Kidwelly - Tondu
Waking up from a pretty decent nights rest, I'm in the shade of the trees at the edge of the campsite & my tent is dripping with the morning dew. I need to air my kit out as it's starting to get a bit damp & smelly. I use the nearby children's climbing frame to dry out my bag nicely in the morning sun.
Waking up from a pretty decent nights rest, I'm in the shade of the trees at the edge of the campsite & my tent is dripping with the morning dew. I need to air my kit out as it's starting to get a bit damp & smelly. I use the nearby children's climbing frame to dry out my bag nicely in the morning sun.
The site must have 75 static vans with awnings but I have only seen one person here! Nice site & lovely & quiet. I get my porridge cooked & start to break camp, determined to pack up my kit well today. It takes me a little while longer as I have to wait for my tent fly to dry off too. Packed up & washed up I see the first person today on this deserted camp site. The cleaner asks what I'm doing & we chat for a few minutes about the route & the strength of the sun. I've already applied some sun cream so I'm good to go.
After a ride through Kidwelly the route heads off the road & on into Pembrey Forrest. I do a lap or two around the cows in a field before I get my bearings & the route becomes more & more remote. With the sun beating down it's a lovely flat ride through this peaceful part of the country.
After a ride through Kidwelly the route heads off the road & on into Pembrey Forrest. I do a lap or two around the cows in a field before I get my bearings & the route becomes more & more remote. With the sun beating down it's a lovely flat ride through this peaceful part of the country.
After about 5 miles of the above I arrive past a camp site & onto the sea front for a ride along the Millennium Coastal Park. I have to stop to cover up my sun burnt legs with my 3/4 length bottoms & consume yet another Snickers & a banana. Continuing through Llanelli I meet another cycle tourist coming the other way & we stop for a chat. Mark is doing route 4 East to West & we tell each other about the respective routes ahead. We shake hands & continue on our way. Shortly after I pass a rangers van & the horn blasts. It's Scott, back to work today & we have a brief chat & then I'm back in the saddle. The lack of hills today is most welcome & the miles seem to glide on by. I stop by the wetlands Centre for more food & to consult the guidebook. Looks like I should make Swansea by lunch time. I arrive at Mumbles by around 1:30pm & get some food & sit on the beach front to eat & get annoyed by wasps! I decide to check out the tourist nfo centre in Mumbles to see if I can locate a decent camp site somewhere between Swansea & Tondu. The ladies at the TIC are great & once they point out my pronunciation issues, they even ring the campsite so that I can check out the facilities - Thanks girls you're ace :-) I stop to use the public toilets on the sea front & wheel my bike inside as there's room in there.
I back track along the sea front towards Swansea & I'm still rolling on nice flat roads soaking up the sun & the happy vibes of the other beach front users. I get a bit lost on Swansea harbour but eventually find my way after asking a couple of people the way around.
It's quite a chore finding your way through the big towns & if you miss the signs its frustrating getting back on track. I got lost & ended up going down a river bank for a mile or so before it turned into a muddy singletrack & I had to back track again. I was glad to get out of Swansea but Port Talbot was no better. After riding along the sea front the route went through a pretty rough area & threaded it's way through a large housing estate which wasn't a pleasant ride as there were gangs of youths out in force & I was glad to get out of there. I was getting tired but knew I still had a way to go to get to Tondu so I carried on under the M4 & up to Margam Park. I went wrong yet again when a fork in the road appeared & the route marker said straight on!? I logically took the road instead of the footpath but after an evil climb & 15 minutes of pushing I knew I hadn't made the right choice. The only upside was a breathtaking view back over Port Talbot
So back down I went & then took the other path only to find a gate which I couldn't get my bike through. I had to take off the panniers, squeeze the bike around & reload up the other side. By this point I was swearing at anything & everything. I climbed up again through Margam Park & down the other side where - guess what? - another gate I couldn't get through....
By around 7:30pm I was stopped at a Spar in Pyle stocking up on much needed food & water, just a few more miles to the campsite to go.
When I finally made it to camp I was disappointed to find the site was a shit hole. There were broken down cars in the driveway with the engines scattered on the floor around them & a bunch of contractors vans parked up next to a bunch of caravans. I thought I'd stumbled on a pikey camp-ground. I was too tired to about face so paid for my (sloping) pitch & set up camp. The showers were dirty, the toilets worse still & the kitchen had dishes piled up by the sinks & the plug holes full of... god only knows? The place made my skin crawl & I had some guy turn up & park his car next to my tent & slept in the back of his car. I was determined to get the fuck out of there first thing tomorrow.
Distance = 69.93 miles
Riding time = 6h 59m
By around 7:30pm I was stopped at a Spar in Pyle stocking up on much needed food & water, just a few more miles to the campsite to go.
When I finally made it to camp I was disappointed to find the site was a shit hole. There were broken down cars in the driveway with the engines scattered on the floor around them & a bunch of contractors vans parked up next to a bunch of caravans. I thought I'd stumbled on a pikey camp-ground. I was too tired to about face so paid for my (sloping) pitch & set up camp. The showers were dirty, the toilets worse still & the kitchen had dishes piled up by the sinks & the plug holes full of... god only knows? The place made my skin crawl & I had some guy turn up & park his car next to my tent & slept in the back of his car. I was determined to get the fuck out of there first thing tomorrow.
Distance = 69.93 miles
Riding time = 6h 59m
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