The Journey Begins
Welsh Wales
After more than 18 months of living at Blackpool Sands, we are finally able to begin our journey, traveling through Welsh Wales on our way to McScotland.
It’s been a fabulous time spent at the beach. We have met some tremendous people and learned a lot about caravan living. Nevertheless, we have been extremely frustrated that we couldn’t do what we really wanted to be doing – getting out there and seeing the world.
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The Time Has Come
And so it begins.
Finally, the day has come and we are able to set off.
Double-check we have everything the night before because we have an early start – our first stop is the pharmacy in South Brent for our flu jabs and to pick up a prescription. This takes far longer than we thought it would because we bump into so many familiar faces. So much so that we decide to have a bite to eat whilst parked in the recreation ground before we hit the road proper.
As the UK is no longer part of the EU, post brexit travel is restricted to 90 days in every 180. Originally we were planning to tour Europe for 6 months but that is no longer possible. We are therefore planning a couple of months touring this country before hopping across the channel – mainly in Scotland if we can.
At last, we are on the A38 and on our way ….. first stop Welsh Wales.
We have no plan, no agenda other than we decided to make our way up to Scotland through Wales. The idea being to take in some of the beautiful Welsh countryside and break up the journey a little.
Welsh Wales - Brecon
As it was early October when we left we were very conscious that the later in the year we were in Scotland the more likely the weather would be against us. So a whirlwind trip through Welsh Wales it was. Just 5 days, 4 nights. Only really long enough to get a small taste of what Wales has to offer.
A few housekeeping chores en route, such as filling up the LPG bottles – something we hadn’t done before, but we worked it out eventually.
Didn’t really stop other than to walk Zeus at Llwyn-onn reservoir which was a welcome break and a gorgeous introduction to the Welsh countryside.
Not really knowing where to stop we checked online and after a quick search found that overnight parking is allowed at the Promenade car park in Brecon, so that’s where we headed for.
Our first night on the road was a car park in the Welsh mountains on a rainy night! But you know what? It didn’t matter, our adventure had begun and the scenery was just beautiful.
We woke the next morning to a bright clear day, but sadly some water ingress around the bathroom skylight. This was despite living in the motorhome for a while before leaving. Guess the movement must have disturbed a seal somewhere. A job for a dry day when I can get onto the roof and see what is happening.
Welsh Wales - The Cambrian Mountains
Heading out towards Aberystwyth we saw a brown tourist sign with a coach on to somewhere called Skanda Vale.
Not knowing what was there we decided to follow the sign. After all, if it was OK for coaches it would be OK for us wouldn’t it?
The route took us down some very narrow lanes. We eventually ended up in a gravel car park in the middle of nowhere. There was a track leading off with a big sign saying “No Phones, No Photos”.
A bit odd, so we decided to google it before venturing any further – turns out it was some sort of religious sect. We didn’t stay long.
Then it was time for what was to become the regular afternoon game of hunting the overnight parking spot!
As we are away for so long and we don’t have an unlimited budget using campsites every night just isn’t possible. That means that wild camping will be the norm most of the time.
Turns out finding suitable places isn’t as easy as you might think.
Good old Google came up with a car park by a reservoir called Nant-y-Moch. Fed it into the sat nav and off we went.
Onwards and upwards, literally. Well, apparently I have a thing for narrow roads. The reservoir was high in the Cambrian Mountains. Very remote, very bleak, very high ….. very wet and windy!
A break in the weather and a lovely walk with Zeus.
After night fell there was no artificial light to be seen in any direction.
We settled down for the night only to be woken by what sounded like the heaviest hail storm we had ever heard! Fortunately, it soon blew through and the rest of the night was very peaceful.
We awoke the next morning to a gorgeous sunrise over the mountains, followed by a very slow 10 mile drive through some stunning scenery to get back to the main road. Well it wouldn’t be much of an adventure if we stuck to the main routes all the time would it?
Welsh Wales - Snowdonia
Heading north we stopped on the shores of Lake Bala for lunch, just beautiful and so peaceful.
As we were so close we decided to press on towards Snowdonia and Mount Snowden, hoping to find somewhere to stop around there so we could spend some time in the area the following morning.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be …. too commercialized, too many people, nowhere to park up. All potential stopping places have “no overnight parking” signs.
Even the official campsites have horribly inflated rates.
So sadly we carried on driving.
Eventually, we ended up in a small car park by the pier in Bangor which was okay. Cheap at £1.50 for the night, but unfortunately not terribly flat.
We also noticed that Lottie was listing to the right – problem with the suspension? Need to get someone to look at it before tackling the Scottish Highlands.
We had a somewhat disturbed night. A young lady sobbing at 3am for what seemed an eternity whilst whoever she was on the ‘phone to tried to console her.
Things that are becoming an issue that more experienced motor-homers are no doubt well aware of are finding toilets, finding water, finding somewhere to empty waste, finding somewhere to stop overnight.
Sadly, not such a good day. I guess it’s not all going to be sunshine and roses after all. Of course we knew this, but we had hoped the honeymoon period might last a bit longer.
Welsh Wales - Rhyl
After spending some time trying to find someone to look at the suspension we were told that it was a broken coil spring and would need to be replaced.
It was, apparently, safe to drive for the moment, as the wheel arch was well clear of the tyre – probably because of the air suspension.
We tried to find a local garage to do the job as we didn’t fancy driving around the Highlands with dodgy suspension!
Unfortunately, no one locally could do the job in a reasonable timescale as sourcing the part was proving to be a challenge!
We decided to phone ahead and book it into a garage in either Ayr or Glasgow to give them time to source the part.
Our last night in Wales was spent in Rhyl, in a free car park in front of the Sun Verge pub, right on the beachfront.
Had a lovely relaxed afternoon/evening with a couple of pints in the pub and a restful night’s sleep.
I think we might just be starting to settle into the lifestyle a little.
Awoke to another fantastic sunrise over the rooftops of Rhyl.
After a brief stop in the car park of Lidl in Prestatyn for breakfast, as you do, we began the long drive up to Mc Scotland.
And therein lies the next stage of our adventure.
Moving forwards
Next Stop McScotland
Carol and I have discussed how our websites are going to work.
Zeus’ site will be more about the photos we take and places we visit whilst from here onwards I will focus on the local food, drink, and people we meet.
Hope You Enjoy!
Please leave us a comment!
Nice to see the places you are visiting on what seems like a whistle stop tour of almost everywhere. The meals you create in your tiny kitchen are quite remarkable!
Thank you Christine. Once we got into Scotland we slowed the pace a lot but it still seems like we’ve done so much in a short space of time. I am hoping to get some more posts on shortly about some of the wonderful produce we’ve come across. Internet dependent of course.