Greenore Camping and Caravanning Club Certificated Site, Cardigan

Nice sunny start to the morning. Had breakfast and started to pack up the caravan. We left around 1:00pm and arrived home about 6:00pm.

Welsh Wildlife Centre

This morning was fairly sunny but a bit blustery. We decided to take the bikes to the Welsh Wildlife Centre in Cilgerran. We cycled back into Cardigan and stopped at several hides on the way. We stayed quite a while in the Kingfisher hide in the hope of seeing the elusive beauty, but unfortunately we were unlucky. There was a Heron though, and lots of ducks an Moorhens.

We had a nice walk around town and managed to squeeze in a nice ice cream and a drink in the Castle Cafe before cycling back to the Wildlife Centre Cardigan. On the way back to the car, we called in again at all the hides, and another unsuccessful attempt to see the Kingfisher. We took the bikes back to the car and had a stroll around the Wetlands Trail to the Otter hide. Unfortunately there were no Otters, but the Buffalo were still there.

We stopped at a board about Reed Buntings and how they want you to reort any sightings of ringed Reed Buntings. We walked about 30 yards further on and there was a Reed bunting sat at the top of a bush, singing for all he was worth.

We had a third and this time successful attempt to see a Kingfisher at the Kingfisher hide. We had been waiting about 10 minutes when it appeared from the left and perched in the reeds some distance away. It sat there for about 5 minutes and the shot off back the way it came and was gone. Pen y Bryn Arms. On the way back to the Caravan, we called in at the Pen y Bryn Arms for a lovely meal. We went back to the van before spending a final hour or two in the Greenore Tavern.

Fishguard Fort and The Welsh Wildlife Centre

It was a nice morning so after breakfast we decided to drive the 38 miles to St. David's with the bikes, so that we could do the 11.5 mile Caravan Club circular bike route. Unfortunately by the time we had the bikes off the car, it was pissing down, so we gave it up as a bad job and headed back.

On the way back, we stopped at Fishguard Fort, for a walk around the ruins. Once again this was freely open to the public. By this time the sun was out again. We decided to call in at the Welsh Wildlife Centre for a walk around one of the four Nature Trails. We found the treetop hide and from there we could see the Buffalo that were brought in to keep down the bulrushes. We decided to return with the bikes tomorrow for a better look. We headed back to the caravan for tea.

When we got back to the caravan it was obvious that we hadn't had any rain here. Finished the evening off with a bit more Stowford Press in the Tavern.

Vale of Rheidol Railway and Devil's Bridge

The sun was shining this morning. We decided to take the Vale of Rheidol Railway. The first train was at 10:30am so we had to have a quick breakfast and left about 09:15am. We paid £41 for the

Add caption

return trip as we paid the donation rate for which we also got a £6 voucher to spend in the gift shop.
The 23.5 gauge railway runs 11.5 miles from Aberystwyth to Devils Bridge climbing 700 feet in the process. The railway was built in 1902 by Great Western mainly for the valleys lead mines but was also used for tourism. It operated as part of the British rail network, running steam trains until 1989, 20 years after steam logos stopped operating elsewhere, when it was sold to the private group which now operate it using authentic Rheidol rolling stock.

The journey takes an hour each way as the train meanders through the ancient woodland to Devil's Bridge, a tiny settlement where three roads meet to cross the Devil's Bridge over the river Mynach. The original bridge dates from the eleventh century reputedly build by the monks from Strata Florida Abbey. Above that is another stone bridge built in 1753 and above that is the current bridge built in 1902.

On one side, at a cost of £1, we took the 10 minute walk down to the Punch Bowl, a series of rock bowls scooped out by the power of the river. You also get the best view of the three bridges. On the other side of the bridge, for £3.75 although Caravan Club members get a 50% discount, we took the Nature Trail down to the impressive Mynach Falls. We had a steady walk back to the station where unfortunately we had a two hour wait for the return journey. We spent our £6 voucher on a sandwich, crisps and drink, whilst we waited. We got back to Aberystwyth about 5:15pm. We had a ride to the sea front and had a nice stroll down to the Marina. On the way back we had a look around the Castle Ruins which were free to enter. We had burger and chips in Wetherspoons before heading back to the Caravan and the usual couple of hours in the Greenore Tavern, although we didn't leave until 1:20am.

