Day #: 98 – 109

Date(s): 01AUG – 12AUG2025

Location(s) Visited: Swansea, Blaenwaun, Cardigan, St. Davids, Haversfordwest, Tenby, Newgale, Wales to Avebury Gardens and Folkestone, England UK

Overall Impression of Location(s): Swansea = 2, National Botanic Garden of Wales = 4, Blaenwaun = 3, Cardigan = 2, St. Davids = 4, Haversfordwest = 2, Tenby = 2, Newgale = 3, Wales to Avebury Gardens, England UK = 3

4 -added to our favorite list and we would return again
3 – a great place to visit
2 – OK for one visit, but we would not return again
1 – we wish we hadn’t wasted our time here  

Distance Driven on Leg/Trip (km): 927 km (this includes 1 long day of driving crossing from Blaenwaun to Folkestone which is pretty much across the entire country).

Weather/Temperature (°F): Weather has continued to be cool and lovely with temperatures around 70 degrees during the day. We had one day which was a bit warmer in the high 70s (and Tracey said it was too hot to do “anything” lol) and then the last day of our drive from Blaenwaun to Folkestone the temperature was 90 degrees and we are glad we spent the day mostly driving in the A/C.

Road Conditions: More of the same except the roads in Carmarthenshire seem to be even more twisty and skinny with fewer turn-outs than in Pembrokeshire. The long drive from Blaenwaun to Folkestone was mostly on big beautiful “M” roads where we could go the speed limit. Traffic was horrible around London and we sat in several complete stand-stills. Our predicted 5 hour drive took 8.5 hours. Also, Tracey now says she likes left-hand driving, as we are leaving the UK. 😂

Chickpea Mechanical Status: UGH! All was going so well, until it wasn’t. Tracey got a phone alert from the Mercedes app stating “Start vehicle immediately, very low battery voltage”. The van started fine and seemed to charge the battery back up fine, but then a 2nd error showed “Add 1 L of oil” as level was below low limiter. We made a mad dash to a commercial Mercedes dealership in Swansea who got us a same-day appointment. They added 1 L of oil (no leak found?) and charged the battery and said it was “fine” and “holding a charge”. We didn’t love this diagnostic outcome but we went with it. We have still continued to get low battery warnings, but it always charges back up when we run the van. We know it needs a new battery so we have an appointment in Germany at a Mercedes dealership in a few weeks and hope all is well until then. Voltage varies between 12.2 and 12.4 V. Our van is only 18 months old so the battery should be covered under warranty🤞.

Health Update: Tony’s shoulder fracture is improving every day. He is very dedicated doing his exercises at least 4-5 times each day. He does not have pain during the day, aside from when he is doing his exercises, but does have still have some pain at night when laying down. He stopped using the immobilizer sling almost 2 weeks ago. He is now 6 weeks post injury and making good progress. His 6 week x-ray at the Fracture’s Clinic showed much healing of the bone and only 1 small area that still needed some more bone repair. The Ortho/Trauma doctor said after Tony’s exam that he has not had anybody with this good of range of motion and strength at 6 weeks in a very long time. He discharged Tony from his care and said he could continue with his own home PT since he was doing so well on his own. He needs to see an Ortho back home for a final check in October. The doctor said no biking riding for 6 more weeks which was not what Tony wanted to hear. He does still have some yellow bruising on his arm. He can only lift 5-10 pounds and is working hard at getting his full range of motion back. He can do most of his daily activities except driving and cycling. He is on the right track!

Tracey is also healing and she is back to walking 5-6 miles without issue, or minimal issues. Her blood pressure continues to be controlled on 1/3 of a pill, but she feels she does still have some fluid retention in her legs as a side effect of this medication so she plans to see her PCP when we return back to the US. Stretching her low back and legs while still in bed each morning has helped her tremendously with her hamstring tendonitis.

Highlights:

• We really liked our 2nd Airbnb in Blaenwaun, Carmarthenshire Wales UK. We were the first guests in this converted “Worker’s Cottage”. The hosts, Andy and Hannah, were all-around wonderful and kind people and we enjoyed our interactions with them and their family, including 2 dogs (Fern and Scarlet). The property was very rural (directions were to head down a dirt track until we see an orange house, turn left in front, drive past a stone house, drive up a small incline (no track) and follow the hedges until we get to a gate where our cottage was located) but we found it to be very peaceful and relaxing. The property sits on 20 acres, much of it woods, so we took our daily walks on slightly overgrown private trails. It was wonderful! The property itself was lovingly built by the hosts over 3 years and was perfect! Comfortable, quiet and every amenity, including an Air Fryer, we could have ever wanted. We didn’t want to leave.
• We spent a lot of time in the evening on the patio relaxing and even had a few campfires. Tracey is addicted to fire.
• The locals in Carmarthenshire are very very friendly. We were stopped by a number of people while we were walking in the area. Being so rural, everybody knows everybody, so we stood out as foreigners. Everybody was kind and welcoming, even telling us jokes or about their own trips to the US. Lovely Welsh people. Welsh people remind us of US Midwest people (which is where we both grew up) being unpretentious and pragmatic.
• The Botanic Garden of Wales was amazing! A vast space with so many different kinds of gardens and plants. We only spent 1/2 day there, but could have easily explored for a full day. Indoor conservatories and acres of outdoor gardens found Tracey in her happy place.
• Tony’s bike is repaired and has been re-assembled. The bike was shipped back from the carbon fiber repair shop in England to the bike shop in St. David’s where we picked it up a few days before our return to France. The repair was very professional and unless you knew what you were looking for, no one would even realize there was a repair. New handlebars, new shifters and new brakes completed the repair. Now, Tony just needs to wait a few more weeks before he can take it out for a ride. His goal is the be riding again before we leave for home in mid-October.
• This area near our Airbnb had almost no non-UK tourists. There are a few people on holiday, but they are almost all from the UK. We did not see any other non-UK plates during our entire time in this area. We really like finding these places that feel more “authentic” and less touristy.

Lowlights:

• Our visit to Cardigan was OK at best. Tracey had heard great things about this town, but we found it to just be fair. Lots of tourists, tourist shops and restaurants catering to tourists. Parking was challenging, too. We walked from the town to the Wildlife Center and while is was a lovely walk once outside the city, it was really not that much different than walking in the woods near our Airbnb.
• Tenby was where Tony had his bike accident. We decided to go back and explore this town more since we didn’t have time on our first visit due to our unplanned ER visit. Tenby was a ZOO! So, so, so many people. We had to go to 3 parking lots to even find a space and even then it was a mile outside the city. The town itself was cute, but there was really too many people to enjoy it. We did a Voicemaps GPS audio walking tour which eventually got us off the tourist beaten path a bit. While there were some interesting bits about this town, we would not recommend visiting in August due to the crowds.
• August is holiday month in Europe and we are finding everything is very, very busy everywhere we go. This is not how we like to travel so we decided to head to Northern Germany and Denmark in hopes that the crowds aren’t there. Wishful thinking? Time will tell.

Up Next: We decided to revert back to our original itinerary, but a “lite” version. We are headed back to France for a few days, Belgium for a few more days and then a couple of weeks in Northern Germany before going to Denmark, Southern Sweden and eventually returning back to Frankfurt, Germany for our flight home in mid-October.

Onwards!