Camping? What a Carry-on!

I've been planning a break away from Aberdare for the past few weeks. The stifling, small-minded, and claustrophobic (polyphobic, in fact) nature of the place has really been getting me down lately. I'm bored to tears with seeing the same bloody faces and having the same mind-numbing conversations day in and day out (see A Brief Interlude.) Last weekend I decided to do something about it.

I've had a tent for a number of years, but I've never actually used it myself. Mother bought it for me as a Xmas present after I went to Cropredy with the boys one year, and it seemed as through I might be doing festivals more often. In the event, that was my one and only festival. For various reasons I never bothered going again. Leafy borrowed the tent one weekend when he went camping, ages ago. Other than that, it's lived in the cupboard under the stairs for its entire life. I decided that it, and I, could do with some fresh air.

I had a bit of money from a proofreading job I'd completed recently, so I picked up a few odds and ends during the week. I managed to get a decent sleeping bag, a nice little rucksack and a bedroll in Argos, and they cost even less than the catalogue prices. I had a look at the Forest of Dean tourist websites, and found a nice little campsite about a mile outside Coleford. I phoned them for some more information, and was surprised to learn that it wasn't necessary to book in advance. Unless you're bringing a caravan, and need to hook up to the electricity points, you can just turn up, pay for your pitch (£6 per person per night), and set up camp. They've got a shower facilities, and it's only a short walk into town to pick up essential supplies. It's even directly on the main bus route between Monmouth and Coleford. It sounded ideal. Don't these things always sound ideal on paper?

I spent quite a few hours studying the OL14 Ordnance Survey map, and even longer poring over a series of confusing (and often mutually-contradictory) online bus timetables, until I had a plan figured out. That was the plan I referred to in my previous entry. Anyway, just after I posted that, I left the house and made my way to the bus stop. The first couple of steps went perfectly. The trip to Merthyr was the bog-standard bus journey via Hirwaun and the A465. Try it for yourself some time – I won't spoil the surprise. The 1000 X4 Cardiff – Abergavenny service departed a few minutes late, but it's Saturday, so who cares? Nearly everyone who got off in Merthyr was over 60, so they were only joy-riding with their Welsh Government free passes anyway. Real people only travel on weekdays.

I haven't done the Merthyr – Abergavenny run for ages (not since the timetables changed and the last cut-off became stupidly early.) I was surprised at how quickly the journey passed, to be honest. Years ago, the bus seemed to take hours to chug slowly through Brynmawr, Tredegar, and Ebbw Vale, and the other small settlements which cling to the Heads of the Valleys Road. Maybe the time went by quickly because I was doing the crossword and occasionally Tweeting my position for future reference. Maybe they've just improved the road system. Who knows?

I arrived in Abergavenny just before lunchtime, and had nearly an hour to kill before the next leg of the journey. The sky was bright, but the sun wasn't shining. I hadn't listened to the radio forecast before leaving the house, but it had been wide of the mark all week, so I figured that if it rained at all, it would probably be just an odd shower here and there. I called into the Tourist Information Centre, situated conveniently next to the bus station.

When I say 'bus station', I'm perhaps being a little generous. Four concrete islands in a sea of tarmac, and two little shelters off to one side, hardly qualifies as an urban transport hub. At least in Trecynon we have shelters on half of the stops. On the other hand, the Information Centre is modern, brightly lit, and stocks a huge variety of leaflets, guidebooks, maps, postcards and souvenirs. However, they didn't have the one thing I wanted – Monmouthshire County Council's guide to bus services. I asked the lady at the counter, and she told me that they'd run out. Apparently there's a new edition in preparation, taking account of the forthcoming timetable changes. It seemed a funny time to revise everything, right in the middle of the tourist season. Still, ours is not to reason why, is it?

I made my way along the main street to the King's Head. It was nice to see a bustling little town centre, with independent retailers apparently weathering the storm. I spotted a second-hand bookshop and an independent bookshop as I made my way to the pub. They're both endangered species these days. There's a better class of charity shop in affluent areas, and even the takeaways are a cut above what you'd see in the Valleys. I had a pint to kill time while I finished the crossword.

I like going into pubs where there's obviously a good regular crowd, where the staff and customers know each other, and just eavesdropping on the conversations. They're never as exciting as the pub conversations you hear in The Archers or on the TV soaps. The price of the joint for Sunday lunch, and the successful outcome of a knee replacement operation, were the selected highlights on the table next to me this lunchtime. I wouldn't have minded staying there for a while, but at £3.25 a pint I thought better of it. Anyway, they were serving meals and the restaurant part was packed, so I gave up my table to a middle-aged couple who were ordering food by the bar. Before I left, however, I had to take a photo of a hideous and rather frightening object above the fireplace. It makes the fake moose's head in the Prince of Wales seem quite comforting.

