Sea fishing, frost and lemon cake

Hello everyone – it’s been a while so I have 2 new blog posts for you this weekend 🙂 Watch our for number 2 tomorrow!

Today was impromptu – earlier this week  friends asked if we would like to join them sea fishing in Barmouth on Saturday. I love a day at the seaside so spent the week in anticipation. Barmouth was a childhood holiday location.  It was there that I discovered I loved Portmeirion pottery as we stayed in a house one year which had a kitchen full of it. I spent my 18th birthday there too.

I didn’t plan much because no young children = less bags and planning doesn’t it??  Or does it! We were to set off at 7 am to catch high tide. At 6.45 am I couldn’t decide on dress code. I wouldn’t be fishing (I only know fly fishing and didn’t fancy getting blown off the harbour wall today learning any other kind) but would still be out in the same weather conditions as the others. Thick frost carpeted the street outside at 6.50 am. In a moment of random indecision,I grabbed 2 coats, 3 pairs of gloves with varying degrees of coverage from wrist warmers to special self heating thermal ones, a pair of spare leggings and socks and 1 scarf.  Add to this the hair brush and grips for the inevitable bad hair day in the winter sea air, the emergency banana in case we can’t stop for breakfast due to catching the tide and the notebook for making blog notes of course!

Filling the boot of our friends car with my “carefully planned” stuff, off we go. As dawn breaks the countryside sparkles with white frost – so beautiful. We decide to stop later for bacon sandwiches at our favourite roadside “shack”. The emergency banana is no longer needed and so is eaten early into the journey. Washed down with little espressos made of Rob’s home roasted Kenya AA coffee and a very civilised wafer biscuit and chocolate covered coffee bean.

Welshpool and onwards is lost in a mist of frozen air but we emerge from the other side and start to plan lunch and tea shops for later. Then the picturesque Barmouth bridge comes into view and the lone gothic house set on the side of the estuary and I know we’re near!

The harbour road is blocked off due to sand drifts from some previous desert like sand storm. Leaving the warm car for the cold sunny car park, I opt for both coats, all the gloves, the scarf and a borrowed pair of overtrousers. Realising I have no hat, Tina lends me her best pair of ear muffs from New York:) Looking like the Michelin man but sporting very stylish plaid and fur ear muffs, I waddle along the harbour wall.

The view in the winter sun against the blue sky is stunning but the wind is bitterly cold. We opt for the lower part of the wall where it’s relatively sheltered. Tina and I take a seat and drink Rooibois tea while providing encouraging comments to our menfolk such as “How many lures have you lost so far?” ” So your aim is to catch 10 different varieties of seaweed?” and “Shall we go and fetch that bag of lures that just blew away?”

After disentangling much seaweed from fishing lines with not a fish in sight, we decide it’s time for a fish and chips lunch. To be honest, Lyndon had mentioned fish and chips in a wistful tone since about 10.30 am. However, it was when we became concerned that we had destroyed a whole underwater seaweed habitat that we thought it best to leave…………

Lunch is good sitting outside on a bench watched by a vigilant lone seagull (Mine!  mine! mine!……quote for Finding Nemo lovers). Back in the car heading for Dolgellau and tea shops we stop off at a river fished many times by our friend. It used to be full of salmon and seatrout until poachers poisoned the water a couple of times and numbers dropped dramatically. It was good to hear his fishing tales, some very funny.

We arrive at a great tea and coffee house in Dolgellau at Parliament House, originally an old hardware store. The owners have retained the old shop fittings with wonderful wooden pigeon holes from counter to ceiling filled with cups, pots and tearoom paraphernalia. Ornate light fittings and glass fronted wooden cabinets are all utilised. The home made cakes are of the highest quality, including hazelnut and coffee cake. The counter is filled with a large range of loose teas with bohemian sounding names such as Russian Caravan tea.

Sitting back at home with slices of crusty toast and Primula cheese spread we agree it’s been a most enjoyable day 🙂