Jim's Holidays: Last of the Summer Wine

It's the 2014 bike ride revisited following our aborted attempt in the Spring which ended up as just me and Simon taking on the rolling Normandy hills. Pete picks me up in his van at Battersea Park and we have a good drive out of London considering it's Friday rush hour. As night comes on we pick up Simon on the Swindon slip road and also an Aussie hitcher he's met who's going to Bristol. We drop him off at the Bath turn off advising him to get a bus. After the weekend we think that he's left his laptop in the van. Poor guy. But why oh why would you hitch with a laptop? Modern life I guess. Rest of the journey to the Gower is pretty good although once there we get a little lost at one point my phone sat nav telling us we were in the estuary. So Google don't know everything about us cos we were pretty dry at the time. Eventually we see Amanda's fairy lights to guide us to her and Chris' house and we are treated to great hospitality plied with beer and wine sitting in the warm night air next to the fire pit burning Amanda's driftwood artworks.

Waiting for the man at Battersea wondering what on earth they're doing to the roundabout

I awake wishing I'd gone to bed earlier but after a great breakfast served by our hosts I'm cycling fit. Chris sets off at a ferocious pace and soon we're at Llanelli Golf Club to meet our fifth man Nick. So the peloton sets off along fairly flat roads until we reach Kidwelly where we stop off for coffee next to the castle walls. Every sizable village or town seems to have it's own castle in this part of Wales. We hit our first proper hill and as soon as we've struggled up we freewheel down to the water again at Ferryside where we forlornly search for the long gone ferry (as in decades) and so have to haul our sorry bodies up to Uplands and glide down to Carmarthen. After a couple more hills we stop at Llangain to find our bearings. Finding they are well off course in our quest to find Dylan Thomas' boat house at Laugharne we get chatting to the locals. We are persuaded to lunch at the brilliantly named Tafarn Pantydderwen pub which has a great grasp of veganism and serve me up a lovely veg chilli with half and half (rice and chips). Over our pints we are joined by three locals and a dog and get a potted history of the place, Dylan Thomas' relatives, the local characters and anyone who passes stops to find out who we are including car drivers. Caused quite a stir us five cyclists. The directions to Laugharne seem to be that we go up a very Steep Hill and then Another Steep Hill before traversing the Spiders Web of Lanes which we are warned we may never emerge from before getting on the Main Road to Bancyfelin and St Clears on the River Taf. We part with our newfound friends telling us that after the first couple of hills it's all downhill to Tenby and we'll be laughing all the way. Bracing ourselves for a Hobbit like Epic Journey we pass Dylan's old house of Fernhill before the hills and lanes which actually aren't too bad and before we know it we're in Laugharne where we resist the attempt to drink in Browns Hotel, apparently where Dylan's wife met her rough dalliances, and get to Dylan's boathouse. Well, at first we see his writing shack just down the lane from the boat house and the views across the estuary are just amazing. As Pete says, anyone could write brilliantly with those views out the window. We then have afternoon tea at the boat house which is more like a proper house and where the lad who serves us tells us the next ways we should take to Tenby. This fills us with more dread than the old guys and their Spider Web of Lanes as we have to ascend Heartbreak Hill favoured by Iron Man competitors. It seems that it's not called Heartbreak Hill due to lost loves but because of the blood pressures reached whilst struggling up it. It's officially named Pendine Hill and once reaching we think that's it but there's another vicious kick before we are treated to a gorgeous long fast descent where I have the quandary of whether to gaze at the beautiful views over Amroth and Saundersfoot or whether to watch the tarmac in front of me in case of pot holes. Safely down we go for a quick dip at Amroth in the surprisingly warm (yes, warm) waters as the sun goes down. Up and down a couple of steep hills before reaching Saundersfoot through the beach tunnels then it's up the climb to New Hedges where the family camped a couple of summers ago and we bypass Tenby by which time the night has come down and we're cycling with lights on along the main road which is a little hairy. Eventually we get to our haven for the night Manorbier Youth Hostel which is way past Tenby and worryingly next to an army firing range. Friendly staff here and it's neat and clean. Chat to a worryingly enthusiastic cyclist who wears Shimano SPD sandals and seems disappointed that we are amateurs and not that knowledgeable about cycling in general and welsh routes in particular. We order in a curry and after a couple of bottles of beer and watching Match of the Day old style (i.e. without knowing all the scores which in The Arsenal's case is nothing to write home about) we go to bed in our cosy room of bunk beds. I sleep pretty well but a couple of the lads have a restless night. Probably due to me struggling down from my bunk to visit the loo a couple of times.

Fiddling about making sure we're all set

Ready for the official "off" pic

Gower waters

Nick rendezvous

Coffee and cake at Kidwelly, with castle of course

Pill box to deter the Germans - as we kept on bumping into on last year's Kennet Canal ride

Simon's first to realise there's no ferry at Ferryside

Ahh, the rolling hills of Wales

Stop Press! Five foreigners visit Welsh village. (Pete is also counted as a foreigner in these parts)

Puffing away like a Welsh dragon

As ever we are in complete agreement as to the way...

Opposite Browns Hotel

As Pete said, who couldn't write fantastic poetry with such a view

Dylan's Writing Shack

View from the house

The Boys

Artistic shot

After a wicked climb the long blissful descent to Amroth

Amroth beach invaded by mad ageing cyclists in underpants

We wake to a gorgeous day bathing our hostel in sun and after a big vegan breakfast (much appreciated YHA foreign staff) we start off wondering if we've eaten too much what with yesterday's curry. Excess is soon burnt off with the first couple of hills. Simon and I are out front and race down a steep wide hill road perfect for head down freewheeling. It's the hill that just keeps giving and halfway down I do wonder whether the others will follow given we have to get back up somehow. At the bottom is beautiful Freshwater East beach and soon the others join us. With the glorious weather, which we overhear a local saying is the best September since they can remember which is a long time by the look of him, we go for a swim, colder than yesterday, then toast ourselves for a while. Tempting to stay here all day but we're not on a beach holiday so we jump upon our trusty steeds again. Not wanting the break the rule of not backtracking and not particularly relishing going back up the hill we've just come down we climb out of Freshwater East by the western hill. By now we are well and truly in the Pembroke hills and we climb up and scoot down a few including one which says 20% at the bottom (luckily I didn't notice that) and 25% at the top looking back down. Soon after we reach Pembroke itself. After another heartpumping climb we get up to Cleddau Bridge at Pembroke docks and cycle over for free with brilliant views in all directions. At the end we follow the signs to the local pubs and have an excellent lunch. Mine is bean chilli with half and half again following a vegan conversation with knowledgeable bar staff. With full stomachs we have to haul all that food up the next couple of hills through lovely wooded lanes. We hit the open road to climb up to the menacingly named Hill Mountain but either we're getting used to the gradients or it's not as bad as it's named. Probably the latter. Following our post breakfast testy discussion about today's route (OK, me and Simon were the main testy ones) we all decide to head for the train at Haverfordwest. We have time for a quick pint at the local station pub in a very urban beer garden before boarding the two carriage train that stops at every one horse village between here and Manchester some even being request stops. Chris Pete and I leave the train and Simon and Nick at Gowerton for the half hour cycle ride back to Chris' place where a hot shower, a beer and tasty meal awaits. Thanks Amanda that was appreciated more than you can imagine. As our exertions are taking their toll we're in bed by 10.30 to sleep like logs.