Llandudno was our nearest seaside resort to the camsite, we spent several days and evenings walking along its promenade during the summer heatwave!
Llandudno is a really fascinating place, a huge sweeping bay, a ready made “resort” full of attractions for all the family, a huge paddling pool, a pier with amazing views and architecture.
The Llandudno Pier pips the post as being the longest of its kind in Wales at 2,295 feet or 700 meters long. It was started in 1876 and was completed two years later and used to be home to the World’s oldest Punch and Judy show, not sure if it’s still there.
Views from the Pier
Great Orme
Behind the pier is a headland called Great Orme, which used to house a copper mine, now home to a tourist attraction and a cable car to the top of the headland. We took a night time drive around the coastal road. The mountain is also home to Kashmir goats, descended from goats originally given to Lord Mostyn (who owns the land) by Queen Victoria
Llandudno Architecture
Llandudno is known as the largest seaside resort in Wales, local land owner Lord Mostyn set out to create a “holiday resort” between 1950 and 1912, building 3 or 4 storey terraces within a block design. The building heights are not allowed to exceed to street widths, creating wide tree lined avenues, bordered by Victorian style covered walkways. The retail side caters well for the numerous hotels, guest houses, apartments and B&Bs lined along the front.
Post Lockdown Hugs at Porthmadog & Portmeirion
We had an hour’s drive out to surprise our niece’s children for a good hug post-lockdown and it was soooo lovely! Unbeknown to the children, we had pre-arranged to meet in a cafe on the High Street, the children didn’t know we were nearby or visiting so David went off to park the car and I hung around in the cafe. Our niece Carol and teenage daughter Libby arrived first, Libby was speechless and almost in tears, not sure if that was with pleasure or embarassment!
David had parked the car on the High Street, and dad Paul and son Jack walked right past Benny the BMW and didn’t notice David walking behind them!! Jack came into the cafe, and both him and I said at the same time “What are you doing here??” Lots of hugs and kisses later, we had a few hours with them all before they headed off south and we headed to Portmeirion for the afternoon, all loved up!
I love cuddles with these kids!!!!!
Portmeirion
I recall taking my mother in law to this village years ago, just her, me and Caity aged about 6 or 7, so about 15 years ago!! I thought it was a quirky magical place then, we were there in October and walked around the grounds. It was the dream of one man who had an idea of how a village could be created for the past, current and future, taking advantage of the protected climate in a bay on the tidal Dwyryd estuary. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village.
We decided to give Bessy and Benny some Welsh air and try to learn bit of Welsh language so we booked them into a campsite in Rhos on Sea, just outside Llandudno.
I say a campsite, but it was just a field on a working farm, but a great base to start touring. We had a day out with Benny and visited a few castles and Snowdonia National Park, 100 miles round trip with the top down was amazing on a lovely sunny day.
Another day out was a little further afield to Porthmadog for a surprise meeting with family and then to Portmeirion for an afternoon wandering the Italianate gardens, a paddle in the seawater pools then another beautiful drive back through the Welsh Mountains.
We’ve also spent some time in Llandudno itself, a pretty coastal resort with a long long pier!
Our Castle Day – Conwy
First stop was Conwy Castle, a complete walled city within the Castle walls. We walked around the inner streets, and had a quick look at the walls (which needed some attention in places!!) but it was far too hot to do the complete walk around the walls.
Its considered a fortress, built by King Edward I and his architect Master James of St George who built both castle and walls in a barely believable four years between 1283 and 1287. In the distance rise the craggy mountains of Snowdonia and spread out below are the small harbour and narrow streets of Conwy – still protected by an unbroken 1,400-yard (1.3km) ring of town walls. It has World Heritage status, along with 3 other castle in Wales.
Spot Benny in the car park?
Fortress walls
Some serious structural issues!
Snowdonia in the background
Part of the main castle
Walking alongside the prom
Old buildings within the town
Beautiful architecture
Amazing old houses
Next Stop Bangor
This small cathedral city is known for so many things:
being the oldest city in Wales
it has the longest (retail) High Street in Wales at 1.265 km (0.79 mile)
in 2021 has the world’s first non-binary (elected) Mayor – and at 23 years old, was the youngest Welsh Mayor ever elected.
has the second longest pier in Wales, 460 metres.
