Saturday 12 January 2013

Wet Welsh Christmas (Part Two)


One important item to go with us on our holiday was the Christmas Cake.  I didn't ice it beforehand as I didn't want it to get damaged en route and so once we had arrived I sallied forth, purchased icing sugar and set to work.  What I hadn't realized was that while I thought I had bought icing sugar made from cane sugar, I had in fact bought icing sugar made from sugarbeets.  In our family sugarbeet sugar was generally frowned upon but I didn't notice the error until the evening of Christmas Eve - when all the shops were closed - and so I had to make do with what I had.  
Putting my ingrained anti sugarbeet sugar prejudices to one side I set to.  The results looked okay!  It tasted a little different but I couldn't help that and justified things by saying to myself that we could always 'not' eat the icing when we cut the cake.  
I decorated the end result with holly picked from a bush outside (and laid in boiling water for short while to kill any unwelcome friends).  
It all looked rather festive:


The cake has lasted from then until now, with pieces being eaten every day.  In point of fact I am sitting eating the last piece as I type these words!

* * * * *
The weather during our stay in north Wales was decidely fierce on occasions and the River Dee (which runs through the centre of Llangollen) was quite a torrent:



I really liked this blue 'gothic' doorway at the side of the local police station:


We went on some delightful drives among the numerous valleys.  This is not far from where we were staying:

I took this photograph while we were having lunch on the side of a narrow lane.  The countryside was criss-crossed with these hedgerows.  We aim to return in the summer for a short holiday too.  I expect they will all look spectacular then:

But north Wales is not just about valleys (no matter how green they are).  It is also about sunlit uplands:

And stark, rugged mountain scenery and remote lakes:

Behind this cloud (in the photograph below) is Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon).  I have never seen it myself because whenever I get near, it is covered in clouds: be it summer or winter!
On the left is Y Lliwedd and on the right is Crib Goch.  Yr Wyddfa is in the centre, completely obscured.  It stands some 1,085 metres:

I can tell you that when I took that photograph it was absolutely freezing.  The wind was like a knife and seemed to blow right through your bones!  Thank goodness AGA and I could return to the car and have tea (for me) and coffee (for him) from our respective thermos flasks.

Even in Winter Wales is a magical land:

But at the end of the day it is nice to return to the valleys again:

I hope you enjoyed looking at these photographs.  If you ever get the chance to visit North Wales - do not hesitate - grab your bags and go!

40 comments:

  1. Hello Kirk:
    Having lived for so many years on the Welsh March, so much of this scenery, and that in your previous post, is well known to us. Although obviously you were not seeing it at its best in perfect weather, it is, as we are sure that you find too, always very dramatic whatever the conditions.

    Your cake looks to be excellent, despite your concerns over the type of icing. Your having a piece each day through the Christmas period and beyond brings back so many happy memories of Christmas cakes made by our mothers and which, deliciously, lasted well into the New Year. Alas cuch cakes are not a tradition here and we do not have your skills to make our own.

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    1. Dear Jane and Lance,

      It is so nice to hear from you. I have missed seeing you in the blogging world.

      I agree with you and think that the Marches are a rather special part of the world. Both AGA and I felt felt right at home - especially as we both have ancestral roots there.

      No Christmas Cakes in Budapest? Good Heavens! Do they have an equivalent? Here in Germany, Stollen is the cake of choice.

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    2. No, nothing approaching a traditional cake. Beigli, filled with walnut or poppy seed, is very popular and usual. Not the same thing at all!!

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  2. Beautiful photographs Kirk! I have ancestral roots on (in?) the Marches too - Cadwallader being the family name. I hope you will have time to visit the Ladies of Llangollen at Plas Newydd in the summer, if you haven't already.

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    1. Thanks Nilly. It is such a lovely part of the world isn't it. My Welsh ancestral roots are Llwyd and Kynaston among others while AGA's from that part of Wales is Rees.
      Yes I would like to go to Plas Newydd. While AGA was antiques shopping in Llangollen I took the opportunity to visit the churchyard and see the graves of the Ladies and of their housekeeper.

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  3. Hello Kirk, I never knew there was a difference in the end product between cane and beet sugar, although I have purchased both before. I suppose that any difference in taste or texture would show up in frosting, which is mostly sugar.

