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Kings, Queens, Pubs n Castles

August - October 2017
A 59-day adventure by Karen Read more
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  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    Day 14

    Shipping ports and headlands!

    August 30, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Nice tour of some pretty shipping ports today. We started off in Looe, Cornish pasties for breakfast, then on to Polperro for coffee. Had some delicious mussels in Charslestown. Walked out to the Dolman Peninsula when we'd had enough of people for a while. We weren't exactly dressed for a hike but it wasn't to far or too strenuous. Beautiful views over the coast from there. Took a bit of a shortcut coming back through a field full of gorgeous Dexter cows. Well we thought they were all cows until this big black bull came around the corner. Luckily he was more interested in one of his lady friends and we hightailed it before he got concerned about his privacy.

    Finished the day in Mevagissey for icecream so and fish and chips. You see a theme here. I think we tried all of Cornwall's favourites!    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    Day 14

    Doc Martin, Castles and Witches!

    August 30, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Raining this morning when we set off, about a fifty minute drive over to Port Isaac, bit of a mix of motorway, smaller highways and tiny little lanes. It had stopped raining by the time we got there at least, still pretty overcast though. What a gorgeous little village, you can see why they picked this one for the tv series. Lots of pretty streets leading down to a picturesque harbour. We'd done our usual trick and were there before a lot of the shops had opened. That works pretty well for us though because you get to see a bit before the crowds arrive. We hiked up to the top of one of the cliffs overlooking the village, beautiful views from up there and the rain held off and the sun tried it's best to shine through. We finally discovered what a Bacon Bap is too. Bit like a toasted bagel with bacon.

    Next stop was Tintagel, home of one of King Arthur's Castles, or the ruin of it anyway. Beautiful headland and more gorgeous vistas! Nice old post office in town too, which is restored to its former glory and on display. It started to rain again just as we got back to town and we'd worked up an appetite after all this walking so tried out a hand picked crab sandwich, yummo!

    Then on to Boscastle, another pretty little harbour, only really small this time lined with steep slate cliffs, and an interesting witches museum. Lots of protected harbours in Cornwall so I'm assuming the seas get pretty high and rough at times!

    Set the GPS to home and this time it let us through every small lane in Cornwall I think. Omg talk about squeezy, the hedges and rocks walls are whizzing past and nobody slows down, not even the little old ladies.ma couple of them left us for dead. Anyway we made it back with a few more grey hairs to show for it! Now to sort some dinner, there's no lack of pubs so I'm sure we'll be right!    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    1
    Day 15

    Forgotten Cornwall

    August 31, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Last day in Cornwall and since we'll be driving a bit tomorrow we didn't want to stray too far. Nice driving trip around the Rame Peninsula. More beautiful coastal views. A couple of very pretty unspoilt villages, Cawsand and Kingsand, nice swimming beaches and some brave souls were in there. Very quiet and laid back places with some more pretty lanes. Had a great breakfast where they charge you 50 p for each item you want, cheapest breakfast I've ever had!

    Headed around the point to catch the ferry for a cruise around Plymouth Harbour, nice ride but stark contrast to this side of the harbour. Plus an old Cornish guy told us if you go across the river " there be dragons over there". Thought we better not chance it!

    We found lovely Edgeworth Gardens and had tea and scones in the garden, very English and the sun had come out again by then so it was lovely!    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    1
    Day 16

    Stonehenge

    September 1, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We're leaving pretty Cornwall behind today and heading up towards Wales to collect our narrow boat. But first we want to visit Stonehenge and Bath. About a two hour drive to Stonehenge but it was worth it. Natured turned on a lovely day for us and it looks very majestic out there in the field by itself. Well apart from the 200 people surrounding it. We took the iconic photos and had a look in the museum and the Neolithic display which was really good, mostly because they had people in the hunts explaining what everything was, makes all the difference.

    Then on to Bath, only an hour away but back in the city traffic. Having a car in the city is not an advantage! Finally we found a car park and then the Roman Baths. They are pretty amazing and the British Heritage have done a lot of work. We tagged on to a free tour of the baths which was amusing and very informative!

