Exploring Milford Haven, West Wales

Milford Haven, a fishing town in Pembrokeshire West Wales is quickly becoming a must-visit destination in Wales, especially with the continually evolving multi-million pound Milford Waterfront Development which has been going from strength to strength in the past few years. creating a haven of boutique shops, independent businesses, watersports cafes and restaurants with beautiful views across the Marina and Eastury.  My boys and I were recently invited to come and spend a night in Milford Haven and experience everything it has to offer and we were not disappointed.  The drive from Cardiff to Milford Haven is just under 2hrs and we stayed at the lovely Tŷ Milford Waterfront which opened last year and is right on the marina. On our arrival, there was plenty of parking adjacent to the hotel which is complimentary and walking through the doors you are immediately welcomed by the friendly reception staff. We stayed on the 3rd floor in a family room which was not only spacious but......

Read more »

Why you should try Stand Up Paddle boarding in 2021

*I have been working with Bluefin on a review of their SUP boards - my words and review are 100% my own As most of us can agree 2020 didn't exactly go to plan and learning how to adapt and hopefully thrive was key and as we move forward into 2021 we all have hope for normality but it appears to be a few months off at least. Saying that having goals and dreams are important and help to give us purpose and keep our moods up with something positive to look forward too. In fact, for a lot of us, our new found hobbies during lockdown helped to get us through the year. Last year I joined the Bluefin SUP community and had lots of plans for very exciting content, especially the charity SUP I had planned to help raise money for those struggling in South Africa (my home country) but due to Covid this simply wasn't possible and has now been replanned later in 2021. My BlueFin 10.8 Cruise board is a perfect all-round SUP board and suitable for most conditions as well as being very stable......

Read more »

Paddleboarding on the River Wye with Inspire2Adventure

Having had my first taste of Stand-up Paddleboarding (SUP) earlier this year in Swansea and then again on the River Avon in Bath and enjoying both thoroughly I was super excited to come down and spend the day on the River Wye with Inspire2Adventure who plan an array of activities in the area from kayaking to mountain biking and everything in between. Over the past few years there has been a big rise in popularity of learning to SUP mainly do to how accessible it is, you don't need any real skills, it's suitable from children to grandparents and it's much easier than you think. Having grown up surfing I have always felt fairly comfortable in the water and on a board but even if your not I can assure you they are very buoyant and easy to balance on. What was especially exciting about our day on the river was having the chance to go on the mega sup with 3 other bloggers (and two children) which was so much fun! We met at a large field only a few minutes awa......

Read more »

Experiencing the Volvo Ocean Race, Cardiff

I love nothing more when people take on incredible challenges, when they put themselves to the test both physically and mentally and this is reflected in the documentaries I watch (currently obsessed with ones about Mount Everest) and the books I read which are usually autobiographies about those who decided to walk a different path, adventurers, sportsmen, trailblazing women. So when we heard that the around the world sailing race that is the Volvo Ocean Race was coming to Cardiff I was really excited. The Volvo Ocean Race only happens every three years and only the best of the best compete against each other in what is one of the most grueling around the world sails. The route changes every race to accommodate new ports of call and this year they were arriving in Cardiff (as well as my hometown of Cape Town). Its' really fantastic seeing and being apart of world-class events that come to the Welsh Capital and actually seeing the Bay Barrage being used properly as it'......

Read more »

Standup Paddleboarding and exploring Swansea Bay

If you follow me on instagram you may already know that we recently spent a fantastic weekend exploring Swansea Bay and the Gower and wow what a weekend it was. Even though technically we don't live that far from Swansea as Cardiff is only an hour away we didn't actually realise how much of the Swansea peninsular we hadn't seen, despite having visited Swansea city centre and Mumbles before there is just so much more to this part of South Wales. It was a long overdue trip especially as I am very keen on watersports having grown up surfing in South Africa and the first activity of the weekend was Standup Paddleboarding with Matt from SUP Gower on the beautiful Swansea Canal at the Cyldach Heritage Centre. Having not put my wetsuit on since before having my youngest 3yrs ago I was a little worried it was going to be on the tight side but luckily it was okay and I didnt even need to breath in too much to zip it up. Once all suited and booted Matt took me thro......

Read more »

Active Family - Watersports and Wetsuit lowdown

A photo I took while living in Cornwall As some of you may already know I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, very close to the coast and from a n early age spent a lot of time at the beach, either skateboarding when the surf was flat our out in the water. I was a very active child (I still am) and you to spend hours surfing and learnt a lot about the importance f good equipment such as wetsuits which is imperative, as well as looking after your equipment. When I moved to the UK I spent some time in Scotland before being pulled back to the coast and Cornwall and I moved down to Falmouth for a year and spent many a day with my board packed in the back of my mini on our way to the closest break. My surfboard just about fit in my mini When it comes to choosing a new wetsuit for watersports there are many a wetsuit guide or wetsuit review that will tell you all you need to know about the latest technological breakthroughs in wetsuit design. However, if you are looking......

Read more »