Well, that was fun!

On Monday last, we drove into wet Wales (although, to be fair, not nearly as wet as many other places further north) to a small town called Rayader, Rhaeadr in Welsh, here to stay at The Bear Inn. This is an ancient building, dating back to the 16th century, and retains many of the original features. The bedrooms have been superbly modernised whilst still having exposed oak beams and areas of stone wall. The friendly proprietors, Sian and Gwil, gave us a warm welcome and made us feel at home. Bed was really comfortable, and Breakfasts were lovely, too.

As I said in a previous post, our main reason for going to this area of Wales was to visit the Hall at Abbey Cwm Hir (Abati Cwm Hir in proper Welsh. Goodness knows why the English decided the name should have a bit of both languages). The visit was guided, and the tour of the 52 rooms, all festively decorated, and each with a Christmas tree, took nearly three hours. Paul, the owner/guide, was both very amusing and informative, and our group of about twelve was thoroughly enchanted by the whole experience. These people are collectors of... well, anything old, beautiful or both!

The weather wasn't conducive to an exploration of the grounds, but Grace and I had done that the last time we visited, back in 2011, just before we took possession of Kantara.

It's a quirky, eccentric, crazy place! You really should visit.

Abi! Come here!

Well, something like that. It's Welsh, and it's written "Abbey Cwm Hir". At least, the "Cwm Hir" bit's Welsh, and that means "long valley". So this is a village with an abbey (Cistercian) in a long valley that I'm talking about. And it's in Powys in North Wales, and it's where Grace and I will be on Tuesday.

It's our wedding anniversary that day, our 42nd, and we'll be spending a few days in Wales, the main focus of which will be a visit to a wonderful house.

"The Hall at Abbey-Cwm-Hir is Grade II listed as one of Wales’ finest examples of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. Built in 1834 by Thomas Wilson the great Victorian improver, the house was doubled in size by the Philips family in 1869, who then added the snooker room in 1894. The architects were Poundley and Walker of Liverpool. Paul and Victoria Humpherston bought The Hall in late 1997, and spent 10 years restoring it to a building of Gothic Victorian splendour."

We've been there before, one summer, and loved it. It's big, it's very quirky, and it's totally fascinating.

"Each of the 52 rooms contain their original features. In the formal reception rooms and bedrooms these include

• 14 marble fireplaces, all of different design
• Rococo ceilings, gothic windows, wooden shutters, bell pulls and window catches, all of which are again of individual design
• Stained glass ceilings above the magnificent snooker room and main staircase.
• An entrance hall with an original Maw & Co. tiled floor and outstanding decorative plasterwork."

And there's a large collection of various retro artefacts, too.

I can't imagine the grounds will be at their best this week, but they're well worth seeing in more clement months.

What will be special on Tuesday is that each of the 52 rooms in the house is decorated in traditional style for Christmas, and each to a different theme. What that last bit means exactly, we'll find out on Tuesday!

We'll be staying in a B & B for three nights, driving there tomorrow. On Wednesday we'll probably visit Powis Castle. More of that in the next post.