Grace

Song - Amazing Grace by Andrea Bocelli

 Founded in May 1131 Tintern Abbey sits on the Welsh bank of the River Wye. The abbey fell into ruin after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.

It is breathtaking.....

Arrgh....it's a Pirate Faire

 

We had breakfast on the dock at our hotel.  Beautiful morning on the River Dee on a three day weekend here (bankers holiday on Monday) in Chester and next door is the Royal Rowing Club with lots of boats in the water this morning!

 

Traveled from Chester to spend the morning in Conwy & Llandudno in Wales today.  They are both seaside towns with a rich history. Amazing Castle that we were able to walk all over, up & down, along the walls, etc.,  built by King Edward I around 1283.  But.....

It was a zoo getting in and out of the town due to the holiday & children here have a week off school on holiday. 

Oh yeah....and it was a pirate fair!

Kids and parents were dressed in appropriate Pirate costume and we were thinking that they were way into visiting the castle until we saw this sign on the way out of town......

 

I accused Mr. B of fooling me.  Remember it's in Welsh like all the signs we saw here. 

After visiting several other Welch towns we headed back to Chester, England to walk around the Roman ruins and take a boat ride down the River Dee to hear a little more about the city's history.  

 

We passed our hotel (the brown buildings in the back of our hotels floating beer pub) which was extra busy due to it being a Sunday. They do a thing in Britain called Sunday roast and people are dining all day long on Sunday.  

Then we walked through olde town to see the half timbered buildings and the Eastgate clock.  

 

And the Roman ruins - below is the Roman garden but there is also the Roman amphitheater and walls. 

Heading to Liverpool tomorrow and The Fab Four Tour!  Just because... we grew up in that generationa and I loved it!

Word of the day - because we ran into so many signs about badgers crossing the freeways in Wales = mochyn daear

Ancient Standing Stones

Tuesday morning we experienced Stonehenge.  It was the perfect sultry temperature and we were able to enjoy the stones before the crowds arrived. 

 

It was begun in 2,500-3,000 bc and had many uses.  Amazing energy to be felt here even if it is somewhat touristy.  The entire time we were there we heard blasts going off near that clump of trees in the far right of the photo above. 

 

This was due to England raising its security to "critical" after the Manchester bombing just the day before. Apparently Stonehenge is near a military camp because as we left, we saw tanks, helicopters and signs like the one above warning you to watch for tanks crossing the road. 

 

Next we headed to the Avebury Stones.  Here the stone circle is so large that it encircles the entire village and there are sheep mowing the grass and people enjoying the stones & sheep.  

Mr. B was eating in front of that half-timbered, thatched roof restaurant in the background but I couldn't sit still as I wanted to take photos and see the sheep.  

 

 

 Next was the little village of Lacock.  It has been used for many TV shows & movies as it is faithful to the era.  We enjoyed coffee & blueberry ice cream here and I won't tell you who had what!!!

We spent the night in Castle Combe, a picture postcard village with a trout stream running through. 

You can See more "standing stones" in the photos above although I believe these stones are placed by masons to form houses and churches and bridges!!!

We drove over the Bristol Channel to get to Wales so we could visit Tintern Abbey.  

 

I cannot begin to describe to you how enchanting this place truly is. Maybe even more so with most of it destroyed, it truly spoke to both Mr. B & myself with its powerful presence.  I may have shed a few tears....

Heading back to the Cotswolds' we attempted to see the gardens at Highgrove but they turned us away because we  didn't have previous reservations.  

 

I didn't know it would be so diffficult to see a few flowers!  They wanted us to open our "bonnet" & trunk with guns drawn! Yikes!

 

Time for a rest at our hotel "the oldest inn in England" c947.  

 

From Lord & Lady Mac A'Bhaird!!!

Word of the day - Araf (Welsh - sounds like arr-arf ) = slow down 

One Hell of a Road Trip

After the ten & a half hour plane ride, then we will be on an amazing road trip through England, Wales & Scotland. And Mr. B gets to learn how to drive on the opposite side of the road and on the opposite side of the car! Should be one hell of a road trip!

Checked the weather yesterday and it looks like England is going to live up to its "damp" reputation!

Thank goodness - we packed for that!