[caption id="attachment_8333" align="aligncenter" width="460"] No idea what this is, but the red-eye reduction didn't work[/caption]

I made my way back to the bus station, where a good number of people were already waiting. We were all bound for the 83 service to Monmouth, as it turned out. This is operated by Phil Anslow Coaches, a company I'd only ever seen mentioned in publicity material for the Network Rider Ticket (which, fortunately, I was holding.) I'd spotted one of their buses when we stopped in Brynmawr, so I assume they must be based in that neck of the woods. The driver was very friendly, and seemed to know some of the passengers by name. I suppose that on a route like that he must see the same faces fairly regularly. After all, as I was about to discover, it goes way off the beaten track…

All I knew is that it went through Raglan. The timetable showed me that much. I also knew that the most direct route from Abergavenny to Raglan is along the A40. At the Raglan end, there's a rather confusing junction when you come back down from the Midlands. There's also a rather stunning castle.

[A digression: The first time I ever travelled on that stretch of road was with Mother, many years ago. (It might even have been the time that we went to Bradford for my university interview, come to think of it.) I don't know whether you've ever been on an unfamiliar road and had the sinking feeling that it hasn't yet been opened to the public. Instead of tarmac, the surface is that pale cream concrete which is supposed to make for a smoother, quieter ride. There's hardly any traffic apart from your own car. There are no junctions, no roundabouts, and precious few signposts until you emerge back onto the real road network some ten miles further on.]

Anyway, our bus didn't go that way. In the absence of a detailed map, you'll have to forgive me if I'm vague on the details. We travelled down country lanes (some of which were barely wide enough to take our little minibus), through some unexpectedly isolated settlements, past large farm buildings built of sandstone, and, rather disappointingly, didn't go through a large pointed stone arch which loomed ahead of us just past a tiny junction. I can't wait to do the return journey so that I can make some notes and then refer to the map when I get home.

Raglan itself turned out to be a church, a pub, a Post Office, a small shop, and a handful of cottages set amongst rolling farmland. I didn't even have chance to photograph the castle – I was sitting on the wrong side of the bus, and had a very restricted view through the window. We arrived in Monmouth on time, and I needed to find a Gents' toilet (see, that pint had managed to open the floodgates!)

I went into a pub called The Gatehouse, situated right at the end of Monmow Bridge, and ordered a hot chocolate. There were two chatty young barmaids serving, and they asked me if I was in town for the Festival. I had to confess that I didn't know there was a Festival.

'Oh yes, there's lots of bands playing, and things going on all round the town,' the taller barmaid enthused in an 'almost Brenda-from-The-Archers' accent. 'There's loads of campsites around the town as well.'

I told her I'd come up from Aberdare to get away from crowds and people. As soon as I mentioned my hometown, her friend piped up. Apparently she used to go out with a boy from Cwmaman. I didn't ask his name – it might have been somebody I knew, and that would be far too close to home for comfort.

I had a quick look at the Festival schedule, and pondered staying there for the weekend instead. Then again, I'd probably have had to pay over the odds for camping, and I knew Rushmere Farm only charged six quid a night. I decided to press on regardless. Actually, I'm wondering if I can hang it out until Wednesday night. Look at this for a gig:

I was sitting in the bus station in Monmouth, waiting for the 35 Ross-on-Wye service to pull in, when I felt the first drops of rain. For a second – just a second – it crossed my mind to stay put. After all, the Monmouth Festival might have been fun, and I could always make my way out to Coleford on Sunday. But I decided to press on regardless and pitch camp early. It would mean that I'd be well-placed to explore the Forest proper all day Sunday, before coming back on Monday.

The fare from Monmouth to Coleford is a very reasonable £2.50. It had crossed my mind (in a moment of madness while perusing the map) to walk it. As soon as we set off and crossed the Wye into England I knew I'd made the right choice. The road into the Forest is quite steep, winding, and narrow, without pavements in most places. Although it's a lot wider than the byroads we'd taken between Abergavenny and Monmouth, I wouldn't have fancied walking the whole distance. Anyway, I was carting my camping gear, and it would soon have weighed me down.

The bus made its way along the Forest road, lined with thick woodland on both sides, and punctuated by large outcrops of red sandstone every so often. Nobody got on or off, and even when we stopped briefly at Staunton, only one passenger boarded. The conversations all around me were general snippets of gossip, moans about various ailments, remarks upon food prices, and the usual nonsense that bus passengers all over the country use to pass the time. But the accents told me that I was far from home. Have a look at the 'flashback' scenes in The Singing Detective, and you'll get a taste of the Forest accent. It was good to learn that it's still alive and well, even amongst the young people here, who've been brought up in the age of mass communication. (In fact, in the pub where I'm sitting typing this right now – the Angel Hotel in Coleford – there's a lovely sign under a low-hanging fixture:

I was so busy watching the scenery go by that I completely failed to spot Crossways looming up ahead. By the time I saw the signpost for Rushmere Farm, we were too far past the stop for the driver to pull up. It didn't matter anyway; it wasn't that far from Coleford, and I wanted to have a brief look at the town before pitching up for the evening. I got off the bus in the town centre, where I was immediately knocked out by the town's War Memorial. It dominates the square, as does the solid sandstone parish church on the hill behind. I took one photograph, ate the last of the sandwiches I'd made this morning, and wondered whether to try out one of the pubs for a livener.

