A New Years Spent in Wales
I can't quite believe that we've seen out 2021 already. I feel like the entire year just flew by but there was so much that happened in the last twelve months that I am so grateful for! If you're interested in what 2021 actually had in store for us, then you can read this blog post for more juicy deets (so I hope you enjoy that).
Anyway, we decided that we'd spend the New Year with my brother and his girlfriend this year and I'm so glad that we managed to actually get there because we had an absolutely amazing time. It was touch and go about whether or not we could actually go given the Covid situation and potential further restrictions, but in the end, it worked out very well and we really enjoyed every minute of our trip (even when the weather was bad, haha). So let me tell you what we got up to from 30th December 21 - 2nd January 22 :)
30th December - Relaxing in a rainstorm
The drive over to Wales was an extremely smooth one, which we were surprised about! It only took us 2 hours and 20 minutes, roughly, to get there whereas it usually takes quite a bit longer than that. But we unfortunately brought the bad weather with us - rain and wind, mainly. We stayed in for a while and had a drink and a bit of catch up then we wrapped up warm and took a drive down to the beach for some fresh air and to stretch our legs a bit, even though it was raining, haha.
We then went for a short drive through some of the local countryside where there are plenty of beautiful walks that you can go on. Seeing as the weather was bad we refrained from getting out and doing one of the trails, but we did find time to visit a local pub and have a couple of glasses of Bailey's which was lovely.
After that, we went back to the house and chilled out a bit more and then it was time for some dinner - beef casserole with dumplings. That was delicious, so much so I was wishing that the bowl would never run empty. My brother's girlfriend had cooked it all in the slow cooker so the meat was extra tender and packed with so much flavour!
Seeing as everyone was super tired, Tom and I because of the journey, we all went to bed pretty early. I think I was asleep well before 11pm, which is unheard of for me, so I must have been pretty whacked. But I tell you what, it was a very comfortable night's sleep. We stayed with my brother in his house so we didn't have to worry about accommodation out there which really took a lot of stress away so we were grateful to them both for putting us up.
31st December - A village wonder, dinner out & bringing in 2022
We were going to go to Cheshire Oaks on this day, but the weather was quite clear and dry and almost sunny so we decided to go for a walk on the 31st instead. We stopped at a number of different towns and villages and went for a little stroll around the local area. We ended up stumbling across a hotel at the bottom of Snowdon, right across the road from the Snowdon Railway, and we had a delicious cup of hot chocolate before heading back to the car.
The town we walked through was actually the inspiration for Mordor from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's quite well known that J.R.R Tolkien spent a lot of time in that part of Wales and took inspiration from the Welsh scenery to write the description for some of the locations in Lord of the Rings - something I didn't know until my brother informed us, so that was really interesting. But by this time the weather changed and it suddenly became quite drizzly and foggy, so my photo isn't very good, but you get the idea, haha.
After that, we drove to a small village close by (I can't remember the name of it) and we had a look in some of the local shops and generally just took in the surrounding views, even though the weather wasn't that great. But the grey gloom actually added to the feel of the place so I took a few pictures to capture that so I could share them with you all :)
While we were there, I bought three Christmas decorations (one hanging dec, a ceramic Swedish Santa and a reindeer made of wood) and a glass bauble (all of which were in the sale). The bauble has the name of the place we visited so I'd always look at it and think of New Year 2021 with my brother and his girlfriend. I didn't take any pictures of what we bought but I'm sure you'll see them in some Christmassy blog posts later this year.
We then got back in the car and drove around the bottom of Snowdon. The weather wasn't good enough for us to walk up Snowdon over the course of the trip, but we did manage to take in a few of the sights from low ground. We then drove round to find a pipe system that was filmed for one of the James Bond films. I did take a picture of it but you might not be able to see the actual pipe because it's quite small and unassuming, but you never know, you might spot it!
