Sorry for the long time in between posts!
Chester
We'd love to share Chester with you, but it would take forever - suffice to say it was awesome! With its history since 43AD alive in every aspect of town, it is an historian's dream town. The Romans arrived in 43AD and walled the city to protect it against the Welsh. In fact, the port of Chester was, for centuries, the main port of that part of the UK - and it was only because a mill owner built a weir across the river - which made it silt up - that Liverpool became a major port! The Saxons came next, and we visited a church or two built by them; then came the Vikings who left their mark. The Tudors and then the English civil war also has direct impacts - it was just SEETHING with history. We spent nearly 6 hours doing the self-directed 4k walk around the city! We would have loved to stay the night at a little place called the Albion hotel - it boasted it was family hostile and pub crawls and hens nights were not welcome - the decor gave us the feeling we had just walked into 1942 - with the all the WWII posters, photos and memorabilia on the wall, as well as the decor being authentic it was a wonderful piece of history in itself.
Caernafon
We left Chester for Caernarfon about 630pm - and it took about 2.5 hrs through the beautiful Snowdonia to get there. Poor Renoir was driving straight into the sun - and had to deal with the light going from full on to complete shade with no chance to adjust - it was a challenge. We arrived in Caernarfon thinking we'd missed dinner but thankfully the Travelodge was situated at the newly developed docks area, so as well as being treated to a spectacular sunset, we had a wonderful meal and well earned drink (or three)!
We spent the next day (weather started out miserable but became glorious in the evening) exploring the city, starting with the castle, which has been wonderfully restored. It contains a couple of really well-laid out and informative museums, one of the history of the castle and one of the Welsh Fusiliers - and of course we had some photos taken of, and with, the Tardis which has been positioned beautifully in the castle's Queen's Gate!
Dinner was good, old fashioned home made food at the Anglesy pub right on the water - me: lamb shanks with mashed spuds and minted peas, Renoir had a beef ad ale suet pudding - it looked and smelt fabulous. Then we were treated to a performance of Morris Dancing - it really is a slightly bizarre ritual, the dancers were good and clearly having a lot of fun, which is kinda catchy. And then a reasonably early night so we could do the trip to Shrewsbury.
Shrewsbury
The weather was cool and lovely with the drive to Shrewsbury. We stopped just twice - the first stop was in a place called "The Ugly House" - and it was! The guide gave us the wonderful story of two brothers who had built the house in accordance with the rules wicked overlord had instigated - a house could only be built if it could be erected in one night. So, the legend goes, the lads built their house in one night - choosing the shortest day in the year! Of course it's a myth, but beautifully delivered and we really enjoyed the story telling. Then a short stop in a holiday town which was ridiculously crowded with all those out adventuring in Snowdonia - hiking, camping, cycling, holiday motoring with their caravans or mobile homes; simply crawling with folks. Unfortunately we had passed a nasty car accident and clearly the car was a write-off, but fortunately everyone seemed to be walking and, although upset, safe and uninjured.
We got stuck behind a truck along a one lane road for about an hour - there's not much you can do in those cases but put on the radio and sit back and enjoy the scenery! Then, as soon as we crossed the border into Shropshire, the heavens opened. By the time we drove into Shrewsbury, about 430pm on a Friday afternoon, it was almost too thick to see through the rain - and then we saw it; a pub with a sign - Vacancies, free wifi, parking - three of our boxes ticked! In we drove and grabbed the last room and settled in for the evening. Good food, comfy bed, a drink or three and we took the night off - and just as well, it bucketed down for hours!
We were there, unplanned, for the 400th anniversary of the battle between Henry IV and Percy Hotspur - so moseyed up to the medieval re-enactment. The first thing we did was assist a man who managed to break his arm while jousting - not through the activity itself, but falling badly. He looked so pale, grey and sweaty poor chap, he was in a lot of pain. His chain mail alone, which Renoir had carried to the car, weighed about 30 kilos, and left some interesting indentations on Renoir's arm on the way! The re-enactment was not the battle itself, more a demonstration of how people lived at the time - from wood working, to jousting, to cooking. There was also a wonderful falconry centre - just starting out so they had only about 30 birds - but they were beautiful - and funnily enough, small world hits again - the daughter of the couple who owned the falconry centre have a daughter living in Caloundra with her vet husband!
A delicous lunch and a wander through the history of the battle and then back into Shrewsbury to do a bit of Cadfael history at the Shrewsbury abbey until we hit the road to Cheltenham.