    Oh course after reading all those Georgette Heyer Novels ( I loved those books )I had to have a look in The Pump Room and see the famous Spring. It's a fancy restaurant now and after missing lunch it all looked pretty appetising so we stayed for high tea. Oh my it was delicious and now we don't need any dinner either which is just as well as cheap it wasn't!

    Getting out of Bath was even more painful then getting in but in the end we made it to Keysham about 10 kms out of Bath. Booked into a hotel here for the night. Feet up for a few hours.    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    1
    Day 17

    Narrowboat time!

    September 2, 2017 in Wales ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Off to Bettisfield today to pick up our Narrowboat, about a two hour drive from where we spent the night near Bristol. We stopped in Whitchurch to visit a little market in the Main Street, bought some cheese, pepperoni and sour dough and a couple of pork pies! What more could you ask for! There was a narrow boat show on not far from town and we called in to have a look at them. Some pretty cute ones!

    They were waiting for us with the boat already when we got to Bettisfield. And after a few instructions and demos we were off! Beautiful day for us to set off, the sun is shining and it's quite hot! Took us a while to get the hang of steering this thing, because it so long it doesn't take much to put it off course! But after cruising down to Ellemere we were doing pretty well. Lots of bridges on the canals too and they are only just wide enough for the Narrowboat so that's pretty interesting trying to line them up!

    We stayed the night in Ellesmere, walked down the canal and had a lovely chat to a young guy who was entertaining his daughter catching a few fish in the canal! Think she was more interested in collecting rocks and showing them to me really but she did like to hold the little fish he caught and chuck them back in. She was only about three and giving me heartaches dancing around the edge of the canal! Dad didn't seem the least bit phased though!

    The next morning and it's a different story, the skies look very threatening and we had a few hours to do today so we made an early start before it actually started to rain. Luckily we'd packed raincoats and beanie and scarves, what a contrast to yesterday, it is freezing today and a constant drizzle. We stopped about ten for a cuppa and to wait for the worst of the rain to pass.

    Once we set off again it just drizzled the whole way to Chirk, we had a bit of fun getting through the locks. I was the one working the locks and was supposed to be listening yesterday when Nick explained it to me, umm don't think it really sunk in. Oh well luckily when we came to the first one there was a few people in front of us and I got to see how it all worked. Seemed like there was plenty of people to help so I wasn't too worried but they all disappeared when it was my turn and left me all alone. Luckily I'm a fast learner or it was pretty simple and I managed to get it sorted.

    There are two locks very close to each other and at the next one I had to help these two ladies who had no clue what they were doing! Ha ha reminds me of work, watch one, do one, teach one! Then some old dude asked me if I was the lock keeper, Yep, fake it till you make it! we made it to Chirk and after tying up we walked uptown to look for a beanie for Graham (he left his at home somehow), but we forgot it's Sunday so nothing was open except a gorgeous tea shop where we had tea and the the most delicious chocolate cake, almost better than I would cook myself.    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    Day 19

    Over the Aquaduct

    September 4, 2017 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The day looked much brighter setting off from Chirk! Not many boaters get up early either it seems and we were all by ourselves going over Chirk Aqueduct and then into the Chirk Tunnel. The aqueduct is 70 feet high and beside it is a 100 foot high viaduct. A lovely warmup to the big event later in the morning. Goodness that tunnel is so long, about 1377 feet to be exact, which doesn't sound like much but took ages to go through. Very eerie too in the early morning with the mist rising off the water!

    The day was brightening up nicely and we came to the Pontcysylite Aqueduct built in 1805, 125 feet high and spanning a 1000 feet across the valley. I was just praying that they really did build things to last back then, cause it didn't seem like there was very much keeping us up there.

    It's a eerie feeling floating across this skinny little waterway so high up and only a thin metal railing on one side. Not that I looked down that side I was firmly planted on the walkway side. Even Graham got a bit freaked out I think.

    Another couple of hours cruising through a really pretty section of the canal and some really narrow one way sections we arrived in Llangollen. What doesn't sound anything like it's spelt, which seems to be a feature of most of the Walsh language. I don't know how the kids ever get the hang of it!

