Category: Travel

Pembrokeshire day 1 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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Today we were meant to be arriving at the airport 5 hours early to board a plane for attempt number 2 of our Croatian adventure. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.. so we jumped in the Seat Leon and along the M4 to Wales.

We are staying in Freshwater East; so decided to keep today nice and local and explore the coastline around Barafundle Bay. After firing up the Alltrails we found a 6 mile walk (including the instagramable Lily Pond) and set out for our first adventure. The views were spectacular and luckily so was the weather. A mixture of coastal national park, beaches, woodland and the most enormous lake made it one of our most varied and enjoyable walks.

As its the law to have fish and chips when you’re by the sea, we grabbed a takeaway from Pembroke and took our greasy feast to Freshwater West. Although a fair few chips did end up on the beach.. we still enjoyed the obligatory meal and finished the day off with the beautiful sky.

Staycation day 3

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Today I’ve been a bad ginger and totally forgot to put suncream on…

This morning we went to have a look at some of the stations on the West Somerset Railway line – you can’t beat an old fashioned station! Unfortunately due to Rona, all the stations are locked and you are unable to get a decent look without potentially getting a cheeky fine. As we all know about our ‘fine history’, we decided not to chance it.

As we were heading home today, we chose Glastonbury as our stop. Surprisingly none of us have ever been! It certainly is a quirky place.. there is a constant smell of insence wafting down the street and so many people walk around with bare feet! If boho is your vibe then this is definitely the place for you. Obviously we had to climb Glastonbury Tor and the views were amazing. On a clear day, which for once we were lucky with today, you can see for miles. Unfortunately most of the people I moved out of the way for (to ensure social distancing) on the narrow path up/down didn’t say thank you! Not even a nod of acknowledgement..

I have often driven up/down the M5 and wondered what the big grass mound is and J22. Well know I know its called Brent Knoll and its a little bitch to climb! Thank god for the practice in the lakes. Although it’s not a long walk, it certainly is steep in parts. But so worth it as it offers views for miles! This was where we decided to picnic. Unfortunately half way through my coronation chicken sandwich, and after a discussion about the smell I realised I trodden in dog shit. Why people cannot pick it up is beyond me. It totally ruined my favourite lunch!

No pub for Santa today.. can you actually believe it! Its been a lovely few days in Somerset and was a county we have loved exploring!

Staycation day 2

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Today we totally misread the weather and all headed out in jeans. Massive mistake!

This morning was spent in Dunster, which of course is home to another new trust. Dunster Castle sits on top of a steep hill so offers great views of the Bristol Channel and surrounding area. It operates a one way system, which does involve some queueing to get into the castle, but it is definitely worth it. There is also a lovely river garden walk, where Santa found out that gunnera’s are also known as dinosaur food 🦕 and he has not stopped going on about this all day! From the castle you can head down the hill into Dunster village which is full of cute shops and cafes. Unfortunately most of them were closed… but we managed to find one with lovely views of the castle and we enjoyed an obligatory cream tea!

Dunster Castle

As the weather was super scorchio we decided to head to Dunster Beach. Unfortunately it seems I’ve turned into a bit of a beach snob.. it wasn’t Cornish standard but was still nice to walk along. And parking on the road adds a free cheeky bonus when you’re feeling a bit tight 😉

Due to our attire error, we had to return to horse caravan to change into something a bit more appropriate! The afternoon and evening was spent in a beautiful yet quirky little place called Porlock Wier; and a much nicer (pebble) beach. For those with pooches, this is a dog friendly beach 🐕

Porlock Wier

There are a few options for food so we went with The (bottom) Ship Inn. Santa was loving the beer selection and went with an Exmoor Ale 5.2% The fish and chips was lovely and it had a great selection of puddings – and not bad prices either!

Tomorrow is the last day of mini Staycation and we have to be out of horse caravan by 9am!! Gutted as I do enjoy a lie in.. and still no idea what the plan is for tomorrow!

Day 8 – Calgary

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This morning was probably one of the most beautiful of the trip. The sky was bright blue, the air was crisp and the snow was glistening in the sun. We stocked up on a super posh buffet breakfast before our last walk around Lake Louise.

We stopped at the Olympic Park on our way into Calgary and were lucky enough to see some gold medalists practicing for the ski and snowboard world cup. The local school kids come here as part of their school curriculum; how lucky are they!! Knowing our PE teachers they would make us do it in cycling shorts and a tshirt….

Calgary itself is very built up, which after a week in the mountains means I wasnt overly fussed on the place. So we treated ourselves to a badly packed Taco Bell and a Starbucks.

