Easter 2014 and our first 2 stop break.

Our commitment to look after 2 of our Grandchildren made it difficult to get away for the full week over Easter so we decided to spend 4 nights at Dan yr Ogof and 4 Nights at Woodstock CL in Cold Inn near Tenby. We were then able to have our our Granddaughters for the day on Wednesday whilst we packed up then dropped them off to their Daddy on the way to Tenby.

Stop 1

The first 4 days at Dan yr Ogof revolved around a walk to try and find the wellington Bomber crash site. We arrived at the site on Saturday evening and were all set up by 6.30pm. Easter Sunday was showery so we took it easy and had a nice lunch and a quiet day. The weather was just right on Easter Monday so we packed up our ruck sacks and set off up the mountain. It was a long climb up and we made an error on our bearings and went about a mile in the wrong direction. By the time we were back on track and heading in the vicinity of the wreck we were hungry and Barney was showing signs that he'd had enough so we stopped for lunch.

Just after lunch we were lucky enough to meet up with another walker who new exactly where the Bomber wreck was. It was another 20 minute walk to get there ..which doesn't sound much, but over really rough ground it was a walk too far so decided to turn back and try again another day. I think Steve and I were still fresh enough to have gone on but we were concerned not to over work Barney who is still recovering from his health problems.

The walk was worth it for the views alone.

Tuesday 22nd April was my Birthday so we were visited by my Daughter and grandaughters. I made lunch and then we chilled for the rest of the day.

Wednesday we were up early to fetch the Grandchildren and do a bit of shopping to take on the second half of our break. We were lucky that the weather forecast was wrong and the forecasted rain didn't materialise so it was dry to pack up the awning .. the girls were able to play outside and it made packing up a whole lot easier than we'd expected.

Stop 2.

By 6 o'clock on Wednesday we had arrived in Cold Inn near Tenby at Woodstock CL. What a gem of a site!!! Beautifully landscaped to provide each of the hard standing pitches with a little privacy. The site also has a small ammenity block which has 2 rooms ..one with a toilet and hand basin and one with a toilet,hand basin and a shower .. all as immaculately kept as the rest of the site. The site is only 5 miles from Tenby but was in a wonderfully peaceful location.

It was a pleasure doing the washing up with this little garden to look at.

The view from the awning..

A lovely place to sit in the middle of the site

Our pitch.

We had 2 trips out, the first to Lawrenny Quayside for lunch. The restaurant serves the most wonderful sea food and has lots of outside seating so great for dog owners. This is the second time we have visited and both times we have shared our table with a little robin.

It was our wedding anniversary on the Friday so we went into Tenby for lunch at The Buccanneer. As we walked through Tenby we met another Miniature Schnauzer .. his name was Barney too.

More lovely seafood at The Buccanner

We had the best week and ended it by taking down our Mistral Ripstop awning for the last time .. the reason? I'll save that for my next post.

Old Farts & Caravan Parks

I just had to share this, could be a glimpse of our future ....oh I hope so!!

Update on Dan yr Ogof trip.

After speaking to the warden at Dan yr Ogof yesterday it seems that the youngsters on the Duke of Edingburgh expedition got into difficulty and ended up being rescued by the mountain rescue teams. Around 2 dozen youngsters found themselves disoriented and
undoubtedly suffering from the cold and wet. It begs the question why the adults in charge thought it was a good idea to let children go up a mountain in torrential rain and winds gusting to 45mph, especially when we couldn't even see the mountain through the low cloud .. beggars belief really.


Anyway, if you'd like to read a bit more about it here's a link to the mountain rescue teams facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/westernbeaconsmrt

Dan yr Ogof 2014

We managed to get away for 3 nights last weekend to one of our favourite sites ..Dan yr Ogof. We can only manage to get away weekends if Steve works on the Saturday but have decided that this is a better option than staying home.

The weather was good when we arrived on Thursday and on Fiday we managed a climb up the mountain above the famous caves. It was well worth it for the fantastic views.

Fancy waking up to this view every morning?

This is the furthest we had been with Barney in nearly 2 years .. he hadn't been very well for a couple of years till we discovered that the food we were feeding him was so high in cereal that his liver was enlarged and his muscle were wasting away. He is now on a high meat protien diet and is getting stronger by the day.

Half way to the top and Barney is still going strong.

The view across to Craig Y Nos and beyond to Glynneath.

The beautiful Brecon National park crowned by Pen y Fan

Back home to the caravan for a lovely dinner and well deserved glass of wine.

The weather turned on Saturday but I wasn't at all bothered. Steve went to work and I spent the day pottering and reading feeling totally chilled out.

The Dan yr Ogof site is well appointed for walkers with a brilliant drying room. Most of the grass areas were occupied by yougsters from various English schools working toward their Duke of Edingborough awards. I have to say they all deserved their awards as the weather worsened and strong winds and heavy rain lashed their little tents. It was almost heartbreaking sat in the warmth of our lovely caravan on Sunday morning watching the poor little soles packing up their equipment and setting off for the mountain with it weighed down on their backs. We were quite worried for them really and were relieved to see the mountain rescue teams arrive and settle in the car park. At least help was close at hand if any of them got into trouble.

We had a little taste of how the children felt when it came to pack up ourselves.. my oh my did the rain come down. The awning was the last thing to take down and we just dumped it in a tarp in the boot of the car. We left for home just as the first teams got back to camp. We were off to a lovely warm house to dry out whilst they had to unpack their wet tents and crawl in to try and warm up. I must admit they were on my minds as I got into bed last night. I would just like to say to anyone who has achieved their D of E in such exteme conditions 'WELL DONE YOU!!!!!!!!'