Here's the thing about Stirling Castle. It ain't the same castle that William Wallace would have seen. I forget where the movie Braveheart left off in the life of William Wallace but (spoiler!) he was eventually executed for all that hearty bravery stuff. And boy, when they did him in they did it good. He was executed, then drawn and quartered then his body parts were sent off to different parts of the kingdom as a lesson to be learned to those who wish to defy the king. Anyway, so did not heed the warning and Robert the Bruce took up the cause, rousted the English out of Stirling Castle and then had it torn down so that the English couldn't ever take it over again. I'm sure the tour guide told who built the castle that's there now but remember, I had climbed 246 steps at another monument earlier in the day and I'm sure my eyes kinda glazed over at about that point in the history lesson. The highlights of this castle I do remember is that the Great Hall has a facade the is as close as they can get to what the entire castle would have looked like at the time ie, it's kind of yellow. All castles were covered over with a kind of plaster and were actually white. The exterior treatment was meant to announce the King/Queens presence but after castles sort of went out of fashion nobody kept up the appearance. The current chapel at Stirling was built to replace the little one that had a slanty floor. It was built really fast to accomodate the baptism of the royal baby. Several other outer defenses were remodeled over the years and bits of the old parts are still visible. There's an army of weavers reproducing a set of 7 tapestries depicting a unicorn hunt. Three of the tapestries are done and are hanging in the chapel. The set will be complete in 2012 or so. There is a really cool view of the Wallace Monument from the Castle.
Then I took the train back to Loch Lomond.
The next day (yesterday, I think) was fantastic weather wise. The weather hasn't been really bad but not a lot of sun until yesterday. I caught the early train to Edinburgh changing at Glasgow (I hadn't planned to spend any time in Glasgow and even if I had I'm sure it might have been like the old "Bert n' I" story about the guy who goes to visit a big city from his small town and when he gets back he's asked how did he like the city and he replies "There was so much going on at the train station, I nevergot out of the depot!") The hostel is just a few blocks from the depot but I was too early to check-in but they did let me store my pack there for the time being. I found my favorite hop-on/hop-off bus and did a tour of the city to scope out my visits. Lots to do here! After a late lunch/early dinner, I started on the list looking for the lower priced items. I signed up for the Mary King's Close tour but had some time to kill before it started to I took in a little 3D movie "The Loch Ness Experience" because I'm not gonna get up to Inverness. I shoulda waited until I could get up to Inverness! The film was made in 1976, my 3d glasses were defective so the hokey things they tried in the film (throwing things at the camera) just looked like weird spastic movements by the on screen narrator) and the stereo headphones weren't stereo. It was good for a giggle but that's about it. The tour was pretty good though. A gal in period costume acting as the daughter of Mary King took us through what is now sort of the underground Edinburgh but used to be street level. Some corny jokes, cheap scares and a history lesson thrown in, too. I learned stuff and didn't even glaze over once.
Today, I took a bus ride out to Roslin Chapel. It used to be an out of the way gem of a tourist find but then Dan Brown wrote a wee novel and set the ending at the chapel so now they have the same number of tourists in one month that they used to have for the year. It wasn't too busy when I was there and that's one place I'd like to do some more reading on when I get back. Mr. Brown took liberties, of course, with the history but even taking out all the stuff he got wrong there's lots of stories about the place. And I'm running out of time but I gotta say--there's a lettterbox at Roslin Chapel and I found it!!
See ya next time probable from London.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
On the Bonnie, Bonnie banks. . .
So I was in Loch Lomond and went to my first Scottish Castle, The Balloch Castle. Small by castle standards and not a ruin but it was also not built for defensive purposes. The first castle built near the spot where Balloch stands was a real garrisoned fort but that was long before the current castle was built which was built as a status symbol and as such sits up high, overlooking the loch and is position such that it is a view from the loch as well. The era that is was built in was kinda the beginning of the 'keeping up with the Jones' period. After taking a look see around the castle and the castle grounds, the walled garden, the secret garden, getting lost in the castle country park, I made my way to the dock and took a wee cruise on the loch during which I was able to see the view of the castle. Man, back then those folks really liked that 'master of all I survey' attitude, didn't they. This guy was kind of pissed when the other guy built his estate home right across the loch from him.
So that was pretty much Loch Lomond except for the aquarium which I did the day before. Now it really was time for Braveheart country. Lots of folks know William Wallace because an Austrailian born American made a film about the Scottish Man of the year (c.297) but the Scots have had this guy in their hearts forever. Anyway, I went to Stirling. That's where the guy made a name for himself and Mel Gibson got a lot of it wrong or at least took lots of liberty with the story. Most of the cities big enough to attract tourists have a city tour bus that hits the highlights. You pay way more than you would pay to just ride a regular bus to and from a particular site but these tours let you get off the bus at any site and then get on a later tour bus. Depending on the time of year and the size of the city, the buses come at regular intervals. Lucky for me the siteseeing bus for Stirling stopped right in front of the train station. So I almost stepped off the train from Balloch and onto the bus. My first hop off the bus was at the Wallace Monument. The battle that was his claim to fame was in 1297. The monument was built in the late 1800s. Shows you how long the Scots been thinkin' about this guy. There are 246 steps to the top of the monument. I know that because all the placards and pamphlets tell say so. It's really really windy at the top. None of the placards or pamphlets bother to tell you that! There is a bronze statue of Wallace about a 1/3 of the way up but you can't get a good photo of it cuz it's on the outside of the building. One the first level of the tower on the way up is a Wallace history exhibit and includes at large plexiglass case labeled 'The Wallace Sword' but the audio guide informs you that there not sure it's the exact sword but it's close enough. The sword in the case measures a little over about 5.5 feet so they all figure Wallace must have been a really big and brawny guy to have weilded such a blade. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gibson but somebody mentioned they had seen him and he ain't that tall. Makes you go hmmmm. Anyway, I hopped back on the next bus and though there were a few more places I might have visited if I were staying in Stirling but I stayed on the bus until I reached the Stirling Castle. Much bigger than Balloch and most definitely a defensive structure however. . .(to be continued!). . .
