Cherie's Place

Last Post Shift Walk of the Year

Before the clocks changed at the weekend I enjoyed one last post shift walk at Attingham Park. I was treated to some beautiful Autumn colours and the walled garden was decked out for ‘The School of Magic’ trail.

When the evenings get darker after the clocks change I like to travel home in daylight to avoid the constant dazzling headlights on an unlit road.

I was back volunteering today and for part of my shift I helped hand out the trail leaflets. Then after the (mostly) youngsters had graduated from the School of Magic, I presented them with their spell book and colouring pencils.

Attingham was extremely busy and for the first time in eighteen months of volunteering I wasn’t able to park easily when I arrived for my shift. I ended up half way down the overflow field, and still the cars were steadily flowing in.

It was also lovely to see some former work colleagues as they passed through visitor reception.

Tags: Attingham Park, Autumn, Shropshire, Visitor Reception, Volunteering

4 Comments CherryPie on Oct 29th 2025

Filed under Anecdotes, Cardiff 2025, Holidays

Cardiff – Day Six

We were all packed and ready to check out before we enjoyed one last breakfast, after which we drove to Caerphilly to visit the castle. The car park closest to the castle was full so rather than wait for a space we chose to park in the long stay car park. This meant we had a lovely walk around the moat to the castle entrance.

The castle is impressive, the second largest in Britain; after Windsor. There is a one-way route around the castle, which helps avoid problems on narrow staircases and ensures that the visitor doesn’t miss anything. The remains of the castle are impressive and some of its rooms are set up to give insights into life in a 14^th century feudal castle. Before leaving the castle, I purchased the guidebook.

We decided that we would have lunch in town but the two places we spotted on our walk to the castle were not what we were looking for. Mr C spotted Glanmors Bakery. Tempted by the delicious offerings, we both chose a prawn mayo roll and to follow Mr C had a chocolate éclair and I chose a vanilla slice.

Then sun had put its hat on so we were able to enjoy our tasty delights sitting on a bench in the nearby Dafydd Williams Gardens.

A lone seagull had his beady eye on us, but flew off when I had taken the last bite of my prawn roll. He returned later as we were leaving to hoover up the prawns that had escaped from Mr C’s roll.

My vanilla slice was delicious, but rather messy to eat. My fingers ended up covered with the sticky icing topping. This meant that I was unable to take photographs of beautiful autumn leaf colours or the cheeky seagull. I scraped the excess sticky icing from my fingers into the box that had contained our lunch. Back at the car there was the luxury of wet wipes that left my fingers (almost) sticky free.

Our TomTom SatNav worked hard on our journey home, rerouting us several times to avoid Friday afternoon traffic and taking us off the motorway to arrive back home at the time it had originally scheduled. This gave us time to pick up grocery items for fine dining (zingy salmon and crispy potatoes) at home

During our brief vacation we enjoyed the slate grey skies of Wales rather than the crystal blue skies of Madeira. The grey clouds kept their moisture to themselves rather than sharing it with us below.

We left Cardiff with unfinished business… We will be back.

Tags: Caerphilly Castle, Cardiff, Dafydd Williams Park, Glanmors Bakery, Vacation, Wales

4 Comments CherryPie on Oct 27th 2025

Filed under Anecdotes, Cardiff 2025, Holidays

Cardiff – Day Five

I continued to sample the various breakfast options choosing different items from the hot cooked buffet selection. It was only after I had made my selection that I noticed crusty bread was on offer to accompany the continental breakfast options, unlike the previous days.

After breakfast we took a leisurely walk through town in the direction of the Railway station here the BBC studios are located, we had a tour booked. Our walk took us through shopping arcades where most of the outlet brands were unfamiliar to me. The most familiar brand we noticed was John Lewis where we both enjoyed a mooch around the gift section and Mr C had to check out the cookshop for something we might just need in the kitchen.

We arrived at the BBC studios earlier than our scheduled tour so we retraced our stops the arcade, and the Costa Coffee shop where we could put our feet up and wait for our timeslot.

