By: Blonde One
The Two Blondes Welsh jaunt was practically perfect. We stayed at the lovely Youth Hostel (YHA Brecon Beacons) in the shadow of Pen Y Fan and we can’t recommend it highly enough. Here are just some of the things that made it perfect …
We were greeted on our arrival by Richard. He was attentive and knowledgeable and even lent a jar of coffee when I asked if we could buy one. (He must have known the consequences of Blonde One without caffeine!) Throughout our stay he was friendly and jolly.
The daffodils were in abundance. Daffodils are my favourite flower and were in the garden, on all of the dining tables and in a very nifty wall vase made of flattened beer bottles (I regret not taking a photo to show you).
The views from my bed were astounding (when the clouds weren’t getting in the way). I could see sheep, fields, woodland and mountains.
The Blonde bedroom was perfect. We very sensibly booked a 4 bed room so we had space to spread ourselves out. The mattresses were comfy, the pillows were fluffy and the quilts were cosy.
The food was delicious. The £4.50 breakfast was too big to eat all of. There was freshly ground coffee, croissants and cooked food. The three course meal in the evening was the best value meal I have ever eaten. The soup was creamy and wholesome, the chilli was the perfect level of spiciness and the baked apple was the perfect end. A nicer meal would not have been had at a posh restaurant. I think the chefs name was Andy: thank you Andy.
The atmosphere was relaxing and friendly. We shared the hostel with a lovely variety of people, who all seemed to be as happy as we were.
The wood burner in the lounge room was well stocked and warm. The cosy sofas nearly sent us to sleep after a days walking.
The drying room did its job with efficiency. We weren’t optimistic about how effective it would be; our clothes were so wet that we were ringing them out before we hung them up but the next morning they were warm and dry ready for use again.
The Two Blondes will be back sometime soon.
If I look out of my study – I’ve just done it – I can, as you know, see the Malverns. Out of my bedroom I could see the Beacons if there weren’t a house in the way. Let’s say I can sense them. Occasionally my house seems like Stalingrad (from the Wehrmacht perpective), occasionally like Ring-a-ring-a-roses. If I were taking part in a novel rather than writing one the next chapter would almost certainly be entitled The Noose Tightens. Writers love to exaggerate.
I did a fair bit of waving in the general direction of the Malverns while we were in Wales. I couldn’t see them of course, couldn’t see Blonde One most of the time.
Hostel food seems to have changed somewhat! Mine was burned bangers and tinned baked beans – though I remember a Scout helper giving me a cooked mushroom one morning because I had never tasted mushroom – he sneaked it onto my plate when the Scouter wasn’t looking because they were in short supply – and very yummy it was too – have ’em for breakfast most days now.