So that was pretty much Loch Lomond except for the aquarium which I did the day before. Now it really was time for Braveheart country. Lots of folks know William Wallace because an Austrailian born American made a film about the Scottish Man of the year (c.297) but the Scots have had this guy in their hearts forever. Anyway, I went to Stirling. That's where the guy made a name for himself and Mel Gibson got a lot of it wrong or at least took lots of liberty with the story. Most of the cities big enough to attract tourists have a city tour bus that hits the highlights. You pay way more than you would pay to just ride a regular bus to and from a particular site but these tours let you get off the bus at any site and then get on a later tour bus. Depending on the time of year and the size of the city, the buses come at regular intervals. Lucky for me the siteseeing bus for Stirling stopped right in front of the train station. So I almost stepped off the train from Balloch and onto the bus. My first hop off the bus was at the Wallace Monument. The battle that was his claim to fame was in 1297. The monument was built in the late 1800s. Shows you how long the Scots been thinkin' about this guy. There are 246 steps to the top of the monument. I know that because all the placards and pamphlets tell say so. It's really really windy at the top. None of the placards or pamphlets bother to tell you that! There is a bronze statue of Wallace about a 1/3 of the way up but you can't get a good photo of it cuz it's on the outside of the building. One the first level of the tower on the way up is a Wallace history exhibit and includes at large plexiglass case labeled 'The Wallace Sword' but the audio guide informs you that there not sure it's the exact sword but it's close enough. The sword in the case measures a little over about 5.5 feet so they all figure Wallace must have been a really big and brawny guy to have weilded such a blade. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gibson but somebody mentioned they had seen him and he ain't that tall. Makes you go hmmmm. Anyway, I hopped back on the next bus and though there were a few more places I might have visited if I were staying in Stirling but I stayed on the bus until I reached the Stirling Castle. Much bigger than Balloch and most definitely a defensive structure however. . .(to be continued!). . .
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Braveheart country
When last I signed on, I had just landed in New Lanark. I mentioned that this little berg was on the Clyde river. That is to say in the Clyde River Valley ie Clydesdale. But here's the thing. Nary a horse to be found. Honest, and I tried. I didn't go there because of the Clyde River or anything. I just wound up there because the Edinburgh hostels were full and the internet search said that New Lanark was their idea of the best alternative. I'm going with the flow on this trip so I book three nights here. Turned out to be two nights too long but them's the breaks. Anyway, back to the case of the missing Clydesdales. I looked through all the tourist brochures I could find and only one of them even had a picture of a draft horse. The tourist info center had a brochure from a long time ago and they treated it like an historic document. I was allowed to read, there in the info center but that was all. Turns out that Lanark, the town right next to New Lanark, was indeed the home of the breed of horse we know as the Clydesdale. However, since most of the folks in the area still need to make a living off the land and quaint and easy going as the countryside is, they do operate with modern machinery and keeping a few hayburners around for old times sake is evidently not cost effective. There are Clydesdale Horse Associations and such but looks like they're not here, at least not on any full time basis.
OK, so back to New Lanark. Operating mill town until the 1960s. One of the mill owners was one of the original human rights advocates-Robert Owens. Took kids under 10 out of the factory and put them in school. Set up night school for the workers. On site doctor. Paid medical leave. All kinds of good things. Folks in Harmony, Indiana will know of this guy. The whole place kinda died of course after the mill shut down and then went through a renaissance sort of. Now several of the buildings are exhibits/museums of what they used to be with the necessary touristy bits added in. The rebirth is still ongoing. I think the main water wheel is being reproduced in the middle of the town. I did the whole town tour-Mill, village store, workers housing, owners housing, new roof top garden, tour of The Institure for Building Character. Then I walked through the wild life preserve that surrounds a good part of the town. The walk follows the river upstream passed three sets of pretty cool water falls that were the main power supply for the mill and town. Lots of birds whose species I don't know and supposedly I was never more than 200 yards from a badger (according to the pamphlet).
The town tour and the hike took almost the whole day, including a picnic lunch. I still had two days to kill. That's when I made the Clydesdale connection but that search as we now know proved horseless. I think the town is missing out but not getting all over this Clydesdale thing but maybe that's just the tourist in me. Of course, they're also missing out on another tourist attracton opportunity though waay less benevolent. Lanark has a connection to the William Wallace story. Wallace sort of killed the sheriff of Lanark (part of the revenge for the murder of his family, I think-hey if you want all the facts look it up! I'm here for the scenery) but there's nothing about that anywhere in Lanark. I know. I spent the day there. I wanted to go to the library but it was closed. The historical museum may have had something about Wallace but I wouldn't know because they were closed, too.
So that was pretty much my time in Lanark/New Lanark. I just wandered around looking at this funky little mill town for too many days.
On Thursday, I took the train to bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Yes, really, the loch from the song about high roads and low roads. The hostel is in the town of Balloch and is a 32 minute walk from the lake. I know cuz the bus only runs every 2 hours between the two and I never got my time right to catch it in either direction for the three days I've been here. There are several different paths to take and some go through a pretty little wooded area and skirt the loch now and again, so it's a pleasant time especially since I've been have some extraordinarily nice weather for Scotland for this time of year.
I visited my first Scottish castle here at Balloch. . .gotta go. I'm out of time
OK, so back to New Lanark. Operating mill town until the 1960s. One of the mill owners was one of the original human rights advocates-Robert Owens. Took kids under 10 out of the factory and put them in school. Set up night school for the workers. On site doctor. Paid medical leave. All kinds of good things. Folks in Harmony, Indiana will know of this guy. The whole place kinda died of course after the mill shut down and then went through a renaissance sort of. Now several of the buildings are exhibits/museums of what they used to be with the necessary touristy bits added in. The rebirth is still ongoing. I think the main water wheel is being reproduced in the middle of the town. I did the whole town tour-Mill, village store, workers housing, owners housing, new roof top garden, tour of The Institure for Building Character. Then I walked through the wild life preserve that surrounds a good part of the town. The walk follows the river upstream passed three sets of pretty cool water falls that were the main power supply for the mill and town. Lots of birds whose species I don't know and supposedly I was never more than 200 yards from a badger (according to the pamphlet).
