Intermission - Newport

Today we have a little bit of an intermission.  As you can tell from the dates on the blog I did not travel last week.  Well that is sort of untrue as I did some travel but not with work.  We decided to have a long weekend away and therefore headed off to a previous retreat.  Last year we stayed at a Hilton hotel in Newport, South Wales and found some fantastic things to do so we decided to gather some more tesco points and have another free weekend away.

So on Friday morning at 08:00 the car was packed and we hit the M62 with the next stop Wales, or rather a service station as the trip without stopping would be a little silly.

The traffic was reasonable good and we made good progress and kept going until Tamworth services which was a good centre point for a toilet break and to tuck into the sandwiches and the flask we made.

When we arrived on Friday at about 14:00 it was as we remembered, the hotel was surrounded by green trees and grass and in the centre a lovely garden with a well stocked pond. 

After the journey we were a little tired so we rested a while and I got the chance to catch up on a little cricket thanks to the wifi in the room.  Then around 17:00 we travelled to the local supermarket to get some food for the evening meal.  As you know we are not ones to splash out on restaurants, preferring to make our money stretch that little bit further. 

When we returned to the hotel we made use of the hotel pool, sauna and whirlpool.  The only disappointment was the pool which was really cold and infact was too cold to stay in too long.  We did a few laps and then it was to the sauna to warm up before cooking in the whirlpool. 

After a nice evening meal in our room we completed the night by sitting together watching television.  That may seem rather strange to comment on but for us it is something we do not do very often at all, even when I’m at home we rarely sit together as we always have too much to do or want to watch something different. 

Saturday came and after a very nice breakfast and I must admit to having too much breakfast.  The choice was amazing but the taste was even better.  So after breakfast we were off and decided to use today to travel along the coast.  The first place we stopped was Barry Island which was much busier than last year, we walked along the beach road and onto what is called Friar’s point and as we sat on one of the well placed benches and watched a motor boat race that was being held in the bay below us.  I have never seen that before live and it was really good.  Obviously been too far away to see who was winning but it was fun to watch.  Eventually we walked back to the car via a few gift shops and with nothing bought we left Barry Island and headed back via the coast road.  This led us to Penarth which has to be my favourite place.  It is perfect.  True we have only seen it in the sun but when you enter and see a brass band playing next to the pier, find loads of parking really easy (and free), and take a slow walk along the front toward the pier and the getting louder by the second brass band.

However before we reached the band we diverted down on the beach or row of rocks that double as a beach.  It is not really that bad as nearer the sea you get the more sand appears. With a gentle breeze and the warm sun it was perfect.  We must have been feeling good as at one point we thought about buying some food until sense regained its grip and we splashed out on an ice cream each to eat as we sat in a lovely garden along the front.

Time passed so quickly that it was soon time to head back to our Tesco store to get something for tea. 

On the way back from Penarth a golden gem was found. We travelled past the Newport Transporter Bridge and if you don’t know what one is, then google it as it is great.  As a kid I was taken on the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge by my dad and to do this again so many years later was a real treat, not to mention the really nice bloke that marshalled the bridge.  He was so friendly and easy to talk to, all attractions should have this type of person.  After two journey across, we had to come back, we were on our way.

At tesco we managed to find the reduced section and got quite a lot of food for a lot less than expected so happy and hungry we got back to the hotel but didn’t just sit and eat, we headed once more to the pool.  We were sad to see that the heater in the water had not been working any harder and this time we got about waist high before backing out and rushing to the sauna.  On our second evening we did take the chance to visit the garden and take a look at the fish before rushing back to eat again.

The final full day was probably the best as the plan was to head first west and then north toward Abergivinny (don’t know how to spell it) but with the plan to stop at anything that looked interesting.  The first stop was as we entered Cwmbryn and a sign said boating lake but there seemed to be a lot of cars in the car park so we pulled in.  A short walk saw us at a boating lake which was not for boats for people to get in but for model boats and again this was really interesting.  After a little while watching we set off and had a walk around the lake and through a little forest we found  along the way.  We didn’t stay much above a couple of hours before we were off looking for the next attraction.  This we duly found north of Cwmbryn, not sure where and I don’t think I could find it again which is such a shame as it was realy nice.  We found a brown sign that had a picture of a tree and a canal boat so we had to investigate.  The place was a marina with cafe and a lovely walk under the canal (through a bridge of course), along a tow path, across another bridge, and into a forest.  In the forest were some interesting little things.  A wizards circle, carved fish and animals in wood and finally a carving in a tree of an old witch which I found really good and took a picture whilst my good lady thought it not nice and moved away very quickly.

We finished the visit by sitting outside of the cafe and having an ice cream, this was not quite as nice as the one in Penarth as there were a lot of wasps that descended on us or rather me and at one point I was walking away quickly thinking, don’t run and wave your hands as you will look a berk, so I just walked away quickly looking vexed, pursued by wasps trying to get my ice cream. 

I will admit that it was a true random day of just driving to find something and maybe goes to show how many and what great things are around South Wales that you will always find something great to see.  For me it was the best day by far and if we go back down there in the future, which I am sure we will, I will plan to just travel and see what we can see more often.

Another night and morning breakfast was a real treat but as it was Monday morning and our final day it was time to head home and get ready the next day.

Overall, a lovely hotel in Newport, the so much stuff to do and the little towns in the area of this part of Wales are so nice that all been well, we shall be back again before too long.