Stonehenge to London

Time to play a Little blog catch-up on my new IPad Pro while sitting on a plane between London and Norway.

Salisbury was a lovely couple of days and nights. We found a great little thatched roof Airbnb just out of the city at Alderbury and used this as our base to explore the surrounds. The city of Salisbury is recovering from the Russian spy incident that hospitalised three people and killed one poor innocent person that happened to pick up a perfume bottle and spray the contents resulting in a rather hideous death and a note to self not to pick up any items lying in the streets. The area where the initial poison attack took place is still cordoned off with security guards and the restaurant concerned closed until next year. 

We purchased some prints for the walls at home in the market, wandered through Salisbury Cathedral, checked out the Magna Carta and had a couple of pints before heading back to our lodgings. Dinner that night was at the local pub, The Green Dragon with a BBQ and band. Only a handful of patrons and us so we got chatting with the band and were adopted at their table for the evening. It was a great night with the Brown Dog Band and their rather impressive blues and roots music. Impressive given they never practice together but obviously very talented guitar and vocals. Chief groupie and part time singer Terri entertained us with her Irish humour and if you closed your eyes for a minute you could have been on the set of Mrs Browns Boys.

Stonehenge was everything we remembered and luckily we had pre-purchased tickets and arrived when it opened so were on the second shuttle bus out and in a prime position to get photos without 3000 tourists in the background. We spent 3 hours wandering around and brushing up on our history lessons before heading back to town for some more meandering. Once back at our room we found a note from our lovely French host Catherine that she was up at the Green Dragon for the medieval afternoon which consisted of a bbq and sword fighting display. It was a lot of fun and nice to catch up with some local people. The travelling sideshow was well done with the guys dressing up in full suits of armour and having a reasonable crack at fighting each other. My video looks pretty good including the occasional truck that drives by to enhance the medieval feel.

London

We merely drove to Brighton where we were to hand back the car and given that parking was pretty difficult we skipped the festivities, dropped of the car and headed to the train station to meet up with Mike and Eilis in Twickenham. I taught with Mike’s first wife Julie in 1990 and he has kept in touch since including a couple of trips to Tasmania. They kindly offered to put us up for the week and therefore give us a base, a washing machine, access to some home cooking and fair to say a few beers and wines.

It was a great week and a 30 minute train ride into London so we were able to do our sightseeing with relative ease including the hop-on, hop-off bus, the London Eye, a ferry ride up the Thames, a visit to Hyde Park, Kew Gardens and Selfridges (managed to get out without opening the wallet), checked out Buckingham Palace, customary photos of Big Ben - albeit shrouded in scaffolding and shade cloth. Kew gardens was beautiful, the different plant houses were spectacular both in size, structure and plant displays and the bee hive stucture would have been very much at home at MONA.  I reckon one of the highlights was the Tower of London where 4 hours just wasn’t enough....

Other highlight included catching up with two friends from 28 years ago Martin Allen and Mark Burke. The first session with Martin and a mate of his was supposed to be beers and a curry but somewhere the curry was lost and we just stayed in the pub until closing and then a rather long tube/train trip home (made even longer by the fact I was busting for a wee!) I think we fell in the door about 1am but had a good laugh during the evening. Second lunch with Mark and Martin was a bit more civilised and I suspect it too could have been a big one if we didn’t have to go out for Dinner with Mike and Eilis. It was our farewell meal with them and our treat as Mike had picked up the bill a few nights earlier at City Social in Tower 42 ( see photos in previous post). That particular bill was £540 pounds ($1000.00) so I guess I got of lightly with the £215 pub meal......

We spent a night down on the coast at Lymington with their friends, weather was pretty ordinary but the company was  great and the drive down took us through the New Forest National Park, - underwhelming except for the Donkeys, Sheep, Cows and horses that are very happy to go about their business on the side of the road and occasionally blocking the traffic due to the fact they have right of way .

