White Cliffs of Dover

I am not using this site as much because I seem to be doubling up. It takes quite a long time to down load photos for this site so I have been recording the travels and photos on Facebook.

Send me a friend request if you want to follow.

I also seem to be having problems with my email. I have sent a couple of emails to friends some time ago and had no reply. Yesterday I received a response from my cousin, she sent the email in May and I received it 3 months later!

Brighton - England

The normal travel time from Bath to Brighton is 3 hours, it took us 5 hours. Now I know what is meant by the "English Traffic". I must say though there was an accident and a breakdown and there is very few places to pull over to the side of the road.  It is the first time in 3 months we have had such bad snail pace traffic.

Brighton is super busy, people everywhere, like sardines in some places. I suppose being the school holidays doesn't help.

We are directly across the road from the beach and Brighton Pier. The pier is a definite tourist attraction. It has rides, games, pubs, and other eateries. We went on the very tame ghost train.

After the pier we had a ride on the "hop on hop off" bus and got to see much of Brighton while being given a commentary. I know I have said it before but these buses are well worth the ride. It is almost impossible to drive around the city and outer areas (the bus has its own lane) and it is too far to walk , so you get to see a lot of what wouldn't normally be possible.

At the pub last night I had a Sussex Stew, most delicious stew I have ever tasted, yum.

Sorry about the lack of photos, some of these places wifi is so slow it is a pain to down load them. If and when we find a faster connection, I will post a few at the same time.

In the meantime, it doesn't get any better than this!

Bath - England

Had a great tour today. Visited Stonehenge, it was fabulous, a photo can not do it justice. Then off to Avebury about 40 minutes away. There is a huge, huge circle of the rocks built by the same people in about 4000 BC. The circle is so big that in order to build a road they had to go through the middle of the stones. So you cross the road to continue exploring.

From there we drove for half an hour to get to Lay ok. This is a National Trust Village and has been used to shoot a number of films such as, War Horse, Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice. There was a film being shot while we were there, they were on a lunch break so we walked through the area they were shooting and saw all the actors in there costumes. It was great.

It was then time to visit a Cotswold Village at Castle Combe ( not a castle in sight) but the village is so unique and picturesque. Words can not describe its beauty.

Next stop Brighton.

Wales to Bath

We have now departed wonderful Wales, what a beautiful country it is. Lots of friendly people, they even smile at you in the street. Oh well, all good things come to an end.

Only took about 2 hours to get to Bath in England, an easy drive. Staying at an hotel rather than a B&B, it is a nice change because it has a lift, no climbing stairs for a whole 3 days.

We have been on the "hop on hop off" bus around the town area, visited the Bath Abbey and toured through the Roman Baths that were constructed by the Romans prior to 400 AC.

Tomorrow we have a full day tour to Stonehenge and Cotswold.

Wales photos

I haven't posted photos for a while so here are a few to wet the appetite.

We still have another 5 days in this beautiful country and I hope the time goes by very slowly.

Wales - Conwy Castle

How this Castle and it's great walls surrounding the town only took 4 years to build is beyond comprehension. Charles 1 built it because of all the attempted invasions of Wales.

I walked along the top of the wall and almost froze. I am not too good with heights, but usually I can get by if the walk way is wide enough and I don't look down. This one had a very narrow walkway and the barriers on each side were low. On top of that places where repairs were done consisted of wood and the large gaps between each plank was very wide. Not good😱
I am at the stage of not walking up every tower, the steeps are just too difficult to manage. Of course the toy boy has to climb every tower and go into every nook and cranny.

Wales - Conwy, house built 1577

Smack bang in the middle of town is a house built in 1577. The only repairs it has had, and these were done in 1996' so it has stood the test of time for 600+ years, is the roof was re tiled, some floor boards have been replaced, beams have been reinforced in the roof and a 70 foot oak plank replaced a damaged one in the basement.

What a wonderful experience going through this house, something that will be pictured in my mind forever.

Wales - Stately House

On our way driving to Conwy, we stopped and visited a stately home. The difference with this house is it is built to look like a castle. The owner was very, very rich and had always loved castles.

It was good to go through a Castle ( well a pretend one) and see how the ruined ones would have looked in all their hey day.

Wales - Caernarfon

 Caernarfon is a town of 9,000 people. The biggest attraction is Caernarfon Castle. Prince Charles had his ceremony here to become Prince of  Wales when he was 21.

Another place of interest is the Roman ruins just out of town and the Welsh Highland steam train.

Just across the water is Anglesey Island, the largest Island in Britain. It is also home to an historical estate, Plas Newydd. A beautiful home that gives a feeling of being relaxed and comfortable. The gardens are magnificent.

There is a town on this send names Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. What a mouth full!

Wales - Tremadog and Porthmadog

Tremadog is the birth place of Lawrence of Arabia, which is a surprise to me. The village has 3 pubs and a small supermarket. The residents can go to Porthmadog for their supplies, it is only about 20 mins away.

Porthmadog has an historic steam railway. We had dinner in one of the pubs there, it was delicious and the pub was fairly modern compared to some we have been to visit.

