I am back from my grown-up glamping adventure. I did not get (too) lost, eaten by insects, die of food poisoning from eating undercooked BBQ food or indeed go stir crazy about being on my own like I thought I would. So here’s what happened, with some pictures:
I left on Monday, already running late because I had planned on going straight from lunch with a new friend to Wales but had forgot my wellies & running shoes so wanted to nip home. Went back, grabbed wellies (which ironically I ended up not needing) and forgot my running shoes again. Finally set off, got 20 miles out and Google Maps on my phone died. Cue mad panic because I had no idea where I was going. Couldn’t get it to reconnect so decided to wing it, with the vague notion that I needed to go along the A49. Had to eenie-meanie to decide which WAY along the A49 I was supposed to travel and thankfully guessed right.
Arrived, later than I had originally planned, to find this:
And after going through that gate I met the lovely Emma, who walked me up the hill to this:
Rosy, the beautifully furnished bow-top gypsy wagon, with a very inviting bed that I had to resist the urge to climb right into:
Having decided not to climb straight into bed, I unpacked my stuff, familiarised myself with the gorgeously picturesque site & view, and then decided to go for a drive. Having ended up in the vague direction of the town of Abergavenny, I nipped into a local supermarket and came back armed with sausages and other yummy scrumptious goodies, which I set about cooking, and settled in for the night with my book.
The following morning I decided to find a beach, because no trip to Wales is complete without a bit of a splash in sea, and after picking Katy‘s brains decided to head out to Barry Island, just outside of Cardiff. Because what’s an hour and a half trek to a beach when you’ve got a whole day to waste? Barry Island did not disappoint:
And I had a bit of a paddle on the beach, and a walk up a bit of a hill, and then came back to the beach to take a dodgy “sun is in my eyes and I can’t get the camera to actually take the picture” selfie:
After I got bored of taking crappy selfies on the beach at Barry Island, I decided to head to Hay-on-Wye (totally the opposite direction) because Katy suggested they had a lot of cool bookshops. However, not far from Barry I spotted a sign for Caerphilly Castle and decided to follow that instead, for a fun hour or two mooching around a big Welsh castle:
And then came home and used my SKILLS to set up the 3rd fire of my trip and consume my weight in bacon/sausages:
After which I settled into my chair with my books, and a blanket to watch the sunset:
The following morning after I’d cleared my stuff away and washed up everything ready to leave, I had decided I’d go to Hay-on-Wye after missing it the day before. However, it was at that point I noticed that my wheel/tyre (which I’d clipped on a curb last week) looked pretty knackered, so I decided not to risk it and headed straight home. Slight downer on a glorious trip but I’m not letting it (or the probably massive future bill) put me off because I had a fantastic time.
I’ll be writing up a proper review of Little Oasis for WAHMweb in the coming week but in the mean time, I would heartily recommend them to absolutely anyone and I can’t wait to go back – hopefully next time with some company, too.
17 Jul at 5:58 pm
see technically I recommended Caerphilly Castle too at some point. Katy’s South Wales/Borders tourist information service, open for business!
17 Jul at 6:17 pm
You did, full credit where it’s due!
18 Jul at 12:35 am
That bed looks heavenly. Looks like you had a lot of fun! :D
20 Jul at 2:17 pm
I had gone to so many camping trips over the years, that I now hate even the thought of it… but that glamping wagon looks very very inviting.
06 Sep at 9:03 pm
Don’t know how I missed this entry before but Little Oasis sounds fantastic and looks like it would be really relaxing especially with nice weather.