Crawley and Oxwich beach is just 10 minutes’ walk downhill from the campsite (add 10 minutes for walking back up!). 2 miles of golden sands, dunes, rocks and cliffs that are dog-friendly all year round.

The weather was perfect and the local walks were nice although some sections of the Gower Coastal path could have been doing with a revamp as paths were badly overgrown.

We had brought our bike with us and headed to Mumbles, cycling along a well thought out path beside the sea. I had decided to try out my new cleats. Which wasn’t the most sensible decision I’ve ever made. Having secured my feet to the pedals of my bike, we set off and I quickly realised that when you are cycling amongst a combination of fellow cyclists of all ages and abilities as well as pedestrians sharing sections of the path, you will regularly have to put your foot down on the ground. Unfortunately, I hadn’t practiced the manoeuvre of flicking my foot out to unclip the cleat nearly enough but I stubbornly carried on. With the view that practice makes perfect.

We were keeping an eye out for a nice café to stop at and it wasn’t long before we passed the perfect spot. Great views with plenty of space to park up our bikes. In my excitement and looking forward to enjoying my Latte, I forgot to unclip my cleats as we came to a stop right outside this busy café. By the time I remembered, it was too late. I frantically tried a combination willing my bike to stay horizontal and smoothly release my foot from the pedal. Needless to say, that neither worked and I resigned myself to my fate. I’m sure you will appreciate that no amount of pain comes close to the embarrassment I created for myself. That said, my love of coffee took priority and this mishap would soon be forgotten – once the small matter of freeing myself from my bike was completed.

Crawley and Oxwich beach turned out to be the highlight of our trip and created unique memories that stay with you. Memories that don’t rely on anything expensive or fancy. They are the result of being in the moment and feeling happy.

It’s a steep decline to the beach from the campsite but the rewards are worth it. We planned on having a BBQ on the beach but didn’t have any skewers but being a resourceful couple, that wasn’t going to be an issue. We used our tent pegs instead!

We were keeping a close eye on the weather as the rain was forecast and we could see dark clouds far off on the horizon, over the sea but heading our way. As the perfect afternoon progressed, we finished off our prosecco, enjoyed our tent peg skewers and sat back to watch what had now become a thunder and lightning display. It was a magnificent sight but we still felt detached from it as we relaxed in the warm afternoon sun. This was a special memory.  I can’t remember exactly when it dawned on us, maybe when we first felt that heavy drop of rain but we realised that it was time to go. There was a rainstorm coming and we still had to climb back up that steep hill.

So off we set with haste. Hampered by the sand dunes and alcohol but we dug deep, determined to get back to our tent as dry as possible. I did have to stop occasionally and give Aileen some encouragement as we made our way back!