A wet weekend in Wales?

Lumpy beds. Congealed bacon and porridge like wallpaper paste. Sullen service and overpriced crisps. Oh, and endless dripping rain. Yes, this is your average holiday in the UK; expensive, gloomy and grey. Or is it? We often tend to have a Spring break in Spain, where in latter years one was guaranteed Sangria, sun and very good value for your sterling, but at the mo’ with the pound so low you just don’t get, ahem, much bang for your buck anymore.

We have therefore decided to spend all our holidays for 2009 exploring the UK; already this year we have been to Dorset and Somerset for little jaunts, but we have just spent a few days in Wales, and rather lovely it was too.

First up was a rather gruelling drive to the Brecon Beacons. I’d been there as a young and enthusiastic Venture Scout and had hiked my way up Pen Y Fan in the company of equally enthusiastic boyfriends, but as we checked into Peterstone Court Hotel, nestled quietly in the foothills below this lovely cloudswept mountain, I wasn’t even sure I was going to make it up the flight of stairs to our room, such was the mound of equipment we were carrying. Travel cot, assortment of nappies, suitcase full of toys, decaf teabags, Dan’s nocturnal supply of Minstrels, books and snacks, plus, oh yes, the baby. The room couldn’t have been nicer actually, with plenty of space to put up the cot in lovely surroundings. Each room here is decorated individually, and ours had a rather lovely red and gold theme, along with a huge flat screen TV, bathrobes, slippers and even jars of lollipops and home-made biscuits, plus a wonderful view of the mountains wreathed in grumpy looking clouds.

Downstairs is even more interesting, with a comfortable library with DVD's to borrow, a morning room and a small bar, plus the friendliest and most charming staff I've met in a long time. Nothing was too much trouble, and I even got a guided tour of the other (empty!) bedrooms from one of the chambermaids.

There is also a small spa offering treatments along with a jacuzzi and relaxation room; I had a very soothing aromatherapy massage, but didn't manage to convince Dan that he too would benefit from one, even after six hours of the SatNav taking us around the countryside in its own convoluted way and him still not knowing the difference between left and right....

The full Welsh breakfast was great, with the baba getting a very tasty bowl of porridge and syrup, plus some delicious (and I imagine home-made) muesli bars; the waiter all smiles even when confronted with a cornflake covered carpet and everything within a two foot radius of the baby being smeared in crumbs/porridge.

Apparently it gets fully booked at weekends and during the wedding season, but it felt to us like we had the whole place to ourselves. It made a great base to explore the area; there are some amazing waterfalls to the south, with amazing drives and walks over the mountains, and we can also recommend both the George Hotel in Brecon, and the Ford Inn just down the road for really good food with lovely friendly service. In fact, that pretty much sums up our stay really; friendly, relaxed and a great little break. Not quite the same as Spain perhaps, but not an airport check-in sight!

Fancy a dip?

The sun is shining and a chill wind is blowing round my bare knees. It's mid-May and I am about to plunge into the sparkling and surprisingly clear sea at Mwnt, a fantastic little cove just north of Cardigan. Oh, and it's about 14 degrees. My husband wisely decides to opt for the child-care option and sits there with the baby, slightly aghast as I splash into the water and then run out screaming.

"It's brass monkeys," I gasp, desperately trying to fill my lungs with air, my chest seeming to have imploded upon contact with the icy water, "b-b-b-bb-blimey!"

But I stagger shivering back into the waves, then launch myself into the surf and get my shoulders underwater, before performing a very fast and comically desperate breast-stroke/butterfly manoevre in the hope of getting my heart started again.

We have had a lovely drive through country lanes, verges bursting over the road with wildflowers and butterflies in the sunshine; Dan driving, baby playing with his favourite dustpan and brush and me clutching my already treasured copy of Wild Swimming Coast, by Daniel Start, and a tin of travel sweets. (I do not like the red or orange sweets, preferring green and yellow. Fortunately Dan does not have a preference).

