the best pubs, restaurants, hotels and places to visit
I’ve recently started as a volunteer lock keeper on the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal at Llangynidr. Not knowing that much about the canal I decided to research it all as the basis for a new website about the canal. There are some great resources out there about the canal, so the website just builds on what’s already been done. The website focuses more on contemporary photos of the main locations on the canal.
It’s still a work in progress but worth a visit I think – Mon and Brec Canal
Just before the Covid-19 lock-down started we visited the Long Wood Nature Reserve in north Cardiff. Running through the Reserve is part of the old Glamorganshire Canal.
Nearby is the Mellingriffith Water Pump. The pump was built around about 1793 to pump waste water from the nearby tin plate works into the canal to maintain water levels.
I know it’s not really South Wales but I’ve recently been creating some websites for a couple of friends who have seaside cottages to rent in Little Haven in West Wales.
With the Covid-19 pandemic the houses haven’t been available for rent, but will be available again from early July 2020 for a staycation. Though most of the summers dates are already booked.
Little Haven is a great place for a holiday. We’ve been several times for short breaks. The village is quite seaside cutesy, and the beach is great. Little Haven beach is quite small, but extends out and joins up with Broad Haven at low tide, giving you a huge area for fun and games.
These seaside cottages are well worth a look at if you fancy a break in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
The coastal path from Ogmore-by-Sea to Southerndown is well worth a visit especially when the weather is nice. Park your car at either Southerndown beach or Ogmore beach. You can then stroll along the high cliff-top path enjoying the fantastic Bristol Channel views. Both locations have good car-parking though there is a small charge (about £3).
The coastal path here is along the top of the limestone cliffs. The cliffs are about 40m (130ft) high above the rocky beach. The path is a little way from the edge of the cliff which is a good thing, as there isn’t any protection from the sheer drop into the sea below. It’s advised to keep children and dogs well under control!
We went down Cwm Nash last weekend.
This photo is at the end of the Cwm (valley) looking back inland. It’s quite interesting because all of the rock either side here (out of view) is grey liassic limestone that weathers to a light buff colour. But all of the buff coloured cliff face here is post glacial tufa. Tufa is a calcareous deposit. All of the cliff that you can see here is lime that has precipitated from the valley stream since the last ice age – only about 12,000 years ago. So the cliff has slowly built up from the stream. The stream is currently quite small and now comes out of the bridge structure over to the right.
There was a great sunset over the Vale of Glamorgan last night. Reminded me of a Turner painting. We get some great sunsets in South Wales.