Just the Two of Us: A Weekend full of Happiness in Wales
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Read all about our weekend full of laughter, happiness and love. Enjoy!
It had been 7 weeks since we’d last journeyed out of our little flat in East London, and we were desperate for some countryside air.
As much as we love living in London, we both crave the outdoors after the repetitive and draining routine in the concrete jungle.
We booked our trip to the Brecon Beacons shortly after we returned from doing our NC500 route in Scotland.
I had realised I was in love with discovering more of the UK, and time in the summer spent in the Lake District and the Highlands had shown me just how much beauty there is to be seen right on my doorstep.
Glamping, not camping
When I book a trip, I always make sure I spend as little money as possible but maximise my experiences and time away.
For example, I won’t book the fanciest hotel with a hot tub, but I’ll ensure I book accommodation that’s quirky, has good reviews and is in a good location.
This means I can spend fewer pennies on where I sleep and more on the experiences I’ll have whilst visiting!
As well as scrolling endlessly on Airbnb, I’ll check out websites like Cool Stays and Cool Places.
If you’re lucky, there will be good deals on and you can get a cheap price for a really cool room. I usually save a few stays to my ‘like’ list on Airbnb, and compare the location, reviews, and price.
For the Beacons, we found the cutest glamping accommodation (well, I thought it was).
Tom, on the other hand, was dreading the fact we’d have to walk 10m to the toilets and complained he ‘needed his own bathroom’. He loved it when we arrived.
We booked a stay at 68 Degrees West, located 5 minutes away from the town of Brecon.
A campsite with wooden glamping pods, complete with big wide balcony doors to look onto the mountains, a wood burner, and aesthetically pleasing wooden interiors. It was the perfect place to base ourselves whilst exploring the Brecon Beacons.
Tom booked a half-day from work, and I rushed home from school to pack my bag (yes, I know, I left it late!) and headed off in the car for our 4-hour journey to South Wales.
Seven hours, 2 KFC popcorn chicken boxes, and bellies probably a bit too full later, we finally arrived at our glamping pod in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Content with the little stuff
As Tom was already a bit funny about the fact we were glamping and not staying in a 5* hotel, I had to work a bit to get him to come round to the idea of sleeping in a room that measured about 2x3m wide.
Walking into the pod, I immediately spotted the good things.
The big wide windows overlooking the fields (even though it was pitch black when we arrived, so I couldn’t encourage him with this), the traditional wood burner in the corner (although our lighter wasn’t working, so Tom was freezing), and the cute wooden roof which made up the interior decor of the cabin (but it was a bit small for 6”4 Tom, so, no luck there).
After we realised we needed to change the sofa into our bed, Tom was loosening up because of the idea of being able to shut his eyes for 8 hours of sleep.
I’m sure he’d come round to the idea of sleeping in a wooden log cabin with no toilet soon.
Well, at least I was happy.
Sitting on a probably-too-hard mattress, listening to the cold British rain tinkling on the window, and watching the moon linger over the faint outline of the Beacons, I was content.
Road tripping Wales? Check out my EPIC Wales road trip!
Waterfalls, autumn leaves and sheep
Despite the overly-firm sofa bed, I had slept pretty well and Tom seemed to be coming round to the idea of glamping when he saw the views outside our window.
Our morning consisted of slow movements. With both of us being in such hectic full-time jobs, our time spent away is always a balance of seeing and doing everything, combined with slow-paced ‘us’ time.
We made a short drive into the town of Brecon, and wandered around the colourful high street shops, listening to the jolly sounds of the local accordion busker.
As always, we sought out the cutest coffee shop in town and stopped for our caffeine and cake fix.
Sipping on our cappuccinos, we listened to the Welsh locals around us talking about their busy lives and plans.
It just felt so good to be somewhere new, somewhere with a different dialect, a different culture.
I watched as a 50-something farmer spoke with an 80-something lady, reassuring her the sun would be out later in the day. I smiled as the conversational topics spoken by all, sentences so simple and universal, gave me that happy, heart-warming feeling.
Happiness in its truest form
Driving around Wales, it was clear that there were more sheep in the country than people.
Pretty much every turn you make, you’ll be greeted by another field, full of another few hundred bleating sheep. White, brown, spotty, fluffy, or black, it was clear that the Welsh loved their sheep (and surprisingly, they were way bigger than any sheep I’ve seen in England!)