In 1967, the Beatles were in Bangor meeting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi when they learned of the death of their manager Brian Epstein.
Singer Duffy was born here in 1984.
The town is mentioned in the Fiddler’s Dram 1979 hit single “Day Trip to Bangor”.
We headed down to the pier which looks across the Menai Strait towards Anglesey and admired the scenery. The pier was opened in 1893 and after several closures, mainly due to expensive repair costs, it was sold to the County Council in 1974, who gave it a Grade II Listed building status and secured its future. The British Listed Buildings inspector considered it to be “the best in Britain of the older type of pier without a large pavilion at the landward end”. Restoration work took place over several years, and the pier was re-opened to the public on 7 May 1988, however it’s now in need of more work……
Benny enjoying the views
Views of the Menai Strait
Benny parked by the Garth Pier
Entrance to the Pier
We crossed the Menai Bridge into Anglesey
Anglesey – Beaumaris and Penmon Point
We landed in Anglesey and turned right, towards the Eastern point of the Island.
Beaumaris is a small seaside town full of cafes, restaurants and take aways, all catering for the visitors to the castle.
Beaumaris Castle is famous as the “greatest castle never built” . It was the last of the royal strongholds created by Edward I in Wales – and perhaps his masterpiece.
Here Edward and his architect James of St George took full advantage of a blank canvas: the ‘beau mareys’ or ‘beautiful marsh’ beside the Menai Strait. By now they’d already constructed the great castles of Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech. This was to be their crowning glory, the castle to end all castles.
The result was a fortress of immense size and near-perfect symmetry. No fewer than four concentric rings of formidable defences included a water-filled moat with its very own dock. The outer walls alone bristled with 300 arrow loops.
But lack of money and trouble brewing in Scotland meant building work had petered out by the 1320s. The south gatehouse and the six great towers in the inner ward never reached their intended height. The Llanfaes gate was barely started before being abandoned.
So the distinctive squat shape of Beaumaris tells of a dream that never quite came true. Still it takes its rightful place on the global stage as part of the Castles and Town Walls of Edward I World Heritage Site.
Because this castle is special – both for the scale of its ambition and beauty of its proportions. Gloriously incomplete Beaumaris is perhaps the supreme achievement of the greatest military architect of the age.
Our view of the “Greatest Castle Never Built”
One building that caught my eye, Victoria Terrace.
A huge imposing building, looking out onto the Estuary was built by Joseph Hansom and Edward Welch, architects of York, and completed in 1833, for the Corporation of Beaumaris. The terrace was the centrepiece of a plan to regenerate the declining port of Beaumaris by creating a fashionable resort. Now it is a Grade 1 Listed Georgian property with several large residential “town houses” and holiday accommodation.
Traditional fish and chip lunch over, we headed out to Penmon Point, the most Easterly point of Anglesey. Locally known as Black Point, it is home to one of Anglesey’s 5 lighthouses and Puffin Island, in the 6th century the island was home to a monastery, now it is just a bird and animal sanctuary.
Road leading to the beach
Puffin Island
The pebble beach
Llanfairpwll…….. OK I give up!
We doubled back through Beaumaris and went to the town with the longest name in the world – 58 charachters!!
The full name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which was created so its railway station would have the longest sign in the country—in the mid 1800s. It means “St. Mary’s Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the red cave.”
Been there!
Caernarfon Castle
We returned to the mainland and turned right, heading to Caernarfon Castle. Being the place where Prince Charles was inaugurated in 1969, we thought we would book the tour of the castle, expecting it to be full of historic artifacts. We were disappointed, it’s an outline of the building, with only a museum for the Welsh Fusiliers.
The small market town was also disappointing, very run down with lots of charity shops. However, it’s one ticked off the list, Caernarvon Castle.
We then took a slow drive thrugh the Snowdonia National Park and realised why we loved living in Wales, it’s green, lush, sparkling, colourful, beautiful!
A typical gorge
Slag heaps from mining remains
Slag heaps
Lake Padam in the mountains
After a long day out, we returned back at Bessy tired but in awe of the Welsh beauty!
