Day 34. Llangollen to London

The Navigator – Navigating on a train, she knows exactly where it’s going!

Before we leave Wales thus morning I’ll give you a few reflections.

Thoughts on Southern England;

1. Accents are very clipped, very posh

2. Driving is ok, less narrow roads than Wales but drivers more aggressive.

3. People friendly but not as friendly as Wales

4. The scenery is pretty, very organised farms, neat hedgerows, a few tractors on the roads. The Cotswalds are so pretty, we could have spent more time in this area. We saw a documentary with now King Charles and Pam Eyre’s the poet at one of his houses Highgrove House which we missed. Could spend more time in this area.

Thoughts on Wales;

1. Drivers very patient, courteous, despite the odd Pembrokeshire wave and scary skinny roads that can cause a little stress. But, try and be clear where you are going, opportunities to turn around are often very limited. A clear Navigator or navigation tool is essential. Oh nearly forgot, everything here is miles per hour, not km per hour

2. Welsh people are very friendly, easy going and helpfully. We found it this way North and South

3. Wales is more beautiful than I imagined. I had a picture in my mind of smoke filled valleys, and crumbling villages, poor depressed people, however, it’s a diverse landscape, stone buildings, history from Roman times to the Norman invasion of 1066 to WWII history, farming country, grazing country, wild mountains devoid of trees, mountains and valleys with forests, wild streams and waterfalls, and a positive outlook and people proud of their country. I was more than impressed.

4. So much activity options here, outdoor adventure stuff, climbing, hiking, white water canoeing, cycling, motor cycling, trains, canal boats that can go all the way to London in about 6 days.

5. It’s all so close compared to what we are used to. From Chester to London on the express ways is about 4 1/2 hours drive, we chose to pay for a no return car hire and take the train. The Mercedes 200E station wagon has been brilliant but I’m done with driving and glad to be back on a train.

6. There are lots of tractors on the roads, even in close to the city centre of Chester.

7. Dogs. Almost everyone has a dog🐕 in Southern England and Wales. They take them into shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs, anywhere they can. Now I’m mostly Ok with dogs, but they are dogs, not children, and mostly we don’t let our children piss on every corner wall, potplant or post they see. Almost every corner of a building, a fence, or post has a little straw coloured puddle trickling down the footpath, although they do mostly pick up the solids I know they can’t do anything about the piddle, but that doesn’t make me feel happy about it. Just a comment after something I heard on a tv show, I noticea lot of the owners look like their dog’s, or vice versa, at least thats what I think, could be wrong. Ok, I’ve had my say.

Now to today’s travel. Early rise, for me anyway. Fuel up in Llangollen, the tyre hose is out of order so we can’t top the two drivers side tyres up that are showing a bit down on the sensor. The drive to Chester is good until we hit a traffic jam about 8 miles out then it’s slow into town and Europcar at Chester. The car is handed over, no problems that we are aware of, they organise a taxi for us to get to the Chester train station.

We are on a 10:55 from Chester to Crewe where we change on a fast train with allocated seats to London’s Euston Station. Then we are getting a taxi ( too hard on the Tube with our bags) to Earl’s Court where are booked into No. 1 The Mansions where we have stayed before, great location near the train station and lovely accomodation.

Six quid for our taxi ride to Chester Station and our young Bulgarian taxi driver squeezes the bags in better than we thought. A coffee, croissants and catch our breath before the small train to Crewe, it’s a diesel, fires up like a truck, not many passengers a we fang through the now English countryside to our next stop.

11:43 train is delayed a bit but about 11:50 it comes in. It’s very full, our seats are scattered, it’s hard to get our bags located, spaces are full but we manage. The Navigator has a red shopping bag which I foolishly volunteer to carry, as I put it up on the rack a bottle of Pepsi I didn’t know she had in there falls out onto a blokes head sitting in the seat below. How to make friends and influence people on a train!

I’m sitting in a 4 seat table, 1 young bloke and his computer probably doing ridiculous PDP’s or some other inane performance review process, he’s in a tie so clearly feels he’s important. Opposite me is a middle aged couple reading books the whole way. Noone speaks, the couple don’t even talk to each other, so f… them, I find the blues playlist on my phone, it fills the 2 hours train ride London.

We’re in London by about 1.30, Euston Station is big but we find a cab pretty quickly, he fitts us and our bags in and quietly takes off in the almost silent black cab – its electric. What a good idea!

We check in at No 1 The Mansions at Earls Court where we have a 2 bedroom apartment booked, we can’t get in until 4 so we head up to a pub up Earls Court Tube Station for a late lunch and an ale. A top up of our Tube Oyster Cards, bit of shopping at Marks Spencer for breakfast, then we move into our apartment. They say its on the 6th floor but the lift only goes to 5, conf…fusing, then it makes sense, go to the 5th floor then up a set of steps to the 6th floor. Next try to configure our phones so they open the front door and our room with the app, some get it sorted easy and sme don’t BUT we get it done. There were some people with eastern European accents at the lift when we were coming up, a bit rude and a bit ignorant, don’t know where they come from but for they should lighten up or bugger off home I reckon. Maybe its just been a long day?

Not sure what everyone else is doing tomorrow but I think I’m having an easy day, maybe the Tate Modern Gallery, maybe a look around the shops, dunno.

