Cousins European Vacation

After a day spent closeted up in the motorhome sheltering from hurricane winds and rain, we were keen get out and see a little of Dublin this morning. We had hoped to get into the city yesterday but all bus services and most city attractions were closed down because of the hurricane. This morning we marveled at the Dublin Spire (120 meter high stainless steel tower in the city centre), wandered around both the newer fashionable streets on the left bank of the river and the old medieval area on the right bank and we topped it off with lunch at Ireland’s oldest pub, the Brazen Head.

Then we headed back to the motorhome and across Ireland to Galway to resume our trip up the  Atlantic coast. Unfortunately the hurricane cost us 2 days of sightseeing, but we’ll have to make the most of our last 2 days before we head back to Wales.

Before leaving Wexford, we visited the Irish National Heritage Park and spent an interesting hour on a tour of Irish history since prehistoric times with our guide Damian (dressed in the monk’s costume). After a coffee we headed west with the plan of maybe reaching Galway on the western coast, We travelled through some really lovely countryside and towns (including the famous Tipperary) and were really impressed by how neat and clean the whole country is.

Just as we were hanging for a coffee, we came across the HighNelly Vintage Bike Café. This was a little gem and we spent a bit of time looking about (they manufacture their own bikes) and sipping coffee by the fire. The young barista (uni student from Corke) even told us of a good caravan park near Limerick so we took his advice and headed for the Curragh Chase Forest Park.  This is a delightful park set in what was once the estate of a wealthy Irish aristocratic family and we really enjoyed our night spent there, apart from the acorns falling on our roof when the wind blew.

After leaving Llanon, we headed south along the coast until we came to Cardigan where we stopped off at a lovely bakery for a coffee. Took a few photos and video as we headed further South along the coast. We were intrigued by the welsh language on some of the road signs along the way. We arrived at St David at the southern point of Wales late in the afternoon and after a bit of hunting, found what was called a caravan park. Ours was the only occupied van in the park and although we spoke to the warden by phone, he didn’t show his face while we were there. We did the right thing and left the 20 euro fee in the honesty box before leaving.

The major feature of St David is the Cathedral which dates back to the 13^th century. We wandered into the cathedral for a look and I was lucky enough to get a little video of the choir and organ practicing for evensong later that night. (separate video). Had a delightful dinner at Bishops pub before heading back to our deserted caravan park.

Our first night in Wales was spent near Ross on Wye, just over the English border. After setting off quite early the following morning, we encountered our first castle, Castell Raglan, and decided to take a look. It was one of the last medieval castles built in England and Wales in the 15th century and is still remarkably preserved. Those walls would tell many stories.

After leaving Raglan Castle, we travelled in the rain all the way across Wales. We hit the coast at Aberystwyth and then followed the coast southwards till we found a caravan park in a little town called Llanon. After checking in, we headed into town and found the White Swan pub for a drink before braving the elements for a short walk on the beach. (pebbles). No photos or video for this section but the countryside we drove through was beautiful. The roads were quite narrow and it was just too dangerous to stop along the way.

After escaping from the Slaughters, we headed down the road a few miles to Bourton on the Water and had a lovely morning wandering through the village and having the mandatory morning coffee, We also visited a Model Village –  one ninth the size of the original old village.

From there we drove a bit further up the road to Stow on the Wold.  (love those names !!!! ) Not quite as picturesque as Bourton, but it had its own character and we had lunch (I went for the steak pie again) in The Talbot, a little English pub.

After lunch we headed off towards Wales where we were planning to stay the night. On our way we drove through more quaint Cotswold villages – Morton in Marsh, Bourton on the Hill and several others before pulling into our Caravan park on the banks of the Wye River near Ross on Wye, just over the Wales border.

Travelling north west from Bath, we headed for the Cotswolds, a rural area of south central England covering parts of 6 counties, most notably Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Its rolling hills and grasslands, medieval villages, churches and homes built of limestone make the area very distinctive. We planned to visit a number of the small towns and as we drove along were impressed with the patchwork of grassy fields separated by fences of stone or hedge. We nearly ran over a partridge – the local brightly coloured bird characteristic of parts of the UK.

Our first stop was BILBURY – an absolutely delightful little town. We were able to find a park for the motorhome and wandered through the few streets of the town admiring the lovely little cottages. We stopped in at The Catherine Wheel (an old pub/café) for lunch and sampled some of the trout from the local trout farm. (Check out the video – it will make your mouth water).

Then it was on to the SLAUGHTERS (Upper and Lower) to again experience some of the Cotswold magic. Of special interest was the Old Mill Store where we could have bought lots of goodies. Merryl did by a book – “Slaughter in the Cotswolds” which she is now reading. While looking around, I noticed the Slaughters Cricket Ground and we decided that would be a good place to park for the night, as there was no caravan park close by. After a nice quiet night, we headed out the following morning only to find that the gate had been locked on us. I hunted out the fellow from the adjacent house and received a lecture about parking on private property. Typical pom, he couldn’t have just told us the night before that we couldn’t stay there. After pleading ignorance of the law, the gate was unlocked and we were allowed to leave without being slaughtered !!

Bath is a small city situated on the Avon River about 185 klms West of London. It is famous for its hot mineral springs which are reputed to have healing properties. We had planned to stay two nights at Bath which gave us plenty of time to look around. We checked out the spas dating back to Roman times and the Bath Abbey, but didn’t go for a dip in the healing waters (90 minute wait and 70 pound cost !!). However we did a Jane Austen walk around the town (the famous author lived in Bath and the city features in her books). It was good to have a relaxing day.

After our first night in our motorhome at Folkstone (near Dover) it was time to move off down the coast to visit a couple of England’s major beach resorts, Hastings and Brighton – although I’m not sure how the poms can call a pebbly seashore a beach !!!!! Although out of season, both places were pretty busy and we soon learnt that our motorhome is too big to fit in normal parking spots and the poms haven’t made any provision for them in many towns. Needless to say our appreciation of these places was limited as we couldn’t stop. We ended up spending the night at a very overpriced caravan park at Worthing.
Next on our itinerary was the city of Salisbury – a medieval cathedral city in the southern English county of Wiltshire. Fortunately they had a place for us to park, so we were able to wander through the medieval town and visit the magnificent cathedral that dates back to the thirteenth century. It has the highest spire in the UK and houses the original Magna Carta document that was signed by King John in 1215. We also checked out a WW1 display including a recreated Bristol Scout aeroplane. Lunch was traditional steak and kidney pudding, mash and peas. Yum !!
After Salisbury we travelled just 8 miles north to visit the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. This ring of 4 metre high stones created more than 2000 years BC has baffled generations ever since. Stonehenge is a huge tourist attraction in the UK and there were plenty of people there when we visited. From there, it was on to Bath for the night.