Travelling B16's

Our last choice of an English B&B on this trip proved to be a great one.

The Dower House was built in the 1880’s by the owner of the Rousdon Estate which is situated approximately a mile to the south of the property on the top of cliffs overlooking the sea. It is believed that the house was originally built for his mother-in-law, hence the name Dower or Dowager House.
After All Hallows public school relocated to the Rousdon estate from Honiton in 1938 the Dower House became the headmaster’s residence.

We woke to the sounds of the countryside outside our window and after a substantial breakfast tackled the job of cleaning out the car and repacking prior to handing it back. It had virtually been our home for the past eight weeks and we would rather miss it.

Our path took us through more beautiful Devon countryside to the New Forest

and on to Fleet, the town I lived in in the early sixties.

Whilst the main street hadn’t really changed that much our search for the house proved fruitless. The area that I thought was right was covered with newer houses so I fear the house is no longer. We crisscrossed over the Fleet canal, which made us feel quite nostalgic – maybe the location for our next narrow boat experience!!

On to Heathrow and Hertz where we were met by Chris who Special Group Tours had arranged to meet us and take us to the Regency Hotel in Queen’s Gate, where our tour was due to start the next morning. We offloaded our extra bags (much to the displeasure of the Head Concierge, who marched me off to show me how small their baggage room was) and were shown to our small attic room where we had our first encounter with a Memory Foam mattress – hmmmm!

Slightly annoyed by the attitude of the hotel we decided to walk down Queen’s Gate and find a pub for dinner rather than dine in their restaurant. Despite it being a lovely walk we couldn’t find a pub that wasn’t standing room only so reluctantly returned to the hotel and the Pavilion Restaurant.

The meal was unmemorable but we did run into Pat, Hilary and Judy from Australia who, together with Linda from Canada, where to become good friends and travelling companions over the next eight days

After a substantial breakfast watching the boats go by on Penzance harbor, we headed on the first of our stops for the day – St Michael’s Mount.

The Mount is a small tidal island in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall, and is linked to the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway, passable between mid-tide and low water.

I was viewing this expedition with some trepidation, as the causeway was underwater and the small boats bobbing up and down in the swell looked somewhat unstable to a person with dicky knees. However the crossing was accomplished, we landed at the small village at the base of the Mount and all that remained was the climb to the top!

There is plenty to see at the base of the Mount. Chapel Rock, on the beach, marks the site of a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary, where pilgrims paused to worship before ascending the Mount. There is a row of eight houses at the back of the present village; they were built in 1885 and are known as Elizabeth Terrace. A spring supplies them with water. There are also buildings that were formerly the steward’s house, a changing-room for bathers, the stables, the laundry, a barge house, a sail loft (now a restaurant), and two former inns. A former bowling green adjoins one of the buildings.

There is evidence of people living on the Mount during the Neolithic (from circa 4000 to 2500 BCE years). The earliest buildings, on the summit, date to the 12th century, the harbour is 15th century. and the village and summit buildings were rebuilt from 1860 to 1900, to give the island its current form.

Historically, St Michael’s Mount was a Cornish counterpart of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France. It was given to the Benedictines, religious order of Mont Saint-Michel, by Edward the Confessor in the 11th century and was a priory of that abbey until Henry V went to war with France in 1424 and the Crown seized the priory.

In the succeeding years the Mount changed hands a number of times. Some of the more notable occupants were

• Henry Pomeroy, who led a group of Prince John’s supporters, seized and held the Mount, on behalf of Prince John, whilst King Richard 1 was on a Crusade in the Holy Land in the 1190’s.

• John de Vere13th Earl of Oxford, who was one of the principal Lancastrian commanders during the English Wars of the Roses, seized it with 400 men and held it during a siege of twenty-three weeks against 6,000 of Edward IV’s troops in 1473. The following year he was forced to surrender to the King.

• Perkin Warbeck occupied the Mount in 1497 when he embarked on his ill-fated attempt to seize the English crown. By claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, (one of the young Princes in the Tower) Warbeck was a significant threat to the newly established Tudor dynasty, and gained support outside England. Ultimately failing in his quest he was eventually imprisoned in the Tower and hanged at Tyburn. Dealing with Warbeck cost Henry VII over £13,000 and severely depleted his coffers.

