Quintessential Guide to the UK & Ireland

quin⋅tes⋅sence /Spelled Pronunciation [kwin-tes-uh ns] – noun
1. the pure and concentrated essence of a substance.
2. the most perfect embodiment of something.
3. (in ancient and medieval philosophy) the fifth essence or element, ether, supposed to be the constituent matter of the heavenly bodies, the others being air, fire, earth, and water.

While most of the following are inter-changeable, this is how we will remember our trip back across the Pond and our plans for one month ruined and stretching to just shy of 4 months!

The Quintessential English Experience
* Four seasons in one day
* University Cities - York, Edinburgh, Oxford etc
* The English Pub
* Steak and Ale pies
* Mushy peas with everything - but especially with Fish and Chips
* Magners not Bulmers (Cider)
* Small meadows (1 - 2 acres) framed in hedges or stone walls
* Electric showers over the bathtub
* Full cooked English breakfast with baked beans
* Hamlets which are just a 'spit' from each other
* Red London buses and black London cabs
* Not understanding Australian humour
* Lack of whinging poms
* Narrow roads with high hedges on each side and tree canopies over roads
* Oxford and the girls

The Quintessential Scottish Experience
* Despite their own self-depreciation, people friendlier than you can imagine
* Black pudding and Haggis
* Amazing scenery
* Rugged and harsh northern coastline interspersed with the loveliest beaches
* Stone Circles and standing stones
* Unsurpassed seafood
* Isle of Islay
* Coming across agricultural machinery on the main roads and motorways
* Peat fens
* Castles
* Lochs
* Whisky Distilleries
* Abundance of seals

The Quintessential Wales Experience
* Roadside 'snack' bars and diners in caravans or demountables
* Stiles
* Scenery - the moors and mountains
* Castles
* Unpronounceable place names
* Shale hills
* 15% + road gradients
* Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia - the open and high country
* Lookouts
* Car dealers in remote settings in the countryside
* Self catering - old farm buildings and lodges

The Quintessential Irish Experience
* Constant rain interspersed with bright sunshine (hence the Emerald Isle)
* Celtic crosses
* Ruins in the middle of sheep paddocks (everyone's got one)
* Blarney Stone and other folklore
* Irish Stew
* Expensive overall
* All the Bs - Brooke, Ben and Bill, Blarney, Bunratty
* Castles
* Peat fens and cutters
* Amazing scenery - Cliffs of Moher and Ring of Kerry
* Coastal scenery - fallen arches, rocks, bays of isles
* Bill's pasta night and knowing how to appreciate Aussie Humour

Dr Who in Bath

I was able to get to bed a little earlier last night (10:30 pm) and crashed. The blackout curtains in the bedroom were working really well and it was after 7 am when I woke (Michael was, of course, still pumping zzzz’s) – yeeha 8 ½ hours sleep – that is a first for ages!

The shower was great so the day is good!! And the traditional Welsh breakfast of poached egg, bacon, sausage, tomato, lava bread (seaweed & oats) and cockles (cold & sans shell) was, well, interesting. Actually it was tasty even if Michael did eat my cockles!

We are continuing our look around Cardiff this morning and before we head into the city centre we go to have a look at the Llandaff Cathedral (the Catholic Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul). We found parking in a little square hidden from the main streets – turns out it was the original market square. The church is actually more interesting from the outside than the inside, although it has a beautiful Chapel to Our Lady. The other thing that it has is a very interesting pipe holder for a new organ that is currently being installed – can’t say that it appealing to my tastes – the arches they have created to support it seem very out of place with the classic arches of the church’s construction.

We have decided not to do the Red City Bus Tour as most things are within an easy walk of parking and we have already seen Cardiff Bay. We continue into town past Cardiff Castle and bless her little heart, the parking fairy provides us with a space literally right outside the council and the courts. The Cardiff City Hall is a truly impressive piece of architecture whose dome top is crowned with a bronze statue of the Welsh dragon. Michael went in asked for a look and they showed him around the impressive foyer areas and in to the even more impressive Council Chambers (note the laptops on the desks – yes, technology catches us all).