We still had to wait outside the BBC studios until 15 minutes before our timeslot. We had to go through airport-style security before the tour took place. The tour was excellent and it shed the light on BBC documentary and news broadcasting. We were even able to see a live broadcast, a BBC Cymru news bulletin, whilst standing to one side hidden from the cameras.

The secrets of green screen recording were explained. What you see on screen for broadcasts is quite often not actually in the studio but added in digitally. We also went in a “dead room”, where radio drama is recorded and all sound is deadened to prevent echoes and ensure perfect sound quality in each recording.

We glimpsed the Tardis and a Dalek on our way to learn about how programmes queued up and how the voiceovers linking one programme finishing and the next one started are prepared and broadcast.

By the time the tour had finished it was time for a late lunch. We opted to dine in Pret a Manger, next to the BBC studio, after which we walked back into town through the shopping arcades. Back in town we returned to the Castle Arcade where we had another mooch around the board game shop. This time we came away with a game called Viticulture, a game about cultivating and harvesting grape vines for winemaking.

I thought we were going to sit in the lovely café that we had enjoyed on our previous visit to the arcade, but instead Mr C took us to the nearby Blue Bell pub instead. Rather than the apple juice I had in mind from the café I opted for a glass of wine which turned out to be quite bland compared to other wines that I had sampled during our stay in Wales.

We chilled out in our room before walking to the Parkgate Hotel, which was further away than Mr C had expected leading us to route march through town to arrive in time. The receptionist who showed us to our table was a bit stuffy and slightly unwelcoming rushing us to sit down.

Next, we were welcomed by a lady who brought us menus and later our wine selection. We were subsequently served by a delightful waiter, Mo who was courteous and attentive to our needs. The food was beautifully presented and delicious making this dining experience to be a perfect last meal to our holiday.

Before returning to the hotel for the evening we paid a return visit to The Cottage for a nightcap where once again we watched a silent film highlighting locations in Wales. After watching it for the second time we still weren’t able to identify all of them.

Tags: BBC Cymru, BBC Studios, Cardiff, Darlek, Dr Who, Tardis, The Parkgate Hotel, Vacation, Wales

2 Comments CherryPie on Oct 26th 2025

Filed under Anecdotes, Cardiff 2025

Cardiff – Day Four

Working my way round all the breakfast options, today I chose traditional breakfast items from the hot buffet area.

After breakfast we drove the short distance to St Fagans national museum of history, avoiding the bus lane which hides in plain sight. The 100 acres of parkland at St Fagans is free to enter and houses over forty original buildings that have been re-erected there from different historical periods and areas in Wales. We started our tour of the site in the “Wales is…” gallery which is located in the main entrance building.

We then followed the route around the parkland using the map to visit the buildings mainly in the order that they are numbered on the map. We paused for lunch in the building that houses Gweithdy galleries and workshop. One of the first buildings we visited was Melin Bompren Corn Mill where a guide explained the workings of the mill to us. As we were leaving the mill he asked me if I was Welsh, he thought he could detect a slight Welsh accent. I don’t think I have but perhaps I have picked up a bit of a twang living just across the border in Shropshire.

We had another interesting conversation in the Llys Llywelyn (Llywelyn’s Court) building where an English lady who had learned Welsh explained the Welsh alphabet and how to pronounce the letters. She also told us that all public facing staff had to be able to speak Welsh.

We had to miss out a few of the buildings to make sure we were able to visit St Fagans Castle and gardens. Only part of the castle is currently open to visitors but the gardens are stunning, we wished we had more time to explore them.

We returned to the café before it was due to close for tea and cake but for some reason it was closing early and only provided a takeaway service. This meant that our chosen cake was shared from a paper bag! Other people turned up just after us and were ignored leading them to leave empty handed.

Before all of this I had visited reception to purchase a guide book only to be told that they had sold out and there were none available in the shop either. After finishing my cake and drink I visited the shop on the off chance that a guide book was available. I noticed two ladies at the till with a guidebook in hand and there seemed to be some sort of problem. I approached to ask about guidebook availability. I was told that there was a misprinted guidebook where the map was missing from the back of the book. The shop manager had just allowed one to be sold to the two ladies and I also purchased one (on a non-returnable basis).

