A snowy break at Laswern Fawr holiday in the Brecon Beacons, Wales

In February we took a short break to escape the city and breathe some country air and found ourselves on a snowy Welsh hillside in the Brecon Beacons. I hope you enjoy my video below as well as reading about what we did there.

If you cannot see the embedded video above, view it on my blog here

As soon as my husband stepped into our Welsh holiday cottage at Laswern Fawr in the Brecon Beacons and saw the wood burning stove in the open fireplace and the cosy red velvet wing chair, he settled in and took charge of the fire while the rest of us made ourself at home. I concluded that it’s a man thing to fiddle with logs, bellows and firelighters and left him to it.

We’d arrived in two cars from Bristol following the extremely detailed directions, turning off the main road through the valley and up the hill on increasingly steep and narrow, muddy tracks, along an old tramway then down a steep drive to the cottage, built into the hillside. The 16th century stone farmhouse is surrounded by fields of grazing sheep, and above it rose the Welsh hills covered with bracken,  rocky cliff faces with many walking trails. The views from the cottage down into the valley and the small town of Crickhowell were stunning and we soon felt relaxed and at one with nature in a place where walking boots, wellies and waterproofs are in daily use.

Remote as our Welsh cottage at Laswern Fawr may have been, it was certainly not lacking in comforts and was as well equipped as any family home you might find. The owners of the cottage obviously love the place and come here regularly, as there was no trace of that impersonal feel that you get in some holiday accommodation. The furnishings were warm and comfortable with traditionally whitewashed stone walls, plenty of sofas, stools and easy chairs for lounging in comfort and the sort of antique furniture, ornaments and china that you might find in a good country antique shop. To the background tick-tock and hourly chimes of the old clock on the wall, I could almost imagine myself to be a country farmer’s wife, setting the kettle on the blackened range for a cup of tea.

Laswern Fawr holiday cottage, Brecon Beacons

Sheep at Laswern Fawr Brecon Beacons

Upstairs we found three double rooms and two singles, sleeping 8 people in all and ideal for two families or an extended group to enjoy a relaxing break. We’d elected to spend a few days away from it all in the school holidays, bringing two of our children and a gaggle of their teenage friends to get away from the bustle and traffic of Bristol. As well as the large family bathroom with bath and separate shower, there was a smart, slate-tiled en-suite shower room in the master bedroom which we grown-ups managed to bag just in time. Because of the cottage being built into the hill side, we actually had French windows where the occasional sheep might come and peer in.

Our comfortable bed even had an electric blanket and the bedroom was calm and cream with thick crewel embroidered curtans, easy chair and an original fireplace. In the other rooms were twin or single beds, with cheerfully coloured duvets or patchwork quilt bedspreads. The hay-loft bedroom, bagged by our boys had a steeply sloping ceiling , blue patchwork quilts and a cot for those travelling with babies.

Hayloft at Laswern Fawr, Brecon Beacons

Master bedroom at Laswern Fawr

Descending the steep whitewashed stairs with twisty wooden hand-rails there was a dining room at the front with a large Victorian antique table and sideboard and a porch where we could leave all our boots and coats. At the other end of the house, adjoining the large, cosy sitting room was the modern, cream painted kitchen with dishwasher, large fridge and freezer and plenty of storage space. Here was everything you could wish for cooking up hearty meals, with plenty of crockery and pots and pans and a wide selection of cookery books. Awaiting us was a welcome tray with a personal welcome note and tea and coffee and a bottle of delicious local apple juice.

Down in the valley was the attractive small town of Crickhowell,  with several good pubs and food shops as well as an out door activity shop to supply whatever you might need for all the biking, walking, climbing, cycling and all the other outdoor activities for which this part of Wales is well known. We bought some local Welsh lamb for dinner from the butcher and then adjourned for some tea and cakes in the Court room cafe above the Old Market Hall which serves good home cooked lunches as well. Although we’d made plans to try the Bear Hotel, an award winning old coaching inn, for dinner or perhaps the restaurant at the Nantyffyn Cider Inn for something a bit more gourmet, our plans were thwarted by the incoming snow. Although we made it safely back up the mountain to the cottage on snowy tracks , we didn’t feel like risking another drive down in the dark.

Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons, Wales

Market Hall at Crickhowell, Brecon Beacons

The next day we ventured out on a trip to the Big Pit, the National Coal Museum of Wales which is only a short drive away at Blaenafon but had to abandon our plans when we made it through a minor blizzard to get there, only to find that it had just closed because of the bad weather. I was disappointed as the visit includes a trip underground into the coal mine with helmets and head torches, that I thought the children would enjoy - the museum is also free. After our experience in the blizzard, we gave up on the sightseeing and just enjoyed the walking trails on the hillside in and around the cottage.

The thing that impressed us most were the number of entertainments and conveniences available at Laswern Fawr, clearly showing the owners had thought of everything for our comfort (perhaps they knew that rain and snow are always worth preparing for in Wales). There were two shelves of DVD films, a large rack of music CDs, a chest full of board games as well as WiFi. I have to confess, that as a travel blogger, it was the wifi that sold it for me - sad as it might be, the thought of 3 days with no internet access was unbearable, so I was relieved that it all worked perfectly, despite the remote location! Whatever home comforts you enjoy to spend the evening after a long walk in the Brecon Beacons, our Welsh cottage at Laswern Fawr seemed to be able to provide. If I ever have to shut myself away in comfort from the distractions of the big city to write that long awaited novel, this will be the place.

We booked Laswern Fawr through Brecon Beacons Holiday Cottages who kindly rented it to us at a discounted rate. They are the specialist in holiday cottage rentals in the Brecon Beacons and have over 250 holiday properties of different sizes to choose from in this beautiful area of Wales.

Travel Resources for the Brecon Beacons

Brecon Beacons Holiday Cottages - specialists in holiday accommodation in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Black Mountains National Park and Wye Valley
Visit Wales - the official Wales tourism website with information on short breaks, weekend getaways and family holidays and things to do in Wales
Brecon Beacons National Park Website - the Brecon Beacons website with information on things to do and places to stay in the Brecon Beacons

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Visiting Sigouros Pottery on Zakynthos in Greece - video

If you’re visiting the Greek island of Zakynthos and love hand-painted ceramics as I do, then you should visit the Sigouros Pottery Shop in Zante Town and also the workshop at Machairado to see the pottery being made. You can see a video about our visit to the Sigouros Pottery below.

In the 20 years I’ve been visiting Zakynthos (also known as Zante) where my sister lives, I’ve been adding to my ceramics collection on each visit to the Sigouros Pottery shop in Zante town. I was aware that they also had a workshop where you can see the pottery being made and painted, although I’d never had the chance to visit it until last summer. This time we drove our hire car out to Machairado, which is a 15 minute drive inland from Zante town, combining the visit with a stop for some wine tasting at Oenolpi Winery which is close by. Read my article and watch my video about the Oenolpi Winery here.

I have quite a collection of ceramics and other beautiful objects from my travels - you can read about My Travels on a plate here. What I love about the Sigouros designs are the soft colours and shapes and the slightly abstract motifs inspired by the natural beauty of Zakynthos. You’ll see the blue fish, the olives that grow everywhere and the lemons and pommegranates, that most self-respecting Zakynthians have growing in their back garden.

Sigouros Pottery shop in Zante town,Zakynthos

Sigouros Pottery from Zakynthos Greece

If you want to visit the workshop at Machairado, they’re open most mornings, but you may want to call into the shop in Zante Town if you’re passing to double check. When we wandered in to the workshop, we found the downstairs shop with all the ceramics on sale and the owner Sigouros Golemis came down to invite us upstairs to the workshop. He must have spotted us arriving as he has a bird’s eye view from the front window where his pottery wheel is set up.

Upstairs all the pottery is laid out to dry and awaiting painting before it’s fired in the kiln in the garden. We watched Sigouros in awe as he deftly threw pot after pot, it was slightly hypnotic watching him perfectly create the same shape over and over. Then we watched as the equally skilled lady etched the designs onto the bowls ready for painting and firing and then Sigouros let us peep inside the kiln where all the ceramics were being fired.

Sigouros told us that he was starting to think about retirement - he said that he could feel his fingers and hands getting tired after 25 years of throwing pots. Do take look at the video below which I hope will inspire you to drive out the the Machairado workshop if you’re visiting Zakynthos.

 
Click here to see the embedded video above

For directions and more details you can visit the Sigouros Pottery web-page.  

More things to do on Zakynthos

Saving the Caretta Caretta turtle on Zakynthos,Greece
A wine tasting at Oenolpi Winery on Zakynthos, Greece
A tour of Romas Mansion on Zakynthos

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Passports with Purpose and a Flip Video camera to giveaway

Today sees the launch of Passports with Purpose, the fund-raiser by Travel Bloggers to support those in the developing world who need our help. Last year we raised $7,000 for Heifer International and this year the target is to raise $13,000 to build a school in Cambodia.

