Wales

Europe » United Kingdom » Wales
November 29th 2009

Published: November 29th 2009

Edit Blog Post

BBBOE

Haresfield, Gloucester

It was coming up to my birthday in mid June and we had planned to visit Juliana and Steve in Cardiff - she was not able to make it to the party in July as she was working that weekend and, additionally, it was her birthday a few days before mine so two good reasons to visit. We had already arranged to take our friends Sue and Les to catch their plane back to NZ on the Thursday so we stayed (once again!!!!!) the night with FVV in London and set off for Cardiff on the Friday - which was my actual birthday. On the way we detoured through Gloucester and the village of Haresfield where we found the house Wendy’s Dad had been born in 1900 - although it had been added to over the years it was recognisable from the descriptions and a photo she had. Unfortunately the owner was not home so we didn’t get any further than the front gate. We also visited the nearby market town of Cirencester which Dad had talked about visiting when he was a lad - quite amazing when you think it was nearly 90 years ago that he left to come

Cardiff Bay Area

Extensively redeveloped this area is a fantastic window to the city.

to New Zealand.
Jules had taken the afternoon off work so was home when we arrived - complete with candles on a cake and a lovely Welsh woollen rug as my present - thanks Jules !! She and Steve very kindly took us out to dinner and drinks in the down-town Bay area - which was just an excellent way to spend a birthday - and over the weekend we were shown some of the sights around Cardiff. Very nice having your own personal guide. A Ferry trip took us to the sea-wall which encloses the Bay and we walked across the locks which let the boats in and out - no longer a commercial port, the whole area has been re-developed as a recreational and retail centre and impressed us as the showpiece of a very “go-ahead” city. We went to the Open-Air Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagan’s for a brief visit - the workers Cottages were set up as they would have been in successive periods so it was a walk through history from one end to the other. Most interesting. On the Sunday Jules took us out onto the Gower Peninsular - we walked on

Outdoor Museum

Steve, Jules and Wendy in front of the row of Miners' cottages showing the changing way of living through the last 200 years.

the wharf at Mumbles, walked out to Worms Head to watch the tide uncover the causeway out to the island then drove back a bit and had our Picnic lunch on the beach at Oxwich (where these Kiwis with their “English tan” managed to get a bit sun-burnt!!). On the way back to Cardiff we stopped for a walk around a large discount shopping centre - where we managed to get all the way round and back to the car without buying anything!
While the others were at work on the Monday we managed to take ourselves off on a bus to town and back. We walked past Cardiff Castle which was right in the middle of the city and so very impressive - it had been re-developed in the 19th century as a Victorian Mansion so still had that “lived-in” feeling. We also drove out a little to do some exploring on our own and visited Caerphilly where we walked around the castle - also in the town but separated by the moat and earthworks, it didn’t have any feeling of being lived in at all.
The weekend visit to Cardiff with Jules and Steve was very relaxing and

Big Wheel at Big Pit

just great to catch up as we hadn’t seen them for about a year.
We left on Tuesday morning and made our way to the Hostel in Brecon - not actually very far but we detoured a bit and visited the Big Pit Coal mine, the second-hand-book capital of Hay-on-Wye and also managed to find part of the canal route Wendy had taken on her 1995 trip. So it was a full day and we were glad to find the hostel.
The Big Pit near Blaenavon was a working mine until 1980 and when it closed it was made into a living museum - and part of the National Coal Museum in 2001. We were kitted out with helmets and headlamps before descending 90 metres to the underground display where we could see the working conditions of the miners 100 years ago, very well explained by the guide who had been one of the miners working there before it closed. We thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend a visit, especially as, like all national museums, there is no admittance charge (however they still managed to get some money from us in the shop - post-cards and a fridge magnet!!).
Wendy was

Hay-on-Wye

Searching for a bargain?

very excited to be near some parts the canal where she had enjoyed her first Narrow-Boat trip (in 1995!). After a few false turns we managed to find a village where we could park and go for a walk - after picking up a fish-and-chips lunch - along part of the canal. It was very peaceful and, for me, great to see at least part of the view I had been hearing so much about for the last 13 years!
Hay-on-Wye is a charming town (more especially so as we managed to find a free parking space!) and we wandered in and out of several of the 2nd-hand book shops. Including the honesty-box one by the castle which consists of book-laden shelving units propped against the walls of the lower garden - needless to say both the shelves and books were weather-affected and had seen better days (which didn’t stop someone bagging a couple of bargains anyway!).
The YHA Hostel at Brecon is out in the country-side so it was a good thing we had the TomTom to guide us. A walk around the town took us to the head of the canal which had been much developed since 1995

