Let me introduce myself

This is the first of what I hope will be many personal blogs on this web site. So as this is the first blog, I think it's best if I give a brief introduction of myself and speak a little about my background.

My name is Thomas Mutton and I am the founder of GowerUK.com. I am currently 24 years old and live in Alcester, Warwickshire. I was born on the 24th of June 1985 to Mervyn and Pauline Mutton in Tiddington hospital, just outside Stratford upon-Avon.

So what is my connection with Swansea and Gower? Well, two months prior to my birth, my grandparents (Hilda and Dennis Mutton) purchased a caravan at a holiday park in Oxwich, Gower. My grandmother (Hilda) was originally from Clydach, Swansea and met my grandfather (Dennis) when he was stationed in Sennybridge during the Second World War.

My first experience of Swansea and Gower came just before my 1st birthday in May 1986. I was taken on holiday to my grandparents’ caravan by my parents. Every summer since then, we would stay in Oxwich, at my grandparents’ caravan.

Unfortunately, just before 2000, my grandmother passed away. Obviously this was sad for us but this did not stop us from visiting Gower and using the caravan in Oxwich. In fact, we used it more than ever!

In 2004 I started university in Swansea, studying a BSc in Web Management. I would often use the caravan when my father and brother would come and visit on the odd weekend. Living in Swansea was brilliant for me as it was the first time I had lived away from home and the fact that Swansea is on the coast made it even better.

In 2007 we were told by the holiday park owners that our caravan was too old to stay on site and that we needed to replace it. Thankfully, we managed to find another caravan on the same site and we have been using it since March 2008.

It was around this time when I thought of creating a web site based on Gower. At the time, I had just finished university and was working full time developing web sites for other people so time was limited for me. After several months I finally got the web site up and running and since then it has gained popularity and I have constantly been adding new features and improvements.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my web site and look forward to hearing from you!