Posted 11/01/09 by Theresa and Trevor
Although we were open over Christmas and New Year and had our share of Visitors we still had room for our great family get together over Christmas with our parents, and went to Cardiffs "Winter Wonderland" which was fun.
On New Years Eve we went into Cwmbran Town Centre to eat and although it is only two miles away it was like another world with all of the trees frosted and glistening and children Sledding down the hills in the background, we had our own "Mini" winter wonderland!
Just before Christmas we added to our "Family" with "Smokey" (on the right) a five month old Sable buck rabbit and "Holly" (on the left) a 12 week old Siver fox doe (This is the best pairing if you are having two rabbits which is reccomended, once they are neutered)
We are now back into full swing once more and looking forward to welcoming Guests old and new in 2009.
Posted 25/02/09 by Theresa and Trevor
Although We have had our share of inclement weather, Spring is well and truly underway now, we have our first Snowdrops,Crocus,Primroses and of course Daffodils in the garden to cheer us up until the Rhodedendrons come into flower.
We had a lovely sunny weekend so popped out for a walk along the Monmouth and Brecon Canal with the Dogs, it's only a 10 minute drive into some stunning scenery with the newborn Lambs enjoying the sunshine and the promise of the leaves adorning the trees again quite soon. We stopped on the way back for a drink at The Horseshoe in Mamhilad where they also serve scrumptious food.
Posted 16/04/09 by Theresa and Trevor
Joan (Theresas mum) who some of you may know, as she made "Springfields" the business it is today is sadly back in Panteg hospital after only being discharged for four days. We have been busy visiting her.
On the business front - Room 5 has a beautiful new ensuite bathroom - we are really pleased with the tiles and bathroom fittings. The finish by Tim our expert local tiler and Paul the plumber are excellent.
The Pantry after its roof leak has now been completely reroofed and taken back to the original stone for a complete make over - with new ensuite bathroom and has been made longer by six feet !!
We have still managed one or two walks over the last few weeks as we are so close to things - with a trip to Keepers pond, Tintern and Barry island. The dogs enjoyed a run on the beach at Barry and we mean to return before the 1st May. We feel very fortunate to have such a diverse range of things to do , all within very easy reach.
Posted 25/05/09 by Theresa and Trevor
Phew!
We have had quite a hectic Bank Holiday weekend ....
. Trevors parent's and brother came to stay, which gave us an oppurtunity to be tourists! Firstly on Saturday we went to Blaenavon Ironworks and were quite surprised to see how much work has been done since our last visit in August '08. You can now go up to a veiwing platform up on the balance tower and look down onto the whole site, work continues and we look forward to our next visit when we can see how far they have got with the next phase.
Next stop Festival Park Ebbw Vale, where we did a little shopping in the outlet and had a light lunch, we were tempted by all the wonderful french pastries at the continental market but fought off our temptations and headed for the Owl Sanctuary where Trevors Mum came face to face with a barn Owl. We were saddened to hear that Malcolm Jones from the sanctuary is struggling to stay open and has a petition running to save him from having to move from the site that he has built up over the past 15 years.
Sunday took us to Caerphilly Castle where the Bowmen of the Rose/Company of Chivalry had made camp and were showing us how life was in bygone days, it was very interesting and entertaining. They are back at Caerphilly Castle for the August Bank Holiday should anyone like to see them.
Bank Holiday Monday took us to the Vintage Steam Rally in Abergavenny as Steve, Trevors brother is an enthusiast, but we all had a great day, there were some absolutely awsome Traction Engines and many other forms of transport, but Theresa's favorite stall was a collection of Telegraph and Power Insulators! They are suprisingly beautiful.
So a great weekend was had by all, but we once more have to get our heads down and the paintbrushes out while the sun is still shining, we have made good progress on painting the outside of the "Pantry" and the front wall and porch. White lines on the steps up from the car park next .... We will have our suntans topped up while we paint!! Take a look at some of our flowers in the garden below .... It's the roses turn next!