Cheerio from London – Pauolo

Travel

Day 33. Wales – Llangollen, Chester & Trevor

Today its a slow start, a bit of a plan but we’re keeping it pretty fluid. We bought a few supplies at a SPAR store in Llangollen so we have muesli and toast and a cup of tea in the apartment for breakfast.

The car is still where we parked it so its either fairly crime free or the car is hard to steal. Off we go to the “Red Dragons” aka Chester Association Football Club for Liz to buy some merchandise. Its a busy shop for a low level professional club but the staff are friendly and helpfull. We can’t get to see inside the stadium which is a shame but hey if I’m a Wests Tigers supporter I could be a “Red Dragons” supporter, maybe?

Next we drive into Europcar in Chester to check where it is and about transport to the Chester train station in the morning, that gets sorted but more importantly they don’t have a toilet ( I’m bursting ) well I guess they do have a toilet but they don’t let customers use it. Next stop is Chester Train station to check our tickets for London tomorrow, for me I go straight to the loo and The Navigator sorts out the logistics. By the way we cross from Wales into England, Chester is just in England.

On the way into Chester I noticed the sign Pulford, I Google mapped it and its Pulford in Cheshire, and its just out of Chester on a back road to Wrexham. Why, you may ask would I be interested in Chesire? Well, Its where my Great Great Great Grandfather was the Rector of St Mary’s for over 50 years from 1781 and where he was buried. He was educated at Brazenose College, Oxford, his brothers were in military, one a captain in the 17th Lancers and the second in the navy. His son James George Lyon is my two times Great Grandfather and was the first of the Lyon family to come to Australia. He arrived in Australia on the “Camden” in June 1836 and initially lived on the Allyn River in the Hunter Valley. Ironically they were near Eccleston and Gresford in Australia and Pulford is very near Eccleston and Gresford on the border of Wales and England. St Mary’s church is a lovely church and Pulford is a lovely village, the houses are big and it looks affluent. Inside the church is plain but elegant and the church is surrounded for headstones some very old and some recent. We can’t find one for James Radcliffe Lyon but its nice to have visited where he worked for 50 years. I also notice that there is an Alyn River here, right near Gresford, that couldn’t a coincidence could it?

Pulford, Gresford, Eccleston and the Alyn River – on the England Wales Border

Next stop is Trevor. Who the f… names a town Trevor? The reason we go there is that the Potcysyllte Aquaduct is there, the canal system goes high over the River Dee linking up with other canal systems. We luckily find that a 10 quid canal boat ride over the aquaduct is leaving soon, so we do it, well worth the money, a great thing to do. One canal comes back to just above where our apartment is in Lllangollen. A short walk to the aquaduct is worth the effort as well, but if you struggle with heights take it easy,its very high up and very windy a lot of the time.

A short rest back in Lllangollen, a bit of a walk around the shops and then dinner is booked for 6:30 at The Corn Mill, a hotel/ restaurant on the River Dee. A great place, good food and views over the river with the roar of the stream coming through the windows.

Tomorrow we head to Chester, drop of the car and catch a train to London for a few days before we head to Gatwick Airport and our flight home on the week-end.

Cheers from Wales for the last time this trip. Pauolo

Travel

Day 32. Betws-y- Coed to Llangollen, Wales

We have a plan to get to Llangollen (pronounced Lang – gofgch- ern) , or close to that. Before we leave our great B&B, we pause to take photos over the river and to leave some of Tim’s ashes in the river which will end up on Colwyn Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean.

The plan is as per a blog The Navigator read https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-mydreamdrive/my-dream-drive-betws-y-coed-to-llangollen/28637, travelling from where we are to Llangollen but taking a longer than the standard track. It proves to be a great option.

The route according to the blog is: Head south out of Betws-y-Coed and pick up the A5 heading east towards Llangollen – although this is ultimately the journey’s end, it’s not just a straight drag along a busy A-road. Dive off north on to the A543 at the village of Pentrefoelas and scud on to Denbigh.

From there, come back south on the A525 to Ruthin and thread your way through the little town, staying on that road until you reach the top of the Nant-y-Garth pass, where you’ll then be looking for signs for the A542 – also known as the Horseshoe pass. Lunch at The Ponderosa Cafe on Horseshoe Pass. The final leg is an up-and-over to Llangollen.

We’re sad to leave the pretty valley of Betws-y-Coed, the Snowdonia National Park is stunningly beautiful and we’ll see a little more of it today.

First stop is a surprise, Colwyn Falls, a 20 minute walk around a huge waterfall, The Navigator struggles with the pace and we nearly have to call for a defibrillator, she’s so puffed she can hardly talk, bloody terrible it is!

The road is fantastic, the country opens up and from wilderness it becomes more stone fences, hedgerows and sheep as we climb higher.

Motor bikes are everywhere, it’s one of the best motor bike riding roads I’ve seen. Peter English and crew, check it out for future travel options. We find the Ponderosa Cafe at the top of Horseshoe Pass, it’s packed with all sorts of bikes, roaring howling sports bikes, growling BMW boxer engines and Triumph Street Triple’s distinctive growl. The odd Porsche and German sports car enters the car park with a few hotted up popping farting rally type cars.

