Herself drops it on me on Tuesday that she's in need of caravan time and has booked time off work for a long weekend. My work diary needs drastic surgery before I can request the same, and that's before even attempting to locate a vacant pitch anywhere.
As with our other 3 trips out this year we need to be within rushing distance, so my net cannot be cast too far.
The next 24 hrs are spent contacting every CL or CS owner within an hour of us, while at the same time keeping the Caravan Club's late availability window constantly refreshed.
I had a rather puzzling phone call with a steward operating a THS for the "Friendly Club" at Bank Farm, and while they had pitches with electric available for my intended 4 night stay, I was not "eligible" for one because they were reserved for members who wanted 6 nights or more!
So, that makes them the "not so Friendly Club" then. I'd let my membership lapse for very similar reasons some time ago and only re-joined 2 years ago as I needed to use a CS of theirs in Lyme Regis. The renewal is up next month and I don't think I'll bother.
Things were getting frantic now as I'd had 20 knock backs to my enquiries for availability, when a screen refresh revealed pitches free at Pembrey Caravan Club site. The site fees for just the two of us at £36pn is some distance outside my comfort zone, but Herself says yay, so a booking was made. She can go in to pay!!
Friday 23 July
Up early and I fire up the Ring and can see the Captain is in work, so no worries about moving his crate to get our van out of the shared driveway.
It's hot, so the process of loading up is slow, but by noon it's Wagons Roll.
After giving the van the good news with Morrisons' jet wash, and a comfort break in Pwll for a bacon roll, we're trundling through the gates at bang on 1pm (the stipulated arrival time) and join the back of a queue of 6 vans to check in.
I know I judge people, it's a bad habit, but I can't help it. But it seems I'm not the only one. Pulling in behind us is an Izuzu truck dragging a 2002 Sterling. Four kids are squashed in the back and their bikes held down in the load bay by fraying rope. Mum gets out and non socially distant, joins the previously socially distanced queue at reception in flip flops and ripped denim shorts.
Now I don't know if the male warden directing traffic realised what he did, but he did it and asked them, in full earshot of all around.
"Are you sure you aren't supposed to be on the council site inside the country park?"
Mum is stood there wishing for the ground to open up and swallow her - for those that do not know, the site inside does tend to attract a somewhat different clientele to that of the club sites!
Checked in we hunt out a pitch that is partially shaded throughout the day, and fail. Only 3 grass pitches available, so we settle on one in a part of the site we've never been on before.
Setting up was hard. It was hot, very hot, and two cold showers were needed during the pegging out process, and several cans of Coke Zero. In the end even that wasn't cutting it so I resorted to plonking myself down in front of our 18" fan going full chat.
The rest of the afternoon is spent quaffing ice cold Strongbow, so Toyah is going nowhere. Taking the dogs for a stroll we see a woodfired pizza over setting up. I enquire about having a few pizzas cooked for our return in just over an hour. The bloke refuses our order saying "Just order when you get back!"
We walk into the country park and take a seat outside Yr Orsaf, where along with our ciders I order our evening meal as we watched the arrivals streaming into the Favella. I make a show of smacking my chops and rubbing my belly as we walk past the pizza oven with the bloke looking expectantly at us with his notepad and pen. His loss.
We stay up late under the canopy, enjoying the evening air as it cools down.
Saturday 24 July
A surprisingly good night last night with all windows open and fans running full chat. I'm up before Herself, so light a flame under the kettle as the site comes to life. It's cooler today than yesterday, but still fine and sunny as I sit under the canopy and share a packet of joking MooCow biscuits with Tali.
We have a lazy morning, well I did, and took the dogs up to the view point looking over to north Gower while Herself gave the van a bloody good clean.
What I like about most Caravan Club sites is even when full, they are rarely over crowded as you can see. The day was spent stuck to a lounger getting up occasionally for another cold one from the cool box. Late on, once the heat had gone out of the day we take the dogs for a walk into the country park throwing a ball for them to chase before having a cooling dip in one of the ponds.
On the way back into the site the pizza oven is visiting once again. We'd had tea early and I'm afraid that that the smells coming from the wood burning oven were all too much for us to resist.
Very nice they were too, but at £7 each for a wafer thin crust with just one sparse topping a little over priced. That and the robbing git wanted another 50p each for a box to put them in.
