Welsh Winters...

[mint]

So, you're from Dylan Thomas country?  Well, you know what he said about Wales?  Something along the lines of "Land of my fathers; my fathers can keep it" or words to that effect[:P]

To be serious about your question.  The weather here where I live (about 1 hour from Bordeaux) is incomparably better than that in Wales.  That's to say, much, much better summer and winter.

But, if you're asking specifically about the cold then I'd say it's much colder here in the winter but for a much shorter period of time.  For example, we could get very cold days with hoar frost and a penetrating quality to the cold which really reaches the parts a Welsh winter could not hope to reach.

On the other hand, it could be quite warm and pleasant till say end of November and then you get 2 or 3 months of cold weather, and it starts warming up again round about the end of February.  The first winter we visited here in January, I remember we needed air conditioning in the car.

Then, you get cold but sunny days which are actually wonderfully pleasant.

People on the Forum keep saying the weather's changed somewhat the last few years.  My experience only stretches back about 3 years and, each of those years, eveyone (including the natives) has said this is not normal.  I don't really know what normal is.

Tell you what, if I'm around when you are visiting the Bordeaux area, and you would like to come round for a chat, just PM me.  I'll supply the tea if you bring the Welsh cakes![:D]

 

[GCCR]

Thanks so much for this. That sounds great! It's pretty much the kind of climate we're looking for.

We can tolerate the cold but it's the continuous, summer and winter, damp, foggy, wet and miserable weather we seem to be getting more and more that we find so depressing. It's down to a shift in the upper atmosphere perma - winds I'm told ??

Since retiring and spending more time at home, I seem to suffer SAD all the year round !

Your knowledge of Dylan T quotes is far better than mine by the way, apart from "Have" instead of "Keep" that's spot on. He used to sit around on our Hay shed at our Farm (Delacorse) according to my Mam and Dad - Dylan that is.

Thanks for the invite, but I'm not keen on Welsh Cakes having been force fed them and Cawl for most of my young life on the farm !!

[mint]

I am not Welsh so I have the foreigner's interest and puzzlement with the quaint customs and cuisine of the Land of my Fathers![:D][:P]

[virginia]

I lived in Pembrokeshire so I know what I am talking about. No matter how wonderful the scenery, the grey dampness did for me.

Contradictorily you should move to the mountains. I live in the foothills of the Pyrenees at an altitude of 600 metres. We are far enough south for the sun always to be hot. When the sun is out we can sit out in tee shirts even in January. The mountain climate means that when the plains are grey and drear we have beautiful blue sky. We rarely have more than 3 grey, wet days at a time, and when it is cold - and it can be, it is a dry cold. For me, the seasons make life interesting. Southern Spain must be so boring!

Virginia

[Kitty]

[quote user="GCCR"]Ok then guys, what about the original topic ... are Bordeaux winters ... REALLY as bad as those in Wales.[/quote]

I moved to the Bordeaux area immediately after spending a couple of winters (and summers) in South Wales.

Bordeaux is a large area.  If you are inland from Bordeaux, you will find the winters are shorter, drier but definitely colder.  The geraniums have to be taken indoors.

If you west of Bordeaux on the coast (like me), the winters are shorter (by about 6 to 8 weeks), drier (by several inches) and warmer.  Most days, I look at the temperatures in Bordeaux and in Bristol and the difference is 5 degrees centigrade.  One winter, my geraniums survivied outdoors to live another year - that is how mild it is in the winter.  This winter, I can count the days that I scraped the frost off my car on one hand.  By midday this month, I have been able to open up the windows until about 4pm.

I think that Bordeaux weather compared to the rest of France is fantastic.  The springs are long - spring this year started about 7 days ago.  The summers are hot but not oppressive and last into September.  As for the autumn, you don't get the fog as you do in Wales.

The downside of the area is the summer mosquitos.