    Llangollen is a really pretty little town with some cute shops even a couple of op shops, lots of pubs and the gorgeous River Dee running through the middle of it. We parked up in the marina and then headed into town for lunch. Don't think we've had a bad meal since we got here and today didn't disappoint either.

    Took the bikes off after lunch and headed up to Horseshoe Falls. Glad we had the bikes or it would have been a bit of a hike. It's not really a waterfall at all but a weir to feed the canal from the river, so a bit disappointing really. But we called in for a drink at the Chainlink Bridge and enjoyed some beautiful views of the Dee River thundering past and watched the steam train stop across the river, so not a wasted trip.

    Rode back down to the boat and had an hour or so chat to the neighbours, who are farmers and their narrow boat is their escape for a few weeks and weekends a year. Now off to find some dinner. Ha ha must seem like all we do is eat and drink but really that is one of the best parts!    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    Day 20

    Back to Chirk

    September 5, 2017 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Leaving Llangollen this morning the sky is looking a bit greyer than yesterday. The neighbours were heading off early so they would get a clear run down the narrow sections, and when we heard them go we thought we may as well follow. Turns out quite a few people had this same idea and the one way section had more of a holdup than yesterday at lunchtime. Never mind it didn't take long and we had a nice run down to Trevor.

    We pulled up at Trevor and walked across the aqueduct, till almost halfway (ok well maybe I only made it a little way) man it's high and even where there's a railing the gaps are huge.

    Another eerie, foggy ride across the aqueduct, and on then down to Chirk! We parked were we hoped was the closest place to the Castle. We've been in the Uk for three weeks and haven't seen a castle yet. We have seen them just haven't visited one. Had a toss up whether to get the bikes off or just walk. Seemed like it would all be uphill, cause nobody builds castles in the valley do they? So we opted to walk.

    Found the gates ok and then followed where we thought the signs pointed, after a little way, no more signs and we weren't sure if we were on the right track or not. We flagged down a Jag going past, who just waved and keep going, Arsehole!

    The next car a cute little convertible Merc, pulled up for us and yes we were on the right track and would we like a lift. You bet we would, lovely man! Thank goodness, it was still a fair way up to the castle.

    We saw the Jag guy when we got there and Graham made himself know to him. Told him we were only after directions. Ha ha he kept trying to talk to us every time we ran into him.

    Our national trust membership got us free entry, Yah. this castle is 700 years old and what a beauty it is. They had all the staterooms open and volunteers in all the rooms to give you a bit of information, or answer any questions. It was amazing and we throughly enjoyed it, the staterooms, the tower, the dungeon and the gardens.

    We spend about three hours there, which is well above our usual attention span! We'd lost our friendly driver though so had to figure out how to walk back to the boat. Getting direction from one of the gardeners, it seemed like we could walk straight down the hill to town. Wasn't quite that simple, but certainly quicker then following the road!    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    Day 22

    Up and Down the Monty!

    September 7, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    So today the plan is to go down the Montgomery Canal. Bit more involved, 8 locks and 4 of them are in a staircase, so you have to book in and be there at a certain time.

    We got ourselves booked and arrived in plenty of time. The lock keeper even opened the gates a little early for us. It was interesting getting through the staircase. We were the first ones down and swapped over in the middle with the first one up.

    Another lonely little lock by itself, which was only shallow but took forever to empty. Then three more and of course all the usual skinny bridges. If anything these ones seemed even skinner. Took about 2 and a half hours to get down to Maesbury, where the canal ends. This canal had just been restored in recent years and Maesbury is as far as they got!

    It's very quite down here with hardly any traffic, which is just as well, the canal is pretty narrow in a lot of places. They keep telling us the canal is 4 boats wide, I wouldn't like to test it in a lot of places. Restoration is underway on the reminder of the canal and we took a walk to have a look at it in the afternoon.

    It's a bit of a nature reserve down here, but a bit disappointing for us. It's not nearly as pretty as the rest of the canal. Lots of hikers and bird watchers though so must be something in it. What it does have is a fantastic pub, where we had a great meal. Graham had duck, best he's ever had which is saying something and I had Faggot. Had to have it just for the name. It's a bit like a pork rissoles with liver and heart so pretty meaty but very tasty.