Lunch at The Ponderosa Cafe is good, we don’t spot Hoss or Little Joe but I did see a bloke who looked like Adam get out of a BMW M3.

The run down to Llangollwn from Horseshoe Pass is great. We decide to pass through Llangollen and go to Wrexham to visit the home of the Red Devils – Wrexham AFC, one of the oldest professional soccer club in the Uk, at the request of Paul Nd Liz’s son. The clubs fortunes have ebbed and flowed and ebbed and it was recently bought by 2 actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. There is a recently released mini series on the checkered history ( check it out on Google) of the club called Welcome to Wrexham. Their shop is shut so we’ll drop in to check out merchandise tomorrow when we go to Chester for a short visit in the morning.

It’s a short drive back to Llangollen where we find our accomodation, park the car, walk up the street then head to the Bridge End Hotel for an ale or two. The pub is busy motor bikes parked up on the footpath, beemers and Triumph’s, men and chick’s in leather drinking beer and spritzers, a lot of them taking in Welsh, its not all bad i have to say. Up in the north a lot of people have Welsh as their first language, it sounds like nothing else.

Dinner is just over the bridge at an eatery on the river.

We retire to our funky stone terrace apartment, small but kitted out in modern decor.

Ciao for today – Pauolo

Travel

Day 31. Betws-y- Coed and the north of Wales

Lakes and mountains on today’s drive home

A slow start this morning, The Navigator says I snored a bit last night, funny, I didn’t hear it so I claim innocence on the basis of diminished responsibility, I’m not sure what that means but it doesn’t matter, I’m guilty anyway.

Breakfast in the kitchen downstairs is a good selection of cereals, tea, coffee, toast, fruit and if you pay an extra 2 quid a hot breakfast. I do the hot breakfast option and leave the house pretty full.

First stop is in Betws-y-Coed, Paul and Liz check out the railway museum beside the proper train station and The Navigator shows me the way over the railway line to shops that remarkably have no appeal to me at all, but never the less I try to look interested, but it is hard. The road to Colwyn bay is a lovely drive and the two backseat passengers see a bridge they’d like a photo at, clearly they didn’t see how narrow it was, maybe later on the way home we’ll check it out.

The first stop is Colwy Bay and Colwy Castle.Its another of my Great Grandfathers Edward I’s constructions during his conquest of the Welsh heathens bwteen 1283 and 1287. This one cost about 12,000 quid versus Caernarfon which cost 25,000 quid. Its a pretty impressive building but not, my view, as good or as impressive as Caernarfon Castle. The castle became a destination for painters in the last 18th and 19th centuries, much like the area around Betws-y-Coed because of the light. Ww take a wander around the High Street of Colwy, but The Navigator finds nothing to buy, she’s already emptied the shop at the castle and I guess the weight on her arm from shopping bags is getting a little tiring.

Next stop is the short trip over to Llandudo on the other side of the river/bay. Its a touristy spot with a pier with cafes and other entertainment but its not looking that appealing so we decide to head to Bangor for a look and some lunch.

On the North Wales Freeway a detour is made into Abergwyngregyn, to see if its a quaint Welsh village with a pub or cafe we can have lunch at. Its not the best call we make today, but the worst is giving it a second chance seeing if there is anything near the church, a left turn over a bridge and the road is so narrow its lucky to squeeze a motor bike let alone an expensive Mercedes. There is nowhere immediately obvious to stop and turn, its so close its claustrophobic, I feel sweat break out on my brow but luckily a driveway appears and a five point turn gets me turned around and out of the godforsaken goatrack going up a Welsh mountain. Back on the freeway we turn of to Bangor past Penrhyn Castle with Beaumaris Castle on the other side of the water.

Bangor doesn’t start well, the bakery where we decide to lunch has nearly run out of food, one woman serving has a dose of the blues and is banging chairs around, clanging cups together, she’s in a bad mood and we’re in a better mood after we leave the place. Not the best food but fuel for travel it is. We then head to have a look at the pier, it doesn’t look that impressive and we miss our turn into the park and end up taking the long road out of Bangor, and possibly the last time I’ll see Bangor.

We decide to head back towards Betwsy-Coed along a different road, the A5, the scenery is spectacular, lakes, rocky green mountains, cars everywhere, walkers, motor bikes flying past. Its a motor bike heaven up here. The Snowdonia scenery restores my sense of enjoyment in travelling in this beautiful place. Its just the mostly larger towns and cities that seem to annoy me, but maybe its just me.

We find the bridge mention earlier, god its skinny and high and just on the other side we find a carpark. Two young guys are fishing in waders with fly rods n the fast flowing stream and two older men, one I assume is their father encouraging them from the bank. Its a nice stop but they don’t catch a fish for us. As we leave and get to the middle of the bridge a silver Audi comes flying up the other way so I have to reverse back to the less busy side of the bridge, no Pembrokeshire wave from or to the wanker.

Dinner tonight is a Abbasi’s, a curry house in Betws-y-Coed. Its a great meal after a few drinks at the Royal oak Hotel.

We’re back at the B&B a bit after 7pm. Tomorrow we move camp to Llangolen for two nights before we head to London for a for days before we fly home. I love the travel but after 2 of the last 3 months travelling I’m looking forward to some time at home.

