Freshwater East......19th - 21st September
The Caravan Club had originally allocated 25 pitches in Freshwater Club Site for Dyfed's rally, but as we soon filled them, we were kindly allowed a further 5 pitches by the Club, so on the Friday we found 30 Ralliers on site, with 4 visitors from South Glamorgan, 3 from West Wales and the rest from Dyfed. Luckily the week previous had been reasonably dry so that the grass pitches that we were on had dries and there was no trouble getting on or off.
The weather did us proud with “wall to wall” sunshine throughout the weekend. It appears that the pastime of choice (after caravanning) within the centre is Kayaking, with no less than 8 kayaks being brought to the Rally, with all of them being used on both days
Meanwhile, some of the other Ralliers walked the coastal path. I believe that both sets of people went home early on Sunday for a rest
The site is a haven of peace and tranquilty, with rabbits grazing in the day and foxes visiting at night. The site is an ideal place to relax
My personal thanks go to the wardens and their Assistants who were extremely helpfull all weekend, making us all feel very welcome
My thanks also go to our Assistants, Clive and Andrea and the Boys
Report submitted by Dave and Margaret Jones
Mwnt - Blaunwaun Farm......11th - 14th September
An enjoyable three day rally was spent at Mwnt and after a wet start on Thursday afternoon the remainder turned out to be glorious. I think most of us had forgotten by now what it was like to wake up to a blue sky. Only two cancelled prior to the rally, but there were two who did not show up, giving a total of 13 vans, 10 Dyfed and 3 from
An evening of cheese and wine took place on Saturday when we learnt of the engagement of Gareth and Stephanie (West Wales Centre ) which was a good enough reason to open another bottle of wine. As if we hadn’t had enough wine, three members decided to attend the communion service in the church on Sunday afternoon.
A good time was had by all adults, children and pets.
Report submitted by Wyn and Ann Phillips
Welsh National - Crick......21st - 26th August
The 56th Welsh National was held over the August Bank Holiday at David Broome’s Equestrian Centre, Crick near Caldicott. Gwent centre were the hosts and the venue was excellent. The “main marquee” was very well prepared with carpet on the floor, hence no smells or flies!! The weather was reasonably kind to us with most of the rain falling at night
We had 18 caravans in Dyfed lines, including two visitors – our adopted Dyfed members – George and
Our flag marshals were Cari and Cerys Davies, but we had to lend one of them to raise the
Although we did not manage to field any teams for the football, netball etc., we were very active, with most vans competing in some event.
Margaret Jones (A’ford) Floral Arranging Runner Up
Tudor Joseph Bannerette Runner Up
Photographic
Owner’s Improvement
Elizabeth Joseph Bannerette
Photographic
We had four teams competing in the boules namely
David Jones (TRJ) & Ian Sutherland
Eurfyl Bowen & George Gabrielle
Noel Rees & Matthew Phillips
Mike Evans & Rebecca Evans
We had two teams competing in the quiz
Team A: Colin Wilkie, Noel Rees, Matthew Phillips, Ian Sutherland.
Team B: David Jones (Chairman) Mike Evans, Len Daley, Sion Hupfield
Team B reached the semi finals, but lost to
We also entered a Darts team, but due to clashes with boules/quiz they were unable to play. The team was:
Mike & Christine Evans
Tim & Sarah Davies
Matthew & Nia Phillips
Ronnie and Jan John (borrowed from West Wales)
Rebecca Evans also played 17-19yr Netball for
The Centre Cup this year was closely fought by West Wales & South Wales, surprise, surprise!! It went back to South Wales this year after being held by
At the closing ceremony Ronnie John West Wales Chairman welcomed us all to West Wales Welsh National held next year in DYFED'S area in
After the closing ceremony, the Youth supplied the cheese & wine for our flag where the competition plaques were presented
Report submitted by Margaret Jones
Pinged - Fairview Farm......25th - 27th July
Report submitted by Ian and Helen Kemp
Pembrey Country Park - Chairmans/Charity Rally......11th - 13th July
A bouncy castle was a big hit with both the children and the big children.
At 6.00pm this total was added to by the selling beef burger: delicious they were too. At the same time an auction was held. The items sold included a signed Glamorgan cricket shirt, a shirt previously worn by the
A great big thank you goes to all who donated and ran our stalls and also thanks to everybody who supported us.
Name the Teddy competition was won by Neil Pritchard and the football competition was won by Bill Maynard, whilst the “treasure” was found by Sarah Davies. The “dates” competition is still ongoing. Several other items were also donated and these will be raffled later in the year.
We have previously banked the £800 already raised towards the Charity on various rallies during the year. Thank you to everyone who has worked hard to raise this money, and to the rallygoers for supporting them.
The charity will remain open until the end of the year.
All the money raised in this charity year will be donated to the Wales Air Ambulance. Please continue to support this deserving charity.
Diolch yn fawr
David and Margaret.
PS: We were all so busy during the afternoon that we did not have time to take any photos - Sorry!!! - but if anyone has any photos that can be displayed on the website, please pass them along in the usual way via Email
Report submitted by David and Margaret Jones
Llanelli - Gateway Caravan Park......4th - 6th July
Report submitted by Michael Evans
Begelly - Folly Farm (Childrens Treat)......27th - 29th June
Report submitted by Matthew Phillips
Dartmouth - Little Cotton Caravan Park (Holiday Rally)......8th - 22nd June
Report submitted by Lesley Thorne
Cilycwm - Glangwenlais Farm (Australian Christmas and Wine Making)......20th - 22nd June
Report submitted by Michael Evans
Llandeilo - Dinefwr Gardens (Owners Improvement)......13th - 15th June
Report submitted by Mike and Linda Nicolas
Llys y Fran Country Park (Fishing Rally)......4th - 8th June
Report submitted by Dawn Davies
North Centre (Scottish Caravan Club) 700th Rally......30th May - 1st June
Margaret and I left Holkam Hall, the site of this years British National Rally on the 30th May, having spent almost a month on site. We were now making our way to Ballater in Scotland as we had been invited to attend the Scottish Caravan Club, North Centre’s 700th Rally
Ballater is the nearest village to the Queens home in
On Saturday, the Rally was opened by Walter Girven, The Caravan Club Vice Chairman and the birthday cake was cut by Margaret and I. On Saturday night, the Centre organised a meal followed by a live group, who got everyone dancng
On Sunday, Flag was preceded by a church service and the Rally was officially closed by the Chairman of the Scottish Caravan Club
Our thanks go to all the members present at the Rally for making the weekend so enjoyable and in particular our thanks go to the Chairman of North Centre, Llinos Gass and her husband John who made us so welcome. Some of you will remember that Llinos and John were members of Dyfed before their work took them to
Report submitted by David Jones, Dyfed Centre Chairman
Manorbier - Arreton Caravan Park (Buttyland)......16th - 18th May
Report submitted by Tim Davies
Canaston Bridge - Youth Rally......9th - 11th May
20 Caravans attended the Youth Rally at Canaston Bridge on what turned out to be a very hot and pleasant weekend
We had two cancellations and once again, similar to last year, we had 5 no-shows
Many made the trip into Oakwood on Saturday and quite a few visited Canaston Bowls on the Saturday evening. It was nice to see an excellent turn out of both children (17) and teenagers (19) on the Rally. (if only all these could come to the Welsh National)
Flag was held on Sunday morning on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far. We held a raffle and once again, many thanks to everyone who donated prizes.
Many thanks go to the Youth Committee along with their parents for running another successful Rally (we need more attendees next year please)
Report submitted by Rebecca Evans - Dyfed Centre Youth Chairperson
Stepaside - Merrixton Farm - May Day......2nd - 5th May
61 Caravans attended the May Day Rally at Merrixton Farm, Stepaside. The weather was sunny but a little windy during the weekend
The Rally Officers held a Raffle and raised £188.00 towards our Charity (Wales Air Ambulance). All prizes were donated by the Rally Officers and friends, so a big thank you to them.
