Betws Y Coed, Lake Cole Mere and A Busy Travel Day!

My Welsh Mini Break continued with a return to my childhood home in Betws Y Coed and then we went on a lake walk around Lake Cole Mere. 

Click here to watch the vlog or see below.

My second childhood home was a little village in Wales called Betws Y Coed and while I still haven't got the Welsh pronunciation down, it's always held so many great memories. My dad used to own a little cottage nearby and now it's owned by my uncle. We took my dad's girlfriend's father for a visit and ended up walking around the lake, visiting the river and waterfalls, then visiting my dad's favourite little bakery. It has everything from savoury food for lunch and sweet treats for snacks or desserts. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the autumn leaves. The colours are so pretty and my dad thoroughly enjoyed all the scenery. I defintely take after my dad when it comes to photography but it's slightly different to my dad's preference. While he could spend hours in nature, taking in the view from different angles and perspectives, I much prefer to capture events and emotion through people. 

We were then meant to be going to Swallow Falls but apparently with the slightly wet weather it would be difficult for  my dad's girlfriend's father to get down safely plus it was a little bit of a trek. I'm not going to lie, it was a little bit annoying as I was meant to be coming to Wales to spend time with my dad and enjoying things I haven't done before, but because of him we were slightly limited in all honesty. The activities had to be easy and accessible, so it meant I'd already done most things before.

The next day, we went to another local lake, Lake Cole Mere. It was a fairly easy walk and very quiet. Most people had dogs so it was quiet and a nice stroll. A lot of the area was 'paved' so even with the rain from the day before, it wasn't too muddy.

They also had the absolute cutest boat house overhanging the lake and while it was a nightmare to get to, it was really gorgeous once there. Along the back wall was a canal which they originally built for transport but dad was saying that by the time it was finished, it was too late as the railways had already been built in the meantime as it took so long.

As we rounded the other side, there was so much nature. There were ducks swimming along, birds hanging upside down in the trees and the next door cows had wandered down to the bankside for a drink.

My dad had been showing off his latest back garden addition all week long and it finally got clear enough to take pictures. He built some very sturdy and level stairs with two mini balconies, before putting up some bank retainers up to prevent the hill falling down.

Before leaving back to Nottingham, we went to one of my dad's many favourite farm shops. It was a lovely little place which served the biggest portions of food. My dad grabbed some cake while I had not only a bacon sandwich for breakfast, but followed it up with the best brownie!

Despite the slight inconvenience of the unexpected visitor, it was still a really nice little trip and lovely to spend some time with dad.