There is definitely a theme developing with my travel blogs and just my blog in general…Escapism and living a life less stressed.
When the wonderful people from Virgin Experiences got in touch with me about the opportunity to explore a little bit more of the UK and escape the city I didn’t need asking twice. I had a look at their many and varied staycations online, each a little different from your usual break but I settled on Wales.
I drove to Wales via a rather unpleasant customer service experience with Hertz London Victoria. Great cars but one of the worst service experiences I have had in a long time. I will spare you the rant. Anyway, nothing was going to spoil my weekend away. The drive from London to South Wales isn’t too bad and you get to go over that cool bridge, landmarks make the road trip pass quicker in my humble opinion. The drive near the campsite was a little unusual to me. Think two-way traffic but roads the width of one car and littered with sheep. However, it all added to the charm and knowing I was definitely not in London anymore.
Our final destination: Pitton Cross Campsite, Rhossili to stay for two nights in a Shepard’s Hut close to the beach of the idyllic Gower Peninsular. You could tell Virgin had really done their homework to provide an unusual experience for their guests. Essentially a Shepard’s Hut is a compact wooden caravan. When I first saw it I wondered how I was going to get along with it but it was oozing with charm and I couldn’t you help but love it. The owners had left us sweet locally baked treats on arrival. They had thought of everything possible and I was baffled by how many amenities you could fit in one space. It was different from my usual style of travelling but an experience I would recommend everyone try. Overall a must-do mini break particularly with your other half as its cozy and romantic.
The nearest beach was a 15-20 minutes’ walk (we estimated we didn’t actually do it ourselves) or a few minutes’ drive away. It has been voted one of the best beaches in the world and it’s easy to see why. The weather wasn’t kind to us but on a UK break you have to expect that, so we didn’t get to swim in the sea or go on the long rambling walks we anticipated but we still got to drink in the spectacular scenery and truly feel the peace of that lifestyle.
To shelter from the weather, we went to local attraction Perriswood Archery and Falconry centre. This was a random find and more enjoyable that I thought it would be. We participated in there three T’s for £14 per person: talons, tea and tips (bird show, tea and archery taster session). I don’t think I will be entering The Olympics in 2020 but it’s always good to try new things and I got a selfie with an Owl. This made my week!! (It is on Instagram @misslaurenriley).
Food wise for this weekend we just hopped on trip advisor and ate at all three (not too many I know) local pubs. The standard varied but we never had a bad meal and all served a large dose of rustic charm. If you were so inclined, you could have cooked inside the accommodation too.
We also organized an activity through Virgin Experiences at GoApe. For those unfamiliar it is a treetop adventure where you climb, swing and zip-wire your way around a set course. They warn of the potential risks involved if you don’t follow their safety procedures. The older I get the more of an issue I have with heights unfortunately, I used to be fearless. It’s not enough of an issue to stop me doing things or enjoying this great day out though. I found myself chuckling up there at what a difference this was to my usual everyday life as a business woman. I must mention the staff at GoApe Margam, they were great! At £26 per person it’s a reasonable day out and if you’ve got time the activity is set in beautiful grounds so it’s worth a wonder.
It was a brief but great trip and we packed a lot in- recommended! Thank you to Virgin Experiences, Scamper Holidays and Go Ape for this and you lot for reading!!
http://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/uk-breaks
https://goape.co.uk/days-out/margam
