Road Trippin' Wales

Day 1

We started at London Victoria on the dreary Friday morning of Easter weekend. The six of us met about 9 AM to pick up the passenger van we’d rented for the weekend. It took us forever to find the budget car rental company to discover they didn’t actually have the vehicle we’d rented. By 11, it was beginning to feeling like the trip might be off when they loaded us into transfer cars and drove us across London to the only left in the city. After a bit of a battle with the manager and 2 hours after our original planned departure we were crammed in like sardines but on our way! The traffic was horrendous until we reached the Welsh boarder, but then, as if right on cue, the cars disappeared and the clouds parted and we found ourselves excitedly approaching our first stop; Brecon Beacon.

Though daylight was beginning to dwindle we still took the time to make a little pit stop to have a chat with some sheep. I mean, it was Easter weekend after all and they were just so cute!

We made it to Llyn y Fan Fach (or what we pronounced Lynn Fanny Fuk) just before nightfall. We all took some time to enjoy the sincerity of such a beautiful place (also stretch our legs and get some peace from the others)!

After a few outdoor potty breaks, we crammed back in our six sitter and we were off to find our Bed and Breakfast in Haverfordwest. We arrived about 9 pm and were greeted by a friendly lady with a big smile and lots of area recommendations. We tried to find food in the nearest village but were a bit late so we settled for our van snacks and a pint and then called it an early night.

Day 2

The next morning we awoke early and were fed a full English breakfast (Welsh style) compliments of our host. Then we were off! Up the coast of Western Wales for a day of pit stops and adventure!

We spent a good bit of time in St. David’s exploring the cathedral, climbing through old castle ruins and snacking on ice cream as we strolled through the town. As we continued up the coast we stopped frequently to take a cool photo, walk on the beach or just have a little play on the side of the road side. When we were in the car we found ourselves enthralled with the Audible story and investigation into the Anan Syed’s murder case. Did he do it? Did he not? The debate still continues …

Our lone Brit of the trip gave us a scenic tour we couldn’t have created ourselves and we stopped in his Uni town for a stroll and some food! I wish we could have stayed longer, but we made the most of the break with a stop in the local arcade where I discovered I can’t dance even when I computer is telling me how to do it!

Another ice cream and we were back on the road in search of the place we’d lay our heads for the next two nights!

The caravan park was tucked deep back in the hills. We arrived after dark and as we pulled up to the little farm house at the welcome gate we joked of murders and crime (thanks, Anan!) but, in true Welsh fashion, the family that lived there was lovely and helped us get settled in to our two bedroom, pull our sofa caravan for six (needless to say - we were cozy)! We spent the evening drinking, eating, playing games and genuinely just enjoying each other’s company. As we started to wind down we all bundled up and headed out into the cold night sky to stare up at the stars in the cloudless sky. A prefect end to Day Two of our road tripping adventure!

Day 3

Sunday Morning gave a slow start as we ate breakfast and made our plan for the day. Once again we jammed ourselves in to our little family van but were pleased to find we had a bit more space this time (sans the bags)! We drove past Snowdonia (we didn’t go up), did a little hike (of all the beautiful hiking spots we accidentally picked the one rock ‘farm’ that was actually the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen making for lots of laughs and jokes), explored a few little Wales towns and found ourselves on the beach just in time for the sunset in the perfectly clear sky. Once the sun went down and we found it too chilly to sit on the sand we headed back to our caravan for a little R & R! We’d had had a jam-packed few days!

Day 4

It was about time to head back to London, but who wants a holiday to end? Especially without some kind of big bang! We cleaned up the caravan, loaded up the car and set our sights on flying through the sky at the Zip World adventure.

Then it was back in the car for the drive back to London. We stopped in a little town to eat outside by the river. The weather was amazing the entire weekend and it really felt like a proper English holiday (that was ending way too soon)! On the ride back we danced and sang, finished the Anan story (of course) and delivered the car back to Victoria just as they were closing up shop (ok, they were already closed but we sweet talked a worker into opening back up for us).

I’ve found since living in London my favorite trips are the simplest ones and it’s really the people that make the time amazing. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people who are up for spending a sunny weekend crammed in a car driving around the English coast.

#Travel #Wales #RoadTrip