Castles in the Air - 20th March 2005

Meeting at Swansea West services on a beautiful spring morning heralding the start of the "top-down" season. I know that some of you drive like that all of the time but some of us have wives that complain in cold weather. (OK not just cold weather!)

With 14 cars for the off we welcomed 3 new members. Dominic, Mike and Oscar. Oscar's the one in the white coat.

We have a tradition to maintain

Within a few miles of leaving the services half of the convoy took a wrong turn. To be precise they didn't take a turn at all, they went straight on. They were soon rounded up be resident shepherd Mike, and returned to the fold.

Some of the roads were quite mucky but we had been warned of this and to the best of my knowledge nobody had taken the trouble to wash the inside of their wheels beforehand.

We really must compliment Ros & Bob on their choice of route, stunning views and superb roads. Not to mention the route that was printed for everyone (double sided no less) with Ros's mobile number and that of the Samaritans!

Carreg Cennen

First stop Carreg Cennen Castle for a comfort stop and coffee. Although Marilyn was feeling decidedly uncomfortable after a gust of wind blew my coffee off the table and over her trousers. Thanks Maureen for the replacement cup.

A sudden departure from Carreg Cennen caught Keith and John away from their cars, to which Bob was entirely oblivious. It was only noticed when Mike, who was tail gunner for the day, realised that the two cars weren't moving.

Onwards to Paxton's Tower

A short drive to Paxton's Tower with time for a short walk to the Tower itself. En-route, Bob gave us the brief history of this folly and for those that missed it details can be found on this page

Lunch

An even shorter drive from the Tower and back to the Golden Grove Inn for lunch. The courses were leisurely with ample time to wander and converse between the starter and the main course. The food itself was excellent as was the hospitality.

Look another castle

On then to Drysllwyn Castle, an opportunity to walk off some of the lunch and see some spectacular views over the river. Thanks for the pictures or I'd have missed those, as someone had to stay and look after the cars. Well that's my excuse as Wayne had deserted his post.
From Drysllwyn it was back to Cross Hands and the motorway for us to make our own way home.