We decided against Westminster Cathedral due to the ridiculous queues and were too late in the day to go into St Paul’s but maybe would’ve baulked at the over charging £18 per person! We did however get photos of Platform 9 3/4 (along with a visit to the Harry Potter Shop) which may impress some little people. 

Our AIRBNB

The Green Draggon - check out the roof line but then again it is over 400 years old!

A couple of dogs in the bar last night 

And now to Scandinavia.....

last days in Wales then on to England

Diagnosis confirmed! The iPad is dead....... we will have a conversation with the insurance company but either way the only option will be a new device. 

Cardiff, two nights in an Airbnb and plenty of time to explore the city. The Airbnb was alright but the owner had certainly stretched the truth a little. Starting with her profile picture which I suspect was taken 20 years previously! The room was large but the “private “ bathroom could only be accessed by walking past the other 2 bedrooms so didn’t exactly feel right.

Day 1 was Cardiff central with the first stop being the Apple shop. Lovely city walks and then a wander around Cardiff Castle. Yes, another castle but this time with a fantastic 6th century Keep that was in pretty good condition. The later renovations on the walls and buildings were somewhat extravagant but worth the visit. 

Day 2 was filled with a visit to the museum and then a lazy afternoon with a lunch and stroll around the Cardiff Bay Area that is walking distance from our abode so we decided on an afternoon snooze and then take in a show at the rather impressive Cardiff Performing Arts centre - Summer Holiday, a musical based on the Cliff Richard 60’s movie. Great fun with a good mix of songs and plenty of energy. The added bonus was some space away from the bnb which was perfectly fine but just didn’t feel private enough for us. After the show we went in search of a glass of wine as unlike home there was none to be had at the theatre. But not to worry, a short stroll along the waterfront and we found not only a glass of wine but a man playing trumpet and singing. Great entertainment! Apart from a brief altercation with some smokers. We had chosen to sit outside under the awning despite the slight occasional drizzle so we could listen to the music. The table we sat at had 4 chairs and shortly after sitting down a women came and asked if we minded if she sat. Of course we said no! She sat and then proceeded to light up so we said we would prefer if she didn’t smoke - she said but we are outside (which of course is allowed in Europe even if you are only standing in the doorway!) - we said yes but we are not smokers (there were other chairs!) - she of course ignored us and continued to smoke. Bitch! We thought we would just wait for her to finish and leave which she did and then returned with two friends who stood around our table lighting up. Very deliberate! Very rude! So we moved to which she said “bye!” Guess you find them everywhere. They all finished their cigarettes and left. Some people just need to be ........ Anyway, despite this we had a great night which ended up later than anticipated as we stayed to listen to the singing and trumpet playing.

Headed off early towards Salisbury via Bath so we new it was going to be an actioned packed day and we wanted to make the most of our time. We had both been previously, in fact I remember taking Mum and dad there in 1990. It is still as beautiful as ever with amazing Georgian architecture and buildings in amazing condition. Photos without people are impossible but can be frustrating when some tourists are completely oblivious, or self centred, and just wont get out of the way. 

Dinner with the Parkers - very flash night in London city

Dinner  with these lovely people. Venue was City Social in Tower 42. Chef Jason Atherton a Michelin  Star 

A great night Check out the views and menu here http://citysociallondon.com/

Mike and Elise Parker 



The Pisco Sour with “paint”

My Rabbit

The Brecon Becons

National parks in Wales are interesting. They are lived in. There are roads, villages, farms etc. no fences (which has been the case in much of Ireland also) so you frequently drive past sheep grazing on the edge of the road. They are very non-fussed and pay no attention to the cars - just keep on grazing. Today we drove past horses as well. They were quite small compared to horses we are used to seeing at home. At one point there were several cars pulled off on the side of the road and people in amongst a reasonable size group of horses patting them. They are obviously very used to people! 

Our drive through the National Park was picturesque then on to the southern coast of Wales and the Gowr peninsular - a walk on the beach at Porth Einon where we checked out the ruins of an old smugglers residence and salt house then a drive out as far as Worms Head which is linked by a causeway accessible at low tide. Beautiful coastline! We walked out to the headland at the start of the causeway but decided against continuing cross the causeway as it would have meant another long day and late finish so back up a different road through the National Park and back to Brecon for a walk along the canal where we met a couple of men from England doing some pole fishing. This involved very long poles made up of several sections joined together and held out over the water with a fairly small length of line attached by a short length of elastic. The bait was a kernel of corn. When a fish is hooked the rod is broken down section by section to bring the fish into the shore to take it off the hook and “bag” it. One of them caught a small one while we were watching which he threw back. Then on down the canal and through the town before dinner at The George - a local pub. Good food and great value. We continue to notice the unusual eating style of the locals - their use of knife and fork is somewhat different to what we are used to seeing!

Wales

Blog

Well here we are in Wales. The missing few days of our travels in Northern Ireland are trapped on Stu’s iPad which is frozen and refusing to recharge. Hopefully we can recover it and upload it in a few days if we can resolve the issue with the iPad when we get to Cardiff. If not it’s up to your imagination until we get the time and energy to rewrite it! Technology! Fabulous when it works!!!

Anyway, Wales is beautiful. After an almost debacle with our ferry trip - thought we were leaving from Dunleary but luckily checked and found we were actually sailing from the Port of Dublin we checked in at the terminal amidst what seemed a little disorganised and chaotic boarding process. We soon discovered we were not the only bewildered passengers wondering if we were in the right queue or if we had actually missed the ferry but no - all was well we eventually boarded and arrived without incident in Holyhead, collected our hire car and drove to The Gladstone, near Conwy - our accommodation for the night. A lovely little hotel across the road from the beach - a very nice welcome to Wales.

Next morning - destination Snowdonia National Park. Our travels took us through the town of Conwy where we discovered a wonderful castle in the middle of the city. So first stop - explore the castle AND try and find somewhere to fix the iPad problem. Castle - fabulous - iPad - No! We were directed to the nearby town only a few minutes away so thought it worth a try but NO! So onward to Snowdonia driving through fabulous scenery, narrow windy roads, past magnificent stone houses, mountains (literally) of slate, one lane roads including a bridge with a peak in the middle meaning you can not see what’s coming from the other side until you get to the top - therefore cars frequently meet in the middle and someone has to reverse back down to allow the other traffic over. Crazy! And beside it a completely leaf/ vine covered tea house - gorgeous! 

Our accommodation for the next three nights is in Betws -y- Coed at a place called Craig -y- Dderwen. You have gotta love the Welsh names. Apparently it is very easy once you know the rules! I still don’t know the rules. 

Regardless, our accommodation was on one of the four rivers that meet in Betws and very beautiful. A lovely base for our next few days. Betws is a lovely little town bustling with tourists, especially heaps of ramblers/ hikers. After checking in we explored the town. It was a bit rainy for too much adventuring but we did manage a visit to Swallow falls - beautiful!

Day one in Snowdonia National Park - we decided to go exploring and drive around/ through the National Park. We drove towards the bottom of the park to a town called Dolgellau which reputedly has the largest number of historical buildings. True to description it was narrow cobbled streets full of fabulous old stone houses, shops, churches, pubs etc complete with a Sunday market held where else but in the pub! From here we headed back towards the top of the park and back towards Conwy to visit a National Trust property - Bodnant Gardens which was described as the best gardens in the UK. The estate - house and gardens were spectacular. Unfortunately we had made the decision to leave our coats in the car when we set off. Of course it started to rain shortly after - only light misting showers to begin but when it set in 10 minutes from getting back to the car we decided our earlier decision had not been so good. Returning to the car a little wet and soggy we decided it’s best to always carry your jacket. It is Wales after all! We managed a quick visit to the Welsh Food Centre and picked up some very yummy olives, salami, cheese, duck rillette etc for a relaxed dinner back at our accommodation. 

Next day and we are booked on the rack and pinion rail to the top of Mt Snowdon. Blue skies when we woke looked hopeful but by the time we had showered and changed it was gray and had started to rain. Sadly this only worsened and we had zero visibility on our journey to the top. Once there we had half an hour to explore the summit, take photos etc. it was raining, windy and cold but we were there so what to do - go to the summit of course. It was only a short, not very steep walk but........it was raining, windy and freezing! But we did it and have the photo of us surrounded by white cloud!!! Then straight back to the visitor centre for some warmth and a coffee before boarding the train to head back down. We did take a couple of photos of some postcards in the gift shop at the bottom so we could show people what it’s actually meant to look like.

From there we headed out towards the coast to Caernarfon and another castle. This was amazingly well preserved and intact. You can’t help but go Wow! amazing! Then on to Anglesey for a drive around the island and a visit to the town with the longest name. (Stu says he thinks there is one in New Zealand that’s longer - the challenge is yours Rob to track it down). Anglesey is very different to the rest of Wales - quite flat! Visited another beautiful estate called Plas Newydd. Again beautiful gardens and house set on the water.

Sadly, we watched the weather slowly clear during the day till we had blue skies in the afternoon. It seems to be the pattern at the moment - greyer and rain in the morning clearing as the day goes on! Oh well who can control the weather! Although there are a lot of churches here!!! 

Farewell to Snowdonia and we head south today via the coast and then back in to the Brecon Beacons - another National Park. Stopped off at a couple of seaside villages for a bit a walk around. Drove through more fabulous scenery. Stopped for a visit at Llanerchaeron - an old farm estate. Fabulous old house filled with very authentic memorabilia. The farm and walled garden is still operational. Then on to Brecon x checked into our B&B accommodation then off to dinner at Gurkha Corner for some Nepalese food (inWales!)

The parking costs are going to kill us as everywhere we go they want to charge you to park. By far the worst was the 8£s for the railway but a close second was 5£s at the castle where the spaces did not allow enough room for a driver and passenger to get out. Actually , every park is small so owning an SUV is almost out of the question. 

Unleaded petrol is £1.32 per litre which equates to $2.30 

Beer and gin on the other hand are pleasantly surprising given I can get a pint of beer and a gin and soda for under £7   Probably should stay in the village and just drink in order to save money. 

Ireland country road trip

Bloody google! I have had all sorts of trouble uploading photos and it turns out that google wont import photos that are stored on an I phone or in the apple i cloud. Problem fixed, download their app and duplicate all of my photos onto their platform as well.......

So a quick update on the last week since our Dublin post. We have been on a bit of a road trip heading south east to Kilkenny, Cork, Tralee, Galway and now in Northern Ireland at Derry. We have travelled some miles along motorways where you can do 120kms and over narrow country roads on the Wild Atlantic Way that are barely a car and a half wide and the speed limit reduced to 100km with no verges and plenty of blind corners to keep the Adrenaline flowing. Add to this will be the odd goat, sheep or cow grazing on the side of the road oblivious to the traffic.

Plenty of beautiful sights and amazing ruins of castles, monasteries and abandoned houses that we both look at and think could be our next renovation project. Evenings are filled with music and the odd pint or two of Guinness, Smithwicks amber or a local regional brew.  We have been treated to some great music including Irish ballads and amazing “jam sessions” where. Strangers can meet and join in much like the New Sydney on a Saturday afternoon in Hobart.

 A shot of the remaining tower from the 6th century monastery in Glendalough . A great experience and lovely chance to stretch the legs and explore. 

Whilst under attack from the Vikings the monks would head up the tower and pull up the ladders behind them. No problem the Vikings just camped below and used all of the produce waiting to starve the monks and their gold out.

Kilkenny  castle by night a

 The Irish are not afraid of using colour to brighten up their houses.

