All the Wonders of Warwick!

With a week's holiday ahead of us, we were off to Warwick for a couple of days - primarily to visit Warwick Castle (for which we'd managed to acquire a set of half-price tickets).

Arrived on a sunny Sunday afternoon, stopping at a new (for us) National Trust property, Charlecote Park.  Nice house, nice grounds, very very hot day.

On to Warwick itself, to book into our B&B, have a wander round the town, drink cider in the sun, and indulge in our first curry of the trip.

Day two took us to the Castle - we were already primed with what to expect - something much more along the lines of a visitor attraction than a historic property.  There were indeed archery demonstrations, a giant trebuchet, a 'Flight of the Eagles', and for families lots of opportunities to buy princess and knight outfits for small people . . .

It was also however a stunning property, very well-presented, with some innovative touches (such as Harry Potter style portraits telling the history of the castle).  The set pieces were all very well done too. 

On the downside . . . the sheer number of people . . .  and perhaps a little less attention to conservation aspects than we'd normally expect (no darkened rooms to keep light levels to a minimum here!).  All in all though, a good day out - probably even more so for family visitors.


On our last morning in Warwick we took the advice of a friend and visited St Mary's Church, most of which was rebuilt in the eighteenth century (following the Great Fire of Warwick), but which includes a medieval survival in its Beauchamp Chapel. 






This proved to be a real highlight for me (as an Elizabethan buff), as it contained the tombs of Robert and Lettice Dudley, and their 'noble imp'.

That wasn't the end of the trip, as we moved East to visit family, via a very wet Kenilworth Castle (will have to go back on a drier occasion).

Took the parents for a day out to another new National Trust property at Blickling Hall in Norfolk - lovely exterior, beautiful grounds and the sun was back with us. 


Then, on our final day, we returned to Wales via Attingham Park (a return visit this time).  A good break, and still some days left to get stuck into the garden!

Garden Bounty

Alongside everything else that is going on, the garden is continuing to yield its bounty - here we have potatoes, rhubarb and courgettes (on the cusp of marrowdom):

The tomatoes are coming along too, although the strawberries are proving disappointing - they don't seem to have really got going after last year's major weeding exercise, and the slugs are getting to what fruit there is before we do!

Ceredigion Coastal Path 2 - Borth to Ynyslas

A lovely evening, and keen to maintain momentum following our walk along the Ceredigion Coastal Path to Llanrhystud, decided to strike out and complete the Borth to Ynyslas stretch. 

Due to the locations of bus and train stops, this was always planned to be an added loop to the Aberystwyth to Borth walk, and as we had both recently purchased Nordic Walking Poles this seemed like an ideal opportunity to trial them in the field.

As you can see from the elevation graph below, this was a completely flat walk.  The challenge came from the having to wade through foot high grass alongside the river, and the stone pebbles along the beach; both of which rendered the walking poles too cumbersome to use effectively so they were soon being carried for the majority of the way.

We hadn't ventured into Borth Bog before and weren't sure what to expect.  As it transpired, it was endless grass.  On this walk I think that nature must have gone on holiday as we didn't see much in the way of bird-life or wild flowers - perhaps this was our fault as we were having to watch very carefully where we placed our feet due to the uneven ground camouflaged by the long grass!

I don't see us rushing back to re-walk this stage of the coastal path anytime soon, however, time always dulls the memory, so who knows?

The final stats from my GPS recorder:

Distance 8.3km

Duration: 1:50

Moving Time: 1:40

Calories: 940

Ascent: 0 meters

Ceredigion Coastal Path 1 – Aberystwyth to Llanrhystud

This summer we set ourselves the goal of walking the Ceredigion Coastal Path.  Not on consecutive days, but over the course of the summer as the temperamental Welsh weather permits.  

Conveniently, the official website lists the walk over seven stages . . . so when Sarah’s university friend Samantha chose a fantastic weekend weather-wise to visit, it seemed like a good opportunity to kick start part 1 of the 60 mile walk.  

We settled on Aberystwyth to Llanrhystyud as none of us had done this before and it seemed to offer an interesting challenge – we were not disappointed!  

Having parked the car at Tanybwlch, we loaded up our rucksacks and headed off towards the daunting Alltwen hill:

The climb itself was not as formidable as we were expecting (helped perhaps by a couple of sturdy Leki walking poles purchased to help Sarah up the hills!)  Having got to the top we all agreed it was easier to climb than it would have been to descend – walking poles or no walking poles!

The view from the top did not disappoint, and in the absence of a café serving cake, it was a satisfactory reward for the effort.

