Day 12: Wales – Tenby

We woke up to a glorious morning. No wind, no clouds, just sunshine. The view from our bed was blue, blue sea.

We had a delicious traditional breakfast fast at the hotel. Gray and I had these massive scotch eggs and Robs had oats. It was a nice change from the usual bacon and egg cook ups, which in Wales always includes black pudding, these black cake looking pieces of offal we have nicknamed scabs.

The quickest road to Tenby would have taken us just under 2 hours, it took us 7. We drove along the narrow roads of St George’s channel between Wales and Ireland, the scenery was spectacular.

We stopped at the river mouth just outside the town of Cardigan and enjoyed a cider, while watching kids paddle in the lagoon and the noisy Canadian Geese forage at the waters edge.

From Cardigan we continued our journey through Pembrokshire National Park and the most beautiful scenery. We stopped at the cliffs and hiked to witches cauldron. An hour later we were continuing our journey through quaint seaside towns.

We arrived at Elm Grove, a beautiful old Georgian country house, set among 20 acres of lawns, gardens and fields. The house was built in the 1840’s and has had a number of owners but most auspiciously was used to house children evacuated from London during WW2. Elm Grove is about 10km out of town.

Around 4pm we headed into the castle walled harbor town and seaside resort of Tenby. It was bustling and busy, with holiday makers taking advantage of the glorious weather to swim and sun tan on the sandy stretches of Castle Beach. We wondered along the beach to the ruins of Tenby Castle on the headland overlooking the harbor. We then headed into the walled town and walked around the busy streets and narrow alleys of shops and holiday houses. We had an early dinner at a delicious restaurant, The Plantagenet.

We returned to Elm Grove around 8pm. Robs and I played tennis on the grass court, not exactly Wimbledon but it was a great way to end a special day.

Day 11: Wales – Aberystwyth

Today was 4 seasons in one day.

I woke up early and went for a walk, exploring the estate and castle grounds. It was overcast and windy but really beautiful.

We then said another sad farewell to Gareth, he was heading back to London to catch up with good friends.

Robs, Gray and I then set off, in the hot sun, for the next leg of our trip. We travelled west, along roads less travelled, the Morries never road trip on highways and main roads if we can help it. It’s was more tree lined narrow lanes, green farmlands and super charming villages. By the time the road had led us to the sea, the clouds had rolled in and it had begun to rain.

With it being the start of the UK summer school holidays most of the towns we passed through were filled with caravan parks and noisy, excited children.

Fortunately, Aberystwyth, the seaside resort town we were staying in, was more of a student town. It hosts Wales first university and has some beautiful buildings, the standard castle ruins, and a long promenade. The sea was grey under the cloudy sky and the sea sand black, it didn’t look appealing for an afternoon swim.

Our hotel, Gwesty Cymru, was a terraced house, turned hotel on the beach front. After settling in we went for a walk along the promenade with the idea of picking up fish and chips and eating it on a bench. Clearly a popular delicacy, the queue was too long, so we found a deli and had a delicious lunch – a cheese and meat platter with olives and rosemary flat bread, washed down with Spanish Pimms.

We then explored the town.

In the evening, we took a long walk along the promenade to the castle ruins and watched the sunset over the sea from our bedroom.

Day 10: Wales – Ruthin

It was a very slow start to the day, lots of post wedding hangovers. Safe to say we missed breakfast.

Eventually, after all were ready, we walked into town, had coffee and found a delightful restaurant, the Myddelton Grill on the Square. Over a delicious Sunday lunch, with lots of laughs and tons of teasing about what the kids got up to at the wedding. Jono’s dance moves, Robs underage boyfriend, Gareth’s granny (all exaggerated) and a surprisingly well behaved Kirsty.

Back at the Castle, we said a sad farewell to Kirst & Jono as they head off to Spain.

We then took a drive through the impossibly narrow, windy roads surrounded by beautiful Welsh farmlands to meet up with Wayne & Jean and close friends and family at the farm cottages where they are staying. A delightful afternoon and left over lamb for dinner.

Day 10: Wales – Ruthin

Despite rain being forecast for the day, it was overcast but the rain held off.

The morning was a blur with putting final touches up in the marquee, Kirst and Robs doing the bride and bridesmaids make up and hair and getting ourselves ready.

