A long weekend in Llangennith

We went to the Gower last weekend with Jessie for a well-earned break. We had a lovely relaxing time and it was very difficult to go back to reality last week!

We arrived on the Friday afternoon and were greeted by blue skies and abundant sunshine. The Gower is a beautiful part of the world, and Llangennith is definitely a jewel in its crown.

We took Jessie for a quick walk after we'd checked in, then we stopped for a drink in the beer garden at the pub we were staying in. After we'd finished our drinks, we went inside to the pub's dog-friendly area to have our dinner. I'd been craving a burger all day, so that's exactly what I ordered and it didn't disappoint. 

On Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and went for breakfast. We ate in the dog-friendly area again so that Jessie could join us, and she very much enjoyed all the attention from our fellow diners and their dogs. 

After we'd finished our poached eggs on toast, we set off for the beach. The beach is a half hour walk from the pub so we had a nice warm-up before we got to the main attraction. Seeing Jessie bounding around in the soft sand at the entrance to the beach was one of my highlights of the whole weekend. 

The entrance and surrounding area were fairly busy, but as we walked along the beach it became more and more secluded. Jessie loved every second of it, and I loved seeing her so happy. We stopped for a few breaks to give her little legs a rest (and for me to take a hundred photos of her), then we turned around and walked back towards the entrance. 

After our long walk along the beach, we stopped for a drink and some cake at the diner nearby before walking back to the pub. It wouldn't have felt like a Saturday if we didn't partake in our traditional coffee and hot chocolate ritual! 

We spent a sunny afternoon in the beer garden when we got back to the pub. There were loads of dogs there with their humans, and they all looked as zonked as Jessie did after their long walks. 

After a couple of drinks, we headed back inside to our beloved dog-friendly area. I'd seen a few people eating pizza in the beer garden, so that's what I decided to order because I'm far too impressionable for my own good. 

Jessie was well and truly exhausted after our long walk, so she passed out into a deep slumber as soon as we got back to our room. She's the cutest dog in the world, particularly when she's sleepy. 

We went for our final breakfast on Sunday, then we took Jessie for another little walk before we packed up our things. Her little legs must still have been tired from the day before as she refused to walk very far! 

Once we'd checked out, we drove to my parents' house in Carmarthenshire. We spent a nice relaxing day with them which included eating my mother's Sunday dinner and watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and we stayed over on Sunday night to maximise our time with them. Their garden is amazing, particularly during the summer months, so I absolutely had to feature a photo of it on my blog. 

After a trip to Costa with my parents on Monday morning for another hot chocolate fix, we drove back to Penarth to blitz all our chores before going back to work on Tuesday. 

And, just like that, the weekend was over. Although it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, we had such a great time and loved spending some quality time with Jessie and with each other. It's always lovely to catch up with my parents too, and it felt as if we fitted lots of nice things in to our long weekend. 

Hopefully we'll be back in the Gower with Jessie very soon... watch this space! 

A weekend away in the Gower

Last weekend, we took Jessie on her very first holiday. She stayed in my parents' house with us for one night last Christmas, but the three of us had never been on a proper holiday together until last weekend.

We'd been researching dog-friendly hotels in the Gower for a while, then one of our friends recommended the King's Head Inn in Llangennith which sounded perfect. The Gower is an ideal distance for a two night stay, and it also meant we could stay at my parents' house for the third night as they don't live too far from there.

We finished our packing on the Friday morning, then left for Llangennith at around 2pm. If I'm being completely honest, it probably took me longer to pack Jessie's things than to pack my own belongings. I bought a new backpack for her to mark the occasion which she seemed pretty excited about, even if that's not particularly evident in this photo.

It took us just over an hour to get to the King's Head Inn. We'd been allocated a spacious ground floor room, and the pub itself where we'd eat our breakfast and dinner was only a stone's throw away. 

We went out for a walk to explore our surroundings as soon as we'd unpacked. The clouds were beginning to gather and we were concerned that it might rain, so we were eager to do some exploring before the weather turned. We walked towards Rhossili for about half an hour but decided to turn back before catching a glimpse of the beach. We had the whole of Saturday to explore and didn't want to tire Jessie's little legs out too much on the first day. In true holiday style, we did make time for a family selfie before making our way back down the hill! 

We had a glass of wine and a beer in the pub's outdoor seating area before making our way back to our room to feed Jessie and to get ready for our evening meal. The pub had a dog-friendly eating area which meant we were able to take Jessie along with us for all our meals. We met dogs of all shapes and sizes in the pub over the two days and Jessie made lots of new friends. On the Friday evening, she even felt comfortable enough to steal another dog's chew when they took their eyes off it for five seconds. Naughty Jessie! 

It was forecast to rain pretty much all day on Saturday and, true to form, it was pouring down when we went for breakfast. We were trying to decide how to deal with the wet weather while we ate our breakfast, then we looked out of the window and realised it was brightening up. We thankfully didn't see another drop of rain all day, and we were pretty delighted that the forecast was wrong. 

After breakfast, we got ready to set off for a long walk. We decided to take a different route to the one we took on Friday afternoon for a change of scenery. We walked through the village to Hillend campsite, then on to Llangennith Beach from there. It was Jessie's first time at the beach and she loved it. She seemed fairly non-plussed about the sea, but she was definitely a very big fan of the sand and the shells.

We had a little paddle with Jessie in the sea and walked along the beach for quite a while, then we turned and walked back towards the campsite entrance. We stopped outside a little cafe for a hot drink and some toasted teacakes (and some treats for Jessie), then we walked back to the pub for an afternoon drink to reward ourselves for completing such a long walk. 

We then had a couple of hours to relax before heading back out for our evening meal. We met the usual crowd of dogs and their owners, but all the dogs and humans were noticeably much more tired than they'd been the night before after walking all day! Poor Jessie was completely zonked and was fast asleep within minutes of us getting back to our room. 

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast then drove to my parents' house after we'd checked out of our room. My brother happened to be staying for the weekend so it was great to be able to catch up with him too, and Jessie loved all the extra attention. My mother cooked a lovely Sunday lunch, then we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and evening interspersed with a couple of little walks for Jessie. She was very excited about seeing everyone but was clearly still exhausted from her exciting exertions the day before. 

We went for a hot chocolate and a cake in Costa with my parents on Monday morning before heading back to Penarth in the afternoon. We immediately threw ourselves back into reality and did all our unpacking, laundry and food shopping in record time ready to go back to work the following day. 

It was so lovely to spend a proper long weekend with Neil and to be able to take Jessie with us wherever we went, as well as having the opportunity to catch up with my parents and my brother. It's no secret that I love going on holiday (who doesn't)?, but there's always a tinge of sadness when we leave Jessie behind which is why this one was so enjoyable. We'll definitely be booking to go back to Llangennith at some point! 

Have you taken your dog on holiday recently? Let me know if you've got any recommendations!