Last bit of Wales

I've just finished up in Swansea for now, and it's back out to Bristol for me now. Soon the assignments and dissertation will roll in. These pictures are from my last day there.

This pair of butterflies were flying around in the garden, they are red admirals (vanessa atalanta). Here is one pictured eating the nectar.



I decided to take the slow route back and went along the A48 (the Welsh equivalent of the A4) which is the old road before they built the M4. There's a number of these dotted around, but they are most notable between Port Talbot and Cowbridge, where a number can be seen. I've brushed aside the bushes for a better picture. It's amazing that these things have been around for so long and in my opinion, still in good nick. This one can be found roughly half way between Bridgend (3 miles) and Cowbridge (4 miles)... London is 174 miles away!

Of the A48 which I know well enough (Swansea in the west and Tutshill on the English side in the east), my favourite section easily has to be the part between Port Talbot to Cardiff. Between these two towns, the road is at it's most fascinating part. (This is much like the A4, I enjoy almost all of it, but especially the part between Reading and Bath.) What makes this section (and the A4 as well) interesting, is the fact it is countryside and you pass (and sometimes by-pass) many picturesque towns and villages along the way, but also little small things in the countryside such as the above milestones. The last two pictures are of thatched houses in Bonvilston and St. Nicholas in the Vale of Glamorgan, just west of Cardiff.



I hope to cover the "Long way to London" via the A4 sometime soon, as it is a thoroughly enjoyable ride on it. Although the A48 can't compare to it, I know there are some really nice roads, towns and villages in Wales worth visiting (The A466 from Chepstow up to Monmouth for example)