Chased by the waves... and an adder!

Caswell Bay, great place to surf when conditions are right, but a rocky area means you have to be careful when you're coming in!

Fantastic day yesterday, started pretty miserable with me in the midst of a fog of indecision. Got into the 'another cup of coffee' mode... and nothing was gonna happen. Managed to galvanize myself into action after the weather forecast said it was sunny and warm in Swansea.

I also had a total desire for a Joe's Ice Cream: and the best ice cream parlor in the world is in Mumbles! The £2.60 are best - but due to the diet, the £1.60 would have to do today! With Swansea decided as the venue, what to take! Swansea = Ice Cream (so need wallet!) + waves (take surfboard or body board? (not sure > a lot of hassle)... Wetsuit - Long or short, summer or winter? I have several - sadly all of them at the end of their active lives. sad, eh?

You need a wetsuit all year round in the UK, unless June / july has been particularly hot. Even now, you can get away with a long'summer' suit - one which is about 3mm thick & which covers all your arms & legs too.

Decided to take the big board & the long, thinner suit, but was only about 20% sure of action. It's not that warm, and in this weather, the sea is normally pretty flat. Still, the idea of getting there without kit, and suddenly wanting to take part would have been pretty frustrating, so better prepared than not!

So, arrived at Swansea - Mumbles was the first stop, as ever for joe's Ice Cream - and a coffee. Felt a bit extravagant, so had it topped with nuts today (the icecream, not the coffee!)

Mumbles was crowded, so I moved onto Caswell Bay, a fantastic bay surrounded by hills & heather. The weather was great, but the sea was pretty flat, and not much happening. About three surfers, a couple on bodyboards & a few kids swimming & just splashing about. Wished I'd brought the body board, but that's how it goes.

Caswell Bay - on a good day. sadly, today was as flat as a frenchman's humor.

Not sure I'd do much, but I parked up & got changed anyway. Hate that part of things... Grr! A local guy told me things would 'look up' in about an hour, so, motivated, I left the board in the car & walked to a grassy area to watch & wait... I noticed a hideous black beetle crawl across my foot. I hate them: thank god I was wearing a suit! I grabbed a rock, flicked it away... then crushed it. It was hideous, after all.

Just when getting ready to sit back down, out of the blue - or more precisely, the gorse, AN ADDER RUSHES OUT! Four feet long, evil & hissing, its fangs were bared as it leapt for my throat(*). I screamed in terror and panic - then ran faster than I thought possible. Took over an hour for my heart to return to normal... and I screamed so loud, these guys thought I was being murdered & came over to see if I was still alive!

The adder... (*) In reality, about 18 inches long. It ran for its life too when it saw me!

Drama over, I noticed a few pathetic mini-waves as the tide limped in. Grabbed my board, ran in & did virtually nothing for three hours apart from paddle, swim & float. I'm not at all an expert - I can just do the basics when conditions allow me to. I just enjoy it, so I do it.

At one point, things were ALMOST spoiled when this bloke I was talking to told me that GREAT WHITE SHARKS had been seen 3 miles off Caswell Bay last summer.. but I had no intention of going 100m out, let alone 5km!