Left Scotland 5.30am sat after walk in the park with our Westie puppy. 350 miles to our destination in Denbigh. The heat was rising as we travelled south, and our first big stop at Gretna retail park for breakfast at 9am and a wee wander round the shops, Covid scars were there to see as many shops left unopened.
Our BMW gran tourer 220i is an auto with cruise control and on arrival in Bodfari I felt so refreshed, certainly didn’t feel like I’d just travelled 350 miles. Next car is definitely got to have auto and cruise control. We love the the car, so comfortable and manages any road we throw at it with ease. Its a just a shame my sons new tennis wheelchair doesn’t fit in the boot.
Sunday heat was up around 30°c and we headed to Wrexham to the University for our Wheelchair Rugby League competition. We had hopes of sneaking a win, but 3 games in we had 3 wins to our name and a place in the final. Our last rubber was instead turned in the final after some nasty head clashes and a dislocated shoulder.
By halftime we were 28-10 up however simple mistakes and a spirited comeback from the Welsh team, left us with a 2 point loss, runners up medals and a very proud dad.
Monday was our only real chance to be tourists and took some advice from girlfriend and Struths advice and set off for Llangollen. The drive over Horseshoe Pass was spectacular and we promised to come back for lunch at the top.
Arrived at picturesque Llangollen and it was hootchin with cars, found the last disabled parking space in the shortstay car park, blue badge gives an extra hours parking. After the empteenth toilet stop, the first of many ice creams was scoffed to attempt to cool down, they even sell dog friendly ice cream.
We walked through the town to the famous bridge over the River Dee with stunning views and the bridge itself had has been decorated with patchwork art.
A walk through narrow street brought us to a path along the river with families in the water cooling off, could’ve been Tenerife or Costa del Sol. We joined in and took pup in to cool off.
Giftshops were raided for family back home, that made it feel like a real holiday. More ice creams demolished then back to car as son was exhausted, fatigue is becoming a big issue.
Travelled back up the Horseshoe Pass and couldn’t believe how effortless the car flew up to the Ponderosa which is a haven for bikers. We polished off fish suppers and our last ice cream of the day, before enjoying the sights and sounds of all the bikes on show, one bike even set off a car alarm it was parked next to.
Tuesday was our day to travel home farewells said to family and friends and an emotional visit to lay flowers at the grave of girlfriends daughters nein (Welsh for Granny) the cemetery has the most amazing views and was tugging at everyone’s heartstrings.
We then headed home through the gorgeous town of Caerwys through winding roads and then it hit me, a stone that is, we thought a plastic bottle has popped but then be noticed a tiny crack on the windscreen, about the size of 50p coin. But just as we hit the turnoff for Wigan the tiny crack turned into a 2 foot crack, decided to pull off and call Autoglass to see about a replacement.
Autoglass were very helpful, told us the windscreens are designed to not smash and that we could continue our journey as long as we could still see out of it. A replacement has been booked in 13 days, they need a specialist to fit replacement, so will have to wait and pay the £50 excess.
Again arrived home feeling fresh and full of memories of a fab trip. Lots of the scenery we saw was very reminiscent of tviews around Oban, which is a personal favourite of ours.
It was very emotional being away from home after shielding and the whole lockdown experience of the last 18 months. Shops are still scary and I feel I am going to be more cautious now the rules have been relaxed, this trips feels like it was timed perfectly, before I’m too scared to travel.