Cheltenham
The Travelodge is usually really easy to find - it's always next to some major infrastructure, it might be a services with petrol station and roadside diners, or a major supermarket chain. Cheltenham was a little different, and not on the road on which we came into the city - but find it we did, and it was next to a Harvester restaurant - kind of like a Sizzler.
Before leaving Shrewsbury we had picked up a bit of cheese and cold meat, and a bottle or two and stayed in that night - we were exhausted, so watched a bit of TV and had an early night - but not before enjoying a Columbo episode starring Billy Connelly as the bad guy!
The next day we drove out to the International Centre for Birds of Prey at Newent. This centre was very different to the one at Shrewsbury - they have been in business for many decades, and have about 100 birds including a Secretary bird from Africa, buzzards, vultures, eagles, owls, falcons, kestrels and others. We were lucky enough to be there for two flight demonstrations - the end of one and a full one about an hour later. It is so wonderful to see these magnificent birds behave as they would in the wild - the falcons flying high, high, high, almost invisible against the clouds, the swooping for the lure. My favourite is the Eurasian Eagle Owl - they stand up to about my knee, have brilliant orange eyes and fabulous feathered coats.
The next day we explored a lovely little town called Winchcombe not far from Cheltenham. Another dripping with history (well I guess I shouldn't be surprised, the UK is one huge historical theme park!) with Katherine Parr, HenryVIII last - and surviving wife - lived in the nearby castle, and Elizabeth I went to live with her after Henry's death. We visitetd the local church and were treated to a tour with a couple of wardens. Unlike many churches that feel all style and little substance, like the cathedral in Chester (which was exceedingly beautiful but didn't have much of a feeling of community) - it had a wonderful feeling of being very much at the centre of religious life in the current community. It also had, under wraps, an original tapestry worked on by Catherine of Aragon. How it still survives after 500 years is a true miracle!
That night we had a lovely catch up with Renoir's cousin Christine and her husband Jim at a gorgeous little local pub (they live in Gloucester, the next town along from Cheltenham). Gotta love those lamb shanks ! And Renoir licked his lips when he found there was calves liver and bacon on the menu! We felt very selfish, but it was lovely to have the time with them on our own - Christine and Renoir had a grand time sharing family stories - some they were reliving and some they were sharing for the very first time.
High Wycombe
Next on the itinerary was High Wycombe - well a little town close by. Sandra and Neale, friends of Renoir's for many years, had invited us to stay a couple of nights and we were looking forward to catching up with them and staying in a home! Unfortunately, Neale's presence was required in Italy, and we missed seeing him, but Sandra (and Tuj, their highly enthusiastically friendly Rhodesian Ridgeback) were very welcoming. Sandra had plans for the day, and asked us to arrive after 6pm (Sandra and Neale live on the military base, so we can't just lob in, but need to be escorted). So on the way, we stopped at a pretty little pub about lunch time called the Inn for All Seasons. Have I mentioned how FABULOUS the pubs are across this land? This equalled the Shoulder of Mutton in Middleton Tyas. The food was spectacular - it's a 2-generation owned pub and their chef is truly a maestro. Just telling you what we had won't do it justice - but imagine a smooth duck liver pate, with a sauterne jelly crushed across the top of the plate with home made brioche to accompany it. Imagine scallops and bacon, with rocket and halved quail eggs, smooth and smoky, topped with a sprinkle of virgin olive oil! mmmmmmmm! And joining us for lunch at this little road side treasure was none other than Sir Anthony Hopkins. True! Well not at our table, but at the next one. No-one could miss that marvellous voice. He was with a small group of five - apparently they had filmed nearby at some stage and had wanted to try the pub. There were only a few people in the pub, and only one person asked for his autograph - we chose to let the man have his lunch in peace - but it was a lovely little brush with fame!
Sandra guessed quite rightly that we were a bit shattered from travelling, so we had a lovely cruisey evening, with a late dinner in their enormous garden. A good sleep in a wonderfully soft bed, with hand made quilts made us feel very spoilt. and a cruisy day the next day, it was overcast and cool, so it wasn't hard to take time out to update administrivia! Sandra, Tuj and Renoir went for a walk, and Renoir turned his ankle again, it looked pretty painful, but he insisted he could walk on it. That night we took Sandra to the local pub as a thank you for her hospitality (we even got to do a bit of washing for which we were awfully grateful - only so much can be done in the shower!). The weather had turned into a lovely gentle evening, warm but not hot, and with a soft breeze, the English twilight and a good pub meal made for a delightful evening.
Next day we took off about 930am, intending to drive straight to Stratford Upon Avon. But we got waylaid by a little tourist attraction in West Wycombe called 'Hellfire Cave" and yes, this was the location of the original Hellfire Club!
More later....!
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