Ciao Pauolo

Travel

Day 30. Barmouth to Caenarfon to Betws-y-Coed, Wales

Me with an effigy of my Pop – Edward I aka Longshanks

The night in the tiny room of Barmouth’s Sunray Guest House is OK, its tiny but clean with a great view over Afon Mawddach, the bay the town is on. The view first thing this morning is a cloudy grey sky with a howling wind blowing from the sea, boats bobbing furiously in the harbour and nobody on the streets, its quiet.

Breakfast is next door in a little cafe built of stone called Davy Jones Locker, there are locals in there who look like fishermen not going to sea today, beanies on heads, a three day growth, thick woolen jumpers and a familiar patter when they talk. The breakfast is cheap, good and the coffee is strong, I have a Flat White which is rare to see on a menu in Wales. It has a “vibe”, I like it.

As we’re leaving Davy Jones Locker it starts to rain, serious pissing down rain, blowing sideways with a wind behind it that probably came from Alaska. I’m in the drivers seat today, Port Meirion near Portmadog is the first stop of the day.

Port Meirion is not a proper Welsh village, it is noted as a place to see but its not my cup of tea. I’ll tell you why. Its a contrived Italian village built between 1925 and 1975 and while some people live here (according to all the signs saying “Private = No Access”). Now there were two things initially that pissed me off about this place 1. Entrance cost 13 quid and all there was were fake Italian type buildings and even a fake boat on the water and shops to sell you expensive trinkets and coffee and 2. It was absolutely pouring rain. Maybe I got out of bed on the wrong side, there wasn’t much room to get out of bed by the way, but its not a place I’d reccomend visiting, Wales is such a beautiful place with wild valley’s, pretty rolling farming country, gorgeous bays and coastal vistas, I don’t think it needs a fake garrish Italian village that you pay stupid money to visit. Enough said Pauolo, not get back the things you liked.

Its still raining so we drive Porthmadog, it doesn’t grab us immediately so its on to Caenarfon which has a castle and that sounds interesting. The rain abates for the moment as we drive into Caenarfon Castle carpark, just below the town square. The castle looks big and really interesting, its also known as Carvarvon Castle. It was a wooden castle built in the 11th century and then in 1283 Edward I (my 18th Great Grandfather) began replacing it with the stone that its currently still built with. The Welsh and English lost and won battles over the castle and finally things settled down between the Welsh and the poms and the castles in Wales start to fall into disrepair. The last time it was used in war was the English Civil War when the Royalists held the fort. Charles was invested as the Prince of Wales here in 1969. There is a museum which has a lot of focus on the Welsh Fusiliers, still a serving unit in the British military. There is a lot of work going on here and its really worth visiting. The town looks quite nice and there is a huge town square behind the castle paved with slate and surrounded by lovely buildings. Dry scones and tea at one of my family castles for lunch, frankly, I expected better given my family connection!

Accomodation has been secured at Plas Penaeldroch Manor a B&B just outside the village Betws-y-Coed (pronnounced Bets ee Coid), its in the lovely Conwyn Valley in the Snowdonia National Park. The village has a bridge called Waterloo Bridge, I read somewhere that this was the inspiration for the Abba song “Waterloo” but I suspect the song is tied to the Battle of Waterloo but I’ll investigate further. So, now its early afternoon and the rain has mostly stopped to we head towards our accomodation into the stunning vista of Snowdonia National Park, huge green mountains, waterfalls, rushing streams, its breathtaking.

Our first attempt to find our accomodation ends with us up a skinny dirt road with a bloke waving his arms at us for blocking his gateway, we get no advice from him regarding where we are, he has the cranky look you need for the Pembrokeshire wave but not the slightly slanted finger, I suspect he may well have raised a middle finger at us if he’s thought of it. A phone call to our hosts from the Navigator sorts it out, its near the Pont-y-Pant train station on the Afon Lledr (a fast running river with rapids). We have an apartment, 2 bedrooms and a living room in an old manor that had fallen into disrepair then the current owners did it up, its quiet and lovely, a good choice for two nights stay.

We unpack, have a cup of tea with our hosts who are flying the Ukranian flag and hosting a Ukranian family, and rest for a short time. A walk down to river for some photo’s and I see 2 serious looking young guys drive in with serious looking kayaks, crash hats, floatation vests, and then they get in the river and charge down the seriously fast, steep and rocky rapids.

Dinner tonigh is in Betws-y-Coed at the Royal Oak Hotel, its a nice drive in, the village is lovely and the food and the drinks are good. We drive home in the rain and retire to our warm haven in the B&B, the river roaring outside. A good day.

Ciao, arrividerci for today – Pauolo

Travel

Day 29. Llangloffan to Barmouth, Wales

Another beautiful breakfast at Hen Ffermedy, Rex that great porridge and really good bacon & eggs. Compliments to our hosts Adrian and Sue of Hen Ffermdy B&B. A 5/5 from us and if you’re ever in this area then this is a great place to stay. Contact details are below;

Adrian & Sue, email henfferdy@gmail.com, phone Adrian 07545 083496 or Sue 07967 818824 or instagram @escapetopembrokshire.

