An early limo to Heathrow and we’re on our way home. A fun trip, for sure.
London Walkabout & Final Day
On Tuesday, Dick is feeling pretty miserable, a lot of coughing and sweating, but we walk down to Harrahs and later have lunch at the ‘Duke of York’. In the afternoon, Mary heads down to Westminster Abbey for a tour and leaves her poor, ill husband to suffer alone in agony.
Wednesday is our last full day in London and of our trip. Dick is still feeling under the weather, but as this is our last hurrah, we decide to cross a couple of more things off our list. Mid-afternoon, we wander to Leadenhall Market, a historical covered market in the city’s Financial District where some of the Harry Potter scenes were filmed. It’s one of the oldest markets in London, dating back to the 14th century, and is huge. Lots of shops, restaurants and pubs.
Close by is the Jerusalem Tavern, a historic tavern that has been around for several hundred years. Built in 1720, rich in character, and characterized by quaint ‘cozy corners’ for quiet pubbing, the Jerusalem is a perfect spot to have a final pint at the end of our holiday.
We head back to our lodging to pack up. We have an early start in the morning.
British Museum & Pubs
In the morning, we hook up with Shaun & Carol again and hit the amazing British Museum. How can this place be free? Our focus was the Egyptology and Mesopotamian exhibits. It’d be easy to spend a few weeks there.
Liam, one of the McCafferty offspring, works in the city and meets us at the Euston Tap, a very cool pub with a tap list to bring tears to your eyes. Jenn, Liam’s fiancé joins us for dinner at the ‘Brie Louise’ another great pub.
Early bed for Dick who’ feeling under the weather. Our cab driver from the airport had a really bad cold and we’re wondering if it was passed on.
Shaun & Carol
After a vegetarian full breakfast at ‘Uno’, the restaurant in our building, we meet up with Shaun and Carol at the Tower. Great to see these guys again!
The Tower Tour was a blast – we had a fun Beefeater guide. Since it is now October, the poppy exhibit has grown considerably and is even more impressive . Lunch was at a pub very near the Tower with the best name ever – the ‘Hung, Drawn, & Quartered’. Loved it.
The four of us took a river cruise on the Thames to Westminster. It’s interesting how different things look from a boat.
Beers at the ‘Red Lion’ and a walk through Trafalgar Square where the Indian Diwaldi Festival was being held finished off the day.
Good fun!
Stonehenge and London
A few miles from our B&B in Edington is the ‘Bratton White Horse’, a hill figure above the Salisbury Plain. The large figure of a horse was created by cutting away the top layers of soil to expose underlying chalk bedrock.
It’s a short drive to Stonehenge. It’s a very busy attraction that’s quite commercialized, but the crowds are managed well and things are not as as bad as we expected. Stonehenge is an amazing and moving place, the primary stone circle monument is quite massive and there are many satellite structures. It’s always interesting to visit in person something you’ve seen in a million pictures!
Time to head back to London and drop the car off at Heathrow. For the first time on our trip, our driver (Dick) actually broke the speed limit! The rental flat is in the city in Pimlico and above a restaurant – it’s ok, although the bed situation is a little strange and the bathroom closet-sized. The location is perfect. Right around the corner are a few CAMRA recommended pubs – the ‘Cask’ and ‘Jugged Hare’.
Wiltshire & Avebury
We turn out to be the only visitors requesting a tour of the Wadworth Brewery in Wiltshire so we get some very personal attention. Within the brewing complex is a sign and painting shop where pub signs are still created & maintained by a few dedicated artisans. Wadworth also still delivers kegs to local pubs via horse cart and a stable is on the grounds. Max & Monty (the horses) handle deliveries now. They have great benefits – 2 weeks’ vacation in the countryside. With beer!
A visit to the much-anticipated Avebury circle, a Neolithic henge monument consumes our afternoon. Avebury contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world. It was constructed over several hundred years during the New Stone Age and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Awesome.
Back in England
Just behind our lodging at the Three Tuns is Chepstow Castle. Chepstow is a Norman castle built in 1067, used for many TV and movie sets, and is the oldest post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. It’s quite an impressive structure that commands the high ground above the city and the river Wye.
The Severn Bridge (a huge suspension bridge) takes us to England. Very strong winds buffet our tiny rental. We stopped in Cheddar and toured one of the cheese factories there, then drove through the awesome Cheddar Gorge. During an afternoon stop in Bath, we visited the Abby and Roman Baths. Quite an interesting area.
Lodging for the next few nights is at the ‘Three Daggers’ in Eddington, Wiltshire. What a great place – top notch room, restaurant & service. Best place we’ve ever stayed. Plus, there’s a micro-brewery on site!
Falconry Experience
In the hills outside of Mahynlleth is the ‘Falconry Experience’. A much anticipated activity.
The owners, Barry & Luce’, are dedicated naturalists who provide an opportunity to learn about and handle birds of prey. Falcons, hawks, eagles, red kites, and a variety of owls are part of the experience. We had been warned when we booked that inclement weather would impact the ability for the birds to exercise. The weather that morning was pretty dismal and the forecast poor. The Garmin could not locate a satellite so we follow some very cryptic notes on directions to the property. This was some pretty remote country – very hilly with single-lane farm roads bordered by 10ft high hedgerows on both sides. After a few wrong turns and some lucky guesses we finally located the farm – just in time for the rain to start!
Barry and Luce insisted that the weather would clear and invited us in for some hot tea where they discuss the various birds and their naturalist approach. They were right! After a while, the rain subsides and we are able to go outside and handle the birds. It’s amazing how light they are for their size. Before being released, each bird goes through a ‘pre-flight’ weigh in ritual. The birds know the routine and readily hop aboard the scale. Luce puts each of the birds through their paces, truly wonderful.
A fantastic couple of hours with some really special folks. The highlight of our trip.
Driving Thru Wales
Heading south now we visit the Wednesday market in the Welsh market town of Machynlleth. The market was charted by Edward I in 1291 for Wednesdays and has been held each week since then. Mary was able to locate some material for her quilt project.
Outside of Machynlleth is the amazing ‘Falconry Experience’ which is covered in a separate blog entry.
Heading south again, we take a scenic ‘mountain drive’ through Brecon Beacons National Park to Chepstow and the ‘Three Tuns’ B&B which dates from the early 17th century and has been a pub for most of its existence. It shows its age. Brews in the pub and a disappointing dinner end what had been a really great day.
Ferry to Wales
Early rise and cab to ferry terminal for the 2-hr trip to Holyhead, Wales. We stopped in the village of ‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch’ for a photo-op next to the town’s welcome sign. Per wikipedia, the name means: Parish [church] of [St.] Mary (Llanfair) [in] Hollow (pwll) of the White Hazel [township] (gwyn gyll) near (go ger) the rapid whirlpool (y chwyrn drobwll) [and] the parish [church] of [St.] Tysilio (Llantysilio) with a red cave ([a]g ogo[f] goch). Now you know.
On to Conwy, a fantastic castle town with views of the Irish Sea and port. An award-winning pub, the Albion Hotel, warrants a stop. Our drive takes us through beautiful Snowdonia National Park and the resort village of Betws-y-Coed. Further down the road is Porthmadog & the Purple Moose Brewery.
Our lodging for the night is a really cool B&B, the ‘Plas Gwyn’ in Dolgellau. We enjoyed a fantastic meal at the 160-year-old ‘Y Meirionnydd’ restaurant in town.
