We started off with a large breakfast, and then headed off to Llechwedd Slate Mine in the hills of Wales. Great countryside on the way – some very classic Welsh countryside. We went on a tour of the mines called the “Deep Mine Tour”. We rode minecars deep into the mountain, then toured the caves, following lights and an audio narrative through the place. There were about 12 stops in all, and it even included an underwater lake. It was very cold and wet – hard hats were required.

From there we backtracked towards Conwy, but stopped at a castle along the way. It was called Dolwyddelan castle. It was a steep hike to the top but the views were definitely worth it. Lots of sheep shit all around as the property is owned by a sheep farmer, but really a cool castle. From there it was highway driving through Conwy, around Chester, past Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool, and into Brampton, where we found our next B&B – another farm.

We had a nice chat with one of the workers – a very kind lady with a child who worked for the B&B owner. We went into town and ate at the pub (The Railway Inn) and had a great meal – chicken Kiev, lamb Piafra, and cheese and broccoli casserole. The town we were in, Low Row, was built right on a train line, and they have someone who manually opens and closes the traffic gates when the train comes through (every hour or so).

After dinner we walked the grounds, and visited a nearby cemetery and deserted (?) church. A great picture of the sun setting on the horizon over 300 year old tombstones – but I didn’t have my camera. I’ve got a good visual image of it though – it was spectacular. We came back and several barn cats greeted us. They were extremely friendly – they jumped from the ground up into your arms. Very friendly… or very hungry. We went to bed around 10:00 pm.

We started out heading back through Bristol towards Wales – as soon as we crossed into Wales the signs became bilingual, Welsh and English. Our first stop was the Tintern Abbey in Wye River Valley. The Abbey was in ruins, but the main structure still stood, and they were preparing it for a concert and lightshow. I took lots of great pictures from within the Abbey.

We set out north towards Shrewsbury, and after a difficult time with the car we found a parking spot and headed in. We got a good look at the castle, but took off before they could charge us 2 pounds. From there we drove off to Wales through the countryside, and found our next bed and breakfast. It was an old Welsh farmhouse run by a nice Welsh lady. She was new to the bed and breakfast thing, but was very hospitable. We had tea upon arrival – very good breakfast tea – and watched a Welsh ceremony on TV. They also had a sheepdog that traveled between the fenced off areas by jumping through the fences sideways (it was too tall to fit through otherwise).

We went into town for a beer and a phone at the Swan Inn, and after several tries were able to locate a bed and breakfast for the next night in the Lake Country. The group in the pub cheered when we finally got the B&B reserved. We walked across the street to dinner at the Bod Eyre – good “semi-fancy” English food.

Afterwards we went back to the B&B for a short walk through the sheep fields and then back to bed.

In the morning we had “full English breakfast” with some Australians staying here. Toast, poached egg, mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon, sausage, and tea. Some OJ, too. Went from there on to Bath to see the Roman bathhouses. Pretty incredible architecture all around. Went to the oldest pub in Bath – the Saracen’s Head.

We walked around some more – went on a bus tour through town, and saw all the general sights. I took a lot of pictures.

Went from there on to Cheddar. We drove down the Cheddar gorge into town. Somewhat of a tourist trap, but great cheese. We ate cheese and crackers with our beer along the main road through Cheddar. There were cave tours, but we skipped them.

We drove back to our bed and breakfast (Valley Farm) and got ready to hit a pub for dinner. The pub was called “The Pony and the Trap”. Really great food – best of the trip so far. The hired help was outstanding, and the Guinness and view were great. We could see the whole countryside from the patio out back. We drove back and hit the hay.

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Almost ten years to the day I’m copying my journal to the web to keep it for posterity, and I still remember this day quite clearly. The evening at the pub is especially clear in my mind because it was one of those zen moments you have in life that stay with you forever. I remember sitting out back of the pub on picnic tables and gazing into the horizon – fields and hedgerows and fields and sheep – as far as the eye could see. Drinking Guinness with my father and my uncle and feeling like we were on top of the world. It was more than the alcohol talking – this was the first trip for me outside of North America, and I felt like horizons were opening.