The National Museum Cardiff is just next door and has free entry (as do all national museums and art galleries in Wales and Scotland). There are a number of major exhibits including the geology of Wales, the china industries and a very impressive art collection. What we want to have a look at though is the Charles Darwin exhibit and a showing of wonderful photographs by Diane Arbus. There were a number of sculptures by Rodin and the painting Camden Town Portrait by Walter Sickert, who was once considered a possible suspect in the Ripper murders (only Michael would know that piece of trivia).

In the foyer there is a screen with a live feed to a small colony of peregrine falcons that are nesting in the ledges of the City Hall Bell Tower. Back for their third year, they sat on their eggs for the required time (28-32 days) but then abandoned the nest and as it is in accessible, no-one knows whether the chicks died soon after hatching or even if the eggs hatched. When we go back outside, you can see evidence of these nests high in a number of the surrounding buildings and statues.

The car parking ticket needs to be renewed so I go back while Michael races up to Alexandra Gardens a block away to take a closer look at the stunning war memorials – one to the WWI and the other to the Falklands War.

And then for something totally different . . .
I had seen the advertisements for a Doctor Who Exhibition back towards Cardiff Bay and so off we go. It is located within an entertainment complex with the cinemas. There are warnings re strobe lights and advice to children that if the adults they are with get scared, to hold their hands! Nice. The exhibition is incredibly well done. I have tolerated Dr Who for years and years, and the work they have put into this impresses even me. It goes without saying that Michael is almost wetting his pants!

Ah – Dr Who…. Yes, Maria is correct by stating the exhibition impressed even her. Any visitor could not be tempted into showing a modicum of enthusiasm towards this showcase. Indeed it was most impressive, as it covered the series’ history from its inception through to its current intrepid Doctor. Several of the exhibits displayed the costumes worn by the successive actors: John Pertwee (Dr Who #3); Tom Baker (Dr Who #4) – to name a couple. Other exhibits displayed some of the Dr’s protagonists: Sontaran Warrior; Cybermen and Dr Who’s nemesis – the Daleks.

Strobe and laser lights flashed and swept the exhibition; whilst, displays were supported by television screens showing excerpts from the respective series. Overall, the special effects added to the ambience; however, the display of the Daleks’ rise was the icing on the cake. Their sound resonated while they did the Dalek dance and threw their firepower at us. A little corny in the high tech world of today’s animatronics but when you think that these were developed almost 50 years ago, it is impressive.

Its almost 4 pm and we need to be heading towards Bath. It will take us about one and a half hours to get there and we really want to detour briefly into Caerleon to have a look at the Roman Bath House and fort. As we are leaving Cardiff there is a huge traffic halt and for about 7 kms we are crawling at 8 – 15 kph. Roadworks….again! Once we are through them, it takes about 30 minutes to get to Caerleon and we arrive right on 5 pm – and just as the Bath House (which also has free entry) closes. The amphitheatre and barracks however are open all the time and so we can take a look.

The fort must have been rambling, and possibly the size of a small satellite city, if the area of the barrack precinct is any indication. As with most Roman forts, all that remains are the foundations, ditches and perimeter walls…maybe. I suppose to give the area some perspective, the floor area of each of four barracks’ is 40 metres by 10 metres. There are the remains of the two kitchens and four external ovens and two granaries. A 100 metre section of the fort’s eastern perimeter wall remains, and runs parallel to the amphitheatre.

The amphitheatre seems to have fared better than the barracks, being built as an arena in lieu of a semi-circular theatre. This colosseum could seat a modest 5000 spectators, who would be entertained by blood sports of varying degrees. However the amphitheatre would also have been used by the garrisoned troops as a training ground. The arena’s external walls have long disappeared; seating is evident and preserved under a dense layer of soil and grass. The main and alternate gateways still remain as does the small snack bar with its oven. The amphitheatre has been rejuvenated as an open-air theatre, and while we were there a troupe were making preparations for some sort of performance.

