Wonderful weather in Wales

Today could only be described (in the exact words of John Owen) as ‘an absolute cracker of a day’.
And it was.
The weather was perfect - clear skies, light breeze and warm enough to break out the shorts for the first time on the trip. There was a spring in the step and a smile on the face of all the locals who were clearly enjoying the weather as well - everyone commented as you passed them while out walking with phrases such as ‘beautiful day’, ‘thanks Aussies for bringing this great weather with you’ and similar.

And walk we did !

John and Sarah had devised a plan for exploring the local area on foot and they asked if we were keen for a walk? ‘Yes, sure, we love walking. We did lots of walking in London ….what do you have in mind? ‘
Well, what they had in mind was (after a short drive to our launching spot at Penmaen) ‘a little circle-route’ walk in this very beautiful part of Wales known as The Gower.
We firstly steadily climbed up to gain altitude for panoramic views up and down the coast and out towards the Brecon Beacons at Cefn Bryn. From there we tracked out towards a famous landmark - ‘King Arthur’s Stone’. At this point John was leading confidently as Sarah called out - ‘John, I don’t think this is a good way - its always wet and boggy through this section’.
Without changing his direction or missing a stride, John confidently calls out over his shoulder “No, no, no, it’s absolutely fine” as simultaneously we all stepped into wet and boggy ground and could now not only SEE the landscape but could FEEL it through our damp shoes and socks.
Photos were taken at King Arthur’s Rock, then we headed downhill to the King Arthur Hotel and Reynoldston for coffee and a snack.
From here we walked along a cliff’s edge around to Torbay beach and stunning views over Three Cliffs Bay, then down onto the beach, across a rapidly flowing river via stepping stones, up the other side through a golf course then back to John and Sarah’s home. (Sarah had detoured before we got to the last beach to retrieve the car and drive it home).

Lots of beautiful scenery, 26,000 steps and 19.5 km saw us through their front door for a late lunch enjoying the sunshine in the gazebo in the back garden.

Next it was off for a short walk around to Sam and Jemima Snelling’s house for afternoon tea precisely 10 minutes after we had finished lunch. We spent an hour or so with them and their four gorgeous children which was lovely enjoying coffee and cake in the sunny front garden area.
We then returned to John and Sarah’s house for yet another afternoon tea and drinks, joined by Jeremy and Katie (John’s sister and brother-in-law who live next door as well as their guests Ian and Jo Brown from Bristol)
Meanwhile Sarah had been busy putting the finishing touches on dinner which we then moved inside for. It was a delicious meal and by the time we had finished a specially made pavlova (and cheese platter) for us Aussies… it seemed like we had been eating and drinking non-stop for about 7 hours.😳

Thanks to John and Sarah for organising and hosting us on a wonderful and memorable day :)Read more