I’d like to say that this was the lion's share of climbing along the walk, but from the GPS profile below you can see this was not the case, however it was by far the steepest climb.

Carrying on along the coast we came to the remote location of Ffos Lâs. It is pleasing to see that someone is taking the time and effort to restore it.  

(We think this was the house where Mathias had his caravan on Hinterland, the detective 'Welsh noir' drama filmed around Aberystwyth.)

Next stop was near Monk's Cave where we had a bite to eat and Samantha was able to refuel on tea!  I visited Monk's Cave over 20 years ago and remember being able to walk down to the sea.  This photo (found online) was taken 11 years ago - no sign of this feature can be seen today, it appears coastal erosion has taken its toll and the only way down now would be to abseil!

It was a surprise to come across the Penderi Cliffs nature reserve. 

On this occasion we did not enter the reserve to see the hanging oaks - maybe next time as it certainly looks an interesting place to visit and it will give us an excuse to do the walk again!

Sarah didn’t take too kindly to these narrow exposed paths with the steep drops, although the local sheep didn't seem to mind too much.

The stunning views along the way (and probably the thought of a refreshing cider in the Black Lion, Llanrhystud) kept both Sarah and Samantha motivated and moving along though!

Towards the end of the walk, the wind started to pick up and it clouded over, but this did not take away from the enjoyment of the day.  

Journeys end, the caravan site at Llanrhystuyd and the long awaited pub – which sadly we never got to visit due to bus times.

When we arrived back in Aberystwyth, not to be robbed of their cider reward, Sarah and Samantha headed to the Ship and Castle, while I walked back to Tanybwlch to collect the car.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable first stage to our Coastal Path walk and one which we we may well revisit.

The final stats from my GPS recorder:

Distance 16.7km (10.4 miles)

Duration: 6:00

Moving Time: 4:30 (I spent a lot of time waiting for Sarah and Samantha to catch up!)

Calories: 2240

Ascent: 605 meters

Nordic Walking

Some old friends visited earlier this month (a pre-birthday visit, with flowers, cake, wine and balloons!)


And while the boys were out mountain biking, I was introduced to the joys of nordic walking. 

Took a while to get the hang of coordinating the arm and leg action - but the poles definitely give you some added oomph on the hills.


Fast forward to later in the month, and one of the warmer days of the year - walked into town (with my own set of poles) and made my first ascent (in all these years) of Pen Dinas. 

Fantastic views from the top:

Far too hot though - Martin went on to also climb Constitution Hill - I had a cider on the end of the Pier!

The poles have had a few outings since - and it looks like Martin may get some too.  Also looking at some sturdier walking poles for hill walking.

Tree Bumblebee or Not Tree Bumblebee?

Saw this on one of the garden walls today - after some searching online, think it might be a tree bumblebee . . .

. . . unless anyone knows any different?

Ancient Monuments

A week off, and a few days away enjoying some of Wales' ancient monuments courtesy of CADW and the National Trust.  Started with a visit to Tretower Court and Castle - the Court has some good interior reconstructions, and the Castle is an interesting small ruin.  Moved on from there to the extensive and much more impressive ruins of Raglan Castle, with its views over the surrounding countryside. 

Stayed in Tintern, so of course we visited Tintern Abbey.  Had a walk round Tintern itself (including the ruined and supposedly haunted St Mary's Church) and through the forestry at Symond's Yat Rock (where we just about spotted the nesting peregrines through our binoculars).

Also spent a day at a National Trust property Croome.


Interesting place, a mix of World War II exhibits, a historic house, and restored Capability Brown parkland.


As it was raining when we arrived started with the exhibition on the RAF base which used to be on the site, and the work they did to develop the early radar systems.

As the weather improved moved on to the landscaped grounds - the sun even shone briefly!

Finished with a tour of the house, which is still something of a work in progress, with rooms reflecting the changing ownership of the property (including one painted and decorated by the Hare Krishna movement, who were tenants in the early 1980s).

Finished with a trip to Chepstow Castle (which had the CADW dragons in residence), and Tredegar House.  Enjoyed a National Trust cream tea at the latter - although the local jackdaw population were keen to partake too:

There were also jackdaws at Tretower Castle, popping in and out of the walls, swallows in most places (here nesting in Raglan Castle) . . .


. . . and a baby coot keeping a low profile in Raglan's moat:

Weather could have been better on some days, but all in all a good birthday break - part of trying not to feel like too much of an ancient monument myself.

The wine helped!