UK 3: Caerdydd (Wales) back to London (via Lincolnshire)

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Caerdydd (Wales) to London via Lincoln

Overview

This commentary describes the last 10 days in our month long journey - that part of the journey from Wales to London via the Midlands, Lincolnshire, and Oxfordshire. As we’d explained in our previous two ‘travelogues’, (1st) we’d arrived at Stansted Airport and travelled to Cambridge for a couple of days, before collecting a car and heading north-east to Norwich via Ely - after which we turned south to London, and (2nd), travelled on via Wiltshire (the Cotswolds), Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Gloucestershire to Wales.

This segment of our journey takes us from Caerdydd (Cardiff), across the 'top' of the range - the Brecon Beacons NP - through mid-Wales, into Herefordshire - the English Midlands - centring on Birmingham. We then travelled through various Midland counties to Lincolnshire. After a sojourn at Lincoln, we headed for Oxford (in Oxfordshire), and finally (back) into London (sadly, for our return home).

As always, if you want to 'see' more detail in an accompanying picture,
click it to enlarge.

Day 20 + 21 (Saturday & Sunday)

Yesterday (Friday, 13th November) was our 39th wedding anniversary, and we’d found a ‘romantic’ B&B in a woodsie place, with a 2 rosette restaurant (near Monmouth, in Wales). The dinner was great, the accommodation began wonderfully. The night was wild and woolly, just right for being close. We’d eaten well, and we slept well. Sadly, when we awoke, there was no hot water. Mmmmm…. We figured that we had the best of the place for our anniversary, and this was the next day!!!

Our (ex) neighbours {from 16 Carlyle} had moved to Swansea and so this was our next ‘destination’. We drove from Monmouth to Swansea to spend Saturday and Sunday with our friends, and the time in one place with hospitable friends was greatly appreciated. Though the weather was foul, not having to worry about it was also good. On the Sunday pm, we drove to the Mumbles (near Swansea) and gained a perspective of Welsh ’life’.

We had a chuckle in Swansea. Every place has a large shopping centre (usually) with a memorable sort of name. Swansea is no different, with one prominent centre named Salubrious Place.

Day 22 (Monday)

We faced a major issue - we’d planned to explore Wales, but the weather forecast for the remainder of the week was bleak. The TV weather map suggested that the south east (centred around London) was to be patchy sun. So, we decided to forego exploring Wales.

We left Swansea and headed for Cardiff. We’d passed Cardiff on our way to Swansea, and had also read of the massive refurbishment over the past decade. Though much bigger than Swansea, we still found it like a big town. Like many towns/cities on the Welsh coast, Cardiff ’emerged’ in the 19th century as an exporter of coal (to England and further). After WW2, Welsh coal was uneconomic, and these cities fell into despair. To put life back into the city, Cardiff had money invested from late 20th century to ‘renew’ rustbelt suburbs, and hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2004. Lots of money has been spent, but we didn‘t find a lot of ‘public space‘ as a consequence. Instead, there are numerous ‘venues’, not only for sport, but also the arts. We wondered how the ‘events’ structure would on the one hand assist the local economy, and on the other be afforded by locals (on limited incomes).

We wanted to explore Cardiff Castle - apparently a hotchpotch of castle buildings built over time - but the car parking was too steep (2 quid an hour ) and couldn’t find the park-n-ride ‘station’.

We headed north via Pontypridd past fairytale looking castles towards the Brecon Beacon Nat Pk. We stopped for a cuppa and ’comfort’ stop (as the poms call it - ie - bladder relief). This had been a coal producer, and the signs of decline were markedly evident throughout the city/community. We found the Brecon Beacon NP landscape to be rugged, and scenically attractive (despite the periodic rain). We stopped at Brecon to wander around. Here, the whole town had ‘emerged‘ around the (central) church and the streetscape reflected those early times - ie crooked, narrow streets, with no ‘throughput’ sensibility. We thus realised why the town had been long ago by-passed by the ‘through’ highway.

Continuing on, we headed (back) towards England, towards Hereford (via the idyllically and beautifully scenic Wye river valley) and then onto Leominster. Intermittent breaks in the bleak weather, coupled to the rolling green fields and huge autumnally golden Oak trees created an expansive feeling. While we ‘put up’ with the weather, we later leant that in nearby Cumbria, floods were developing; with over 300mm of rain, residents had their homes flooded in what has been termed a 1 in 1000 year event.

With the day fast closing, we secured a forgettable B&B at Bewdley (near Birmingham).

Day 23 (Tuesday)

We awoke to a clearish sky, and headed to nearby Birmingham. We found a park-n-ride stop and joined a quaint local train into the city of Birmingham. We were pleasantly surprised at Birmingham city. Again, the centre is pedestrianised, but here the ‘high street’ is linked to the major department store shopping complex (Bull Ring) in such a way that retailing is seamless. And, the retailing abuts the arts precinct, which abuts dockside (a canal system runs through the centre of the city).

