Of Birthplaces and Brecon Beacons

Kelly’s grandfather, Alfred James Hale (known as Jim Hale), was born and raised in the small Welsh town of Pontypridd. After a quick tour (again too short), of the National Museum in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, we drove to what appears now to be more of a suburb of Cardiff, Pontypridd. Driving into the town, I wondered aloud what would cause a person to leave as it is a beautiful area and Wales itself is unbelievable with its varied landscape striking in every way. Pontypridd was a mining town back in the 1900s and career choice in the 1930s was limited. Life expectancy for miners wasn’t great and Jim was looking for new opportunities which he certainly found as he toured Canada from the top of a railway car not once, not twice, but three times in search of work before settling in the West. Although we weren’t sure of his exact address, it was great to tour the town.

Kelly above the townsite of Pontypridd

Once again, we were in a position of not being set up for accommodation this particular night. Yes – we like to live on the edge, or possibly, we find planning with no internet and old-fashioned books to be quite challenging. We drove the Brecon Beacons National Park, a beautiful vista-filled place. Once again, after more than one wrong turn, we found a Bed and Breakfast that could house all 5 of us and we enjoyed staying in a family room that had a loft bed. Brecon is a quiet little town catering it would appear mostly to backpackers, walkers, and cyclists. We enjoyed walking along the River Usk in the evening as evidenced by the photos below.

The boys enjoying the bridge in Brecon

The river Usk running through Brecon

Wanderings

We have spent the last 3 days touring through Southwestern England and Wales. Since leaving Leigh-on-Sea where we spent a second day in London (toured Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St. James Park, Hyde Park, and Piccadilly Circus), we made a short stop in the sea side town of Brighton. This town was an interesting mix of who I might characterize as wild and free young couples and happy travellers along with more wealthy families looking for entertainment and beautiful scenery. Seeing as our time was limited, we decided to split and Kelly and Ethan wandered the pier and seaside, while Bailey, Anderson, and I toured King George IV’s “Grand Palace.” The palace was built in the early 1800’s and has been restored. As we have been touring many castle ruins, it was a nice change to gaze at the incredible opulence of the building. King George IV had a taste for the fantastic and everything eastern. From great dragons holding chandeliers in their mouths, to a dining table I could never imagine sitting at, even Anderson couldn’t put down his audio tour guide. He particularly enjoyed the piece about the King being so portly, he couldn’t ride a horse – this brought out a gigantic chuckle and a few wry smiles from those around us.

The Grande Palace – King George IV loved everything Eastern

Brighton is a place I would be curious to return to though I don’t know if it suits us to be there during the full summer rush. We continued on to arrive at Stonehenge which, due to the motorways surrounding it, doesn’t have quite the effect one might expect from the glorious pictures Kelly took. It was spectacular to see, but I have read quite a few commentaries on the poor planning of government in not protecting the site.

Stonehenge

This was a day which was truly unplanned – we thought we would head for Bath and pulled into this historic city at around 8:00 pm…without accommodations or wireless. Some might politely describe that as being brave; I would suggest another word. Regardless, we were blessed to find Aquae Sulis, a lovely B and B that was straight out of John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers. The staff were so friendly and accommodating and the English breakfast the next morning was lovely. Kelly and I immediately felt like Bath was a city we would want more time in and the morning walk/wander we did confirmed this. Of course, we went down to the Roman Baths and toured the square, we also went into Bath Abbey which has a history going back to 757 AD when monks of St. Peter were granted land by the King. In fact, it was also the abbey where the first effective king of all England (King Edgar) was crowned. The building itself has been rebuilt numerous times due to conquests, fires, and further religious conflict.

Hours could be spent in this most beautiful and inspiring building. The stained glass windows, monuments to past patrons (many women) of the church, and architecture all swirl around to create a sense of reverence and quiet. Until of course, a 10 and 7 year old decide they’ve had enough… I would have loved to sit for much longer and pray and reflect. We have been given many gifts!

Stained glass at Bath Abbey

Pulteney Bridge across the River Avon – Kelly takes AMAZING photos!

 

England Travels

I have some incredible photos to post from our travels to Tantallon Castle and St. Abb’s head in Scotland; however, we are currently staying with lovely new friends we met through our friend, Daryll Plantinga. Lizzy and Mike live in Leigh-On-Sea (right on the Thames estuary) and Mike commutes into London where he walks past the Tower of London each day! It’s sometimes difficult for us mortal tourists to imagine people actually living daily life around the sites millions travel to see. We have so appreciated them allowing our family to crash in possibly the largest tent ever in their back garden. For those who know me and my history of tenting, you will appreciate when I share that I have had two full nights sleep!

To more exciting things – yesterday was a full day in London with the family. We had already determined that we would be looking at spending two full days if not more in the city which solved some of the potential to feel rushed.

Taking the train right into downton London from Leigh-On-Sea, we wandered by the tower of London and then toured the Tower Bridge which is far more scenic than the more famously named London Bridge. The displays contained within the higher walkways outline the history of bridges from around the world and highlight many of the spectacular creations world wide. It would be intriguing to set travel plans according to bridges.