The town tour and the hike took almost the whole day, including a picnic lunch. I still had two days to kill. That's when I made the Clydesdale connection but that search as we now know proved horseless. I think the town is missing out but not getting all over this Clydesdale thing but maybe that's just the tourist in me. Of course, they're also missing out on another tourist attracton opportunity though waay less benevolent. Lanark has a connection to the William Wallace story. Wallace sort of killed the sheriff of Lanark (part of the revenge for the murder of his family, I think-hey if you want all the facts look it up! I'm here for the scenery) but there's nothing about that anywhere in Lanark. I know. I spent the day there. I wanted to go to the library but it was closed. The historical museum may have had something about Wallace but I wouldn't know because they were closed, too.
So that was pretty much my time in Lanark/New Lanark. I just wandered around looking at this funky little mill town for too many days.
On Thursday, I took the train to bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Yes, really, the loch from the song about high roads and low roads. The hostel is in the town of Balloch and is a 32 minute walk from the lake. I know cuz the bus only runs every 2 hours between the two and I never got my time right to catch it in either direction for the three days I've been here. There are several different paths to take and some go through a pretty little wooded area and skirt the loch now and again, so it's a pleasant time especially since I've been have some extraordinarily nice weather for Scotland for this time of year.
I visited my first Scottish castle here at Balloch. . .gotta go. I'm out of time
Monday, September 22, 2008
Trying to catch up
The last bit of the last post was written on the next day (ie today) so if you're reading this you should read the other one first. . .
OK, so now I've left Liverpool and made it to the Derwentwater YHA just outside of Keswick (When the locals pronounce that there are no Ws and there are two Zs-- Kez-zick.) I actually wanted to stay in Keswick but it was full so I went to the closest one-Derwentwater. It's on Lake Derwent. Actually, Keswick is on the same lake. There are a LOT of hostels on that lake! When I heard the area was called The Lake District, I thought of Minnesota. You know, lots of lakes. Nope, just the one big one only it's not that big. The hike around the lake is a nice long but easy hike so that was one of my days spent in the area. The other day was exploring the town-it happened to be Saturday and the market was in full swing. I did good-no impulse purchases though I did indulge in some street fair food for lunch- A massive pork sandwich. they looked very disappointed when I asked for it with no onions! Then it was on to the Pencil Museum. I kid you not! It's very famous. Next time you are in an art supply store look for their watercolor pencils and see if they are either Cumberland, Cambrian or Derwent. They all came from Keswick.
I'm not sure if I'm going to go to the theatre when I'm in London so just in case I can say I did go to live theatre in England, I went to the Theatre by the Lake. The play was sold out for Saturday but I did manage to get tickets to Sunday evening's performance of the Reg Vardy Brass Band. Harold Hill watch out! What a kick. They did a nice arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody that had the headbangers going! (Insert Dave Barry Quote "I'm not making this up!" here)
After that, it was time to move on. I left Derwentwater earlier today. I hiked into Keswick from the Hostel as I did everyday cuz it goes right along the lakeshore-it's so cool! Oh-did I mention that there was a waterfall almost right outside my window at the Derwentwater Hostel? Yeah, the waterfall is a naturally occuring one and way back when the building was the home of the Barrow's (It's still called The Barrow House), Mr. Barrow changed the water flow a bit to create and different fall and now the hostel has adapted that change into a mini hydroelectic plant that supplies about 40% of the power needs of the hostel (I think it was 40%).
OK, so now I'm two trains and a mile hike later and I'm at the New Lanark Scottish Youth Hostel. It's right on the River Clyde which I can see out my window and I'll be hiking to the falls of that river the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'm doing the town. It might not take the whole day as the entire thing is contained within about 1/4 mile stretch along the river and is only one street wide! As near as I can tell, that includes the mill (they made cotten thread here until the 1960s), the school, the store and all the housing. So maybe I'll get to the falls sooner thanI thought!
Whew!-I think that about does it. I've been making random notes about traveling in general and when it seems like a good time, I'll devote a session to that but I'm running out of minutes and I wanted to check my email, too.
Hasta la bye-bye for now.
OK, so now I've left Liverpool and made it to the Derwentwater YHA just outside of Keswick (When the locals pronounce that there are no Ws and there are two Zs-- Kez-zick.) I actually wanted to stay in Keswick but it was full so I went to the closest one-Derwentwater. It's on Lake Derwent. Actually, Keswick is on the same lake. There are a LOT of hostels on that lake! When I heard the area was called The Lake District, I thought of Minnesota. You know, lots of lakes. Nope, just the one big one only it's not that big. The hike around the lake is a nice long but easy hike so that was one of my days spent in the area. The other day was exploring the town-it happened to be Saturday and the market was in full swing. I did good-no impulse purchases though I did indulge in some street fair food for lunch- A massive pork sandwich. they looked very disappointed when I asked for it with no onions! Then it was on to the Pencil Museum. I kid you not! It's very famous. Next time you are in an art supply store look for their watercolor pencils and see if they are either Cumberland, Cambrian or Derwent. They all came from Keswick.
I'm not sure if I'm going to go to the theatre when I'm in London so just in case I can say I did go to live theatre in England, I went to the Theatre by the Lake. The play was sold out for Saturday but I did manage to get tickets to Sunday evening's performance of the Reg Vardy Brass Band. Harold Hill watch out! What a kick. They did a nice arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody that had the headbangers going! (Insert Dave Barry Quote "I'm not making this up!" here)
After that, it was time to move on. I left Derwentwater earlier today. I hiked into Keswick from the Hostel as I did everyday cuz it goes right along the lakeshore-it's so cool! Oh-did I mention that there was a waterfall almost right outside my window at the Derwentwater Hostel? Yeah, the waterfall is a naturally occuring one and way back when the building was the home of the Barrow's (It's still called The Barrow House), Mr. Barrow changed the water flow a bit to create and different fall and now the hostel has adapted that change into a mini hydroelectic plant that supplies about 40% of the power needs of the hostel (I think it was 40%).
