Two for Two - Notes From a Second Date!

Two weeks after meeting H at Country 2 Country we had a second date booked. This time I was off to Wales for a long weekend.

I flew down to Bristol late Wednesday night and was picked up, with a bunch of beautiful roses, and taken to a lovely pub hotel nearby for the first night.

The next morning, after breakfast, we set off to drive to West Wales, and to the coast. We stopped to wander round a little town and pick up some food from a deli for the next few days.

We were blessed with gorgeous, warm sunshine so we took a walk down to the tiny beach to explore. Overlooking the beach is the ruin of St. Brynach's Church and graveyeard. And this little model boat.

The Cm Trader is a scale model of a coastal trading brig, typical of those that plied the waters of Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire about the time when St. Brynach's Church in Cm-yr-Egiwys was destroyed in the Royal Charter storm of 1859. These vessels were of relatively shallow draft and largely flat bottomed, so allowing them to be sailed into bays at high water and then unloaded at low tide by horse and cart transport. Many of these vessels were lost in that fateful storm and this model is erected as a memoral to those sailors and their ships.

Friday was spent taking a drive out to Cardigan to wander round the town and check out the castle. The castle is stunning and has had to be restored from a very derelict state. I neglected to take a single photo! It is a small place but they have an attractive little garden and manor house, plus castle walls and WWII defences. The town has lovely little independent shops and we found tea and cake for an afternoon snack. As we wound our way back the roof went down on the car and we called in at a couple of other little beaches just to check them out and have a walk on the sand.

The following day we walked out round the headland under glorious sunshine and near gale force winds! It was a beautiful path with breathtaking views on all sides. At the end of the walk we were rewarded with a great lunch and I even got in some wave chasing for five minutes although I couldn't convince H to join me.

Sunday morning was a lazy start to the day, packing bags and a quick tidy up, and then a nice drive across country to a short walk to find Dylan Thomas' home and writing shed and beautiful castle ruins, following by a very tidy Sunday lunch at a little country pub.

Along the journey we also called in at the Botanical Garden of Wales for a very rainy wander. But we made the most of cuddling up under the umbrella while we walked, and of the huge glass house to stay dry. It is a very impressive place and the kitchen garden and Japanese gardens were particularly nice. We sat for 15 tranquil minutes listening to an unusual blackbird and the rain on the teahouse roof and being comfortable in each other's quiet company.

One last stop back at the first pub/hotel for a drink before it was time to head back to the airport for my late flight back to Scotland. I managed to get my roses through security, although they were taken off me to a chorus of 'aw' from the staff, and thoroughly scanned for safety! The flight was bumpy (but I thought the round of applause for the pilot was a bit much!) I had an early Easter egg from H to nibble on whilst engrossed with the latest book club book - Something in the Sea by Yves Bonavero. Then a dark and wet but very fun cross country route back home to three very excited cats and falling into bed to try and get some sleep before work in the morning!

And suddenly life is thrilling again! Whether this is a temporary and fun hiatus, or heading somewhere more long term, I'm going to have a great time feeling like a giddy teenager again. I wasn’t sure I’d get another chance at happiness… but who knows - maybe it turns up when you least expect it! With two more dates planned things are looking pretty positive for the foreseeable future and I'm excited to see what happens next.