Following this, Kelly and the boys spent time exploring every inch of the HMS Belfast, a destroyer which saw action in World War II. All three were enthralled with the ship and it’s gigantic guns. Bailey and I wandered into a variety of shops in the area and discovered Borough Market – a place heaving with people, sounds, smells, and stories. The food vendors, speciality jellies, cheeses, wines, and Kelly’s favourite – cheese and potatoes were a joy to tour and consider which tasty treats to try. I managed to find the juciest, 3 cm blackberries for £1 and immediately devoured them! When the boys joined us, we continued to wander through the entire area and eventually made our way along the Thames to the London Eye. The entire south shore is a great place to walk along as you pass many museums, the Globe, theaters, and buskers. When we got to the Eye, Ethan despaired that we would never make it through the line up and it took some cajoling, but we were soon in line for tickets and convinced him it would be worth it.

First of all – it was worth it! Secondly, the line was daunting to be sure, but in all actuality, we were only in line for 15 minutes total which given the que, was fantastic! The sights of London from above were breathtaking and helped us further plan our day for tomorrow! We will be off to explore the Parliment Buildings, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Natural History Museum. A full day to be sure. Bailey is keen to see London at night and so we will be staying a bit later tomorrow to fulfill that hope.

Dublin

You’ll notice the never ending theme of “we thought we would do this, but then…” For instance, we thought we would drive to a suburb of Dublin, park and take the train in as many have commented on the challenges of driving and parking in downtown Dublin. However, without wifi access to do some research, we found ourselves taking some time consuming detours to find a train station. When we got to the one we wanted, the train had just left and another one wasn’t to come for another hour. Our kids were great sports and we took the potentially fatal attitude of “how bad can it really be?” and drove into Dublin. I’m happy to report that driving and parking in downtown Dublin is absolutely not an issue (most likely because Kelly is an exceptional driver and I have figured out our handy dandy sat-nav). 

We promptly wandered off to St. Stephen’s Green for some photo-ops and Kelly and the boys remained there to play some football (soccer). A boy (Louis) noticed Ethan and his football, and promptly asked Ethan if they could play. The boys enjoyed themselves immensely and I don’t know that the significance of where they were playing will quite soak into until they recall this trip later. 

Ethan and Louis using Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide first possession.

The obligatory family photo.

Bailey and I, free of the male contingent, promptly wandered off to Grafton Street, home of countless shops, buskers, and rich people watching opportunities. Dublin is significantly different than Belfast in its more international feel. We wandered through Trinity College which is a campus I would love to spend more time in – I was impressed when I came as a university student in 1998, and was enthralled now as well. Both Bailey and I have been working our way through historical fiction set in the areas we are traveling and enjoyed walking through the areas referenced in our books. 

The drive returning to Portaferry was much faster than our morning trek due to both less traffic, and fewer detours. We were able to enjoy a stunning sunset as we waited for our 5 minute ferry ride across the lough to our loft. A great day!

 

Northern Ireland

So much time has passed since my last post – wifi access has been incredibly limited making it difficult to upload photos and text. We are back in Scotland and staying at our new holiday rental which is a rebuilt fish counting house overlooking the River Tay just five minutes outside of the city of Perth. Rivers in this area are much more interesting as they are all tidal making for changing shorelines-a new experience for us Canadians.

Following our departure from Rose Cottage in Greyabbey, we made our way down the shores of Strangford Lough to Portaferry. We fell in love the this entire area as you can drive 5 minutes east and be on the white sandy beaches of the Atlantic or take a few steps to the west and be at the rockier shores of the lough. In four days we packed in a fair amount of travel and had to pare down our list as while the actual calculated distances were not overmuch, the travel time on roads that do not resemble the QEII is significant.

View from our loft window

I was so excited to be on the road towards the Giant’s Causeway as this had been a favourite of mine when I had first been to Northern Ireland 15 years prior. The Causeway Coastal Route was stunning and as you can see, our slower speed was rewarded with great views, and incredible stops. As we neared the Causeway itself, I was taken aback by the sheer numbers of tour busses, vehicles, and people swarming the new visitor’s centre. None of it existed during my first visit – in fact, it had been a rather solitary experience where a gravel parking lot was available and one wandered down quiet paths covered in reddish gravel to the spectacular sites. Now; however, guides, listening devices, and asphalt was everywhere. Kelly and I both found ourselves having to do some self-talk as the sheer number of people surrounding us was almost enough to make us want to turn around. I recognize that we are in fact the same as all of them and are “tourists” as much as I would like to think otherwise. When you step back, it’s ridiculous to think that we should feel in any way entitled to view these sights without the crush of a crowd even though it may be preferable.

Ethan and Anderson loved hopping from rock to rock

Giant’s Causeway

Once down the path and further along the incredible rock formations, we were all able to  soak in the beauty around us. (insert link?) There are wonderful hikes up to the cliffs surrounding the area and we picked one that also included 165 stairs (Anderson counted each one). Bailey has a particular fascination with cliffs and very much enjoyed her trek up to the top. By this time it was pouring rain making everything more dramatic and not a complaint was heard as the rain beat down.

View from the cliffs