The waterfall walks in the Beacons is one of the biggest attractions, and something most people complete in 3-4 hours.
After a crazily hectic week at work, a 4-hour walk was the last thing I wanted to do (sorry!) and I suggested we just complete some of it.
Strolling through the woodlands, we were jumping over muddy puddles and kicking piles of brown autumnal leaves as we made our way to the first waterfall, Swgd Gwladus.
On arrival, we were surrounded by about 100 like-minded people, all eager to see the crashing waves from the tall rocks.
Getting a photo was a bit of a challenge, but with a bit of a push (not literally, it was pretty high), we snapped a couple of shots and walked on to the next part of the woodland.
After a couple of hours of walking, we decided to head back to our cosy glamping pod and take some food with us.
We stopped off at the local chippy, bought our favourites, and held the paper bags soaked with vinegar and chip fat until we arrived back at our temporary home.
Sitting in the cabin with our too-salty chips, with the sun setting over the mountains and the sky turning from blue to orange, we lit the fire to warm our cold hands and settle in for the night.
Our exploring for the day was over, and it was time to be just us, warm, cosy, and content in our little bubble. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
Pen Y Fan, Welsh cake, and Drogo the Drone
For me, Sunday morning was bliss. Another late wake-up, snuggled under the duvet watching the sky turn lighter as the minutes passed by.
For Tom, it was a stark 6 am alarm call, reminding him he was going to hike the near 900m Pen Y Fan in the pouring rain.
As I lay in bed trying to get a few more hours sleep in, Tom, the adventurer he is, was climbing Pen Y Fan in a non-waterproof coat in torrential rain and winds.
After a lot of warning from me of the ‘be careful – a mountain is stronger than you!’ pep talks, I felt reassured that Tom would turn back if the conditions on the mountain were too much.
Yeah, right. This is Tom we’re talking about!
Fortunately (for my nerves), he made it back by 10 am and had successfully reached the summit of Pen Y Fan. Although he was soaked through to his boxers and had driven home with no trousers on. What a man.
After a long hot shower, Tom warmed himself with a cup of coffee and the morning sun (which was now showing its face AFTER he’d finished his climb). We decided to head back into Brecon to pick up another coffee and a Welsh cake.
Lost in the wild
Our day consisted of laughter, silliness and just being ourselves in the new locations we stumbled upon whilst driving.
Whether they were finding new fields of sheep, walking through endless forest by ourselves, or stumbling upon a traditional Welsh village, we just went with the flow and explored as much of the Beacons as we wanted.
On a drive from a small village called Talgarth (which we actually left pretty quickly after spotting its ‘haunted’ post office. Help), we found a giant area of dense woodland.
It didn’t look very Welsh – more like Canadian or America, with tall pine trees as far as the eye could see.
To me, there is nothing better than feeling lost in the middle of the trees.
Being surrounded by the towering trees, with no buildings or concrete in sight, just breathing in the fresh, clean air and no distractions. I don’t go around hugging trees, but if I’m totally honest, I probably wouldn’t mind it.
They just bring me so much happiness.
We took the opportunity of endless trees and countryside to get Drogo, our trusty drone out and capture some shots. As always, Tom and I fought over who wanted to fly him first, and as always, I won.
The sun was setting on the Beacons once more, and we made the decision to order some food and head back to enjoy the last night in our cabin. With an Indian on order, we set up the pod with blankets and the warming fire, dimming the lights and ensuring our evening would be as cosy as could be.
A weekend full of happiness
We only had another morning left in Wales, and although our time had been short, it was the break I needed. I get so swept up in the anxieties and stress of our modern-day lives, that I forget just how much there is waiting for me to explore.
Living in London brings such a chaotic and busy mindset to us all, and for me, it’s so important to reset with nature.
Being in the countryside, even if it’s not far from home, or even if it’s for short bursts like this one, brings me so much peace and happiness. So little stress, so much freedom, and the opportunity to experience something new.
In our short weekend away, memories had been made, stories had been written and our cameras had captured our most favoured moments.
And it was just perfect.
Have you had a perfect weekend of happiness? I’d love to hear about it!
Happy travelling,
Jennie 🙂 x
Other posts you might like:
- The Ultimate Wales Road Trip for Beginners
- 7 Day Scotland Road Trip Route & Itinerary (2022)
- Fun Things To Do In Putney, London: A Local’s Guide (2022)
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