myguideBritain Blog

Mud, Sweat and Tears - My adventure vacation in Wales

October 10th, 2007

Hello and welcome to the myguideBritain Blog. My name is Darryl and I am the manager of the US and Canadian markets here with myguideBritain. For those of you not familiar with the site we are an online tour operator specializing in customized tours to the UK. What makes us unique is that we are based here in Blaenavon, South Wales within the UK and therefore we see, experience, live and breathe this amazing destination every day of our lives.

Although we feel we already have a great website (please have a browse, there is so much information on there) we felt that there was also a need for a more personal and regular update, where you can get to know our team here and see what we get up to, day-in day-out as we live up to our promise of getting an intimate, inside knowledge of our products and suppliers. Afterall, we can’t always be tied to our desks! So as a result here is our myguideBritain blog where we will keep you up-to-date on the happenings here in Britain whether it be a local or national event, one of our regular familiarisation trips, trying out a new activity or simply discussing the weather (us Brits love to talk about the weather!).

We couldn’t have chosen a better week to launch the blog as just last week I was off on my travels around Wales as part of the annual “Showcase Wales” tourism convention. [This brings together travel companies from all over the world with the common aim of working with each other to improve services for guests visiting Wales.] When Showcase Wales offered myguideBritain a complimentary familiarisation trip of South Wales as part of this project, I was quick to offer my services. Normally this consists of several days relaxing on a coach as an expert guides you through the sights, occasionally hopping off the bus for a coffee, cream cake and a couple of photos. For this trip however our managing director had other ideas… As part of our programme of continually broadening the services we provide I was to take part in an intensive activity trip! I kissed goodbye my dream of lazily cruising the country and gorging myself in coffee shops and last Saturday found myself digging out my hiking boots, my rain mac and my woolly jumpers, and later boarding a bus with a number of slightly nervous looking people, people who I am sure are generally far more comfortable sat behind a desk.

As the bus pulled away from the modern comforts of my home city of Cardiff our tour guide mentioned he was going to break us in gently… with a wild off road quad bike experience!
The quad-biking centre was just a short journey from Cardiff and located on a traditional welsh sheep farm. Upon seeing the bikes I was reminded of their power and size but after a speedy helmet and waterproof fitting and some quick instruction, a small group of us were soon roaring across the fields. Hopkins, the farmer himself, lead the group with regular breaks to take in the countryside and for him to explain a little of the history of his farm and the countryside of the valley. [As with many farms they diversified their services following the drop in the price of wool and sanctions on exports of sheep to Europe.] However, Hopkins explained he still carries out all of the old farming traditions and on our tour of the farmland we were lucky enough to see one of the sheep dog and farm-hands rounding in the sheep for the evening. We even stopped by the farmhouse itself to meet the farmers wife. Despite a little back spray of mud and sheep dung I found the quad biking to be a truly unique and exhilarating way of seeing some of the countryside that you simply can’t get to in your car. It was also surprisingly tiring and after a quality meal and a glass of red wine I slept very well that night.

Day two saw us heading further north into the Brecon Beacons National Park where we were met with bright weather and the stunning scenery. My mind drifted to Brecon itself, a charming town and home of the famous annual Jazz Music Festival that attracts music lovers from all over Europe. Having a friend who used to live there I am familiar with Brecon and know a couple of very good coffee shops but alas we diverted around the town itself to stop at a small village called Tal-Y-Bont. I had been here as a child but had forgotten about its charm with its small local pubs, one with a beer garden backing on to the Brecon canal. The canal itself was our target and before I knew it I was sporting a life jacket (not for the last time) and tentatively climbing into a Kayak. Although happy with my own balance within the little boat I was not so happy with my kayaking companion, one of the other tour members, who seemed intent on rocking us from side to side. We soon however got into our stride and before we new it our group had covered a good length of the canal. With the autumn sun now on our backs this was the perfect way to experience the countryside in complete peace. Apart from the occasional barge cruising by there was no noise on the canal, at some points we were miles from the nearest roads. Had we not needed two rowers to keep us on course I would have happily laid back and taken a quick nap.

On route to our hotel for the evening we passed by the Dan Yr Ogof show caves of Wales. Another attraction I had visited so many times as a child and yet almost forgotten about in recent years. Here you can actually get in to the countryside itself by taking the tours around these naturally formed caverns which have developed over thousands of years. Seeing the stalagmites and stalagtites reaching up into the caves and hanging down from the cavern ceiling really is a marvel.

That evening we traveled South West towards Swansea and took in some of the beautiful Gower Peninsula coastline before returning to our hotel. Needless to say I slept well again that night and it was just as well because day three of our trip was to be my most challenging yet and would involve a wet suit, a hard hat, and yet another life jacket! I will update you on Day 3 as soon as I can.

Entry Filed under: Activity, Adventure, Countryside, Wales