to Swansea and beyond!

It was great to be back in a youth hostel; a bit of company and all the facilities.  It wasn't  very full, perhaps because of the season and the weather (the season very definitely  stops at the end of August, it seems), or possibly because you can still only hire a whole room to yourself.   Still I had a great chat with a pair of cyclists from Bristol who've toured all over Britain and quite a bit of Europe.  He recommended I try Switzerland next, but I'm not so sure.  I have never heard anything good about its coastline.

On the road by 8.30, straight into a series of killer hills..   I'm now travelling east along the south coast of the Gower.  It has a sort of scarp cliff running along it, and the maim road runs along quite high up, but the coast is, as usual, at the bottom   They don't  mess about round here, if the road needs to go up a hill, it just goes straight up.  In 5 miles I had done 200 metres of climbing. 

Oxwich beach

Grand entrance to a ?House near Oxwich

I also found myself directed along some very impractical routes, flooded bridleways and roads where they seemed to have forgotten the tarmac layer.  But also some sunshine, great views, a few skeletons of castles, and beautiful beaches.   Ten miles, 300m of climbing and I stopped for the worst ever latte, and the best ever pain au raisin, at Kittle village bakery.  They were thrown into confusion when I produced a Scottish £10 note, but all was well.

Dodgy

Vrty dodgy

Ford

Beautiful Caswell bay and then up-market Langland Bay, complete with Manor house, looking a bit like St Pancras Station Hotel. Each beach came with a free gift of more hills, but then ... no more hills to Swansea!  They're all beautiful beaches, with a little cafe, maybe a shop selling beach things - typical small tourist beach, and somehow very welcoming.  Nearly 500 metres of ascent in 15 miles, but well worth it.  

Caswell bay

Caswell bay

Caswell bay

Caswell bay

Caswell bay

Caswell bay

I

Langland Manor entrance 

t was definitely the right decision to stop at Gowerton in May and come back with fresh legs for the Gower.

Mumbles point

Three lifeboat stations?

Just round the corner was the Mumbles headland, and a nine mile crescent of flat, beachside cycle path into sunny Swansea, with a following wind.  Dotted with cafes and a few walkers.  Lovely.  Lunch by the marina in Swansea, and onwards towards the industrial chimneys of Port Talbot, without really seeing most of Swansea.  Sorry, Swansea.

Approaching Swansea

Swansea

Swansea marina

Lunchtime companion

Will he notice?