Blogs from Wales, United Kingdom, Europe
Cardiff Castle
Our capital city is down South. Exactly the same as in England where the capital is far away from a huge proportion of the population. Cardiff always feels even now remote. The north feels less served with the wheels of industry and government in the 21st Century. It takes longer to travel by road from the north to the south. The journey pleasant but long either through the mountains or out into England and back. The train journeys fare no better. A drive of at least 45 minutes to the nearest station and then a three hour train trip to Cardiff Central. The cost prohibitive unless the passenger is lucky enough to access the Over 55 Club deals which run at some times in the year. From this part of North Wales the cities of Chester ... read more
Chirk Castle
What can you say about Chirk Castle? Set in the pretty countryside near to the town of Chirk in the Ceiriog valley it is the classic heavily built squat Marcher style castle Built in the 13th century it lies low in the landscape and is pretty imposing. It is though a homely castle with a lived in feel. This is explained by the fact that although the house is owned and maintained by the National Trust it is still lived in by the "family". This shows through the furniture and fittings. The castle is approached via a long drive through the quintessential English or Welsh landscaped park. Oaks, Beeches, Chestnut and native trees fill the parkland. It is though a long walk from the main gate to the castle and a car is useful to make ... read more
I am leaving for my round the world trip in 12 days, so I thought I would start an online blog so that my friends and family at home can follow my trip! All flights and major transportation are now organised as well as a few places of accommodation and I am starting to feel very excited! The next 12 days should go very quick as I will be rather busy seeing you all before I go :)... read more
Cardiff International White Water Centre (CIWW)
Today we set out on a quest to see the coast of Wales - by foot. The city of Cardiff itself is not right on the coast (the water being the Bristol channel which eventually goes out to the Atlantic) but a borough of the city, called Cardiff Bay, sits (surprise!) on Cardiff Bay. The actual bay is separated from the channel by a series of large locks. We'd heard that Cardiff Bay (the city) is known for being one of Europe's most modern waterfront complexes, so we wanted to check it off the list. So we started walking in what we thought was the right direction, and didn't feel the need to consult a map. We were going the right way, but what we didn't realize was that we were on the wrong side of ... read more
Conway
Although not adventures round the world sometimes it is right to look at what we have close at hand . It seems we get obsessed with travelling to far off lands without looking at what is just round the corner. Gap years here and there , long distance travel becoming the norm. In our twenties you were lucky to get a holiday in this country . Now it seems everyone must have a gap year and they overlook some of the interesting and beautiful things here. Give us the good weather and we can give as good as we get . Over the winter months the opportunity does come around to look at the lay of the land and make the decision to stop wandering far afield and visit what is on the doorstep. There are ... read more
Rhuddlan
North Wales is both blessed and cursed by its string of castles stretching from Harlech in the west to Ewloe and Flint in the east. It's said that you only need to travel 20 miles between one castle and the next. We decided to put the theory to the test starting in the East with the ruined castles of Ewloe, Denbigh and Flint before moving to the much larger Rhuddlan Castle near Rhyl. There are two styles of castle of which Ewloe and Caergwrle fall into the earlier category. They were built in the 12th century by Llewellyn ap Gruffydd as a defence against the English. Ewloe castle is set in Wepre Park. The park and open land rambles for some miles following the river which makes a pleasant place to walk when the weather is ... read more
The Hostel
This morning we hopped on a coach and 3 hours later we were in Cardiff, Wales. As soon as you get into wales, you realize you're in a different country because every sign is in both welsh and English. Welsh is so confusing looking because words consist of a long array of consonants, and I can't imagine how many of the words are pronounced. Fortunately most people in wales speak English (they take both english and welsh at school). Cardiff is quite a small city, and you can tell that it was heavily bombed during the 2nd World War because the buildings are generally very new. It was a big target because of its port and because of the large coal mining industry of the region. When we arrived, we spent a bit of time wandering ... read more
checking the turkey
Well, our Christmas was busy but pretty quiet. Sophie and Tom came to stay from Monday to Thursday, and we walked the dogs and ate and opened presents and played games...... They were excited to leave as tom's mystery gift to Sophie was 2 days away - destination unrevealed (till this morning when he told her its Barcelona)As you will imagine, we spent a lot of time in Meifod. Mum and I spent a drizzly day in Oswestry today, looking round the shops. Back to work tomorrow evening - but only a short shift as the shop closes early. Happy new year to NZ and Australia. Oh, and Hodge!... read more
Mary Ann Street
I didn’t get up to much today. The weather started off alright and I walked over to Mary Ann Street. There is really nothing interesting or exciting on that street but I felt since I was here I should go see it. After that I continued my walk and went to the Cardiff Bay area. I stopped at a coffee shop and had a nice brunch there. By this time the weather had turned and it was windy and starting to rain. I dashed to the Red Dragon Centre to go see the Doctor Who Exhibition. I was very excited to see it since I have gotten hooked on Doctor Who and Torchwood. However it was not there! They closed it down and there was nothing to see. I debated going to a movie while I ... read more
Cardiff Story Museum Sledge
After a bit of a restless night, not because of the accommodations, but because of my sore throat, which tends to bother me most at night. I slept in and didn’t get up until almost 10! It being the weekend things don’t really start to open until 10 anyway so it wasn’t too bad. My first stop was the information centre, but because I already had a list of things to do, and a map from the hostel, I didn’t stay there long. I went next door to The Cardiff Story Museum. It was not a very large museum but it had a lot of interesting and interactive displays about the ancient, and more modern history of Cardiff. There was a collection of items, donated by people who used to live in Cardiff and there was ... read more
