Wales

This time they are going to store it for us for 4 days while we go to Wales for my Aunt and Uncle’s Celebration of Life.

Instead of camping we stored the MH at Arrowe Brook and rented a car so that we could take my sisters Beryl and Jaqueline to Wales, where our cousins John, Elizabeth and Helen had rented a huge 8 bedroom house for the event.

The house before the big crowd got there!

Elizabeth (Liz) has a boat for the British canal systems. Growing up her family were keen boaters as their Dad (my Dad’s brother Bill) was a journeyman Shipwright who built wooden boats professionally and later as a hobby. I was a Shipwright too but a modern one who dealt more with steel structures than wooden ones. I was in awe of his woodworking skills.

Canal Boats on the Llangollen Canal.

John, Liz and Helen (Hen) had decided to scatter their Mum and Dad’s ashes along the canal that they loved so much.

The house was full of their kids, grandkids and friends of the family so that even with 8 bedrooms and Liz staying on the boat it was full. Barb and I elected to stay in a pub (Duhh!) in nearby Llangollen called the Bridge End Hotel which by some quirk of fate was at the end of the bridge over the river!

The River Dee at Llangollen

Llangollen is a Welsh town in the hills and is pronounced more like Clan-Goth-Len in Welsh. When we were kids it used to be the destination for coach (bus) trips. We would meet at the tour bus company pick up point, then it would take hours along the narrow Welsh roads to get to the town. There was enough time for lunch and a walk along the river then back on the bus for the return trip. An all day event.

The main shopping street Llangollen

Quaint alley ways

Now it’s just an hour or so by car! Has the distance shrunk?

No, the roads have improved with motorways and four lane highways. It takes no time now, except during vacation periods and on Sunday evenings when everyone is returning to Liverpool, Manchester and the Wirral all at the same time.

It’s still the same place as it was, with nowhere to park and lots of tourist shops selling Welsh souvenirs.

A transportation hub with river, road, rail and canal

Jackie and Beryl were staying at the house and we got there before everyone else so they got their pick of bedroom. Pretty soon the others started to arrive from points around the country and it was a noisy fun place with lots of family to be met.

One of several lounges we found in the house

Dogs, Kids, seemingly endless rooms with people appearing and disappearing thru doors we hadn’t noticed before. It was a warm, cozy, chaotic time that we thoroughly enjoyed.

The Horseshoe Falls.
Man made to provide the water for the canal.

Saturday we all drove to the “Horseshoe Falls” the idea was that those who wished to would walk along the canal about 10 miles to the Aquaduct, and along the way at points that held fond memories they would sprinkle the ashes.

The whole family

Those of us that didn’t feel up to the very steep path down to the falls or the 10 mile hike would drive to an intermediate spot and have lunch with everyone at the “Sun” pub in a village called Trevor.

My sisters in the Sun Pub

Yum

Fancy that, the Downings in a pub! The lunch was good and so was the beer. I had to limit myself as the drink driving laws in UK are very strict.

The Sun pub in Trevor Wales.

After the walk we ferried people back to the falls to collect their cars and returned to the house for a cook out. Barbara and I chose to leave a little early so we could get back to the Bridge End and have time for a drink before retiring for the evening.

Sunday saw us say goodbye to everyone before the drive back to Jackie’s and for the 4 of us to walk to the Indian restaurant near her house for dinner. Very nice it was too.

Finally I drove Beryl home before going back and watching the Glastonbury music festival on TV and eventually getting to bed.

 

A short trip East.

 Boy that’s a lot of history. I think I wore my brain out!

See you next time.

We had a couple of weeks between Aunt Maud’s funeral and Aunt Sheila and Uncle Bills celebration of life so decided to visit some places we hadn’t planned to visit.

Note that with the tide out this fishing boat is sitting on the mud!

We have never been to the area known as East Anglia or the section of the North Sea called “The Wash” so we headed east to the coast and the county of Norfolk.

We stayed in a campground about 10 miles outside of the town of Kings Lynn, using the local buses to go backwards and forwards one day and the MH for the other 2 days. Kindly Kings Lynn city council had provided parking bays for MHs and buses not far from the center.

Spectacular stonework on the Courthouse Building

The town grew around the fishing industry and the harbour with the usual millennia of history. Fortunately most of the old streets and houses had been preserved except in the “New” town center where the shopping center had been built.

Old part of town

If you are Formula 1 car racing fans like we are you will know that one of the top British drivers George Russell is from Kings Lynn. He wasn’t at home when we were there, he was in Canada for the Grand Prix in Montreal.

Colourful beach "Cottages" near Cromer

North of Norfolk is Lincolnshire where out friends Graham and Elaine live and we were invited to stay with them for several days.

Vintage aircraft

Naturally they had a full schedule planned for us, first to the airfield at the bottom of their garden! Wickenby airfield is a small private aircraft facility and they were holding a Vintage Piper Aircraft meeting – just up my street!

A "ghost" Lancaster etched in the glass

The field was originally built in WW2 as a Lancaster bomber base. There is a small museum in the control tower and a restaurant on the ground floor. The ghosts of the Lancaster appear as profiles of the aircraft etched into the plexiglass screens out on the patio.

Graham's Plymouth

Vintage British cars outside the "House"

A dollar for any US reader who knows what this is!

Next day we were off to a car show with their 1948 Plymouth Coupe Hot Rod. Held in the grounds of a large (Really large!) private house it was a super day and I even did a sketch of the Oldsmobile next to us.

Olds 442 sketch

After a coffee morning at the local church and a quiet day fixing little things in the MH while Barb did the laundry, we went out for dinner and stuffed ourselves. So much so that we were still full the next day when we went off to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum to see the aircraft there and particularly the Lancaster bomber which they are in the middle of a 10 year restoration back to flying condition.