OK, so now I'm two trains and a mile hike later and I'm at the New Lanark Scottish Youth Hostel. It's right on the River Clyde which I can see out my window and I'll be hiking to the falls of that river the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'm doing the town. It might not take the whole day as the entire thing is contained within about 1/4 mile stretch along the river and is only one street wide! As near as I can tell, that includes the mill (they made cotten thread here until the 1960s), the school, the store and all the housing. So maybe I'll get to the falls sooner thanI thought!
Whew!-I think that about does it. I've been making random notes about traveling in general and when it seems like a good time, I'll devote a session to that but I'm running out of minutes and I wanted to check my email, too.
Hasta la bye-bye for now.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Liverpool is HUGE!
My original itinerary for this part of the UK had me making stops at Conwy Castle then on to Blackpool, Liverpool and moving on into the Lake District in one day. The train/bus connections might work out for a more savvy traveler than me, but that's just too much stuff in one day for lil' ol' me so I did the Castle (the largest and/or best preserved castle in Europe or the UK,) skipped Blackpool (think Coney Island or Boardwalk in Atlantic City) made Liverpool an overnighter and then came here to the Lake District.
The Conwy Castle is very cool. Like Beau Maris, they've kept out the kitch to let it be a castle. This one is waay bigger and the town wall that was built at the same time as the castle (13something) is also still standing mostly in tact. A bit was remove a century or so ago to allow for more modern traffic (horse and buggy) to flow more freely. I didn't do anything more of Conwy other than the castle tour and then hiked the town wall because I had a couple of trains to catch.
I only knew one thing about Liverpool before I stopped there (and that's NOT why I stopped there). I had no idea the size of the city and sadly, it seems the entire place is a construction zone. Actually, it's a good thing for Liverpool. They received a huge infusion of capital funds so all kinds of upgrades and new stuff is going up. I'm not a fan of big cities anyway and was immediately turned off by this city because as soon as I stepped up out of the train station, I was looking at a construction detour. Seriously! Right at the top of the steps on the Lime Street Station there are construction barricades. I got around them and found the bus station to try to get to the hostel. Nobody knew where it was but the info guy at the bus stop did his best and even put me on what he believed was the right bus for free. It got me close and after wandering around yet another construction zone, I came across and alternative bookstore and stepped in to ask directions. One customer thought he knew and even gave me a little map. That got me closer. I asked a couple of gals on the street corner (No, it wasn't that kind of street corner) and their directions got me closer (actually those directions got me there but I didn't know it). I asked yet another stranger and she pointed at the building next to the one we were standing beside!
Even though the hostel was located in one of those construction zones, it was also right next to a lot of the construction that was all ready completed. Mostly upscale retail centers but it's part of the whole waterfront revitalization they have going on. I still had some daylight left so after I checked in at the hostel, I wandered around done there. That waterfront makes the Baltimore Inner Harbor look shabby by camparison and it's not even done yet!
My plan was just to basically get to Liverpool, hit the sack, get up the next morning and headback to the train station but after checking out the waterfront the night before I decided to take a quick tour of the city before I left. Back down to the waterfront (Albert Dock), I hopped on one of the city sightseeing doubledecker buses (I think every city in England has these now). Some of these tours are recorded narration but some, like the one I was one have live tourguides. So the city wasn't quite as big as I first thought but during it's heyday it was the 2nd largest city in England. As much as I don't like cities and didn't like this one on first blush, it's worth another look at some point. The tour points out the older buildings and their signficance, the constuction/building sites and their significance and other places because of their Beatles significance. I was on a city center tour. It took about an hour. There is a two hour tour that is just about the band! After the tour, I hopped off the bus, dashed back to the hostel and packed up then went back to Albert Dock to catch the next tour (the ticket is good for 24 hrs) and took the same tour again but hopped off midway because the tour bus passed right by the train station.
The Conwy Castle is very cool. Like Beau Maris, they've kept out the kitch to let it be a castle. This one is waay bigger and the town wall that was built at the same time as the castle (13something) is also still standing mostly in tact. A bit was remove a century or so ago to allow for more modern traffic (horse and buggy) to flow more freely. I didn't do anything more of Conwy other than the castle tour and then hiked the town wall because I had a couple of trains to catch.
I only knew one thing about Liverpool before I stopped there (and that's NOT why I stopped there). I had no idea the size of the city and sadly, it seems the entire place is a construction zone. Actually, it's a good thing for Liverpool. They received a huge infusion of capital funds so all kinds of upgrades and new stuff is going up. I'm not a fan of big cities anyway and was immediately turned off by this city because as soon as I stepped up out of the train station, I was looking at a construction detour. Seriously! Right at the top of the steps on the Lime Street Station there are construction barricades. I got around them and found the bus station to try to get to the hostel. Nobody knew where it was but the info guy at the bus stop did his best and even put me on what he believed was the right bus for free. It got me close and after wandering around yet another construction zone, I came across and alternative bookstore and stepped in to ask directions. One customer thought he knew and even gave me a little map. That got me closer. I asked a couple of gals on the street corner (No, it wasn't that kind of street corner) and their directions got me closer (actually those directions got me there but I didn't know it). I asked yet another stranger and she pointed at the building next to the one we were standing beside!
Even though the hostel was located in one of those construction zones, it was also right next to a lot of the construction that was all ready completed. Mostly upscale retail centers but it's part of the whole waterfront revitalization they have going on. I still had some daylight left so after I checked in at the hostel, I wandered around done there. That waterfront makes the Baltimore Inner Harbor look shabby by camparison and it's not even done yet!
My plan was just to basically get to Liverpool, hit the sack, get up the next morning and headback to the train station but after checking out the waterfront the night before I decided to take a quick tour of the city before I left. Back down to the waterfront (Albert Dock), I hopped on one of the city sightseeing doubledecker buses (I think every city in England has these now). Some of these tours are recorded narration but some, like the one I was one have live tourguides. So the city wasn't quite as big as I first thought but during it's heyday it was the 2nd largest city in England. As much as I don't like cities and didn't like this one on first blush, it's worth another look at some point. The tour points out the older buildings and their signficance, the constuction/building sites and their significance and other places because of their Beatles significance. I was on a city center tour. It took about an hour. There is a two hour tour that is just about the band! After the tour, I hopped off the bus, dashed back to the hostel and packed up then went back to Albert Dock to catch the next tour (the ticket is good for 24 hrs) and took the same tour again but hopped off midway because the tour bus passed right by the train station.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Anglesey and Snowdonia
Yes, those are real place names. The planning in Bangor resulted in the following-Later that same day I visited a castle not 20 minutes from where I was sitting. Odd thing about that particular castle (Penrhyn Castle) is that it is totally intact and not a crumble ruin like so many of them are but that's because that particular castle is only 150 years old. It was built by the guy who owned the slate mine located not too far way. I have a few exterior shots but no interior photos were allowed. Too bad. It was very nice.
The next day was a bus ride across the bridge to the island of Anglesey and along the inlet Manai to Beau Maris, the last and not completed castle built by King Edward. I liked it because there was hardly anything kitchy about it. You had to go through a little tine gift shop to get to the castle but otherwise no other commerce was there. There were no mock up of rooms or anything and only a few informational signs at discrete locations. A way more real life medieval feel here than I'm guess I would have encountered had I made it to Warwick.
After my tour of Beau Maris, I took the bus to Llanberis. I had really good bus connections so I was there earlier than I expected so I took in a few of the sites including the slate museum near the bottom of the very same slate mines that the Penrhyn's owned. I also visited another castle-Dolbabarn. The reason why this is called a castle escapes because it looked more like a stone silo although there was evidence of some other stone walls for rooms or buildings but there wasn't even a visitor center/gift shop with this castle and to get there I took a sort of goat path up behind the garage of one of the hotels!
Earlier in the day I had found a place to store my pack while I did the tourist stuff. I decided to do dinner there before I headed up the hill to the hostel. It's a great little place call Pete's Eats and it mostly serves the serious outdoors folk-mountian bikers, rock climbers and backpackers. Very inexpensive and massive portions. Really good for those doing the carbo loads, too!
The next day, I took the late morning train to the almost top (the tippy-top is closed for train travel while they build the new visitor center) of Mt. Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales (and England). I chose the later train because the forecast had suggested the weather might be better then than the early morning. The forecast was wrong. I never did see the top of Snowdon. The train ride itself was sort of fun. It was a rack and pinion, whatever that means but it impress several of the guys. It's one train car with about 25 people and it is pushed up the mountain but a steam engine. There is a guy that sits in the front of the passenger car in a separate little compartment and every once in a while here would lean out and bang on the side of the train. He was chasing sheep off the track! Visibility was fair to poor so the narration about the things to see on the 'valley floor' or 'across the way' had to be imagined on the way up and remembered on the way down when we could see but the narration wasn't repeated. Visibility on top was about 20 feet but a few folks got out and we wandered around taking foggy pictures and bumping into one another. Except for seeing a bit better, the backward ride down was uneventful. I meandered the town a bit more then hopped a bus to my next hostel Capel Curig. This stop was meant to only be a sleepover and considering the two only had about three buildings it worked out well.
That brings us to today, I think. I'm in Betws y Coed and that is pronouned Bettis er koyd. I kid you not. It's a Welsh thing. Actually, it's almost unusual considering the number of vowels. Do you remember way back in grammar school when you learned AEIOU and sometimes W and Y were the vowels. In Wales, they are always vowels. Y Wyddfa is the name of a mountian and 'no', I don't know how to pronounce it. Anyway, the town was only going to be another sleepover because I couldn't get a hostel room in the next town I plan to visit but in order to make it worth while, I made this a hiking day. I hiked from Capel Curig to here. It was not a long hike and gloriously mostly downhill except for the quarter mile straight up at the beginning to get up off the highway where the hostel was located. I only got lost once but getting lost here means I went through the wrong sheep meadow and came out on the highway sooner than I should have. I think I missed the prettiest forested part of the hike but I eventually got back into the woods to finish the hike to here. And even taking the detour like that, I arrived a bit earlier than expected again so I'm taking a breather now and will maybe go into town for dinner a bit later.
Hasta la bye-bye from Wales.
The next day was a bus ride across the bridge to the island of Anglesey and along the inlet Manai to Beau Maris, the last and not completed castle built by King Edward. I liked it because there was hardly anything kitchy about it. You had to go through a little tine gift shop to get to the castle but otherwise no other commerce was there. There were no mock up of rooms or anything and only a few informational signs at discrete locations. A way more real life medieval feel here than I'm guess I would have encountered had I made it to Warwick.
After my tour of Beau Maris, I took the bus to Llanberis. I had really good bus connections so I was there earlier than I expected so I took in a few of the sites including the slate museum near the bottom of the very same slate mines that the Penrhyn's owned. I also visited another castle-Dolbabarn. The reason why this is called a castle escapes because it looked more like a stone silo although there was evidence of some other stone walls for rooms or buildings but there wasn't even a visitor center/gift shop with this castle and to get there I took a sort of goat path up behind the garage of one of the hotels!
Earlier in the day I had found a place to store my pack while I did the tourist stuff. I decided to do dinner there before I headed up the hill to the hostel. It's a great little place call Pete's Eats and it mostly serves the serious outdoors folk-mountian bikers, rock climbers and backpackers. Very inexpensive and massive portions. Really good for those doing the carbo loads, too!
