Recent Trips

We've been lucky enough to go on a few little trips over the last two months....

Devil's Bridge, mid-Wales
 
After a few years, we finally made a return trip to this charming area; the village of Devil's Bridge (or 'Pontarfynach' in Welsh) and the Vale of Rheidol, and the stunning countryside around. We stopped off for a little break in the drive, and walked around a very pleasant Welshpool "Where Wales begins", apparently. (Bonus! Found an old cinema building, which is always good!) Not that far up the road we got to Devil's Bridge and found our accommodation easily enough - a splendid old converted coach house next to the pub/hotel, just a short walk from the famous waterfalls and bridges.) As it was still light and nice weather, we went for a quick walk through the village before dinner. 

The next day we went to Aberystwyth to have a look around and get some bits and pieces, and after a lovely little walk through the town and by the coast and castle, drove over to the famous ruins of Strata Florida abbey, located in the middle of a lovely rural valley - we only had a barking farm dog for company. After getting home we had a walk down into the  Rheidol valley right next to the village, and made our way thorough a variety of landscapes: open fields, woodland, and then down into the river valley in the gorgeous evening light. On this trek we also got to cross the private railway, which was fun!

The ruins of Strata Florida Abbey.

You want me to cross a railway line!?

At the bottom of the valley, next to the river Rheidol.

Sunset over the Vale of Rheidol.

The next day, off we went on the long drive on the A487 up to the coastal town of Harlech to see Edward Ist's famous medieval castle. As we drove North, the countryside became more extreme, revealing some deep valleys and high hills at the southern tip of Snowdonia, around Dolgellau. Carla got a bit spooked on those hillside roads at one point! Anyway, the castle is impressive and is located on a commanding position above the flat coastal lands below - great views of the wide bay. Spotted a castle cat, just like at Raglan! On the way back, and quite by chance, we discovered the very beautiful Rhaeadr Nant Col waterfalls. We had so much fun exploring the river and moorland there; it is a beautiful spot, and was quiet out of season. Further along the road we visited the coastal resort town of Barmouth (very nice welsh cakes and lots of seagulls!) and then a brief stop in the ancient capital of Wales, Machynlleth. Lovely weather all day.

A view of the main gate house of Harlech Castle.

Rhaeadr Nant Col Waterfalls

Carla in the moorland above the falls.

Me at the harbour at Barmouth.

The next day it was a sunny walk through the wonderful Hafod Estate, which was just as brilliant as it was on our last visit seven years ago. The estate occupies a large area of a very pretty valley floor and sides, and has lots of paths to explore, waterfalls to find, and beautiful woodland to walk through.After that, we went for a local walk and explored the striking nature reserve next to the three bridges and waterfalls of Devil's Bridge.

Beautiful little rivers are to be found all over the Haford Estate valley.

Amazing sunset behind the Vale of Rheidol, from a viewing platform near the three bridges.

The last full day turned very cold and windy, but we still managed to get a good few hours walking in around the Bwlch Nant yr Arian Forest Visitor Centre. There is a great visitor centre there, some impressive lakes and windswept open and woodland scenery to explore. We spotted lots of redkites flying around there, they looked great swooping over the nearby wooded valley. We got back to car just as it started to rain, which then turned into snow later! So the drive back the next day revealed snowy hills. No trouble with the roads, and the scenery looked beautiful as we drove along.

One of the lakes in barren landscape north of the visitor centre. Very Windy!

Bibury and the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire

For our 9th wedding anniversary, we had a long weekend in the famous Cotswolds area of central England. On the way to Bibury, we stopped off in Broadway (in Worcestershire) a small but very pretty and posh town near to Evesham, that features an interesting wide main street. Up in the hills nearby there is an impressive tower - a 'folly', named the Broadway Tower. A really interesting building that has some absolutely fantastic views of the countryside, as it is so high up. Shame the weather was mixed, sun followed by rain followed by sun! We also saw some deer in the parkland next door. After some fun and games at the tower, we carried onto our accommodation (via a quick stop off in Moreton-in-Marsh to get some artisan bread -alas, none left in the bakers) at the very picturesque village of Bibury. Having arrived in the light, we walked around village and saw locations such as the waterways of the famous trout farm right in the centre of the village - looked lovely.

Two views of the Broadway Tower. Great parkland to walk around as well.

The very pretty fish farm in the centre of Bibury.

