Earlier this year I asked my mum if she’d have Bella and Reuben overnight for the last weekend of February. It’s the month of mine and Ben’s anniversary and we’ve now been together nine years. I wanted to go away for one night and explore somewhere new together. I wasn’t sure where, but as we only had around 30 hours in total kid-free, it couldn’t be too far.
We’ve been to the Gower in Wales two times before kid-free and love it there. We’ve previously been to Rhossili Bay and Oxwich Bay. We decided to go again as it’s not too long a drive, around two hours. This time we decided to visit Mumbles!
Read on to discover what we got up to in Mumbles and where we found lots of yummy vegan food!
One night stay in Mumbles
We arrived just after lunch and decided to walk along the beach front towards the pier. We parked up in front of the sea in the paid parking area and paid for a few hours parking. Our check-in to our Airbnb room was at 4.30pm, so this gave us enough time to explore before then.
We couldn’t have chosen a worse weekend for exploring near the sea as we battled against Storm Jorge. It’s so funny they name the storms now, but at least you might know the one I am talking about!
One minute we had lovely blue skies and sunshine, the next we were battling against the strongest rains and winds, then we were being pelted in the face in a torrential hail storm… then rainbows and blue skies!
It was like this our entire trip and try as we might to keep exploring the cliffs and the beach, the weather did beat us and cut these adventures short. The hail was actually hurting my face so much at one point that I just had to get inside and get dry and warm, so we explored some cafes too.
Mumbles beach and pier
We first walked along some of Mumbles beach which is a stone beach, along to the rocky mounds at the end, one of which has a white lighthouse. Ben was determined to climb one, but in the awful weather and with me wearing my wellington boots (not good climbing shoes) I definitely wouldn’t have made it!
So instead we climbed the steps to the Mumbles pier and walked all the way to the end. It looks like they are refurbishing the pier, so there was a lot of building work going on and safety railings to walk through rather than the entire pier being accessible.
At the end of the pier are two RNLI buildings so we peered through the accessible one to see the huge lifeboat.
We attempted to walk over the cliffs just behind the pier, up lots of steps, but this is when torrential parts of the storm hit us and the wind got really strong.
Having packed minimally for the trip and not taken any extra clothes for the next day, I wanted to keep my one outfit as dry as possible!
The weather was a shame as usually we love long cliff walks, but it was what it was and we decided a mini cafe crawl could be fun. Back in the day it would have been a pub crawl, but I don’t drink alcohol, so coffee and raw juices it was!
We walked back along the beach using the path and decided to warm up in a cafe with a coffee. We did see an amazing rainbow over the pier on the way back as the sun came back out again!
The Kitchen Table
We first stopped at a pub to ask if they had dairy free coffees, but they didn’t have any dairy free milk which is quite a surprise in this day and age.
I told Ben I’d rather go to an independent cafe anyway, so we stopped at The Kitchen Table for a soy milk latte whilst we browsed Google to see if there were any dedicated vegan cafes in the area.
It was a cute little two-tiered cafe with shabby chic decor and an extensive menu with some vegan options. We didn’t eat as they were near to closing time and we only wanted to stop in for a quick coffee to warm up!
Our Google search paid off as we discovered Boo’s Kitchen, a plant based cafe, which was our next stop.
Boo’s Kitchen
Boo’s Kitchen was right up our street with it’s rustic and industrial decor and extensive vegan offering.
We enjoyed the best tasting vegan brownie I have had yet, along with a raw juice each.
Looking at the menu we could see there were lots of vegan food options for breakfast and we decided to come back in the morning for a vegan latte and breakfast.
The breakfast did not disappoint!
I actually didn’t have one and just had a coconut milk latte as I rarely eat breakfast. But Ben had Anna’s Avo which was smashed avocado on sourdough bread and I was really jealous!
I should have ordered one as it looked so good. We’ll definitely have to make our own version at home soon as I really did miss out.
The staff were really friendly and we’ll definitely return if we’re ever in Mumbles again.
Airbnb accommodation
At 4.30pm, or just a little after, we went to get the keys to our Airbnb accommodation. It was a part of someone’s house, but the room had its own entrance and the key was left outside for us. This made checking in really quick as I just messaged to let her know we had arrived and got the key. We dropped in our bags and headed back to Mumbles to grab some dinner.
