Flintshire

Set the alarm for 7 am and we were up and motivated. No thunderstorms overnight but it was raining lightly. We got organised and then drove straight off the levelling blocks and headed for terra firma like an old man heading for the toilet - slowly but without stopping. We hade it to the roadway and stopped to empty and fill all the appropriate tanks before heading away.
We headed north past Birmingham which forever to get around because it so large and because the traffic was building up. Apparently it is a Bank Holiday weekend coming up - whatever that means. At Telford we made out to Ironbridge to see the first iron made bridge in the world. It was here that some chap in the 1770s thought why don't I use coal/coke to run my furnace instead of charcoal like everyone else is using. As a result of that inspired thought furnaces could be run at a higher temperature and produce commercial grade quantities of iron. Hence the construction of the bridge and the coming of the use of iron as a commercial building material.

Per usual it was cold and cloudy so after a wander around the beautiful village we headed into a cafe for a coffee and a very fine Penang red curry to warm the inner person.

While at Ironbridge I made about 10 calls to different camps in North Wales and they were all full but managed to secure 2 nights at a camp near Liverpool from which it looks to be a relatively easy drive to Conwy in North Wales for a day trip. Not quite how we planned it but there ya go.

From Ironbridge we headed to into Wales to Pontcysyllte Aquaduct. Back in the good old days of the Empire commercial transportation within the UK was by barge pulled by a horse or 2. Obviously there was an issue when the waterway came to a valley. While the water would happily flow downhill it would refuse to go up the other side. The answer to the problem was based on the Roman aquaduct and hundreds of them were constructed throughout the country so barges could happily move from one valley to the next. We walked down the valley and across a beautiful old stone bridge and up the other side to the aquaduct where we walked back over it and to the motorhome. The towpath for the horses was only a metre or so and I have no idea what weight in water and barges the aquaduct was supporting but I didn't mention it to Gaye as we made our way across it. It was a long way down.

From there we made our way further north to our campsite for the night which proved to be a wee gem. When we picked up the motorhome we bought a bottle of bubbles and a bottle of red. Tonight we finished the red. The bubbles remains in the fridge. Did I mention we have been a bit poorly?

We have finished a small bottle of rum though in fairness.Read more