The next day we started off early and a did a six-mile circular walk around the village in the morning, the highlight was walking along the downs that contained two cows walking ahead of us, who kept looking back every now and again to make sure we weren't getting too close! Once back in the village we wandered over to the see the famous Arlington Row cottages, and The Bibury Court hotel (next to a pretty stretch of the River Coln) - a building that would have been terrific as a recreation for Hammer Horror style cosplay photos! After a little lunch, we went over to the Chedworth Roman Villa, not too far away. This is an amazing ruined location (with excellent visitor centre and facilities) and well worth a visit for those who like British Roman history. We liked the interactive site descriptions from the head sets; the actors portraying the Romans and Britons living here did a very good job. Shame it was a drippy day, as the setting is stunning. After that, we went into Cirencester to have a quick look around and get some provisions. Nice town. The following day, on the way back, we stopped at some pretty small towns and villages along the Fosse Way: Northleach, Bourton-on-the-Water (Japanese tourist heaven!) and Upper and Lower Slaughter. Oh, it was great to watch Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (part 1 of the film series) on DVD that weekend. I enjoyed the film a bit more than at the cinema, funnily enough. I suppose because we could watch over two nights! A wonderful little break in a lovely place! 

Gloucestershire cows!

The exquisite mosaic work at inside the covered area at Chedworth Roman Villa.

Bideford, North Devon

For my 41st birthday, we visited the countryside near to the North Devon coast. Having been there two summers ago and loved it, we just had to go back and explore more. On the way down, our stop off points were Weston-Super-Mare and Bridgwater, both fun to walk around and explore. It was lovely to find the old cinemas (thankfully still operating in both these locations). Windy on the coast  though! It was lovely to see Weston's pier again (I was last there in summer of 1991!) The next day we went to the town of Bideford, which was close by to our accommodation  - an interesting little local centre, neatly positioned on either side the River Torridge. After that we went to the coast to see the beach at Westward Ho! and then onto Bucks Mills, a lovely little community of several houses positioned along a steep valley that leads to a rocky beach. Gorgeous in the sun.

The River Torridge seem from the Long Bridge at Bideford.

The coast at Bucks Mills.

The one road through Bucks Mills.

The following day was very wet, so we we went into Cornwall for the first time by driving down the Atlantic Highway to Bude. The damp weather spoilt the visit, so after a quick walk around and visit to Sainsbury's (a supermarket that sells wetsuits!) we drove home and watched DVDs all day ("Sherlock" and "Falling Skies", both excellent TV series.) 


The next day, my birthday, was a lovely clear day (but very windy from the sea) so we did our main walk of the holiday. This was from Hartland Quay along the rugged coast to the Hartland Point Lighthouse, and then back again using a slightly different set of paths and via the small village of Stoke (very pretty church with a really tall tower!) This was a fantastic walk as we got to see lots of breathtaking scenery and some attractive little river valleys. Still can't work out how a little mobile home got to that isolated spot! 

Hartland Point Lighthouse in its stunning setting.

Various views from a beautiful coastal walk.

Afterwards, we then went back up the coast to Clovelly - a rather picture postcard village primarily built along one steep road from the clifftop down to the small harbour. Its a bit of a tourist trap (only village I know of that you have to pay to get into!) but worth a look for its quirkiness. It was also nice to be able to look inside one of the old fisherman's houses. After that it was off the the shopping village on the edge of Bideford to get a birthday cake!

The harbour at Clovelly.

The steep main street through Clovelly.

For our last full day, we went into Barnstable to have a look around and do a bit of shopping. Shame it was so wet that day, but once again I found an old cinema to photograph - hurrah! It rained so hard all day and night that there was some limited flooding of our little cottage! Thankfully, we got out okay but left a house with a wet bedroom carpet.

For our last day of the holiday (after getting back home) we just popped up the A5 to have a mooch about Lichfield. Love the cathedral area there, its so pretty! Very pleasant place with lots of shops to explore and fantastic, apply eccles cakes to buy in a fab bakers we found! 
  

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Our Dorset break, and two collectors shows.

In the early summer, we went on a couple of breaks to the some very pretty parts of the coast. First was Dorset on the south coast of England, for my 40th birthday. On the way down, we stopped off in a rather rainy Winchester to have a look at the cathedral and a mooch about the very nice town centre, and grab a spot of lunch. The cathedral was wonderful - I was impressed with the old library there, lots of weighty tomes delicately made by monks of the past...and of course, the stunning medieval architecture. We were amazed to find out the massive building is actually built on marshland! Poor Carla got scared in a dark corner - she picked up a 'bad vibe' from what looked like a 'dark figure'.....spooky! Oh, we found an interesting cinema just past the town centre as well, in what looked like an old school hall.