St Meugan’s Church in Llanrhydd, like all buildings in Ruthin was old and full of charm. We were treated to the Trelawnyd male voice choir before and during the service. Welsh men sing beautifully and they really pulled out all the stop attempting a rendition of the South African National anthem, a touching tribute.

Chrissie looked beautiful and the service was beautiful, bringing many a tear on this happy occasion.

The festivities started with champagne and the cutting of the cheese cake, made up of the most delicious Snowdonian cheeses. Followed by home made pork pies. We then entered the fairytale marquee and enjoyed a delicious high tea.

Festivities continued with more guests arriving and we enjoyed a hog and lamb spit for dinner. Followed by dancing late into the night.

An unforgettable, special wedding was enjoyed by all.

Day 9: Wales – Ruthin

Our reason for visiting Ruthin was to attend the wedding of our dear friends daughter, Chrissie, who is also my beautiful God daughter. She is a vet in Ruthin and I gather, with all the farms in the area, she must be very busy.

After Chrissie’s engagement to Huw a year ago, Jean visited Ruthin from the US to scout out wedding venues. Chrissie indulgently followed her mom around castles and other wedding venues in the area but her vision was a farm wedding.

So after many wrong turns, through impossibly narrow lanes, we eventually arrived on a muddy green field, next to where Chrissie and Huw stay, to help set up for her farm wedding.

Despite the rainy weather, the day was abuzz with flower arranging, table setting, assisting caterers and the thousands of other jobs needed to have everything perfect for the 250 guests the next day. Jean demands perfection and wedding planning this event from the States was a Herculean effort, culminating in her close friends and family helping her pull the last bits together.

After a full day of setting up, 50 friends and family, from Australia, South Africa, Switzerland, Holland and the UK, were invited to dinner in the teepee next to the tent. They had hired a pizza truck and beer on tap. An exciting evening was had by all with an air of anticipation for the day ahead.

Day 8: Wales – Ruthin

We loved our stay in Crickhowell, such a happy Welsh town. After breakfast we set off on a 3 hour journey to Ruthin.

We drove through the typical beautiful Welsh, green countryside, stopping along the way to take in beautiful views like Lake Llyn Clywedog. We passed through quaint villages with names like Lleswyn, Llawryglyn and Llanelwed. As we headed north into Snowdonia, the terrain became more mountainous.

We stopped off for lunch at a delightful restaurant and organic shop for lunch, famous for recently having been visited by Charles and Camilla.

We arrived at Ruthin Castle, a 13th century medieval castle fortification and our home for the next four nights. It was constructed by Dafydd ap Gruffydd on a red sandstone ridge overlooking the valley below. Parts of the ancient walls still remain forming part of the hotel, we have nicknamed Faulty Towers.

The castle is situated in the old part of town, in the Vale of Clwyd. After settling in we wandered around the old village, the style of architecture is more Tudor inspired than the Victorian buildings of the south.

The town has 8 pubs and it was the kids mission to visit all 8. By the end of the night they had managed 3.

Day 7: Wales – Crickhowell

This was my view sitting outside the hotel this morning – no words needed

After breakfast we took a drive through the Welsh country side and little villages to the Brecon Beacons visitors Centre. The whole area encompasses the Brecon Beacons National Park. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of old sandstone peaks, which lie south of the town of Brecon.

The scenery along the narrow lanes and open roads is 50 shades of green – shrubs, trees, grasses – dotted with wild flowers. The farm fields are surrounded by dark green hedgerows, with grazing sheep and cows.

The villages are quaint, most surrounding old castles, some in ruins and old churches with tall spires.

Rather than go for a drive, Gareth decided to go on a hike. He headed up the mountain behind Crickhowell, a flat topped mountain, known as Table Mountain. He was excited to have hiked up both Table mountains. He loved the 4 hour hike and returned with stories of the flora and fauna he had discovered.

On our trip back we stopped off at Brecon and walked across the canal to the Royal Welsh Regimental Museum. A whole room is dedicated to the Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift battles. The town was abuzz with excitement as King Goodwill, the Zulu king, will be visiting them on Sunday. Having stayed at Fugitives Drift and done the Battlefield tour with the Rattray family two years ago, visiting here was like coming full circle. We had stood on the fields and entered the house where the battles took place, here depicted in the museum with toy soldiers. In the museum were relics of the original memorabilia, the original British flag from the battle and the Victoria Crosses awarded. A special morning.

