Time To Go Home

We woke up late on our last day, we had to vacate by 10am and we woke up at 9.15am, the alarm hadn't gone off! Good job we had done most of the packing the night before. We rushed round getting everything into the car. Once the car was loaded up we drove to the office to drop off the front door key. No one was there though, maybe we didn't have to rush in the end? There was another couple trying to give their key in as well, we all decided just to put them in the letter box.

We stopped off at Pendine beach to give the dogs a run before the long journey home. The beach was pretty quiet again. On our way back to the car we were stopped by a man, turns out he was from the local council keeping an eye on dog owners who do not pick up after their dogs. He thanked us for cleaning up after our dogs and gave us some free doggy bags.

About half way home we stopped off at a little cafe for some food, it was pleasant enough, pity there were no tables and chairs outside because it was lovely and warm. We had an easy journey home and still had the weekend at home before it was back to work.

What's Next?

We haven't got much planned for the next couple of months, but will probably do something. We've got Uganda in October, so we might take the dogs somewhere again before then. We've been busy sorting the garden out as we are having really lovely weather and it's good to make the most of it as it can go as quickly as it came in England! Of course we will be supporting England in the World Cup and have made sure we are free to watch the games.

Andy turns 30 in November, so we'll do something special then as well.

The Manor House

The house we were staying in was a fairly large manor house split into 3 accommodations. We had the largest of the three which we had managed to get on a cancellation, therefore the cost of our stay was greatly reduced. Our part of the house sleeps 8 people in four large double bedrooms, each bedroom had an en suite. The downstairs was made up of a large lounge and dining room and what once looked liked the bar was now a kitchen. We were at the back of the house, if it was still one large house. We had a little balcony off the dining room. There was no proper garden, just a paved area with trees. Underneath the house, the cellar had been converted into a swimming pool and sauna. The pool was an exercise pool.

Outside on the drive was the hot tub, which we used every day of our trip! Sharing our drive was a mobile home that belonged to the site manager and his wife. We didn't meet them straight away as they were stranded in Poland due to the ash cloud that had affected a lot of Europe's air space.

The house was high up on a hill and the drive up was pretty steep, which we realised just how steep when we took the dogs for their evening walk. We were glad we hadn't rented one of the cottages on the site as they were up another level and the drive was even steeper!

The house was decorated with these beautiful, huge chandeliers in the lounge and dining room. There were large leather sofa's and the odd piece of beautiful furniture. We couldn't quite understand the choice of art for the house though. Even though the art was interesting we couldn't help think that it didn't suit the house. Most of the rooms were dressed with these large paintings of half naked people, we figured maybe South American. There were no signatures on the paintings.

There was a more fitting picture, a photo of a family from the Victorian times, which Steph thought was a bit spooky as well because it reminded her of those photos that the Victorians took of the dead.

The house was creaky, but we did not encounter anything supernatural!

The house had freeview but the aerial wasn't very good, so you lost some channels. The freeview box was a bit dodgy as well and Andy ended up fixing it. We're not too bothered about tv when we're on holiday, but it is nice to have it in the evenings.

If you rent this house you need to bring your own towels and things for the kitchen like washing up liquid, sponges, salt, pepper etc... as it is bare. This is usual in some holiday homes, but our experience is the 'household' things are usually already catered for.

Would we rent this house again? Probably no and most definitely not at it's usual price. Although the house was interesting and it was a bit of a novelty staying in a manor house, we don't think it had the luxuries you would expect especially if you paid full price.

We've also got plenty of other places to visit.

We enjoyed our stay though and the dogs had fun.

We booked with Hoseasons, Seascape Cottages, Manor house 4 we stayed 3 nights and paid £140 including pet supplements.

Pembrey Country Park

We ventured further from Pendine and came across Pembrey Country Park. The park consists of woodlands and a beach with lots of activities such as a dry ski slope, adventure activities, etc... We of course were just there for the walking. To enter the park it costs £3 to park the car. We drove to the beach first.

The beach was huge, it is one of the longest beaches in Wales. There were very few people on the beach and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. The weather was warm. The sand was scattered with shells in lovely different colours. Sand dunes lined the beach and the water looked warm, but we knew it definitely was not!

After the beach we went back to the car and let the dogs have a drink, we then carried on for a stroll through the woodlands, we stuck to the edges.

A few people were sun bathing and having a picnic on the large open green areas. We walked quite far and the dogs were getting tired, so we headed back to the car. It would have been nice to have a picnic as well, but we didn't think to bring one.

Tenby

We travelled a bit further from Pendine in search of more southern beaches. We tapped 'nearest beach' into the Satnav and Tenby popped up. It wasn't far to Tenby, about 40 minutes.

Upon our arrival we ended up driving through the very narrow streets of the town and back out by the harbour. We could see the beach, but no suitable parking. We ended up parked outside of the town on a road, but not far from the beach.

Tenby looked so pretty, it was a lovely warm day, sunshine, blue sky, blue sea and golden sand. The houses over looking the harbour and the beach were all painted different colours. We felt we could have been somewhere tropical.

There were steep steps down to the beach, but nothing too difficult, Steph just had to make sure Spike didn't pull her too much, she still has to be aware of her knee and taking it easy with the foot.