• Humphry Arundell, a Puritan and governor of St Michael’s Mount, who led the rebellion of 1549. The Act of Uniformity had been passed, and it abolished the diversity of religious practices that had existed up to then and dictated one form of worship “The Book of Common Prayer, with services only allow to be in English (not Cornish). Humphry Arundell was captured and, with other rebel leaders, hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn.

• Sir Arthur Bassett, one of four brothers who supported the Royalists during the civil war. He played an important role in the civil war in the West Country and held St Michael’s Mount against parliamentary forces. He escorted King Charles II, who is believed to have stayed at the Mount before taking a boat for the Scilly Isles, to safety before surrendering in April 1646 when he was forced to cede the Mount.

In 1659 John St Aubyn became the proprietor and the castle lost its military role and became the family home. However the new owners used it only as a summerhouse for the next two hundred years.

In 1755 the Lisbon earthquake caused a tsunami to strike the Cornish coast. The sea rose six feet in ten minutes at St Michael’s Mount, ebbed at the same rate, and continued to rise and fall for five hours. Though the wave was of no great height, it was still substantial enough to suck the sea out for 150 feet or more, before surging back in to drench the causeway linking St Michael’s Mount to the mainland, and giving tourists a soaking. Witnesses said it was preceded by a surge of static electricity and people’s hair literally stood on end!

At the end of the 19th century, the 1st Baron Saint Levan commissioned a cousin of his, Piers St Aubyn, a London architect, to make the Mount into a family home. Piers St Aubyn left the original church building on the top of the rock and added a large mansion to the southeast side ensuring that the addition did not alter the existing dramatic skyline of the Mount.

The St Aubyn family owned St Michael’s Mount until 1954 when the property, together with a large endowment, was given to the National Trust by the 3rd Lord St Levan, and the castle and its grounds were opened to the public. The family retained a 999-year lease to inhabit the castle and it is still the official residence of Lord St Levan. The 4th Lord St Levan left the island in 2003, to enable his nephew James St. Aubyn, plus wife Mary and four children, to take over the family lease.

Despite the climb to the top, where you climb the mediaeval Pilgrim Steps and at times clamber over rocks, the end result is well worth it.

There is a sign beside the cobbled path: The Giant’s Heart. According to legend, a giant called Cormoran, lived here. He used to steal poultry and livestock from the mainland, as well as an occasional child to eat, before he was killed by an ingenious local boy called Jack. The Giant’s Heart turns out to be a tiny dark heart-shaped stone in among the cobbles. This is the origin of the story “Jack the Giant Killer” which was set in the time of King Arthur.

Beyond the stone ramparts and rows of cannons on the western side of the castle stands a granite stone pillar. This is where St Michael is believed to have appeared to a group of fishermen in AD495, and why the Mount became a place of pilgrimage from the 6th century.

Many relics, chiefly armour and antique furniture, are preserved in the castle.

The rooms in the castle feature paintings and portraits by artists like Gainsborough, Hudson, Kneller, and John Opie together with collections armour.
The gardens are lovely and an excellent example of what can be done in a totally inhospitable climate if you choose the right plants and use protected niches for the less hardy. Like the Castle, the gardens require some pretty serious climbing over some rocky paths as they are built up a steep slope.

The harbour has a pier dating from the 15th century, which was subsequently enlarged and restored. Queen Victoria landed at the harbour from the royal yacht in 1846, and a brass inlay of her footstep can be seen at the top of the landing stage. King Edward VII’s footstep is also visible near the bowling green. In 1967 the Queen Mother entered the harbour in a pinnace from the royal yacht Britannia.

One of the most noteworthy points of interest on the island is the underground railway, which is still used to transport goods from the harbour up to the castle. It was built by miners around 1900, replacing the packhorses, which had previously been used. Due to the steep gradient, it cannot be used for passengers and the National Trust currently does not permit public access or viewing of the railway.

After a less fraught return, the harbour at the Mount is well protected from the seas, we attained the other side – we had to step aside for the ambulance carting off one hapless tourist who had failed to negotiate the steps!

We then set off for Lyme Regis and the lovely Dower House B&B and, being the wrong night for River Cottage and too late for the local seafood restaurant, settled for an evening meal at the historic inn, The Anchor, at Beer.

After a rather too leisurely breakfast with David and Rosemary we set off for Penzance with plans to visit two of Cornwell’s most famous gardens, the Lost Gardens of Heligan and Trebah, on the way. I had seen the series of television programs made on the restoration of the Lost Gardens and was very keen to see the actual garden and Trebah was highly recommended by David and Rosemary.

