I have to say what a great time we all had on our classic car tour. For some folk it was their first visit, for Liz Chif and myself our fourth, and I must say that the level of care from our hosts was excellent, nothing was too much trouble. After our visit in 2022, those of you who decided not to come again because you thought that the weather could never be that good again, must be kicking yourselves. We were sitting under an area of high pressure for the entire 5 days stay. This meant all hoods down from Monday to Friday morning.
The forecast for Friday, was thundery showers later on. Reluctantly (and wisely !!) I decided to put the hood up for our drive home as the hood on a 4-seater is never an easy-up job, especially in an emergency. On our way home we had almost reached the Swindon turn off on the M4, when the heavens suddenly opened and oh boy did, they open. It gave me a chance to try out my brilliant new upmarket replacement windscreen wipers (see ad in the Miscellany). Of course we had a few leaks from around the hood but that all adds to the fun of driving a Morgan. I have just heard, via the grapevine, that one couple driving an Aero 8 did not read the memo regarding heavy showers. I leave the rest to your imagination.
Back to Llanerchindda farm…. some folk stopped overnight on their way to Wales, however most of us met up in the Waitrose car park in Abergavenny, to use their facilities and have some lunch. We then formed a convoy for the last part of the journey to the farm, about one and a half hours journey time.
After about an hour, I received a phone call on my mobile from one couple on their first visit, they said they were on a very narrow lane not far from the farm. They had come to a fork in the track and didn’t know which road to take. I was not sure exactly where they were and could not help, so I said you must take one or the other and hope for the best. Now, Murphy’s law clearly states that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.” Which means this couple, you’ve guessed it, took the wrong turn, and ended up bogged down on a muddy track and had to be towed out by our host Mark’s Land Rover.
After our arrival we all gathered for tea and homemade cakes, most welcome!
At 7:00pm it was a formal welcome by our hosts Martyn and Lynne plus their identical twin sons Mark and Andrew, and I mean identical, the only difference is one wears his watch on his left wrist and the other wears his watch on his right wrist. There was also a plentiful supply of Pimm’s which always goes down well!
A three-course dinner every night, which was delicious. We were informed at breakfast what the menu was going to be that evening and if anyone had any issues with the food, they would provide an alternative. Day 1 - Chicken, day 2 – Salmon, day 3 -Lamb and day 4 - Beef. They really can’t do enough to make your stay enjoyable. One word of warning about the Trifle, they have substituted sherry for Madeira wine, two helpings of that pudding and you would be well over the limit for driving!!!!
Apart from good food and good company, the main focus of the holiday was to enjoy the beautiful Welsh countryside and scenery. Our hosts provided us with two scenic routes. On day one - a total of 112miles taking in The Epynt Ranges (MOD land), Erwood Station Café, Rhayader, The Elan Valley & Llyn Brianne Reservoir.
Incidentally, in the centre of Rhayader there is a crossroad with a very large memorial clock in the middle, interestingly, nobody has right of way and there are no traffic lights. It is so dangerous that folk are very careful, and I don’t think there are any accidents there!!
The Erwood Station café and Craft Centre was interesting as they had been warned that 25 Morganeers would be arriving for coffee and cake. It was pointed out to us that they were also expecting a coach party of approximately 53 OAPs but hopefully, they would have departed before we arrived. As with the best laid plans the OAPs were getting ready to leave just as we arrived. They then decided not to leave as our 12 Morgans turned up and of course they wanted to have their photographs taken next to our cars. Some asked to sit in the cars also, all good fun and nothing new there.
After being suitably refreshed we drove around the Elan Valley & the Llyn Brianne reservoir, the scenery was spectacular. Unlike our roads in Buckinghamshire, these roads are in tip top condition, twisting, turning, and undulating up and down, perfect for Morgan driving and as we were bathed in glorious sunshine, it was all picture perfect. At the end of the tour, it was back to the farm for tea and cakes on the terrace.
Day two dawned clear and bright again. Our scenic route today would take in Epynt Ranges, Black Mountains, Aberglasney Gardens and Brechfa Forest.
After a hearty cooked breakfast including fried bread! Which incidentally none of us are allowed to have at home but as we were on holiday it was ok.
We joined the Epynt Ranges by a different route today. The views were spectacular, and we could see for miles. Some of the more eagle eyed amongst us, spotted several young soldiers fully camouflaged with rifles on a training exercise. We eventually arrived at Aberglasney House and Gardens. This is a medieval house and gardens set in the Tywi valley in the parish of Llangathen, Carmarthenshire. It is owned and run by Aberglasney Restoration Trust, a registered charity. The house is a Grade II* listed building, and the gardens are listed, also at Grade II*. The gardens are beautifully laid out and maintained by a keen group of volunteers. After exploring the gardens, we sat in the shade and enjoyed a light lunch overlooking an ornamental lake. Well, somebody has to.
Again, on our return we were greeted with tea and home-made cakes and scones jam and cream. I often think that folk who work all day have no idea about the stress and pressure retired folk like us go through trying to fit all these adventures into a normal day.
Day three was a day at our leisure, we awoke to a misty morning which the sun would soon burn of. After a hearty breakfast including another small piece of fried bread.
Six of us decided to drive to Newton House an Historic House surrounded by a national nature reserve and an 18th Century landscape deer park. We arrived just after they had opened and at the doorway to the first room stood Wendy a National Trust Guide, she explained to us all about the history of the house and whose who in all the portraits around the room which was very interesting she then led us into the next room and told us about all the interesting artifacts in that room including two sofas they had acquired from the film set of Downtown Abbey. She then led us into the hall with a magnificent staircase. It suddenly dawned on us that our little group of six Morganeers were getting a private VIP tour of the house, at one point Wendy showed us a part of the house that was not open to the general public, we all felt very privileged.
In an upstairs room there is a glass panel in the floor where you can see a 300-year-old mummified cat!! Whilst in that room one of our group glanced out of the window and saw four Morgans all lined up and parked on the grass terrace in front of the house, we thought flipping cheek, we had to park in the NT car park with all the tin-tops. Still perhaps they didn’t get the VIP tour with Wendy.
After a spot of lunch, we all set of to drive the A4069. The Black Mountain pass also know as the Top Gear Road a perfect road for our cars with the added bonus of an ice cream van in a car park near the top with more spectacular views. We descended off the mountains and made our way back to Llanerchindda farm. You have guessed it, more tea and cake. With roast Welsh beef for dinner later. I think I may have gained a few extra pounds during this holiday. After dinner we gathered as many members of staff as possible so we could all say a huge thankyou for their care and hospitality and give them a hearty three cheers.
On Friday morning it was time to say goodbye and settle our accounts including paying for all those G&Ts. Then into the car park to load up our cars, unlike a tin-top where you just open the boot and just drop in a couple of suitcases our Morgans are a different kettle of fish where what goes where, is a skill that has been honed over many years.
To sum up we were very lucky with the weather, we had a marvellous trip to Wales with great company and all got to know each other a little better. All returned home safely, some a little damp around the edges.
Chris Nickless
MSCC 2362