Month: April 2018

Sunshine!!! But not for long.

A relatively quiet day with the first stop being Porthmadog. A small town up the coast from Harlech. After parking had a walk through the town to the Ffestiniog railway on the estuary. The narrow gage train was just bout to leave when I arrived. All hands on deck. Called in at the harbour where there were some serious yachts moored up. After walking back through the town I have never seen so many charity shops all in the one street.

On to  Criccleth for a look round. Small town with a good bay under the ancient castle. It was nearly warm so I decided on an ice cream. Damson crumble: never heard of that one before but very nice even though it was £2:75 for a cone!!!

Site tonight is at Liam Ffestiniog and the rain has started again.

Travelled up the A487 to Dolgellau. Interesting as had to climb up a mountain pass.

Dolgellau is a small hill side village that seems to be catering for the walking set. Lots o small shops cafes and restaurants. Did not stop long but headed west to Barmouth along the estuary. Great views to be had.

Barmouth is a real traditional seaside resort with donkeys on the sands(they looked really well taken care of). A small harbour with a ferry over to Fairbourne. An RNLI station and also the largest church for a town this site you have ever seen.

carried on north to Harlech(let’s all sing together). A nice site close to the beach and a good view of the castle. It was a bit hazy by the time I went for a walk.

Brightstart to the day. Left llanarth around 9:30 towards Aberaeron. Nice harbour but with a stone shore. It’s going on in the harbour with people working on their boats.

On to Aberystwyth which is a really cool Victorian townwith four story town houses on the  sea front. It’s even got a venicular rail iup to the headland. I had a good look round this university town.

I continued up to Machynlleth which was the ancient capital of Wales. Too a detourround the coast to Tyvyn and then back to Machynlleth. You have never seen so many sheep in al you life. Millions!!!!!!!

 

There was a rookery in the centre of the caravan site last night. You have never heard such a racket in all your life. Hundreds of the buggers.

Woke up to more sunshine. Two days in a row!!!! Wild horses on the hillside. Set off to have a quick look round  St Davids. It’s suppossed to be the smallest city in the UK? Anyway it had a monastery which looked very old with the new cathedral beside. Nice.

Went along the A487 towards Fishguard and the ferry at Goodwick. Fishguard is a lot nicer than expected with a small harbour and estuary.

On towards Cardigan but only saw jumpers!! No cardigans. I called in at Poppits beach by Cemaes Head. On east and called into Newquay which has a long beach on the bay with a small harbour at the end. Quite busy with lots of tourists.

Left Freshwater East around 9:30 in bright sunshine. I’d decided to take the minor roads around Pembroke. First stop was Angle opposite Milford Haven. A small bay with just a solo canoeist out on the water. From there via Haverfordwest stopped off at Dale by St Ann’s Head. Lots of boats out on the water.

On to St David’s Head on the A487. I did not stop there but went straight to the campsite at Whitesands Bay. After pitching up I walked down to the bay. Nice cove with lots of people out surfing. Apparently it’s quite good surf here. Certainly lots of folk enjoying themselves.

More rain I’m afraid but finally it stopped about 9am.

I decided to give Tenby another go even though it did look overcast and grey. It’s quite a nice place with a good harbour and RNLI station. Also a small beach. Everyone was out with coats and hats on. After a walk around the town  I walked round to the lifeboat station. Exciting times cos as I just got there the main lifeboat was being launched. I’ve never seen one on the ramp before and it comes down with a swish and then powered away a a fair old lick.

Because I had a bit of time on my hands headed over to Penbroke to take some photos of the castle. Very impressive.

Rainy and cold and blowing a gale. Not a good start to the day and it does not appear to improve at any time of the day. But onwards

Passed through Llanelli but did not see any famous rugby players. Stopped off at Bury Port which is a small harbour village. Freezing. On through Carmarthen but did not stop. I made a detour to Laugharine castle. My first welsh castle on the trip. Impressive with a good position overlooking the sea.

After stopping off at Saundersfoot called into Tenby but it was lashing down so decided to give it a miss and revisit on Saturday. Decided to call it a day and headed to my campsite at Freshwater East.

Hey!!!! Woke up to bright sunshine. What a difference it makes.

Headed off around 9:30 heading west out of Bristol along the coast road. Stopped off at Barry for a look see. Smart little sea fronted town which is a hop and a skip from Bristol.

then on to Porthcawl further around the coast. A lot bigger than Barry with a good beach and a small marina. I got the impression this would be very busy during the summer. Worth a visit though.

Hit the M4 for a bit passing Port Talbot which has a huge steel mill. Enormous. On to Swansea which was surprisingly smart. I didn’t know that it was on a bay and even has a pleasant beach. At the far end of the bay is a headland called Mumbles. Couple of lifeboat stations and a small lighthouse with a couple of cafes and restaurant. Went for a walk and hs an ice cream!!!! Cherry and chocolate.

Lots of overnight rain and more during the early morning.

I walked down the Taff Way passed the Milenium Sadium which is beginning to look a bit tired. On to the Mermaid quay and Cardiff Bay. This is a restoration project in the old docks with lots of restaurants and cafes. It has a Dr Who centre and a Roald Dahl experience. They seemed to have locked down all the old warehouses which is a shame. All the apartment blocks are new.

id been looking forward to seeing the Cardiff Barrage in the bay but was disappointed to say the least. I had imagined it to be across the whole bay but if fact they had land filled the bay with just a small outlet for the barrage.

i seemed to have walked for ever adding up 21000 steps. That’s a record!!!!

Last evening I had a walk over to the sea front north of Burnham. You could not call it a beach as it was mostly mud. Found an interesting ship wreck stuck in the mud.

The morning I managed to get into a private campsite right in the centre of Cardiff. I called into Newport on the way over. There’s not much in Newport but they have a restored transporter bridge. Similar to the one in Middlesbrough. Cool.

i got into Cardiff around lunchtime and made an effort to walk along the river Taff into the city centre. It’s not that big at all with the rugby stadium being the main building.  It’s pedestrianised on the main road with nice galleries off the main road. Cool shops.

on my way back to the site found a film crew shooting a period drama. Looked WW11.

More rain.