March 17, 2011

Road tripping to Wales

Chiara Di EUROPE, TRAVEL Bath, Bristol Channel, Caerphilly Castle, Cholderton, Road Trip, Roman Bath, Stonehenge, Swansea, Travel, Wales, Wanderlust 0 Comments

One Friday night in March four girls set off on a road trip to Wales.

We set off from Heathrow Airport in our brand new Astra and couldn’t understand why we were getting so many flashes from cars behind us on the motorway… the dash board was lit, we could see our front lights on. We pulled over twice and it wasn’t until the second time that we realised the back lights weren’t on and we didn’t actually have the lights on properly.

Take two… we finally got to Cholderton but it took us at least half an hour to find the lovely farm hostel we were staying at as we didn’t have a GPS or a real road map, just a main highway map of the UK and some Google map directions which seemed to get us lost. Eventually we pulled up, found our room and settled in the lounge room for a cup of tea and some late night snacks before bedtime.

The next morning we took advantage of the toast and cereals on offer at the farmhouse before enjoying the company of the farm animals outside – horses, pigs, chooks, goats, rabbits and more!

Before long we were on the road again to Salisbury, approximately 10 minutes away to visit the famous Stonehenge – literally a circle of rocks in the middle of nowhere! For £6.90 adults can go inside and get up close to the stones but we opted to take a photo through the wired fence surrounding it… we could see it just as good from the road.

Next stop was Bath and once again it took a little longer than expected with a drive in the wrong direct. Bath is a beautiful city with a lot of character. Home to the ancient Roman baths, the Jane Austen Centre and a lovely cathedral and town square, it’s the perfect setting for a Saturday afternoon.

After four hours in Bath including an awesome pub lunch, it was time to set off for Wales via Bristol. Finally it was my turn to drive and it wasn’t as scary as I thought. I actually enjoyed it despite not knowing where I was going. We crossed over the Bristol Channel (the bridge joining England and Wales) and headed through Wales to our final destination of Swansea.

Swansea – Wales’ second largest city – is definitely interesting. We quickly become accustomed to the Welsh road signs and the pronounciation of the Welsh language. We arrived about 5pm and after some resting we made ourselves up and headed into the city to Wind Street where we were confronted with a number of restaurants, bars and clubs, as well as a lot of drunks at 7.30pm. There had been a rugby game that evening (Ireland vs Wales) so everyone had started a lot earlier. We enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner – my marinara risotto and garlic bread went down a treat!

After dinner it was a night out in Swansea town and as we bar hopped (in the rain with our umbrellas) we saw everything from Amy Winehouse lookalikes to naughty dress up outfits, drunken disorder and a girl fight! Swansea definitely left an impression! The next morning we were on the road again to Mumbles, a short drive away, for a traditional English breakfast. Out of luck, we ended back in Swansea having breakfast in the Sainsbury cafe… who would have thought!

After a full breakfast it was time to head to Caerphilly to visit Caerphilly Castle. It is one of the greatest medieval castles of all time and the second largest in Britain after Windsor. We explored the castle and its parklands where locals were enjoying a fish of the dams.

From Caerphilly it was the long drive (well not really too long – approximately 3.5hours) back to London through Cardiff, back over the Bristol Channel and across England. It was a great weekend, helped by the convenience of having a car – definitely something I would recommend anyone doing if they have the opportunity as English countryside is beautiful. It was a learning curve as well, I have included some kind advice below.

Essentials before you head off on a road trip:

• Know how your car works: check lights, mirrors, hazard lights etc.
• Invest in a GPS or a good road map.
• Make sure you are stocked with snacks for the journey and late night arrivals at your accommodation.
• Do some research on where you plan to eat, i.e. where offers an English breakfast.
• Shop around when it comes to petrol, especially in the UK!!