘Textiles in Transition’ in the Main Gallery at Oriel Ynys Mon (The Anglesey Gallery) in Llangefni: the opening is on Saturday 25th April between 12:00 and 14:00.
I’ll also be teaching two workshops in the gallery:
‘Folded Paper Applique’ on Tuesday 12th May 10:00 – 16:00
and
‘Notan’ on Monday 1st June 10:00 – 16:00.
The exhibition runs from 25th April until 7th June. If you’re on Anglesey please call in at the Oriel to see my work – it also has a gallery dedicated to Sir Kyffin Williams paintings and drawings, a history gallery which is very child friendly and a cafe. We’re very proud of Oriel Ynys Mon on Anglesey.
Beaumaris has an annual Festival which this year falls between 19th and 25th of May: it is very well renowned and concentrates on music with an international flavour, but also includes a craft fair, wood turning, poetry readings, lectures and an exhibition of art.
Beaumaris is such a beautiful little town, with its medieval castle, Victorian pier, historic buildings and lots of places to eat: the Festival is at home in these pleasant surroundings. Look for www.beaumaris festival.com
Enjoy… Dorothy Russell
21st April 2015
This morning, Daf and I sneaked a couple of hours off work – how dare we?! An acquaintance of ours opened a café in Bangor two days ago and we felt it was time to pop in to see how it was going.
I should explain – this is no ordinary café: Lesley is a personal trainer and dietary specialist who spotted a gap in the market – a very big gap: ‘Follow Your Bliss’ is entirely gluten-free and the food is all very carefully sourced.
Even the coffee is selected internationally, then roasted in Groeslon – look for ‘Poblado’ on the internet. I had an Americano (with lactose free milk) and a lemon macaroon and they were both superb – the coffee was the best I have tasted in a long time, possibly ever and the macaroon was fresh, moist and very tasty. Daf, with a larger appetite (nobody mentioned the work greedy!) had two coffees and a ‘Bliss Me Up’ sweet crepe with everything on it – I think it worked!!! It wasn’t even a guilty pleasure – all the ingredients were fresh and healthy.>
The café is small and very welcoming and whether you live gluten-free or not, we can heartily recommend a visit. We’ll be back, for sure!!!
You can find them at www.followyourblisspt.com 47 High Street, Bangor. LL57 1NR. 01248 361700.
Enjoy… Dorothy Russell
11th February 2015
Last week we had snow lying on Anglesey – a rare event – it has now retreated to the mountains where it really belongs and today we have had the most beautiful blue sky, sunny day, cold and fresh with not a cloud in the sky and wonderful views of the mountains. It has been perfect weather for walking and just being out of doors.
As the sun went down this evening, the snow changed from blue/white to delicate tints of pink and the softest of orange glows before the darkness decended. Then a blood red moon climbed into a starry sky, changing through orange to yellow then finally creamy white. These days are not uncommon at this time of year – their beauty make one feel so alive.
Dorothy Russell
6th February 2015
Last night was 5th November, the official Bonfire night, and we watched fireworks across the Strait on the mainland from the warmth and comfort of Coed y Berclas: however we are looking forward to Saturday 8th when Beaumaris holds a Firework bonanza which is always brilliant. We’ll be there, in fact Daf will probably be behind a camera as usual: he has produced some brilliant images in past years.
Tonight there’s a full moon but it doesn’t appear until after 10pm. We have recently noticed high tides which occur around the time of the full moon.
We have had some interesting weather recently: on Tuesday we saw the first snow on the tops of the mountains with a stunning blue sky: it looked beautiful. On Wednesday it has all vanished. We love looking over to Snowdonia capped with snow – we like it even better when there’s no snow on Anglesey, which is what usually happens.
Dawn from a rather untidy Berclas main house terrace… bit of gardening to do then!!