 Kilkenny castle by day

Rock of Cashell

Amazing roof structure holding the sandstone roof

Ringof Kerry cliffs

Cliffs of Moher

Miles of dry stone wall as far as the eye can see

Hags head at the end of the cliffs of Moher. We were determined to get to the end once we had started despite it being a bloody lot further than we first thought. 

View from the cliffs of Moher a great day . 

Another shot and you can just see the tower at the end 

 Limestone for miles that was formed during the ice age

Kylemore Abbey

The church at Kylemore Abbey

Tho walled gardens

A pile of Peat ready to go on the fire

The first few days in Ireland

 🎶In Dublin fair city. Where the girls are so pretty 🎶

So here we are folks. Not much to say about the flight other than it was looong! Thankfully Robyn had the sense to book an overnight hotel in Abu Dhabi so after 14 hours we were able to find a bed and a few hours (5) sleep before hitting the Etihad lounge and another 7 hours to Dublin. After finding the hotel we settled in and being 4 in the afternoon headed out to explore. Surprise, surprise we ended up in a hotel in the Temple Bar district  just a short walk from where we are staying. The pub was actually the Temple Bar Hotel and had four bars all jam packed with tourists and locals. We settled on the one with the music and consequently the least space but spent a fabulous couple of hours listening to 3 guys performing great music including some rock renditions of classical Irish tunes. There was one particular table that had 3 guys that looked like they were straight off the set of “Vikings” including one that would pass for Ragnor Lothberg!!!
In bed by 8.30 as we were two very tired little vegemites.
Day 2 a bit more alive so off we set to take in some sites via the “hop on hop off” bus. First stop Trinity College and “The Book of Kells” . A nice tour and well worth a visit. Thankfully the crowds were no where to be seen so we had plenty of time and space to take in the displays and brush up on my religious history. While at the College we wandered the old library, reportedly the inspiration for the Hogwarts library and I can see the resemblance, absolutely stunning and a good experience.
Tried to get into Kilmainham Goal but apparently you need to book! No worries, let’s catch a cab back to the Guinness Storehouse and do the tour there instead (It’s still history and culture isn’t it?) Great tour but of course being Gluten based Robyn was unable to partake so I had to take one for the team and drink her pint as well as mine.......
Best joke of the day from one of the hop on hop off bus drivers - “Daddy do all fairy tales begin with Once upon a time...... No darling, most fairy tales begin with Once I get elected I promise.......” He went on to lament the caliber of the Irish politicians but I think we can relate!
A new day and off we head for more of Dublin. Walked 18000 steps including a great tour of the Gaol and a better insight to the treatment of political prisoners, the great potato famine and a number of uprisings in the battle for independence. Well worth a visit. More great shops and food to be had and then relaxed into the Temple Bar (again) with a pint of the Ruby red or black stuff commonly known as Guinness. The band was outstanding and you couldn’t stop the legs from tapping or the hands from clapping. Not sure what happened but it was getting close to midnight before the head hit the pillow. Mind you only 1 pint of Guinness in 2 hours (starting to drink like a local). Robyn brought a CD and it might not make it home if it’s the only one we buy as 12 weeks on repeat could see it, or me, thrown out the window.

What has been wonderful to see in Dublin is that “someone” has had the vision to retain the character and identity of the city. Beautiful old buildings in the city centre, not a high rise to be seen! Great traditional Irish pubs that are welcoming, not seedy, with not a pokie or TV screen in sight! Consequently the city has a wonderful relaxed feel full of charm and everything Irish! People walking, shopping, chatting, great atmosphere and the city seems to be thriving! Perhaps the Tasmanian politicians and the Hobart councillors need to pay a visit and find out it can be done! It is possible to retain what is unique and quintessential without sacrificing progress and economic growth.
Celebrating and cheers to Lydia on getting a contract ar Rose Bay High School 

The library at Trinity college 

Surprise. A Guinness or two