South Wales Road Trippin'

I was rewarded with some blue skies after a very windy night in the van at the Darrens, on the edge of the Black Mountains. Today is the fourth anniversary of our wedding, but with Clare away in London, I decided to see the day in up in the mountains. It was a promising start with this being the view from my sleeping bag, in the car park.

It didn't take long to get up onto the ridge. It's been about 20 years since I lived here and the views began to conjure up hazy memories as I ascended.

 

There was no one else about, but the sound of skylarks were everywhere. I saw a fox running away down the hillside and loads of wild horses.

By 8:30 I was up onto the Offa's Dyke path and stuck a toe into Wales.

 

Before opening my card that Clare had snuck into my pack!

 

I hiked the Offa's Dyke path for a short distance, but the weather was changing and the valleys were beginning to fill with clouds.

 

For old time sake, (I did some of my Mountain Leader Training around here), I scrambled down through the old landslide of the Black Darrens and remembered my first mountain biking trip along the distant ridge of Black Hill.

 

I made it back to the van just before the rain and after stopping to say goodbye to Doris, set my sights on Swansea Bay...

After picking up Hwyel, (of BSES Arctic Expedition fame) we continued together onto the Gower and Worms Head at Rhossilli. Believe it or not, it was pouring with rain when we arrived, so once it eased enough to leave the van, we dashed into the cafe for a coffee while things dried up. One latte later and this was the view!

The cliff tops were perfect for watching the paragliders floating past.

In an unplanned stroke of luck, we got to the causeway at exactly low tide, so pressed on to the tip of the headland.

We couldn't have timed it better - it was hot, the rock was dry and the tides were perfect for taking our time, exploring the rock, views and wildlife.

 

We got back to the mainland with time to spare. By now it was into the evening and having only had a banana for breakfast, was suddenly starving. We went direct to the nearest pub and continued our nattering and toasted the wedding anniversary over a huge meal and a pint of 'Gower Gold'. Brilliant.