Where 'n' Why in Wales

I knew it was near the top of my to do list in my advetures before I left home..
Go 'n' see Welsh, Irish & Scottish countryside.
They're nice easy to get to, rural places for me to tune out from the world for a while. Dunno how I'll go countryside stayin' in backpackers.. but try I shall.


Within the first few weeks of my journey, I met Wez.
After meeting me, without any knowledge of my UK travel intentions, Wez had a dream he was in a library.
In it, he saw 2 old books, one with the word CYMRU on the front.
Clear as day, he awoke from the dream and asked me to note down the word.

Days later, he mentioned his dream, and the unidentified word to a friend.
Turns out CYMRU is Welsh for Wales!
This same friend knows a couple who own a hotel in a town on the west coast of Wales.
In that town, amongst beach and castles, lives the National Library of Wales.
He also has a small cottage he uses as a holiday home in a tiny country town further south if we'd like to go and stay.

Accommodation, library, dream, travel intentions... right.
I hired a car and off we trot for a week.

First town,

hotel is on this water front.

View from hotel lobby..
The big distrant building on the hill is the Library.

View from the amazing accommodation.

Chilly but lovely view on a hill point in town ... + me ;)

Took the lil hill side train up to have a peek over the town.

BIG old library!
I'm not into museums and the like.. but this was cool. We even took a nerdy tour.
They have copy rights to every book ever published in the whole of UK. 100% reference library containing art, media, maps, books, etc. They process 10,000 items a WEEK!? :o
 I know this means diddly squat to 95% of you, but the libary girls back home would've loved it.
To the rest of you.. this place was fucking MASSIVE, full o' old books n bits.
Was ur typical 'shhh' library.
Needless to say, not my style!



Post library, we moved onto the next destination with the cottage.
Accommodation was lovely, as were the 2 local pubs.
We went from being complete strangers to long lost friends of the locals within 2 beers.
Their scrumpy cider was truly scrumptious indeed!

Owl marks the cottage front door..:)

Pub 1: It's nearly on the roof?!
WHY?!

Oi, Pub 2, There's a
forrest in ur loo.



Oh look.. it's more hill, beach, castle ruin 'n' rock.
Unlike my blog photos this week, the views didn't get repeatative.

Proof: there are proper beaches here!
I expected them to be shit on this island after experiencing rocky Brighton last year.

Ya ever heard of Dylan Thomas??
Famous poet from early 1900's... famous to the welsh at least :p
That's his house... Well it was, back in his day.

The rural roads.
High hedges, skinny dirt paths..
Whooooop!
Had a blast buzzin about :D


Come home time.. we decided to grab one last cheeky feed on the drive back.

First place we stumbled across...

Questionable hotel name, clear decider.

Food was splendid,
as was Wales
:)