Friday 1st May 2015
So early finishes for us all on Friday and there we were, off for our weekend in Evangeline. We were meeting up with our friends K and A, who also have a van, for R&R in Wales. We had decided on the Gower again, as it is not too far away and the scenery is wonderful. We were going to stay at the site we had been on before, but because it was the bank holiday weekend, you had to book 3 nights and we could only stay for 2. After a bit of hunting we found Bank Farm Leisure, which is at Horton, looking over to Port Eynon. So a few weeks ago, aware that it could get busy, we booked our pitches.
http://www.bankfarmleisure.co.uk/
Hmm, first impressions good, the views were amazing and it was not too busy, but a very big site. After putting up the awning for extra space, K,F and I walked down through the village and along the coast into Port Eynon. S and A were left in the van to catch up over their many bottles of wine!
http://www.gowerlive.co.uk/beaches/Horton
http://www.the-gower.com/villages/Horton/horton.htm
Dinner in the windy awning! Evening with K and A in their van and then off to bed, cosy in the van, way too cold for sleeping in the awning! However, the night was not a calm one - slow puncture in the air mattress we were using in the roof, led to musical beds :( I don't think any of us got much sleep, what with that and the driving wind and rain throughout the night...
Saturday May 2nd 2015
You would never believe that it is May!! More like November! This was the view from the van this morning...
Wild and windy! Decided today was a day for a trip to Swansea. We headed off to Swansea Waterfront Museum
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/swansea/
It was free, and warm and dry! Learnt a lot about the history of the area.
After lunch a spot of shopping and then a drive along The Mumbles and along further to Limeslade Bay
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5662044,-3.9834384,951m/data=!3m1!1e3
Unfortunately, a sad sight awaited our return, flattened awning! The wind had been so strong, it had bent the poles and broken them! S and A decided to take it down asap before any more damage could be done. We weren't the only ones to suffer, some of the campers in tents were very much the worst for wear. I was so glad we weren't in a tent. Oh the joys of the British weather!
Repairs to the air mattress, dinner and bed. Hoping for a better night's sleep. No. Repairs didn't work, more musical beds! Should have brought the spare just in case.... More wind and rain overnight.
Sunday May 2nd 2015
Very foggy today! No sign of the sea! Definitely a day for a full English breakfast, a joint cooking effort! Cups of tea later and we were ready for a late morning exit.
To be honest, we weren't too impressed with the site. The shower rooms were freezing, way too cold to even attempt a shower! And the first morning not even any hot water!
K and A were heading home, but we decided to head into the valleys and in particular to
Abertillery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abertillery
http://www.abertillery.net/
This was where my Gramp had been born in 1910. I had never been there and he had never talked about it while he was alive. The family moved away in the late 1920's and never returned. It was an interesting drive and you could see the effects that the end of coal mining had had to the area.
We found the road that he had lived on, but I couldn't remember the number.. Six Bells is just on the outskirts of the town and at the top of a very steep hill
As we left the valleys the weather improved and we had a nice lunch break at the side of the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal at New Inn, Pontypool.
By the time we got home the weather was much improved! Typical!