The impressive interior of Winchester Cathedral. 

We got down to the coast ok, and found our lovely cottage easy enough, which was located right in the middle of the stunning village of West Lulworth, just up the road from Lulworth Cove - a tiny hamlet located on the famous sheltered bay. The evening sun was blazing by this point, although it was a little windy, we went out for a walk by the coast. It was so beautiful there, seeing the sea and bay in late afternoon sun. The views over the bay and coast were simply amazing.

Lulworth Cove, Dorset.

Looking west from Durdle Door, along the 'Jurassic Coast'.

Carla at Lulworth Cove, after the epic descent down the long stairs!

The next day we went walking all around the the cove and up and down the famous and dramatic 'Jurassic' chalk coast nearby, both in East and West directions, in a rough 'figure of eight' route around our cottage. We initially headed west through the countryside towards the famous coastal formation of Durdle Door, which provided us with some fantastic views, then back to Lulworth Cove along the coast, for some reason against most of the walking traffic! After lunch, we went the other direction and climbed the hill that separates the village from the coast. There were very steep steps down to the far side of the bay, but once down safely, it was great to investigate the area which was a little more wooded. We got back early and spent a lovely two hours in the garden in the sun. Bliss!

The ruins of Corfe Castle.

The next day was very sunny and warm, so we went for a visit to Corfe Castle (and the pretty village of the same name next to it) - which is a very impressive ruin of a fortress that must have been amazing in its glory days, due to the stunning location and design. We enjoyed walking around the castle, especially as we were re-creating scenes from the 1970's comedy, "Nuts in May" which was filmed there. After finding some very tasty eccles cakes in a baker's shop, we parked up near the village of Worth Matravers and did a long walk around the lovely coastal headland of St. Aldhelm’s Head. This was a wonderful walk, as it took in impressive (if a little bleak in places) countryside, fantastic sea views, and Winspit Quarry that happened to have been a "Doctor Who" and "Blake's 7" alien planet location in the late 1970's! Here, we had a funny encounter with seagull that loves houmous sandwiches. Later, it was good to discover a tiny chapel right out on the headland, which was very atmospheric to visit as it was 800 years old. Then, a bit further around the headland, was what could be best described as 'the stairs of Cirith Ungol' (Tolkien geeks will get the reference.) Wow, going up and down those was a great work-out! To finish the day, it was off to Swanage, a pleasant seaside holiday resort town that has all the usual stuff: beach, little port and pier, gift shops, arcade, cinema etc. We even spotted the Isle of Wight from the beach.

Me at St. Aldhelm's Head.

The next day was a bit cloudier, but still fine. We drove over to the North West of Dorset to visit the infamous Cerne Abbas Giant chalk figure, or the 'huge nob giant' as I call it! We had a little walk up to the edge of the figure (unfortunately you can't go onto it now) and then back down and explored the village. Then it was onto Dorchester, the county town of Dorset, to have a look around. Really good museum there, and the town centre has a nice vibe with lots of good shops and an old cinema -we liked it a lot. Just outside the town is Maiden Castle, an ancient Celtic / Anglo-Saxon settlement on top of a huge man-made hill.
 mpressive defences! ....and a great place to walk your dog.

Saying 'hel-looo' to the Cerne Abbas Giant!

Carla at a cold and misty Portland Bill - everything was closed!

 Our last full day was spent visiting the headland of Portland Bill (disappointing to be honest, and a bit odd down there, very bleak and rocky on the headland....hence the picture!), then Weymouth, a lovely and bustling port and resort town - lots of boats in the harbour and pretty nice seafront. I bought a cheap book about "King Kong". Fun to see the crows on the seafront dropping seashells on the promenade to break them open. We discovered something called 'Dorset Apple Cake' in a baker's shop in Weymouth, and it was astoundingly good! After a late lunch at Subway, we headed up the coast to find some Roman remains before the rain hit. On our final day, we drove back home via the towns of Wareham (nice little town and nice views of the marsh and river), Blandford Forum (some interesting architecture but rather dull), and stopped off in Salisbury (a wonderful and bustling city, and the cathedral and grounds are *amazing*) for lunch. Also, we planned our trip so we could drive past Stonehenge. All in all, a nice little trip (more on our other trip in the next post.)