After a few weeks of down sizing, from Samson to a 2 bedroomed flat and then to a caravan, we were ready to set off! Space is not something we can say Bessy has plenty of but we managed to pack away summer and winter clothes, an awning, laptop and some family tree paperwork (just in case I needes something to do!).
After negotiating A1M diversions and then the M25, we arrived mid afternoon in Abbey Wood, South London. Surprisingly, the warden asked if we had been before, he remembered me! I said “yes but in a 5th wheel!” Fame at last!!!
Stop 1 of our new travels was a short stay in Kent to meet up with friends, Angela and I had a good chat and David and Peter had a good drink!! Peter is a whisky man and David is a bourbon man so they used the evening to test a Welsh whisky that had been finished in bourbon barrels, given to David by his niece. This was compared to a Scottish whisky, and an American bourbon, so a good night followed a delicious BBQ.
Cheers me dears!
Stop No 2 was at Chertsey right on the River Thames. On Saturday we visited a local riverside hostelry for a refreshing glass of something before returning to the campsite, which was full of weekend campers trying to offload kids, unpack and put up tents, feed kids, sleep then pack it all away the next day! Very stressful watching!
Our riverside views.
Sunday was a gloriously sunny day, we noted the skies above were devoid of airplanes from 11.00am onwards – realised that President Boden was due to visit Queenie in Windsor that afternoon, dropping in for afternoon tea, so they must have cleared the skies for his helicopter to land without any bother!
We had a lovely catch up and long lunch in a riverside pub in Staines before returning to our abode for the night.
Sandra & DavidBenny & Bessy in Sunny Chertsey
We hit the M3 on Monday morning, the sat nav telling us that the journey to Stop 3 was only 3 hours and 10 minutes, all was fine until we came off the M3 and hit the A303!!! Then our speed was an average 7 miles per hour! So slow we were able to take photos from inside the car of people wandering around Stonehenge….
5 and a half hours later, our aching bums arrived at Twelve Oaks farm outside Newton Abbot, Devon! A privately run site, working farm with cows, sheep, chickens, and toilets and showers that have won awards for Superloos for several years in a row!
We managed to fit in a swim in their outside heated pool.
Our pitch at Twelve Oaks Farm
Newton Abbot was a strange town, the old animal market had been rebuilt into flats, the high street was boringly filled with charity and cheap shops and a large supermarket dominated this very boring town, made famous by its small horse racing course outside town. However, the odd building jumped out at me….
The old library building in Newton Abbot
Our stop in this area was to catch up with friends Carlos and Wendy, who took us out to more cultural places, thankfully!
Coffee shop in Totnes, posing as an antiques and art gallery cum coffee and tea shoppe.The coffee came with homemade Bakewell Tart……..ok I did order it! Check out the china and cutlery though!
We explored the small boutique shops in uphill and downhill Totnes, our calves did not thank us the next day, not being used to steep hills!
We had a day out to a small village called Stoke Gabriel, narrow winding lanes into the village and smaller narrow winding lanes out, but well worth it. Lunch was at a Dart Riverside “shack” with the most amazing food, which we then walked off around the local church yard and grounds. The local gardens were full of beautiful coloured flowers that were full of bees and butterflies.
Wendy and me, stuffed to the hilt!The River shack had its own animal watering holes 🙂The River Dart at low tide.
There has been a church on the hill overlooking Stoke Gabriel Creek for over one thousand years. A church was listed in the Domesday survey of 1086, and at that time there was a yew tree in the churchyard already thought to be several centuries old. Today that yew tree is between 1200 and 1400 years old, making it amongst the oldest trees in Britain, its boughs grew down and re-rooted itself forming a covered walkway around the trunk.
Legend says that if you can walk around the tree backwards seven times without stumbling you will have a wish granted. I tried; it’s harder than it sounds!
The legend is remembered in this verse:
Walk ye backward round about me 7 times round for all to see Stumble not and then for certain One true wish will come to thee
The refurbished 15th century interior has several pews that were specifically built for local families that donated large amount of money, several gravestones mention the family name of “Churchward”, one such family. The organ was first mentioned in history in 1880 when the building was extended to add a heating stove and an organ pipe to the current harmonium. It was refurbished in 1960 but replaced with a more modern organ in 2010.
