My human likes to stay in quirky holiday accommodation.  We were only in Oxford for one night for the May Day celebrations, so she booked The Malmaison Hotel, which is a converted prison!

I have never been inside a real prison but it was very much like prisons I have seen in films.

Humans aren’t allowed to use the stairs but I managed to climb a few for a photo.

There are various puns around the hotel, such as on the glass door at the bottom of the stairs ‘It’s Mal Life’.

Our room was on the top floor so we went up in the lift.

The cells still have prison doors on them.

I put my few belongings in the locker.

Then as always, I tried out the bed, which was very comfy.

There was a special machine for making small bear sized cups of coffee so I made myself a cup and ate one the chocolates.

It wasn’t long before if was time for dinner.

Off I went to the Brasserie.

I went outside on the way; our room was one on the top floor in the middle (behind me).

We were staying in A wing which was used as a prison until 1996.  The prisoners had much smaller cells. Our room and bathroom was 3 cells knocked together.

Here I am looking at the sign about dinner when we first checked in.

Dinner was delicious, I had seasonal vegetable risotto.

For dessert I had crème brûlée, a very generous portion which was very yummy so I ate it all.

After dinner we went into Oxford to an historic pub (The Lamb & Flag) for a drink.

The hotel looked very grand all lit up when we walked back to it.

I had a fairly early night as the next day we were getting up at 5am to join the May Day celebrations. I didn’t have breakfast at the hotel as it was way too early!

The following morning I put on my Oxford Morris outfit and set off to Magdalen Bridge to hear the choir sing then dance.

My blog about the May Day event is here: https://horacethealresfordbear.com/2025/05/03/may-day-celebrations-with-oxford-morris-2025/

Details of the hotel: https://www.malmaison.com/locations/oxford/

I had an absolutely splendid time!

Horace the Alresford Bear 5/5/2025

While we were on holiday in West Wales we visited the Dolaucothi Gold Mines which are looked after by the National Trust.

Next to the path leading to the entrance there was a special tipper machine which would have been used to tip the ore that had been mined out of the dram.

We went in to the reception area to show our National Trust cards and passed a mimng shovel that had been painted gold.

Once inside we began to explore. All the equipment in the mine are remnants from the 1930’s when gold mining was resumed briefly but wasn’t economical as they didn’t find much gold as it had already been extracted by the Victorians, and over 2000 years before that, the Romans.

We looked at the cage which would have been used in the 1930s to take miners and drams down the mine shaft. The Roman mine was discovered in the 1930s: miners were drilling deep into the rock and found a large cavern that had been previously excavated along with evidence that the Romans had been there.

Here we are pretending to ride in a dram!

It must have been a very hard life for humans that worked in the mines.

Here we in the remains of an open cast mine. The Romans dug the mines with picks and hammers which would have been extremely hard labour.

We went inside the building housing the winding equipment that was used in the 1930s.

In another shed there were lots of other very large tools, with a warning notice not to go inside the ‘bin’.

Growler was astonished at the size of the lathe.

There was a large tube containing first aid equipment that was of size that could be dropped down the mineshaft. It contained splints, blankets and a stretcher. Working in a mine was a very hazardous job.

Here we are sat on the first aid cylinder.

Outside the mining shovel had been painted bright yellow. I stood on the footplate which is where the human that operated it would have stood.

There are underground tours available for either The Victorian Mine or The Roman Mine. We opted for the Roman Mine, partly because it is floodlit and photographing me would be easier. Growler didn’t do the mine tour as there weren’t any hard hats small enough to fit him.

First of all we walked up lots of steps up a hill past lots of old mineworkings, then the tour guide unlocked the gate to the mine and we all went inside.

Here I am with the entrance behind me.

The guide told us that the gold deposits were found inside quartz, not white shiny quartz, but brown coloured quartz.

He told us all about how the Romans had created the huge cavern using just picks and shovels, and how they would follow a seam once a deposit was found.

Many of the passages in the mine had been blocked up with rubble. Here I am stood next to a very small passage through the rocks.

It was only a short tour of just one mining area, there are many more that aren’t open to visitors. I was quite happy to get back into daylight.

Growler was waiting outside and was pleased with the souvenir badge that I bought for him.