Compliments of the Prince of Pemrokeshire I have been proclaimed King Paul I of Dubbo, the Queen Consort shall be known from now on as the Regent of Retail and/or the Countess of Conversation.

We finally leave the house and get the car loaded, Adrian is a chatty chap.Our co guests last night are an English couple who had a tyre blowout in their Porsche and the German beast ended up in a paddock minus a wheel, they needed a bed while the tyre was repaired. The plan for the day is to travel inland and end up on the coast, maybe, somewhere about Aberwystith or a bit higher. We drive into the typical Welsh countryside, except for the narrow roads and lanes it reasonably easy driving, today I’m in the navigation seat. Villages everywhere, first stop is at Cenarth, and we see three guys fishing in the River Teif that’s running really well, it’s salmon fishing we discover and while we are there they hook a huge salmon. Then they release it, thats the law here, fish number s are low so its all catch and release.

Up country now, we pass through Newcastle Emly and stop in the village of Lampeter for lunch. Its not a particlarly pretty place and the first cafe looks dodgy so we settle for a cafe called Grannys House where we get a decent lunch.

The mountains are getting bigger as we get closer to Snowdonia National Park. The roads get narrow as well as we head to Devils Bridge at a place called Pontafynarch. Its 2 quid to walk down the steep steps to see a waterfall going under a bridge, this isn’t conducive to titanium knees to I make it clear I’m not walking down and the others do the same. Still, its a pretty spot.

In Aberwystyth, a larger town we pull up and gather ourselves and work out where we’ll go for the night, the decision is Barmouth, a place on the beach. The landscape gets wilder and rockier with bracken fern and rock cliffs as we loop around an estuary to get to Barmouth. We’re booked into the Sunray Guest House, right on the water but small rooms and pretty tired, maybe we could have done better but I guess that would have come with a price.

The wind is blowing hard, the water is choppy, the boats in the protected harbour are bobbing up and down, the sea mist blows in and away as the sun sets over the Atlantic.

The Barmouth Bar & Grill for dinner, around in the Barmouth main drag, narrow streets, grey stone buildings, the sky is grey and mist is still blowing in, the puffer coats are needed. A few drinks and a good pub feed are what we need after a day on the road. Driving every day for a long time has given me a bit of a headache today, but a few glasses of grog cures that.

Weather tomorrow as we head north towards Liverpool and Manchester, rain, cold, windy then the same things in different order or together. Call me Nostradamus if you like, maybe it’s the divine powers that come with royal blood? Dunno, could be true?

Important – before we leave tomorrow we need to decide where we are going and stick to it, get some accomodation sorted so we’re not sitting in a car deliberating,

Cheers from Barmouth in Wales – Pauolo

Travel

Day 28. Llangloffan, Wales

Newport Links golf course over Newport Beach

Firstly this morning is a great breakfast, porridge soaked overnight, fresh fruit, coffee and tea, smoked bacon (very very tasty bacon), and really fresh eggs. Once again we waste a lot of Sue and Adrian’s time chatting, about all sorts of stuff, again.

The garden at Hen Ffermedy

Outside the dining room window, a mass of birds are flitting in and out of the garden, wrens, blue tits (Adrian reliably tells me thats what they are), wagtails (similar but not like our willy wagtails and other birds. It hasn’t started raining yet but it soon does and the birds disappear to shelter. They are also encouraging barn owls by building shelters around their 5 acres, they are planting plants that birds use for food and lots of other interesting things.

We walk around their yard, a work in progress, their pond which is used for heating the house (don’t ask me hw that works but its innovative and seems to work). Where we are staying is lovely, modern, homely, clean and spacious and there are so many other buildings that have potential for them to develop into B&B accomodation, it would be interesting to see it in a fw years time after the “works in progress” are completed.

I write up yesterdays blog in the dining room while The Navigator and Liz get washing and chatting done, its not all hard work but I can’t say that can I? The Navigator likes their front door and a drying rack they have in their kitchen on a pulley, I see her brain ticking over.

The morning is shot, its been relaxing but we need a late lunch and at Adrians suggestion we head to Newport Links Golf Club via Fishguard and Dinas Cross, such a pretty drive through these quaint villages on skinny hair raising roads with a howling wind blowing off the Atlantic. The golf club has Cat Rock Cafe which looks over Cardigan Bay and Preseli Hills, the Newport Beach Life savers is below the golf course right on the beach, the wind is blowing so hard that if you lost your hat at the beach it would blow the 600 metres up the hill to the golf club. We watch golfers struggling with the howling wind and the rain showers, the course looks beautiful but also hard to play. Oh, the food is good, despite the fact that The Navigator beats me up for forgetting what drink I ordered, of course she remembers all the detail and reminds me that she was right and I was wrong, I don’t say that sometimes even when I’m right – I’m wrong, but courage deserts me at the critical moment, 44 years of living with her has taught me a few things.

We drive back the coast, down to Fishguard Harbour, where the ferries come in from Rossclare in Ireland, then to Abercastle, Trefin and fianlly back to Portgain where we ate dinner last night. It is such a beautiful part of the world, although the spooky narrow roads freak me out a bit when you encounter tractors and cars on what looks to be single vehicle width laneways, but, there is no horn tooting, other people or you back up if needed, everyone seems patient and it works. Back home we’d have horns tooting, with tyre levers at the ready to beat the crap out of some brainless knob for holding up the f…g traffic. Here, the Pembrokeshire wave, the index finger, one finger only, pointed as low as possible above the horizontal, given with a dour, cranky farmer look on your face – so I’m told.

