We arrived safely in England at Manchester Airport both feeling very tired. In total we had been awake for around 31 hours . We had a very quiet day at Mel & Pete's resting and meeting family that called in for a visit. It was still day light at 9.30pm but our body clock stopped working . Bed for us .
2nd day .
After a good night sleep , and with the sun shinning it was time for us to visit the local phone shop and get our mobile phone connected. We decided to go with the Orange network, they seemed to have the cheapest rates for England and Germany.
From here we did some grocery shopping then visited Mansfield township which is 7 minutes walking distance from Peter and Mels place. Mansfield many years ago was the centre of Nottingham forest, the hide out for Robin Hood and his merry men. We walked the path which was the main thoroughfare for Robin Hood . As you walked you could visualise how the area was then, by the many plaques around informing you of what it was like in those days with Robin and his merry men ( see photos below).
Narrow streets and terraced houses are the norm
Today was a wonderful day walking around Sherwood Forest, which is famous as the legendary home of Robin Hood. The mighty oak tree in the forest is estimated to be over 1150 years old , it is one of the largest and oldest oak trees in England. In medieval times Sherwood covered 100,000 acres, almost one fifth of the county, and was a royal hunting forest, it's valuable game, timber , cattle and land protected by strict forest laws. In the forest there are around 900 oak trees which are over five centuries old. This area now has a rich and complex ecosystem, so now Sherwod is a green haven for an amazingly wide range of flora, fauna and wild life, including 150 species of beetle and 200 different types of spiders.
While we were walking through the forest we came across a feeding table for squirrels . We also saw their nest in a tree (but difficult to photo). As we walked around the forest you could visualise how it was in those days with such large trees used as look outs and the hollow ones used for hiding in.
5th July.
We left Mansfield at 9.00am for New Quay in Wales. We travelled through Derby, Telford, Shrewsbury in England on the way to Wales. One thing we noticed was the roads we travelled on were very narrow and a lot of hedges . The reason for the hedges was to stop the snow drifts in the winter going on the roads. We decided to stay off the main highway and enjoy the country roads and scenery. We are staying at Woodlands Holiday park in New Quay. A very quiet area close to the beach.
6th July.
After a great night sleep it was time to explore New Quay village. Another beautiful sunny day with a gentle breeze. On our way to the village we came across a market and boot sale. We walked around and purchased some very nice locally baked bread which went down a treat for lunch.
New Quay is situated along a lovely part of the Welsh Coast between Aberystwyth in the north and Cardigan in the south. You can walk along the beach and watch the dolphins play in the surf. The roads are very narrow and once again the houses are on the roadside with very little frontage, most just step out the front door onto the pavement.
Harbour at New Quay
7th July,
Today brought light drizzle thus making it a little cooler 12 degs. After a group talk it was decided to go and have a look at the Teifi Valley Railway (Peter is a fond collector of miniture trains and has a large collection with tracks in a spare room at home).
The steam trains and carriages run on a small track for visitors just to feel what it is like to see and hear the trains working.
From here we went to the National Wool Museum which is in Drefach, which is about five miles from Newcastle Emlyn in West Wales. Here we saw how material was woven in the 1800 s. We spent over 2 hours here looking at different looms and carding machines. There were a number of large windows for the machinist to sew by . But the windows were all patterned glass , so that the weavers were not distracted by the outside world. There were many different materials that you could hold and feel the different textures . (Fact, There are three times more sheep than people in Wales ( nearly 9 million sheep at the last count. In the past , fleeces were often washed or scored in a mixture of one part Watertown one part human urine).
Wool museum in Drefach
Today was overcast with light showers and a cool wind. Time for some warm tops to be worn.
We had a wonderful day today exploring Aberystwyth township . Visited the ruins of a castle close to town that was built in the 13th century. Sadly over time it had fallen to ruins. You can still see the dungeons and a few of the corner towers. It would of been a very large castle if it had not been destroyed by Cromwell in fighting with the Welsh to conquer them.
We decided to go on a train ride from the township to Devil's Bridge on a small steam train. It took a hour to get to the bridge with some beautiful scenery on the way . Seeing where they mined for tin and lead . Different sheep farms and a few cattle farms were also seen from the train. The train It self was only 8 ft wide going on a track width of 2ft 6" (narrow gauge ) . There we're open carriages that people could sit and enjoy the wind and take photos plus quite a few closed in ones for comfort.
9th June
A visit to Cardigan today . The Black Lion Hotel was first notes on it sight as a Grog shop in 1105 AD.
It has been there every since ( photo below). The streets in this area are very narrow with the shops opening directly onto the Main Street , with no foot path to speak of.
From here we went to a local castle named Cilgerran Castle which is just out of Cardigan . The Normans first built an earth and timber castle on this site . You can see in the photos below where the wooden floors used to be on each level. A steep gorge over the river Teifi around 900 years ago. Lord Rhys, the Welsh price of Deheubarth, captured it in 1165 and the Nest, the Welsh ( Helen of Troy) , was abducted from here in 1109.
Cardigan's main road
10th June,
Today was a lovely sunny day looking around the country side and ending up in Lampeter were we just did the tourist thing and looked in many shops .
Tomorrow off to Ireland.