If we find ourselves in the area again we will visit the Victorian Mine. If you are interested in visiting please bear in mind that tours have to be booked in advance.

For more information see: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/dolaucothi

Horace the Alresford Bear 5/5/2025

I had to get up very early at 5am in order to get to Magdelen Bridge in Oxford in time to hear the choir singing from the college tower.

There wasn’t any problem finding directions as there were already lots of humans heading the same way, so we just followed them all!

There were thousands of humans everywhere, we didn’t get onto the bridge but could still see the tower from High Street.

The choir started to sing at 6am and sounded wonderful…

After the choir had finished we managed to meet up with the tree (Jack in the Green) and the other Oxford Morris Dancers. I then followed the tree along the road…

We eventually reached Radcliffe Square…

The Morris dancers started to dance…

I joined in and managed to keep to the beat!

There were lots of other Morris dance groups there too, they are known as Morris ‘Sides’ and they all took turns to dance.

The tree started to move again so I followed and we ended up at The Bridge of Sighs for more dancing.

Once again I joined in. I am too short to join the human dancers but I am quite happy doing my own thing on the sidelines.

My human’s daughter is an Oxford University Morris Dancer. Here I am with my human and her daughter.

Here I am with the sword that is wrapped in greenery with a ‘fertility cake’ impaled beneath it. People were offered small bits of the cake. The sword and cake are said to symbolise both protection and fertility, and eating a small piece of the cake, made to a secret recipe is thought to bring good luck and fertility.

A Morris Dancer put his splendid hat on top of mine, but it was a tad heavy for my little head!

The sun was getting rather bright so I borrowed my humans sunglasses for a while. You may notice a new badge on my baldricks. It is a teddy bear and and says ‘I love Archie’. Earlier a Morris Dancer told us all about Archie, a bear who belonged to the poet Sir John Betjeman, and gave me the lovely badge.

Some excellent clog dancers also performed. I don’t think I could keep clogs on my feet!

My tummy was beginning to feel like breakfast after being up for nearly 4 hours!

Fortunately it was soon breakfast time and we all headed to Linacre College.

I tucked into a full English breakfast with a small tankard of ale. All the Morris dancers carry tankards about with them for their ale, I brought my own bear sized one along with me for the occasion.

The dancing continued after breakfast outside the Rose & Crown pub.

I started to feel tired and rested with a large glass of apple juice and soda water.

We decided it was time to go and get the train back to Bristol, where I promptly fell asleep having had a really lovely day in Oxford…

Horace the Alresford Bear 3/5/2025

We arrived at Pontbrenmydyr Cottage on a fine spring afternoon in April. The cottage is a 17th Century Welsh Clom made from mud. It has been restored by the National Trust and is situated on the edge of the Llanerchaeron Estate in Ceridigion.

The cottage is well equipped inside with modern facilities.

The bed was very comfy though quite high for bears to climb up into!

We quite liked the unusual bear sized rocking chair.

In the living room there is a modern woodburning stove and an old bread oven.

The bathroom still has the cow stalls, and a very big bath.

The original clom cottage has a thatched roof with a corrogated iron ‘hat’ over the top. The bedroom and bathroom (originally a stable) were added later.

After unpacking we enjoyed the complimentary biscuits and tea.

We were quite tired after the journey (we visited Raglan Castle on the way) and were happy to get an early night.

I made porridge for breakfast at it is Growler’s favourite food.

After breakfast we went and sat by the stream at the end of the garden.

Growler learnt to knit while we were at Pontbrenmydyr!

He just kept going once he had got the hang of it….

About 12 hours later, when I was ready for bed, Growler finished his jumper!

We went exploring early one morning….

We found the solar water heating panels for the cottage.

Growler was also very interested in the air source heat pumps that were keeping the cottage warm.

We didn’t need to use the woodburner at all, which was a shame as we quite enjoy sitting by one but it was warm enough without it!

One of the extra buildings joining on the cottage is a very useful utility room.

I needed to wash my dungarees and also some human clothes.

The sun was shining and the washing dried very quickly on the rack in the cottage garden.

We enjoyed several lunches sat in the sunshine outside the cottage.

Growler was jolly pleased to find a chess set. He won as usual though!

The humans fed us well and we enjoyed evening meals sat at the dining table.

