We had a kid-free 24 hours over the bank holiday weekend and had planned to paint our block paving driveway, however the weather forecast had patches of rain and we needed a full 24 hours rain-free and warm for the paint to dry. So, not wanting to be stuck at home for a weekend when we had the opportunity to get away, we booked a last minute night away on Airbnb to Swansea to explore more of the wonderful Gower!

The Gower is around two and a half hours drive so it’s not too far for a quick one night stay. It’s also stunning and provides the perfect scenery for long walks, talks, ideas and clearing of the mind – much needed after the year we’ve had. It was great to get away from our home too where we have felt so trapped in recent times.

There were no stays left in Gower, but Swansea had a few choices and I decided to spoil us with one of the best looking. It was our ten year anniversary earlier in the year during lockdown and we couldn’t do anything to celebrate, so this was my excuse!

Port Eynon, Gower, Wales

Our check in wasn’t until 3pm so we decided to drive straight to the Gower after dropping the kids off in the morning. We picked Port Eynon off a map as we haven’t been there before.

Previous trips to the Gower have been to Mumbles, Oxwich Bay and Rhossili Bay (our favourite so far).

We found a quiet spot in the sand dunes to eat our lunch (a Tesco meal deal we picked up on the way) and then head up to the cliffs for a coastal walk to the next beach along Overton. Not really a beach but huge jagged rocks everywhere with amazing rock pools. I saw tiny shrimps and so many pink snails.

Before heading back, as rain started falling heavily, we climbed down from the cliffs to see Culver Hole, believed to be from the 13th or 14th century to trap pigeons for food when other food was scarce! It’s a jagged rocky climb down, though I believe there is a footpath on the other side, but we took the challenging route! There’s more about Culver Hole at https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/walesnature/2010/08/a_real_cliff_hanger.html

Our Airbnb: River Neath, The Chapel, Henrietta Street, Swansea

After getting drenched from a heavy downpour and walking around 10km, we decided to check in to our accommodation for long hot showers and to order some takeaway! We’d found a Chinese called Wokpan on Just Eat with a huge vegan selection and it was delicious!

Our accommodation was an apartment in a converted chapel with small stained glass windows in the living room. It was an amazing find and everything felt brand new, so perhaps only recently converted. I’d highly recommend a stay if you are in the area. It was the cleanest accommodation I’ve ever stayed in!

Morning walk along Swansea Beach

Our Airbnb was only a few minutes away from Swansea beach, so we checked out before 9am did a Sunday morning walk along the beach in lovely sunshine, albeit it quite cold even in May!

It’s the second time we’ve been to Swansea beach and the first time we were really surprised at how long it is with golden sands!

Picnic at Caerleon Amphitheatre in Newport

On the way home Ben wanted to stop to see some Roman ruins. We picked up some lunch from Tesco and decided to stop at the Caerleon Amphitheatre for a picnic.

It’s in Newport and there are remains of Roman barracks and an actual amphitheatre where they used to fight to the death gladiator style. I never knew this happened in our country, it’s quite crazy!

A nice place today to stop for a picnic, but a gruesome history!

And that’s a wrap! 24 hours in Wales with some history, beautiful coastal cliff walks, a long morning beach walk, delicious takeaway, picnics and top accommodation! Perfect!

Please pin me and share with your friends: