MND won't get the better of me: A coastal caravan adventure

There’s a 2010 British drama film called Third Star about a 29-year-old man with cancer who goes on a last hiking trip with his three best friends to his favourite beach, Barafundle Bay, on the Pembrokeshire coast.

The film is meant to evoke thoughts of Peter Pan, the adventure-loving boy who never grew up, and the fact that the main character, James, will never grow old.

It wasn’t until I started writing this article that I realised how much the film mirrors my best friend Charlie’s own life and the trip we've just taken.

Not giving up

Diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) three years ago at the age of 26, the disease is attacking Charlie’s muscles. It essentially means that time is running short for her to see and do all the things she’s ever wanted to, so there’s a bucket list of awesome, fun and crazy things that need to be ticked off.

Since the film is one of Charlie’s favourites, it’s no surprise that she chose Barafundle Bay as the place she wanted to head into the sea and send out messages in a bottle. With wheelchair use becoming more necessary every day, a trip to Wales and the bay shifted its way to the top of her list. Armed with her wild imagination, even wilder turquoise hair, and an ‘I won’t let this beat me’ attitude, anything was possible.

And so began the most amazing trip that would see us travel 855 miles in four days and take more than 400 photos.

Where dreams are made

Our base for this weekend wish list would be Freshwater East Caravan Club site near Pembroke in south Wales. Our home would be a Bailey Pegasus GT65 Rimini and my only concern would be how four friends would cope with each other in such close confines for a long weekend.

After a six-hour drive from home we arrived mid-afternoon and set up the van. Our first port of call was to head down to Freshwater East beach, which is 10 minutes’ walk from the site.

Freshwater East beach is a wide bay, sheltered by dunes with a fast-flowing stream running down into the sea. The view across the bay is beautiful.

After a cosy and comfortable night in the Bailey, the next morning we drove off towards St David’s which, as well as being the UK’s smallest city, is also home to the ticket office of Voyages of Discovery who run boat trips out to Ramsey Island – an RSPB nature reserve.

The afternoon saw us driving back towards the campsite and stopping off in the walled seaside town of Tenby. We had hoped to cross the tidal causeway from the beach to St Catherine’s Island and Fort but arrived too soon to high tide to be allowed to go across – possibly for the best as we discovered the night before that wheelchairs and sand don’t really mix.

Time to tick something off the list

Sunday was the day Charlie had been waiting for – we would be heading to Barafundle Bay. The sunshine gods were still smiling down on us as we made our way to Stackpole Quay.

It’s just a 10-minute drive to the car park from the Club site and then a good 20-minute walk to the bay. The whole area is National Trust-owned, the car park costs £5 for all-day parking and the ticket can be used at any of the other car parks on the Stackpole Estate.

Charlie was adamant she was walking down to the bay unaided and the view from the top of the steps above the beach was definitely worth the effort. Because Barafundle Bay can only be reached by a cliff path walk from the quay it is really secluded and this is part of its charm. It’s a beautiful place and I can see why Charlie chose it.

Armed with our messages in a bottle (whose contents shall forever remain a secret), we headed out into the waves, fully clothed as planned, and got a good soaking. It was a significant moment for both of us as I knew how much being here meant to Charlie and to be a part of that memory is something I’ll never forget. I think the boys of our group will remember it too, as carrying both Charlie and a wheelchair back up 50-plus steps to the clifftop was pretty hard work!

Belly-flopping fun

On the menu for the afternoon was getting equally wet at Abereiddy Bay. We had booked to meet Cleo from Celtic Quest Coasteering for an afternoon of swimming, scrambling and jumping into the water from various heights. It tailors its adventures to be suitable for all ages and physical abilities so we knew we would be in safe hands.

The coasteering here concludes with jumps of varying heights up to a whopping 12m, in a former slate quarry now known as the Blue Lagoon. After launching of myself from five metres above the water into the unknown below, I bottled it at the eight-metre-high jump. The Red Bull cliff divers who competed at heights of 26m here must have some balls.

Monday morning views

The weekend came and went all too quickly and Monday morning saw us tidying up the Bailey caravan and loading the car. Not ones to let opportunities pass us by we stopped off on the way home at Pembroke Castle, Rhossili Bay and Three Cliffs Bay. This was my great idea as they were ‘on the way’ but it saw us all having a long 12-hour road trip by the end of it.

Time for reflection…

We finally arrived home at 9pm from our bucket list expedition. We had one very tired designated driver, two sleepy but happy passengers and a very broken but super-content Charlie.

We had an amazing weekend in Wales, with many new experiences for all of us. Tons of things were ticked off the bucket list and I got to see my best friend making some of the greatest memories of her life. In fact, we all made some great memories.

I have a tattoo on my wrist, chosen by Charlie, reminding me to ‘live every moment’. We certainly did that in wonderful Wales and my advice to everyone would be to do likewise: find your own piece of Neverland.

• For more information about the MND Association, visit mndassociation.org

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