I’d only just unpacked from the epic drive back from Hungary, when Claire offered to take me to Wales with her to visit some friends. After driving across 7 countries in the last week a jaunt across the Welsh border held no fears (and Claire looked lonely) so I packed up again and we set off.
We were meeting up with Caroline and Ruth, who Claire went to university with. Caroline is now a vet, and lives on a farm in Pembrokeshire. I lost no time in asking her about some funny twinges I’ve been getting in my paws, but Caroline informed me that she doesn’t have any experience with bears! Call herself a vet – she’s obviously nothing more than a quack. Last night we settled in and met Caroline’s three cats. Two of them are just kittens, and were clearly overwhelmed to meet a cosmopolitan and well-travelled bear such as myself.
We were got up this morning at what Claire refers to as ‘sparrow-fart’ and the rest of the world calls ‘mid-morning’. Our hosts had been up for hours for the milking, but as guests in the cottage we get to lie in. After breakfast we set off for the beach at Newgale and some reminiscing on Claire’s part – when she was young (many years ago) the whole family used to come camping here at least once a year. The campsite is still there, along with the tea shop selling buckets and spades and surfboards. Once I heard that this part of the country is known for surfing, and I’d learnt what boogie boarding, was I started looking over the surfboards and picking out a suitable one. As soon as Claire realised what I was up to she pulled me away quickly, muttering that she’d been warned what I was like – cheek! Instead we went for a stroll and a paddle along the beach.
After Newgale we went for a drive along the coast road through Nolton Haven, Solva, Little Haven and Broad Haven (an awful lot of Havens in this part of the country), all places that Claire had visited when she’d stayed here years ago (she’s as bad as Maria for wittering on about the past), before heading back to the farm for a lovely roast dinner with home grown veg. After a quiet rest in the garden after stuffing ourselves we hit the road again, this time heading for St. David’s. I was promised a fun little touristy town, but quickly realised I’d been conned when we headed into the cathedral to look around Yet Another Church! An interest in old buildings is clearly inherited in this family.
Having been dragged around the building I reminded Claire that I’m used to a certain standard of living – in particular snacks in the afternoon – so we repaired to a local chocolate and ice cream shop.Â
The others seemed to enjoy their ice cream, but I have to say it wasn’t quite up to the standard I’m used to after my jaunt across Europe.
One final stop today, so we headed off to the Blue Lagoon. It’s an old quarry that’s connected to the sea, and the water is a bright blue green which is unusual in this part of the world. It’s a very popular area for coastal sports and we saw costeering, sea kayaking and diving there – and Claire wouldn’t let me try any of them! Some rubbish about safety regulations, diving with a partner, and not getting my fur wet.
It was getting late, so we headed back to the farm so Caroline’s fella could drive us into Tenby (apparently the hen and stag capital of Wales!) for fish and chips.