The McGrath's Travel Adventures

The forecast for today was all bad!  But we awoke to a beautiful day. Blue Skies and completely calm. Jeanette had booked us breakfast in the hotel and along with myself and Rick we met at 7:30 to reveal what the day ahead held. Dianne had organizing to do so was going to sort out the plans while we went off exploring.

We decided to visit Cardiff Castle but it did not open until 9:30 so we took a stroll the long way round taking in the sites and sounds of early morning Cardiff.  The place was buzzing with people going off to their day jobs.  Bars/Cafes were starting to setup for the day. Many Shops do not open until 10:00am.

Our walk was rather short but we picked up a couple of pictures along the way.

Soon it was 9:30 and we arrived at the Castle.  Very impressive. Was once a family home but several generations of owners ago it was gifted to the the people of Cardiff.

Over the centuries the caste has changed internally with walls removed and some buildings inside the walls taken down.  Essentially the only real remaining buildings that are left are the house and the keep.

Having purchased our tickets we strolled around the upper level walkway to get a good look down into the Castle grounds.  We got quite a few steps on the fitbit going around the top.

In the background of this photo is the Keep.  This has a moat around it and sits on a raised mound within the moat.  After walking all around the top we descended one level to find tunnels that ran under the top layers. These tunnels were used as a bomb shelter during World War II.  They installed bunks in them for the elderly and children.  After the ware they were returned to their original state.

School trips drifted into the castle while we where there and they had one of these chaps as their tour guide.  We used an audio guide to work our way around the castle and went to the top of the keep.  There was a crew making a promotional film to promote the castle and they were on the top of the keep when we went up.  After the keep we went into the house.  Amazing construction. The stonework and artistry in the building are impressive given how long ago it was built.

A great tour with excellent history lessons.  We we just about done when Jeanette misbehaved a little so we had to punish her in the traditional way.

All we needed were some rotten tomatoes and justice would be served.  We bade farewell to the House, The Keep and the Castle.

And we made our way back to the hotel.  I took the opportunity to pose by Cardiff Arms Park aka Millenium Stadium aka Principality Stadium as this will possibly be the closest I ever get to going to an actual rugby game here.

The Welsh are passionate about their rugby.  More symbols of Rugby here than in New Zealand.  We saw at least two Rugby Shops within the 1 km walk from the castle back to the hotel.

So the time for the reveal of what else Day #4 held came.  We were travelling from Cardiff to Moylegrove (Near Cardigan).

This was going to be a reasonably long day in the car but several destinations were near the seaside (Jeanette’s Happy Place) so we were looking forward to it. Also most of this was completely new to Rick and Dianne.

First Stop was Sandy Bay. For those who have watched the TV Show Gavin and Stacey, this place was just like the Welsh seaside resort where Stacey Lived except most of it was closed for the winter season.  Amusements and Games arcades were the order of the day.

It was only a brief stop at Sandy Bay as there was little to recommend it.  We decided to drive around to Port Talbot and take a look at Hollywood Park at Aberavon Beach.  The sea walls were massive and we were told that often the sea surged right up to the top of them.

In the above photo we are on the lower level of the sea Wall.  The upper level is 10 feet higher than the path to the right of where we were standing.

The area is under development and when finished will be fantastic.

This is the symbol at the beach. Nearby is a huge steel mill. Port Talbot is very industrialized but here there is a huge green space and a massive beach.   After a wander back and forth we were quite hungry so we consulted Tripadvisor for good places to eat.  The ones near the beach are more like Burger King than somewhere Jeanette can find food.  Tripadvisor recommended a Gastropub called the Brit.  We loaded up the GPS with the address and set off in search for great food.

The pub had ‘Free House’ written on it under the name.  We learnt that this means they are an independent pub and can sell whatever beers they want.  They are not tied to a brewery or limited to that breweries offerings.  The food here was fantastic.. Easy to see why they are #1 in the area.  The staff were very friendly and cooperated with Jeanette to get a photo.

The decorating in the restaurant was very interesting with artworks and sayings doted around the place everywhere. One piece in particular stood out and is representative of the quirky nature of ‘The Brit’

Outside the restaurant was a footbridge that Jeanette could not resit getting a picture of me on it.  And then we were back on the Road.  Off to see Mumbles Pier in Swansea.  It was a bit of a hike all the way through Swansea and again we were impressed by the sea walls.  Mumbles pier itself was in a state of disrepair.  It is being upgraded but because it is privately owned funds are limited.

We parked quite a way away from the pier and walked to the end of the road. There were plenty of people out and about enjoying the day. It was beautiful with temperatures getting close to 21 degrees.  The size of the sea wall was impressive. They build Life Boat sheds high off the water to protect them when seas get high.

The new life boat needed a new shed so they have built one at the end of the falling down pier.  They are renovating but they need several hundred thousand pounds to do the job properly. The new boat is bigger than the above shed.

I would not like to go out in the old boat.  I would be putting down the shark bait on the old boat but the new one looks great. Jeanette always wants me in the photos so apparently I made this wee lighthouse look go can vne

Kiwis are never far from home.  Who would have thought to call the Kiwis when moving house in Swansea Wales!

Some say Rick made the lighthouse look better. Here he is on a renovated portion of the pier. The sign at the land end advised that you walk on it at your own peril!  The boards where rotton. They had mats over the worst part and even a bailey bridge over the completely rotton boards.  The Bailey bridge was only 20 Meters long!

The Land end had this sign. We came via Swansea to Mumbles and left towards Carmarthen.

Time was running out on our afternoon.  We headed off to our final destination for the evening; Moylegrove near Cardigan on the West Welsh coast.  I had booked us into a B&B here called ‘The Old Vicarage’.

This place is amazing. It rates as the best B&B I have ever stayed at.  The rooms are huge. The facilities are amazing. The host (Her Family were away) went out of her way to ensure Jeanette had food for breakfast.  We unpacked for the night and walked around the grounds.  Our hosts husband is a joiner and they have done all the renovations themselves.  The Beds were so comfortable.  Just Brilliant!.  If you stay here make sure you book Dinner on the night or your arrival. We didn’t so our hosts made a reservation for us at a local Pub in Newport which was about 10 Minutes away.  It was getting latish when we left but the sunset was brilliant.

 

Our host told us that the GPS will take us the long way round, just as it did to get to the B&B.  She gave me excellent instructions on how to get there.  10 Minutes in the car and we arrived.  Parking is a problem in these small old villages.  Rick went off to find a park after depositing us at the door.  The place was jumping. The menu was very good. The food was fantastic.  This part of the world is so interesting.  We finished our night and returned to the B& B all worn out.