Whiteford Burrows and Rhossili

Today's orienteering event was a 2 x 2 relay at Whiteford Burrows, a National Nature Reserve near the small village of Llanmadoc. A rather long 1km walk from the parking to the assembly area involved trying to convince the girls to stay out of the puddles for as long as possible. We did successfully make it to the assembly area dry but it wasn't long before they'd put on their wellington boots and were splashing in the muddy puddles!

The event attracted a small crowd and as such organising was kept to a minimum. The map (or relay baton) contained all the controls and listed which ones you had to get for each course. Each leg was age handicapped so Andy and I had different courses around 3 - 4km in length. It was a fun little area mostly smallish sand dunes with a few wooded patches here and there.

The girls met Christine and Dave's children Emma (6) and Duncan (3.5) as well as a few other children.  While we took turns running, the girls slowly became friends and soon they were all playing kinda together. Luckily the rain stayed away until we had nearly reached the cars.


The afternoon plans involved meeting up again with Christine and Dave at Rhossili Bay, whose credentials included UK's number one beach, 3rd best in Europe and 10th in the World for 2013. I must admit although it was another grey day, the wide expanse of beach against the steep green hills of Rhossili Downs and the cliffs leading towards Worm's Head were quite impressive. Worm's Head named by Viking invaders, refers to the promontory shaped like a giant sea-serpent and marks the most westerly tip of Gower.

Although there is a well worn walking trail out to Worm's Head we decided the children would have more fun on the beach. After negotiating the steep path down to the beach and sheltering beneath the cliffs, we spent a considerable amount of time building a dry castle and decorating it with shells.

It wasn't long before the inevitable - the girls wanted to go down to the waters edge! Duncan obviously the only sensible one was adamant that he wasn't interested in getting wet and cold so he continued working on the castle. We stripped the girls down to their undies and t-shirts, knowing that despite our warnings they would eventually get wet and then very cold. At least we would have a few bits of dry clothing to put on afterwards!

The day didn't finish there. Back to the cottage for a quick shower and change before driving to the local pub, the Britannia Inn for dinner. The outdoor facilities - a plastic treehouse with slide and rope swing and a rabbit hutch (with 3 rabbits inside and one outside!) were a winner with the children, who didn't seem to notice that dinner was significantly later than normal. A great way to finish a busy day!