We are currently sat in the airport (Steve you’ll be pleased to know we are 3 hours early) waiting for the flight home. Another adventure over far too quickly. Canada; you have been totally amazing. We have been treated so some wonderful food, wonderful views and shared the trip with a bunch of fabulous people. More memories made and a lot more memory taken up on the phone!

Day 7 – Lake Louise

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We started the day with the poshest breakfast on our trip – I was in pastry heaven! So it was only right that I had rather a lot of them, with a cheeky Eggs Benedict on the side.

This morning we went out with a guide snowshoeing around Lake Louise. He kept saying how young and fit I was (clearly needs his eyes testing, I think he should have changed the i for an a…) and suggested I went ‘off piste’ to properly experience the shoes on deep snow. It was all going fine whilst I was mooching around in the trees. Then I got onto the lake.. it all went downhill from here as the snow was rather a lot deeper than I had anticipated and ended up with a very very cold minky.

We headed back to the room to get ready for an afternoon at the ski resort and discovered the lovely housekeeper had left us not 2, but 10 Lindt chocolates!! Obviously these lasted 2 minutes. Went down a right treat!

This afternoon we boarded the shuttle to Lake Louise Ski Resort where I finally got to ski in Canada. Yes it was only for a few hours but was totally worth it. I basically had the mountain to myself! The views (even with relatively poor visability) were amazing and the runs were perfect.

Momma had a go on the tubing – her face was an absolute picture 😂 although a lot of our group decided to have a go so by the end the run had become that slippery they nearly shot off the end into the car park!

This evening we had farewell drinks around a log fire. Cant beat a free glass of wine! We had dinner with a couple who’s children went to the same primary, secondary and college as me – such a small world!

The white stuff is coming down rather heavy tonight so will be interesting to see the surroundings in the morning. Definitely going to stock up on posh breakfast before our final stop in Calgary.

Day 6 – Lake Louise

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A relatively short one today due to a day on the bus! This morning we left Jasper behind and travelled to Lake Louise along the beautiful Icefields Parkway again. It really is one of the most scenic drives I have ever done. We had a few photo stops along the way which were made even more spectacular by the bright blue sky behind.

We arrived in Lake Louise village centre for some lunch and a stock up on snacks. We paid 4 quid for a very small box of shortbread in Jasper; madness! There was some cute little shops here and I accidentally treated myself to some Canadian gin.

Before heading to the hotel we took a detour to Emerald Lake, located in Yoho National Park in British Columbia. Another province to tick off the list! I think this has got to be one of the prettiest places we have been so far. I did however get a bit cocky trying to get down to the lake and fell straight on my arse. Thank God for decent padding. I feel I need to give a special shout out to the toilets. I have recently got back from India and I can honestly say the ones in Delhi train station smelt 10x nicer. This toilet gave off a stench that I wont ever forget…..

We’re now at our final hotel for the next 2 nights – the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. The hotel is essentially a mini (but super expensive) village and I’m looking forwards to properly exploring the grounds tomorrow as we start the day with some snowshoeing. We managed to have a little mooch earlier, but underestimated the real feel temperature (a scorching-16) and was therefore not appropriately dressed. Yay for the big thighs to keep me slightly warm.

 

Day 5 – Jasper

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This morning the temperature had dropped and the clouds were in for our first stop of the day; Pyramid Lake which lies at the foot of Pyramid Mountain. Although the sky was completely white, the grey of the low cloud added drama to the surroundings.

Our next stop was Old Fort Point, which coinsidently was where we walked to last night. It was lovely to see it in a different light however as by now the sun had started to break through the cloud. There was some beautiful reflections in the Athabasca River and we managed to find a high up view point which we completely missed yesterday (probably a good thing as it was very icy at the top so one of us would probably have been off the side in the evening light)

After a quick swing by Jasper Park Lodge for a mooch around their grounds (basically here’s a look at another hotel we couldnt afford to put you in 😂) and we headed back into downtown for a spot of lunch. We found this amazing cafe called Bear Paws Bakery. 10/10 for the food and lattes and would 100% recommend if anybody ever comes here!

This afternoon was all about Maligne Canyon. Armed with our cleats (not clits as I had originally thought) we set off for a walk around the canyon. I’ll be honest, I thought we would get to walk around the Canyon floor however we spent the walk up high looking down into the canyon. The photos just dont do it justice and dont show how deep it actually is – 160ft deep in parts! It was still a stunning walk with more frozen falls, ice climbers and snowy surroundings. Thank god for the cleats as it really was super icy in parts. Thank God nobody make the domino effect happen, especially as most of the group are over 65 (I really hope I’m still having these adventures at 65!!) After the walk we were treated to hot wine and s’mores. What more could you want to end the day!