The best part of Stoke Gabriel Church is the 15th-century oak screen separating the nave and the chancel, the screen is decorated with painted panels depicting Old Testament prophets and New Testament saints. It is pointed out that the prophets are shown wearing Tudor caps, assuming the artists were obviously portraying the figures from their knowledge of contemporary clothing.
Next stop was to meet an old school friend in Taunton, Somerset, staying on a Cider farm. Don’t get excited, the weather was not great and the farm was quiet, the owners kept well away and we saw no activity except the growing apples in the Orchard. However, we had lots of visitors during our stay, very friendly colourful peacocks and white pea hens, guinea fowl, rabbits and a friendly loving cat, who found a hot spot on my lap for over an hour!
After a “stuffing” at the local pub on Sunday, we took a walk alongside the canal that runs through Taunton, and encountered more beautiful wildlife.
We left Taunton after one day, heading north for stop number 5 on the outskirts of Birmingham, the Clent Hills.
Next, we were chugging along on a diesel choo choo, “2nd AC class” to be precise, what an experience! The map below shows our journey so far, 2099kms over 20 days, by car and now the last leg by train!
Our journey to the train station was a little rushed to say the least, thanks to Mr & Mrs Trump visiting Ahmedabad the same day as we did. All roads into and out of the town were closed until 4pm, we snuck in about 6pm and became the centre of attraction in the “AC waiting room”, only for use by those with “AC train tickets”, others have to sweat it out on the platforms in 30c heat!
I’m not sure why we are as popular as Donald and Melanie, but everywhere we go, people stop to say “hi” or “hello”, then “where are you from?”. When we reply England, we also ask where they are from, that confuses them 🙂 Next question is “can we have a selfie with you?” Even just walking along the street, we are asked if people can take selfies with us??? We gave in to one group of pretty young teenagers once because they kept staring at David, only to find they didn’t have a phone!!! In some Palace gardens, we came across a whole school who wanted their photo taken with us. We had a bit of a laugh with the teachers, asking them for 100 rupees first, (£1.10) before being thronged by 50 children aged from 5 to 15, all smiling at us until our jaws ached. Such a lovely feeling to be adored by one’s subjects 🙂 🙂
Meanwhile, back on the train…….I’m on the top bunk, two chainlink rails holding me from falling onto the man below. Mum, dad and toddler are all sausaged onto two beds below whilst their son aged 7 or 8 is in the bunk above, opposite me, eyeing me up. He keeps farting, no wonder his parents called him Baloo!
We are on a sleeper train from Ahmedabad to Junagadh where at 6am the next morning the luxury of a new driver will meet us and take us to Diu (pronounced DEW) and the relative uncomfortableness of a sleeper train with 4 strangers should soon be forgotten. Humhhhhh…..
Its an odd sensation, being on a packed hot night train and looking at nothing except the grey ceiling 3 foot above and a strange brown limbed, fully dressed, child opposite. David was in another top bunk at my feet, with a different stranger below him. Even the lower bunks are closed off to the outside world, curtains closed all around them. Then a shuddering motion when every so often the train tilts to one side and I feel like my body will slide along the plastic bed and my head will hit the walls but the train tilts the other way and that feeling goes.
There’s a girl in the next cubicle who’s on her laptop with all her lights on, most people turn their lights off immediately and are trying to sleep. Someone laughs and a baby cries, coughing, farting and snoring mix, the air con kicks in and eventually people drift off to sleep.
I set my alarm clock for 3.50am, our stop was supposed to be at 4am, barring traffic jams and delays. Indian traffic is notorious so we allowed another hour before being collected by a driver! We eventually dismount at 4.45am, and our driver is also on Indian time, arriving at 6.55am! In the meantime, we sit on the platform, centre of attention again, saying “good morning” to the rough sleepers, school children and office-wear clad people waiting for the 6.45 to where ever.
