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Ireland and The United Kingdom

August - October 2017
A 43-day adventure by Leanne Read more
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  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 21

    Hampton Court Palace, England

    September 9, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The last place we visited on our 6 day London Pass was Hampton Court Palace. The building of the Palace began in the 1500s by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, he was a favourite of King Henry VIII. The King seized the Palace when Wolsey fell out of favour. Numerous Monarchs have lived in the Palace and redesigned and extended on the original design. It is an enormous Palace with beautiful grounds with numerous manicured gardens. Not only could you do an audio tour but they also had an interactive tour with historic parts played by actors. We travelled onto Andover for our accommodation tonight.Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 22

    Stonehenge, Castle Combe and Bath

    September 10, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    It was freezing walking around Stonehenge today, but luckily the rain held off. I am in awe of the extent of Stonehenge and how much is still unearthed. Throughout the countryside you can see the raised mounds of earth, barrows, they believe these to be where people were buried.
    We drove onto Castle Combe, a quaint village just outside of Chippenham. The beautiful village which looks and feels like it has been trapped in time has had a number of movies and series filmed there. The movies Stardust and War Horse are recent movies as well as the latest series of Downton Abbey.
    Next it was onto Bath, where I did an audio tour of the Roman Baths. The baths were started to be built around 60 - 70AD and were completed over the next 300 years. Various parts were changed throughout the centuries. I was amazed how much was on display of the old ruins and how you were still able to walk through the areas on the same cobblestones that Ancient Romans walked on. We also walked up to King's Circus, which was designed by John Wood, he believed Bath had been the principal centre of Druid activity in Britain so used Stonehenge's dimensions (318 feet) for The Circus' diameter. Divided into three segments of equal length, the Circus is a circular space surrounded by large townhouses. The Royal Crescent overlooks Bath and is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent, these are of similar style to the Circus and were designed by John Wood's son.
    We then drove down the highway to Wellington Travelodge.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 23

    Land's End, England

    September 11, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    The day started out with rain and wind, not looking good for our trip to Land's End, the furtherest village South in England. After 2 hrs 45 mins driving we arrived at Land's End to blue skies but very windy. How lucky we were. Had a great time walking along the cliff edges trying not to get blown away. Surprised at the photos we did get considering the wind and sea mist.
    We drove back along the coastline along some very narrow roads lined with rock walls covered in blackberries, hardly room for one car let alone passing room and then a double decker bus is heading towards you. What the ..... Finally we arrived at St Ives. We drove through the town centre taking turns in streets that had signs stating for small vehicles and motor bikes only. Again I found my way going up streets that look like dead ends only to have a car turn into the street and hope to pass me. Some laughs had at the impossible situations we ended up in, thankfully we made it through. I did a quick run down the many steps for photos of St Ives at low tide. The tide retreats so much that the entire harbour is high and dry. Would love to spend more time wandering along the coastline and taking some time out in St Ives. Maybe next visit.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 24

    The Mumbles, South Wales

    September 12, 2017 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Travelled from Wellington, Somerset to Pencoed, South Wales. We had a relaxing day walking around the shoreline of Langland Bay. There are great paths on the foreshore and could've walked around a number of bays but time didn't allow. We were lucky to get sunshine and no rain until late in the day. After we lunched in a great cafe overlooking the bay we drove around to The Mumbles a quiet seaside village which is on the opposite side of the bay to Swansea. We went for another stroll along the shore before heading off to visit Shirley Price's in-laws and friends of Mim's in Port Talbot. Had a great afternoon listening to their lilting banter all with different accents, Welsh, English, London and Cockney.Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 25

    Stratford Upon Avon, England

    September 13, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    An easy day of travel from Pencoed, Wales back to England to Stratford upon Avon. We tried to take the backroads to see a little more of the countryside but still the smaller roads are very busy with lots of trees on the road verges. We headed for some of the smaller towns and villages driving around the town centres to see the usual Church, Town clock, old pubs and ruins. Made for a lot of comedy of me trying to drive slow while Mim is trying to take snap shots between laughs. We did walk around Coventry where we saw Lady Godiva's statue and Spon Street that has had the buildings recreated from Medieval times.Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 26

    Stratford Upon Avon, England

    September 14, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Love Stratford Upon Avon such a peaceful little town with the beautiful Avon River flowing through the centre. We went on a canal boat ride along the river and visited all things Shakespeare today. He was an amazing playwright and poet producing 37 plays, 154 sonnets and 5 titled poems during his short life of 52 years. I visited his birthplace home and also the cottage of his wife, Anne Hathaway. She lived at her family farm until her marriage to William Shakespeare, she was 26 and he was 18 years of age. We also went on a walking tour taken by a very passionate 78 year old lady who had previously been the mayor of the town and also enjoyed her Theatre. She definitely made the stories come to life.Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 27

    North Wales

    September 15, 2017 in Wales ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    The small snippets I see of the UK make me want to come back and stay awhile longer so I can take it all in and have time to walk around and experience each of the places. Today's drive was amazing so many great, unexpected surprises. We left Stratford-Upon-Avon headed north west to Llangollen, in North Wales we walked along the River Dee and around the village before heading through the mountains taking the Pass of Llanberis. The scenery from Betws-y-Coed to Brynrefail was magnificent. The water from the mountains was tumbling down in rivulets and small waterfalls gushing into the growing river that was bursting at its banks and escaping into the green sodden pastures. The sheep and cows were peacefully ignorant of the rain and chewing at the lush green grass. As we wind through the Pass you have a stunning view of the mountains that have crumbled away to form large land slips made up of enormous boulders. Then the hillsides change again, now the mountains are scarred, purple and black the result of slate mining. We find ourselves at the village of Llanberis at the foothill of Snowden Mountain. Snowden Mountain another area to stay and explore.

    From here we travel on to Caernarfon Castle on the West Coast of Wales near Anglesey. We visited the Castle, which saw the investiture of Prince Charles to the Crown back in 1969. As we were so close we had to visit the town with the longest name in Wales, Llanfairpwllgwyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogoch. Then a quick reminiscent visit for Mim to Ruthin Castle which today is a British Hotel. Then finally onto Wrexham, Wales for our overnight stay.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 28

    Trevor, Wales and Chester, England

    September 16, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We didn't have far to travel from Wrexham to Liverpool so visited the Pontsycyllte Aqueduct in Trevor, Wales. Incredible structure sitting 126 feet (38 metres) over the River Dee at its central point. The Aqueduct has a walkway and a narrow iron canal trough which is just wide enough to fit a narrow boat. We walked across the Aqueduct and watched a narrow boat and some canoes navigate there way across.

    We then had a short drive to Chester, England which has the only complete Roman walled city in Britain. We walked the two miles around the red sandstone walls stopping off to have a cruise on the River Dee and watch the first race of the day at the racecourse from the city wall. The city wall overlooks the racecourse. The Chester Cathedral is an enormous building that has been enlarged over time from its original form.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland and The United Kingdom
    Day 29

    Liverpool, England

    September 17, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We all live in a yellow submarine ... we went to see the Beatles Story at Albert Docks, Liverpool. The retelling of the Beatles journey was really well done, it took us around two hours with our audio guides. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
    We had a great time walking around the docks area and went for a cruise around the inside area of the Docks, it would have been better if there was a commentary. People were everywhere in pirate hats and costumes for the Pirate festivities that were on this weekend. The Albert Docks were brought back to life in the 1980's after a long time of sitting desolate.    Read more

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