I loved flicking through this book when it first arrived just for the amazing pictures, evoking long heady summers and picnics, paddling and rockpooling, but now I've actually used it properly I can fully appreciate all the hard work that has gone into putting it together.

Each region has a map identifying the top locations for wild sea swimming, then individual sections for each swim provide OS references and, ideally for us, (whose road map was published before the onset of motorways), postcodes for the SatNav. The walk to each site is graded for difficulty and length of time to get there, and the details are clear and accurate. What also makes the book really good fun is all the extra information Daniel provides on seaside games, cooking outdoors and useful stuff to take with you, plus an excellent section on water safety.

We also visited the Blue Lagoon near St David's yesterday; in Daniel's photos the water looks emerald green and very enticing, but as I stood on the black cliffs above it, wind whistling past my cold damp ears and the clouds skating low overhead, I thought I might give it a miss and come back another time......

This is a great book for armchair swimmers, but I'm really looking forward to exploring some of the beaches near us on the South Coast which I had no idea existed; the joy of Wild Swimming Coast is in taking you to some of Britain's most wonderful places which you would never find otherwise! Go and take a look at the website too, http://www.wildswimming.co.uk/, for lots more swims, tips and events.

Wild Swimming Coast, by Daniel Start

Here at GTC we love a spot of outdoor swimming, so Becci was chuffed to bits when a copy of the new Wild Swimming Coast by Daniel Start came through the office letterbox. She had the pleasure of catching up with Daniel, who kindly answered a few questions for us (and we'll be trying a couple of the swims in the next few weeks and reviewing them for you so you can stay nice and warm indoors with a cup of tea :O)

How long have you had the urge to fling yourself into our freezing native wetspots? And as a child, was your mother permanently pulling you out of drains and puddles?

There is a picture of me at three, standing naked in a bucket of cold water in the garden. It was the drought of 1976 and apparently I had downed tools and insisted it was too hot to do anything else. I've never been a good swimmer, but I have always loved taking a plunge in a clear waterfall or beautiful stream. I spent part of my childhood in Herefordshire, near the river Wye, and were always building rafts and rope swings. The books are partly about rediscovering the joys and freedoms of childhood again.

I particularly remember a wonderful twilight swim at a lovely spot called Josephine Falls in Australia that always brings me a little happy frisson of pleasure when I think of it; do you have any particular swim that stays in your mind as A Top Life Moment?

I remember an exceptionally hot summer of 1989. I was back packing in north Wales with school friends and we were aiming for a high mountain tarn on Snowdon to camp. We arrived early evening, boiling hot, the sun still scorching the bracken and our burnt faces. The tarn appeared and I remember running down to it, stripping off and plunging in, the water quenching my skin, and the sun sinking over the mountains, the whole lake shimmering with golden light.

One of the lovely things about your books is the amazing photos, did you take them all yourself? And have you swum in every single one of the locations you recommend??

Yes and yes! I love photography so this has been great fun - asking my friends to dive in one more time until they have hypothermia. But I always swim too - that's the best bit! I've swum in every one of the 600 locations n the two books - and in the same number again that didn't quite make the grade. Thank God for waterproof skin!

Whenever I throw myself in a river for a dip I always seem to get someone going on about the amount of pesticides in the water and how there are always dead fish floating just upstream. Do you worry about water quality or is it just a matter of making sure you don't swim along with your mouth open? (I've always dreamt of doing that in the river of chocolate from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by the way).

Fresh and marine water quality is better than at anytime in living memory and there have been amazing improvements in the last 15 years - so you won't find pesticides and poisons. Occasionally there will be cow poo, but any river or lake that has good fish stocks is clean enough to swim in. Fish are very fussy and the fisherman are always on the guard against bad farmers. That said, you should always be more careful in larger, lowland rivers, and never swim in cities or just downstream on a city. Our website http://www.wildswimming.co.uk/ tells you how to check your local water quality online.

Do you have a wild swimming kit in the boot of your car, and if so, what is in it?

