Wednesday, September 25, 2019

9/23/2019

 
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.


  

3 comments:

  1. What a wonderful time we had. Loved every minute! The pleasure is ours xoxo

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  2. Loved the blog and all the pics! Really made me want to go on our trip to Wales!!!

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  3. An 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.

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