Willow Nuggins goes to the Cambrian Mountains Part 1

Day 1 - The Journey

Today is a very exciting day. Today is the day my family and I are going on our first trip together. Everyone has been very excited loading me up with all the essentials and some not so essential things.

I wake up thinking I'm the first to wake but everyone already is bustling about with the last minute tasks, loading my fridge, plugging in the sat nav and before you know it we are ready to be off.

We rollout at 7.15am and start to make our way towards the first stop at the petrol station. Avoiding those high priced motorway service stations is a must. We pull in to a very tight spot and Paul has to climb out my sliding door to be able to get out. I see that next to me some very inconsiderate driver has just pulled in, blocked both petrol pumps and just waltzed into the shop to buy their shopping. When he returns there a shouts of annoyance and swearing. If only people could be more considerate and try to get along. I brush off the disturbance as we start off again. The next stop is a long way off so I settle down with cruse control on and pray the M25 will be kind on this bright and sunny morning.

After a couple of hours with the M25 now behind us and the M4 in front. Everyone is beginning to feel its time for a break. Reading services is just ahead so we decide pull in for a well earned rest. We roll on towards car park wondering what the parking will be like. Will it be a squeeze? Will I be able to get a big enough space? To be honest, I was a little apprehensive but to everyone's suprise we see a sign for caravan and motorhome parking. It was a wonder, large big spaces, no reversing it was like service station heaven. My family head in for a well earned coffee with something sweet on the side. I'm was soooo happy to let revs drop and cool off. After 20 mins we are all rested and ready to go. Paul puts it into gear and off we roll back to the M4 and on towards our lunch time stop at Newark Park.

We are getting near our stop and pull off the motorway to what we believe to be a good route to the park but it ends up being nothing like it. Google Maps is a wonderful tool most of the time but there are those times when it sends you down snaking white road route thinking you can do 60 mph but in realty its only 30. For the campervan tourers out there that sat nav apps do you use? We finally get to Newark and park in a nice quiet corner with a bit of shade.

Everyone piles out and wanders into the park while I wait here for a welcome rest. Only a few mins later another campervan parks next to me for some company while our families are away enjoying themselves.

After we've all had a well earned break its back to the M4. We say goodbye to the Ford Transit campervan next to me and Nicola finished off her ice cream, Heather did not need to because she was a passenger. Nicola had to map read. Then off we went once more.

The borders of Wales is not far away and we soon see the Severn Bridge in the distance. We turn off the motorway towards to the A40 and skirt the top of the Brecon Beacons. We all thought there wasn't much travel to go but it took a long time to follow the twisty roads. We turned off the A40 and on to A483, unfortunately the road turned even twistier. After 20 mins Ffarmers rolls into view and we know we are nearly there. A turn left and up the hill and there it is Llety'r Wennol.

Day 2 - Mooch Around The Cottage

After a very long day yesterday we're all content to spend some time in the cottage and get to know our surroundings. The rest of the family go for a walk to discovery what Ffarmers has to offer. Unfortunately there isn't much there. The highlight of the trip with a traditional horse mounting block next to the road. Later in the day Paul and Heather play catch with hacky sacks before we all turn in for the night.

While I try to sleep the night sky is a wonder. The stars above me are bright and clear, offering a wonderful view to send me of to sleep.

Day 3 - A Sad Day in Llandovery

We arrive in Llandovery nice and early to make sure we can park in a nice spot. We heard that the parking was free and worried that it would be full. We shouldn't have worried there was lots of space. We found a good spot just next to the Castle. I enjoyed the view while everyone else got to know the town.

They came back not long after leaving with treats from La Patisserie on Stone Street. They did look good. Unfortunately this was when the day took a turn for the worst. Heather started to not feel well so we packed up and when back to the cottage so she good got some rest and recuperate.