Hello!
It is the first week back from reading week and I already have work assigned! The first week of the new semester is pretty simple which makes for a nice transition away from reading week. Mostly the teachers just introduce the topic, grading scheme, and how the course will be set out. I use this time to get my life a bit more organised and do plenty of spring cleaning around the house.
My reading week vacations didn’t go quite as planned. I made it out to Wales, however there was a three-hour delay in Birmingham as we were making our way to the north of Wales. This set us back quite a bit and by the time that we made it to the places we wanted to see the sun was already setting as it is winter. We had a nice fish and chip meal at Portmerion and headed down to our hostel in the south. This couple hour journey down south was more like an expedition. We drove through pouring rain, single car roads on mountain tops, and through the densest fog I’ve ever seen. Luckily we were very prepared and I have been driving for 5 years now.
Our hostel was in the middle of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was such a beautiful house with the most fantastic hills surrounding it. We arrived in the dark, so looking out the window the next day was an amazing sight.
We spent the next day driving along the coast and through some of the most eye catching country side. The UK looks just like you imagine it. From the rolling hills and hedge rows to the perfect cottages and happy farm animals, it is a masterpiece. The coast did surprise us with its variety though. Our first stop was in Aberiddy. There we found slate walls, petrified wood, crashing waves, and a tall coast edge to surround the bay.
Beyond Aberiddy, we headed to Pembrokshire and found sand dunes! The sand was yellow, like you would find in Hawaii, the dunes rose above your head, and the wind could knock you over 😉 I am still finding sand in my hair from the dunes. It was crazy going from petrified wood and pebble beach, to tall sandy dunes. We drove through the dunes and took a walk to see the ocean.
After we left Pembrokshire we stumbled upon the Stackpole estate. We took a walk around and found a couple bridges crossing rivers with swans swimming in them. We left Stackpole to go to our final destination Tenby. Tenby is a town on the coast with some beautiful pastel houses overlooking the water. We got a pub lunch and took a look around. By the time we got to the bay the sun was setting. We decided it was time to drive home at that point.
Wales is a beautiful country and I feel like it doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It has some of the most stunning scenery and amazing roads to drive on. It is definitely worth a visit and it is not very far.
I meant to go to Bath the day after, but the weather is getting rainier and we decided to hold off for a bit. Hopefully we will go next week if the weather is better 🙂
If you have any questions about living and traveling in the UK email me!
Holly