After departing Birmingham, and travelling on the elevated motorways, we really noticed the ’industrial’ landscape. Judy also noticed that unlike most places we’d visited, there were no apparent church spires. We put it down to the fact that (like most industry cities), the WW2 bombings must’ve demolished more than factories.

Adding to the ‘Birmingham’ experience, the mood expressed by those in the city appeared quite different to the various other places we’d visited. To date, we’d experienced (1) cities with their own identity but also accommodating tourists and there was a pleasant welcoming ’feel’. We’d visited cities in agricultural areas that didn’t have a big tourist ’agenda’, and though still welcoming, it was a different ’feel’. Then, there were the many many villages and towns, all with a cheerful disposition. Birmingham was more like an Australian city in that those we experienced seemed to be just getting on with their lives. It was not that the place was uncivil (it was no less than other places), rather, that the fell was about ’doing the job’.

We used the motorways to move speedily across the landscape to Lincolnshire. We were torn with dropping in to visit Leister and Nottingham (possibly because of the Robin Hood association), but decided to by-pass these places. We headed towards Lincoln, and along the way stopped off at Newark-on-Trent. Newark surprised us. We’d not read anything (or heard)) on the place, but it was delightful.


As we learned, Lincolnshire is not on the main tourist ’trail’. That said, so are many other places we visited. But, the ’attractions’ in Newark were equal to many of the other places we’d visited. It had a ruined castle, it had a delightful canal system, beautiful parks, and lovely quaint shops/buildings. If it wasn’t for the fact that there was no reasonably priced B&B’s, we’d have stayed here. As it was, we secured a B&B in Lincoln and latish in the day drove the half hour to there.

Day 24 (Wednesday)

The day opened up just as cold and a little greyish, but when on an adventure, one makes the most of whatever. We’d ‘listed’ the cathedral and castle site as destinations. Both these are perched on the top of a hill like a pimple on the surrounding plains, and are visible for miles. The cathedral was the first stop, and as rain began, we ventured inside. This is a massive edifice, and was commenced some 800 years ago (with the Norman section still dominant). What differentiated this cathedral was the lack of clutter. Most cathedrals have tombs, bearer flags, and all sorts of paraphernalia on walls and scattered throughout the nave. While these artefacts are of major interest, and in part flavour the history of a cathedral, the lack of such adornments made this cathedral feel sort of more ’pure’ (if you can understand that logic). The feeling we gained was that this cathedral had an honesty ; meaning that the elders of the past appeared not to have to adhere to the wishes of the wealthy to pursue their religious faith. Another aspect of this cathedral is that it has the 12 stations of the cross displayed (the first we’d seen in CofE churches - that had once been Catholic). Suffice to say we spent more time here than we anticipated.

When we ’emerged’, the rain had stopped but the day was still cold. Instead of exploring the castle (much would have been outside) we ventured down the hill to the town centre. Here, the High Street was a pedestrianised area, but the buildings looked like they’d been there for centuries. As well, the High Street bisected the original walls (with gatehouses, etc.), and is actually situated on the old Roman road that went through the town. And, we discovered, there is still a fully used (Elizabethan) building sitting on the archway bridge over the canal. All in all, we liked Lincoln, we liked the mood of the place, and stayed another night.

Day 23 (Thursday)

Though we decided to head towards Oxford (to take a peek and contrast against Cambridge), Bruce had had a ‘re-infection’ of his cold/flu and felt antibiotics were desirable. The NHS ’drop in centre’ was far better than we’d surmised from media reports. ”If this is bad, the past service must have been fantastic” From our experience, and if this is ‘typical’ Australia has much to learn about enhancing its community based healthcare delivery.

We later drove southwards, taking in villages and sights along the way. As this region is a high quality agricultural grazing region, the estate houses are particularly grand opulent. Two that are totally over-the-top in opulence are Belton House and Burghley House. Each is amazingly huge, and would humble any residence building in Australia - All the government Houses rolled into one building would still be substantially inferior to Burghley House. The scale is beyond comprehension. Even so, the ‘support’ town to Burghley House (Stamford) comprises some substantial houses as well.

We booked a B&B between Bedford & Milton Keynes, and had the most sumptuous comfortable bed. On reflection, we should have asked where they bought it!!!

An interesting side issue here was our frustration at trying to find this B&B. We’d been using a published B&B book (AA), and for each entry, there is a short spiel describing how to find the place. Some B&B owners must speak our language, as they are easy to find, some offer less than satisfactory information. In this case, the directions were less than adequate, and the nearby main road was under major repair meaning that many of the local roads had been blocked. Be assured that finding accommodation in fading light or the dark has its perils.

