Shawsmead Caravan Site and photos of the surrounding area

Shawsmead Caravan Site

Stay - Tuesday June 4th – Sunday June 9th 2013

Usually I have an early start when I go off in the caravan but on this day I had quite a bit to do in the morning and as Shawsmead was only a journey of 1½ hours there was little point in setting off before midday. As it turned out I was at the storage area at 1.00pm and hitched up. I have recently changed the car and this one has a reversing camera which shows the towbar so hitching up on my own is no longer hit and miss. I was ready in no time and all there was to do was to check the electrics. Indicators first – nothing, lights – nothing, tried pulling the plug out and re-inserting it but no good. Unhitched and raced off to the place that does my servicing to check whether the sockets at the back of the car were at fault. They couldn’t check the car so it was a race to the other side of Swansea to the tow bar place, luckily I was near the motorway so I was unimpeded by traffic. Test showed everything was ok so it had to be on the caravan side, back I go. Nothing can be done unless I take the caravan there and, being law-abidingly silly I am resigned to cancel the trip until the mobile engineer can fix it.

I get back to the caravan and just in case, I try it again – Presto! as Sods Law insists it now works and I hitch up again and my journey starts. On the final mile I realise that it is silage time and am dreading meeting a big tractor and trailer but I guessed that as I am following a tractor and empty trailer I am pretty safe. With much relief I arrive but the office is closed, no problem, the warden took my membership card and I could do the formalities in the morning. Good, because I just wanted to set up and relax with a drink or two!

It was the week after half term so the site was quiet, the facilities? Well surprise, surprise! Couldn’t fault them and I never have been able to. The Caravan Club has a high standard and I have got used to it, but I never take that for granted.

Shawsmead is in an area with lots to see. Within easy reach on the coast you have Mwnt and Newquay to the south and Aberaeron and Aberystwyth to the north. On my first morning I was quietly stalking out of the site at 6.00am to wander about Aberaeron with my camera, barely any wind and the tide was in so that kept my camera clicking until the town woke up, then grab a paper and back to the site where it seems that the world is still slumbering. A leisurely breakfast and the plan was to go to the National Trust house and garden at Llanerchaeron, just inland from Aberaeron, it was just the garden that interested me actually and the lake was particularly photogenic that morning. After all that I treated myself to a siesta afternoon.

In the evening we, all that saw it, were entertained by a Red Kite gracefully playing with the breeze.

Second morning it was a trip to Newquay and I shared the first hour there with the street cleaners and the bin men. The last time I had an early morning session here I popped into the Hungry Trout for a breakfast and was very pleased that I did, It turned out to be the most deliciously memorable breakfast I have ever had. Do try it if you can, but you don’t have to get up as early as I do because they serve it quite late into the morning!

Later, a trip to Aberystwyth, well when I say later I got there at about 9.00am but I find that that is the best time, any later and it is impossible to park at the sea front, even at that time there were few places. The side south of the castle seems to be a favourite with the campervan and motorhome set but I found a slot which I could just squeeze into. Once again the camera was busy and I ended up with a wander around the castle. Leaving the camera safely in the boot of the car I went for a stroll about the town, bought a couple of books and enjoyed a rather large and tasty double espresso.

I have got to an age where I do enjoy a siesta and getting a couple of sessions of photography in before lunch means that I can enjoy it with a clear conscience. So a couple of cheese and tomato sandwiches later I am ready for a bit of shuteye in the shade of the caravan. It was my intention to go to Mwnt this evening to try to get a sunset but all the nice clouds which would have given a warm glow to the sky had been burnt away. C’est la vie! But there’s always a bottle of Merlot!

The third morning, Friday I had a very pleasant hour at Mwnt watching the light change and generally enjoying the youthfulness of a new day. This was to be a day of doing very little and that, to tell the truth is just about all I did. And most enjoyable it was too!

I have a growing interest in Welsh history and on the Saturday I visited the old Cistercian abbey at Strata Florida, it is looked after by CADW which is the organisation that looks after Welsh heritage sites. There was an event going on and we were given a very interesting talk about the history of the abbey by Professor David Austin, a passionate authority on everything to do with Strata Florida Abbey.

There was plenty going on for everyone, kids and also the less self-conscious adults could have a go at the potters wheel. There was great activity around a carver and attracted a great number of children who were enthusiastically cutting and filing wood into different shapes. Another man was busy modestly showing his carving skills and producing the most beautiful designs in wood and I had a most interesting conversation with a lady who was producing floor tiles. As you go through life you acquire knowledge but at the same time you discover just how much more there is to learn. That’s what makes life exciting!

There was a dig going on to try and establish the extent of the original abbey grounds and it is believed that Strata Florida Abbey will be found to have been the largest abbey in Britain. The place is full of history and it is somehere I shall have to visit again. CADW was lucky to have a beautiful sunny day for the event which proves that it does not always rain in Wales, we do get quite a bit but then British weather is like that. Wales does have a lot to offer and it is well worth a visit.

Because I was leaving for home on the Sunday morning  my visit to Strata Florida was to be the final highlight of my break, however when I arrived back at Shawsmead a charming Russian lady from the neighbouring caravan engaged me in conversation resulting in an invitation to join them for a barbecue that evening. I accepted, well I couldn’t risk not doing so and I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening with her family and friends. Many thanks to Ludmilla and John for rounding off a most enjoyable break – it raised my spirits, well to be more accurate, my spirit levels!

The images that you see here are just a few of my images of Wales, there are over 500 more on my website www.wennol.co.uk  and enough Caravan Club sites throughout Wales to enable you to really explore the beauty of this green and pleasant land!