Ed and I were surprised that anyone ever found the Lost Gardens. Even with a GPS we couldn’t! We careered around the area, trying to turn in impossible places and plunging down lanes so worn they were almost tunnels. Every now and then we would come across similarly confused people until, finally, we came across a small sign pointing the way and arrived at our destination.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are now one of the most popular botanical gardens in the UK. They were created by three generations of the Cornish Tremayne family from the mid-18th century up to the beginning of the 20th century. Each generation added to the gardens, which were considered to be very innovative and housed a number of rare and exotic plants including a collection of rhododendrons purchased from Joseph Hooker in 1851. Joseph Hooker was Charles Darwin’s close friend and a great English botanist. The new species of Himalayan rhododendrons were among his great discoveries.

The gardens include these aged and colossal rhododendrons as well as camellias, a series of lakes fed by a ram pump over a hundred years old, highly productive flower and vegetable gardens, an Italian garden, and a wild area filled with sub-tropical tree ferns called “The Jungle”. The gardens also have Europe’s only remaining pineapple pit, warmed by rotting manure, and two figures made from rocks and plants known as the Mud Maid and the Giant’s Head.

Before the First World War the garden required the services of 22 gardeners to maintain it, but that war lead to the deaths of 16 of those gardeners, and by 1916 the garden was being looked after by only 8 men. In the 1920s Jack Tremayne (the last of the direct line) decided to live in Italy and lease out Heligan.

The house was tenanted for most of the 20th century, used by the US Army during the Second World War, and then converted into flats and sold, without the gardens, in the 1970s. Against this background the gardens fell into a serious state of neglect and were lost to sight, disappearing under a blanket of vines and ivy.

A member of the Tremayne family, John Willis, lived in the area and in 1990 was responsible for introducing record producer Tim Smit to the derelict gardens. He and a group of fellow enthusiasts decided to restore the gardens to their former glory.

The restoration proved to be an outstanding success, not only revitalising the gardens but also the local economy around Heligan by providing employment. The gardens are now leased by a company owned by their restorers, who continue to cultivate them and operate them as a visitor attraction.

We clambered down steep slopes and across rope bridges and only the thought that if we waited any longer we would miss Trebah Gardens caused us to leave.

We raced across the country heading for the coast and finally, at the end of the road, we came to the gardens. Trebah is a 26-acre sub-tropical garden and, of all the gardens we have seen, is one of my favourite gardens.

It was first laid out as a pleasure garden in 1831 by Charles Fox, who paid meticulous attention to the exact positioning of every tree. His son-in-law, took the work further and Trebah nowboasts nine official UK Champion Trees. A tree becomes a champion when it is either the tallest specimen of its kind or has the largest girth or even both.

From 1939 to 1981 the garden fell into decline. During the Second World War, Trebah was used for military purposes and the assault on Omaha Beach in Normandy was launched from Polgwidden Beach, at the foot of Trebah Garden. There is an inscription on a Memorial Slab at the foot of the gardens: “To the officers and men of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division, who embarked from Trebah in June 1944 for the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach. We will remember them.”

In 1981, on their 64th birthday, Tony and Eira Hibbert bought Trebah as their retirement home. They were persuaded to give up the first three years of retirement to restore the garden. When Major Hibbert agreed to three years, little did he know it would become a quarter century. The decision, he eventually wrote, “has given us the happiest twenty-four years of our lives and had we not taken up the challenge we’d have been dead long ago of gin poisoning and boredom.

The garden was opened to the public in 1987 and by 1989 visitor numbers had reached 36,000. The Hibbert family then gave the house, garden and cottages to the Trebah Garden Trust, a registered charity, to ensure that the garden could be preserved for future generations.

Trebah is a wonderful garden with imaginative and beautifully coordinated plantings. It leads down the valley to the beach with streams and waterfalls and the most magnificent trees.

We must have been the last people to leave and the gates were being locked as we left. Thankfully Penzance was not too far away and we collapsed in our room at the Penzance Hotel for a few drinks and room service.

Tomorrow we start heading back to London with a few side trips – the first being St. Michael’s Mount, which we can see out of our window.

We left David and Rosemary to their Open Garden Day and wound our way through some impossibly narrow country lanes to Hestercombe Gardens.