Day 24 (Friday)

We parked our car at a ‘Park’n’Ride’ and went to ‘discover’ Oxford. The day had started with a huge downpour, but had improved to a sunny (but cold) day. With Lonely Planet in hand, we went searching the iconic buildings and getting a flavour of the city. Like Cambridge, it is a university town. But, unlike Cambridge, the university ‘colleges’ are jam-packed beside each other and there appears an intense competition for space. Where the colleges in Cambridge were surrounded by parkland/greenspace, not so Oxford. Where the tourist was somewhat welcomed in Cambridge, they are very much ostracised in Oxford. That said, we still made the most of the opportunities. The city has a nice botanical gardens (due to Banks), and they were a delight for walking in the mid afternoon sun.

We took our leave of Oxford and headed a bit further south to Wallingford - an old walled town - to our B&B (Oxford B&B prices are steep). We travelled in late afternoon sun down the Thames valley, and appreciated the tranquil pastoral scenery.

Day 25 (Saturday)

The mob we’d secured the car from couldn’t arrange to pick up on the Sunday (or post noon on the Saturday), so we agreed to deliver the car to their London storage yard before noon on the Saturday. Having achieved that, we took a train to Paddington Station, and walked to our accommodation in Bayswater. The accommodation was in a Georgian 5 story terrace’, and we were given a room on the top floor. With narrow stairs, we gained a perspective of London suburban ’life’. We deposited our ’gear’ and headed out - first getting a cuppa - and then walking across Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens (they are massive), past the eye-boggling Albert Memorial, the huge Royal Albert Hall, Buckingham Palace, the (newish) Australian War Memorial, and onto Trafalgar Square. We were unprepared for the size and scale of these ’attractions’. Despite the (now) rain, the atmosphere at Trafalgar Square was like a huge public party.

We sought refuge from the rain at St Martins-in-the-Field, and stumbled upon the English Choir practicing for a concert that evening. We learned some seats were still available, and secured two.

We then headed to the National Gallery (it was now cold, dark and wet), more to be warm than anything else. That said, we were still interested in the art. Again, the sheer scale of paintings by renowned masters was bewildering. Michealangelo, Titan, Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet, etc., etc., but not just ’one’ example, but more than one could fathom. While the display was a veritable feast, we also lamented that lack of time to view works by masters we’d not encountered in Australian galleries. Closing time at 6pm meant an hour till ’entry’ at St martins-in-the-fields. We had a most delightful meal at the Gallery Café, and then wandered across the road to the Concert.

The choir was incredibly well practiced, and the sound immensely pleasurable. We were dumbstruck that a church building had such magnificent acoustics. Given the last minute purchase, we were perched up high. Nevertheless, the voices of the soprano and tenor (leads) danced around the hall and made Mozart’s Requiem so light in disposition (via cd it’s usually a heavy piece). The highlight was Purcell’s “Chorus from Bright Cecelia”. We’d not heard it before, and were enchanted. A quick underground train trip to Bayswater made the evening just ‘so easy’.

Day 26 (Sunday)

Knowing we had a late flight departure, we packed our bags and left them with the ‘hotel’. We bought an ‘all day’ rail pass, and off we went. It was again a wet, cold day, but we did our best to see some of the other ‘attractions’. We got to Parliament station and went across Westminster Bridge to take a look at Big Ben (etc.). So strong was the cold wind, we felt like we’d soon nearly get blown into the river!! We tried some other sites, but gave up. Instead we went window shopping at Knightsbridge. Judy was particularly taken with the atmosphere of Brompton Rd, Harrods, and could easily purchased some designer gear from Harvey Nichols (fortunately, with no baggage space to spare, the A$1000 price tags weren’t really a problem).

We returned to Bayswater, grabbed our gear and headed to Victoria station to depart the UK.

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There have been so many highlights of our holiday - too many to recount. But, what really impressed us was the civility of the UK people we encountered, the friendliness, and the apparent honest interest in us as people. We found this to be a major contrast to the (current) Australian attitude of self interest. Above all, the civility and friendliness was a major highlight.



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ps




We also wrote up our next journey on Travelblog.org

You can move to our next 'journey' by scrolling back to the top and 'clicking' on NEXT.




Alternatively, link to ...

http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-482000.html

😊

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Photos

National Gallery - London
Overlooking Trafalgar Square

English period house
Showing the various contributions over time

Birmingham canal
Through the centre of the city

Castle ruins
Off the tourist 'trail' at Newark-on-Trent

Canal @ Lincoln
This canal runs through the heart of Lincoln, and the building on te bridge is still occupied as a shop & for accommodation.

Burghley House
So, this is where the wealth goes...