The forecast for this weekend in Wales was not just rain but HEAVY rain. Friday was yet another annual leave day so we could so some recon on the area and the weather was starting out as a bit miserable.
Finding accommodation in rural Wales is a bit of a chore so I would recommend being a little bit more organised with this when staying in the area. We have been relying on the IPhone with 3G internet connection but this can be slow and obviously non-existent in the rural areas.
There is an abundance of B&B’s in rural Wales but for the most part they are rooms in people’s homes that have been opened up for a bit of extra income so the level of expertise in regards to cleanliness and food hygiene can be a bit of an issue. Thankfully we managed to find a lovely farm house B&B out in the middle of nowhere. We were a bit concerned that we would never be heard from again but this thinking obviously proved to be unfounded.
The farm was a working one with dry stock and some pigs with the listed stone house as the main accommodation. We were the only guests that weekend except for the owners grandchildren that turned up for the weekend which we never saw anyway. The view from our room was lovely, straight across the fields to the ocean. I could even see the lighthouse blinking at night far off in the distance. The living room had a lovely crackling fire, wooden beamed ceiling and proved to be the perfect location for reading the next book on my list, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.
We went for dinner at Little Haven and early registration on the Friday night. Night time driving through all the back roads of Wales with no street lighting – interesting! Being confident with reversing is essential in this country on back lanes with farm equipment taking up the whole lane.
The next morning we were incredibly surprised to see that we had yet another spectacular day. At some point on these runs we are sure to get a miserable day but so far we have been incredibly blessed. Two runs to go, let’s see how we go.
As we were staying near to race base we got another sleep in (far better than leaving from Bristol at 6am to arrive in time for the race). We had to park in Broad Haven then catch the shuttle base to race base as Little Haven is quite tiny and couldn’t accommodate the number of cars for all the runners. At 10.30 the half marathoners were off. I trailed them by walking the 10km section meeting back up with the half and full marathoners at the final section of the race. The coastal path truly does follow the cliff edge and there was a number of times that I was thankful that the gusting winds were blowing on shore and not off. If you fell over the edge here they wouldn’t find your body for a while I would imagine.
Steve ran this time with a smaller pack to lighten the load on a knee injury he has but still it is slowing him down so he will have to get it seen to before the next race in Cornwall. Apparently the next one is brutal but the Exmoor one is the hardest. I never know who to listen to though as to me they all look incredibly challenging.
So in three weeks time it is Cornwall! I am looking forward to that one as we haven’t visited this area as yet.