We went for many walks around the nearby Llanerchaeron woods, which were especially beautiful while we were there with wild garlic everywhere.

It is possible to walk to nearby Aberaeron along a footpath, which is about 2 miles away.

National Trust Llanerchaeron Estate is a ten minute walk across a field. There are lots of interesting things to see there. Growler got tired legs while were walking round so he got into the wheelchair.

We loved staying at Pontbrenmydyr Cottage and exploring some of West Wales.

For more about the cottage see: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/wales/pontbrenmydyr

Horace the Alresford Bear 3/5/2025

We visited Hafod on a beautiful sunny day in late April. The Hafod Estate has been cared for by the National Trust and Natural Resources Wales since 2022.

We knew that the humans intended walking around the many paths on the estate so climbed into the backpack at the start!

We hoped to follow ‘The Gentleman’s Walk’ but were aware that some paths were closed due to fallen trees (Storm Darragh brought them down) blocking the way.

We stopped to look at two Highland cows were basking in the sun, we thought they looked quite young.

We started off on the yellow walk, and got out of the bear carrier for my human to photograph us.

There are some really splendid dry stone walls coverd in moss and lichen.

Mariamne’s garden from the early 1800s had returned to nature, we went through the gate to explore.

There were several seats in the overgrown garden where it was possible to just enjoy the peace and listen to the birds. We sat on a log overlooking the valley for a little while.

After walking down through the valley we found ourselves down in the valley.

We passed a charming NT holiday cottage.

We got in and out of the backpack, and walked along the flat stretches of path.

The manor house at Hafod was demolished in 1956 after falling into a state of disrepair, but the old stable buildings remain and are maintained.

Inside the stables a table was set up for humans to draw pictures. My human’s partner is rather good at drawing, so he did a sketch of Growler and myself…

I think I look a bit like Winnie the Pooh!

We clipped the drawing up on the wall, and hope that it makes future visitors to the stable smile!

Back on the walking trail we reached the ‘Footpaths closed’ sign.

We could see a huge fallen tree across the other side and just went across the bridge to have a look. There were several more further up the path, storm Darragh did quite a lot of damage in Wales.

After looking at the stream for a little while we were feeling the need for a little something to eat.

The humans had brought a picnic with food for us too, which we sat and enjoyed in the sunshine.

A little nap in the dappled shade was necessary before continuing to explore…

There are some lovely views. Thomas Johnes inherited Hafod in 1790. He created the many paths and planted over 4 million trees in the area (obviously not him personally but his workers!)

We continued walking on through the woods, not really knowing which trail we were now on, but our mission was to get down near the stream.

Through a gate we found Mrs Johnes’ Flower Garden, which has been restored.

Finally we found the water, the sound alone felt refreshing as the late April sunshine had become quite warm.

I ventured onto the rocks and got a little bit splashed. A little bit of water on me sonn dries out, but I didn’t want to fall in. Growler has to be very careful as he is stuffed with woodshavings, he really didn’t want to risk getting wet.

We sat and watched the waterfall…

It was time to move on, as there was still lots to see. We were carried across the rope bridge behind us, which only 2 humans at a time are allowed on.

There is a stone arch folly up above the stream which frames the view of the valley, though the camera focused on us! My human often takes photographs having no clue whether they have come out well as she needs reading glasses to see the images well and doesn’t check them when we are out on location.

When we got back to the car park the humans had walked over 5 miles, though we walked less than a mile due to ‘backpacking’.

It was a shame some of the paths were closed as we missed some views, including the Cavern Cascades and the tower, but we still really enjoyed ourselves exploring such a tranquil beautiful place.

For more information see: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/hafod-estate/visiting-the-hafod-estate

Horace the Alresford Bear 7/5/2025

We were staying in a holiday cottage right next door to the Llanercheraen Estate (Pontbrenmydyr) so it was just a stroll along a footpath to get to the entrance.

We decided to have a look around the house first. It is Georgian villa, designed in 1790, complete with a walled garden, farmyard lake and wild parkland and has not changed very much for over 200 years. It was left to the National Trust in 1989.

Inside the dining table was set ready for dinner.