    I love these photos of Wales. The river looks quite violent, which is very dramatic; however, for exploring purposes I prefer drought season, when it is easier to explore the shoreline.
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. Dear Jim,

      Thank you for dropping by.

      Interestingly the sugarbeet icing was 'creamier' than that from cane sugar.

      Yes The Dee was violent. There was so much water coming into it from the upper areas that it literally came roaring along its course.

      Bye for now

      Kirk

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  4. Dear Kirk - the first photo from Llangollen is just wonderful. It doesn't matter that the sky is grey or that the river is a raging grey/cream torrent, it just adds to the dramatic atmosphere of the whole. It is lovely that you have also caught the steam train either puffing in or out of the station.
    These days I use fondant icing on the Christmas cake rather than royal icing. I find it much easier to use as you can roll it out and it is less sweet, it is also much easier to transport.

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    1. Dear Rosemary,

      Thank you for your kind words. It was a wild and woolly day I can tell you: It blew all those year 2012 cobwebs right away! Having only seen the Dee in summer it was good to see it in a different guise. It caused me to have a photo taking frenzy!
      I've never been game to use fondant icing. Perhaps I should give it a go. Do you 'stick' it on the cake with warmed apricot jam? Or does it not need anything like that?

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    2. No it just goes straight on to the marzipan. I only use warm apricot jam under the marzipan.

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    3. Me too. I guess you just have to press it up against the marzipan slightly to make it stay there. (I am a novice when it comes to fondant icing!)

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    4. Just noticed that between these 2 comments you have changed your avatar to that nice photo of you strolling around Owain's land.
      You just lay the fondant icing on the marzipan and they cling together very easily.

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    5. Yes Rosemary, I decided that I feel more confident in my blog writing to actually have a more up to date photo!

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  5. Hi Kirk,

    This part of Wales looks breathtakingly beautiful on your photographs! Even with the rain. We have been as far as Monmounth, but I see we should have travelled further.

    Happy to hear you and AGA had a good time. I enjoyed seeing you on the photo. You look great on it! We have the same coat :-) I always wear a similar outfit when working in the garden in winter.

    The bombe looks delicious!

    Have a good weekend.

    Madelief

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    1. Dear Madelief,
      Wales is a lovely place to visit, with much unspoilt natural beauty. I am sure you will like it.
      The same coat? That is because we are both fashionable!!
      Have a warm weekend my friend. Here it is freezing!
      Kirk

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  6. That is amazing, beautiful. You are very lucky being there.

    Marina

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    1. Thank you Marina,
      It was a lovely holiday!
      Kirk

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  7. Hi, Kirk - Happy New Year to you and AGA!!! Beautiful, beautiful photos! The landscape is magical. Tom and I would love to see more of Wales. We only visited, briefly, the area near Herefordshire, England. There is a lovely garden there: Hampton Court. I've never had sugarbeet sugar....sounds interesting.
    Warm wishes for a wonderful 2013 ~
    Loi

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    1. Hi Loi,
      And a Happy New Year to you and Tom.
      We spent our last few days of the holiday in Herefordshire. In the golden valley. I wanted to visit Hampton Court but it was closed of course - being Christmas - however we my go there in the summer. We shall see.
      The antique buying in this part of the world was most profitable!
      Kirk

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  8. Dear Kirk - Your cake looks like a fine reward for having braved such biting weather. I was just mentioning to a friend today that when I lived up north, I'd get cold straight through to my bones, and looking at the dramatic River Dee, I can feel that all over again! Your photos give a sense of the feeling of solitude that comes with such majestic landscapes.

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    1. Dear Mark,
      Its funny you should say that because only last night I was saying to AGA that while I don't particularly want AUstralia's over 40c heat, I miss the heat of the sun warming me. I never feel fully warm (as I did there).
      It is a very nice sense of solitude that one gets. A sense of peace even when in the most rugged parts but I think that is the same wherever you go and nature has been allowed to remain relatively unmolested.
      The cake was delicious, if I do say so myself!

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  9. I took my Canadian husband to Wales about eight yrs ago. It was only then , after thirty years of marriage, I discovered his well kept secret. He is frightened of sheep. The darn things crowded around him and completely ignored me. If we saw one ahead he would cry out "Sheep, Sheep" sounding rather like a bleating sheep himself, and run for the car. The only thing for it was to head to a tea shop and ply him with Bara brith. Have you tried it? The cake not the bleating.