Then it is on to Bath. We get back on the motorway and join the heavy traffic towards Bristol and Bath that must be commuters. It was all uneventful until we hit Bath when, road works yet again means that the traffic crawls. Not a problem though – I have phoned Denise at our accommodation so she knows when to expect us.

Now that Kate is armed with the address, we have no problems finding Queen Charlotte's Orangery B&B – gosh, what did we do without her? (he he he) We are met at the door by Denise who leads us into a fairytale. This is the original Orangery built for the visit by King George III and Queen Charlotte to Bath in 1817. The door to the Orangery sits alone in the sheltering wall and is very unobtrusive. You step down two stone flagging steps into a circular room and look out through glass french doors into the stunning garden beyond. Denise tells us that before she and husband, Colin, came to Bath about 2½ years ago that they had run a larger B&B in London for 14 years, winning the Best B&B Award for some years. When they sold the business the new owners did not want the garden, so they dug it up and packed it into a pantech and brought it to Bath with them – which explains the mature garden after only 2 years.

The Orangery sits behind the house constructed for the royal visit that now houses 5 apartments that cannot be altered in any way. Evidently one has a huge ballroom! This building was the orangery - the hothouse or conservatory. It is very obvious that Denise and Colin love what they do. The welcome is warm and genuine and the offer of a cuppa in the garden on arrival is a lovely touch. So in the late afternoon / early evening (7:30ish) light we sit amongst the roses and lavender and wind down from the trip. But our joy is only half done – Denise opens the door to our room - The Amelia Room, and all I can do is gasp! It is decorated in much the same style that you would expect that the bedroom might have been for the royals.

The bed is huge and every little detail has been addressed from the soft (pea-less) mattress to the firm but soft pillows, to muted bed lamps and period furniture. We overlook the garden from our window. The bathroom is large and airy and you step into a heavenly rain-head shower.

Once we have taken in the joys of the room, we decide to go for dinner. Denise has given us a ‘Restaurants in Bath’ guide map. Parking is the biggest issue in Bath as we find in many older cities. Even more so here, as the city sits in a tight valley, with residential areas climbing the steep slopes. After unsuccessfully trying to get parking near the first two we consider, my little angel weaves her magic again and we have a park about four kerb places away from the Beaujolais Restaurant. It is 9:30 pm and the kitchen is about to close so we are asked to ‘please order quickly’. The menu has a nice range with three choices on the set menu and another five on the a-la-carte. We opt for the latter, tempted by a number of the offerings. Finally (ok, ok quickly) we decide.

While waiting for our meals we are served two types of home-made bread and hazelnut oil and I sip on a Raspberry Bellini – man, am I loving these raspberries!
Entrees:
Homemade Ravioli of Fresh Tomatoes with Black Olive Butter (Michael)
Brixham Crab Patties, Fresh Cucumber Salsa and Lemon Dressing (Maria)
Mains:
Rump of lamb served with fresh peas, broad beans and barley(Michael)
Corn-fed chicken served with a warm potato and leek salad and Madeira Jus (Maria)
Desserts:
Chocolate pecan tart with stem ginger ice cream (Michael)
Pistachio sorbet with caramelised pistachios(Maria)
And we finished with espressos.
Now, this meal was superb, from the breads to the coffee. Without overdoing it, it is hard to do it justice. The ingredients are combined to produce a wonderful marriage of flavours – so that you taste each individual flavour through a wedded bliss. And the service was excellent. Our waitresses (Brigette, formerly known as Malagie! from the Champagne area in France, and Jenna who was born and raised in – Hobart!) are friendly and attentive. I guess we showed just the right level of enthusiasm as the chef, Simon, came to say hello as he was finishing for the night. Our one true regret of the night is forgetting and then not going back for the camera. So, sorry, no photos.

So, back to the Orangery and a night’s sleep fit for a Queen!

Lots of links to Aust.

