One
of the (many) benefits of being a teacher are the lovely (and much needed)
holidays slotted conveniently throughout the year, ready to take full advantage
of. Having had itchy feet since my last trip to Germany in August, staying in
Merseyside for the entire week’s holiday was not on the agenda. I’m currently
saving up to buy a little home of my own, so spontaneous trips abroad are now
well and truly off the agenda. Booking a little getaway was, however, much
needed, so after browsing Airbnb for what seems like a lifetime, we settled on
a glamping experience in North Wales for the night. We decided on this
beautiful little Shepherds Hut
in Rhosesmor, packed our bags and got set for a lovely little trip.
I
must admit that the trip didn’t get off to the best start. We had a full
itinerary of exciting things to do before we checked into the hut- we planned
on going hiking in Moel Famau (and then realised quite quickly that that was a
terrible idea- us? Hiking? HA!). After laughing off that suggestion, we settled
on a stroll through a beautiful park in Connah’s Quay, hosting the most
stunning waterfall. Instagram posts, romantic stroll, what more could we
possibly ask for? Cue the rain, ruining plans and potential Instagram-worthy
images. And, (un)ironically, the rain is where all of our problems began.
The
place where our Airbnb was located was, to put in simply, in the middle of nowhere.
The rain was falling heavily, the wind was blowing a hundred miles a minute and
we were more than excited to get settled in and cosy in our little bubble away
from the hustle and bustle of Liverpool. Finding the place proved a bit of a
challenge, but following the instructions we had been given, we found ourselves
heading in what we thought was the right direction towards the house. We went
slightly too far down the road and had to turn around, except driving down the
winding, narrow country roads meant that turning around in the middle of the
road was damn near impossible. We drove down to the bottom of the road, came to
a field and made an attempt to turn the car back around to drive into the house’s
yard. I say the word ‘attempted’ purposely, as turning the car around proved
much more difficult than anticipated. Mostly
because of the fact the car had started to sink into the mud. Yes, you read
that correctly.
Long
story short, the car was stuck and no amount of manoeuvring was going to get us
out. After failing to contact the people we were staying with, and full of fear
that a baseball bat yielding farmer with the police on speed-dial was going to
bombard us, we got straight onto the insurance company to come and tow us out.
Whilst this was all going down, and policies were being checked and both
Richard and I had had full on meltdowns, the airbnb host called me back and
revealed that we were stuck on their field,
and they’d happily come and pull us out with their tractor. Ridiculously
embarrassed but relieved we weren’t going to be arrested, the car was rescued
and we could finally get to enjoying our relaxing (!!!) weekend away.
And,
boy, was it relaxing. Because of the awful weather, the lovely Sandra and her
husband upgraded our stay from the Shepherd’s hut to the Summer House and it is
honestly the most beautiful little house I’ve ever seen. We had everything we
needed to have a relaxing stay, gifted with bread, breakfast goods and cheese
and we were left to our own devices. Being the absolute geeks that we are, we
had a relaxing afternoon listening to football, playing scrabble and enjoying
the beautiful countryside. We drove into Mold in the evening for dinner and got
back to the house in the early evening to enjoy the rest of our time away. Richard’s
favourite film is Interstellar so we stuck that on and poured cocktails to sip
whilst we watched. My favourite liquor is a Maltese one called bajtra, which is
made from prickly pear fruit, and I’d been scouring the internet for cocktail
ideas to try out. We awoke early the next morning and enjoyed a breakfast of
welsh cheddar on fresh toast, yoghurts and fruit. Packing the car back up to go
home was done ever so reluctantly, our thoughts already on our return back to
the gorgeous countryside setting and where our travels will take us next.