* * * * *

A week or three after that, it was time for me to attend a couple more film/TV collectors shows. First up was MCM Expo at the ExCel centre in London's Docklands. It was a very hot day, which must have impressed the large amount of cosplayers as some were in very heavy costumes! An interesting show, although a bit of madhouse actually. Good to see my friends Bill, Mark and Clare, catch Jamie (briefly) and watch Jane spend all of her money on Totoro stuff! I didn't get around to getting Elvira's autograph, but I already had one anyway. However, it was nice to see her in costume, she still looks amazing. :) Next show was Collectormania in Milton Keynes, held at the football ground over the bank holiday weekend. Our pals Mandy and Bill came to stay with us for that weekend, so off we drove down the M1 to the show. That went fine, but it took ages to park as half of the stupid car park was shut! Still, once in, the show was good to mooch around, and as always nice to see other pals such as Jane, Ben, Darren, Graham, and Mark and Claire.

Prometheus.

Afterwards, some of us went into the town to meet Mark (another one!) to see "Prometheus" in 3D at the Cineworld. The film was good, although it took me a while to get to grips with the odd things the characters did in places. Great SPFX and design though: Ridley certainly knows how to get 'the look'. Michael Fassbender as (David the android) steals the show. I ended up seeing it again a couple of days later, in 2D this time, with the Mrs and her pal, and enjoyed it a lot more. Anyway, after the film the group went for a cheap but pleasant pub dinner. :)

A trip to Arkansas

Over the last two weeks of May, we went on a little break to Arkansas, USA. It was a family trip to see Carla's relatives, specifically timed to tie-in with her son Ethan's graduation from high school. Apart from that, we had a lot of chores to sort out as well as enjoying ourselves. In between running around doing paperwork, visiting the necessary places and such, we managed to fit in a few fun things. This included a day in Memphis to visit the famous STAX Records museum ("Mr big-stuff, tell me, just who do you think you are?") and the zoo (cute meerkats!) We also took a little trip up to Mammoth Spring near the Missouri border, which is the 10th biggest natural spring in the world. Lovely spot that (see picture of me in front of the falls) with an impressive gift shop. Interesting to see the old railroad station there as well.

On the way up there (about 1 1/2 hours drive from where we were staying in Trumann) we stopped off at the Hardy water wheel, situated on a small creek that flows into the Spring River. There is a long established flea market there, as well being within the site of the "Martin Creek and Morgan's Mill" American civil war battle. On the way back, we visited the tourist town of Hardy, a small town comprising of antique and nick-nack shops. Another day we had a wondeful walk around Craighead Forest Park (see picture) on the outskirts of Jonesboro, which was lovely - the woods around the huge lake were quite beautiful. We spotted a snake swimming in the water, as well as the biggest geese we have ever seen! Generally great weather throughout the two weeks: hot and sunny for the most part, and humid at times so thank goodness for air conditioning! Saw some cracking thunderstorms and very heavy rain after coming out of a supermarket one afternoon - Jonesboro looked like it was sinking under the sea! We spent a lot of time in Jonesboro, the biggest town near to where we were staying, and the town where Carla grew up. There is an impressive new shopping centre there called The Mall at Turtle Creek. Also, for some reason, we ended up spending a lot of time in Wal*Mart! You can't get away from that in the US!

As far as cinema visits went, we ended up seeing "Star Trek" (for the 2nd time for me), "Terminator Salvation", "Angels and Demons", and "Night at the Museum 2". All very entertaining and great to watch, especially as the cinema we went to see all of these in, the Hollywood Malco 16 in Jonesboro, had digital projection equipment in most screens and wonderful seating. I love that cinema! Also I managed to catch up on all the "Harry Potter" films (to date) on the plane journeys. Caught a few flicks on US TV, including "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" and "Wild Hogs", both very funny!

Carla and I continued to do our exercises while staying at her mother's house: we managed to find the "Fit TV" channel on the satellite, and on there worked out to Gilad in the morning, an Israli who now lives and works out in Hawaii! He was good, I enjoyed those workouts even if they looked a bit 1990s 'dated'.

Also while there, I managed to complete my US State Quarters collection! Very happy about that! :)

I think the highlight of the trip for me was spotting Isacc Hayes' 1972 cadillac on show at the STAX Records museum. It was amazing, so 70's cool. :)








Anyhoo, some assorted images of Jonesboro and rural Arkansas....


Fast food and scripture...yep,we're in the Bible Belt!












Some cheap dirt for sale!












Liberty Bank in Jonesboro.....that played stirring military style music in the car park.