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.

Steph's 30th

Steph had a brilliant birthday, big thank you to all our family and friends. Andy arranged a birthday meal with family and friends for Steph on the day before. It was really good having everyone together. On the actual day we went to Alton Towers and had an ace time. Steph went on all the big rides except for the Oblivion, Steph really didn't fancy that one! The new ride 'Thirteen' was pretty good, we thought it would be scarier and longer. Thirteen is basically a roller coaster with a few drops so you lose your stomach and then it goes into a tunnel where the track drops twice and then you go backwards. We had to queue a long time for it.

We all got a soaking on the log flume and went home wet and tired after an excellent day out.

We will do a separate report for the trip to Wales.

2010 So Far...

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. We've made a few decisions for 2010 so we're pretty excited and have lots of things to look forward to.

We've nearly finished decorating the lounge, just the stairs and banister to paint. We've got our new suite which is so comfy!

Travel wise, our main holiday this year is Uganda, we are very excited. This is a trip Steph has wanted to do for a few years now so we are finally off to Africa in October. Before Uganda, we are off to Pendine in Carmarthenshire, Wales for Steph's birthday. This will be a good dogs holiday as well. There won't be much walking on this trip though as Steph had to have surgery on her foot and it won't be fully recovered by the time we go at the end of April. We will be going away again for a second dogs holiday when the foot is better. In addition to Steph's birthday trip, we're going to Alton Towers to satisfy our child/fun side as Steph is turning 30.

Andy's team Technical Services FC are doing well in their Sunday league, they hope to get second in the league. Andy's professional team, Newcastle United are already promoted to the premiership, so as you can imagine, Andy is ecstatic. Fingers crossed for Nottingham Forest FC to get automatic promotion as well.

Steph is busy with Uni and everything seems to be going well so far.

Our next report will be Steph's birthday and our trip to Pendine.

Almost forgot to acknowledge it! You'll notice the new look to the blog, hope you like it.

eBay Success

We are now proud owners of a Berghaus Freeflow IV 30 backpack. We say proud because we won a brand new one on eBay for £28.80. These bags retail at £60.00 and after searching the Internet we only found them for £45 brand new, therefore we feel we got a bargain.

The Berghaus Freeflow IV 30 has some very good features which is why we sought one out:

• Capacity of 30 litres - a decent size for a day pack
• Freeflow back system - which helps against you feeling sweaty when carrying the bag
• Breathable shoulder straps
• Compression straps
• Additional compartment in the base
• Holders for walking poles
• Pocket for a hydration pack
• Raincover
• Adjustable chest harness
• Made from 600 denier polyester which is good for strength and low weight

Will serve us well.

Destinations Show 2010

We went to the Destinations show at the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday 6th March. We had excellent luck when we arrived as just as we were approaching the ticket counter, a lady came up to us and handed us a leaflet and said there was a free entry ticket in it for two. Sure enough there was and we got in free! Very nice person!

We've never been to this event before and our expectations were probably a lot higher. There seemed to be plenty of exhibitors, but the room still seemed like it had loads more space for loads more exhibitors. There were a few companies there which confused us to why as their product didn't seem to be travel related. There were a couple of clothing stands where we were able to pick up some discounted gear, a fleece each and a waterproof jacket each.

The show helps you choose and book a holiday with more 'off the beaten track' destinations. As we've already chosen our destination for this year we just gathered information for future destinations. We were entertained by some traditional Bhangra dancers, they were very good. Wanderlust magazine had their photo competition on display and some of the pictures were just simply brilliant.

There was a 'meet the experts theatre' and we were interested in hearing Simon Reeve speak. It was still 20 minutes to go so we went to the bar for a drink. After our drink we realised we should have started queueing a lot earlier! There were loads of people and we thought that we may not get in. Luckily we did but had to stand, but it was only for 30 minutes.

Simon Reeve works for the BBC and has made several travel programmes for them. Before the BBC Simon Reeve worked for a newspaper investigating terrorism, smuggling, arms-dealing etc... For the BBC, Simon travels more 'unknown' destinations.

