Birdsong's Trip to the UK and Ireland

Oct. 12 - Cheltenham

Train to Cheltenham. (They say, “Chelten,”) Light rain. When people hear we are from California, they think we must be suffering from the cold. It wasn’t even chilly until the first cold front in Penzance, and it soon warmed again. I never wore my gloves or long underwear. People think of California as warm beaches. We explained how cold our area gets.

Oct. 13 - Twekesbury

We chose to stop in Cheltenham to break up the long journey to North Wales. Larry’s online Rick Steves described picturesque Tewkesbury, which he thought was very near. Not so—20 miles! We did drive through the quaint town. The Hilton Larry had selected was now a golf and conference center built on beautiful grounds and added on to a 1180’s country estate, as pictured in a painting over the check-in desk that I photographed. The history of transformation from estate to hotel included late 1800’s addition of “services,” likely meaning electricity, running water and WC. Rain, rain, and cold! It would not have been a good afternoon to be touring Tewkesbury! I started getting a chest cold that I still had at home a month later…

Oct. 14 - Conwy, Wales

Train to Conwy, with only one change at Birmingham. Larry found Conwy in his Rick Steves. It is a small town on the rail line, but it is not a regular stop, so we had to tell the conductor to tell the engineer to make a special stop. We were the only ones to get off at the tiny station. Then 30 steps up – dragging bags—to get to street level. What an amazing town! Still surrounded on all sides by intact, black stone medieval walls. UNESCO says this is best late 13th and early 14th century military architecture in Europe.: Our B&B was Castlebank Hotel just outside the walls. It was built as a Victorian home in 1860. We walked through a doorway in the wall to the nearby Albion Pub, and had dinner at Castle Hotel: salmon and duck.

The Castle was built by Edward the 1st. (English) who was “given” the town. The castle was necessary to protect him and his invading countrymen from the local antagonistic Welch. In 1283, Edward brought in stonemasons from Chester in England to build the castle and at the same time the town walls. Both are constructed of black stones. Slate? After the town walls were built, he built the buildings in the town to house the English he brought in to populate it. The town’s streets are also made of slabs of black stone. The castle’s location on a river estuary near the ocean allowed him a steady supply of goods from England so he was not dependent on the local economy.

We visited a restored Elizabethan house in the heart of old town, circa 1665. It was three stories, and on the ground floor was the brew room and a kitchen with huge fireplace for cooking, as well as a large iron cage-looking basket on a chain from the ceiling that could be raised above head-height to keep the bread from the mice. They had their own well in the courtyard. The family rooms were on the second floor, the master’s bedroom, and small bedroom for his “man” next door, and the lady’ s bedroom, and a large combination hall and dining room. The children and servants slept on the 3rd floor on hay. The master had a small privy closet off his bedroom – a seat/hole of a toilet. The lady had a potty chair. Everyone else had chamber pots. Since meals were served on the second floor, servants had to haul food and water up and down. Not to mention the chamber pots and bath water…

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The plan for our departure from Conwy had been to go to the train station, go back down the 30 steps and FLAG DOWN the train. We chose instead to take a taxi to the next town (10 minutes) which had a scheduled train stop. WHEW! I had been worrying about that…

Oct. 15 - Back to Ireland

Heading back to Ireland. Rain squalls. The train took us back across central Wales (the whole way following the coast) which took only 50 minutes. (It had taken 4 hours on the northern route, but that had more stops. Back to Holyhead (which they pronounce Hollyhead, not Holy.) Back on the amazing jetfoil ferry to Dublin. Onto the train to Galway! Dublin to Galway, only 2 ½ hours with lots of stops. There were light rain squalls, but it was not cold.

Oct. 16 - Galway

Galway: The Jury’s Inn was wonderfully situated right on the River Carib and the mouth of the bay, and at the very entrance to the main drag, the pedestrian area with all the pubs and shops. The quantity of rushing water in the river is amazing! We left our window open all the time to hear it.

We went to the Tourist Information to plan the rest of our trip. We counted back from the day we had to be in Dublin, and decided to head north as far a Donegal, visiting towns by bus. Irish buses are clean, run frequently and on time, and the passengers are friendly locals. Those over 65 ride for free.

We remembered good seafood at The Quay (pronounced “key”) only steps from our hotel. Shared seafood chowder and shepherd’s pie, and of course local brews. Larry’s favorite: Galway Hooker, (Anglicized word for an Irish name) of a local three masted fishing vessel. I looked for a T-shirt with that name. None available. I need to order one online. In Larry’s email note to is family, he said, “Glady bought me several Galway Hookers. “When the Irish went to New England and built the same vessel it was called the Boston Hooker, Irish cutter, or Paddy boats. (Larry's aside... We spent five days in Galway on our 2010 trip to Ireland. On that trip we went to museums and sites around the area. This time we just relaxed.)

Went across the bridge over the raging river to eat Indian food at the Kashmir. The swans on the river have to paddle fast just to stay in place. There were swans on rivers all over England and Ireland.

We went several times to a pub whose sign in front is in Gaelic, meaning Coleman’s Place. (Our National Hotel in Nevada City is owned by a Tom Coleman.)

Irish gals call me “Luvee.” Police = garda. Ham=bacon. Flags: Every county has its own flag and its own sports teams. When there is a game, you see the flags of the two counties everywhere. County team T-shirts are the same colors.

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