Sculpture Heaven, Llancheron and Mwnt

Once again it was drizzling today. After breakfast we went to Sculpture Heaven about 6 miles away. It is a lovely place where a couple of sculptors have spent the last 20 years developing themes area in their garden incorporating lots of their own sculptures. They give you a tour of the workshops and then leave you to wander around their lovely garden.

When you are done they invite you for cakes and refreshments. Entry and refreshments are free they just ask for a donation, the profited from which they donate to The Halo Trust, a U.K. Charity which clears land mines from war torn countries. We did buy a plaque for the garden.

The we went to Llanerchaeron, the restored remains of a late eighteenth century Welsh country estate, bequeathed to the National Trust in 1989. It was designed by John Nash and the set-piece rooms are mainly in the Edwardian style. Today the estate is a working organic farm.

On the way back, we had a drive to some of the nearby beaches.
Llangrannog is reputedly the most attractive village on the Ceredigion coast. Wedged between the hills, the narrow streets wind their way down to the tiny seafront with its beautiful little beach. Pembryn is a National Trust managed beach almost a mile long. It's unspoilt shallow waters making it ideal for children.

Mwnt is a little hamlet five miles north of Cardigan where the exquisite beach and cliffs are managed by the National Trust. The tiny whitewashed church is the oldest in Ceredigion, dating back to the sixth century, although most of today's building dates from the thirteenth century. Mwnt's finest hour came in 1155 the Welsh routed the invading Flemings, a day which became know as the Bloody Sunday of Mwnt. Then it was back to the caravan for tea and Greenore Tavern.

Cardigan

It rained in the night again, and was still drizzling persistently when we got up. Decided to have a ride into Cardigan for a look around the town. It stopped raining around lunch time and stayed dry for the rest of the afternoon, although it did stay fret try dull and overcast. We called in at Tesco and Aldi on the way back. We chilled for a couple of hours after tea, before popping to the Tavern for a couple of hours.

New Quay

It rained on and off for most of the night but stopped about 9am and brightened up, although it was a little blustery, it turned out to be a very nice day.

After breakfast we went to Sculpture Heaven but unfortunately it was closed. So was the Woollen Mill and Water Mill a bit further down the Lane. We decided to go to New Quay.

We parked at the top of the hill for £2 and walked down towards the harbour. On the way down to the picturesque harbour we stopped for a very nice double scoop ice cream. After a walk around the shops we went for a paddle in the sea. The sea wasn't very cold, in fact it was very pleasant, although it did seem to get a little cooler the further away we got from the harbour. After a sit in the sun to dry our feet we took the seps up to the coastal path and walked back to town.

There was a nice pub opposite the car park, so we sat outside in the sun and couple of pints of Rekorderlig Cider later we drove back to the caravan for tea. We went to the Tavern for a couple of hours before bed.

Greenore Camping and Caravanning Club Certificated Site, nr Cardigan

We left home about 7:15 and we're all hooked up and on the road by about 8.15. After about an hour or so, we stopped for breakfast at the Turf Hotel Toby Carvery, in Norton Canes, not far from the A38. We then drove all the way non-stop and arrived about 2:15.

We were met on arrival by site owner Sue, who showed us round and bought us tea and coffee and a lovely slice of lemon drizzle cake. A nice little site with basic, but clean facilities. TV reception was reasonable and although we had a good mobile signal, connection to the internet was not good. They have their own small Tavern on site with games room with pool table and dart board and best of all Stowford Press Cider. It took a bit longer that usual to set up the awning because I fitted some Eyelets to the groundsheet, before a quick trip to Tesco, about 5 minutes down the road for some shopping. It started to rain when we got back from Tesco and pretty much set in for the night.

 We had Salmon and salad for tea. About 9pm we had a walk 100 yards or so to the Greenore Tavern to sample a couple of pints of Stowford Press. There was a very warm and friendly atmosphere and we were made very welcome by Sue and her husband Dave. We had a very pleasant evening and left about 11:30 for bed.