Puppy Molly at Pobbles Bay November 2013

My last two blog entries have been well received.  The first was about our new French bulldog puppy Molly and the second was the fantastic Pobbles Bay Gower, in all its autumn glory.  So I thought why not combine the two.  Puppy meet Pobbles, Pobbles meet Puppy.

With the tide going out it was a great opportunity for Molly to run on the beach.  Molly also brought her friend Eddie.  Here is a puppy’s eye view of the sea and Eddie.

Molly certainly likes the beach.

And Pobbles is great Gower beach with fantastic views across Three Cliffs Bay. Eddie was braving the sea, but Molly wasn’t going that far.

We pretty much had the whole bay to ourselves with the majestic Three Cliffs themselves in the background.

There was a moody little autumn wave in the bay too.

A great day, followed by Sunday Lunch in the Valley Pub, Bishopston. What a good way to end November, lots more of Molly exploring Gower in December and 2014. DimExcuses.

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Photographs of Three Cliffs and Pobbles Bay. November 2013

I saw some awesome photographs of Pobbles Bay with some epic surf rolling in last weekend.  They were put on twitter by photographer Carolyn Seager @seagerworld , who has a website here.  I know Pobbles well, I grew up in Pennard and considered it my home beach.  I learnt to surf there, and spent far too many hours dropping into steep, but small close out waves.  It taught me a lot.  Before I could drive I would walk the couple of miles from home to surf whatever surf was there.  There wasn’t much. Which was why it was so great to see the great waves pounding into the bay in Carolyn’s photographs.

The pictures inspired me to get down the bay today.  It is amazing how we don’t visit what is on our doorstep or neglect to visit the places we are most connected with.

To get to Pobbles you can follow the directions in my previous blog, which will take you first past Pennard Castle and above Three Cliffs Bay.

Dropping into the valley you soon see why it is called Three Cliffs Bay.  Here are the cliffs behind this little pile of limestone pebbles someone built.

I have written before about the fame of Three Cliffs Bay, its claim to be the most photographed and painted view in the UK, and its importance within Britain’s First Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB).  But today was all about Pobbles, the little bay that is formed when it is cut off by the tide from the rest of Three Cliffs Bay. It is cut off by the cliffs themselves, and to get to it you have to pass through the cave, which brings you onto the sands of Pobbles Bay.

Here is Pobbles Bay, still looking great in the Autumn cloud and shade.

This is more reflective of the size of surf you will see at Pobbles Bay.  Small but great shape on it today.

It is a great place and a great Gower walk.  Here is one final shot of Three Cliffs.

So here endeth the lesson, don’t miss what is on your doorstep, and don’t forget to revisit the places you know best.  DimExcuses.

You can take the boy out of Wales… Surfing France 2013

I just realised that I hadn’t posted these photos or video.  Back in July we decided at DimExcuses that we would take our van and boards and go and surf some french beaches in the sun for a change.  Taking the ferry across to Brittany, we headed for the Cote de Sauvage.  And what a beach and break we found!

With the sun shining, we went in with bodyboards and Mini Mal.  We had an epic morning session just wearing boardshorts.

After a break to shelter from the midday sun, we went back in on the incoming tide.

The waves were a lovely size and the french surfers were really showing us how it was done.

I had got my short sleeve summer suit on at this time because the water was reasonably cool.

It was a lovely change to be in the warm European water.

There was a great shape to the waves too.

The riders on the SUPs and longboard were able to take the waves really early.

They still left a few waves for me.

There were some really great lefty breaks, which was brilliant for me as a goofy footer facing the wave (balls to the wall).

What a fantastic sunny time, but all things must come to an end, and we had to load the van up and come home to Wales.

Here is a short video slideshow of the whole trip.  Music by Incubus ‘Wish You Were Here’.  Definitely coming back next year, DimExcuses.

Introducing Molly our French Bulldog, and introducing Molly to the beach.

There is a new addition to the DimExcuses household, Molly the French Bulldog / Boston Terrier puppy.  So for her first photos we took her to the beach, Caswell Bay Gower and Swansea Bay.  Here is Caswell.

And here is Molly!

She is a cutie.

She is already a fan of Caswell Bay, she is going to be a Gower Bulldog.

Here she is getting some training at Swansea Bay.

Before getting down to some serious seaweed sniffing.

It won’t be long before we are back down the beach, Molly and me, DimExcuses.

 

Moody Autumn 2013. Photos of stormy Langland Bay, Gower.

With the Autumn weather and a few storms turning up I have found my walking restricted to Langland Bay which is a great all weather walk. These photos come from two visits, and on the second visit I was joined by Winnie the Bulldog.  You can read all about how to walk at Langland from my previous Gower Walking blog post. Here is Winnie looking more fierce than the storm.

Here are the moody calm before the storm shots.

I think Gower in the bad weather is sometimes more spectacular than when it is in the sun.

The deep black Sea.

Then the storm came in.  This surfer contemplates the massive surf.

Winnie decides to go and give the surfer some big wave surfing pointers…

…and bites off a bit more than she can chew.

One wet bulldog, caught by one of the set waves.  Finally here is me and Winnie, getting out what ever the weather, DimExcuses.