Ahh - breakfast this morning at the Castle and Ball is wonderful. A tantalising selection of cereals, pastries ad fresh fruit and then the cooked menu! Michael has Traditional Eggs Benedict (lightly toasted flour bap topped with slices of hand cut Norfolk ham, poached eggs and a rich hollandaise sauce) while I opt for the lighter Smoked Scottish Salmon and scrambled eggs with a wedge of lemon. They were both truly delicious and a lovely way to start our day. The staff, like those on duty last night are friendly and chatty. The bed was amazingly comfortable and the power shower great for waking you up! Really, a lovely place to stay (even if there is a bit of road noise).

Today is bright and warm again. Michael takes a whole heap of parcels over to the Post Office and posts the important birthday presents home - even though they are late. Sorry boys - and dad has posted them surface mail, so they might take a little while to get to you :(
We leave Marlborough without even having ventured around to take a look at what looks like a neat and tidy town, bustling on a major road network intersection. The hotel dates back to before the Spanish Armada in 1588 and some of the beams are still original! The current name is thought to be a balls up of the Castle and Bull - both of which appear on the Borough Coat of Arms.

We are headed for Cardiff - yep, back to Wales. This south-east area is the only part of Wales that we did not get to see on our earlier visit (but we knew we would be close enough to come across at this point). Our trip was all the way on the motorway - this was only because it saves an hour off the journey and we are keen to spend a bit of time here. They are still moving those tanks - we pass another three on low loaders today and in the skies overhead there is a Hercules doing training manoeuvres - can't believe that Michael did not want to get a single photo!!! We do however get a photo of the billboard advertising a Charity Polo match between England and Australia on 21st June - more Aussies coming over.

Cardiff is only one and a half hours (via the motorways) from Marlborough so we are here just after 12. Cardiff is surprising - from the wonderfully fresh looking Second Severn River Crossing Bridge that is painted a light greeny blue colour. It shines on the horizon as you come towards Wales and makes an excellent reference marker. The tide is out as we cross and all we see at this point are the estuary mud flats with a few small islets that stand proudly over their lowly bed mates. It is amazing to see just how wide the estuary is here, just before the river empties its waters into the Bristol Channel at the crossing point of Aust! On the west (Wales) side of the bridge we encounter one of the few tolls in the British Isles - £5.40, quite a whopper!

Cardiff presents as a clean and green city as you drive towards the centre. The architecture is grand in the civic buildings and there is street parking all around this area - however, I think the fairy must be out getting some sun as there is not a single spot to be found. We don't want to waste such a beautiful afternoon just searching, so we head out to Cardiff Bay only 5 kms away.

Like many other seaside cities in Europe, Cardiff is undergoing an enormous amount of re-development after years of previously industrial land lying vacant with the collapse of major engineering or manufacturing activities. Wales' first 5 star hotel has opened here following the construction of a barrage that has effectively dammed the Taff and Ely Rivers resulting in a large freshwater lake. Parking is somewhat easier at the Bay and the fee is pretty good too - £1.50 for three hours. A walk around the promenade brings us to the boat moorings and there is a small open boat - The Daffodil - about to do a 45 minute round trip of the bay for a mere £5 per person. Think African Queen and you get the idea, although the Daffodil is much smaller without a covered cabin! So we jump aboard with another 9 people and off we set. (Michael jumps off and gets ice creams from the Cadwalader Ice Creamery - Chocolate and Dragon's Breath (Chocolate with chili) for him and Strawberry and Vanilla for me. Man, that Strawberry was the best I have ever tasted!

Our captain is full of little bits of information - some useful and some trivial! There is a local couple with their visiting Australian sister and husband, and another couple with their daughter from Newhaven in south east England. We are shown close up the former dry docks and the new sea gates that open to let yachts in and out - where the salt water (being heavier than fresh water) sinks to the bottom and is sucked out of the bay, the salmon ladders and the created wetlands to cater for the birds who previously inhabited the mudflats. In fact there is a great variety and volume of bird life on the water today.

