Sept 17 Cardiff

Our day started with a light drizzle and foolish temperatures. We hid adieu to the Vibster Inn and made our wauly toward Cardiff on twisty windy roads, leading finally to a Motor Way which hastened our progress. Before we knew it we were crossing the Severn on a roll bridge and then we arrived. We were in Cardiff much sooner than expected so we decided to explore.

We went to the city centre on a water taxi which gave us a view of the banks of the River Taff and which brought us directly to the foot of the Cardiff Castle. We decided to take advantage of this and went into the castle for a self guided tour.

This castle has a Keep, used for protection back in Norman times, and more recently a home was added which was built over the decades by a family famous to the area, The Butes.

We climbed the steep steps to the top of the Keep where we could see the country side and imagine days gone by.

We wandered freely, learning about the castle in all its iterations...from Roman fort (the foundations of which were used for construction of the keep and the outer walls) to Norman castle, to royal residence, to air raid shelters from the second world war. The beautiful room in the Palace are used today to entertain heads if state and royalty.

One part of the tour took us into the fortified walls which surround the castle.  During the second world war these were opened up to the public and used as bomb shelters.  These have been refurbished to show how they appeared at the time and as we walked through them famous speeches were piped into the space as well as radio programs from the time.  The sounds of dropping bombs made the experience seem very authentic.

After this adventure we wandered through the city centre where there are many covered arcades.  Then hopped in a bus back to the docklands where our hotel was located.

 We wondered through this area and happened past the Welsh Assembly...a beautiful and modern building made from glass, affording a view of the representatives inside when they are debating public policy...now THAT is open and transparent! (Interesting fact, the wood used in the centre comes from Canada).

It was a very picturesque stroll and we ended the day watching the moon rise over the bay.

Sept 16 - Bath

Our day started with a fantactic breakfast at the Vobster Inn in keeping with the British tradition of a hearty breakfast to kick off the day. We wasted no time at all and drove into Bath as we were hoping to avoid crowds at the Roman Baths a very popular tourist site in the modern city of Bath.

Paul has completely mastered the art of driving on the left and our satellite navigation system is getting us around with efficiency.

We were able to get into the baths with ease and we had the luxury of time to thoroughly explore. There were spots that were crowded due to the confined quarters but overall there were light crowds.

The baths are amazing. They were built by the Romans 2000 years ago on the site of a naturally occurring hot spring. It was used as a hot spa for bathing and treatments and also a religious site dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva.

Originally it had a large vaulted roof and so it was very like the public pools of today. We learned that the water is green because it is now exposed to sunlight and hence algae grows.

We wandered through the ruins of the religious parts of the complex and learned about the religious practices. The complex came to life with the use of projectors that show how things would have looked during the Roman's era.

One of the interesting practices was that of curses. These were written on led tablets for wrongs which had been committed and these the thrown into the spring for the goddess's intervention.

Another interesting find...the jems which were found in the spring...either lost by their owners or thrown into the waters as an offering.

We followed up our visit with a walking tour through the city. This took us to the Avon River where we saw more beautiful idyllic scenery.

We took a break and found a very cool cafe in a shop on a bridge across the River...

And then we visited the Victoria Art Gallery...

And the assembly rooms which were once used for social gatherings.

We finished up the walking tour at the circus and the Royal Crescent, townhouses which have been constructed in a circle.

The day was coming to a close and so we decided to head back to our hotel. On the way we stopped at The George Inn which purports to be the oldest pub in England and we explored a bit after our meal. We discovered a church from the 14th century and wandered around the grounds while the sun set.

Sonning Eye

Sept 15, 2018...
Another stellar day has come and gone. We started with a lovely morning with Hilary and Alan and Paul and Alan went to pick up our rental car. We bid them adieu as we are coming back to stay with our wonderful hosts at the end of our trip and are also hoping they might find the time to jump on a train and join us along our route.

 Then we make our way to Sonning Eye a village in the Thames, not far from Reading. We met up with my cousins Graham and Mary Carpenter and Janet Harley and her daughter, Rachel at the Coppa Club.

This is a lovely restaurant at which my Mom and Dad met their Mother decades ago. Both Janet and Graham have fond memories of that meal all those years ago and we enjoyed meeting with them there to hear the stories and to get reacquainted

After a leisurely lunch, we took a stroll in the village to see the home of Jimmy Page(of Led Zepplin fame)...

...and then made our way to the Thames walk where we saw some picturesque views which are so often associated with the English country side.

Then we said goodbye and drove to our hotel in Lower Vobster, a quaint pub in a village close to Bath.  The drive there was incredible, though beautiful hedge lined roads with trees arching overhead forming tunnels.  We even drove through Picwick...