We had a spacious double room for just £30 for the night. It was meant to be £45, but I had £15 credit so we saved a third off the price.
Oystermouth Castle
Walking around Mumbles we could see a castle ruins and it was very close to our accommodation. It was a short walk to the main street from our room, so we decided to stop at the castle and explore on our way to dinner.
The castle looked very impressive lit up with lights and the raging stormy clouds above, just as the sun was going down too. I got a great photo!
Unfortunately it’s only open in the summer season to go inside, so we could only view the outside, but I’m glad we got to see this. We walked around the park it’s located in, saw a great view of Mumbles from the height we were at and then walked into the town for a pizza dinner!
Papi’s Pizzeria
We’d noticed a little pizzeria in the town when looking for cafes and we’d stuck our head in to ask if they did vegan pizza. Luckily they had vegan mozzarella so we could order any of the vegetable pizzas and make the switch to vegan cheese. It looked good inside and smelt amazing so we were sold!
I’m so glad we noticed Papi’s as it is one of the best vegan pizzas I’ve had. Stonebaked pizzas are definitely better when served piping hot and fresh. We do love a good vegan pizza at Zizzi’s or Pizza Express, but Papi’s tasted so much better!
I’m not sure what vegan cheese they use, but it was amazing.
After dinner we headed back to our room for an earylish night. Ben brought his laptop so we watched the ‘How It Ends’ movie on Netflix whilst in bed and then got a pretty early night.
Langland Bay
The next morning we were up and out by around 8am ready to explore! The car was covered in a frosting of snow, but the sun was shining. We went to nearby Langland Bay for a walk as Boo’s Kitchen cafe was not open until 9am on a Sunday.
We paid for one hour’s parking and explored the beach. It looked so amazing with the sun over the water and I love just listening to the sound of the waves. It’s so peaceful. I can only imagine people who live near the beach and can visit daily are so calm and happy! It would make me so happy to be able to walk along a beach every day.
The beach is very pebbly and we found some lovely smooth black rocks for Bella and Reuben.
I saw a crab and was about to get a photo and decided to take it from the other side, just as I moved the tide came in and washed away the crab. Doh!
We walked up along the cliffs for a short distance as yet again the storm came back, this time with fast falling hail, and soaked us!
It had been calm on the beach, but once we got up to the cliffs the strong winds started up again. It was so strong I didn’t dare get too close to the edge as the wind really was pushing us along!
We went to Boo’s Kitchen where Ben had the breakfast I shared above and then we decided to head home as the weather was just so awful.
Ogmore Castle and beach
We took a look at what beaches there were on the way home so we could stop at one if the weather allowed. Almost three years ago we went to Ogmore castle ruins and beach, but it was too windy and cold to go on the beach. I think we weren’t dressed appropriately at all at the time for the cold winds!
It was on the way home so Ben suggested stopping at the beach again and perhaps walking along it this time.
The castle ruins are just off the road and as we were passing we stopped in for a quick look. It’s so deceiving as the photos show sunny blue skies, but it was freezing and windy. Shortly after was another patch of stormy weather which I’ll get to in a minute!
Last time we went to the castle we crossed the river using stepping stones, but the river was so high from all the rain that we couldn’t even see the stepping stones! We had a really quick look at the castle and posed for some photos!
On arriving at Ogmore beach it was lunchtime and we had a wrap and fruit with us, so sat in the van looking at the crashing waves on the rocks to eat our lunch. We fully intended to walk along the beach after, but yet again the storm returned and heavy rain and hail hit the van!
We ended our kid-free night away there and headed home.
It was a great little break and good to see Mumbles. Langland Bay was definitely my favourite part of the weekend, walking on the beach being so peaceful, and also discovering Boo’s Kitchen with all its vegan delights.
Our next kid-free adventure will be in May and we plan on visiting Cardiff for the first time!
Oh, the Prince of Wales bridge looked a gazing in the rainy weather on the way home:
More Wales travel posts
Visiting Skenfrith Castle in Wales with kids
Bluestone National Park Resort twixmas holiday review + Kingdom of the Elves
Brecon Beacons National Park Wales: Pen y Fan and Cribyn mountain walk
Please pin!
That sounds like a beautiful weekend. Stunning scenery, and I love the idea of a cafe crawl!