I'm a minimalist! So that means a pair of trunks, some goggles and a light wieght cotton sarong for a towel (which also doubles as picnic table cloth, a man skirt, for carrying sea shells etc). Also a small plastic bag for the wet trunks afterwards. And if I know I'm going to do some swimming around rocks, a pair of plastic sandals to swim in. I never use a wetsuit - they're for wimps! And if I don't have trunks and towel, then I'll skinny dip and sacrifice an item of clothing to dry myself on.

Any tips for how to warm up following an icy swim?

10 press-ups - if you can do them. Otherwise 20 star jumps and a walk up a good hill. Plus a big jumper, a thermos of hot chocolate and a visit to a pub with a roaring fire.

And lastly, my husband has just come in and asked if you have any advice on blowing up armbands, and whether you do it on site, or take them pre-blown. I have just confiscated his elevenses biscuits as a result.

Ha! We often take rubber rings and lilos with us on summer missions and people always want to blow them up in the car on the way, which causes all manner of navigational problems.

Thanks for taking the time to chat to us, and good luck with the new book!

Happy swimming!

A Trip to Nepal...

Well dear readers, this blog was kindly sent in by one of our customers who generously gave us her feedback on some of the girlstravelclub.co.uk gear she had bought from us. Makes fascinating reading, and also makes you value the fact you can go and make yourself a nice cup of tea whenever you want!

Greetings travel bloggers, I've just returned from Nepal. This trip was the third in three years with the purpose of running courses in Biblical counselling.

Since last year there have been big changes that affect all travellers. Then, with load shedding you enjoyed 16 hours of electricity a day, now it’s down to just 8 hours in 2 x 4 hour blocks which often come in the middle of the night. Thus, though my travel kettle is still my favourite travel accessory, many was the time it was not useable.

It’s not the only shortage. Water is scare now, as well as being ALWAYS poisonous. The winter rains in January did not arrive and the rain we had at the end of the March was the first since October. My friend Tanka and Rita with their 9 year old daughter and 8 month old baby had just moved into a new third floor flat (the stairwell was lethal) and the landlord in the ground floor controlled the water turning it on for 15 minutes morning and evening. They are lucky, standing pipes are common.

Bottled water is not always around so the Aquapur water bottle is essential kit for ensuring I always have pure water to hand or mouth!

As ever, when eating out you depend on other people’s hygiene and diligence in iodizing fresh foods. My companion did some suffering. I on the other hand have never on my travels had tummy troubles. I put this down to taking cider vinegar every day whilst I am abroad. Last year it was the cause I think of my suitcase being opened on the way to Nepal as, of course I could not have the vinegar in my hand luggage, so this year I took priobotics. You can get a version that does not need refrigeration … a bit pricey ₤9.99 for 40 BUT it's wonderful not to feel rough when you are on your feet tutoring for 7 hours a day.

Nepal is a country where tourists are now beginning to return but BE PREPARED as interruptions to daily life are constant.

AGAIN there were petrol shortages which are pretty constant. All petrol comes up from India, so days can go by without petrol and often there are shortages of kerosene which is the major cooking fuel. The most frequent cause of disruption is when someone calls a strike, or bandh. Nepal then verges on anarchy as strikes can be continual and random, and if you do not get off the road and close down your business, whoever called the bandh is likely to conduct violent reprisals.

In 3 weeks we had 2 local bandhs that affected people’s ability to get to and home from the courses and one national bandh that was called for a three week period which brought the country to a standstill. Life has to be flexible and the locals have to adapt their lives to put up with all these interruptions. Expect delays when travelling and if you are elsewhere other than Khatmandu, allow 24 hours in the capital when you are flying out of the country to be sure of making your flight. If you are in the capital some taxis will run as long as they are carrying tourists and you will get to the airport.

We flew with Qatar Airways who only allow 20 kg of luggage so travel gear has to be both efficient and compact. Essentials were the Design Go travel kettle, the wind up dynamo torch, my tiny LED lamp, my head torch and the Tisserand lavender rollerball for moments of fraughtness (oh, and my MP3 player with audio books)!!