Wales: Monmouth, Barry and Lampeter

Today was the day I was expecting to reconnect with several of Haydn's family in Wales, after many years, the annual Christmas card and Facebook posts.

Our first stop was Monmouth to meet up for coffee with Andrew and Julia (and Julia's dog Scrumpy). We did a short walk up part of the main street before saying our farewells and driving onto Barry to have lunch with Susan and Paul, Catherine and Eddie and their daughter Ruth, and Barbara and Bob. Barbara's daughter Lucy and her four girls joined us afterwards. Barbara put on a tasty Ploughman's lunch, and Ruth made a stunning cheesecake for dessert, which also included traditional Welsh cakes.

On leaving Barry, the weather became wet and blustery, making the next leg of the journey longer than expected. We made our way across to our accommodation in Lampeter (situated on the West Wales coastline), The Falcondale, where we'll spend the next two nights.Read more