The journey back to Cardiff was tedious. The traffic was heavy and the SatNav kept trying to navigate us along bus lanes which meant we had to go the long way round to get to get back to the car park. Eventually we arrived back at the hotel later than we had intended.

We freshened up for dinner which was in the nearby Laguna restaurant. The service was a bit disjointed but the food was delicious and all the staff were lovely. As our dessert arrived the waiter insisted on taking a photo of the two of us.

By the time we had finished our meal it was too late to walk into town so we returned to the hotel for a nightcap.

The lady who served us complimented me on my co-ordinated look and how lovely my skirt was which reminded me that earlier in the day one of St Fagans employees commented on how lovely my scarf was. The previous evening a passer by had said how lovely my skirt was. Cardiff seems to be the town of compliments.

Tags: Cardiff, Laguna Restaurant, Me by another, Portrait, St Fagans, St Fagans Castle, There's Always One, Vacation, Wales

6 Comments CherryPie on Oct 25th 2025

Filed under Anecdotes, Cardiff 2025, Holidays

Cardiff – Day Three

For breakfast I chose to sample butternut pancakes with fruit compote, one of the cooked-to-order options. They were tasty but would have benefited with more fruit compote in relation to the stack of pancakes.

We then drove to the Royal Mint for one of their tours. The tour was excellent and informative. We opted not to print our own commemorative coin at the end of the tour; the current pressing is 80 years of Monopoly, which whilst iconic and perfect for a specialist coin collector didn’t float our boat. We learned about how coins are produced from design production through die production to coin manufacture.

We elected to have lunch in the Royal Mint’s café before driving to the nearby Llandaff Cathedral. The Cathedral Green car park was full leading us to rely upon the SatNav to find another local car park. It was well hidden off a small side road.

The cathedral is lovely but apart from a few remaining Norman aspects the cathedral is mostly Victorian. During WWII a bomb landed on the green next to the building which caused a lot of damage and subsequent reconstruction. In the nave, just in front of the choir a modern artwork depicting Jesus ‘Christ in Glory’ dominates the view.

Before leaving Llandaff, we discovered the remains of the town’s castle and bell tower.

We had a difficult journey when we arrived back in Cardiff. The Satnav indicated a road which had road markings that were difficult to understand in heavy traffic. We entered the road just too late to realise that we were travelling where we shouldn’t be, causing us to do a U-turn in a bus layby with an oncoming bus and busy flowing traffic.

Later we dined in Ty Madeira. It just had to be done after the forced last-minute cancellation of our Madeira holiday. The food, service and experience were excellent. We were seated next to the food counter and kitchen area so I was able to watch the food being cooked (including flame grilling) and the meat and fish being prepared.

We had a nightcap in The Cottage before returning to the hotel where we had to request a few items that had not been restocked by room service. I was impressed that they were delivered to our room 5 minutes later.

Tags: Cardiff, Llandaff Cathedral, The Royal Mint, Ty Madeira, Vacation, Wales

6 Comments CherryPie on Oct 23rd 2025

Filed under Anecdotes, Cardiff 2025, Holidays

Cardiff – Day Two

The bed was so comfy that we both had a good night’s sleep and woke feeling refreshed. For breakfast, both cooked and continental options were available along with a few cooked-to-order items. I chose to sample the continental breakfast option. It had a nice selection of fruits, meats and cheeses but it was let down by the lack of crusty bread for accompaniment.

After breakfast we walked the short distance to Cardiff Castle where we booked the guided tour in addition to our entry ticket. The tour took us through rooms of the castle that are not accessible on a standard entry ticket. The rooms each had their stories to tell and it was fascinating to learn the history and narratives behind the decoration of the rooms.

One part of the tour involved a spiral staircase which I chose to miss. I am OK going upstairs but I am not so nifty walking downstairs, especially if the staircase is spiral. This gave me the opportunity for a personal guided tour of one of the rooms, the Arab Room. This room is accessible without a tour ticket but we had to bypass it as a group due to the small size of the room and potential damage to the flooring.