As we boarded the train, after walking the whole train length twice, I notice 3rd (cattle) class, just as you see it on TV, wooden seats, crammed full, no glass in the windows, just metal bars….reminded me of certain trains in Germany long time ago, people peering out…
Dui town
Dui is the Union territory in the State of Daman & Dui, a coastal town at the eastern end of Diu Island, India. A bridge connects the island to the state of Gujarat which overlook the Arabian Sea. Dui is an independent state and therefore sells alcohol (only available in bars, not in restaurants), Gujarat does not!
We finally arrive late morning, to a modern 4* hotel where very few of the staff speak English, so our simple request for “2 black coffees, cornflakes with cold milk, then toast and jam” results in 1 cup of milky white coffee, toast and marmalade, then cornflakes, then inedible pancakes! We crash out, exhausted, and decided to try again the next day!
We were out walking last night and came across a procession of well dressed people, complete with wedding band, heading to a pre-wedding clothing ceremony. The bride to be’s uncle is very wealthy and gave an outfit to everyone attending. It was happy, colourful and a little over the top but we were pleased to be invited to watch.
Wedding crashing
The next day, we listened to the wedding band, heading off to another hotel. Day 3, we were woken at 8.30am by the wedding procession, this time with the bride and groom in a “horse drawn carriage” being paraded past our hotel. A few of the guests recognised us, invited us down but I really didn’t think they would appreciate my attire, nightshirt and dirty feet, so we kindly declined.
We explored the whole island in our few days, not that difficult considering its only about 10km long! We found all “5 beaches you must visit”, sadly they did not match up to the glossy clean images on the internet. At no point would we consider more than paddling in the water’s edge, we would have to fight through the rubbish and debris. Water sports were very cheap…..still not enticed in.
Portuguese Influence
The major attraction on the Island is an old fort, built and used by the Portuguese during their occupancy, until 1950s. You can see the European style buildings with painted tiles all around the town, three Roman Catholic churches (that are now very run down) and family services (a small hospital, school and gardens and playgrounds) but everything is barren or overgrown with weeds and unused. All references to the Portuguese were removed once the Indians took over, and its as though the Indians declared “don’t use these facilities” and things are left to decay. Very sad.
Udaipur is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1559, it’s set around a series of artificial lakes that were created to supply water to nearby villages after flooding a small valley in 1362 and is known for its lavish royal residences. City Palace, overlooking Lake Pichola, is a monumental complex of 11 palaces, courtyards and gardens, famed for its intricate peacock mosaics. The Lake has been known to almost dry up in drought years where the old town of Pichola is sometimes visible. Jag Niwas Island is home to the Royal’s Lake Palace, and Jag Mandir island is now the Taj Palace Hotel, where a basic room might set you back £550 a night!
It’s very calm and serene and full of hotels and havelis on the lakeside, behind this are hectic narrow streets (not wide enough for cars) humming with markets, shops, restaurants and businesses.
Its also home to a big hand made clothing scene, linen, silk, cotton, wool mix, for trousers, shirts, jackets, waistcoats or dresses and saris. David ordered 2 pairs of good quality linen trousers and 2 short sleeved shirts, made to fit, in 24 hours for about £45. In the meantime, I went next door and signed up for a wonderful massage, I was scrubbed with herbs and essential oils, masaged from head to foot and had a pedicure. I left 2.5 hours later, cleaner, lighter and looser, all for £25. The Indian head massage was simply heaven!!!
We spent our one full day here at the City Palace, the hugest place we have seen so far, its a mix of 11 palaces, all added and extended over time, blended with gardens and courtyards. It’s decorative, informative and full of historical exhibits, including old carriages and clothing used and worn over the centuries. The Palaces also have several blue and white “areas”, decorated with Portuguese tiles, depicting the national bird, the Peacock.
We left the Palace and walked around the Lake to a “skyride” to the top of the small mountain behind the city. This facility is fairly new and Indians are in awe of it! The views are over the lake, it was another humid day when we were there so views were a little hazy.
From the skyride, we took a boat ride around the main features of Lake Pichola, gawped at the Palace and the Taj Hotel before heading back to our own hotel for dinner in the roof top restaurant. All in all, a lovely relaxing city full of gentle, stress free people.
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