The next day, I took the late morning train to the almost top (the tippy-top is closed for train travel while they build the new visitor center) of Mt. Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales (and England). I chose the later train because the forecast had suggested the weather might be better then than the early morning. The forecast was wrong. I never did see the top of Snowdon. The train ride itself was sort of fun. It was a rack and pinion, whatever that means but it impress several of the guys. It's one train car with about 25 people and it is pushed up the mountain but a steam engine. There is a guy that sits in the front of the passenger car in a separate little compartment and every once in a while here would lean out and bang on the side of the train. He was chasing sheep off the track! Visibility was fair to poor so the narration about the things to see on the 'valley floor' or 'across the way' had to be imagined on the way up and remembered on the way down when we could see but the narration wasn't repeated. Visibility on top was about 20 feet but a few folks got out and we wandered around taking foggy pictures and bumping into one another. Except for seeing a bit better, the backward ride down was uneventful. I meandered the town a bit more then hopped a bus to my next hostel Capel Curig. This stop was meant to only be a sleepover and considering the two only had about three buildings it worked out well.
That brings us to today, I think. I'm in Betws y Coed and that is pronouned Bettis er koyd. I kid you not. It's a Welsh thing. Actually, it's almost unusual considering the number of vowels. Do you remember way back in grammar school when you learned AEIOU and sometimes W and Y were the vowels. In Wales, they are always vowels. Y Wyddfa is the name of a mountian and 'no', I don't know how to pronounce it. Anyway, the town was only going to be another sleepover because I couldn't get a hostel room in the next town I plan to visit but in order to make it worth while, I made this a hiking day. I hiked from Capel Curig to here. It was not a long hike and gloriously mostly downhill except for the quarter mile straight up at the beginning to get up off the highway where the hostel was located. I only got lost once but getting lost here means I went through the wrong sheep meadow and came out on the highway sooner than I should have. I think I missed the prettiest forested part of the hike but I eventually got back into the woods to finish the hike to here. And even taking the detour like that, I arrived a bit earlier than expected again so I'm taking a breather now and will maybe go into town for dinner a bit later.
Hasta la bye-bye from Wales.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
W. Shakespeare slept here.
Where was I? Oh, yeah Stow-on-the-Wold. Up early and train to Oxford/Bus to Blenheim Palace. Nice house. (Note how I've taken up the practice of the English in understatement!) I was there along with a handful of other overly eager tourists who arrived before the doors were open. But that was OK because just to take a lap around the place and admire the garden, the riverview, the bridge, the Victory tower that dominates the hillside view took the better part of an hour and by that time somebody was awake and let us in. Blenheim Palace is still to this day the home of the Duke of Marlborough. When I packed up The Burrow to move, I thought I had too much stuff. If these guys ever move, it's gonna be one helluva yard sale (they call 'em 'car boot' sales). Do you suppose someone would haggle with you over the price of the bed Winston Churchill was born in? Well, considering the house has been in their family since the early 1700's, though, I don't think they're gonna move anytime soon.
I only did the Reader's Digest tour of the Palace with the intent of getting to Stratford-upon-Avon in time to do the town. Bus/Train connections weren't too bad but just enough off that coupled with torrents of rain (it had been nice all day, thankyouverymuch) as I landed in Stratford, that I bagged the idea. New plan changed to Stratford in the early AM, Warwick Castle in the late AM/Early PM and looong train ride to Bangor, Wales. That didn't work out because it would have short changed Stratford and by skipping Warwick Castle, I saved a bunch of £. Besides, I'll have the opportunity to see lots of castles. So Stratford it was-Shakespeare' Birthplace house and gardens, Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Nash's House, Mary Ardens' farm and the Harvard House. (If you want more info, look it up!) After that it was the trains (4) to Bangor where I now sit. It's Sunday, laundryday and figureoutwhatsnextday. I only came here because there was no room at the hostel I wanted to get to but it turns this spot is almost better as a base for doing stuff in this region-Snowdonia.
I think that about catches up. Hasta la bye-bye for now.
I only did the Reader's Digest tour of the Palace with the intent of getting to Stratford-upon-Avon in time to do the town. Bus/Train connections weren't too bad but just enough off that coupled with torrents of rain (it had been nice all day, thankyouverymuch) as I landed in Stratford, that I bagged the idea. New plan changed to Stratford in the early AM, Warwick Castle in the late AM/Early PM and looong train ride to Bangor, Wales. That didn't work out because it would have short changed Stratford and by skipping Warwick Castle, I saved a bunch of £. Besides, I'll have the opportunity to see lots of castles. So Stratford it was-Shakespeare' Birthplace house and gardens, Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Nash's House, Mary Ardens' farm and the Harvard House. (If you want more info, look it up!) After that it was the trains (4) to Bangor where I now sit. It's Sunday, laundryday and figureoutwhatsnextday. I only came here because there was no room at the hostel I wanted to get to but it turns this spot is almost better as a base for doing stuff in this region-Snowdonia.
I think that about catches up. Hasta la bye-bye for now.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Into the Cotswolds
I'm getting the train travel figured out--I just ask each time. That way I don't have to worry about reading the schedules. Since I'm not on any kind of schedule, it doesn't matter about making connections. Today went really well because there was only a 10 minute wait between trains when I had to make a change. I travelled from Bath to Moreton in Marsh earlier today. I spent the better part of the day in and around Moreton in Marsh. The town is NOT a tourist attraction by any stretch and that's what I liked about it. I checked out an antique fair that just happened to be going on today and then visited the art gallery. They had a new exhibition starting today. The curator is quite proud of the little art shop she has there and rightfully so.
Ok, so my tour of the entire town only took about 15 minutes plus the time in the art gallery. After that I took a walk to the next closest town - Bourton on the Hill. The walk was not what I had hoped for in The Cotswolds. That is to say it was not a nature hike. It was a broken paved path along a very busy road. However, the nature part became available by a short detour into the Cotswold Falconry exhibit. Up close and personal exhibit with live birds of prey-falcons, hawks, owls and eagles including Golden Eagles. I had a close encounter with Henry, a Harris Hawk. The guy giving the program gave me the glove and a chunk of chicken and Henry swooped down for dinner. Way cool but too quick to get a picture of me and Henry.