Brecon Canal Basin

Much improved since Wendy was there in 1995.

so was a pleasant visit for Wendy - another nice walk along the canal finished the day off nicely.
Our next two nights were at the hostel at Betws-y-Coed - actually a little out of town at Swallow Falls where the hostel is part of a complex providing hotel rooms, hostel facilities, cabins and camping areas. We drove directly up the coast and didn’t stop much as the weather was quite wet and miserable - but over the couple of days we were in the area we did manage to get to some places between showers. The grand Folly of Portmerion was well worth the visit and we made a fleeting stop at Harlech but the best visit had to have been the Mountain Railroad journey to the top of Mt Snowdon. We also managed to fit in a visit to the Llechwedd Slate Caverns as well an hour at the Llanberis Slate Museum while we waited for our ride up the mountain. Despite the sometimes inclement weather we managed to fit a lot into the two days!!
Portmerion, an Italianate village on a private peninsula at the top of Cardigan Bay, was created by Welsh architect Sir

Portmerion

A little piece of Italy in Wales.

Clough Williams-Ellis (1883 - 1978). He fulfilled a childhood dream by building a village “to my own fancy on my own chosen site”. It is very colourful and as different from the usual square grey villages as you are likely to find anywhere in Wales! Harlech was a quick dash into the shop to buy the usual and we were again dodging the rain as we waited for our turn on the steep incline railway down into the Slate Caverns at Llechwedd. These were very interesting and well set up for the visitors with information and mock-ups at each of the chambers before being directed to the next. Oh yes - it was also very dark and black! We had managed to book our train to Mt Snowdon for the 3pm journey and just had enough time to fit in a visit to the nearby Slate Museum - Wendy decided to visit the Hospital while I went around the workshops and mining displays. I saw some nice machinery but Wendy decided she was very glad not to have been ill 100 years ago!!
The journey up Mt Snowdon was just amazing and easily the highlight of the day. The

Steam Power

"I think I can, I think I can . . I KNEW I could" said the little Red (well, black actually) Engine. Just as well as it would have been a long and cold walk!

single track cogged railway has two places partway up where trains can pass and there are 3 steam engines and 3 diesel - we were in the carriage directly behind the engine (well, in front actually as the engine was, sensibly, on the downhill end of the train) so very close to the steam and smoke! As we made our way up the view was brilliant - across the valley to abandoned crofters cottages and down the valley onto the road far below. Then, about ¾ of the way up we were into the cloud and mist which did not let up until we were on the way down again. However, the new visitors centre was a very welcome stop for ½ an hour or so - recently completed it had been opened only 6 days before. The summit is a couple of minutes walk from the door and, with the cold and wet mist swirling around us we got as far as the last steps and decided that was far enough!! We were lucky not to get caught in the freezing rain which came through at the same time and very happy to just wait inside until it was

Summit Mt Snowdon

Cold, damp, windy . . we decided the last 5 metres or so to the actual summit (just out of the top of the pic) just wasn't worth it. Besides, all the other tourists had got there first and it was a bit crowded.

time to board and return to the bottom. It was certainly an experience we will not forget and, who knows, if we are in the area again when the weather is clear . . . ?
We left on the Friday to come home and I think the overriding impression of this area is that everywhere bears the mark of man - the holes dug in the hills to get to what lay beneath and the great mounds of rubble dumped anywhere convenient at the time bear silent testimony to the centuries of activity.
We called at the charming town of Conwy where we walked around the Castle and found the Smallest House in Britain - so small it was declared unfit for habitation many years ago and is now a curiosity and tourist attraction. Back in England once again we spent a little time walking around Chester - we saw the Roman amphitheatre, marvelled at all of the black and white half timbered buildings and were entertained by the Town Crier.
And then we were home again (for a while) getting ready for the next adventure.

Additional photos below

Photos: 27, Displayed: 27