We have never manged to visit St Davids, so that set the scene for a Welsh trip. After a few days in Dorset with friends, we had a brief stopover in Cheddar then carried on to Brecon for a couple of days. It was handy as we were able to have new phones delivered to “BargainBooze” in the town. The walk into Brecon, along the canal, is quite pleasant. On our first day, I set off into the town with my backpack, to visit ALDI and stock up on milk and fruit. I loaded my basket and waited patiently in the queue to pay. As I waited, I was visited by a horrible thought. I did not remember putting my purse in my bag. A swift check confirmed my fear!! I had to abandon my shopping at the till amidst huge apologies. They would have kept it for me to collect later but, the hour long round trip on a hot day did not appeal. I slunk “home” empty handed.
St David’s
Hoping to save a bit on campsite fees, I had selected a site a few miles away with views across to Broad Haven in St Brides Bay. It was possible to walk down to the bay but was a bit far and steep for Clyde to manage safely. However, we were there to see St David’s, so we set off in the van along the very scenic A487. We passed through the pretty village of Solva and past the glorious Newgale beach. The views were stunning all the way.
St David’s is really a large village overlooking Ramsey Sound. From here you can take a boat trip to Ramsey Island to see the wildlife. We walked down the high street and at the end we stepped through an archway where we were assaulted by the spectacle of the Cathedral. What a lovely building. Apparently, two pilgrimages to St David’s equals one pilgrimage to Rome. We will have to come again!
Back at the car park we discovered that we had parked in the wrong place, along with other vans. One of the local bus drivers was quite unpleasant about it. I just shrugged in a Gallic way and set off.
Newgale
On the way back to the campsite we stopped off at Newgale Bay. It is a stunning sight on the way to St David’s and does not disappoint once you stop by the beach. There is a huge beach with rocky cliffs either end. It is very scenic.
Our stay near St Davids over, we moved on to Cenarth. The route along the A487 was beautiful with glorious views of the coast. We stopped at Fishguard Lower Town on the way, which was a surprise, as we had only thought it was a ferry port. The Lower Town Quay was very pretty, although the road out was quite steep and twisty. Par for the course in Wales really!
Cenarth
Cenarth is a small village alongside the River Teifi. There are a couple of gift shops, a pub and some tea rooms. The highlight is the walkway along the river and the Cenarth Falls. Although very pretty, they are a bit misrepresented as waterfalls. However, we enjoyed our riverside pitch on the campsite and had a couple of lovely walks alongside the river.
Whilst staying in Cenarth we had a day trip to Cardigan. Unfortunately it turned into a very wet day and we changed our plan to meet an old friend from our Germany days. We sat under a dripping gazebo to have lunch at a cafe. The view towards the river and hills beyond would have been better on a sunny day. We also decided against a costly visit to the castle so after a wee wander around, we headed homewards. Thank goodness for the Sat Nav, as we would have been there still. The route around the one way system to escape was very unintuitive!
Aberystwyth
It is a long time since we were last in Aberystwyth. It was Suzanne’s university town so we tended to be there for delivering and collecting her. The last visit was for her graduation. Such happy memories. We had booked a campsite that is within walking distance of the town. Well, technically it was, but in practice it was too far and on a narrow dangerous road. The campsite was not the best either but we spoke to the owner and gave her some advice as worldly wise travellers. That aside, we had a nice trip to the seafront where we discovered some motorhome parking spaces. It was a bit of a mission getting to them along the narrow seafront road, but welcome once there. We strolled along the promenade and had a look at the ruined castle before a quick visit to the town shops. Coffee at Starbucks and back to the van for lunch completed our day.
On our last day at Aberystwyth we had a scenic drive up to Devils Bridge. The road twists upwards giving splendid views across the valley. We parked by the steam railway and walked over the bridge. You can pay to descend into the valley alongside the river and falls, but it would have been a bit of a painful process for Clyde and it was very gloomy amongst the trees. We felt that the drive up there had been the best bit. We had tea and cake at the railway cafe instead, which was much better.
Macynlleth
We cut our stay at Aberystwyth short and booked one night near Macynlleth. We had a gorgeous drive along the A487, stopping to admire the River Dovey which meanders through the valley. We stopped at Macynlleth to get toilet chemicals from the caravan shop and had a stroll around the little town. We have been there before, but it was a nice break. Onwards to the campsite at Pennal, a short drive from Macynlleth. The road up to the site was steep and narrow but, what views!. Our allocated pitch was equally scenic and we were sad that we were only there for one night. There were stunning views all around and we made the most of the sunny weather to sit outside with our books.
Dolgellau
I had a bit of a shock when I checked for details of our booking at Dolgellau – no booking! I rang the campsite and was able to book in, which was a relief as most sites have been very full this year. Along the way we stopped at Aberdovey, which is really pretty.
The campsite is really just a big field and was a bit over priced. However, the welcome was genuine and in fact, the views were lovely and the facilities adequate. It was a proper campers site with tents and campervans dotted about. It had a really nice atmosphere. We were also able to walk into Dolgellau, which is not the most exciting place, but gave us an outing and we found a Co-op for essentials.
Whilst at Dolgellau we had a trip to Barmouth, remembered by Clyde from his childhood. It was a bit of a disappointment but the journey there was very pretty. We stopped to admire the pretty River Morddach and returned to site to watch the Euros final on the internet, as no TV signal.
Bala
Our last stop in Wales was a CL at Corwen, near Bala. Lake Bala was looking fabulous and we spent a couple of hours there before making our way to the campsite. There were groups of schoolchildren enjoying the watersports and we were entertained whilst having our lunch.
The small site (a Certified Location, only 5 vans), was in a lovely position with yet more amazing views. We were entertained by Doris, the chicken as she pottered about hoping for scraps.
We returned to Bala the next day as we wanted to visit the little town as well as the lake. There is not much to see in town, but we parked on the other side of the lake and sat in the hot sun to enjoy our lunch. The journey to Bala from Corwen was a joy for views too.
Our last trip out was to Llangollen as we wanted to visit the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. It did not disappoint with the stunning views all around. Definitely worth the trip along more winding Welsh roads.
We stopped off in the town for a look round. Its best aspect seems to be the river and surrounding area. We did not manage to find out why the bridge was decorated with patchwork.
This was the end of our Welsh trip for 2021