The weather improved in the New Year still cold but nothing like we had in December. We went out to the Salutation Inn on New Year’s Eve our nearest pub in Pontargothi about 3 miles away. Usually ‘us oldies’ do not bother to stay up for the New Year!! It was a pleasant evening. The Salutation is another pleasant pub doing good food.
Not being particularly interested in consumerism we resisted going to the New Year sales! Instead we just had a day here in the Cothi Valley. The following day we had a trip down to Laugharne to visit Dylan Thomas’ home the Boathouse situated on a cliff overlooking the estuary of the River Taf. He lived here for the last four years of his life and wrote many pieces of work including Under Milk Wood.
Laugharne is an interesting ancient town having a castle first established in the twelfth century, a mixture of small cottages and Georgian houses.
On the way down we saw 2 red kites, one actually over the Taf estuary. They are magnificent birds of prey whose numbers are increasing.
We intended to drive along the coastal road to Tenby but unfortunately followed the SatNav directions along another more inland road. Tenby is a very popular holiday resort, its attractions being the fantastic beaches and views of Caldey Island. The town was even quite busy on a Bank Holiday in winter. A visit to the seaside is never complete without fish and chips which we ate at one of the many fish and chip restaurants.
The following day we went walking in the Brechfa forest which is in the next valley to us. The Brechfa Forest is a mixture of ancient and managed woodland containing several mountain biking and walking trails. We had a good walk even if the weather was a bit cold and damp.
Jonathan, our son, then had to start his return journey to Santiago de Compostela the next day first catching the coach to London and then spending the night in Stansted airport before catching his Ryanair flight the following morning. It makes it a long trip for him but he enjoyed his stay over Christmas and New Year. Next time he will try a more convenient flight and Ryanair are pulling out of Santiago anyway.
So far in January the weather has been all right and we have been able to get around more easily and are starting to enjoy living here. We attempted to climb the Black Mountain situated in the Western part of the Brecon Beacons National Park and is a remote rugged area. Unfortunately the mist set in so we did not make it to the top so had to leave that for another day.