Weather has been a bit cool at times with some rain. The TV news shows a map of the temperatures this time last year, they were between 25 and 32 degrees. The locals say this years temperatures are very unusual, it has been between 12 and 16 degrees. It doesn't feel cold unless there is a wind.

No matter what the weather is, I still love Wales.👍

Wales - Dolgellau

Here we are in our B&B, Ivy House owned by a mother and son. The building is a beautiful old blue stone and the inside is freshly painted and decorated.

Although this is another small village, I can't get my bearings because the roads are all different shapes. For example there is a V shape, a part circle shape an L shape, all very interesting but very confusing.

We have been to visit a castle waned by Charles 1. The height of the walls is mind boggling, at a guess, I would say about 7 storeys high all made from bluestone. Of course there was stairs, the toy boy said lets do it, the steps are not uneven and it won't be very many to climb. Why oh why did I believe him........... 150 spiral steps later, and keeping in mind I had to get backdown.!!!

Wales - Aberystwyth

A seaside town on the east coast, this treasure has a lot to see and do. As usual Greg wanted to walk and walk and walk. There was a steam train we went on and the scenery getting to the end of the destination was breath taking. When husband extraordinaire suggested going on the train, I thought how many trains can I ride on, I am so glad we did, not because of the ride but because of the countryside.

We weather gear has come in handy, there has been a lot of rain.

Wales - St Davids

st Davids has an 11th century cathedral that has been in constant use. On the same site is the Bishops Palace and although in ruins it has a number of rooms still in tact.

The village has a number of unusual little shops and a couple of pubs. A 14th century stone cross is another highlight as is the memorial garden of the fallen soldiers of WW1 and WW11. The welsh are so friendly and helpful, nothing is too much trouble.

Carew castle Wales

Carew is a tiny village and is home to Carew Castle. Although the castle is a ruin, there are a number of rooms still in tact. It must have been a "bobby dazzler" in its hey day. I am glad we turned off and went the extra 40 km to see it.

Cardiff Wales

Cardiff is such a picturesque city. The buildings are no more than about 3 storeys high so this gives the impression of open spaces. Cardiff also has Cardiff Castle, it has been gifted to the people of the city by the owners, fair enough I suppose, itwasonly their holiday shack, their primary home isin Scotland.

Bristol

Well isn't Bristol full of surprises. Travelling into the area does not give you a good impression. Travel on the hop on hop off bus and the sites you see. There is a famous suspension bridge that is so high up I almost needed binoculars, go to the top of the town and there are wonderful large green parks, wide roads and Victorian houses. We heard about the bombing during WW2 and saw the skeleton of churches that were hit. The city decided motto tear them down it rather leave as a memorial for people who died. One. But h that's still operational has holes where shrapnel from a bomb hit it.

Bristolians are very proud of their city and proudly boast it has been a county since the 1300's. For hundreds of years it was the main port in England for ships entering and trading their goods.

Lanhydrock Mansion, Bosmin Cornwall.

Visited a huge mansion. There is nobody living there so we were able to go into every room. The downstairs kitchen area was fabulous. Huge kitchen for the cook, another smaller kitchen for baking bread, another one for cakes, a huge dark room foes touring veggies and a room for smoking meat.

Cornwall - Tintagel

Here we are still in Tintagel. We have been going for drives and just enjoying the beautiful scenery.
The weather is still a little chilly, 14degrees, it doesn't bother us. Dress in the right clothes and you feel snug as a bug in a rug.

A big happy birthday to Peter (the great) and to Judy T. Hope you both have a good one.

Boscastle, Cornwall

No, it is not another castle, it is a quaint village near the ocean. I bought a really nice wet weather jacket, I will look very flash in our winter next year.

Had some Devonshire tea, although it is called cream tea here, and then sat in the sun for awhile. A very pleasant trip.

Cornwall Show

Good at the Cornwall Show, weather was good and moving around was easy. There are a lot of local traders stalls here and just like at home, lots of people sitting in the sunshine having a beer.

There was a good Irish band playing. In between songs he told a few jokes, oh dear, out of about 30, 1 was funny. Thank goodness he could sing.

Tintagel Castle

This castle is a ruin and is rumoured to have housed King Arthur. Getting to the ruins is a challenge, it includes walking down hill, uphill, steps around the top of a cliff  and steps up the cliff.

Once to the top the view is stunning, showing off part of the rugid Cornwall coast.

Tintagel, Cornwall

Departed Menheniot in southern Cornwall and have arrived at our new residence for the next 2 weeks. The village is Tintagel and is in the north west of Cornwall. We are staying at the King Arthur Arms Inn which is in the Main Street.

Truro and Falmouth - Cornwall.

l love Truro, it is a lovely small town. The surroundings are pretty and the shops are great. We visited a Cathedral (yes another one). They are trying to raise enough to relate the slate roof.  People could pay £25 and write something on a slate tile. I decided we should make it in memory to Gregs brother Peter. I asked how long the inscription would last on the tile and was told until the Saints come down.

Greg then suggested we catch a train to Falmouth and visit Pendennis Castle which was owned by Henry V111, more of a fortress than a Castle.