Swi in Wales - St. David's

I joked on the drive over to the city that we might not be able to see the cathedral as the fog we were driving through reduced our visibility to about 10 mts at one stage. 

Well at least the inside was mist-less.

After lunch in the refectory, we revisited the secret garden,

 for photo opps,

then to admire the roses,

and _______ (fill in the blank). Gives you an indication as to how damp it was.

Swi in Wales - Milford Haven and Pembroke.

 The old docks are now a marina.  Very quiet here,

so we moved on to castle number five, Pembroke.

The first Tudor king of England and Wales was born here, Henry the VII.  Then came Henry the VIII, daughter Mary and finally Elizabeth before the Scottish Stuarts were invited to take over the 'crown'.  no Englishman had the right credentials for the job, apparently.

Back to our temporary home from home to relax.

Swi in Wales - Manorbier Castle

Castle number four. This castle was built during the 12th century and is pretty much the same today as back then, only having been attacked twice and then only in skirmishs.

 That could have been due to its rather remote situation

 Going up to the chapel,

and, yes, it was still a bit chilly, cold even. This is June, in the UK.  Just a reminder, it IS summer, June in this part of the world.

 The day before our visit there had been a wedding in the chapel.

The church next door, St James's, again dating from the 12th century.

Swi in Wales - Tenby

 The colourful houses curving round the harbour.

 St Catherine's island, with a more modern fort atop it, part of the the UK defensies built in the 1860's against a perceived threat from France's Neapolitan. The fort is currently 'closed to the public' and faces an uncertain future, apparently, whatever that means.

Our third castle visited, a Tenby tick in the box. Still chilly.

Swi in Wales - Brecon - Monmouth Canal

A two hour trip along the canal from the Brecon end

A very tranquil place, the water way,

with a chance for a short walk whilst the boat was turned around,

by our friendly host.

Swi in Wales

Welcome to The View.

First off, a visit to our local  castle in Caerphilly,

with a second castle the next day, Cardiff.  I have cheated a little bit with the photos.  The weather was so bad we didn't take any decent images, so these are from the archive, so to speak.

More Big Boys Toys.

A model steam engine working up a head of steam.

Day at the Coast, Whitmore Bay

Leaving the cars behind for a stroll east around the  bay,

before returning to the west side for a picnic lunch with a view.

A Day by the Coast and Classic Cars

Over 400 vehicles on display on Barry Island's Promenade.

Learned to drive in one.  If you are wondering what the panda is doing sitting in front of the Morris, it is a reference to the nick name these cars were given in the 1960s.  Why panda?  Because they appeared as black and white on the monochrome TVs of the period, in the cops and robbers sitcom, Z-cars.  Most plausible explanation thrown up by google.

Had one,

Had one,

Had two,

 Wish I had had one,

Had one, but never drove one. Not a Morgan anywhere to be seen.

Penarth Alexandra Park.

Topiary central. 

With the odd sculpture here and there.

Volvo Ocean Race - Port Run Around, Cardiff

We arrived a little early for the start of the in port race, with the estuary still empty of yachts.  Rather chilly it was.

The circuit  buoys were on the way out to make the course,

and the rescue chaps going out to station. So, time for an Italian lunch along Penarth promenade.

 On our return, there they were.  Seemed to be playing chicken with each other, three going right and two left.

A little difficult was it to capture all 7 yachts in one shot.  Before the start of the race, flitting about all over the place they were

Then they were off.  Bit confusing for us, the uninitiated, as three yachts when off to the left and  four headed across the estuary towards Devon.

Walking back to the station, Scallywag came in to view between the trees.  She had just wound in her spinnaker.

Arriva is Departing

Come September we are due to have a change of train operator on the valley lines.

These old chaps will soon be retired.  Some are more than 35 years young.

Hope they keep the friendly dragon that guards our station.

View from Mynyndd Eglwysilan

 To the north, the Beacons

To the south, the Bristol Channel.  That is a range of well over 50 miles.

The Ordnance Survey post, now clearly obsolete, on the common is at 355 mt, 1165 ft. That is the wonder of the Valleys, so many of these easy to access 360 panoramic views. Must remember to take a decent image of the east and west views on our next visit for completeness sake.

Book - How Shakespeare Changed Everything.

Or did he?  Not sure he did. He did, however, reflect back to us how we really are.  And for certain we have not changed in the 400 years since he was strutting his stuff.  Life is still unfair. Well written book, though, and a fun  read.  3 on the door for Steve.

Book - Ticket to Ride

A fun read which prompted me to label all our train experiences here on this blog. See 'Trains' at the foot of this entry.  The result, 25 posts on trains!!  The book is more about the countries and the people met on Tom's rides than the trains and thier engines.  Some of his people meetings chimed with our own.  4 on the door for Chesshyre.