Chester
3rd October, 1992
4th October, 1992
5th October, 1992
6th October, 1992
7th October, 1992
8th October, 1992
9th October, 1992
Saturday, 3rd October, 1992
Postcard of Haworth Parsonage, Yorkshire
oodbye to the watery Lakes and gardens and off to Chester! On the way we visited Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage Museum. It was quite fascinating with lots of Branwell's paintings, the tiny books and paintings and samplers they did as children, Charlotte's wedding dress and some of her bonnets and shoes. She had tiny, narrow feet. It's incredible to think of the miles of walking they did on the moors in those tiny narrow boots. I'm glad we stopped there. We had a picnic in the carpark (raining again) which overlooked the moors and dales and a modern marvel, a huge streamlined windmill which generates electricity. Quite strange but a thoughtful, environmentally sound innovation.
e found the hotel in Chester quite easily and got our room, very nice, grey blue colouring, tiny shower and toilet cubicle but really nice furniture. (The bed, however, proved hideously uncomfortable and we had to pad the mattress with spare doonas we found under the bed (in drawers). We went for a walk and ended up in the middle of Chester, not too far and quite flat, not many eating places visible except pubs so we had dinner at a Tandoori Indian restaurant, just down the road - very nice and spicy but we are a bit bloated now. Hope tomorrow is clearer. We have quite a lot of things we want to do here, and we will phone home tomorrow as well.
Sunday 4th October, 1992
Bridge Street Row, Chester
ine today! We phoned the boys who seemed well and happy, or cracking hardy at least. Then we set out to walk the walls of the City. We circumnavigated Chester along the walls and it was very interesting. We had coffee then went to walk the city streets and rows. On Sunday it was much less crowded.
Eastgate Street, Chester, from the Wall
e were getting tired so went to the River (Dee) to have a cruise and rest our feet. Then we found that the two small towers on the Wall, King Charles' (from which he is supposed to have watched the defeat of his army at Rowton Moor) and the Water Tower were open, so we went through them. One had a Civil War display and the other had a Port of Chester display and Camera Obscura.
Rosemary on the Wall, Chester
e came down from there to the towpath of the canal and followed it to the Basin where there were a lot of narrow boats. We watched two of them go through a staircase lock which was a sight very unusual to Australians. By this time I was wilting on my feet so we had a pizza and came home.
Monday, 5th October, 1992
Snowdon Railway Train, Wales
oday we headed for Wales, Chester being just over the border. We wanted to go up Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales or England but if the day is cloudy or wet the little trains don't go up to the summit. It was cloudy when we left so we decided to make our minds up when we arrived in striking distance of both Snowdon and Anglesey as to which direction to take. As it happened, the clouds were clearing when we approached Snowdon (or the town of Llanberis at its foot) so we decided to go.
It was very pricey (twelve pounds fifty each) but the trip, I felt, was worth it.
View from the Summit, Mt. Snowdon, Wales
It is a tiny rack and pinion railway pulling itself up the mountain, cog by cog. The scenery was spectacular all the way from both sides. The summit was clear and you could see forever. To the coast in two directions at least. The trip took an hour each way (but was not boring) It waited thirty minutes at the top (which is all you need really) then pulls itself down again. A lot of people were walking and we saw a couple of people with bikes! (There is only a roughly gravelled pseudo-track).
e had a picnic lunch at Llanberis and then took an overland way back to Chester. Did a load of washing at the local laundrette (has to be done, more's the pity) and McDonalds for dinner. Well, at least it is cheap.
Tuesday, 6th October, 1992
St.Winefride's Well, Holywell, Wales
oday dawned fair again so we went off to Wales again, this time we began by looking for St.Winefride's Well and Shrine at Holywell. This ordinary town was signposted "The Lourdes of Wales". St.Winefride is the saint whose bones Cadfael and Co were supposed to have brought back to Shrewsbury. Apparently she has the gift of healing. However we were a bit early and the well was closed(!) (It has a building on top of it) so I couldn't pray for the relief of my various aches and pains. So I took a photo and we went on.
o Anglesey across the Menai Straits. There we found the famous town with the long name:
"Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch".
Trust the Welsh to invent a language even they can't pronounce!
Railway Station Name Board, LlanfairPG, Wales
I took a photo of the railway station nameboard and bought a badge at the tourist trap then we headed off to Beaumaris and its Castle.