Build a school in Cambodia

All donations to this year’s Passports with Purpose Fundraiser will go to the charity American Assistance for Cambodia to build a school in rural Cambodia where the population experienced so much trauma during the Khmer Rouge regime. The project establishes schools in poor, rural areas where children have been deprived of any educational facilities or been forced to learn outdoors for lack of funds to construct schoolhouses.

The AAfC uses matching funds World Bank and Asian Development Bank together with the $13,000 that Passports with Purpose hopes to raise, to cover the construction and start-up costs of the rural school. You can find out more about the AAfC’s Rural Schools Project here.

Flip Video Camera Prize

There are many Travel Bloggers offering travel related prizes as part of the Passports with Purpose draw. On the Passports With Purpose website you can find a list of all the prizes and the blogs where the details of the prize are posted.

I’m thrilled that Flip in the UK have donated one of their Flip Ultra Video Camcorders as a Passports with Purpose prize, as it’s a neat and fun little camcorder to take you when traveling or to record special moments with your friends and family. If you’ve been wanting to start shooting video but were afraid of all those camera settings and wizardry, then this is the video camera for you.

You shoot what you like and then upload directly through the USB port of your computer, with the option to email to your friends or upload to sites like Myspace and Youtube. Because it’s so small and self-contained, you don’t ever have to worry about missing that magic moment because you didn’t have the right gear - just pop it in your bag and go.

How the Passports with Purpose Draw works

From today, November 30th 2009, the Passports with Purpose website will show a list of all the prizes on offer, and each one will link back to a full description of the prizes on the blogger’s website. For each $10 in donations that you make to AAfC, you will will be entered to win a prize (or prizes) of your choice.

The fundraiser begins on November 30th and closes on December 21. All proceeds go directly to AAfC. You can donate $10 for the prize of your choice, or multiples of $10 for a favourite prize if you want to increase your chances, or $10 or more for several different prizes that take your fancy. It’s a great thing to make a donation as a gift on behalf of someone and if they win the prize that’s a bonus.

Next Steps

By now I’m sure you’re convinced that this is a charity worth supporting, particularly if like me you’re aware how lucky you and your family are in their opportunities for education that we all take for granted in the West.

So please go now to the Passports with Purpose website and make your donation for the Flip Video Camera or another prize of your choice. If you’re worried about what to buy for that person who has everything, go and buy them a $10 ticket and a chance to win a prize as a bonus. And if you feel you’d like to treat a child you’ve never met to a great Christmas present of a school and an education, then go to the Passports with Passport website and make your donation, or ask your loved ones to do so as your Christmas present.

I’ll be making updates about Passports with Purpose throughout December until the fundraiser closes on 21 December, so keep and eye on this blog, on the Passports with Purpose Website and follow the tweets at #pwp.

A Big Thankyou

• Thankyou so much in advance for your support
• Thanks to Flip in the UK who donated the Flip Video Camcorder as a prize
• Thanks to the key sponsors of Passport with Purpose who have got the fundraiser off to a cracking start
• Virtuoso is the industry’s leading leisure travel network. This by-invitation-only organization comprises more than 6,000 elite travel advisers associated with over 300 agencies in 22 countries, as well as over 1,000 of the world’s best travel providers and premier destinations.
• Got Passport: Will Travel, We’ll Serve
  Living Small, Giving Large. We are a family of three, with a passion for travel, seeking out new experiences, meeting new people, and living simply.
• HomeAway, Inc. operates the world’s leading and most-established vacation rental websites around the world, including HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com.
• Raveable.com is the fastest way to find the perfect hotel and is the first and only website that creates hotel review summaries based on the common rants and raves found in millions of online hotel reviews.
• Travelfish.org produces original travel content for the independent traveller heading to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Recommended by Rough Guides, Footprint, Lonely Planet and others
• TravellersPoint is a vibrant travel community dedicated to seriously passionate travellers. Upload photos, create a blog or travel map, share travel tips in the forums, and contribute to the wiki travel guide
• Last but not least, thanks to Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Michelle Duffy and Beth Whitman, the bloggers behind Delicious Baby, Nerd’s Eye View, WanderMom, and Wanderlust and Lipstick who are working hard behind the scenes to organise Passports with Purpose.

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