Forest Hikes, Peaceful Walks and Welsh Goodbyes!

My last week of annual leave (of the year!) and my last week in Wales called for enjoying the countryside and saying goodbye.

Click here to watch the vlog or see below. 

I didn't record or do very much for a week or so. The weather was beautiful so I spent a lot of it sunbathing and reading in the garden, alongside watching the entire season of Station 19 and Manifest, two more shows which I have watched over lockdown. In between the sunshine, we also had a couple of pretty severe lightning storms but I couldn't quite capture them.

I also shared a little life update because I have been having awful headaches caused by too much screen time and stress. Having to find a place to live is a nightmare, I just want to have my own place and settle down already so I am not enjoying this student life...so over it! I also was hoping to go away with Luke for a few days over the bank holiday weekend, but sadly it's looking to be an impossible task. Searching for both and scrolling constantly ended up causing more harm than good. I have decided to rent a room off a friend and not go away...which made the headaches go away almost instantaneously.

I had been asking dad to go for a walk with me for a few days and so when he finally agreed, it ended up being the hottest day ever and we were both sweating. I was very thankful I decided to not put makeup up on that day. Sadly, the canal disappeared half way up and also it was very overgrown, completely un-navigable, and in need of some care. It was still pretty and there was lots of wildlife. We also walked through a forest which came some much needed shade.

My dad's girlfriend's son ended up coming down for a short weekend so on the first night we had a barbecue. For some reason, it wasn't cooking so after a long 2 hour, we ended up browing the sausages off inside and they tasted lovely but I had already stuffed my face with all the snacks and nibbles.

The next day, we'd discovered a nature reserve relatively local and after learning about the hike, I decided to change into some more appropriate clothing. I ended up putting my tie dye shirt on and I thought it was so much fun! I can't wait to make some more soon, albeit learning from past mistakes.

We walked up hills, through fields, alongside forest burning and in stables. It was a really nice and pleasant walk, although we did get lost a fair few times and went in circles repeatedly. In the end, we didn't find the promised lake, but we did some pretty views at the top of the hike. Personally, I liked the butterflies and bees more. 

Later that day, after an early tea of steak (chicken for me) and roast potatoes, we headed over to Lake Vyrnwy. It was strangely not open to external visitors but also, a recent landslide had closed part of the bake roads. Nevertheless, we drove road hoping to make it to the waterfall hike towards the back of the round route. Luckily, the road was close immediately after the car park and so we headed around. I like this waterfall because it's a quiet walk and even prettier at dusk. It's also a very gentle walk and I even did it in flip flops.

The next day, we headed out on another canal walk. I can't remember if I've said but my dad's joined the volunteer workforce to maintain small areas of it so he took us to another part of his section. It was really pretty and to be honest very well maintained, although a little rainy. It's the first time I've needed my coat for a long time because of the rain but I had to keep taking it off because it was still so hot, so in the end, I ended up getting soaked to prevent overheating.

 Along the way, there was also a little nature reserve that had been left to develop just off the main canal route. It was very pretty, although I didn't see much wildlife and thought it was very overgrown. Sadly, we ended up having the cut the walk a little short so dad's girlfriend's son could leave earlier than we expected, which I found somewhat annoying. I'm also not a very fast walker so they all steamed ahead and left me to walk back all alone which actually made me quite sad.

After lunch, everyone seemed to disappear so I ended up spending a couple of hours watching television whilst taking off my Shellac ready for placement and then going for another walk around the village by myself. I also picked up some essentials: Diet Coke and chocolate. I was honestly feeling a little down and a little disheartened. I really wanted to spend some time with dad on my last day of annual leave, but between doing his own things and sleeping, that never really happened. 

The next day, was technically a university day. I had a 2 hour lecture in the morning on returning to placement which was semi-useful but I'm glad I had packing to keep me busy because otherwise I would have been very frustrated by the repeated lack of answers and understanding shown. Once done, I loaded up the car and made myself a sausage sandwich to eat whilst watching the last episode of Station 19. I've fallen in love with the show but hate that they kill all my favourite characters and leave everything on such cliff hangers. 

I gave myself a couple of hours to hopefully spend some time with dad before leaving. It's strange. I never thought I'd become so used to Wales and find myself calling it home. It's been so long since I've lived permanently with my dad...over half my life ago. But it's been a blessing in disguise and I've really enjoyed it. I'm going to miss the house, the garden, the country...and especially him. Sadly, he was otherwise occupied so I ended up doing a Sudoku puzzle next to him before heading off, leaving him drilling holes in the garage. Not quite the last few moments I had planned. 

I did end the vlog as I left Wales but from there, I headed towards Nottingham, stopping at my boyfriends on the way back where we had a date night. We went on a little walk with the family dog and then got a little more glammed up before heading to a restaurant. I don't think either of us particularly enjoyed the meal so it didn't exactly go as planned but the company was good. I had a little bit of a scare when I got back so I'm going to be sharing all about that soon!