Hestercombe is a unique combination of three centuries of garden design which have been faithfully restored to their former glory

The Georgian landscape gardens were designed between 1750 and 1786 as a circuit with a number of carefully orchestrated views, each composed as if they were a landscape painting – hence the description – Landscape Garden. All the buildings and seats are positioned so that you get beautifully framed pictures of the garden with its lakes and cascades.

The Great Cascade is the centerpiece. Behind it is the wilder Woodland Garden and the Valley of Cascades, in front is the peaceful Pear Pond.

In 1873 Hestercombe underwent considerable remodeling of the house including the creation of the Victorian Terrace, the Orangery and the Dutch Garden and in 1903 Sir Edwin Lutyens was commissioned to create a new Formal Garden below the existing Victorian Terrace. He was one of the great British architects, who designed many English country houses.

Hestercombe Gardens, with the brilliant handling of varying levels, represents the peak of his collaboration with Gertrude Jekyll, a brilliant plants woman, who has been a major influence in garden design creating over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.

The Formal Gardens were very run down in 1973 when the Somerset County Council initiated what was to become one of the first major garden restorations in the country. Helped by Gertrude Jekyll’s notes and diaries they restored the formal gardens to their former glory.

In 1995 the Hestercombe Gardens Project started the restoration of the Landscape Garden. The lakes, which had become completely silted up, were dredged, the original views were opened once more and the remaining buildings restored.

We spent hours at Hestercombe admiring, in particular, the hard landscaping of Sir Edwin Lutyens formal garden with its rills, arches, arbours and alcoves. The stonework is truly beautiful and Ed has been taking careful notes!! The East and West Rills frame the Grand Plat with a Pergola enclosing the garden at the bottom yet allowing it to remain linked to and be part of the surrounding countryside.

It probably wasn’t the best season for the plantings, which we found to be a little uninspiring and questioned the wisdom of faithfully following Gertrude Jekyll’s notes rather than the spirit of her planting, which was innovative. One wonders what she would have done with today’s plants.

We were running out of time when we set off for Hillside Farm, an open garden with the Open Garden Scheme. We only spent about an hour there, wandering through their woodland walk and grass meadow. This was the first time they had opened and the garden shows great potential. In particular we liked the grass meadow in the orchard and can see a version in our(?) easement.

On to the Rose and Crown, a Traditional 15th Century Village Inn with its low ceilings and beams and a lovely place to relax in. A well deserved evening meal after our hours of walking and then back for drinks in front of the fire with an exhausted David and so to bed.

Well the rainbow the night before did not symbolize fine weather and we set forth on our drive through the mountains of Wales in a fine drizzle, which increased as we travelled. Every now and again the clouds would lift and we would see breathtaking scenery before it closed in again. Ah well, I guess you can’t have it all your own way!

We went to Portmeiron but it was looking drab and rundown (could have been the rain) and they wanted an entrance fee, so we gave it a miss and headed for Barmouth Bay. It is obviously a pretty seaside resort but steady rain didn’t show it at its best and we ended up picnicking in the car.

We passed Harlech Castle. ‘Men of Harlech’ is a song and military march which is traditionally said to describe events during the seven-year siege of Harlech Castle between 1461 and 1468 and is widely used as a regimental march, especially by British Army and Commonwealth regiments.

At last we arrived in the little town of Llanwrtyd Wells to stay the night at Shirley and Norm’s B&B. Plasnewydd Bed and Breakfast has been run as a B&B for three generations and was very warm and welcoming with a good fire and good advice on restaurants.

The next day the rain had eased and we saw some wonderful countryside driving through the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The country changed as we neared the coal mining area and the town of Blaenavon and home of the National Coal Museum.

We went on the underground tour, which takes you down 90 meters in a cage and around a section of the original underground workings. Before we left we were kitted out in the same equipment the miners wore – helmet, cap lamp, belt, battery and ‘self rescuer’ (portable oxygen source ). Mine regulations state that no batteries of any description can be taken down a mine so everyone on the tour was denuded of their cameras, phones, watches etc. Talk about the electronic age – they passed round a big bag, it took about 10 minutes to collect them all and there must have been thousands of dollars worth!
The tour takes about 50 minutes and our guide was a former coal miner, whose father and grandfather had also worked down the mines, so was a wealth of knowledge. We saw the coalfaces, engine houses and stables where the men and horses used to work.

