A day out in Aberaeron

Sunlight catching the water in the harbour

Justin’s mum and sister came to look at our new house yesterday. After a potter around and cups of tea, we decided to go for a drive – and show them one of our favourite places that’s on the doorstep. Well, not quite doorstep, but only 30 minutes drive. The place in question is the small harbour town of Aberaeron.

Blue painted house Green painted house

It’s a lovely destination to visit, whether just for an hour or two… or for a much longer stay.

Tafarn Cadwgan, a pink pub in Aberaeron Tafarn Cadwgan, a pink pub in Aberaeron

There are pretty, brightly painted houses everywhere you look.

Terrace of mulit-coloured houses along the harbour at Aberaeron

These provide the perfect backdrop for an equally attractive harbour area where boats are moored.

The Hive at Aberaeron

The first time we came here there had just been severe flooding in the area, and it was quite a scene of devastation. Large pieces of debris had been brought downstream by a raging river torrent and smashed into the small sea craft (as you can see at the left hand side of the photo below). Many vessels were affected, particularly closer to the mouth of the river. It must have taken some clearing up. It’s back to its gorgeous best now though and we had a very nice couple of hours in the sunshine, taking in the fresh sea air and having a bite to eat.

Aberaeron harbour | H is for Home

There’s no shortage of places to eat or have coffee. Pubs, restaurants, cafés, fish & chip shops and ice cream parlours. Personally, we’ve sampled meals and coffee The Harbourmaster, ice-cream at The Hive and fish & chips at The New Celtic . They all come highly recommended!

Seld interiors shop on Bridge Street, Aberaeron

In addition to the various catering establishments, there are also some lovely little independent shops. These include interiors shop Seld, which we always like to have a mooch around when we’re there. There’s always something to tempt us. And there’s more temptation just round the corner – Manor Farm Barn Antiques stocks some fabulous country furniture.

Quayside, Aberaeron

Aberaeron also has food, garden and craft festivals. In fact, one of our recent trips coincided with Feast – Aberaeron which was going with a real swing when we arrived.

Food festival, Feast Aberaeron

You can find bustling spots or quiet corners. Whichever you choose, just sit, take it all in – and enjoy.

Eating fish and chips beside the river Aeron

If you’re ever driving along the Ceredigion coast road, be sure to pull the car over and take a break here. Or make it the destination for a section of the coastal walk perhaps. Or even book a cottage for a week and spend a few days discovering the various attractions of the town and surrounding area.

All’s well in Wells!

'All's well in Wells!' blog post banner

Colourful beach huts on the beach between Wells-next-the-Sea and Holkham | H is for Home

We’ve just returned from a holiday in North Norfolk…

boats in the harbour at high tide, Wells-next-the-Sea

Wells-next-the-Sea to be precise.

crabpots stacked up in the harbour, Wells-next-the-Sea

A lovely coastal town with a busy working harbour, shops and fantastic sandy beach.

house sign on the Sailmakers Barn, Wells-next-the-Sea

We stayed at Sailmakers Barn – a wonderful cottage, full of character, very comfortable and only a few minutes’ walk from the town centre & quayside.

exterior view of Sailmakers Barn, Wells-next-the-Sea lounge of Sailmakers Barn, Wells-next-the-Sea
bedroom of Sailmakers Barn, Wells-next-the-Sea view out of master bedroom of Sailmakers Barn, Wells-next-the-Sea

Around the corner from the cottage was The Buttlands, an impressive Georgian square fringed by mature lime trees…

view of Buttlands, Wells-next-the-Sea

…with gorgeous buildings and dog-friendly pubs at either end!

exterior of the Globe, Buttlands, Wells-next-the-Sea exterior of the Crown, Buttlands, Wells-next-the-Sea

As you can see from our photos, we had lots of blue skies…

boats in the harbour, Wells-next-the-Sea

…so spent long days walking, soaking up the sun, picnicking and shopping.

view of the grannery in the harbour at sunset, Wells-next-the-Sea

We watched beautiful sunsets, picked strawberries, beach combed and spotted the local wildlife.

Boats in the harbour at low tide, Wells-next-the-Sea

We did a lot of al fresco dining – breakfast on our balcony, fish & chips by the quayside, barbecues and relaxed pub lunches.

colourful beach huts on the beach between Wells-next-the-Sea and Holkham

In addition to Wells, we visited some of the surrounding towns and coastal villages including Blakeney, Cley and Holt. We only scratched the surface – there are lots more places to see, but we’ll just have to save them for our next trip.

heart in the sand made from shells on the beach between Wells-next-the-Sea and Holkham

It was our first time in the area, but it definitely won’t be the last… we really fell in love with Norfolk!