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    1. That made me laugh Susan.
      I am like that with geese. They seem to make a beeline for me!
      Bara brith - I 'think' I had it but many years ago with my Welsh cousins. Funnily enough I saw it for sale but never got around to buying any as I son't think that AGA has had it before however now you have mentioned it I might instead make it this weekend!

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  10. Hello Kirk and a very Happy New Year to you.

    Your images of North Wales and description have me longing to visit. I have not been and shall definitely try and get there soon.

    Your cake looks delicious and I crave a slice of proper Christmas cake.

    Have a wonderful week

    Helen xx

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    1. Dear Helen,
      A very Happy New Year to you too.
      Wales is a wonderful country. I am pleased to have introduced her to you.
      I would send you some Christmas cake but - we ate it all!
      With greetings from a very snowy Nord Rhein Westfalen
      Kirk

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  11. Kirk, I think you summed up my feeling when I was reading your post and looking at the wonderful photos "Even in Winter Wales is a magical land"! I certainly would love to travel there. Hopefully it is in my future!
    Christina

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    1. Hi Christina,
      Thank you for your kind comments. I hope Wales is in your future too!
      Kirk

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  12. Hello Kirk,
    More beautiful images, I have not visited for years but have very fond memories of walking in Wales as a teen. Your cake looks really good, Our got eaten quickly. I am a bit of a sugar cane snob also - I think it's what you are used to really!! I will have to taste it to confirm my view... will you be buying it again is the question!! Have a good week!
    Ivan

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    1. Dear Ivan,
      That's the million euro question! I think the answer is no/non/nein. While it wasn't horrible it just didn't taste the same and this I guess is based purely on, as you say, what we are used to. So I shall remain in my delightful cane sugar version of the ivory tower.
      Stay warm! (We are having a lot of snow for the second day in a row)
      Kirk

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  13. Beautiful photos, Kirk. A wonderful shot of the River Dee surging fiercely!

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    1. I like a fiercely surging river Faisal - as long as I am not trying to swim across it!

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  14. Dear Kirk,
    Your cake could be on the cover of a beautiful book-- how beautiful! I'm sure it was delicious to the last bite, after being made with such care. I truly enjoyed this virtual tour. Your photos wonderfully convey the majestic beauty of Wales.... and I especially liked your story about the mysterious Yr Wyddfa! Keep us posted if, in your future visits, you ever catch a glimpse of it!
    Warm regards,
    Erika

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    1. Dear Erika,
      Thank you for your kind comments. I hope to see Yr Wyddfa in the summer - if it deigns to throw off it's cloudy cloak!
      Bye for now
      Kirk

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  15. Your pictures brought back very happy memories of a week driving around Wales several years ago. From Cardiff west to St. David's, up the coast, a day on Anglesey, then across the north, and south back to Cardiff. Wonderful people, so many castle towers to climb, great places to explore, good food, bracing landscape.

    That cake looks superb!

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    1. Dear Will,
      Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your kind comments.
      I did that coast journey too, except in the opposite direction, back in the mid 1980s. Harlech, Caernarfon, Aberystwyth, Cardiff - they are indeed fantastic, and very photogenic places I think.

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  16. These photos are simply dreamy. When I have a romantic notion of curling up with a cup of tea, a good book, and a roaring fire....these are the scenes I always imagine beyond the window pane!

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    1. Dear N.D.,
      Thank you for dropping by. I am with you. You paint a very appealing word picture!
      Bye for now
      Kirk

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  17. Dear Kirk Dale , I am the newest follower . Lovely photos and very interesting blog ! Have a nice day !
    Olympia

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  18. Dear Olympia,
    thank you for visiting my blog. I am glad that you like the photographs.
    Kirk

    PS
    Guess what. I had a look at your blog and now I am your newest follower!

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  19. Very cool blog. Interesting posts. ;)
    Nice atmosphere guests with you here on the blog. ;]
    Yours. Have a nice day. !

    Follow me on facebook fanpage and blog
    I'm very concerned about this, please. :)
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-another-light/413836138693856

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