Doug and Kerry Hudson's Third Wedding Anniversay Weekend

Exploring Britain >> Our 3rd Anniversary

The weekend before our third wedding anniversary, Doug surprised Kerry with a trip to Wales. In fact, it wasn't a total surprise, as he'd told her that he was going to take her away somewhere, but he had refused to let on exactly where. For those of you who know Kerry well we don't need to report that the entire week beforehand, she was trying to winkle the surprise out of Doug. In the end though, she was glad he'd resisted.

As you recall, we'd spent the August bank holiday weekend staying in Wales and had totally loved it. The favourite place we visited was the Mawddach estuary, where the mountains of Snowdonia rise up from the sea. Therefore it was logical for Doug to bring us back to this beautiful place. He'd booked us into the Plas Dolmelynllyn hotel, right in the Mawddach river valley.

Formerly a stately home, it's surrounded by three acres of terraced gardens with a stream running through, and is set in 1200 acres of National Trust owned meadow, mountain and forest where you can walk all day without crossing a road.

And as a special treat, he'd booked the Bridal Suite, complete with hot tub and four-poster bed. To complete the surprise, he'd arranged for a lovely bouquet of flowers, especially for Kerry.

Suffice it to say that tears welled up in her eyes, when Kerry saw where we were staying.

After Kerry had recovered her composure, we headed out for a brief stroll to explore some of the beautiful surroundings. We found our way up to Y Rhaeadr Ddu, the Black Falls, where generations of travellers and poets have been inspired by this tumbling cascade with its canopy of dripping trees. With the leaves coloured in the reds, golds and orange of early Autumn, and the low sunlight illuminating the light mist between the trees, it was truly magical.

It was a good thing that we'd worked up an appetite, as Doug had one final surprise in store for Kerry when we returned to the hotel: a delicious five-course dinner at the restaurant!

In the morning we were greeted by a spectacular sunrise, lighting up the mist that lay all along the valley to the massive bulk of Cader Idris in the distance.

It was the perfect end to a very special weekend.

Exploring Britain >> Our 3rd Anniversary

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006