A couple of months ago, I asked my kids what they’d like to do during the summer holidays. “Visit Wales” was their unequivocal response. In fact they were more precise. They wanted to go to Porthcawl. It was a rare moment: Both kids agreed on something and no negotiation was required.
A couple of years ago, we took a detour while visiting family in the West Country and stayed in Wales for a night. Helen and Izzy had enjoyed themselves so much on that occasion that they wanted to go back.
This week, they got their wish. We stayed at exactly the same place in Porthcawl. I took the photo above when we went down to the esplanade early one morning. I hadn’t even noticed Izzy was in the shot at first, but I think she adds to the image!
We had the most amazing stay. A lot of time was spent at the beach. Both Helen and Izzy had their first attempt at body boarding and they absolutely loved it.
Going to the beach was amazing for another reason, albeit a rather strange one. We visited two beaches, Rest Bay in Portcawl and Caswell Bay near Swansea.
Both beaches were popular but they were not ridiculously busy. Everyone was a sensible distance apart but being a beach, nobody was wearing face masks and there was no signage reminding to keep you two metres apart or any other COVID-19 paraphernalia. It was, in a bizarre way, like taking a trip back in time to before Coronavirus came to dominate our lives.
I am glad I was able to organise this trip for the girls. When I booked a place for us to stay, lockdown was still in place and there were no guarantees as to whether we’d be able to go through with our trip. What can I say, the gamble paid off!
18 thoughts on “Short staycation in Porthcawl, Wales”
Beautiful view there in Wales #mysundayphoto
Thanks. Atop. I think taking the shot in the morning helped.
Great shot John. Sounds like a much needed break ????
Oh too right Eddie, it was very much needed!
Wow what a gorgeous looking local, I bet it felt good for that brief moment to slip back into how things used to be
Thank you for linking up to #MySundayPhoto
Oh it did Darren. It was odd taking a step back by six or seven months but great to do so.
What a beautiful place!
Thank you ever so much. It struck me as a wonderful scene
It sounds like you had a great trip and what a wonderful place to spend some time. x
Oh we did. One of the highlights of the summer truth be told Kim.
I love visiting Porthcawl and Rest Bay was my dads favourite beach to visit #mysundayphoto
Aha! So you clearly know it well. Not a million miles from Malvern I guess either?
What a beautiful photo and I’m glad your gamble paid off. I’ve found the same with going to the seaside in both Weymouth and Cornwall – if you avoid the shops, cafes, public toilets etc, for just a few hours you can forget covid-19 and that is a really nice feeling!
Yes, it is so weird isn’t it? The media all seem to concentrate on Brighton or Bournemouth but away from these popular beaches, you can forget COVID for a while.
what a lovely part of the world to go on holiday too X #mysundayphoto
It is a beautiful spot Sam. I love that part of South Wales.
What a beautiful place to visit and a gorgeous shot. I do love Wales x
We were lucky to have amazing weather while in Portcawl. I think that helped with the shot!