-UK vacation finale! 

Horse Holiday Farm 

This last part of our trip was purely for fun!  We flew from England to Ireland on Wed., July 21 and landed at the Knock airport in pouring rain.  The farm arranged for a taxi driver to meet us there and drive us to the farm in Grange, County Sligo.  What a beautiful place! 

The view from our bedroom window.

Owners Tilman & Colette Anhold run a B&B there on the farm, and when we arrived, our wonderful hostess, Karin, got us settled in our room and got tea for us.  Even though it was monsooning outside all day, we could tell the view of the shore, sea & islands was gorgeous.  And when the sun came up the next morning….WOW!….what a view!  The weather was perfect, cool & sunny, and we got to meet our mounts for our first day of riding.  (more…)

              -Vacation in Wales, continued

Tuesday, July 20th was the highlight of our time spent in Wales.  We had a beautiful drive across the countryside and two wonderful farm visits.

Free-roaming sheep along the road in the commonlands.

 The Elan Valley

We left Lower Fishpools Cottage in the morning, headed for Penuwch to visit Ken & Jacqi Parks.  Jeff had contacted Jacqi through their Dexter association, and she had invited us for dinner & a visit.  Jeff just typed their address into the “tomtom” (GPS unit) and trusted the gizmo to get us there.  Well, said tomtom seemed to have a fetish for little back roads that make the most direct route to your destination.  So, needless to say, we had quite an interesting drive to Penuwch. (more…)

The line up of "coloured horses".

We arrived in Wales late Sunday, July 18.  After a good night’s sleep & a breakfast too big for either of us to finish, it was off to the Royal Welsh Show, which is supposed to be one of the biggest agricultural shows in the world.  It was definitely more than we could possibly see in one day.  

I'm not used to seeing that kind of butt on a cow!

Things to See

Upon entering the showgrounds, we first found the horse ring, where they were judging spotted Welsh cobs.  It was an impressive & beautiful line-up.  Then we headed for the cattle barns, but since showing was in progress, we couldn’t go in.  So we stood outside awhile, watching the comings & goings of some breeds that were new to us, like the Welsh Black which looked like giant, black, wooly teddy bears, and British Blue which were shaped more like hogs than cows. (more…)

           -UK Vacation continued

Classic Herd Farm Shop

Saying hello to Classic calves, store building in the background.

Our final visit on the Isle of Jersey was Friday evening at the Classic Herd, owned by Darren & Julie Quenault.  We were sent their way by our very talkative & entertaining hostess Victoria, who likes to buy their dairy products as often as she can.  She said the other breeders on the island view Darren as a bit of a renegade, because he has chosen to not sell through the RJ dairy board, but sells all the farm products directly to the consumer at their Farm Store. (more…)

After a glorious vacation in the UK, we’re finally back in our sweet Kentucky home and over the jet-lag (I think).  So now it’s time to share the fun, the photos, and what we learned.  There’s a lot to write about, so I’ll probably end up with weekly posts through this month.  Hope you enjoy!

A beautiful, welcoming front gate.

Where We Went

We flew to Jersey on Wednesday, July 14, and upon landing & procuring our little rental VW bug, we found our way to our B&B, Villa d’Oro.  It’s a lovely place with wonderful hostesses, Victoria & Sarah, and great food. (more…)