    Back up the canal again the next day, through all the diy locks and oh no we weren't first in the queue. Turns out that's a bit of a problem, the water in the middle has to be balanced out between the top and bottom locks or the boats start running aground. There was a lot of "Oh Dears" from the lock keeper when we were in there and we had to wait for a while till they put some more water through. Eventually we got through and then motored up to Ellesmere for the afternoon.

    Goodness Ellesmere gets some canal traffic, we cruised all the way in and couldn't find anywhere to park until right in town where someone said they were leaving in an half an hour or so. The canal arm ends in sort of a triangle so we pulled over to the off side to wait till our space was ready, in the meantime this huge Narrowboat came down the arm way too fast, I thought it was going to plow straight through the boat at the end. It did give it a bit of a bang but managed to pull up in time. Needed the help of several people on the wharf to turn it around though.

    Old mate left and we pulled into his space, locked up and took a walk around town. Only saw Tesco last time we were here so it was nice to see a bit more. I had a lovely time looking in the charity shops, only wish I could take some of the stuff in there home. The China is amazing!

    Guess what off to the pub again for dinner!    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    Day 23

    Last day on the Kingfisher!

    September 8, 2017 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Last day on the boat, we have some washing to do and then only a two hour trip back to Bettisfield! Washing done and a bit of housekeeping tidying up the boat, (we have spread our belonging from top to bottom of this thing). We doodled back up to Bettisfield getting there just after lunch.

    We had half a day to fill in and decided to head off to Chester for the afternoon. Now if we'd talked to the boat owners they would have told us not to drive right into the city but to take the park and ride. But Gung-ho as usual we headed in. Wasn't too bad, except we missed the car park, but we did find a park, legal or not I don't know but it was nice and close so good enough.

    What a pretty city centre, it's called the Rows. They have kept all the Tudor half timber buildings. The shops are on two levels but if you look up past the street level it all looks original.

    Chester started life as a Roman fort in the first century with an almost complete wall complete with gates and tower around the old city, a huge and I mean massive cathedral, a Roman amphitheatre which is still being excavated and a castle.

    We walked around the wall, checked out the towers and the city gates, visited the cathedral, and admired all the rows. The only disappointment was the castle which is just a shell really which you couldn't really get close to.

    Headed back to the boat about five, miraculously our car hadn't had it wheels clamped, traffic was a bit worse coming home, but once out of the city centre not too bad. Lots of cars going in though. Have to finish off all the cheese, beer and wine on the boat before we hand it back tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerKings, Queens, Pubs n Castles
    Day 24

    Dublin

    September 9, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Off on the ferry to Ireland, goodness this thing is huge, and I think they go across 4 or 5 times a day. That's a lot of cars and people. The seas were a bit rough but it was a very smooth crossing. Found our way into our B and B, Dublin is pretty easy to drive around except the traffic lights are so slow. Once we'd settled in we got a taxi into the city to try out some Guinness and dinner. Had a fun couple of hours in the Temple Bar, drinking and singing, I even liked the Guinness. Then found a nice Restaurant across the way for another yummy dinner. Don't think anyone in Dublin stays home on a Saturday night cause it was packed in there. So many pubs and restaurants all of the full to overflowing.

    Next morning and we off to the Guinness Storehouse, for a tour. It was great and really interesting, plus you get a free pint of Guinness at the end, who doesn't love that. After some lunch and an hour wandering around their huge gift shop (at least the Guinness had some time to wear off) since we were on a Guinness theme we got the maps up and decided we'd head down to Kilkenny. It's only about an hour and a half and it was a pretty easy drive.

    There are a lot of people here and we couldn't really figure out what they were all doing until we got up near the castle and the road was roped off. Turns out the Cannonball road race finishes at the castle today. it's a charity race for make a wish foundation. Ha ha it was fun watching them come in, 160 hot cars and a huge crowd, two little boys next to me were so excited they were ready to wet their pants when the first one finally came through! "Oh My God Oh My God" one of them kept saying and the other one who was only about five gave me a running commentary on what they all were. That was good cause I didn't have a clue!

    Found a couple of pubs with some live music to finish off the evening. Good day!    Read more

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