We had delicious homemade pies and pastries for lunch at the local bakery. Gray and I then went for a walk along the canals before meeting Gareth for beers at Bridge End pub.

After dinner at the Bear Hotel, Robs and I went for walk and took in more beautiful views of the town.

Day 6: Wales to Crickhowell

After breakfast in the beautiful Victorian Dining room of the hotel we packed the car and drove to Mermaid Quay, Cardiff’s Harbour area.

Overlooking the bay, the waterfront has a cosmopolitan atmosphere, with shops, restaurants, playgrounds, a cultural hub – with an impressive theatre.

We took a short boat trip around the bay and saw some beautiful water birds along the way.

From Cardiff we set off north, passing towns with unpronounceable Welsh names. We arrived at Bear Castle, in Crickhowell, our home for the next 2 nights.

The Bear Hotel was a former coach inn and has been welcoming guests for 500 years. The historic pub has low beams, wooden floors and big open fires. We entered the cobbled forecourt through low archways to a blaze of colored flowers.

We explored the town, which didn’t take long, it is quaint and beautiful. We visited Crickhowell Castle or what was left of it before stopping in at one of the other local pubs in town for lunch in their beautiful gardens.

We had a chilled afternoon before meeting for drinks and dinner in the pub. If anyone ever finds themselves in this pub, I highly recommend the local cider and chicken pie.

We finished off the evening with a 10pm walk to the church and graveyard.

Day 5: Wales – Cardiff

After breakfast we caught the tube with all our luggage to Heathrow, such an easy commute, even at peak time.

At Heathrow we picked up our big black hire bus, we were delighted to see it could accommodate all our luggage easily.

And so our road trip began.

We left London trusting Doris 3, our next generation GPS, fully loaded with UK maps. Our first leg of the journey took us south west out of London along the M3, but due to roadworks we were rerouted through places like Bracknell and Slough. The countryside was pretty, green hillocks, farmlands and flowers littering the side of the road.

We crossed over the The Prince of Wales Bridge over the Severn into Wales and onto our destination, Cardiff.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales and its largest city. We booked into the Lincoln House Hotel, a Victorian house, built in 1900, but restored with modern comforts. It is situated in the beautiful Cathedral Road, a bit like the ‘Chelsea of Cardiff’.

We wasted no time in setting off through the park behind our hotel, the Sofia Gardens, spread behind the Castle grounds. It was a nice long walk along the stream, of the tree lined walkway, passed the Glamorgan cricket grounds and beautiful gardens.

We arrived at the castle to protesters blocking the main road outside the castle. They were singing songs under a green boat. It was bizarre, the most peaceful protest ever, with the protesters handing out flyers apologizing for the disruption. It turned out it was for global warming and this was their last resort, a noble cause I thought (Robs came close to joining them). Certainly this was worlds apart from a South African protest but it still seemed to irritate the locals.

From the castle we wandered into town and up and down the streets, a mixture of old and new, shops and churches and markets. We tried welsh cakes, a delicious mixture of shortbread cross scone. We walked past the Millennium Stadium and to the Queens Vault for a well deserved drink. We then headed to Vivo Latino for a delicious dinner.

On our stroll home, through the beautiful streets, we came across the Cricketer, a beautiful pub, voted the best in town, so we had to have a nightcap. Arriving back at our hotel around 10pm as the sun set.

Day 4 : London

What a day to be in London – Cricket World Cup final, Wimbledon final, British Grand Prix at Silverstone and Summer Fest at Hyde Park, with artists including Black eyed Peas and Robbie Williams.

What a spoilt bunch we are, we got tickets for the kids to go to the concert and Jono arranged tickets for us at Lords (we won 😀).

The excitement around Lords was infectious, England playing in a World Cup final on home ground was really special. With South Africa bombing out in the early stage we decided to support England. Our hospitality tickets were amazing and we landed up sitting and lunching with a number of British MP’s and top ICC officials.

The match definitely rates as the most exciting I have ever seen and the most exciting World Cup final in history. After 50 overs England and New Zealand tied and England won off the last ball of the super over. What a memorable day.

We were fast asleep by the time the kids got back from The Summer Fest Concert – their feedback – it was ‘sick’. They loved every second, they said they had never been to such a big, well organized concert and Robbie Williams was insane.