warning: there are lots of spelling errors, but I just I'mtrying to hurry to get this post completed.
Weekly
Update 9/23/2019
Two
Wonderful week in UK!
Hurricane
Dorian set us back a bit. Kay and I were scheduled to leave Savannah
on Thursday Sept 5, but flights were canceled and we didn’t get out
until very late on the 8th arriving on Monday. But I can’t imagine
what else Lisa could have packed into the time we had! She was
wonderful, with all the driving, the planning, the choosing of hotels
and places to visit. Dave was great with his culinary expertise and
whenever we ate in Porthcawl, it was a feast. It’s impossible to
thank these great friends. Lisa’s driving skills are impeccible
and I applaud her for driving so far and often in the two weeks I was
there. Some of the obstacles she faced daily were:
|
animals in the roads |
|
VERY narrow roads |
|
strange warning signs
|
After
an evening dining on one of Dave’s gourmet meals Monday evening, we
started right in with sightseeing the following day. Lisa drove Kay
and I to Hay on Wye, in Wales. It’s a marvelous little town that
is full of book stores, clothing and antique shoppes. I bought a
couple of books; they bought clothes. On the way home from there, we
stopped at a cute canal town, Brecon. Very picturesque, and relaxing.
Kay wants to buy a barge and live there.
|
Hay-on-Wye |
|
Brecon canal
|
Wednesday,
we went to St Fagan’s. Kay and I had both been there before, but
loved it so much, we wanted to see it again. We visited churches,
farms, the Manor, gardens, stores and shoppes, the wonderful little
row houses that I’d loved so much before, a post-WWII prefab that
was really amazing, and so many great things.
|
inside the kitchen at the manor |
|
pre-fab housing for people who lost homes in the bombing of WWII |
|
talking on my cell phonein a booth |
Thursday
we went to Cardiff. We went to the castle, which was actually built
in the late 19th century by the third Marquess of Bute,
one of the world’s wealthiest men. And the castle proves that –
it is amazingly opulent. The old Norman keep is still on the
grounds, and I climbed to the top. There is evidence here of
occupation from roman times.
|
the Norman Keep |
|
on a tour inside the castle |
|
three best-ies with the dragon of Wales |
Friday
it was off to one of the eastern most parts of Wales to visit St
David’s Cathedral and Pembroke Castle. The first church built at
this site was probably made of wood and constructed about 550 AD. The
church was destroyed many times and the present cathedral was begun
around 1180 AD. Pembroke Castle, famous as the birthplace of Henry
VII, was built in 1093, but underneath the castle, there are caves
where there is evidence that cave dwellers found shelter on the site
up to 12.000 years ago.
|
the rose window at St David's Cathedral |
|
Pembroke Castle |
On
Saturday, Kay left us to stay in London with family and Dave went to
Bristol to a model railroad show for a few days, so Lisa and I had
time to spend in Porthcawl, walking along the channel and eating at
the oldest pub in Porthcawl.
|
seaside in Porthcawl |
|
The Jolly Sailor,oldest Pub in Porthcawl |
There’s
a Victorian Village in Blist’s Hill that we drove to on Sunday. In
spite of the fact that I was wearing coffee down the front of new
sweater that I’d bought for this trip, it was a wonderful day.
Most of the buildings here have been moved from other sites and
re-constructed as they were originally intended. However, the
foundry, brick factory and machine shop are still where they were
built in the 1870. The candlemaker was the best – he is exactly
what I want to be as a docent! He took a lot of time with Lisa and
me, explaining his job, and his enthusiasm was evident. The women at
the bakery were good, too, but we had no questions for them other
than if we could buy gingerbread cookies. There was even an old
fair, with some rides and games, reminiscent of the one that the
staff at Downton Abbey went to one summer evening.
|
Lisa at the bank |
|
horses on the path in front of the original brick and tile factory |
|
some of the buildings along one of the streets |
|
at the fair |
We
also made a quick drive through Ironbirdge (parking was a problem as
museums in this town were free this weekend, and we weren’t the
only ones wanting to take advantage). This is often described as
the”birthplace of the Industrial Revolution” because its
production of iron was perfected using a smelting method.
|
the Iron Bridge |
Monday
was spent in the fascinating city of Chester, not far from Wales in
England. It is a vibrant city, with a rich history. We could see
Roman, Norman, Medieval, Elizabethan and Victorian influences. But
not only was there a lot of wonderful architecture and history to be
seen, Chester is also where Robert, Sarah and Jasmine live. What a
delight to see NanaLease playing with 10-month-old granddaughter Jaz!