As there is such a small group it does not take long for us all to get chatting. Turns out, the Newhaven couple have a number of relations who have moved to the Sydney environs and they have visited Australia 5 times. Their daughter tells us she is leaving for a year in Australia in August. I give her a card and tell her to look us up if she gets anywhere near us. When she asks when we will be back, we reply early in 2010, but I add that Gen is at home and would gladly make a bed available. "Gen", she says, "I am Gen too!" At which point I say "Our daughter is Genevieve" (thinking that she is probably a Jenny) when she shrieks "Oh my god, I am Genevieve too!" Now, AIN'T the world a small place!! So look out Gen, she has our home contacts so ... if a British sounding Gen phones - you make sure you give her a real Aussie welcome.

Back on shore and it is time to have some lunch. There are a plethora of eateries around the promenade - from Silver Service restaurants to fast food outlets and all manner in between. We wander aimlessly for a little while, reading the menus that are posted outside (this is a European practice I really like). Finally we get to Strada - an Italian restaurant that seems well patronized and has an interesting menu range. The staff are busy but very friendly and find us a table in the open air, but shaded from the now raging midday sun. We are again amazed at how many people turn their chairs to face the sun and strip off as many clothes as decently possible - gosh, there is even one woman very badly burnt (probably yesterday) out again, all exposed with the reddest, angriest back - gosh, why is it that they don't get the skin cancer message?

We take a little while to decide on lunch, starting with a Pinot Grigio and sparkling water plus Cesto di Pane Misto (Ideal for sharing, ciabatta, grissini, walnut bread, tomato foccacia & Sardinian crisp bread with extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar) and Green Castelvetrano olives. God that walnut bread and the home made grissini, and the sardinian crisp bread and the foccacia were wonderful. And it was fantastic to taste some good balsamic again, and not the white or even malted vinegar the English favour.

Michael then had the Risotto ai Frutti di Mare (Classic southern Italian risotto of squid, mussels, prawns and clams, finished with chili, tomato, garlic and extra virgin olive oil) while I feasted upon Formaggio di Capra Pizza (Goats cheese, balsamic onions, walnuts, mozzarella and tomato, finished with parsley). How that chef loves walnuts - and what wonderful ways he uses them! We pass on the desserts as we began with them on the boat ;)

As Michael pays one of the waiters at the till, we learn he is from Randwick - my old stomping ground! So you can get the drift of today's blog title by now I hope.

We leave the promenade and take a quick look at Roald Dahl Plass (Plaza) which is just, a space, and then the Millennium Centre. It is closed but is a visually stunning building capped by copper that gleams on land and out into the bay. I go back to the car as the parking ticket is about to expire while Michael goes over to have a look at a huge ship moored a short distance away - the Logos Hope. Turns out that it has been decommissioned and is now the worlds largest floating bookstore - an Evangelical Bookstore at that too. He doesn't stay long! On the way back to the car he takes photos of the Helwick, a former lighthouse ship, lots of public art in the area and finally a stunningly beautiful mosaic memorial to (Robert Falcon) Scott of the Antarctic who sailed from this dock on his last and fatal voyage - a very brave man.

We are feeling a little tired - a combination of too many late nights and a day in the warm and glorious sun, so we head for Tesco for more water (we are going through heaps), a new face washer (took us six months to leave it behind Mum - that's a record!) and new sunglasses for me and Michael lost my other ones in a wind one day earlier in our trip. Then it is over to the City Centre and the Churchills Hotel where we find a ground floor suite with a sitting room awaiting us and the birds chirping away in the gardens. Michael gets me a Bulmers Pear Cider and I play Scrabble while I do the blog. Tomorrow morning we will do the red bus tour here before we head back to Bath.

The Moel of Famau (hummed to the Moll of Kintyre)

Saturday 14 March 2009
We left the Caerwys View Holiday Park for the last time this morning. It was a lovely respite for the past week, but we need to keep moving. For once, we were leaving just as the staff were arriving and so the girls were not there to say goodbye. If anyone is ever in this part of the world, this is the perfect place to base yourselves. Over the last week we have seen most of Mid Wales, a little of South Wales and some of North Wales. There were two things left to do this morning before we headed north to the coast.

