29 May - 1 June
The post exam trip had traditionally been, as long as I can remember, to Sennen, Cornwall – so it was not lightly that I made the decision to change it this year to Oxwich Bay, Gower. The small peninsula is a veritable tropical paradise (Just pick your weekend carefully…) with plenty of fantastic walking, climbing and beaches.
We rocked up to the campsite on the Sunday of a bank holiday weekend with naïve expectations on what to expect. The reality was something like a scene out of District 9, a huge jungle of families with children running around singing the song of their people whilst adults breathed life into inflatable dolphins and doughnuts. Not an iota of free space. The unspoken sense of horror amongst those on the trip was evident. We set up camp in our corner of the field and readied our gear for the next day, popped down to the beach to enjoy some evening paddling and explored the vast rockpools.
The following day groups took themselves off on walks around the peninsula, some headed to Boiler Slab for some trad, and others of us visited the local sport crag: a chossy, midge-ridden cliff with the one redeeming feature of shade. When we returned to camp that evening there had been a mass exodus of the families from the weekend, leaving the campsite refreshingly sparse. Tuesday saw similar activities, with a return trip to Boiler Slab, some walks in the Port Eynon area and some climbing up on Great Tor.
On Wednesday it was time to head back to Bath – but not before an obligatory trip to Wurm’s Head to soak up the last of 4 days of unprecedentedly good weather – wall to wall sun for 4 straight days. Awesome trip and a great way to finish this year. Thanks to all the drivers who made it possible