Dorothy Russell
6th November 2014
I’m not sure where the year has gone – the Summer has been wonderfully busy and here we are approaching Autumn and the weather is very clement – we are frequently sitting outside for meals and I’m definitely topping up my tan. We both love being outside and, at the moment the birds are singing as though they think it’s Spring: I hope they aren’t getting confused. I have noticed swallows gathering on the wires and swooping around in swirls, catching their fill of insects in preparation for their long flight south.
It has been perfect weather for walking too, and from Coed y Berclas we have seen the mountains of Snowdonia, starting their day capped with clouds or in a thin mist, which has burned off to leave them sharply defined against a blue sky. The view from the top of Snowdon must be beautiful in these conditions.
Tonight there is a full moon and it’s wonderful to watch from our terrace as it rises over the mountains. The reflections on the water, of its silvery light, are quite magical and it makes beautiful shadows on the drive of the tree behind the Cottage: we have no street lights to spoil it with light pollution.
Daf and I have just bought tickets for ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’ which will be recorded at the Canolfan (Leisure Centre) in Beauaris on the evening of 30th September. We’re really looking forward to seeing the team and putting faces to the voices we’ve heard so often on the radio. Daf’s working on his question but I’d like to relax and enjoy the occassion without worrying about someone pointing a microphone at me!
Before that is the Beaumaris Food Festival, on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th. It promises to be great fun with demonstrations by top chefs in the Canolfan and 100 stalls around town selling street and artisan food and drinks.There will be a puffin trail for children and family entertainment on the pier. Beaumaris Castle will host a medieval event and the Castle, Gaol and Courthouse will charge half price entry fee, which can’t be bad.
Sadly, we missed the Menai Bridge Seafood Festival – we had a computer ‘melt-down’ which had to be sorted out. Luckily we had a report back from guests who said it was very busy and well worth going to – hopefully next year we’ll get there!
We have lots of happy memories and some lovely comments from guests who have stayed with us over the Spring and Summer – they have been out and about doing all sorts of different things, from walking parts of the Anglesey Coastal Path to cycling along country lanes, playing on sandy beaches to spotting red squirrels, flying through the air on zip wires to boat trips on Rib Ride, crabbing on Beaumaris pier to star-gazing from the orchard: there’s lots of information to read in the Visitors’ Book about their adventures and some lovely comments about Coed y Berclas too.
Dorothy Russell
8th September 2014
Happy New Year
Having had a quiet Christmas alone, Daf and I had a much more sociable New Year, surrounded by friends and family and with a lovely couple staying in the Apartment.
The weather was a bit ‘hit and miss’ but that can be expected at this time of year and it didn’t stop anyone enjoying themselves. Most importantly, the midnight fireworks from Beaumaris Castle were enjoyed in calm, mild, dry weather, which was perfect.
The display was really lovely and a brilliant balance of pretty, exciting and noisy. The backdrop of the mediaeval castle is wonderful and the crowds on Castle Street and in White Lion Square really appreciated the occasion: with lots of hugs, kisses and New Year greetings all round us. I can hardly believe we are already in 2014; it seems no time since we were celebrating the Millenium – where does the time go!?
Dorothy Russell
1 January 2014
Following the wild weather across the UK before Christmas, it was a relief to awake on Christmas Day to the lovely morning which had been promised by the Met Office.
It was an easy decision to go to Newborough Warren and Llanddwyn which is only a short drive away from us, at the south western tip of Anglesey. When we arrived, the car park contained quite a few vehicles already. We put on coats and boots to keep us warm and set off to walk through the woods towards Ynys Llanddwyn, but we stopped by the entrance to the car park, enchanted by the wooden ‘totems’ standing like sentinels: they had been designed by local school children but there was nothing to say who had carved them. They depicted the creatures of the woodland around them.
I always find walking through the woodland at Newborough Warren relaxing and quite wonderful – although I’m still waiting to see my first red squirrel there! The trees are a mix of deciduous and conifer, growing in sand-dunes which always remind me of camel humps. The sun was streaming through as we wandered along, greeting walkers we met along the way. We dropped down onto the beach and walked past the amazing pillar lava rock formations, across the causway and onto Ynys Llanddwyn – Dwynwen’s Isle.
Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers and her story is on a board beside the ruins of the little church dedicated to her, to which many pilgrims trecked before Henry VIII intervened. Also on the island, which is a nature reserve, there are two lighthouses and a row of pilots’ cottages, which date back to the time when pilots were required to guide large ships across Caernarfon Bar and into the Menai Strait.
There is a beautiful sheltered bay, Pilots’ Cove, with a sandy beach – now a delightful play area: in summer, yachts and power boats moor just outside its mouth. Even in the depths of winter people take pleasure in the tranquility and sense of history the island gives.
Leaving the island just before high tide, we walked back along the long stretch of sandy beach, with wonderful views towards the mainland and down the Lleyn Peninsula. There were a lot more people walking towards us and because it was near high tide we were all restricted to a narrower section of the beach, so, for once, it felt a little crowded. We even met our neighbours and their house guests! Normally, even if the car park is full to bursting, everyone spreads out through the woodland and over the long stretches of sandy beach and there is never a sense of crowding. It is a wonderful place, in all weathers and at all times of year, and we islanders are very fond of this special area.
Dorothy Russell
26th December 2013
One of the delights for us, as Christmas draws near, is the service held at Bangor Cathedral, ‘Carols by a Thousand Candles’: we look forward to it every year. It must be one of the best attended ceremonies as there is barely an empty seat: this is no surprise – the interior is stunning with all the electric lights switched off and the only light source the twinkling church candles and masses upon masses of tealights (1,500 in all!). Add to this the ethereal sound of the choir, their voices gently filling this lovely ancient building, as their anticedents must have done down the centuries. There is the sense of a time continuum, which is at once comforting and uplifting.
Some of the carols were in Welsh and others in English. Some carols the choir sang alone but for others they were joined by the whole congregation. Experiencing so many people singing together is always a wonderfully emotional experience.
The Choir was mainly accompanied by the organ, but the choir master played piano during ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and harp soloist, Angharad Wyn Jones, also occassionally accompanied them.
The conductor, Paul Booth, has raised the standard of singing considerably in recent years and he is looking for more boys and girls to swell the ranks.
Intermixed with the carols, there were readings by Catrin Hobson and the Very Reverend Alun J Hawkins. As with the carols, some of the readings were in Welsh and others in English: also, some were serious in content and others added a touch of humour and lightness to the evening. Catrin is our sister in law and in addition to reading well, she has a beautiful soprano voice, so it’s always a delight to be standing near her.
At the end of the service the Dean sent us away with her Christmas blessing and a final carol, ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’, for everyone. The electric lights were switched on and the magical atmosphere of the winking candlelight was gone until next year.
Bangor Cathedral is a small building compared to the likes of Durham or York, but its history is long and at times troubled: the first Christian church here was built, c530AD, by Deiniol, on land given to him by Maelgwyn, king of Gwynedd. c546 Deiniol was consecrated Bishop and his church becomes a cathedral.
It is worth visiting the website for Bangor Cathedral to find out more
Dorothy Russell
19 December 2013
I think it’s time we started looking at the Pontio website to see what’s happening in Bangor: it was only a chance conversation which led Daf and I to pop over to Bangor to see ‘Angel’. We’re both really glad we didn’t miss it.
Basing her performance on the idea of an Angel as guardian, watching over people from on high, the performer, Kate Lawrence appeared over the parapet of the west tower of Bangor Cathedral: she combined dance and movement with abseiling and rock climbing techniques, using the vertical walls of the tower as her floor, slowly lowering herself downwards during her gymnastic dance until she arrived at ground level, hanging inverted for a while before finally standing on the earth at the base of the tower.
Thank you to Catrin for letting us know about this performance.
The next visit we make to Bangor Cathedral will be for ‘Carols by 1000 Candles’ at 7:30 Tuesday 17th December. The cathedral is lovely in candlelight, some carols are sung by the choir and everyone joins in with others. The readings are touching and often humorous and there are always lots of people in the congregation.
Dorothy Russell<
7th December 2013