It is funny to read my writing about “the hired help” at the pub. Two of the waitstaff were beautiful young women, and they were clearly interested in talking with an American. Our next destination was Wales, but my American accent confused them and they kept asking me if I was going to Wells, a nearby town. Great memories at that place, and maybe a seed was planted there that grew into an itch to travel later on.

We had breakfast and checked out of the hotel, then lugged our luggage down the steps of the Underground and then back up the steps to King’s Cross station. While we rested I was able to peer through the train station and see platforms 9 and 10 – made famous by the Harry Potter books. A lot of semi-belligerent drunks were strolling about – one got sick within a few feet of us.

We took our luggage and walked 5 blocks or so to the car rental place and spent 90 minutes getting a car rented. Dad took the wheel and we headed to the M4 out of London. Unfortunately the signs were less that adequate – and we got lost. Spent about two hours driving around some strange streets before we found our way again. It was very frustrating. We almost crashed several times because of oncoming careless drivers.

About an hour and a half or so out of London we started south towards Avebury to see Stonehenge. It was an amazing sight. The most striking thing about it was it’s location – no trees – just in the middle of a wide open field and a huge sky overhead. They charged 4 pounds to get in, but all the concessions/admissions were very well hidden. Lots of people, but you didn’t notice. Stonehenge was roped off, but you could get quite close.

From there we headed to Bristol and looked for our bed & breakfast. Very picturesque English countryside. Nice lady running it (Mrs. Keele). The place was called Valley Farm. We walked to a pub for dinner, but they didn’t serve food on Mondays (par for the course today). We drove into the next village, Chew Magna, and ate at the Pelican Inn. It was a nice little pub – great food. There was a little baby on the bar and teenagers doing homework at the tables. Had a few beers and headed back for sleep.

We got an early start and hopped the Underground for Tower Hill – we had purchased tickets the day before for the Tower of London. It ended up being the smartest thing we’ve done so far. The lines were huge, but we went straight to the front and walked right in at 10::00 am. We went right to the crown jewels – I stopped briefly to nod at the royal guard, who ignored me. The jewels were pretty cool – so big they looked fake. I guess I couldn’t really appreciate the authenticity.

The rest of the tower was pretty cool – the white tower was filled with some great exhibits, very nicely done. We chatted with some Beefeaters – they gave me directions to Portabello Street, where I was looking for some antique jewelry for Sara. Unfortunately, no luck. It was pretty much closed up for Sunday.

We walked up and down Portabello Street and ended up eating at a pub. Good burger and fish and chips. They only served Samuel Smiths beer – a pretty good stout. We went back to the hotel for a nap, and then went down to the hotel pub for beers. We had some Extra Cold Guinness. Ran down the street for dinner at Garfunkel’s (a Denny’s type place). We went back to the hotel pub for some live music (The Tides – an Irish band with a great fiddler and a crappy singer). Then back to bed to rest our stair-worn legs.

Breakfast in the hotel – had some English bacon – just really salty ham – pretty tough to eat and very salty. We hopped onto an open-topped red bus and toured the entire city of London. Saw the Tower of London, Parliament, Westminster Abbey… all the tourist attractions at 45 mph.

We left the bus and checked out the house guards, Parliament, and Big Ben on foot. Got some good pictures. Pretty much all the spots are available via the Underground. It is very amazing – some of the stations are very modern and some are pretty old and remote.

We had a Chinese buffet near Notting Hill, which was very good. We ate at the top floor and got to see the town bustling beneath us. We sprinted (a little late) over to Waterloo station (home of the chunnel trains) to ride the London Eye, a monstrous ferris wheel that held many people in each car. A French family cut in front of us in line – pleading to the attendant that their tickets were for 9:00 pm. He let them through even though our tickets were for 8:30 – we didn’t mention that. We ended up sharing a car.

The view was spectacular – the sun was setting as we rode up, and we saw London by day on the way up and London by night on the way down – perfect!

We walked to Big Ben from there and then took the Underground back to the hotel for beers and bed.