Posted 14/06/09 by Theresa and Trevor
I am constantly amazed by our surroundings here at "Springfields"
. We decided to pop over to Fourteen Locks at Rogerstone to have a look at their new Visitor centre and go for a short walk alongside the Monmouth and Brecon canal. So after taking a look around the visitor centre which is manned by a loyal team of volunteers we set off down the flight of locks towards Newport. It is very pretty at this time of year. We went under the motorway bridge out into the country side and I was thinking .... Where else would you get this, a canal which runs for a couple of miles alongside the M4 before it turns left out into the country side. So we had the canal on our left,then the towpath which we were walking on, a bridlepath a feild the M4 Motorway going to Cardiff, another feild a golf course a mountain range on the top of which is the start of one of the most challenging downhill mountain bike run in Wales!! And of course a lot of people using the towpath for cycling along and walking their dogs.
Another peice of good news is that the "Mon & Brec" Canal has finally been reopened after a serious breach 18 months ago at Goytre,so the "Boaters" were out in force after having been moored up for quite some time!! Even the Herons came out to have a look!!
Some of our Australian customers went to Blaenavon down Big Pit, to the Ironworks and Keepers pond which is Trevors all time favorite view.
One of these days we will tell you about the Cities close to us but the trouble is we love the country side too much !!!
Posted 13/07/09 by Theresa and Trevor
Well, we are lucky to have such a lovely garden which to be fair was almost all my Mothers work over the 31 years that she tended and nurtured it. It has become a birds paradise, we saw two woodpigeon fledglings, following their mum around this week and I was walking up the path with the dogs when there was a commotion on the fence ..... A sparrowhawk was up to no good and was being mobbed by some swifts! We have also been suprised to see wild rabbits in the lane at the back of the house. Trevor photographed the HUGE moth shown below hanging onto our neighbours fence. So although we have not felt that we wanted to go far lately due to my mothers frailty the world of nature that we love has come to us!!
We have been sprucing up the outside of the house while the weather has been kind, one day we will put up a picture of Theresa in her painting clothes. A sight a few of you may have seen already!
Posted 10/09/09 by Theresa and Trevor
We have had to be fair - a difficult couple of months. Theresa's Mother Joan "Mrs Springfields" has sadly passed away. Joan with her husband Reg started Springfields in 1973 with £25 in their pocket and a dream. With a B&B sign from Joans mothers B&B in St Helier Jersey in the front window the trade slowly started to come in. Times were so different then, she used to finish cooking breakfast and then turn her thoughts to what to cook everyone, for their evening meal! The house was extended with three more bedrooms in the late 70s, even the shed was turned into a room! Car parks, fire escapes, etc, but Mums biggest love was her customers and then her garden. She was adopted as a "Mum" several times, invited all over the globe, weddings, christenings. Been sent cornish pasties, clotted cream and bunches and bunches of flowers. She is sorely missed by all of us but our hearts are full of wonderful memories.
RIP Dear Lady.
Posted 21/09/09 by Theresa and Trevor
It's incredible how quickly the year fly's by! Abergavenny Food Festival tempted us once more, especially as Monmouthshire has been voted "Best Food Destination" in Wales and it is only 14 miles away! The festival is a two day event, which takes over the castle grounds, the whole of the high street, the indoor market and it's car park, brewers yard and monk street. We savoured far too much of course, but when there are so many delicious morsels produced so close it is hard to resist. Franco ex "Patron" of the "Walnut Tree" was there, and Matt Tebutt from the "Foxhunter" to name a few. The event grows in size and popularity - next year we hope to visit on both days to ensure that we see everything.
We have so many wonderfull comments both verbal and written in our visitors book about "Springfields" that we thought that we would also give our customers the opportunity to use "Trip Advisor" online too. It is so easy, just click on the icon and you are taken straight to our page.