After the tour and before lunch, we walked the steep steps to the castle keep. I was glad I had done it but then I had to walk back down those same steep steps.

Next, it was time for lunch which we had in the Castle café. We both chose a traditional dish, ‘Welsh Rarebit’, which was delicious. Whilst using my phone to take a photograph I noticed a missed call from the care home where my mum is currently staying and a missed message from one of the nurses. It took me the rest of the afternoon to be able to contact him. Mum wants to go shopping and they wondered if it was OK for them to ‘try’ and take her as one of the care home activities.

But getting back to Cardiff Castle; after lunch we viewed the Roman wall and sculpture and the Line of Fire Museum of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the Queen’s Dragoon Guards. We made our way to the wall walk and the WWII tunnels. We had walked the wall before our guided tour and now it was time to explore the tunnels which are beneath the castle walls and were used as a bomb shelter during WWII. The tunnels are impressive due to their length and size.

We left the castle in time for afternoon tea and a cake which we enjoyed in a coffee shop in the Castle Arcade. After relaxing with a naughty cake, we returned to the Rules of Play board game shop which had been shut when we passed it earlier. The shop is fabulous, and we were overwhelmed by the number of games in stock. So much so that we came away empty handed.

Back at the hotel we chilled out before dining in the Potted Pig which is located in a former bank vault. Lovely food but it couldn’t quite compete with the artistic tasty ravioli dish that I enjoyed the night before.

After dining Mr C was on a mission to find the perfect pub for a beer, this led us through quieter streets where several people approached us asking for money. Only one of them, a lady that approached me when Mr C had gone on ahead, did I believe to be homeless.

Mr C settled on The Duke of Wellington. The pub had a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere until some football supporters that had been watching the Wales V Belgium football match at the local stadium arrived for post-game drinks. Their presence livened up the place.

Tags: Board Game Shop, Cardiff, Cardiff Castle, Castle Arcade, Rules of Play, The Duke of Wellington, The Potted Pig, Wales

7 Comments CherryPie on Oct 22nd 2025

Filed under Anecdotes, Cardiff 2025, Holidays

Cardiff – Day One

At the last minute we had to cancel our trip to Madeira due to Mr C having an unexpected health issue that required tests and which meant that we were not insured to travel abroad.

Within a few days we came up with ‘Plan B’, a trip to Cardiff, a place that neither of us had visited before. Why Cardiff? It has lots of nearby attractions that appealed to both of us.

Our journey to Cardiff ran smoothly and we chose to break our journey for lunch at the Engine House that is located in Ross-on-Wye garden centre, another gem from the ‘Extra Mile’ book. I couldn’t resist the scone of the day, apple and cinnamon. It was deliciously light and crumbly. Mr C opted for the pear and stilton toasty which had also tempted me.

We arrived in Cardiff at around 3pm, parking the car in the car park recommended by the hotel and which gave a substantial discount for hotel guests. Speaking of the car… After several weeks the RAC accepted liability for the fire that happened after Mr C’s car was recovered to our house. They referred the matter to their insurers who authorised a hire car just a few days before we travelled.

After checking in to our hotel, we chilled out in the hotel bar with a glass of wine for me and a local beer for Mr C. Mr C rang one of his friends to update him on recent events whilst I read up on local attractions.

We returned to the room for a cup of tea. After we had unpacked our bags Mr C went out to recce the local area, leaving me to chill out some more.

Later we dined in Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant. The food, service and atmosphere were wonderful. I chose a ravioli dish which was presented in artistic, appetising way rather than served in a bowl as pasta normally is.

Mr C was keen to show me the Wetherspoons’ pub, that is in the former Prince of Wales theatre building. He took me upstairs into ‘the gods’ where we had a nightcap before retiring to the hotel for the evening.

Tags: Cardiff, Giovanni's, Hotel Indigo, Italian Restaurant, Ravioli, Ross-on-Wye, South Wales, The Engine House, The Prince of Wales, Wetherspoons

6 Comments CherryPie on Oct 20th 2025

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