(also a WONDERFUL cupcakery).
|
lots of tudor-style buildings |
|
Chester Castle |
|
King Charles Tower |
|
inside the cathedral |
|
Eastgate clock |
We
spent the night in the seaside town of Llandudno, a seaside resort on
the Irish Sea in Wales. In Victorian times, it was a popular area for
people to escape to the seaside from the cities, which were dirty and
filled with smog. We walked out on the boardwalk in the evening and
enjoyed all the lights along the coast. The next day we went back to
England and to the city of Totnes, an important Medieval town dating
back to 907. There was a quaint museum that we toured that had
eclectic displays, from inventions by people from Totnes to rooms
filed with antiques to the original turret clock from 1741. The next
day, we drove through the lovely country side of north Wales, where
the shale mountains are high and the roads wind precariously. The
scenery was magnificent, and we even stopped along one road to eat
our treats. Then we went to Conwy Castle, begun in 1283 by Edward I
during his conquest of Wales. It is considered to be one of the
finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th
century military architecture in Europe.
|
Llandudno (this is a postard, my attempts at photographs were awful) |
|
lovely scenery in North Wales |
|
Conwy Castle |
The
next was the team ride train and boat tour at Dartmouth. We boarded
a steam train in Paignton and rode to where the Dart River empties
into the English Channel (Dartmouth – makes sense). We then had a
guided boat tour on the river and saw such things as Agatha
Christie's hilltop home, The Royal Naval Academy, and Dartmouth
Castle. After the train ride back to the car, we drove to Brixham,
an important fishing town, and also the site of the mooring of a
replica of Sir Francis Drakes’ Golden Hind.
|
not the actual train engine, but close enough |
|
the Royal Naval Acedemy |
|
Lisa, with the castle and the English Channel in the distance |
|
Brixham |
|
the Golden Hind |
Lisa
had seen a tv documentary, Edwardian Farm (on YouTube, if you want to
look at it) that was filmed in a small museum in Morwellham.
Morwellham is another open air museum, and there’s where we
traveled to next. Situated along the Tamar River, it was once the
industrial site and the busiest copper port in Queen Victoria's
Empire. We were lucky enough to be able to see demonstrations of
rope making, school teaching, and chocolate making (guess which was
my favorite?), as well as taking a tram ride through the copper mine.
That afternoon, Lisa drove us through the moors and back to
Porthcrawl.
|
the mining town of Morwellham |
|
candy making, what's not to like? |
|
Miners above the tramcar I was in |
|
cows and sheep along the drive through the moors |
Our
final full day was another wonderful experience planned by Lisa. I
bid goodbye to Dave, and Lisa and drove to Bletchley. I wish I could
remember more of the movie, The Imitation Game, or the tv series, The
Bletchley Circle. This is the cite where during WWII the scientists
and mathematicians broke the enigma code and enabled the invasion on
D-Day. It was fascinating.
|
The Bombe, the decoding maching |
|
Alan Turing's office |
Lisa
and I spend our last evening outside London in an Inn. We had dinner
there, and then breakfast the next morning. And then it was back to
London and to Heathrow airport to meet Kay and fly home.
I
can’t thank Lisa and Dave enough for all the hospitality. As you
can tell by all the photos, the weather was perfect every day. Every
experience that I had was a “surprise” planned by Lisa for places
and museums and castles and cities that she thought I might enjoy.
And I truly did! Each day I woke wondering what magical mystery
would unfold for me today. Dave created absolutely wonderful,
gourmet meals each time we were at their home in Porthcawl. All the
driving, all parking (and finding parking spaces – not always an
easy task), all the navigating, was done by Lisa, while I sat in the
passenger seat and enjoyed the ride, or slept. What wonderful
friends to do all that for two full weeks! Thank you thank you thank
you.
And
the Bills won THREE times while I was traveling! I hope I haven’t
jinxed that by being home.
What a wonderful time we had. Loved every minute! The pleasure is ours xoxo
ReplyDeleteLoved the blog and all the pics! Really made me want to go on our trip to Wales!!!
ReplyDeleteAn amazing trip - I do SO want to go back and see more of England (I've only visited London) and also Wales. By the way, my friend Frances, who wants to visit you again this coming winter, asks about you all the time. I think she'd love to be able to see your photos if you would allow another person to access your blog.
ReplyDelete