Cheese and biscuits, along with a very potent punch was served at Flag and Mrs M Jones, the site owners wife kindly made a fruit cake which had been soaked in alcohol.
The Centre Vice Chairman Tim Davies also welcomed two new families to the Centre
Report submitted by Lesley Thorne
Mwnt - Blaunwaun Farm Caravan Park......24th - 27th April
26 caravans made the trip west to Blaenwaun Farm, Mwnt with almost half taking advantage of the extra night by arriving on Thursday.
This is a delightful site which overlooks the sea with Mwnt hill in the foreground. Unfortunately the weather was cold and wet on both Thursday & Friday. On Saturday the Barley Fair was held in nearby Cardigan and fortunately the day was dry and warm, so most ralliers went to see the parade of horses, carriages, old lorries, tractors, cars etc. through the town. Father & son Ian & Stephen Sutton brought along two of their tractors and took part in the parade
The weather was miserable on Sunday morning but however, the sun came out in time for flagpole.
Our thanks go to the Rally Officers, Wendel & Gill Davies together with their Assistants Noel & Doris Rees for running another successful Rally
Report submitted by David Jones - Dyfed Centre Chairman
Llandovery - Erwlon Caravan Park......18th - 20th April
This weekends Rally was due to be held at Gilestone Caravan Park in Talybont on Usk. Unfortunately, we were told by the Caravan Club just 4 days before the start of the Rally that we were not to use the venue for the forseeable future. This meant that we were forced to switch venues at the last minute to Erwlon in Llandovery. There were over 30 vans booked into Talybont, but only 11 actually ended up coming to Llandovery
We were given a very warm welcome by the site wardens and owner. Each pitch had electicity and some had electricity, drinking water and waste facilities. The shower block was superb and actually won the 2007 award for 'Best Loo' We last Rallied in Erwlon about 15 years ago and the site was unrecognisable because of all the improvements that had been carried out
Flag was held on Sunday morning at 11.00am
The weather was fairly kind to us, keeping mostly dry, but a little bit cold and windy
Many thanks to Barrie and Helen for agreeing to run the Rally at the new venue at such short notice along with their Assistants, Dennis and Janice
Report submitted by Michael Evans
Dan yr Ogof - The National Showcaves Centre for Wales......11th - 13th April
32 caravans (27 from Dyfed and 5 visitors) attended the Rally which was held on an exceptionally nice site in the grounds of The National Showcaves Centre for Wales at Dan yr Ogof
All pitches were on hardstanding and each had their own electric hook-up, water and waste facilities along with an extremely well kept toilet/shower block which was located centrally
Many people took advantage of the generous concessionary rates offered by the management and visited the caves and other attractions
Flag was held on Saturday evening at 6.00pm and it was nice to see a good cross section of all age groups, which included many youngsters and teenagers.
The weather was relatively kind to us and kept more or less dry during the daytime
Many thanks to Andrew and Julie for finding the site and agreeing to run the Rally as a Site Seeker, along with their Assistants, Ryan and Rose
Report submitted by Michael Evans
Porthyrhyd - Botanic Gardens......4th - 6th April 2008
17 vans, all from Dyfed attended the Rally which was held on hardstanding at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales. It was also the venue for the annual Barrett Rosebowl Illuminated Window competition
A number of people visited the Gardens on Saturday and took advantage of the 'buy one get one free' offer run in conjunction with the Caravan Clubs 'Great Days Out'
Flag was held on Saturday evening and was followed later by the Illuminated Window competition. There were four entries and the winners were Tim and Sarah who won with the Dyfed Breakfast theme. Well done to them.
Those who woke up early enough on Sunday would have seen the covering of snow that came down overnight.