Its close to dark when we return to Hen Ffermedy B&B, we don’t need dinner, lunch was plenty for both meals so a pot of tea and some biscuits is enough. We read until 8 or 9pm and when everyone starts nodding its a signal to head to bed.

The plan for tomorrow is to head to Aberwystyth (pronounce that after a few drinks) – the correct pronuncication by the Welsh is I think aber – wyths -tyth.

Ciao, sayonara, dal chi nes ymlaen ( catch you later in Welsh) – Pauolo

Travel

Day 27. Wales – Talgarth to St Davids on the Pembrokeshire Coast

The Castle Hotel at Talgarth is a funny little place, we sleep well, Genelle thinks the floor slopes a bit, that could be right, and the shower is weird. I hear a scream from the bathroom when she goes in for a shower and she comes out mumbling something unintelligible. I go in and now see what she was grumbling about. The water temperature control is also part of the pressure control, to get it warm I have twist it through from high pressure (drill a hole in you type pressure) to low/ middling pressure. Its hard to explain but unfortunatley she has to come in a save me, as in turn it on and then turn it off, I’ve got water running everywhere, on the floor down the walls. Anyway the shower tried to kill me but it didn’t succeed.

Breakfast downstairs is a continental breakfast but its ok, we fuel up the bodies and walk up to Talgarths shops for a look. Its a pretty little village but not very touristy.

We get on the road to Hay-On-Wye. I think the Hay area is on the Wye River, thus Hay-On-Wye. The weather is cloudy, rain threatens and the views over the hills and hedgerowed paddocks is beautiful, reminds me of Ireland, or as nephew TMM (remember him – The Maintenance Man) calls it West England OR is it that he calls England East Ireland? I dunno, can’t remember. The Welsh appear more conducive towards the English than the Scots or the Irish (in the Republic) as well the Catholic part of Northern Ireland, but my guess is they love nothing better than to beat England when rugby tests come around.

A fuel stop, to top up the Merc, 77 euro’s and we’re full, the car is a hybrid using some battery to make it go but I’m not sure how all that works but it sure is a lovely thing to drive. I chat to an old guy at the fuel pump waiting to top a 5 litre fuel container up for a mower or whipper snipper, or maybe a hedge trimmer, he has a Skoda wagon that he says has a boot big enough to ut a body in, he has a smile on his face and I think he’s joking.

Hay-On-Wye (Welsh Y Gelli Gandryll) is renowned as a book town, there are lots of book shops selling new and second hand books, and the signs posted around the town talk about the Hay Festival which is a literary festival held in July each year where the small community of about 1900 people get about 80,000 visitors over the 10 days of the festival. We found a free park and wander the streets, I look at book shops, Paul looks at second hand record shops, Liz looks at art galleries and The Navigator looks at jewellery and clothes shops, who’d a though that would happen? I love this little place and would like to stay here but the accomodation is expensive and we must move on.

Back on the road the next stop is Carmarthen, the rain has started to pour down as we head to this bigger town on the River Twyi of about 14,000 people. This place had Merlin of King Arthurs wizard legend as one of its most famous inhabitants, in fact the Welsh name of “Caerfyrddin” means Merlin’s Fort. Its quite a pretty town but its raining so much that we decide to keep going to Tenby which is a seaside resort town which the Welsh love, sort of their version of Port Macquarie or Coffs Harbour. The weather has closed in more and its hard to see anything much but what we can see looks very pretty. A lunch at a pub outside Carmarthen fills us up and we continue on to Pembroke Dock on the A477 heading into county Pembrokshire towards St Davids.

The weather remains closed in when we get to St David’s Cathedral to have a look before it closes for the day. St David’s is called a city but its not really a city, its a congregation of villages and small towns. The cathedral is on the Pembrokeshire peninsular, jutting out into the Atlantic built on the site of a 6th century monastery set up by St David. The cathedral, built about 1180, has been a site of worship and pilgrimage for over 800 years, it says in the church that for pilgrims 2 trips to St Davids = 1 pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. St David’s ethos was “Be Joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things…..” , I think he was on the money.

Liz and Genelle booked some accomodation via Booking.Com caled hen Ffermdy at Llangloffan, Castlemorris just north of St Davids. Its in the country, up some skinny laneways through a tunnel of trees in a little community. Adrian and Sue are our hosts, late 40ish couple, Adrian from the area originally and Sue originally from Scotland. They bought the place a while ago and are doing it up, its 5 acres and once part of a larger farm. The rooms are beautifully done, our hosts are lovely and Adrian spend 13 months in Australia in the mid 2000’s living in Sydney and remarkably knows where Dubbo is as one of his Aussie mates parents own a farm at Coonabarabran where he’s been to visit. He’s a rugby tragic, which is not just a Kiwi tradition, rugby is also very strongly entrenched in the Welsh psyche as well. A quote i heard goes something like ” You never beat Wales, even if you’re ahead on the scoreboard”. He’s a chatty bloke, and knowledgable and we feel very comforatble here, comfortable enough that we decide to stay an extra night and rest up a bit.

