This post has been a long time coming. Remember when I went to Wales last year? NO? Well that’s probably because I didn’t get round to writing anything about it.
Everything is a bit all over the place at the moment, but it feels GOOD to have so much going on. I’ve taken a couple of long weekends to gather myself over the past few months, as work has been all go and I’ve finally started this whole driving thing again. With my theory passed and lessons well under way, it’s only a matter of time before I’m at the beach almost all of the time 🙂
So anyway, we went to Wales and it was great. Mum and I rarely have any time to ourselves, and with a house full of boys there is absolutely no time for anything girly. Whilst our trip wasn’t actually ‘girly’ at all, it was a lot of fun and I did manage to get mum doing face-masks and watching Love Island!
However, most of our trip was made up of beautiful countryside and complete freedom. Freedom. There is nothing I want more in life than freedom. If you had told me this time two years ago that I would be throwing in my long standing ideas of a safe and reliable life, I probably would have laughed at you. Now I have a constant pull to any and every place I’m yet to visit. It’s intoxicating and totally liberating.
We set off just after 6:30am on Friday morning, and I kid you not mum made us stop for a Costa within 10 minutes of being out on the road! Chai Latte and whatever fancy caramel concoction mum had in hand, the 3 and a bit hour drive to Carmarthen began.
I had curated a playlist for the journey because of course. I have finally let myself express my love of music, singing, dancing outwardly and I am never going back. In my humble opinion the playlist slaps and I tried to inject as much freedom and joy in to it as possible, keeping the serious stuff to a minimum. Some songs that made the cut are linked below, because good music deserves to be heard:
3 Nights – Dominic Fike
Africa – Toto
To Hell & Back – Maren Morris
Stolen Dance – Milky Chance
Send Me On My Way – Rusted Root
Other than that first pit stop, we only pulled up once and actually arrived at our SUPER cute Airbnb early.
As we had time to kill we decided to have a little drive around Carmarthen the see exactly what there was to offer. We ended up at the most stunning beach. Looking out at the sea and down the long stretch of sand, we couldn’t quite believe we were still in The UK. The sun was beaming, warming up our bare arms and feet, by then free of socks.
The beach seemed to stretch for miles and in the distance, atop a cliff, was what looked to be a castle. We considered circling back round to this spot another day, but adventure had made it’s way into our bones by that time so off we went. After a quick shoe change we were making our way through rolling fields set just back from the beach. The fields were dotted with huddles of sheep and grand oak trees; we really felt a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of any town or city.
We weren’t entirely sure of which way to go, but after a little guesswork and fair few hills, the trees cleared and made way for a wonderfully medieval fort. Mum and I spent a good hour enjoying the lawns and exploring the turrets before making our way back down to the burger van we’d been thinking about since we left the car park (it was a seriously good burger – 10/10).
Pretty tired from our unexpected walk and long drive from Southampton, we headed to our Airbnb.
The place was small, really small. Mum had the sofa bed downstairs and I had the joy of climbing a ladder to get to mine. It was fun but definitely a death trap for a clumsy human bean like me. Top tip – don’t wear fluffy socks to climb wooden rungs.
After dusting away a few cobwebs and spiders taking refuge from the rainy weather, I was pretty content with my sleepy space for the next few days. The kitchen and living area was minimal with only a TV, kettle and microwave to get us by. It was basic, but exactly what we wanted. We were there for quality time and nature, and that’s exactly what we got.
As I sit here with a mud mask on, safe inside during lockdown restrictions 8 MONTHS on (my gosh I am lazy), I am so grateful for the travelling I’ve done so far even within the UK… I cannot wait to get out into the big wide world again.
Peace Beneath The City 