Wales Archives - A Simple Life of Luxury

Yr Wyddfa South Ridge: A Quieter Way to the Roof of Wales

Alan Cole — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:50:13 +0000

I had another great day in the hills on Friday with Clélia and Mel. Several plans were floated, but with Mel heading back to France soon, we thought we should at least summit Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) before she left Wales. It is the highest mountain in Wales after all, even if it isn’t my favourite....

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Cadair Idris with a French Flavour

Alan Cole — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:52:21 +0000

After a postponed trip up Cadair Idris last weekend due to a slight back injury for me and a lack of suitable shoes for Mel and Clélia, we tried again on Sunday. The Crowd Gathers My back was mostly better, Mel’s Mum and brother were now visiting and had brought Mel’s boots, and Clélia had...

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A Night at The Checkers, Montgomery

Alan Cole — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 05:52:31 +0000

Our anniversary has become a good excuse to try somewhere a little special, and this year we’d booked a night at The Checkers in Montgomery. It was somewhere I’d had my eye on for a while and, with a ten-course tasting menu waiting for us on Friday evening, it wasn’t exactly a difficult date to...

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Bagging Nuttalls in the Sunshine

Alan Cole — Sun, 31 May 2026 14:59:01 +0000

With the settled weather due to break at the weekend, I decided to make the most of it and head into the hills to bag a few more Nuttalls. Most of the local ones are already ticked off now, so it meant a longer drive, but the Black Mountains and Bannau Brycheiniog still had plenty...

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Fata Morgana in West Wales

Alan Cole — Mon, 25 May 2026 05:59:28 +0000

Yesterday afternoon’s stroll over to the beach here at Ynyslas brought an unexpected surprise. Out across the water, the distant outline of the Ll?n Peninsula appeared to be floating above the sea — stretched, distorted, and shimmering in the warm haze. It was a classic Fata Morgana mirage, caused by layers of warm and cool air bending the light...

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Three Nuttalls and a Friday Well Spent

Alan Cole — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 13:35:48 +0000

I only work part-time, four days a week, with Fridays as my day off. It’s fairly easy, though, to accidentally get sucked into some work on a Friday, so it’s best to have a plan to get out of the house and do something. With the forecast looking like a cracker, I decided to make...

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Windsurfing Revival

Alan Cole — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 08:14:42 +0000

Windsurf sessions have been few and far between lately, but with Alastair visiting on holiday with his family, a weekend sail had been on the cards for a while. Fortunately, the wind gods were on our side, delivering a solid north-westerly forecast for Saturday. I rallied the troops and we gathered on the beach —...

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Here comes Summer

Alan Cole — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:11:21 +0000

Gogerddan, where I work, was officially the hottest place in the UK yesterday, reaching a maximum temperature of 20.9ºC. Not bad for March! It really was a lovely day. Even at home, where temperatures are cooled a little by the sea, we managed to hit 20.4ºC on the Borth and Ynyslas Weather Station in our...

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Bog, Tussocks and Two Nuttalls Above the Claerwen

Alan Cole — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 08:07:22 +0000

I very nearly went to Scotland at the weekend to backpack and wild camp along the Affric Kintail Way. But then I realised that it would be dark by 6 pm in Scotland, and sitting in a tent on my own in the dark from 6 pm onwards could be a bit of a drag....

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Surf, Sun, Sand and Snow at Ynyslas

Alan Cole — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 13:13:50 +0000

Just a few photos from around Ynyslas over the past week or so. Snow in the hills, sun in the sky, sand on the beach and surf on the beach. The surf was good again on Saturday morning, and I managed to get out for a morning session without feeling too cold.

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