Life's journeys

Our son Danny is now in Australia - for at least a year, possibly two, and then travelling to Thailand, so I don't know when we will be seeing him again.  It was very hard to say goodbye.  In the end, I didn't dare give him a hug or I would have lost it completely.  I suppose we should take some comfort from the fact we have helped give him the confidence to go.

Here he is, packed and ready to go, lookingmore than a tad tired after farewell-partying with friends over the weekend!

We are very proud of him for having stuck it in a job he loathed, for 18 months longer than he ever wanted to be there, just so he could save to go and work in Oz.  He has saved nearly £4,000 and that in itself is a great achievement, quite apart from also having the guts to take off into the unknown on the other side of the world.  He has his best friend Joe as a sidekick and I think they will have the time of their lives.  We will really miss him though . . .  Keep safe Danny.

Anyway, I needed to get out of the house to get my head in the right place again, so we had a day out yesterday.  We had to meet up with a friend yesterday in Haverfordwest to hand over a whip for restoration, so after tea and chat with him, we drove up the coast to the very edge of Pembrokeshire, and had a wander round Fishguard.  The above photo shows what was probably the original harbour area, or certainly where offloading was done as there was a huge warehouse in the inlet.

Anyway, going backwards, just after we had left Haverfordwest, I stopped to take photos of the rock formations above (and in the new header photo).  The dead bracken and probable Whortleberry twigs were the only colour in the landscape.

We stopped for lunch here, at this old Watermill, which now housed a small and welcoming cafe.  We opted for ham sandwiches (home cooked ham on home made bread) which came with a lovely side salad and crisps!  It was obviously popular with ladies wot lunch and my husband was the only male in the place!

Unfortunately it came on to rain whilst we were inside, so we couldn't properly explore the beautiful woodland at the back but I did get a few pictures of the Mill workings and leat.

There is just something about old mills - I love them, be they windmills or water mills.  I especially love stoneground organic bread flour to bake bread with . . .

The cascade of the mill leat was stunning.

There was a busy little stream close by, and I assume the mill leat was diverted from this higher up the valley.

Then we drove on to Fishguard.  I have to say it was a very quiet little town - perhaps in the summer it is much busier, as the Irish ferry sails from here so lots of people going both ways and more footfall around the town, but if you are a teenager there, I dare say you can't wait to escape!  These brightly-coloured houses reminded me of Ireland.

We had a wander round the antique shops and charity shops, before heading for home, x-country - the scenic route.  Except the rain was so heavy by that time, it hid the scenery!

 

The Irish ferry was just setting sail as we parked up at the old harbour.  Journeys - we have come full circle, but Australia is SO much further away than Ireland.

Update:  I was going to call this post Journey to the Edge of the World (with subtitles!) as we had gone to the edge of land.  In a Llandeilo Charity shop this morning, what did I see in the window but a book of that same title.  Strange . . . .   !!