I am now an expert on UK indoor skatepark exteriors, having taken my son Matt to nearly all the UK’s scruffy looking shacks. The best one is in Warrington, the one in Stockport is genuinely terrifying but at least there’s good pubs nearby. The discussion* about Swansea‘s revival tends to focus on the marina, but… Continue reading SWANSEA – SKATEBOARDS, SPOONS (AGAIN) AND SUMMING-UP
DRAUGHT BASS & JOE’S ICE CREAM IN THE MUMBLES
2015/16 season was the first for a while I failed to get a ticket for Swansea v City, which has always a good chance to get soaked in May and make a few more inroads into Glamorgan’s huge slice of the Beer Guide (93 entries !). While Matt competed at the scary looking skate park,… Continue reading DRAUGHT BASS & JOE’S ICE CREAM IN THE MUMBLES
DEEP SLADE DARK BY THE GOWER
We were on the home strait now, with a last Welsh stop in Gowerton on the edge of Swansea. Two minutes off the M4,unless you’ve got a tall campervan in which case it’s twenty minutes to avoid the railway bridge. The bikes came off the back for the first time Caernarfon but oddly only I… Continue reading DEEP SLADE DARK BY THE GOWER
A TALE OF TWO SPOONS
We’ve been to a lot of Wetherspoons in Wales. In fact, so many that I’ve used all my quarters 50p vouchers already, which surely qualifies me for some more. With Spoon’s current relative retrenchment, I can’t see them opening a lot more in Wales, but they already have them in some fairly small places like… Continue reading A TALE OF TWO SPOONS
CARMARTHEN CYFEILLION
Our last stop was in Carmarthen, given short shrift by the new “Rough Guide to Wales” so obviously a vital stop for us. Actually we stopped in Johnstown, right outside the Friends Arms. Mrs RM sent the boys ahead to buy laver bread, leaving the crisps and nuts for ourselves while we nipped in for a… Continue reading CARMARTHEN CYFEILLION
WHERE AM I ?
I stopped in a long street of a village, nondescript till you get to the eastern edge, which contains a couple of attractive looking pubs, the church, and some well marked walks. In the Beer Guide pub It was good to see craft lager from nearby(ish) Wrexham, but I went for a Congleton classic, a… Continue reading WHERE AM I ?
ABER ABER HEY
Our journey round tourist Wales progressed five miles inland to the farming village of Llanarth, whose immaculate caravan park was conveniently placed 2 miles from civilisation. Lovers of the Fens (seemingly anyone but me) would enjoy the calm. You could see the sea from one spot on top of the toilet block. The main activity of… Continue reading ABER ABER HEY
BARMOUTH
I’d had Barmouth recommended to me by a Welshman, though to be honest the dominant accent there is Black Country, with faggots and Eccles cakes being sold by blokes in Wolves shirts to Baggies fans. In the sun, mind. Away from the funfair, I thought it was a pretty wonderful seaside resort, with just enough… Continue reading BARMOUTH
THE OTHER FFESTINIOG
I’ll be honest and say that quite a few of the Beer Guide entries for North Wales are both unpronounceable and hard for me to pinpoint on a map. Llanrwst Yes, Llanfair Ffestiniog No. I’ll bet the Good Beer Guide has got the multiple Talybonts mixed up over the years. We had to pass through… Continue reading THE OTHER FFESTINIOG
MACHYNLLETH – ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY, TRADITIONAL PUBS
I’d wanted to visit the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) for years, but Machynlleth isn’t a place you pass every day. The Dyfi Valley from down past Dolgellau was gorgeous, and a highlight of CAT itself was the range of views from the old slate quarry; as good as anything I’ve see in Wales. The… Continue reading MACHYNLLETH – ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY, TRADITIONAL PUBS
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