Probus Summer Lunch

Photo by Tony Woodhouse

In previous years we've started with a glass of Prosecco outside with some people complaining of the heat. But today was chilly and raining, so there was no outside, and no Prosecco either.

But there was good company and that's what really matters.

Inclined Plane Museum at Foxton Locks

We'd been down the Foxton Locks flight last October in the narrowboat Annabel crewed by Dan and Krisie, and I wanted to return to spend more time there and to visit the museum.

After a filling breakfast at Table Table the drive to Foxton Locks car park too 10 minutes. The day was cold with steady rain. The site of the Inclined Plane boat lift was fenced off, but the museum was open.

We were the only visitors at that time and had the benefit of a personal guided tour by one of the volunteers, dressed as a canalboat man. A working model of the boat lift showed how two boats could float into a tank filled with water (caisson) in the canal. When the caisson's access door was closed, it with the floating canalboats was winched by a steam engine to the canal at the other end where they would float out of the caisson and resume their journey 12 minutes later. But the boat lift cost and, while they took 45 minutes, the locks were free, and competition from railways was taking business away from canals. 

The boat lift was in operation only from 1900 to 1911 when it needed expensive repairs so it was mothballed, and sold for scrap in 1928.

We'd enjoyed our bacon butties in October and planned on having them for lunch, but were too full from our breakfast so headed back home.

 

Foxton Locks in the rain

Chirk Castle

Check out for the apartment is the crack of dawn, aka. 09:30. Our journey took in a coffee break at Chirk Castle near Wrexham, but its café doesn't open till midday and it was too windy to sit outside the coffee stand so we sheltered in the car and walked to the castle afterwards. But we didn't have time to visit inside the castle.

Our lunch stop was Moseley Old Hall at Junction 1 of the M54. Moseley was where King Charles II was taken to hide after his time in the oak tree at Boscobel House, which we visited in 2016.

Nice homemade food in the tea room, but we didn't have enough time to see inside the house or visit the gardens so we'll have to return.

We spent the night in Premier Inn near Market Harborough and had a surprisingly good dinner in the adjoining Table Table restaurant.

Pant Du Vineyard

We lunched at Pant Du vineyard near Carnarvon.

We’d last visited in 2012 and was interested to see what had happened in the intervening 11 years. Well, they’d built a café with a full menu and had a little shop. And planted many apple trees for cider and juices. They also had their own spring water and honey.

But the wine now seemed side-lined. There’s nine acres of vines and twice the acreage of apple trees. I don’t know if they’d increased the size of their vineyard and there didn’t seem to be anyone there that could talk wine.

According to the website

There are 6 different varieties of vines planted on the slopes of Pant Du - Seyval Blanc, Sigrrebe*, Souvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Frühburgunder / Early Pinot Noir, Rondo.

The café menu listed red, white and rose wines by the glass, but when I asked what the white was the waitress didn’t know and had to ask the bartender. It was Seyval Blanc (their other white is Siegerrebe) and I had a glass. Krisie had a glass of red. I quite like Seyval Blanc but this was ho-hum. The red had a warm deep red colour which came from Rondo, a variety for which I’ve not acquired a taste.

Still wines cost £17.95 a bottle and the sparkling was £32.95. There’s no info where the wines are made, nor name of winemaker. A code on the back label shows the wine was bottled by Greencroft. I don’t know how the sparkling wine was made; the back label says it was traditionally fermented, not that it was made by the ‘traditional method’, i.e. methode champenoise.

Lack of transparency, cost of wines and disappointing tastes of the red and Seyval Blanc meant this was a rare winery on this island that made no sale to me.

*Siegerrebe

In the evening we enjoyed a really good meal at Poachers, a restaurant we'd not been to before. They are full every night they're open and luckily Dan had got us a booking.

Dinner With Caroline and Stuart

 Dinner tonight with Caroline and Stuart at Dylan's. The apartment is next to Dylan's so we saw them from our balcony and we could go in to the restaurant  together.

Amy was walking from Black Rock sands with her friends from Sweden so we saw them exit the footpath behind Dylan's and they joined us in the apartment.

Amy, Krisie and Dan

Caroline, Dan and Amy

Caroline, Dan & Krisie

Photos copyright (c) Caroline Keen. Used with permission.

Starlight Players - Curtain Up

 

Early dinner at Prince of Wales pub before crossing the road to the Memorial Hall to see the Starlight Players summer show 'Curtain Up', directed by Dan.

Fairlie's Patent Steam Locomotive

Lunch today at Spooners on Porthmadog station platform and in time to see the train to Ffestiniog depart, pulled by Fairlie's Patent double headed engine.

Criccieth Beach and Pillarbox

 

Lunch with Dan & Krisie at Cadwalladers. The pillarbox outside is decorated ready for the upcoming Eisteddfod with a harp playing dragon.

Photo courtesy of Krisie

Dan, Peter, Joan at Criccieth. Photo by & courtesy of Krisie

Criccieth

 To Criccieth to see Dan and Krisie and the summer show

I can't drive because of a broken arm so Dan takes a train to Wellington where we meet and lunch at the William Withering pub by the railway station and then Dan drives us to our accommodation in Criccieth.

We've not stayed here before. It has good sea views, a large balcony, and is next to Dylan's, but for our first evening Dan & Krisie have stocked the fridge with an Indian ready meal from Tesco, and jolly good it is.

Bedrooms are on the ground floor and we get a good sleep in a comfortable Queen sized bed.