Many thanks to Terry and Judith for running the rally, along with their Assistants, Ian and Helen
Report submitted by Michael Evans
Nantgaredig - Railway Inn......28th - 30th March 2008
15 vans, all from Dyfed attended the Rally at the popular Railway Inn at Nantgaredig.
The forecasted bad weather arrived on Friday afternoon but we managed to get all the caravans sited without any problems.
The torrential rain continued throughout Friday night and most of Saturday and the ground started to cut up so badly that we had to restrict all vehicle movement.
Sunday thankfully was dry and flag was held at 11.00am. Brian and Carol were the first to leave, or should I say that they were the first to attempt to leave. It was hopeless as they immediately bogged down in the mud. All attempts to free them failed. With the help of Mr Allen from the pub we managed to get a local farmer with a tractor to pull off the 12 units that were on the grassed area (there were three of us lucky enough to be on hardstanding)
Many thanks to everyone who pulled together to help get the vans out onto the carpark - particular thanks to Ryan who kindly used his vehicle to assist anyone who didn't have a front towing eye (the tractor didn't have a towball and had to pull car and caravan out together using a chain)
When we arrived, the field looked like a lawn - when we left, it looked like a ploughed field!! Mr Allen's reaction when he came down to have a look was 'Oh well - couldn't be helped, once it's rolled, it'll be OK. Don't worry about it'
I'll call back there in a couple of weeks and see what it looks like and add an update to this report
Many thanks to Colin and Gwyneth for assisting us on what we thought would be a very straight forward Rally to run
Report submitted by Michael Evans
Port Talbot - Margam Park......7th - 9th March 2008 (Reversing Competition)
29 caravans came to
The weekend forecast promised gales but apart from the odd shower the weather was reasonably kind to us. On Saturday morning the 5 South Wales Centre Chairmen and Rally Secretaries met on site to sort out any clashes that could occur in the 2009 Rally Programmes – the 2008 season has only just started and we are already finalising next years list!
Following that meeting the Centres reversing competition took place. Margam is ideal as there is plenty of tarmac for us to use. We had quite a few entries and the winner of the Dragon Tyres Mens Cup was Stephen Sutton and the winner of The Ian & Rosemarie Worsell Ladies Cup was Paula Davies. Thanks to all who competed and to those who helped with the marshalling. Thanks must go once again to John Stott for the loan of a caravan for the competition.
The afternoon saw
Flag was held on Sunday morning in between showers and thanks go to Colin and Gwyneth, together with their assistant Kath for organising a good weekend.
Report submitted by David Jones - Dyfed Centre Chairman
Dinner Dance......1st March (St Davids Day) 2008
Margaret and I had had a fairly busy January and February attending the Annual dinners of the other Welsh Centres. The climax of the dinner “circuit” for us was to be our dinner held at The Ivy Bush Royal Hotel on the 1st March
As Social Secretary, Margaret had been busy organising the event for months and everything was coming along nicely until the week before when I started having nosebleeds, which culminated in me being admitted to
Whilst I was being treated, plan “B” was running like a well oiled machine. Tim (after being convinced it was not a wind up) took over my duties, whilst his original job of Master of Ceremonies was done by Michael Evans. Both, together with Helen Davies and their respective partners, helped Margaret to ensure that the event went like clockwork
I was discharged on Saturday morning and whilst I attended the dinner, I took no active part. Ninety one people were present and the main speaker was Terry Clarke Chairman of The South Glamorgan Centre, whilst the response was made by
Our thanks must go to Mr Berwin Jones, manager, Allison and the staff of the Ivy Bush for helping to make the night such a success, ensuring excellent food and service.
Following the formal part of the evening we were well entertained by Paul Dazeley, whose act kept us going until the early hours of the morning.
As people left for home on the Sunday I heard nothing but praise for the evening and a big thankyou goes from me to everyone who was involved.
Report submitted by David Jones - Dyfed Centre Chairman