The beach was practically empty, only a couple of other people with dogs. The dogs enjoyed jumping in and out of the water, too cold for us humans though!

Pendine Sands

We took a short break to South Wales for Steph's birthday and a mini dogs holiday. South Wales is a 3.5 hour journey from our house, so a few stops on the way for Spike and Chewy.

We arrived late afternoon and set out to get directions from the locals to the house as the Satnav only got us so far. The house that we had rented was high up on a hill, a note and a key in the door awaited our arrival. The proprietor was away, but told us to let ourselves in. I guess security is not an issue in the area!

We stayed in a large manor house with it's own exercise pool and hot tub. The house is split into three accommodations, we had the largest part which sleeps 8.

We spent a bit of time unpacking and exploring the house. The pool was housed in what used to be the cellar. We went and had a nosey, the pool was covered with a mat before we knew what had happened, Chewy came running in and straight onto the mat! It all happened in kind of slow motion with Chewy suddenly realising he was sinking! Chewy lept for the edge and Andy ended up dragging him out, a wet but ok dog!

The local beach wasn't far from the house, so we took the dogs for a run. Seems like we had picked a good time of year as there was a sign saying dogs weren't allowed from May to September.

There was another sign that said 'Risk of Explosion!' the beach at Pendine Sands is Ministry of Defence property and part of it is closed to the public. There was enough of the beach open to us and the dogs.

The tide was quite far out, but the dogs managed a swim anyway. There was also a canoe lesson going on just further down.

Good Bye Cymru

We really enjoyed our holiday with Spike and Chewy and we know that they really enjoyed it too. Where will we go next year? Perhaps back to Wales? Steph used to live on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales when she was a child and there are some beautiful places to visit, so maybe a log cabin on a lake on Anglesey? Sounds tempting! We would love to take the dogs to Scotland, but we're not sure about all the car travel for them, the best thing would be to do the journey in stages and stop over half way. There are plenty of B&B's that are dog friendly, so this is a very possible option. We would love to visit Scotland, a cottage near a loch? Tempting also.

We are thinking hard about our holiday next year as well. Steph has a 'must visit' list, so it would be good to pick a destination from there! We are both 30 years old next year as well, so there will be celebrations!

We went to London in September to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. We will write this report soon. In the mean time we are fast approaching Christmas, so some festive photo's are in order we think. Steph went to the Frankfurt Christmas market in Birmingham on 4th December, so some pictures from that and other festive photos to come.

Shell Island

We paid £5 for a one day pass for Shell Island. You can come and go, but you need to keep hold of your ticket to avoid paying the fee again. Shell Island can be cut off from the main land when the tide is in, just check the tidal times before you visit. We parked up and headed onto the beach. The beach on Shell Island has very rocky parts, very pebbly parts and of course little shell parts, but there is a part with enough sand ideal for dogs.

We've been to Shell Island before back in 2006 and camped. It's great to camp and we really enjoyed it, we may do it again sometime. Spike particularly liked camping as we found when we couldn't throw his ball for him because we were cooking or cleaning, he would go to the next tent and drop his ball at the feet of the first person he could find! He was very popular with the kids and the parents as it kept the kids busy!

Shell Island has some lovely dunes, but they can be dangerous so caution is needed. We wasted our one day pass really as we only stayed a few hours. The dogs got tired, the island was very busy with visitors and the weather wasn't nice enough to just sit on the beach and relax, so we headed back to the caravan site.

Black Rock Sands

We spent a day in Porthmadog and at Black Rock Sands. There was a really friendly pub in the town centre, we were a bit late for lunch but they served us anyway. It was a really beautiful day and we ate in the beer garden. Spike and Chewy made friends with a friendly golden retriever.

We've been to Porthmadog and Black Rock Sands a couple of years ago. The beach isn't ideal for the dogs to swim, but they can get plenty of exercise and you can drive right up to the sea if you want to, just be careful you're not caught out by the tide!

We had an ice cream at the beach, a 99 to be exact. The dogs had a drink and a dog biscuit each. After this day out we went back to the caravan to relax and the dogs were exhausted, they put their paws up and fell asleep!

Tywyn and Harlech

We took a day out to Tywyn. Tywyn isn't the best place to walk the dogs as the beach is mainly pebbles and stones, not the best surface for their paws, so we stuck to the path at the top of the beach. The weather was pretty bad as well, the worst day for weather in fact. Andy's grandparents have a caravan in Tywyn, so he rang them to see if they were there. Turns out they were which worked out well as we hadn't seen them for a while and the weather was getting worse. By the time we got to them, it really started to rain. The dogs were very well behaved in the caravan. There is a scenic train ride through Tywyn and Andy's mum and other family members were passing through and came to the caravan to say hello. The caravan was pretty crowded, but good to catch up with everyone.

Another day was spent in Harlech. There is a pretty castle in Harlech, but unfortunately dogs are not allowed in the grounds, so we admired it from outside.

We of course took the dogs to the beach. The car park is quite a walk from the beach, but it was a lovely day, so the walk was really nice. As usual, the dogs had the best time playing on the beach. We managed to get a picture of the four of us using our mini tripod and the timer.