This is actually being written on Friday now because I didn't get around to posting on Wednesday because I thought I'd get back to it.
After the birds, it was back to Moreton in Marsh and a bus to home for the evening, Stow-on-the-Wold. To paraphrase Dave Barry-I'm not making these names up. The hostel in Stow was the funkiest one yet. I don't know what the building was in another life but right now it's like a rabbit warren. Staircases that almost wide enough to negotiate with a pack, turns half way up, short corridors with steps up on one end and down on the other and 1/2 the beds were on the floor.
Stow-on-the-Wold is a neat little burg. A bit bigger than Morton in Marsh. I did a quick evening walk around when I arrived but saved the rest of the tour for the next day. I was up early and did the 45 minute self guided tour then took the nature walk I had wanted to take the other day. Considering it had rained the entire night, I got a little too much nature in my boots going through one of the fields. Fortunately, the rains had ceased for the duration of my walk so once I reached town, I dried out OK. I think I mentioned before about walking through fields in England before. Farmers here has to allow passage throught there lands and there are designated footpaths to guide you through the fields and stuff. Any fence that crosses a footpath has some kind of gate or stile that allows people passage. One of the paths to Bourton on the Water took me through a couple of horse paddocks and pastures. The ponies ignored me (thankfully. I've heard they can be nasty sometimes) but one of the horses was very curious. I didn't run to the fence exactly, but I did get to there before the horse. I wasn't afraid, really. It's just that he was coming at me like an oversized, labrador puppy! I finally slogged my way through the remaining dozen or so fields (OK, it wasn't that many but it sure seems like more when it's all bog) and into Bourton/Water. I toured the Motor Museum, the 1/9th scale town and did the Maze. I wanted to do Birdland but I gotta start watching my budget more closely.
All of these towns date waaaay back. All of the buildings are made from the limestone that lies just below the topsoil and they are built with common walls, like row houses. Almost nothing has been done to the outside of these places since they were built. A couple of the buildings show a wee bit of quicker craftsman ship that their neighbor and lean or have saggy bits but hey, they're still standing. In Bourton/Water the 1/9the scale model of the town is also made of the same limestone. It's a hoot. The whole town is laid out in miniature including the model which in turn has its own miniature! I gotta figure out how to get the pictures on this site!
OK, I'm running out of time and I'm a day or two behind. When next I log on, I should be able to catch up stuff since Stow. That will be Blenheim Palace (today), Stratford Upon Avon, Warwick Castle and into North Wales.
See ya then.
Ok, so my tour of the entire town only took about 15 minutes plus the time in the art gallery. After that I took a walk to the next closest town - Bourton on the Hill. The walk was not what I had hoped for in The Cotswolds. That is to say it was not a nature hike. It was a broken paved path along a very busy road. However, the nature part became available by a short detour into the Cotswold Falconry exhibit. Up close and personal exhibit with live birds of prey-falcons, hawks, owls and eagles including Golden Eagles. I had a close encounter with Henry, a Harris Hawk. The guy giving the program gave me the glove and a chunk of chicken and Henry swooped down for dinner. Way cool but too quick to get a picture of me and Henry.
This is actually being written on Friday now because I didn't get around to posting on Wednesday because I thought I'd get back to it.
After the birds, it was back to Moreton in Marsh and a bus to home for the evening, Stow-on-the-Wold. To paraphrase Dave Barry-I'm not making these names up. The hostel in Stow was the funkiest one yet. I don't know what the building was in another life but right now it's like a rabbit warren. Staircases that almost wide enough to negotiate with a pack, turns half way up, short corridors with steps up on one end and down on the other and 1/2 the beds were on the floor.
Stow-on-the-Wold is a neat little burg. A bit bigger than Morton in Marsh. I did a quick evening walk around when I arrived but saved the rest of the tour for the next day. I was up early and did the 45 minute self guided tour then took the nature walk I had wanted to take the other day. Considering it had rained the entire night, I got a little too much nature in my boots going through one of the fields. Fortunately, the rains had ceased for the duration of my walk so once I reached town, I dried out OK. I think I mentioned before about walking through fields in England before. Farmers here has to allow passage throught there lands and there are designated footpaths to guide you through the fields and stuff. Any fence that crosses a footpath has some kind of gate or stile that allows people passage. One of the paths to Bourton on the Water took me through a couple of horse paddocks and pastures. The ponies ignored me (thankfully. I've heard they can be nasty sometimes) but one of the horses was very curious. I didn't run to the fence exactly, but I did get to there before the horse. I wasn't afraid, really. It's just that he was coming at me like an oversized, labrador puppy! I finally slogged my way through the remaining dozen or so fields (OK, it wasn't that many but it sure seems like more when it's all bog) and into Bourton/Water. I toured the Motor Museum, the 1/9th scale town and did the Maze. I wanted to do Birdland but I gotta start watching my budget more closely.
All of these towns date waaaay back. All of the buildings are made from the limestone that lies just below the topsoil and they are built with common walls, like row houses. Almost nothing has been done to the outside of these places since they were built. A couple of the buildings show a wee bit of quicker craftsman ship that their neighbor and lean or have saggy bits but hey, they're still standing. In Bourton/Water the 1/9the scale model of the town is also made of the same limestone. It's a hoot. The whole town is laid out in miniature including the model which in turn has its own miniature! I gotta figure out how to get the pictures on this site!
OK, I'm running out of time and I'm a day or two behind. When next I log on, I should be able to catch up stuff since Stow. That will be Blenheim Palace (today), Stratford Upon Avon, Warwick Castle and into North Wales.
See ya then.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Later that day in Rome
So the English guy was right-Bath is a tourist trap and I'm lovin' every minute of it. I've done several walking tours, a couple of walking tours and even an evening comedy tour. I wanted to do a boat tour but the river was too high yesterday and it apparently rained all night last night so I'm guessing it won't be much better today. Ah well, some of tours went by some interesting shops and museums. Now if I can just remember where they were!