In the theatre, Simon was interviewed by David Linstead from Wanderlust magazine. Simon talked about his current travel series travelling around the Tropic of Cancer. We saw clips of the series and Simon told us some of the difficulties him and his team experienced. They couldn't get into China at all, so had to take another route. They had to sneak into Burma because the Indian secret police were against them entering with Simon's wife leading the secret police off in a distraction tactic to allow Simon to get to the Burmese border.

Simon discussed the controversy surrounding Burma of should people still travel to the country because you could be supporting the dictatorship etc...

Simon discussed the one country he deemed as the most dangerous for him which he said was Somalia. He chose Somalia because he was protected by a gang on his travels through the country and while on the road they came under fire from a rival gang passing them on the road. He knew that there was nothing he could do himself to get out of that situation.

Simon chose Oman and Bangladesh as 'must see' countries to visit, maybe they will be on our own travels one day.

We'll be watching Simon's series on the Tropic of Cancer on BBC2 starting on Sunday 14th March at 8pm.

We left the show after the Simon Reeve interview.

Our verdict is that the show was good, but I can imagine that the Earls Court version in London was probably much better. More stalls needed at the NEC and maybe a bigger theatre for the experts as it would be a shame if you couldn't get to hear them. Interesting though and plenty of travel information available, Simon Reeve was the highlight.

Thriller Live

Not a great picture, but this was all we could get when we realised no photo's were allowed!

To finish off our trip to London and to end our first anniversary celebrations we went out for a lovely meal and to watch Thriller Live at the Lyric theatre. As massive MJ fans we of course loved the show, but we both agreed that even if you weren't fans but still enjoyed his music you would enjoy the show. The performers were top class and involved you in the story. At the end of the show they got you up out your seats and dancing, we had a brilliant night. They told the story of MJ from the Jackson Five through to his solo career.

We have made ourselves a mental note though to always get front row seats as it's quite annoying having someone constantly fidgeting and moving and spoiling your view. Despite this we thoroughly enjoyed the show and would definitely recommend it.

Thriller Live

Buckingham Palace

Although a quick visit, we couldn't go home unless we saw Buckingham Palace. We didn't go inside, but will definitely take a look next time.

We're always taken a back by the sheer size and grandeur of the palace. How amazing would it be to be able to explore every inch. The flag was flying therefore the Queen was at home when we went.

As you can imagine the place was very busy and as a result hard to take pictures. After taking in the palace we enjoyed a walk through Green Park and bought ourselves a hot dog.

Madame Tussauds

As Andy had never been to London before we had to include Madam Tussuad's Waxworks and the London Dungeons.

The dungeons were a bit of a disappointment, firstly we had to queue for over an hour at least! We had a money off voucher, so stuck with it. When we finally got in we were left to just aimlessly wonder round a mirror maze which we all figured out was just another ploy to keep us waiting longer. When we finally got to start the tour only a couple of the rooms were that good. You are guided by actors and actresses dressed up from the 1800's who each tell a different story, Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, the Great Fire of London, etc..The best rooms were the court room as the actor and actress were hilarious and the surgery room as they really made you jump, the rest were ok. Interesting tales told though.

There is a small boat ride in the dark and a pretty decent ride at the end where the ride simulates hanging you. Overall, it's ok, good for kids, but we're glad we didn't pay full price. No pictures as it was far too dark.

Now Madam Tussuad's was better, we didn't have to queue and we could move around in our own time. The bad thing was that you literally had to fight to get anywhere near the waxworks, it was ridiculously busy! Again we had a money off voucher, so we got on with it. What we like about the waxworks is actually seeing how big celebs really are as the waxworks are life size. Madam Tussuad's redeemed itself for us when we opted for the scary old London street walk, children not allowed! To be fair we've never jumped or screamed so much! There was also lots of swearing from scared adults so I can understand why children were not allowed. Basically you just walk through a set from the black death days of London and actors in costume jump out at you and chase you! Scary!

Admission to the London Dungeons is £22.50 per adult

Admission to Madam Tussuad's is £25.54 per adult

Look out for Merlin 2 for 1 vouchers. These vouchers get you 2 for 1 entry to popular UK attractions.