Sunday 25 July
The storms failed to materialise again last night, so it's still nice and warm to get up, I fling open the door and gulp in the cooler morning air while I watch the site come to life though my little Perspex windows on life.
Herself puts a packed lunch together and throws it in to a day sack, and we're just setting off for a hike through the forestry when her phone starts ringing. It's Roids.
"Do you guys fancy visitors?"
The foil parcels get thrown into the fridge and we jump in Toyah to get some BBQ supplies from CKs. Pulling through the security gate at 12.30pm we're faced with this.
It's a 1pm earliest arrival time, and the yellow vest has his work cut out trying to organise those that think the rules don't apply to them!
Roids turns up with Gwen, TF is stuck in work, and we sit and chat for a while before getting food on. Now I've had some BBQs in my time, and nothing can really beat a Weber, but the Fire Mountain fan assisted BBQ I bought a few months ago is a serious bit of kit.
It uses just a cup full of fuel and from lighting to the picture below is under 15 mins.
We're just eating and we get a message from Ronnie who's on his way back from Folly Farm.
"Do you guys fancy visitors? Shall we bring some burgers and kebabs?"
We sit around under the canopy for a while, chatting while they throw some food down their necks before we take the dogs into the country park again to tire them out for the night.
Beastie enjoyed chucking the ball, but Tali was somewhat frustrated at the distance she could achieve, before we did some tunnel exploring.
Viewers of Casualty may recognise them as an episode where one collapsed during a festival was filmed here a few years ago. Beastie was up on my shoulders and Ronnie convinced her that if she slapped my sunburnt bald head I would go faster!
We wave them off and I waste no time getting stuck into my bottle of Brecon Botanicals while it goes dark and the site winds down for the day.
Monday 26 July
After breakfast we load yesterday's packed lunch back into the daysack and head off out for a mini day out.
First stop is Kidwelly Quay, originally built in 1768 to receive anthracite from the collieries in the Gwendraeth for export, Maybe we didn't see it at its best, but the combination of smelly mud at low tide and the aroma from the nearby shit works belonging to Welsh Water took the shine off it a bit, but we gave it a go and did one of the circular walks between Gwendraeth Fach and Gwendraeth Fawr with views out into Carmarthen Bay.
Next we head a little further west to Llanstephan. A visit which is best left forgotten due to my appalling behaviour towards Herself that resulted in a silent and frosty return to site.
I've apologised, and thankfully she has had the good grace to accept.
After while back on site we decide to head off out again. We point Toyah in the direction of Mynydd Pen-bre and the viewing point. They've an elevated platform up there that promises far reaching views of Gwendraeth Fawr with Trimsaran and Ffos Las racecourse to your right and Kidwelly and Carmarthen Bay to your left.
Unfortunately the area surrounding the platform has been let to run wild, and the promised views are somewhat restricted.
Next up we head back towards Llanelli. It's around 4.30 pm on a Monday in holiday season, and we fancy a quick drink in a beer garden.
Slowing down outside The Stradey Arms in Furnace we see it's closed. So is the Bryngwyn and The Colliers Arms in Pwll. The Pemberton Arms is also closed so we dive down into Burry Port. The Coasting Pilot also has it's doors firmly shut as do The Ship Aground and Pembrey Country Inn.
Somewhat deflated we head back into the country park and take a table outside Yr Orsaf once more for a few ciders while the dogs had an ice-cream before returning to the van on site.
Incidentally the doggy ice-cream on sale was a pound more expensive that the tubs sold for humans. How can that be?
Tuesday 27 July
Happy birthday to me.
Back home today, and the moment I lift my head from the pillow I'm delighted with our decision to drop the canopy before we went to bed last night, while it was bone dry.
We're hitched up by 9.30am and pulling out of the gate, but we had a proper soaking during the process. The short tow home was in heavy rain, but thankfully on pulling up outside Home is Where you Drag It Towers it had relented.
I've pulled up at the side of the road, no yellow lines, and am setting about unhitching. This obviously results in a minor disruption for the morning traffic, but no more than would have been the case if a solo car had pulled up. So why the driver of the lorry belonging to DG Heath Timber Products Ltd of Pontardulais thought it necessary to wind down his window and verbally abuse me is beyond me. If you're reading this you've just lost the sale of all the materials for a new flat roof!!
No idea when the next time out is though .........
