A canine sort of time in Neyland

Neyland isn't quite a one horse town, more a one Co-op town really. However the marina which is tucked into a little river is lovely. There are also some great RIB trips you can make, heading to Lawrenny etc further up from here.

So, what did we do?  Well, firstly we slept to catch up from the overnight run. Then we washed the remaining grot off the boat from Holyhead and the big winds. There was plenty of it too.

Steve, the Cardiff Bay waterbus man popped in - he was en route from Dale to the Penarth area and so stopped for coffee. Bronwen, the spaniel and a proper ship's dog came too. She tried the "I am very appealing" look on us:

Of course she is, but that look only got her a bowl of water. 

Then she tried the laying on the floor and letting us cwtch her method:

Tougher to resist, but still only cwtches and water. Finally she tried the laying down and looking bored approach:

We finally cracked - that got her some raw carrot (she is on a diet after all).

Needing fresh food, we braved a walk to the aforementioned Co-op. As we headed off the owner of the yacht alongside told us "not to make eye contact with the natives" as it was dangerous. We were OK - thanks to rather posh sunglasses from Andrew Care opticians, no one could tell if we were looking at them.

We also did a bit more polishing - we had launched the RIB for an upriver "burn" and so could access the bits that are normally bordered by the Avon (RIB not river, keep up). Lawrenny is a lovely spot. We didn't take the camera so here is a ripped off from the internet picture of the area:

We also planned our last proper sea trip of the season - a sad thing to do after so many cruising miles and new venues this year. Of course, the trip up to Cardiff takes about 14 hours from the harbour entrance so there is no chance of doing it all in daylight. Secondly, you just have to get the tide times right - the further up the Bristol channel you go, the stronger the tides get and so you want to do the last bit with the flood tide. This, together with the weather forecasts, pointed to a Tuesday evening departure, getting out of Milford Haven before it was totally dark to help with pot spotting, then an overnight run to Cardiff arriving mid-morning or so at the sea locks. The only fly in the ointment was the Castlemartin firing range, which extends a long way out to sea and covers the area we need to transit:

It can extend as far as 12 miles offshore so quite a diversion when we just want to cruise along the coast towards the east. On Tuesday evening, they happen to have night firing planned. Grr. A day earlier or later would have been fine, no firing, no restrictions. Such is life.