Blogs from Ludlow, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Last night was a special treat. Many of us went on the optional dinner and entertainment excursion; it was wonderful. We took a short bus trip from the hotel to the Welsh cultural center, the Millennium Center, the home of the Welsh Opera, restaurants, and other entertainment options. It is located right on the old Cardiff docks and was amazing in design. The evening began with a taste of Meade, an alcoholic beverage based on honey and developed by monks. It was sweet and delicious. Our hostess sat us right near the stage so our view of the entertainment would be excellent. The tables were set with red and white wines complimentary of the house. We were given a number of options for dinner. I chose the salmon appetizer, the beef dinner, and the chocolate cake ... read more

To continue, we, left Cardiff and drove along the beautiful Wye Valley stopping to view the ruins of Tintern Abbey. We then crossed the Welsh Marches At Hereford to visit the Tudor market town of Ludlow in Shopshire. I had lunch here with a local couple in the town square, it was market day, they had a lot of questions about Canada. From there we went to Chester for a walking tour of the medieval city walls, the cathedral and the Tudor Rows. It's pretty cool to think you are walking on the same walls king Richard did. Our travels today ended in Liverpool, we were joined by a local expert who told us tales of the Beatles and other artists part of the Merseybeat as we toured through the city. We made a stop at ... read more

Well, Saturday was an excellent training day where we managed to get three of our 5 riders together for a 40+ miler around the Shropshire countryside. We started at Tenbury Wells at 10:30 and headed to Ludlow, about 10 miles over lovely rolling English countryside. Lots of short steep hills! Very good Interval training :-) From Ludlow, we then headed West up Whitcliffe Road, which is a lovely long hill climb (separates the men from the boys), then descended into the next valley before heading to Leintwardine. In Leintwardine we stopped for lunch at the Sun Inn and received an excellent welcome from the staff and locals. If anyone is ever in the area, I would recommend a stop there. The local ales were excellent and the Venison burgers were to die for, as were the ... read more

....we leave soon and are now on countdown to departure. Everything is in place, the housesitters, the worksitters, the horsesitters and every other sitter you can think of. More people at home than normal! This little blog is a tester....test test test........will we all be able to see it, will we be able to read it and more importantly will we understand it? Photos to upload and location to log - so much to remember, so much to do........ Be back soon............. read more

Hi Folks Writing this looking out over the forecasters idea of a light shower - it is cold, wet and windy. Planned bike ride has been ditched and will drive to Leominster (about ten miles) as that has yet to be signed off ! (I am typing this in their library !!!!!). Aplogees for spells / grammmar 'cos no way to check stufff. Finally moved from Herefordshire last Wed - a miserable day. Cold, wet and windy - perhaps Wednesday is always like that in these parts .... Setting up camp in such conditions is not fun but eventually I was settled into my new home. This is a half acre field on a farm just south of Ludlow (Shropshire). What is known as a 'certificated site' - ie it is not a CACC club site ... read more