The rain continues, so after a short rest we head to Portgain on the water for some dinner at the Sloop Inn. Theres a story about a railway line that was once planned to come to Portgain but is was mainly known as slate quarry, brick kiln and fishing port. The drive down the skinny lane to the village is a little hairy but we don’t meet any other vehicles so the Merc is safe from scrapes form blackberry bushes beside the lane. The Sloop In is a great little pub, the Harbour once came right up to the front of the pub but not anymore, they filled it in with slate and brick dust. The meal is great, and so is the Guiness that paul has the lager that I have.

Blue Tits in the Hen Ffermdy garden (that is what they called)

Another long day and retire to the comfortable bed. I’m looking forward to the day off to rest and explore this area a bit more tomorrow.

Wela’i di Wedyn (See you later in Welsh) – Pauolo

Hen Ffermedy – the B&B photos

Travel

Day 26. – Salisbury to the Brecon Beacons in Wales

So this morning is foggy, not cold, just a little cool, not shorts but jeans and long sleeves, maybe a jumper type of weather. Breakfast at the Cricketers Arms B&B is fantastic, fruits, cereals, breads, and a cooked egg, sausage and bacon if you want it.

Paul takes the keys to the Mercedes, he’s decided he’s driving today.

First stop is to Wilton House to have a peek through the gates at the well used Victorian period movie and tv shows, The Crown, Bridgerton etc etc, the women brave do the reconnaisance mission and aren’t chased away by the security, it looks like filming is going on at the moment, the public aren’t allowed in and out in the workers area there are lots of pantek trucks.

Salisbury is a city of 45,000, about Dubbo size. Its about 30km from Stonehenge, is an old market town and a bit of a mix of old and modern.

The Bumping Stone at Salisbury Cathedral, where a new boy in the choir has his head gently bumped on this stone 7 times as his acceptance into the choir

Next stop is the Salibury Cathedral, 10 quid to park and 9 quid to enter. The 123m spire of this cathedral is the tallest in Engand and has been since 1561, the church was built in the 13th century, a bit younger than a lot of the others we’ve seen in the last week. The cloister at the side of the church is huge, larger than Westminster Abbey we’re reliably told by a local volunteer guide. Its huge inside and I see the name Montacute on the list of rectors from 1382 to 1404. I recall the name from my family tree and dig into my info and find that my 18th Great Grandfather was Sir William Montacute the 1st Earl of Salisbury, I’m guessing there is a connection but I’ll have to check that later. The big thing thats in this Cathedral is the only publicly displayed actual copy of the Magna Carta. The others are at 1 x Lincoln Castle and 2 x The British Library. It is a document that came about in 1215 to make peace between an unpopular King John of England and a bunch of rebel Barons who were sick of John. Its the basis of a lot of Bills of Rights type documents in the modern world even though it didn’t survive as a working document in Britain.

We move on from Wiltshire via the Stonehenge site and turn left to run through the villages and towns of Shrewton, Tilshead, Devizes, Chippenham, Hulavington before stopping for lunch in Cirencester in The Cotswalds. This is a lovely part of the world. After a quick lunch in Cirencester we drive to what is reputedly “the most beautiful village in England” – Bribury. And it is quite stunning, the Cotswalds houses, the stream through the middle of the village with swans and ducks, the pub, I bet the real estate is expensive with a capital E.

We hit the road and head for Wales for tonights stop in Talgarth, we were meant to be going to Hay On Wye but the momen decide it too expensive. After numerous backroads, a few wrong turns and many roudabouts we get to Wales and drive through the now more mountainous country to Talgarth. Sheep in the paddocks, hedgerows and stone fences and at the back the stunning Brecon Beacons Mountain Range. They booked a room at a small pub called “The Castle”, prophetic you may say. We see no pool room, and “the vibe” ain’t that good. The person in charge has advised The Navigator that only single rooms were booked, not doubles, does this bloke have a death wish? The Navigator does what she does so well, starts to work on making him understand that she knows what she booked and if there is a f…up its his and it would pay for him to resolve it. He returns after consulting the faceless, nameless manager who we never see, with an apology that yes “he was wrong” and his manager has miscommunicated the booking. I think he saw that this was one battle he wasn’t going to win. Its hardly a great pub and the rooms are up a narrow set of stairs, so thats the landlords revenge on Genelle because she has to carry her bag up, he helps Liz and Paul but not Genelle or me.

Dinner is in the pub, Paul has retired to bed, the stress of todays driving has burnt him out. We have a few drinks, some dinner and chat to a fit looking fellow who is about 50, he’s working in the Brecon Beacons with the military on a contract job, has just retired as an ambulance officer and prior to that was in the military, and a couple from south Wales who own a backpacker accomodation operation. Its nice to chat to other people and find out who they are and what they do, I do suspect the single “ex military” bloke is possibly still proper military, the Brecon Beacons is the British SAS training and selection ground, I’m probably wrong but I just feel he could be something to do with them.