In the Drawing Room, we tried to play the piano! The word ‘Drawing Room’ isn’t somewhere that humans went to draw, but somewhere to ‘withdraw’ away from other members of the household, or to entertain guests.

We went upstairs where we looked at all the bedrooms but didn’t take any photos up there!

I found the courtyard the most interesting part of the house. Before vacuum cleaners and electrictiy carpets were taken outside and beaten to remove dust.

Two cats live in the house

We set off to look for them!

Growler found Eira, who was very friendly.

We later found Eira’s brother Tomas asleep on the bed in the maid’s bedroom.

The maid’s bedroom was above the laundry room, where I tried out the ironing board.

The irons used to be heated up using a coal fire, which Growler would not have sat on had it been in use!

Next to the dairy was an interesting contraption used for pressing cheese, which would have been placed underneath the weighted wooden boxes.

Llanerchaeron had its own brewery for making ale. Here we are next to two huge vats.

The ale was kept in barrels on a special wooden stand in the cellar.

There was a very nice volunteer in the kitchen making sweets. She explained that the fondant icing had been bought to make peppermint creams before Christmas, but Storm Darragh came along and the Estate had to close. The storm caused lots of trees to come down and the area was without electricity for nearly a week. She was making lemon and strawberry creams.

We had one each and enjoyed them!

We set off to explore the farm yard.

The pigs were very pink!

Growler said “Hello” to some lambs.

A very free-range turkey was wandering around.

There was a trail for young humans to follow, and at number 9 a pile of little bikes to scoot around the farmyard. The bike was nearly the right size for me, but didn’t have any pedals!

There is a collection of antique farm machinery inside a big shed. Growler was particularly interested in the steam roller.

Growler was starting to get tired, his legs don’t work well these days, so he climbed into the wheelchair that we had taken with us ‘just in case’ and we continued on through the walled garden.

Growler stayed in th wheelchair to be pushed back to our holiday cottage, which was about half a mile away.

We had buns and tea back at the cottage after a lovely couple of hours exploring Llanerchaeron.

Do visit Llanerchaeron if you are in the area, it is an interesting place to spend a few hours.

To see more about the National Trust cottage we staying in see: https://horacethealresfordbear.com/2025/05/03/pontbrenmydyr-cottage-in-west-wales/

More about Llanderchaeron: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/llanerchaeron

Horace the Alresford Bear 6/5/2025

Dyrham Park, which is owned by The National Trust has become famous for its spring display of beautiful tulips, they call it ‘Tulip Mania’. It is possible to have guided tours of the tulips, but we were happy just to wander around admiring them and posing for photographs.

The following photos were taken in the orchard, where the tulips have been planted in the grass amongst the pear trees.

We then moved on to the formal gardens directly in front of the house

We asked a volunteer gardener if we could borrow her wheelbarrow for a few minutes!

Another gardener was busy tending the parterre.

These tulips had all turned to face the sun.

We rather liked the wisteria in the courtyard, where we had a little rest before going back up the hill to the carpark.

I really recommend going to see the Dyrham Park tulips, they are a truly wonderful sight, especially those growing in the orchard. Do check the website before you go to check that they are still in flower!

Some information about the history of tulips:

For more information about Dyrham see https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/dyrham-park

Horace the Alresford Bear 22/4/2025

The first destination on the agenda was a visit to Eastern Hill Woods. The woods used to belong to my late grand humans who lived in Noss Mayo for a while in the 1950s; they bequeathed the woods to The Woodland Trust.

The woods are on a hill, so we set off up some steps past the church.

I stopped for little break at the top and admired the view of the estuary.

After going further uphill along a country lane we arrived at the gate to the woods.

The Brooking Down Wood Committee look after the woods very well and there are several paths to wander around on. I found a bear sized hidey hole in a tree!

We saw a deer running through the woods but it was too quick to be photographed!

At the bottom of the wood there is another welcome sign.

After walking just a short way along the road it is possible to go back into the woods again and climb back up to the top.

The sprinkling of bluebells everywhere added to the peaceful atmosphere.

After climbing back up to the top I needed a little rest so sat in the sunshine and ate my orange.

We then headed back down to the Noss Mayo creek to walk to the coast.

The tide was out so I was able to walk across the voss.

We then followed the path towards Cellar Beach.