No ghost here. The real thing

Midway thru a 10 year rebuild.
When finished it will be one of 3 airworthy Lancasters World Wide.

I’ve been following the rebuild on YouTube so seeing the real thing live was great, especially because it was one of their weekly taxy demonstrations where they fire up all four engines and take it around the airfield. It’s not airworthy so no flying but still impressive, and for only $500 a head you can be in it while it runs around!

By pure coincidence it was also a rare occasion when their twin engined Mosquito did it’s taxy demonstration too so even better!

De Havilland Mosquito

Taxy demonstration.

We found time to visit a few nice local (and some not so local) pubs for dinners out then it was time to reluctantly tear ourselves away form Graham and Ellaine’s super hospitality.

Graham and Elaine wait patiently while we spend hours looking at everything!

Thanks you two, it was a great time.

Time to head back to Wirral and Arrowe Brook Farm. I’m pretty sure we could get our mail sent there seeing how much time we spend camping there! This time they are going to store it for us for 4 days while we go to Wales for my Aunt and Uncle’s Celebration of Life.

How old is that?

 Next episode will be heavily into all that!

Our American friends always express amazement at the historic sites all over UK. For us growing up with it it’s just second nature. We were taught in school about the bronze and iron age settlements, about the Roman conquest that started around 55 BC and lasted about 400 years. Many modern roads still follow the line of Roman roads laid down then.

Hadrian's Wall last year

There are of course things like Hadrian’s Wall and cities such as London, York, Chester (among many) that were established as Roman cities.

Later came the Vikings then the Norman Conquest in 1066 (a date every British school child has burned in their memory!). There was an English Civil War, battles against the Scots, and 2 World Wars. All of which have left permanent reminders on this relatively small island.

So for our British followers, we apologize for the repetition of things you know so well. For our overseas friends if you enjoy history you are in the right place!

Tomb in York Minster

In recent blogs we showed the city of York which has most of the previously mentioned periods woven into it’s fabric, and Speke Hall which lies on the outskirts of the city of Liverpool.

Speke Hall

After leaving the Wirral (yet again) we headed South East into the area known as “The Midlands” which naturally are in the middle of the country!

Long a center of industry and the Industrial Revolution, the midlands developed from the woolen industry and leather working dating back to pre Roman days.

The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge

Our first stop was a town called Ironbridge, where not surprisingly the worlds first cast iron bridge was located! It’s a quaint little town on a river. The bridge was built to allow movement of goods and animals across the gorge that cuts thru the town.

Tolls for the bridge.

Just outside of the town is the site of a blast furnace that smelted iron ore into pure iron and predates the bridge by centuries. The river allowed the products of the furnace to be easily moved to market.

Ironbridge Gorge

Just down the road is another old town called Much Wenlock site of a ruined abbey. There are many ruined abbeys in UK due to Henry the Eighth's abolition of the Catholic Church which we call the Dissolution. 

Majestic Much Wenlock Abbey

The Catholic Abbeys, Priorys etc. were all taken over by the government and then knocked down so the pieces could be sold off. Wenlock Abbey was an enormous place and the ruins are still very impressive.

The old town of Much Wenlock

Also close by are the remains of a Roman city that in it’s day was the 4^th largest in the Roman Empire. Bigger than Pompei.

A 2000 year old wall still standing

Only a small part of this large city have been excavated

The ruins were preserved after the center of power moved to Chester and Wroxeter gradually faded away. It’s location in a remote cattle farming area meant it wasn’t robbed of it’s stones or built over, leaving it for Victorian archaeologists to excavate and explore. Modern archaeologists have re-created a Roman Town House of which there were 100’s in the actual city.

The Roman Townhouse

The next stop was Kennilworth about 70 miles east where the remains of an enormous castle built around 1120 are there to explore.

Imposing Kennilworth Castle

Kings from King John (signer of the Magna Carta) to Henry V visited here thru the centuries and Queen Elizabeth the First was courted here by her lover Robert Dudley. Various owners have built additions and the results have added beauty rather than detracted from the place.

Everywhere you look in Kennilworth is another breath taking sight.

We took a train from Kennilworth to Coventry for some more modern history. Coventry was the one of first cities in World War 2 to suffer a fire storm as a result of a German bombing raid. The center of the city burned and with it its cathedral.

The original Coventry Cathedral

Destroyed by German bombs in WW2

In the 60’s a very modern new cathedral was built next to the remains of the old building and the result is a visual treat together with a reminder of the horrors of modern warfare.

The Modern Cathedral from the 1960's

We were amazed to find that immediately adjacent to the burned out cathedral, hidden away across a narrow alley was the Old Guild Hall that was over 700 years old and had survived the blaze intact!

The Guild Hall

The Guild that built the hall was formed to further the interests of the merchants involved in the wool trade. It’s hard to explain to an American audience how important that was. In the US you rarely see sheep, perhaps in Montana or a small flock on a farm, so rare that we always point them out to each other during our travels.

In UK it hard NOT to see sheep, they are everywhere. Lamb is a common dish in restaurants here that is almost unknown in the US.

The merchants must have done well because the Guild Hall is very ornate and has Royal connections.

Coventry is also famous (at least in UK it is) for “Lady Godiva’s Ride” and the hall has a statue of her.

Lady Godiva hides behind her long hair

The legend is that in 900 AD Lady Godiva told her husband that unless the burdensome taxes on the citizens of Coventry were reduced she would ride naked thru the marketplace.

The taxes weren’t reduced but Lady Godiva had the townsmen confined to their houses and combed her long hair to protect her modesty. All went well except that one townsman looked out of his window and was caught peeping.

His name? Tom. And that is why we having Peeping Tom as part of our language!

Boy that’s a lot of history. I think I wore my brain out!

See you next time.