Michael had been wanting to walk up to the Victory Tower from the first day we saw it, so armed with Google directions we set off, only to find ourselves at the end of the paved road and about to embark down a boggy quagmire before the directions had been completed. Michael recalled that he had seen directions from the opposite side on a walking site, so trusty AA Britain map in hand, we turned around to go this way. We got to a point where we were pretty sure we needed to take a single track road that appeared to go up to the heavens. Trouble was, there was other traffic on the road as well - both vehicles coming down! Had a hairy moment reversing down a 9% slope to find a driveway to slip into so the first car could pass, and thankfully, the second car - a Land Rover, pulled up on to an embankment as the only place I could have gone was down, way down over the mountain side. It was only 1.3 miles from the turnoff just outside Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd but it really was a thousand miles from anywhere. And yet, when we got up to the car-park it was amost full - I mean there were about 40 cars up there with nothing but the hills, the birds and the wind!

The walk to the summit and the Jubilee Tower was 2 miles according to the signs that detailed all the walks. But it was still all uphill on tracks that are minimly maintained. So I opted to wait and start a new book. The wind was blowing at about knots and the clothes of the many walkers whipped around the bodies as though to hug them tighter because they (the clothes) were cold! There were lots of walkers with dogs - seems strange to because back home dogs are not allowed in national parks, but the, dogs seem to be given a whole different level of status in Europe.

So, camera in hand, dorky beanie tied on, off Michael set. The walk up and back took him about 1½ hours and when he got back his face was very wind burned.

From the surrounding countryside you can see great swathes of the gorse bush cleared in parallel lines. Turns out that the authorities are trying to encourage grouse (a ground bird) back in to the area and they are particularly partial to the young shoots of the gorse. Michael also said that he wastold that the patterns they cut are favoured by the grouse. These cuttings can be seen from 20 or more miles away. The Jubilee Tower is only fairly new even though it is in ruins. It is the remains of a planned monument built 1810-12 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of George III. It originally featured a central obelisk and turrets at the corners, but the former was destroyed by a storm in 1862. Only the base remains today.

The photos he took of the surrounding landscapes show the real beauty of the area.

The other thing was to call in to the Cathedral at St Asaph on our way through. The present building - said to be the smallest Anglican Cathedral in Britain, dates back to the 13th Century after King Edward I had th earlier church burned down in 1282. This semed to be a regular practice in the area as the English and Welsh fought for the land. The Cathedral is also the home of the William Morgan Bible the first one ever fully translated into Welsh providing a link with Welsh culture and literature. This is not availble to see. Some of th memorials though were very moving and the stained glass was beautiful.

By now it is 2 pm so we head off for Conwy. We are staying in the Bryn Derwen B&B for the next three nights while we explore more of North Wales. The drive was not far and we arrive just before 3. Conwy Castle still dominates the whole town - in fact the streets still pass through its narrow gateways. Once we had driven around the castle once, spied where we needed to go for the night and had a cuppa, we thought we would have a couple of hours at the Castle - but no, they close at 4 and suggested that we visit on Monday. We could however walk the ramparts. While much of them are intact, there are spots where you have to climb stairs down move through the streets a 100 m or so and climb back onto them, around buildings that are literally built into the walls. And remember my love/hate relationship with the spiral staircases? Well, it continues!

Around 5 pm we checked into Bryn Derwen and asked for dinner recommendations. Andrew suggested a couple of restaurants in town, cautioning that it would be very busy tonight as the football had just finished and the Welsh had been victorious, so the celebrating would bring the local out. And he was right. We first tried Alfredos only tobe told that they had no hope of ftting us in without a reservation. So we crossed the (small) town square to The Raj for an indian meal. Dinner was good, the food wholesome, but the service was lacking.

We shared a meal that consisted of:

Pappadums and Chapati

Lemon Rice

Special Butter Chicken (cooked with sweet date sauce, methi, chopped tomatoes, creamy & mild sauce)

Special Korahi Gosht (Tnder lamb cooked with spices in curry sauce, delicately flavoured with Bangladeshi herbs & spices)

Chana Bhaji (Chickpeas) and Bhindi Bhaji (Okra)

Mango Chutney and Lime Pickle.

