Llanerchaeron, Aberaeron and Cilgerran Castle

Monday 7th July

The only National Trust property anywhere near where we were staying did not look particularly interesting. However, we decided to give it a go and were so glad we did.

Llanerchaeron was designed by John Nash (who later went on to design Brighton Pavilion) and built in 1795.  I think it looks newer than this, for some reason, and it is also much smaller than most National Trust properties we have visited before.  It is a self sufficient farm set in beautiful countryside on the river Aeron and just a few miles from the coast.

They have all manner of farm animals, including chickens (yay!) piggies, lambs and geese.

We had a great time wandering around the grounds and the house.  I particularly loved the cobbled stable courtyard, made up of pebbles from the nearby beaches, so clever!

The walled gardens were beautiful, as was the carriage courtyard, and the farmyard area, with all the stalls leading off for the animals

 I had a go at milking the training cow! 

I'm wearing; Watcher jumper, £1.50, DKNY jeans £1, Converse flowery trainers £1 and Furla bag, 50p.

The house inside was lovely.  I was more interested in the domestic side of things rather than the elegantly laid out rooms, I loved the pantry and washrooms in particular.

After lunch at Llanerchaeron, we headed the few miles towards the coast to visit Aberaeron by which time it was actually raining.  I loved  the little multicoloured houses, this row were overlooking the harbour. 

After a wander around and purchasing some vital supplies, like bread, milk and, oh yes, more sunglasses for him indoors, we headed back to the cottage for tea and I sat outside to watch the sun set.

Tuesday 8th July 

At Llanerchaeron, I was interested to find that we could get free entry to Cilgerran Castle, just below Cardigan on the map, and about 18 miles from where we were staying.  

The castle is tucked behind the village of Cilgerran, and is smaller than the English castles we've visited but located in a very pretty place, high above the river.  

 I'm wearing; tie dye skirt, £1, crocheted jumper £3.50, lilac vest top, old, and Hi Tec walking sandals £3.99, all charity shopped.

There was a pub in Cilgerran with a coracle strapped to it! 

After walking around the castle, we headed off to the cottage for lunch and then popped back to Llangrannog for the afternoon, where we had tea and cake overlooking the beach.

Later in the evening we headed back towards the cliff walk to see if we could find the secret beach, the pic above shows how close we got.