Labs on the Road

(Friday and Saturday)

The holiday bit of the trip was a long weekend in Wales at a pet-friendly cottage looking out over the Preseli Hills and 15 minutes from the coast.

Leelo went to her dog sitter as my mother decided that it was the least stressful option for all of us. The car was packed and we set off to Tegryn. The route took us from the Severn Valley along the Teme Valley, past the few remaining hop field and into Herefordshire with its apple and pear orchards and cider mills. Then through the Welsh Marches with parklands designed by Capability Brown, over the border into Wales with the Brecon Beacons rising up in the distance.

Several hours later we arrived at Tegryn and the cottage at the end of a lane.

All the reviews had mentioned the views from the garden, but they were better than I’d imagined.

SATURDAY

Rain was forecast for Saturday, but later in the day. The plan was to drive over the Priseli Hills to Solva and then St. Davids. Then find a dog beach to end the day.

The Priseli Hills were in low cloud and we decided to go straight to Solva. The idea was to walk around the town, have some lunch and then carry on to St. Davids. But it started to rain just as we had parked the car by the harbour.

It was soon pouring down. It was looking as if lunch was going to be that stalwart of British holidays. Or at least those I remember. A picnic/sandwiches in the car sheltering from the rain. Then we saw a ‘dogs welcome’ sign at the Harbour Inn. My mother went to ask if they meant inside as well and it did. We were fast discovering that Wales is a very dog friendly place.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier. I saw on my phone that there was an amber alert in force until late that night, but a return to sunny weather was forecast for Sunday. We decided that the best thing to do was to go back to the cottage and to do St. Davids and Fishguard the next day. And, of course, a dog beach as well.

The drive back to the cottage was like going through a car wash. The wind had picked up and a gale was blowing by the time we got back to Tegryn. I was just grateful we weren’t camping and there was a log fire for a cosy evening in the cottage.

Strangely enough a very enjoyable day despite the weather.