Ruins of Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey, Wales
e were very impressed with Beaumaris, which, although ruined, showed its symmetry in the concentric defence design. There aren't many left with moats.
Ruins of Conwy Castle, Wales
fter a bite of lunch we went on to Conwy. This small walled town is VERY interesting. The walls are almost complete and the lovely castle ruins up on their rocky crag are fantastic. You can walk all around the castle on the battlemented wall walks and some of the towers are complete and very high. Mac curdled my blood by suddenly appearing on an enormously high rampart leaning over to call me (my arthritic knees prevented my joining him) It was worth it. Today was a good one.
Wednesday, 7th October, 1992
Ruins of Wenlock Priory, Shropshire
oday we headed for Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael territory. We only stayed long enough to get a copy of the Brother Cad Trail drives brochure. We decided to do the "Hermit of Eyton Forest" drive. This took in Wroxeter Roman City ruins,most extensive and very interesting. Then on to the other villages, Eyton on Severn and Eaton Constantine, both tiny and picturesque. We ate our picnic in a layby in Eyton Forest then on via Buildwas Abbey, unfortunately inaccessible because of road and bridgeworks, to Much Wenlock, hugely picturesque medieval town with the ruins of Wenlock Priory, whose discovery of the bones of its founding saint inspired Prior Robert of Shrewsbury to bring the bones of St.Winefride to Shrewsbury. It was getting rather late, so we headed straight home, resolving to return and do another couple of the trails, maybe from Stourport.
e had a pleasant Chinese meal at the "Slow Boat" in Chester, a very deceptively formal sort of place, and so home to bed.
Thursday, 8th October, 1992
Mac at Blue John Cavern, Peak District National Park
oday was fantastic! We drove to the Peak District National Park, to Buxton through absolutely spectacular scenery and a fine, if hazy day. We called at the Blue John Cavern, where they mined a unique kind of fluorspar striped in blue and yellow. We didn't go down, because it had hundreds of steps but we saw some of the objects crafted from the stone.
Rosemary at Chatsworth, Derbyshire
hen we went on to the Bakewell area where we visited Chatsworth, the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire. It is known as the "Palace of the Peaks" and is simply fabulous. We went over the area the public is allowed in the house - wonderful art works and objets, including a marvellous Rembrandt portrait and a "trompe l'oeil" painting of a violin hanging on a door which is incredibly realistic. Then we saw the gardens! They go for acres and include fountains and waterfalls, artistically arranged rocks and lakes - it was superb!
The Canal Pond, Chatsworth, Derbyshire
e spent nearly four hours there, then went on to Matlock Bath, a resort spa town in the shadow of the Heights of Abraham cliffs. It was very attractively laid out. From there we retraced our steps to Buxton and home. The scenery was great and the sun shone in our eyes. When we got back to Chester it was mizzling rain, the first we've had since we got here. We had a pizza in town and then came home. It was a marvellous day. We both really enjoyed it, especially Chatsworth.
Friday, 9th October, 1992
Chirk Aqueduct, Wales
ur last day! We did a magical mystery tour today, running two of the Cadfael trails, "The Marches" and "Hugh Beringar" together. This took in tiny villages and hamlets in England and Wales, including Rhydycroesau (where two lay brothers tended sheep) and Llansilin (where Cadfael forced a confession from the murderer in "Monk's Hood" and Maesbury where Hugh lived. It also included Chirk and its aqueduct (after Cadfael's time) and Whittington (where Hugh sent for his levies) and which claims Dick Whittington as a son. This also has a ruined castle which has an Elizabethan cottage as a tea room behind the gatehouse and a claim which they say is authenticated that it was fortified against King Stephen in 1138 (or something).
e also went to Oswestry which is very quaint and out to Old Oswestry Hill Fort which is a fascinating series of ramparts and ditches dating from the Iron Age. We went through Ellesmere, which has several meres and saw lots of birdlife and through the Welsh Border hills and valleys which were spectacular and unspoiled. Everything is so green! It was a very relaxed sort of day, with the canals and boats and aqueducts we saw inspiring Mac to a narrow boat holiday. I must say that the idea appeals, as long as the weather is good.
omorrow to Stourport, doing the "Virgin in the Ice" trail on the way. Can't be bad.
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