Day 4 – Jasper

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This morning we left Banff and began our journey to Jasper, with a few detours along the way. The first of these was a beautiful walk at the Johnston Canyon to see the lower falls; a wonderful display of how nature can make art out of ice. It was however incredibly slippery at times so thank God for the railings of the walkway, which was suspended off the side of the canyon wall. The shades of blue of the frozen falls against the white of the snow was a photographer’s wank bank, so we managed to get a fair few snaps.

Back on the bus to thaw out and we started the drive along highway 1A, which I have to say is probably one of the most scenic drives I have ever been on. The sky and the landscape was constantly changing and it was hard to know which window to look out of.

We stopped at Lake Louise ski resort for a spot of lunch which was absolute torture as I was desperate to go and join them on the slopes. One day I will get to ski in Canada! At least I got to have some of the tasty slope cuisine that is chips and a hotdog.

Back onto the highway and we stopped at another frozen waterfall to watch some crazy people climb up it. I’m all for extreme activities but I think I’d draw the line at that.

We arrived in Jasper around 4pm and I have to say I’m not sure how I feel about the town. The surroundings are beautiful, but walking around the town itself, it’s just got such a odd feeling about it.

We decided to head into the woods again and came across Old Fort Point Trail. This lead us to sunset over the Athabasca River which was wonderful to see. It was such a treat and totally worth being out in the -8 again.

We ate in another brewery tonight (again.. sorry Santa) and watched some ice hockey before coming back ready to do it all again tomorrow. The walls at this hotel are rather thin…. let’s hope there’s no horny people in the vicinity!

 

Day 3 – Banff

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It was another beautiful crisp morning in Banff with the temperature down to -10c and we started the day with a visit to Bow Falls. Again due to the weather the majority of this was frozen solid but a small part was still flowing, as well as the surrounding Bow River. It was a slightly twitchy arse walk down to the waters edge due to the large blocks of ice everywhere, but you’ve got to do it for a decent photo 😉

Back into the warmth of the bus and we were taken to a nearby ranch for a horse and sleigh ride. Armed with hot apple cider and blankets we were taken around yet another frozen lake and were lucky to see a coyote having a wander about. Fire pits and marshmallows greeted us after the ride; it was pretty funny to watch the majority of the group burn theirs to a crisp by sticking it directly into the flames 🤦🏽‍♀️

What’s the best way to warm up after freezing your tits off all morning.. a dip in the hot springs of course. Unfortunately going from -10 to +40 meant my ginger skin/body didnt cope very well. Those who know me know how badly I do with extremes of temperature (Fern I hope you’ve read this) 😉 Once I had eventually got in after boiling my legs alive we were treated to beautiful views of the mountains and enjoyed a float around in the warmth.

This afternoon was free to do what we wanted and we managed to stumble across a lovely walk (Fenland Trail) through the forest along the river. It was so peaceful apart from the creaking of the trees as they swayed in the wind and the odd tapping from the resident woodpeckers. We finished off with a few more shops, a new Pandora charm and of course a Maccies for tea. Just can’t get enough of their chicken and maple burger!

Tomorrow we start the journey to Jasper so will be mostly on the bus.. thank god for a good book!

Day 2 – Banff

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After a night of broken sleep we got to see our first proper view of the mountains; and they are amazing – although it’s really making me want to go skiing which I won’t get chance to do 😭

Our first stop was to a viewpoint to see the Fairmont Banff Springs nestled in the trees. At around 800 dollars a night we decided we would need to sell a kidney to stay here.                              Next stop was to Two Jack Lake, which due to the super cold winter temperatures, was frozen solid. Surrounded by the mountains it was another beautiful place to get lots of snaps. The final lake for today was Minnewanka (which we obvs found rather amusing) and we were able to walk out onto this one. It was so peaceful. If it wasnt for the -8 we could have sat here all day!

After all the frozen lake hoping it was time for the highlight of the day as we took the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain. Visability was amazing which meant we got the best views; it really was stunning. They had a lovely seating area with fire pits but we decided to take on the boardwalk to see more of the views, and they didnt disappoint. Although its made us realise just how unfit we actually are 😂

After a spot of souvenir shop hopping we went for a walk to the Banff Springs to see what we can’t afford. It was art deco inside and with the views you can see why it’s on the pricey side! Had a posh piss in there though. Got to be done!

We had welcome drinks tonight (free wine.. yay!) & then headed out for something to eat. Sorry Santa… we ended up in a brewery and we both had a coke 😉