July 21 Llangollen

We got to sleep in this morning.  Not up until 7:50. Steve did his usual good job on the boiled eggs, toast and jam and an espresso from a lovely little machine they have there.

Dave and I took a cab to the Enterprise location a couple of miles away at 8am.

Our pickup time was for 10 but it was good we were there early because the vehicle reserved for us was more like a Ford cargo van. Thankfully the Area Manager was on site that day and he bent over backwards to get a car that would accommodate us. We ended up with a Mazda CR5. Things would be a little tight but I've had my share of driving large vehicles in the UK and didn'twantthat again. The price was the same as quoted and we took full insurance. 

Set the navigation system and back to Elm Vale by 10:15, loaded the car and on the road to Llangollen (Clangoclan) as the Welsh say. All hard sounds.

Pretty uneventful drive and we landed at The Hand Hotel about 1pm. There's been a hotel on this site for 400 years. Convenient car park in the back. We had two rooms with twin beds that proved beneficial as Dave and I had to be moved due to a toilet malfunction and Steve snuck into our old room for the night leaving Roger with a single.

Had lunch at the pub, excellent food and I had a non alcoholic Beck's, being the driver.

We left for the Vale of Llangollen golf course which was only a 5 minute drive. They had our reservation but there was a mixup on the golf cart (buggy) but it eventually got sorted out. Tee time was 2:20 and while it looked like we might get some rain it turned out to be a lovely afternoon. 

We all played reasonably well and everybody had some great shots. I didn't lose a ball. (That's the last time I can say that).

Here's a few pictures of the course including an ages old (possibly 500 years) oak tree.

Here's Steve admiring one of his drives.

We finished up at 6:30 and drove back to the hotel and freshened up before supper. 

This had been prearranged to meet my friends Caroline and Steve at the Bridge End Hotel, another mainstay of the area and located as you might imagine at the end of the bridge. We had a lovely time together and everyone had a steak and ale pie with various libations. Caroline and Steve own the holiday home we are renting for the next 5 nights.

My wife Carol and I know Caroline and Steve from a home exchange we did with them in 2010 and they visited us in 2019. They are in the process of restoring a 14 bedroom house that they just bought. I see another visit in the future. 

Here's a picture of the group. 

Back to the hotel where Roger treated us to a nightcap, I had an Amaretto. 

Wrote up my journal and went for a walk at 11:25 before going to bed.