Lots of boats were moored in the area of the Yealm Estuary known as Thorne Pool.

I had a rest next to the primroses and just looked at the view for a while.

After walking another half mile or so we finally reached the steps down to Cellar Beach.

There are quite a lot of steps there for a small bear.

Cellars Beach looked very inviting in the spring sunshine. I suddenly realised that I was missing my cap! I had dropped it further up the hill. I would have to keep a look out for it on the way back up to the path.

In the distance there is a small island which is called The Mewstone.

There was a little waterfall at the back of the beach which looks bigger next to me because I am very small!

I found a cave too, which looked just the right size for me to go in, so I went in with the human following behind.

It was a very small cave and very dark; my human took this photo using the flash on the camera.

After leaving the cave I climbed back up from the beach and sat on a well-placed bench to eat a bun in the sunshine.

At the top of the steps I was jolly pleased to find that someone had placed my cap on a post.

I think the cap looks better on my head!

The next destination on the walk was The Warren, so I kept following the humans. A little secret, sometimes I do climb into the backpack for a lift as it would just take me far too long to walk 6 miles without a bit of help!

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the area known at The Warren.

Another beautiful view across the estuary.

There is a very good path for walking along this section of coastal path, so we made quite speedy progress.

I took my hat off and gave it to a human for safe keeping just in case it blew off in the wind.

Gorse is a bit prickly but not too bad when wearing clothes and it has an added advantage of securing me so that I don’t blow away or fall over! Behind me is The Mewstone and Wembury.

There were some inquisitive lambs in the fields who came to the fence when they noticed me.

Finally we arrived at the path leading back to Noss Mayo. I was starting to feel a tad hungry.

Our car was parked in the tidal car park next to The Ship Inn. If humans don’t watch the tide times their cars can end up in water.  Fortunately high tide at the Creek wasn’t for a couple of hours so we had time to get a meal.

The coconut weather station brought a bigger smile to my face.

It wasn’t long before I was tucking into Cumberland bangers and mash with seasonal vegetables. It was very yummy.

I was so hungry I had dessert too, a yummy dark chocolate brownie with ice cream.

We had a long drive back to Bristol afterwards after a really lovely day out.

Horace the Alresford Bear 18/4/2025

While walking along a short stretch of Croyde Road to get to the coastpath on the other side of the road we came across a very sad looking bear wedged behind a post. We were a bit concerned that a human might be looking for the bear so we said goodbye and continued our walk with the thoughts that we would check on the way back to see if she was still there.

About 2 hours later the bear was still there, and looking even sadder. We asked her if she would like to come along with us, and she agreed as didn’t want to spend the night behind the post.

The dear lost bear couldn’t remember her name. She had been run over by a car and was rather traumatised. As we had found her near the seaside we decided to call her Sandy.

Sandy’s back was very dirty with tyre marks left from her accident. My human thought we could restore her with a bit of loving care and a good wash.

Sandy sat and watched the sunset with us before we took her back to our accomodation.

For the car journey home Sandy sat in the box with the walking shoes. She was a bit apprehensive about where she was going.

Here are photos of Sandy with me before she had a bath

As you can see, her back was ingrained in black dust from car tyres.

After rubbing some special bear friendly detergent (Aldi biological washing powder) into the badly stained areas Sandy sat in the bowl for a while to soak.

She then went into the bear jacuzzi (washing machine) on the mixed fabrics wash in a special delicates bag. My human fluffed up her fur with her fingers and dried her just a little with a hair dryer, then brushed her with a small hairbrush. She looked like a new bear.

All the black marks on her back disappeared.

Karen put the bow, which was sewn on to her, on some elastic to go around her neck so she can take it on and off.

It turns out that Sandy rather likes honey, so the next morning she enjoyed a bowl of hearty porridge with Exmoor honey.

Sandy also seems quite happy to just sit on the back of the sofa, and gets along well with old Growler.

We later found out from our post in ‘North Devon Lost & Found’ that a human had seen Sandy run over the day before we found her and had put her behind the post hoping someone might come back for her, so she had spent one night there. We were a bit worried that someone might be looking for her, but it seems not as no one had contacted us following the social media posts on various lost and found pages.

Sandy seems to be quite happy where she is now though!

Horace the Alresford Bear 14/4/2025