The Snowy Moorlands of Staffordshire

The Brothers theme continues with me and Chris driving to Staffordshire to visit our brother Andrew. The forecasts had indicated that we we might not make it as some of the higher villages were cut off by the overnight snowfall.

It was a relief to find that the steep, narrow, twisty lanes had not only been cleared of snow but were busy with Saturday morning traffic.

Its was a pleasure to the slower pace of village life and stroll down the lanes through wintry picture box scenes.

Festive Fun on Anglesey

The whole idea of spending a few days on Anglesey after the Christmas fuss had died down was perfect but mother nature had different ideas. The unprecendented flooding in North Wales had closed all the routes along the coast and through Snowdonia.

Me and Kate had intended to arrive on Boxing Day but instead got there a day later than planned. Eventually we were met by Norbert and Andy. In an effort to beat the Christmas bulge we got up and went to a gentle jog to Porth Dafarch each morning to fill our lungs with fresh sea air and work up an appetite for breakfast.

On the first day we managed to get on the water at Rhoscolyn. We started off by gingerly testing the blustery surf in the middle of the bay. Eventually we found our nerve and ventured out a little further until a combination of common sense blended with pure terror lead us neatly off the water and into the White Eagle pub for a nerve settling beer.

Overnight the winds increased and by morning we didn't dare take our kayaks off the roofracks. Instead we decided to go for a walk to South Stack to embrace the elements. The final part of the road to the lighthouse was flooded and the wind was too strong to stand up in. It was invigorating!

The evenings were long and fueled with an assortment alcoholic drinks and silly games like 'Dress up the buoy'.

Even though we were living on basic foods, we tried to keep ourselves entertained serving it up in imaginative ways.

Finally we got some clear blue skies. The winds were still very strong so we headed for the Menai Strait before heading home and back to reality.