Tomorrow we head for the coast somewhere near St David

Hwyl Fawr (Welsh for Goodbye) from Talgarth in Wales – Paulo

Travel

Day 25. Rye and across country to Salisbury, England

This morning its raining, a steady drizzle as we eat breakfast and watch the start of the NRL Grand Final (kickoff is 9:30am in the UK) whiler we eat out pasties and drink our tea. The Penrith Panthers give the Eels a bit of a touch up we find out later, the final score is 28-12 to the Penrith Panthers.

Paul’s first drive of the Merc today, its a lovely car but has some quirks that take a bit of getting used to, all the electronics, the auto gear lever on the steering column, the parking brake on the same lever, the sat nav with its UK postcode requirement and a few other things.

Today we’re driving west from Rye in East Susex to Salisbury a medieval city in Wiltshire. Salisbury is 16km from Stonehenge and not far from Glastonbury where the big music festival is held every year. The plan to go across country via villages, if we can.

First we drive to Hastings, along the coast, heading toward Chichester for lunch, not that we need much as breakfast filled us up. Paul has a little fright early on, the road in the rain and the navigation don’t help him but soon its all under control. The initial bit is on motorways but after stopping in Chichester, having an apple and blackcurrent flapjack slice with a coffee we hatch a new plan involving Google Maps and frog hopping to villages to our destination.

We drive through Arundel, the stunning Arundel Castle, the home of Richard Fitzalan 1306-1376 (my 17th Great Grandfather) the 10th Earl of Arundel and my 13th Great Grandmother Eleanor of Lancaster (1311-1372) a Plantagenet and tied to the Beaumont name. The history goes way back and I now need to research this more as this family has soem interesting things going on in their past.

Chichester is a bit of a surprise, located in West Sussex, an ancient church in a former Roman and Anglo Saxon market town. Chichester Cathedral is beatutiful, it was founded as a Cathedral in 1075 but is famous for a few modern things, in particular the art, a spectacular stained glass window by Marc Chagall and some tapestries by other well known artists.

As we leave the church a voice says to Genelle from behind, “where do you come from in Australia?”, we say Dubbo and they say ” Oh we’re from Bowral” , as we do we chat some more and find we have a common link in an interest in rugby. He is not a tall man, a South African accent and she has an accent that I can’t pick but later find out its Swiss. I sa y that I had a bit to do with the NRC and he says “oh thats great our son played a bit of higher level rugby”, I say ” what was your son’s name, sorry what is his name?” They say ” Our son is Dan Vickerman and using was is appropriate, you weren’t to know”.

A bit of background for those not familiar with Dan Vickerman.

Dan Vickerman was born 1979 in South Africa, he was a 204cm 119kg lock who played 63 tests for the Wallabies. He had to retire early at 28 due to injuries and was studying a degree in Land Economics at Cambridge. He was married with 2 children. He struggled with life after rugby and no doubt had issues with multiple concussions and publicly spoke openly of these issues. Unfortunatley in 2017 he took his own life. He was their only child. We spoke and we said that we had something in common, losing a child, even though the circumstances were a little different,the impact is similar and something thats always with you. Given his competitive nature and seemingly happy disposition it was a shock to me when I heard what had happened to him. A reminder that we need to look after ourselves and take heed of the signs of menal health issues in friends and family if we se them. So Vickerman family our thoughts are with you and we wish you all the best.

We now have a driving plan, we head for South Harting through beautiful villages, hedgerows, ploughed paddocks, sheep, dairy cattle. Then on to Petersfield a town with great looking pubs and loevely houses. Then on to a tiny village called Privett in Hampshire with a stunning medieval Norman Church – Holy Trinity with a soaring spire. We then drive to Hinton and Temple Valley with their thatched rooves. Its English country overload, by a fluke we’ve picked a stunning route to drive and experience southern England.

Next stop is Winchester, a stop reccomended by friend Dave, and Dave never lets us down. Its Sunday, there is a market going, people are everywhere, there is a millstream with a stunning stone bridge over it, and, there is Winchester Cathedral. This is important for 2 reasons. One – Winchester Cathedral was a hit in 1966 by the New Vaudeville Band, their only hit. It was a corny love song on no significance. Two – The actual Cathedral is magnificent, Catheral Church of the Holy Trinity Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun. Now I know of Paul (good bloke), Peter (OK but not as good as Paul, but who the f… was Saint Swithun? Building commenced in 1079. It is a huge church, the 6th largest cathedral in the UK. So Winchester is a hit, The Navigator gets a bit of shopping done, and she’s happy.

We continue driving west to Salisbury which is in Wiltshire and arrive about 6pm. Our accomodation is at The Cricketers Arms B&B, very well priced and lovely rooms, a high end B&B I reckon. Its between Salisbury and Wilton. Now what we didn;t know is that Wilton, just down the road and where we go for dinner is home to Wilton House, an actual mansion and land granted by henry VIII to the Herbert family and where Bridgerton, The Crown and many other TV shows and movies have had lots of episodes filmed. We’ll explore that tomorrow. The home is still owned by the Herbert family.

Our host Helen, she is lovely, books us into the Pembroke Arms for dinner. The food is lovely, so well done Helen, good reccomendation.

Tomorrow we’re heading across country via Gloucester, Hereford to Hay On Wye.

Ciao, Cherio, Arividerci from Salisbury in Wiltshire UK – Pauolo