Happy birthday Morgan!!! For Morgan’s 35th birthday I organised a surprise weekend away with the help and company of our lovely friends Josh, Helen, Mike, Rachel and Jeremy.
Before setting off we spent a day at the lovely Wokingham home of Jeremy and Rachel, and finally got to meet their adorable button of a daughter, Maia. They were very welcoming, although we can’t say the same for their neighbours who didn’t quite get out the pitchforks, but weren’t far off. After a chat with the lovely local constabulary we relocated the van to a nearby campsite and set off on an epic shopping trip to Coscto- where I found that Rachel is a shopping demon!
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| Clytha Castle- wow! |
The following day we set off in convoy.
Morg was stoked to find himself in Wales, and even more thrilled to see our destination- Clytha Castle.
This is one of the gorgeous properties owned by the Landmark trust and available for holiday rentals.
The “castle” is actually a folly, basically a piece of eye candy built to enhance the view of the local landowner, although lived in in later years.
It’s a seriously beautiful building with very high ceilings, lots of light and a stately manor feeling.
There was an amazing view of the countryside, particularly from the top of the turret where we let off lanterns one night.
Due to a slight over-estimation of the amount of food needed (by myself and Rachel!) and some kick-arse cooking, we basically spent the whole weekend eating. Highlights were definitely Morg’s braised ribs and Helen’s freshly baked scones, served with clotted cream, strawberries and raspberry jam. Afternoon scones on the lawn washed down with some Moet- bliss! We mostly sat outside in the surprisingly warm sun or in front of the fire talking, although we did manage one afternoon ramble (with Maia off-roading in her buggy) and Helen was seen doing some impressive stretching!
Here follows some illustrative pictures....enjoy.
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| Your home is your castle, so they say |
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| The gorgeous kitchen- well used! |
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| Our stately bedroom- la di da |
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| View from the turret- moustachey |
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| The boys settling in |
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| Jeremy and Maia |
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The gorgeous Miss Maia
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| Busy, busy..... |
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| Nom, nom, nom....what's this pain in my chest?....clotted cream embolus |
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| Mike admires the view from the front door- seriously it was just the door and then the view. |
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| Lanterns on the turret roof |
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| The one that got away |
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| Man makes fire |
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| The lovely Josh and Helen- ridiculously photogenic |
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| Sunday afternoon ramble |
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| Ladies and gentlemen, please bring a plate... |
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| Rachel |
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| Josh in repose |
On our last day we headed off to look around Ralgan Castle. These ruins are quite beautiful and you can see it must have been a seriously ornate, gorgeous place to live. After a picnic lunch in the van, where we manfully tried to finish off some more of the food (!), we all headed our separate ways. It was so lovely to see our friends and catch up- thanks guys for making it such a special birthday weekend!
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| Raglan Castle |
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