Friday Photo - A loo with a view - in Welsh Wales

When you next go camping and examine the facilities of your chosen camp site, will a loo with a view be high on your wish list?

We recently took our teen princesses camping at Trericket Mill in Wales, where they run a Bed and Breakfast, Bunkhouse and small campsite in their orchards. Very nice it was too, but the pride of place was for their renovated outside lavvy which overlooked the river and bridge across to the orchards. You couldn’t wish for a more picturesque scene of rural life while doing your business, what with the chickens and ducks running around.

 

You’d have to be fairly brave to leave the door open to take advantage of the scenery, with the other guests coming and going.  There was a sign on the door proclaiming “Ty Bach Yn y Coedwig - Arachnaphobes may not enter”. But there was only a friendly toy spider hanging from the ceiling. If you’re a Welsh speaker do give me a full translation - my Google Translator made a scramble of it. Have you enjoyed any loos with a view on your travels?

This is part of Photo Friday, hosted over at Delicious Baby - Head over to see all the other Friday Photos

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A Fairy Tale of camping in mid-Wales

There was once a princess who lived in Bristol with her travelling mother and father and her stay-at-home brothers, who longed for adventure with her friends. Because she was dearly beloved (although she never kept her room tidy) her parents granted her heart’s desire to go camping with her fellow princesses, and waved a magic wand to make it so.

And so it was that the ten princesses set off in the palace mini-van, driven by the king (the chauffeur was on holiday) and arrived at their fairy dell in the kingdom of Welsh Wales. They found a friendly miller and his wife who had an old water mill with a bunk house and an orchard that was perfect for camping. Here it seemed the perfect place to experience the joys of Welsh camping (damp grass, fresh air and camp fires). They took with them provisions for the finest spaghetti bolognaise, tinned tomato soup and bacon and eggs (for everyone knows that you must have bacon and eggs for breakfast when camping).

The king and queen watched over them as they frollicked in the river and chatted around the campfire about things that interest princesses. Soon the next day dawned and the real adventures began. They found a leafy glade and tiptoed barefoot and bikini-clad through the ferns and the beech leaves that surrounded the mill. There in seclusion they bathed in the river, even jumping bravely into an icy plunge pool to prove their daring. No frog princes were seen, kissed, or even thought of, for these were independent minded young princesses.

Then shivering deliciously, they made their way back to warm up with cups of tomato soup and hot showers.

In the afternoon, when they’d had their fill of leafy glades, they visited the nearby town of Hay-on-Wye where people came from far and wide to buy and sell books. There was even a festival held there once a year, where bards and prophets, such as Bill Clinton and Desmond Tutu could be heard to utter wise words. They sought out yet another bathing spot nearby in the river where canoists drifted past and spent an afternoon relaxing and sunbathing. Naturally they kept their sunglasses on at all times, in order to remain incognito. During the evening they toasted marshmellows over the camp fire and sang songs of friendship.

All too soon the adventure was over and they returned to their kingdom of Bristol to resume their princessly duties, vowing that their little adventure was not one that would show up in any paparazzi book of fairy tales, although they might graciously give permission for it to appear on some obscure little blog.

If you would like to take your princesses (or princes) on a camping adventure in mid-Wales, we can highly recommend Trericket Mill, where Alistair and Nicky Legge will offer you a warm welcome for B & B, Bunkhouse or Camping Accomodation, and vegetarian home cooking.

Trericket Mill, Erwood, Builth Wells, Powys, Mid Wales, LD2 3TQ
Tel 01982 560312
Website http://www.trericket.co.uk/

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Places to visit in Turkey recommended by Sedef

If you’re travelling in Turkey and would like some recommendations from a local, then this post is for you.

Last week we were visited by Sedef and Valentin who contacted us through the travel networking site, Hospitality club - read about our Bollywood nights at the One Stop Thali cafe in Bristol. Among the conversation on places we’d travelled and enjoyed, I asked Sedef (whose name means Mother of Pearl) for some recommendations of places she’d recommend visiting in Turkey, and these were her suggestions.

Ölüdeniz
Sedef visited Ölüdeniz, which is 12km from Fethiye is in the South-west of Turkey , in 2005. Ölüdeniz (which means Dead sea) is a sheltered lagoon which is well known for the clarity and calmness of the water. The waters of the bay which are part of the national park, are very salty and as calm as a mirror. The bay is surrounded by high mountains, making it an ideal place for Paragliding and the annual Ölüdeniz air games are held every October. Take a look at this video about Paragliding at Ölüdeniz by Railabay.

Near the lagoon is the beach resort where you can find hotels, cafes and watersports like banana boats and scuba diving.  To get there you need to drive from Fethiye on a very windy road through the mountains, or come by boat. The nearest airport is Dalaman airport which is 45 min drive from Ölüdeniz. I gather that the resort that adjoins the lagoon has become very busy with many new hotels springing up, so if you want to get further away from the bustle try Sedef’s next recommendation;

Butterfly Valley
Butterfly valley (kelebekler vadisi) is a small beach and valley that can only be reached by boat from Oludeniz, or by a scramble down the mountain path that’s not for the fainthearted.  Boats run from Ölüdeniz three times a day so you can take a day trip or bring your tent and camp behind the beach by the small cafe. This is laid-back haven for the independent traveller or backpacker, where you can swim and relax. The narrow gorge stretches behind the beach with beautiful scenery for treking and you can walk to view a 350m high waterfall. The valley is named after the many different varieties of butterflies that appear between June and September.

Sadef’s final recommendation is a little off the normal tourist trail in Eastern Turkey that she is hoping to visit when she next goes home for a holiday.

Mardin
Mardin is an old fortified city in Eastern Turkey, close to the borders with Syria and Iraq. It’s crowned by the citidel and the flat-roofed sandstone houses are closely built down the hill overlooking the plains of Mesopotamia. The ancient city is known for it’s honey coloured stone carved houses, mosques and monasteries and the narrow alley ways and bazaars. Sedef also told me that the kebab originated from here. The best way to get to this part of Turkey is to take an internal flight from Istanbul to Mardin or use the Turkish bus system.

Have you been to any of these places? If so, do tell me what you thought and add your own recommendations.

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Thanks to babeltravel,  the aga,  Mete Donmez for their photos on Flickr

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