Our guide described what it was like before the industry was regulated and the miners were paid with a token, which could only be redeemed at the company store. Children as young as six worked the doors in pitch-blackness, opening them when they heard a trolley coming and closing them behind it. He had us all turn off our torches so you could experience the total blackness where you can’t see your hand even when you hold it right up to your face. Quite a sobering experience. It is one thing to read about it and quite another to stand there in the damp, cold, dark and listen to the stories.
It was an excellent museum with a number of historic buildings with interesting exhibits. Set into the hillside above the colliery, the mining galleries house simulated underground workings and a multi-media presentation telling the story of how the Welsh mining industry evolved, which is very cleverly done.

We came out of the pit into (almost) sunshine and drove on down to Taunton, crossing the Severn Inlet on the suspension bridge and through some lovely country to our next stop, Hartwood House. David and Rosemary welcomed us with wine and biscuits and we strolled around their garden, which was due to be opened the next day in the Open Garden Scheme.

They used to run garden tours and are extremely keen gardeners so were very informative as to where to go and what to see. Their garden is delightful and full of interesting plants and trees. The house is fabulous and we spent some time in front of the wood fire in the living room chatting to David before going up to our extremely comfortable room . We went to bed very glad we were going to be spending two nights there.

We headed over to Chirk, a small town just on the Welsh side near Shropshire and found our B&B in the usual way: first we passed the almost hidden entrance, then a desperate plunge into a side lane, a shuffling six move turn in the lane to get around, and spotting what appeared to be the back entrance, squeezed our way in like a badger down its burrow, hoping we had the right one.

It was a fairly quaint little cottage run by Derek, a retired policeman and his wife Rosemary. We had a comfortable night after dinner at the Boathouse Pub near the marina, and next morning went to a laundromat and supermarket before taking over the boat.

This time it was the “Ruby” (we had hoped we might get the “Mary” !) We were starting to get the hang of the long boats and I picked up a couple good tips from Paul as he manouvred us out of the basin after an altogether more thorough handover than the last one. Also found it useful on this trip to make more use of the bow-thruster – ie the deckie (Lyndal) gets the barge pole out and pushes the bow around by poling on the bottom !

The Langollen Canal had about a one knot flow of current and was more frequented than the Union up in Scotland, so was practically weed free. Spring had advanced with all the trees in fresh leaf so the countryside was quite delightful.

The first afternoon we headed up towards Langollen which is the upper terminus of the canal, but we decided to tie up early so after negotiating a short tunnel and a foot bridge which we had to wind up like drawbridge we moored a little further on and settled down for a pleasant evening.

The next day we crossed the Pont-cellyn viaduct, an iron trough just wider than the boat, the tow path on one side and nothing between you and eternity on the other – quite an experience.

It was the long weekend and every man and his boat was headed up to Langollen so we abandoned the town as a destination and tied up on the first nice reach we came to. Here the canal is halfway up the hillside so we had a green slope with wooly sheep above us on one side and the river valley down below on the other.

In the morning we found the next turning basin and went back over the viaduct, past the base and headed into Shropshire via another viaduct and quite a long tunnel. We filled our water tanks, referred to in ‘canal talk’ as ‘taking on water’ – a procedure which one should do every day if you want your toilets to continue to work. We picked a nice mooring a little short of the two locks which we had to negotiate on the way to Ellsmere.

Lock Day was at hand ! We were in quite a dilemma as to how just the two of us were going to handle this as all the training videos showed crews of no less than four – two on the boat and two working the locks. Well turned out nothing could be easier when there is a bit of traffic, as there was today. The experienced boaters just want to get us novices through and out of the way so you find lots of people to help you. Today we were going down and the procedure is one boat up and one down, so you wait for one to come up, the gate opens and they come out and you go in, gate closed, let the water out and down you go. Since there was another boat waiting to come in at the bottom, when we opened the gates, I hopped back on (Lyndal was driving) and we just motored out and kept going. Five hundred meters on we came to the second lock which worked out just the same way.

We motored past the town of Ellsmere, through another tunnel and found a very pleasant mooring beside Blake Mere, one of a series of small lakes starting with Ellsmere beside the town of the same name. It was such a nice spot we stayed there all the next day as well, a decision helped by an accurate forecast. For wind and rain.

On the Wednesday we motored on down the canal past Cole Mere, the last of the lakes, turned round and went back to a nice spot amongst fields of sheep. That afternoon the weather cleared up and we walked along half a mile to a canal side pub. It was a very wobbly walk as the tow path was not maintained here so we confined ourselves to one beer !

