Thursday 26 July 2007

Camping in Wales... To identify with the



We have the kids for two weeks of holiday and we wanted to go out an do something. Camping is inexpensive and there is a lot of the UK I haven't seen. So, camping it is. Even though this is the rainiest summer Britain has seen in years... even though we had to drive through flooded regions to get there and back ....




(flooded regions in Gloucester where people had sandbags outside their homes and others were fighting over the short supply of bottled water)... But, they have the best view from a grocery store ever.





We went camping! In Wales (land of rain)! This is where N spend many of his summers growing up. His mother () was Welsh.



And it rained! So, we played cards in the tent, ate in the tent, read in the tent, I even cooked in the tent!



I guess that's why the tents are so big in England. This is ours and it was medium in size compared to the others around. It has three bedrooms and a middle common room that extends out front.













On our first day of mostly rain, we went into Pembroke.



and went to the Pembroke Castle where King Henry VII (Henry Tudor) was born. Speaking of reign.






Did you know that Henry Tudor (father to King Henry VIII) wasn't even the son of a king? He was the son of royal blood (Lord R--s to mention one) but he actually was just a well educated, well-off man who was at the right place at the right time. His mother made the right alliances and the right choices for her son and he won (sort of by luck) a rebellion against King Richard III. Maybe that's why Henry VIII was so desperate to keep his blood line going.. it had only just started.

The king of the castle right now though is J...








We had one day of sun and warm weather when we went to the sea. Just a couple miles from where we were camping we had the most beautiful stretch of coastline.





N and the kids went exploring and found all sorts of treasures.

















We even went jumping in the waves like these kids are.




The water was warmer than the Okanogan Lake but getting out was cold! Jumping the waves was awesome! It was like being at a wave pool. I'm usually very scared of the sea and hate swimming in it, but this was warm, shallow, sandy under foot and fun!













The evenings were normally nice. We played catch and frisbee and went into nearby Tenby. Tenby had a gorgeous coastline. Here's J against the evening sky.




The tide was out on those evenings and it exposed a vast expanse of sandy beach.



People wrote all sorts of things in the sand from "Hi Mum" to tractor adverts.





So, Ce made her mark.






















And we all explored the caves and caverns.



















The ride home was through the breath-taking Brecon Beacons.



























The nights were not like the evenings and it poured rain! Part of the tent even collapsed one night under the gale force winds. I'm not sure if I can convince everyone to camp again, but hopefully as time goes on, they will remember only the good things and not the cold, damp sleepless nights.

5 comments:

Expat Teacher said...

One of our weekends in the UK was spent in Pembrokeshire and in the Irish Sea. We loved it. Thanks for the pics!

Now we need a blog post about your new job/position. Set the stage for the new school year....

Anonymous said...

Your camping trip looked like it was awfully wet. But other than the weather it looks like you guys had a lot of fun. Beautiful country you live in. one day we will get over there. Jamie has family over there that he wants to see. It will be a long time from now but someday.

Anonymous said...

£2300 is a *lot*, and I hope you get them for it. I'm sure the legality of it all is questionable.

Unknown said...

Hiya, finally made it here. Wales is one of my favourite places in the UK and love camping there. Sorry about the rain, though, even if it is part of that camping in Wales experience.

Love your photos but my favourite is the one with Christie. Good lighting!

love,
missy xx
(you know who)

Anonymous said...

Hi Diana, Great to laugh with you again! Sounds like a memorable family break. Loved the photos and the massive tent. All best and hope to read more soon!