Beautiful Caerfai Bay in north Pembrokeshire.
Clifftop camp site, right on the Coastal Path. Ten minute walk down the cliff to a spectacular sandy beach. Steep cliffs full of daisies, foxgloves and butterflies. The sun was out, and it felt like the Mediterranean.
Camping was exciting. We didn't get much sleep though. First night, it felt cold, strange and very new; we were tossing and turning for ages before falling asleep. Then I woke up in the middle of the night feeling a bit rough. No wonder -- two of out of our three Tesco quality air beds deflated and we were lying on the floor.
The next day we bought some self-inflating mats in lovely St Davids's, so slept more comfortably... until we were woken up by the wind. It sounded scary; we thought the tent was about to take off. It didn't. But it could have.
The third night turned out to be the scariest, though. At 3 a.m., I heard an animal's paws pouncing around the tent. Then I heard a man's harsh voice: MAX! GET BACK INTO THE TENT. RIGHT NOW! YOU NAUGHTY!
I envisaged a blood-thirsty bull terrier ready to dig its way into our tent and attack Daniel. Nothing less. So grabbed two torches to prepare for the onslaught. I was lying wide awake for a very long time, listening out for funny noises that continued into the dawn. Eventually I dosed off, clutching the torches.
I should not have worried. In the clear light of the morning, I spotted the near-invader: it was a tiny black spaniel.
All in all, it was a fantastic break. The kids took to camping like duck to water. They loved everything about it: pitching the tent, cooking the sausages, cleaning up. There was even a fight about who should come with me to wash up the dishes!
Daniel spent most of the time on the beach, working on complex engineering projects in the sand. There was a fair amount of mud throwing, too, and playing "you can't catch me" with the waves. It was brilliant.
Noni loved kayaking, swimming and walking the coastal path. To much of her delight and surprise, we discovered nearby St Non's Bay which was extremely beautiful.
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