On Thursday it was back through the locks ! This time it was going up. The traffic had reduced to just the one boat waiting on the other side so we handled the locks largely by ourselves, I operated the first and Lyndal drove the boat, and we exchanged jobs on the second. All went smoothly so we were pretty chuffed. The weather incidentally was very English – alternate rain, hail and sun.

We filled the water tank in Ellsmere, getting up to the taps with some difficulty against the wind, Lyndal working furiously with the barge pole – you should get one for Pam, Mike – haha! We did better than the lady we had talked to earlier, who yesterday, in the wind, had gone three times round the Ellsmere basin trying to get to the taps until finally her son fell in the canal and people took pity on them and came out to give them a hand.

We motored back to a mooring we had picked out on the way up, only to find that damn Mary had pinched our spot, so had to moor outside the marina for the night. It turned out to be a comfortable mooring and next day handed the boat back and headed for Gwydyr Forest Park, Barmouth Bay and Snowdonia.

We spent a comfortable night at Eva’s and chatted over breakfast. In many ways she is quite a remarkable woman, deeply religious and extremely hardworking. Left with two children and an unprofitable small farm she turned the farmhouse into a B&B, living in a small area in the back. Over the years she concentrated on educating her children (both graduated from University, one in Electrical Engineering and one in Psychiatry) and then she started developing holiday cottages on her land. She now has two, her son has a house and so does her daughter and she rents them all out as well as running her extremely popular and well patronized B&B.

After breakfast we headed for Waterford and for the House of Waterford for a tour of their factory and to have a look at their showroom. This is the factory that they do all the bespoke pieces for trophies and commissions, among them the trophy for the Ashes, the Masters and American football.

The men (and one woman) working there are all master craftsmen. To become a master craftsman you must complete a 5-year program as an apprentice craftsman, it then takes another 3 years apprenticeship to become a master, followed by another 2 years to become an engraver. It is a lifetime career and many of the men we met had worked there all their working lives, as had their fathers before them.

We watched craftsmen make the wooden molds for the unique trophies and the master craftsmen glass blowers make the bowls, the master craftsmen cutters (who must memorize over 200 patterns) and the master craftswoman engraver. Each discipline requires separate training and Waterford allows no flaws, if there is the slightest imperfection in a piece, despite the fact that 100s of hours of work has gone into it, it is smashed and the glass reused.

One of the most beautiful and moving things amongst many beautiful things was the piece depicting a compelling photo of New York Fire Department chaplain, Fr. Mychal Judge’s, body being carried out of the World Trade Centre rubble.

The sculpture was created by one of the Waterford artisans from broken glass in the recycle bin. It took him 200 hours and he did it as a tribute to the victims of 9/11. “I want people to see the pain on the faces of the firemen and police officers carrying Father Judge out,” he said. “At the same time, I want them to see the peace in Father Judge’s reflection. There is peace among death and destruction.”

The 20 pound, 2-foot by 3-foot sculpture is valued at $75,000 and the original was accepted by the New York Fire Department on behalf of the Sept. 11 victims.

Leaving Waterford we drove down to Kilomena Gardens near the town of Wrexham. These are private gardens, which are open to the public at certain times. It was a very interesting garden with lots of quirky things but struggling, as it was out of the way and had no funding. Our visit wasn’t helped by the fact that it started to rain and hail just after we got there!

After about an hour we headed back up to Dublin for the night and the following morning, nice and early, we left Ireland on the Ulysses.

We arrived in the early afternoon in time to visit the world famous Bodnant Gardens. The gardens are superb and include formal gardens, ornamental ponds and pools, a formal herbaceous border, an enclosed laburnum arch and many rose gardens. It has an amazing collection of Magnolias, Camellias, Clematis and Hydrangea but is most famous for it breeding program, especially of varieties of Rhododendrons and Azaleas.

Dotted everywhere are arches and seats to sit and admire the view

Begun in 1875, it is the creation of four generations of Aberconways and is divided into two parts: the upper level (around the house) features huge Italianate terraces, specimen trees and formal lawns,

with paths descending to at lower level “The Dell” with a wooded valley, stream and wild garden below. Included within the Dell are the Old Mill, the millpond with the millrace and an attractive spillway waterfall into the River Hiraethlyn, to give the babbling brook through the Dell its proper name.