One of the tours I did was through the ruins of the Roman Baths that gave the town its name. Supposedly restorative powers in those waters but not to be taken internally! The original bath houses, pools and steam rooms are too far gone to be restored to what they might have been in Roman times but a few years ago someone finally got around to building a modern version. I gave it try but the whole package of treatments, massages, oil rub downs and whatever was beyond my budget so instead, I had just a really expensive swim in an oversized lukewarm jacuzzi. The real hot spring is actually quite hot but somewhere in the planning of the modern version they decided to let it cool down before letting people get in. Go figure.
There is a free walking tour of the city that's good and I also did the bus tours on the open deck double decker bus. Those were all good but the best tour was the Bizarre Bath. That one's not free but it cost less than a night at the theater and was more entertaining. After a day of touring and getting lots of history, culture and facts, the Bizarre Bath has no redeeming social value whatsoever except that it offers no history, culture or verifiable facts! The best value in Bath.
Today is the day I start getting a bit more serious about the itinerary. The next week or so is going to be just a night or two here and there and I have to figure out where the heres and the theres are. I'm also doing some shopping. The moors killed my raincoat and I have to do a lot more picnic meals or else I'm coming home before I get off the continent!
Hasta la bye-bye for now.
One of the tours I did was through the ruins of the Roman Baths that gave the town its name. Supposedly restorative powers in those waters but not to be taken internally! The original bath houses, pools and steam rooms are too far gone to be restored to what they might have been in Roman times but a few years ago someone finally got around to building a modern version. I gave it try but the whole package of treatments, massages, oil rub downs and whatever was beyond my budget so instead, I had just a really expensive swim in an oversized lukewarm jacuzzi. The real hot spring is actually quite hot but somewhere in the planning of the modern version they decided to let it cool down before letting people get in. Go figure.
There is a free walking tour of the city that's good and I also did the bus tours on the open deck double decker bus. Those were all good but the best tour was the Bizarre Bath. That one's not free but it cost less than a night at the theater and was more entertaining. After a day of touring and getting lots of history, culture and facts, the Bizarre Bath has no redeeming social value whatsoever except that it offers no history, culture or verifiable facts! The best value in Bath.
Today is the day I start getting a bit more serious about the itinerary. The next week or so is going to be just a night or two here and there and I have to figure out where the heres and the theres are. I'm also doing some shopping. The moors killed my raincoat and I have to do a lot more picnic meals or else I'm coming home before I get off the continent!
Hasta la bye-bye for now.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
When in Rome. . .?
Actually, I'm in Bath, England (I was talking to an English guy at the last hostel and said I was going to Bath. "That's a tourist trap!" he said. "I am a tourist!") but the town as it is now was either built by or designed based on Roman architecture. And since I only just landed here I don't have that much more to say about it until I get a chance to explore. I can tell you that the hostel I'm staying at is at the top of a really steep hill and appears to be furnished in modern IKEA.
My last day in Dartmoor was filled with a walking tour of the immediate village area, a craft fair at the parish house and I had hoped to catch a game of football at the local community recreation center but nobody showed up to play! So I spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know the new arrivals at the hostel. So far, I've met two Swiss, a German, a couple from Holland and an Austrailian doctor (soon to be). Did I get pictures? No, but I'm gonna start asking.
My last day in Dartmoor was filled with a walking tour of the immediate village area, a craft fair at the parish house and I had hoped to catch a game of football at the local community recreation center but nobody showed up to play! So I spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know the new arrivals at the hostel. So far, I've met two Swiss, a German, a couple from Holland and an Austrailian doctor (soon to be). Did I get pictures? No, but I'm gonna start asking.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Letterboxin' in the Rain
I made it out on to the moors yesterday along with a huge percentage of the average rainfall for the area. I hiked up to the Bellever Tor and did manage to find one letterbox. When there was a break in the rain, I stopped and had a quick bite of the picnic lunch I'd packed along then got back at it. Letterboxing is done a bit different here than in the states, at least out on the moors. You really have to get down, crawl around and dig deep in to the nooks and crannies. Considering the weather, I opted to be satisfied with finding just the one. Besides I was and solo up on the slippery rocks, so prudence dictated that sign off for the day.
Speaking of signing off-Yes, Karen I will post pictures when a) I learn how, b) I take some {I've only taken about three!} and 3) I get to a computer that is free to use for an unlimited time. The town I'm in - Moretonhampstead - has several public computers available but for only 10-30 minutes at a time for free.
And my time is about up so hasta la bye bye for now.
Speaking of signing off-Yes, Karen I will post pictures when a) I learn how, b) I take some {I've only taken about three!} and 3) I get to a computer that is free to use for an unlimited time. The town I'm in - Moretonhampstead - has several public computers available but for only 10-30 minutes at a time for free.
And my time is about up so hasta la bye bye for now.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Mellow start
Absolutely uneventful flight over-the best kind if you ask me. Arrived in Dartmoor on Sept 3 after two planes, two trains and a bus. Found my hostel and then explored the town a wee bit. I wanted to make sure I was inside the park so that I'd have good access to the moors for letterboxing. That didn't work out so well as there is no public transportation available and to walk to where the good letterboxing is a bit beyond my abilities these days. I still have two days to overcome that wee obstacle. The most of yesterday was traveling and getting the lay of the land here. Today was a bit more of a look at the town and then a goodly length hike on some trails that take off right from town. Got rained on a bit but it's not cold yet so it was kind of refreshing. Doesn't sound real exciting but I'm very happy with this inauspicious start.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
And we're off!
So here i am at the portland airport for my first dispatch from the road. i'm really really early and check-in was no different than when i flew back to maryland at Christmas last year. one really cool thing has already happened. The ticket agent signed me up for an airmiles program that my travel agent never told me about. When i'm done with this trip, i'll have enough airmiles to start another one.
ok, so other than waiting for my boarding call in about three hours there's not much more to tell.
See ya on the web!
ok, so other than waiting for my boarding call in about three hours there's not much more to tell.
See ya on the web!
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