A rare bit of Wales

We arrived in Bristol on a rainy, wet, and cold evening.  Actually it was nearly midnight and when the couple three in front of us were refused entry to the UK we despaired.  Mainly because no one was sent to replace the only officer processing people in the 'non EU' queue.  Despite the evidence to the contrary (ie rainy, wet, and cold) we learned it was also the beginning of the summer holidays.  Regardless, the next day we hired a car and took off on an adventure!

The first adventure was me learning to program the TomTom we hired with the car.  They are NOT as easy as you think and really I was not at all sure that we were going to end up at our desired destination.  Suffice to say I think we both learned some new words! We crossed the lengthy Severn Bridge and into Wales - and then out of Wales again as we arrived at Goodrich Castle.  We bought the English Heritage Overseas visitors pass as we hoped we'd visit a few more English sites over the next two weeks.

In one single stop we experienced everything we needed to about a typical English summer.  Walking around an ancient monument while it's chucking down rain and you wished your other half would hurry up so you could go to a nice dry tea room/second hand bookshop with free wi-fi.

Yes, I'm quite damp despite the raincoat and my umbrella is inside out.

It didn't stop me climbing to the top!

It was really raining.

We stayed at a nearby pub, the Cross Keys Inn, where we had a lovely night.  The breakfast the next morning was stunning too.  The eggs and bacon and all the trimmings certainly set us up for a day of touring!

How cute is this little room under the eaves!
I picked it because it looked like a room in a book.

Our first stop in Wales was a "while we were passing" as we noticed the remains of Skenfrith Castle and stopped for a little look.  When the original castle was flooded they just built a new one on top!  The remains were only found in the 1950s.

Skenfrith

White castle was a favourite of both of us.  It is well preserved and seems to be on a more human scale than some of the grander buildings.  Like English Heritage the Welsh also had an offer where you could see how many monuments you could get into over several days.  We certainly got our money's worth from both passes!

Matt explains the fortifications to me while I wish he'd
just get back in the car where it's warm and dry. 
Note I am standing in the gatehouse, out of the rain.

Raglan was next, it was the childhood "home" of Henry Tudor.  I'm not sure how home-like the castle would feel when you were essentially a hostage.  It is Wales youngest castle and like White, is surrounded by a moat.

The last Welsh castle on our list was Caerphilly.  It was huge!  In the middle of the town and we didn't see any crumbly cheese in evidence, just crumbly stones.

Leaning tower of Caerphilly.  Blame the Roundheads who took the castle in 1646.  Or subsidence.

Our final day in Wales meant a quick trip to Cardiff to the Dr Who Experience. It's important to experience the pop culture along with all the history.  And after all, Dr Who is an adventure in space and time! 

"Bessie", The Doctor's car from his UNIT days.

Stunning costume worn by Jenna Coleman as Clara in "Mummy on the Orient Express"

Did somebody say "Don't Blink"?

Is there a Doctor in the house?

As we headed back to England we made a slight detour to one or two last Welsh castles, Kastel Coch (pronounced something like Cork) and Chepstow.  Coch was interesting because it had been extensively renovated to be made habitable in the 19th century.

Paneling in the dining room

More gaudy paneling.  Amazing details!

Wash basin in the bedroom

Adding Chepstow to our castle collection meant we had seen youngest and oldest of the Welsh Castles as Chepstow was one of the first Norman castles built.

The rain stopped briefly.  Don't worry, it would return.

With the southern  Welsh castles conquered we adopted a new companion to guide our little car (the Fiat 500 is the smallest rental on the market and perfect for the crazy tiny narrow roads here) as we headed towards Royal Wooton Bassett for the night.