Then as a special treat we decided to take ourselves off to the flicks. Saw The International starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts about the link between international banks and the arms trade in third world conflicts. Very thought provoking. Back to the B&B arriving just before midnight and a welcome date with a bed!

A day for nursery rhymes and songs

The real highlight of today was being able to phone home and talk to the girls on the first of the semi-regular GNOs (girls' night out) held since I have been gone. They all sounded as though they were having a whale of a time and Susan was especially chuffed. Didn't realise that by emailing me and telling me where they were going that she had inadvertently set herself up for the call. Heavens only knows what the new owners of Tasty on the Wharf thought when my call was received - little did they know that I was phoning in from Wales. Hope you had a great night girls and that the heads are not too bad this morning! (:-D)

Today was another day of beauty and contrasts. Most of what we saw and did can be explained in a few pics and select nursery rhymes and songs!

From Baa Baa Black Sheep in amongst the white ones to Mary Had a whole flock of Little Lambs;

From She'll be Coming Round the Mountain and how I hate s-bends to Tumblin Tumbleweeds across the top of the Brecon Beacons;

From Row, Row, Row your Houseboat Gently Down the Stream to Wind on the Water and over the rocks;

And we had better not forget Lets Go Driving in Our Car Car!

We drove south again today and for a while followed the route we took on Wednesday before we turned and headed east into the interior of South Wales. Here you find the second of the high peaks in Wales - the Brecon Beacons. Totally different from Snowdonia, this area of National Park is owned by private and public interests. So you still find a lot of grazing, timber felling from planted fir forests and there is even a 'hole' in the national park to allow slate mining to continue.

The slopes are so steep. At one point, they are about a 60° slope and there was one point where the car (in second gear) had to negotiate a 20% slope - first up one side and then down the other with my foot firmly on the brake. The hills are covered in hardy gorse, thick luxuriant moss and a tough grassy cover. Along the base of the hills the roads wind through natural and planted forests and must be just oh so beautiful in the summer when it is hot on the open hills and so cool and shady in the trees near running streams. This area is strewn with walking paths, bridle paths and biking tracks. At one point, just over the summit, we passed a couple on bikes with their young children in one of those covered pulling carts - my god, that would literally KILL me! They can have it - hope they enjoyed the climb. There are lots and lots of B&Bs and cabins for let - though most of them looked unoccupied at the moment.

Before our ascent, we had stopped for lunch in a very busy little town called Builth Wells. There was an estate agents shop near the cafe and we staggered away when we saw an advert for - 3 bedroom house, plus 2 maisonette cottage on about 2 acres of land for the princely sum of £565,000 - that's a mere $1.2 million to us Aussies!

We had lunch at the very quaint Cosy Corner Tea Rooms. Just steps away from a very busy corner and intersection, trucks passed within a whisker of us as we ate. Michael opted for Cottage Pie with Salad and I had Lasagne with Chips and (freshly shelled) peas. Of course Michael had to finish my 'big working man' portion!

Across the road was the Builth Wells R.F.C. building. It is nice to see that they follow more than just one football code! And we just had to wonder what the hell Brains Beers that they advertise tastes like - ugh!

And tonight it is back at the Bungalow - sorry Kamala, no great menu tonight - leek and mushrooms on toast as we try to finish our perishables. Had a couple glasses of cider with my mushrooms and toasted you all out partying!

We are in a B&B for the next couple of days so won't be cooking (so there will probably be a nice meal menu for you to drool over!!). We're aiming for an early start so Michael can do another local mountain walk up Moel Famau to the Jubilee Tower remains atop it.

Where winter meets the spring - Snowdonia

The morning is full of mundane stuff like washing. With the weather a little warmer today and a top of 14 expected we headed off to Snowdonia. This region is some of Wales hilliest and highest and lies to the west of Caerwys between us and the Coast. Getting there took us through magnificent top-of-the-world scenery. But not flat and open as we experienced in Spain - more undulating, greener and much more vegetation. This really is a beautiful part of the world. And yes, I know I keep saying that!

