Harbourmaster

Today's the day ....................... to spend the night with Madona

We are staying the night in probably the most exciting hotel room I have ever had the good fortune to occupy.

It's a suite of rooms actually that take up the whole of the top floor of the Harbourmaster Hotel in Aberaeron on the Ceredigion coast of west Wales.  The hotel, a Grade II listed building, was built soon after the completion of the harbour in 1811 and was originally the home of the Harbourmaster - Lewis Davies of Pennant.  From the top floor of his house, he could see the whole coastline with his telescope.  He reached it by the spiral staircase that is unchanged to this day.  All the rooms in the hotel have been given names of some of the historic sailing ships that were built in Aberaeron in the 19th century.  Our room is called Madona - which was a brigantine of 163 tons built by David Jones in 1864 and captained by one Daniel Rees.

There is a severe weather warning for this part of the country overnight - peaking with the next high tide due at 07.00am.  The waves are likely to come right over the harbour wall and spray will hit the front of the houses that overlook it.  That's us!  So just as well that we are way up on the third floor with a hopefully spectacular view of all that's going on ..........................