W is for… Whitby

'W is for... Whitby' banner

View of Whitby across the River Esk | H is for Home

We took a day trip to Whitby last week. It’s something we’ve been meaning to do for years – and it made for a really enjoyable change of scenery.

Seagull perched on an anchor, Whitby | H is for Home

Whitby is situated on the north east coast of England, lying where the River Esk reaches the North Sea.

sailboat in Whitby Harbour | H is for Home

It’s a picturesque old harbour town with some lovely buildings, cobbled streets and narrow alleyways…

Whitby alleyway | H is for Home Whitby alleyway | H is for Home

…there are dozens of small fishing boats & yachts moored in the estuary…

Lobster pots in the harbour at Whitby | H is for Home

…a beach and jetties…

Jetty in Whitby Harbour | H is for Home

…abbey ruins…

Abbey ruins, Whitby | H is for Home

…and an old parish church at the top of the steep hillside.

Parish church, Whitby | H is for Home

We arrived at about midday after the 2 hour drive and quickly set about exploring. The town is divided in two by the river – a swing bridge linking the two sides.

Swing bridge, Whitby | H is for Home

We couldn’t resist starting with the local charity shops – fairly slim pickings unfortunately – but we did pick up a beautiful, vintage Welsh Wool coat in one of them.

Vintage Welsh wool coat | H is for Home Vintage Welsh wool coat | H is for Home

We had fish & chips for lunch (of course!), having found a bench with suitably impressive views from which to savour them.

View across rooftops of Whitby | H is for Home

Fueled up for the afternoon, we set about further exploration.

Church Street, Whitby | H is for Home

Whitby Museum | H is for Home

There are countless jewellery shops, most of which specialise in the black mineraloid, jet – formed from fossilised wood – and found in the local sea cliffs & beaches.

Jewellery shop, Whitby | H is for Home

Whitby is very popular with tourists, so there’s no end of cafes etc.

Market Square, Whitby | H is for Home Ice cream stall at the bottom of 199 steps, Whitby | H is for Home

We stopped again for coffee & cake (well, this break was all about relaxation!). The weather was gorgeous and we sat outside listening to a busker playing the harp.

Busker playing the harp on Church Street, Whitby | H is for Home

We then wandered up the 199 steps to look at the abbey ruins and old church on East Cliff. More great views and very atmospheric.

199 steps, Whitby | H is for Home

Whitby is famous for its Dracula association. Bram Stoker stayed at the Royal Hotel which overlooks the harbour towards this East cliff where he wrote parts of his famous novel. You can really see what inspired him, imagining the scene on a misty winter evening in Victorian England.

Graveyard, Whitby | H is for Home

At the foot of the steps was a lovely cobbled street…

Henrietta Street, a cobbled street in Whitby | H is for Home

… on which was located Fortune’s, a great little kipper smoking house & shop…

Fortunes kipper shop & smokehouse, Whitby | H is for Home

… apparently it’s famous round these parts and had already sold out of kippers by the time we passed by.

Fortunes kipper shop & smokehouse window, Whitby | H is for Home

We found one interiors shop which was very much to our liking. The Stonehouse Emporium on Skinner Street which had a very eclectic mix of antiques, vintage & retro, clothing & jewellery… we bought this 1960s magazine rack.

Vintage magazine rack | H is for Home

That was our feet done for the day, so we headed back to the old part of town where we’d booked to stay for the night – The Shepherd’s Purse is a whole food deli, ladies clothes and gift shop – it also has chalet-style rooms arranged round one of the old yards.

Shepherds Purse hanging sign, Whitby | H is for Home

Virtually next door to the courtyard was the Black Horse pub. We had a really enjoyable evening in there eating fantastic local cheese & chutney – washed down with beer & red wine.

Black Horse pub, Whitby | H is for Home

The following morning we woke to wonderful weather again. We had a hearty, traditional full breakfast in Sander’s Yard (we didn’t score high marks for light, healthy eating on this trip) – then had a final wander round the old part of town… returning to buy kippers, before they’d sold out this time.

Whitby smoked kippers hanging up in Fortunes | H is for Home

Refreshed and rejuvenated, we headed home.

Seagull, Whitby | H is for Home