At the suggestion of good friend Mick in Brisbane, who spent many of his childhood holidays in this area, we followed the route from Caerwys to Denbigh via St Asaph, then to Pentrefoelas, via Bylchau and Sportsmans Arms and Hafod Dinbych. We had wanted to see the 'Cathedral' at St Asaph but there was a school service on and seeing it is only 5 minutes down the road, we thought we would come back through here on Saturday.

The Sportman's Arms is the highest inn in Wales - we had guessed as much (at least the pub bit!). While Michael was taking photos of the pub he crossed the road at which point a whole flock of sheep came running up to see him - guess they are either lonely, or this is where they are given food! Was funny to watch though.

We then got onto the A5 (old Watling Street - built by the Romans on their way to conquer The Druids on the Island of Anglesey) but could not find any evidence of this earlier Roman road. It is signposted 'Historic Route' over a considerable distance though.

We were now well and truly in the Mountains of Snowdonia - the highest in Wales. The top country is wind-swept and bears no trees. The gorse bush is stumpy and the reedy weeds were bending furiously this way then that with the breeze. The highest peaks still bore the signs of winter with light trails of snow - but this was not a deterent for walkers - we saw quite a number of them on the trails. But the spring melt was well and truly underway and all the streams were racing along full to the brim within their banks. The water was crystal clear and I can imagine that over time there would have been a still or two tapping into this pristine source! And what I had thought were fishing rod holders strapped to a beam on the riverbank, turned out to be tubes for holding fireworks - what next!

We then travelled through Capel Curig and Betswy-Coed before bactracking slightly to take the Pen-y-Gwyrd Pass and the Pen-y-Pass down to Caernafon through places with names that are so easy to get wrong - Llanberis, Cwm-y-Glo and Llanrug. At the top, this is a harsh and rugged environment that is dominated by the outcrops of Shale that continue to be mined within the National Park. The passes are steep - at one point a 17% slope! Didn't stop a couple of keen cyclists though (they can have that). En-route we see quite a number of ruinous castles. We stopped at Dolbadarn Castle whose keep is pretty well intact and accessible for those who want to climb to the top up (yet another) spiral stairway - this one without any rails. Michael did it!

Then it was back on to the motorway along the coast to Caerwys. We didn't stop along here because we are going to come over and stay a few days from Saturday with the hope that one of the small railways that travel high into Snowdonia might be operating.

We were almost back to the road on which the holiday park is situated when we came across a Restaurant / Guesthouse called Pwll Gwyn that had been tantalising us since the first day we arrived here seeing their menu in the tourist literature provided in the bungalow. As we had not had kunch, we were ready for an early dinner at 5:45 pm and were in luck - the chef was ready for dinner service.

Our expectations were exceeded. The setting was warm and inviting - modern in an old time setting. We asked the waitress how to pronounce the establishment name and she replied Pthll Gooin. In Welsh it means White Pool and refers to the pool of water that collected at the back of the once-upon-a-time farmhouse as it cascaded off the slate rockface. The food was exceptional and really beautifully presented. Our menu choices tonight were:

Starters

Black Pudding with Pate topped with a poached egg (Michael)

Mushroom and Garlic Ragout with toasted baguette and dressed greens (Maria)

Mains

Slow Cooked Lamb Henry served with sticky red cabbage and roasted chat potatoes (Michael)

10oz local sirloin steak served with slow roasted tomato, mushrooms topped with blue cheese, crispy onion rings and hand cut chunky chips (Maria)

Desserts (to die for)

Apple and raspberry crumble served hot with vanilla bean ice cream and cinnamon crème anglais (Michael)

Belgian Waffle with honeycomb ice cream and home made butterscotch sauce (Maria)

They pride themselves on showcasing local produce and justly so - it was all really delicious.

And so back to the bungalow. Tomorrow we are trying for an early start to go and have a look at the Becon Beacons about 3 hours to the south.