Postcards from Wales; Bluestone part one
A few weeks back we had the pleasure of visiting Bluestone Wales, a beautiful park resort set in the rolling hills of Pembrokeshire. After living in Wales for over four years, this was the one part that I had yet to have the joy of exploring.
We packed up the car on Monday morning and headed over the bridge with my Mum and Andy to start our adventure. We were staying in a self catering lodge so we stocked up for our days and came prepared! (But actually the village shop stocked a good range of food if you forget anything!) We arrived with an hour or so spare before we could check into our lodge so did a little exploring of the Village. First call was the play park which was explored with glee after being cooped up in the car for a few hours. We walked amongst the winding pedestrianised streets past the shop, bakery, pubs and restaurants, all quiet and sleepy before the guests started to arrive. We glimpsed the lake through the trees and made notes of what to come back to explore the next day. Soon it was time to check into the lodge so we followed the steady stream of traffic back up on the hill where we would be staying for the week.
After unpacking the car we had a good old explore of our lodge. Theo was so excited as it was "an upside down house!" and marvelled at the fact the kitchen was upstairs and the bedrooms downstairs. We loved the look of the place, especially the big open plan kitchen and living area. The rooms were a lovely size, and we loved each having an en suite bathroom, and it felt lovely and cosy. The kitchen was so well equipped with every appliance and all the equipment you would need. We ate every meal at the house just because it was so easy to do so (and to save a bit of money!)
That evening I put a poorly Theo to bed and settled in for the evening with a bath and a book. My mum and Andy decided to check out the pub for an evening drink by the open fire. A few hours after I went to bed Theo woke with a temperature and was sick over the bed, meaning a swift strip of the bed and cuddles for the rest of the night
The next morning he seemed to perk up a bit so we decided to head to the swimming pool. I'm so glad we did as we all had such a great time. I think it was definitely the highlight for Theo as he's never experienced a pool like it, with it rapid river, the wave machine and the flumes. Luckily he was just tall enough to ride the flumes, but only the big one with me. It was lovely to spend a good few hours there, playing and relaxing. The whole pool is tropical temperature, which was a welcome relief as the weather outside was pretty awful. Each time we travelled on the river we were taken outside into the bitter air, and watched the mist rise off the water and through the rain, but making sure we kept our shoulders beneath the water!
After the swim we headed back for lunch before Theo needed to have a very rare nap. As he slept we planned the rest of our time and eventually headed back out to the Adventure centre. Again much fun was had by all of us, as we played mini golf, climbed the ropes and squeezed through tunnels.
As the evening drew in we once more made our way back to the lodge for dinner and an early night.
The next day I had booked Theo in for an activity, a buccaneer pirate adventure which took him on the nature trail for two hours on his own. We took the opportunity to go and hire a buggy, and to have a look around the lake and village once more.
We retrieved him after his pirate adventure (looking pretty tired out and still under the weather!) and after a stop back for lunch decided to take a walk to Camp Smokey and the woods. Without planning we managed to bump into one of the characters and did a little scavenger hunt and stopped for hugs. I think the woodland and Camp smokey, which is unfortunately closed for the winter, was my favourite part. It was beautiful with the tall pines and babbling stream, and great to have an explore.
After we had exhausted ourselves and had a slight case of water in the welly we popped back to change and grab our swim stuff for a relaxing late afternoon swim. We then settled in for our last evening meal at the lodge before falling, exhausted into bed!
We were invited to be guests of Bluestone Wales, but all thoughts, opinions and photographs are my own!
It looks really lovely there, and sounds like you had a great time, I hope Theo is fully recovered.
ReplyDeleteOooh it sounds amazing, I love the idea of an upside down house. The pool sounds amazing, I'm glad Theo was well enough to enjoy it! Beautiful photos x
ReplyDeleteWe went at the end of 2013 and experienced Bluestone at Christmas but are going again in May and are really looking forward to it. It looks like you had a lovely break x
ReplyDeleteThis place looks lovely, I wish we could nip down for a weekend break but Wales is a bit too far for that. Glad you had a good time in spite of illness. Great photos - I love all the trees and that shot on the green rope bridge!
ReplyDeleteaww lovely shots! I've only experienced Bluestone in summer but it looks just as fun in the winter! x
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful photography as always and so glad to hear that even though Theo was under the weather he still managed to have a lot of fun. We also stayed in an upside down house which the little man loved - a nice little novelty and the views from the lounge are great :)
ReplyDeleteLaura x