WE MOVE SITE TO TALYBONT

26th July 08. Still very hot today- just grocery shopping in Brecon during the morning then after lunch I spent many hours trying to get the satellite tv system working. No matter how many times I scanned each satellite I could not pick up our normal BBC & ITV programmes so it all went back into the box and will be returned for a refund.

25th July 08. The weather is still holding fine and hot. Crickhowell was our destination, a small town on the Welsh border with England. It was very quaint with old houses in meandering streets.



We came to a pub on the bridge which I remembered from my childhood where my uncle Ern(est) stopped for a pint- my mother couldn't understand why, she disproved of pubs and alcohol!
There's also a castle, although not much of it remains!

We had a noisy night with people partying until 4am- this is not the place to be on weekends and will positively be the last time we stay here. The site is spoilt by inconsiderate people and the absence of rules of any kind- all due to the site being run by those who have no idea how a caravan site should be run. We've seen children aged no more than 8 years old driving tractors and trying to book people in on the computer.


24th July 08. Another stinking hot day so we lazed around for the morning and after lunch went to Llangorse lake some 5 miles away. It hadn't improved since my childhood days when we visited with my grandfather for fishing. It now seems to be taken over by speedboats and water skiers. There's limited walking facilities. We looked but didn't stop, not even for a photo and looking on the internet, there aren't even any decent photos to crib. That say's it all!
We push onto Talgarth thinking it may be an interesting quaint place- no such luck, to say it is desolate is kind!
Then a flash of inspiration, dash up to Hereford to Maplin Electronics to buy a satellite dish and receiver for he MH as tv is very poor on site.
Back on site it is 32C inside the MH and 28C outside so we sit under the sun shade to cool off. Our next car will definitely have air conditioning.
Yet another stir fry on the Cadac rounded off the day.

23rd July 08. The forecast was for a hot day- they weren't kidding, it reached 28C! We decided to go to Ystradfelte again as last time it was shrouded in rain, hopefully to see the waterfalls. We arrived at the car park and looked at the information board only to see it was 1.5 hours walk- not in that temperature! It would probably have been a wasted journey anyway as there wasn't much water in any of the surrounding brooks. So we plodded on to Abercraf with the intention of heading north over some wild countryside. We stopped off at Craig-y-nos country park which was very welcome as it was under trees and cool. see http://www.aboutbritain.com/Craigynos.htm
Timmy had a paddle in the stream and looked longingly at the lake or was it the ducks

22nd July 08. Not a lot happening today- we went to the supermarket in Brecon in the morning and sat around the MH for the rest of the day as it was so hot 26C. Used the Cadac for a chinese stir fry in the evening.
Found the bug on the roof of the car- think it may be a hornet
and a very large owl sitting in it's shelter near reception on the site. It is tethered most of the time when visitors are present as it attacks children and dogs! They feed it dead chickens.


21st July 08. We were never very happy with our position on his site as it was too small to sit outside, impossible to BBQ without being within 10ft of the loo emptying point and Timmy couldn't be tied outside without being in danger of passing cars. So we asked to be moved to a larger pitch. This really was a load of hassle for the warden as they pre-booked all of the pitches according to the length of each outfit. We didn't get a positive response so set off for a short trip to Talybont, passing a commercial site on route. We looked at the site last year, thought of it as a possibility but it is large (up to 500 units) has a bar and entertainment- not really our scene. Having said that, it is sunny, has large pitches, Timmy can be tied outside and we can use the awning- everything we really want.
The decision was a 'no brainer' we went back to Aberbran and told the warden we were moving immediately, collected a refund, packed up and went.
The site is a lot more expensive but what the hell, you only live once and have to be happy with your lot! And into the bargain FREE WIFI!!
This is the website www.gilestonecaravanpark.co.uk/
We settled down and sat in the sun for the afternoon, had a short walk with Timmy who is a much happier dog then had a sort of BBQ with the new Cadac outdoor cooker.