Penrhyn Castle, on the edge Bangor, is one of those historic sites that does an impressive job acknowledging and talking about its conflicted history. It’s one of those “castles” that’s really a castle-like mansion — and this one was built by a family that first made its fortune from sugar plantations in Jamaica, owning hundreds … Continue reading Penrhyn Castle
The cover image for my most-used local walking book, Walking in the Conwy Valley, is from Cadair Ifan Goch overlooking the Conwy Valley from the east. It’s one of those walks that promises a breathtaking view, but the images don’t really capture the grandness of the place, and so it took a surprising amount of … Continue reading Cadair Ifan Goch
I have never been very good at deciding what to cook based on what looks good (or has a good price!) in the supermarket. That requires a level of creativity, flexibility, and comfort with experimentation that I’m only just developing. No, I usually pick recipes and then send my husband to the store to get … Continue reading Buying Local
Have you ever gone somewhere very familiar and suddenly discovered a part of it you never knew existed? I had that happen during my pilgrim walk around Bangor, when we discovered Ogwen Trail. And it happened again, later, during a walk toward Llandudno. It started when my parents and I decided we wanted to go … Continue reading Exploring the Unknown
There is a house on our street with a laburnum tree in their garden. It’s perfect for gauging when to visit Bodnant Garden’s laburnum arch, so when we noticed it was in full bloom at the end of May we decided to go for a visit. We weren’t disappointed! We had no other plans for … Continue reading A Day at Bodnant Garden
Expat Linguist 