And the heavens opened.

Our summer – which, in fairness, has been a vast improvement on those of the last few years – ended abruptly as I sat by the memorial. I grabbed my stuff, watched the few shoppers diving for cover into shops and pubs, and headed back to the main junction in the town.

According to the signpost at Crossways, Coleford is ½m away. Well, we all know what they say about country miles, don't we? I trudged back up the way we'd come, and eventually reached the gate of Rushmere Farm. There was no sign of life, so I made my way to the farmhouse and rang the bell. A few moments later a little girl, probably five or six years old, peered out through the glass door and scurried away again. Shortly after that, I heard the voice of a middle-aged lady, scolding her gently for leaving me standing in the rain. The little girl turned out to be her granddaughter; she should probably not be left in charge of the reception desk for a few years yet. The lady took my details and I paid for two nights' camping before she gave me a brief outline of the facilities. Campers were pretty much free to set up where they liked. There's a shower block and two toilets attached to the house, electric hookups for caravans, and her husband is halfway through building another shower block nearer the site. It's a big site, and I surprised that more people weren't already set up for the weekend – especially given its proximity to Monmouth Festival. Maybe everyone else had listened to the weather forecast.

I walked the short distance to the nearest field, past a sign warning of 'free range animals and children beyond his point.' I found a nice spot near the edge of the field and eventually managed to set the tent up. (Useful tip: 'two-man' is not a measure of capacity, it's an indication of how many hands you need!) and unpacked my stuff.

The sad news is that my tent may be blue, but it isn't bigger on the inside. All my kit is sort-of shoved over to one side, and there's just enough room for me to stretch out inside. I've got a horrible feeling that this weekend will do my back no good at all! Even so, it's got to be better than sitting at home listening to what Sharon O. described as the 'disc-cutter' sound of motorbikes for two days.

Anyway, I typed a draft of this using LibreOffice while sitting in the tent, listening to the rain bouncing off the outer skin. I Tweeted a few updates while I was there, including one (only half-serious) plea for one of my friends to pick me up. The novelty had worn off very quickly, I must admit.

I went to log on to the Internet, and then realised that I'd left the MyFi at home. I used it this morning to post my previous entry, and must have forgotten to slip it into the Netbook case before I left the house. At least it's locked, so that nobody can use my bandwidth while I'm away. Having said that, I haven't had a decent phone signal since leaving the site, so I doubt whether I'd have had much of a reception anyway.

Which is why I'm currently sitting in the Angel Hotel, as previously noted. It's a big old coaching inn which now functions as a pub, disco and restaurant.

It's reasonably priced and has suddenly become extremely busy after a fairly quiet start to the evening. There's a mixture of people in here, from a small gang of teenage girls, through couples in their thirties and forties, to a group of older guys propping up the bar. There's obviously a birthday party going on, as a bunch of women in fancy dress have just come in. (Or, possibly, they're wearing traditional Forest costumes.) Everyone seems to know everyone. It's a proper small town boozer, the way the pubs in Aberdare used to be when I first started going into town. It's also got possibly the squeakiest barbint I've ever encountered in my life. (I mean she's got a very high-pitched voice, by the way – we're not that well acquainted!)

There's one other feature that reminds me of my early drinking days: the disco music. Even though everyone (except the birthday party crowd) is wearing fashionable clothes, the sort you'd see in any pub in Aberdare every weekend, Madonna's Holiday (taking the piss, surely) has just led into the Pet Shop Boys' Left to My Own Devices. Either there's some massive disruption in the Psychic Network tonight, or the DJ knows I'm here and is taking the piss big time!

One of the older punters – the very smartly-dressed chap who was sitting at the bar, probably in his early seventies – came over to chat after he spotted me taking photos. He had the proper Forest accent, undiluted by the mass media. It was a delight to hear, and he was really pleased when I complimented him on it. He told me that The Angel will be heaving later, as youngsters and not-so-youngsters from miles around cram in upstairs, to the town's only nightclub. He'd come over for a chat after seeing my camera and Netbook, wondering if I was a potential buyer sizing the place up. He told me that it's on the market, and that J.D. Wetherspoon have been sniffing around in recent months. I told him that, if they came here, it would kill the rest of the pubs stone-dead. It's happened in a large number of towns they've invaded, after all.

I might have another pint here, or I might wander to another pub. I haven't decided yet. The DJ has just played Planet Earth by Duran Duran, and we're now revelling to Erasure singing A Little Respect. Maybe that's another part of the Psychic Network playing silly buggers – flashbacks to 18th birthday parties in Aberdare are unconsciously affecting the music selection. Maybe, like the little musical island Philip Marlow keeps returning to in Dennis Potter's masterpiece, popular trends pass the people of the Forest by. Or, just possibly, maybe the good people of Coleford have yet to learn of the existence of the likes of Oasis, Radiohead, Coldplay, Tinie Tempah, Nicki Minaj, or the Stereophonics.

Lucky barsuds, yum, as they say in these parts! Don't worry – I won't mention them to the locals if you don't…