We then went home and chilled out for a bit, then got ready to go out for a nice meal at a smokehouse restaurant called Hydeout. I had the beef brisket, Tom had a full rack of ribs and my brother and his girlfriend each had a burger with pretty much everything on it, but they couldn't finish it as it was so big and they got fries with it as well - great value for money!
Once we'd finished our meal and paid up we went back to the house, poured some wine and played some games. Among the games was Cards Against Humanity, but Disney themed - very fun but a bit messed up haha, and Blockbuster which is basically like Charades for films but with a few other actions thrown into the mix.
There's also a quick fire round involved as well just for some added pressure but that's a very fun game to play and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a new board game to try. And yes, that's my arm in the white jumper you can see in that photo, haha.
While we were in full swing with all the games, we didn't actually realise the time, and when we did it was about 11:35pm so we were cutting it fine haha. But twenty-five minutes offered us enough time to pop and pour the champagne out into flutes and wait for the countdown to begin. And then it started: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It was such a special moment that was shared between us four and it almost made me quite emotional, but then that turned into happiness and thankfulness that we were all there together after everything that had happened over the year. Nothing meant more to me in that moment than being with my family and I just felt very content with life.
1st January - Shopping at Cheshire Oaks & a delicious curry
Despite going to bed super late the night before, we still managed to get up and go out to Cheshire Oaks - a shopping centre over near Liverpool. I had never been but always wanted to go and check it out. I'm not a massive brands kinda gal, but I love me a bargain and that's exactly what those stored offered so I saw it more as a challenge rather than a splurge, if that makes sense? What can I get for as little money as possible? Haha.
So I ended up getting quite a few things: a Radley purse, a new mug and some Christmas plates from Cath Kidston, a hand towel and bath mat from a brand I don't actually remember the name of, some Yankee Candles and a pair of blue Levi's jeans. I actually needed a new pair of denim jeans as mine were old and baggy since I lost a bit of weight so I invested in some Levi's skinny fit high-waisted jeans. I got a 30 inch waist and a 28 leg because 28 is the shortest they'd go and I still have to roll them up a bit haha.
After our shopping trip, we headed back home and settled down with a delicious homemade curry that my brother's girlfriend had made us. It came with all the trimmings including naan bread, poppadoms, bhajis and even samosas and it was all so tasty! I actually took inspiration from this when I got home as I made a bhuna instead of my go-to balti. It was definitely worth the wait, let me tell you!
2nd January - A very wet, windy walk & travelling home
We started the day off with a full English breakfast, cooked by our fabulous hosts! It was very well done, almost like how you'd get it in a restaurant so we were very spoilt indeed :) after that, we headed out to walk up Conwy Mountain but when we left the house, the sky was clear and the wind was moderate. Getting out of the car and walking up the first part of the mountain was also fine weahter-wise, but when we got to the top the weather turned very quickly (the rainbow in the distance should have given it away that rain was imminent haha).
The rain was heavy and torrential to say the least (and that's putting it mildly). It was also very cold and the wind was going at speeds of at least 50 mph so the cold rain felt like taking lots of little needles to the face - not pleasant. Not to mention we were also walking down hill so slips and trips were likely although I only went over on my ankle once and that was because we were pretty much running down the mountain at that point.
We were absolutely soaked from head to toe. I had a waterproof on and a pair of solid walking boots and the shoes were squelchy and full of water and the coat was sodden and that was the same for all of us. By the time we got in the car, we were all dripping water everywhere, to the point where the cup holders were filling up with water haha. But we all saw the fun in it and I actually found it to be quite exhilarating, especially at the top of the mountain!
After that we drove home, got into some clean, dry clothes and had a hot chocolate to defrost and warm up again. We then did a quick trip to the supermarket for some dry bits and bobs to take home with us as we had no bread and nothing for breakfast etc. Once we got back to the house and got all of our stuff together, we headed off home and that was how our New Years in Wales went :)
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I hope you enjoyed this blog post? Let me know in the comments how you spent your New Years Eve and New Years Day and I'll see you again very soon with a brand new blog post :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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