The garden, but not the House or other parts of the estate, was presented to the National Trust, with an endowment, in 1949. The House was the home of the late Lord Aberconway, and members of his family continue to be actively involved in the management of the garden, its tea pavilion and car parks on behalf of the National Trust.

We spent a number of hours there and then it was on to Chirk. Part of the drive was through the Gwydir State Forest which was lovely. We stopped and checked out the Chirk Marina and got ourselves ready to go canal boating again!!

The South West of County Kerry forms a peninsular, which thrusts out towards the wild Atlantic Ocean. Around this peninsular is one of the great drives of the World – the Ring of Kerry.

We headed out from our hotel into a rainy morning however it soon broke up and although very windy was fairly clear. Not far on our way we were tempted down a side road by a sign to a “Lake View”. The view never appeared – will we ever learn? After going a fair way up a narrow lane looking for a place to turn around (a chronic problem/drama in UK and Ireland) we eventually recovered to the highway and continued on our way via grand mountain scenery to the north coast where we diverted down to the shore and the village of Rossbehy.

A grand view was promised on this side road – this time delivered with a vengeance. We set off out of the tiny seaside village and found ourselves headed up the side of the mountain on a precipitous goat track with a sheer drop on our right, so steep we were literally leaning forward in our seats. We stopped a couple of times – on the track, nowhere else – and triple checking in Park and Brakes On, tiptoed to the edge to take in the “grand view” which fulfilled all expectations.

Praying no one was coming the other way – our prayers were answered – we continued on and recovered to the main road. We wended our way on via Caherciveen to Port Magee at the far end of the Kerry. This little port was named after the notorious (and successful) 18th century smuggler Captain MacGee (a retired army officer no less – haha).

Here we followed signs to “the highest cliffs in Kerry “. We arrived at a café etc. with parking and we were ushered in by a gentleman and neatly stripped of 2 Euro apiece to take in the view – pitched just right I must say – not too little, not too much. We were pointed up a nicely graveled track towards the cliffs and headed off on foot into a 90-knot headwind (only a slight exaggeration).

The view was fabulous and after we had taken it all in for some time, while clinging to the rails, we headed back down the path considerably faster than we came up. The bloke was still happily parking cars and collecting Euros so since he obviously was not an employee I asked him if it was his farm were were on? He said yes and I remarked “Farming tourists instead of sheep?” which he confirmed and added with a chuckle “The sky’s the limit!”.

Naturally after being frozen on the cliff we were in need of the coffee and a hot chocolate provided by his wife’s cafe – altogether an excellent business model.

From there we continued on via Waterford down to Caherdaniel (stunning views),

through the town of Sneem

and up to Kenmare,

through Molls Gap,

past Ladies View (named after the Ladies in Waiting to Queen Victoria, who were taken there to view the lake during the Royal Visit to Muckross House) and through Killarney National Park. It was a marvelous drive and in the end had to be disciplined in not stopping too often so we would get round in daylight. The National Park was particularly beautiful.

Finally got back to Killarney and then on to Mallow. We hit the ‘rush hour’ and only some ingenious map reading and diversions got us through and on to Eva’s B&B (turn at the Shrine). Needless to say after seeing the Shrine we behaved ourselves impeccably!!

We needed have worried. Eva turned out to be most hospitable, greeting us with tea and scones and apple cake and a beautiful room looking out on to the garden.

Some time ago I saw a program “Lyndley Milan’s Taste of Ireland”. One of the places she featured was Ballymaloe House and Ballymaloe Cooking School.

Ballymaloe House is a family-run country house hotel famous for its hospitality and superb food. The Yeats Room is one of Ireland’s top restaurants, winning numerous awards.

We were lured in by this offer:

Lazy Sundays at Ballymaloe – Breakfast included
Relax and enjoy a lazy Sunday at Ballymaloe. Check in on Sunday afternoon, relax by the log fire or take a stroll around the gardens and enjoy our traditional Sunday buffet in the evening. Our traditional Sunday buffet night dinner consists of a wide selection of fish and meat patés, shellfish (clams, cockles, mussels, crab, shrimps and lobster as available), locally smoked fish (eel, mackerel, salmon), home-produced vegetable salads and freshly cooked local meats (beef, pork, turkey, ham, lamb, ox tongue etc.) The buffet is a house specialty and served by the Allen family. All food is prepared during the afternoon.

How could we not take the bait!

The 17th century house is built on to an Anglo-Norman castle, built around 1450, and is situated in a 400 acre estate. It has the feel of a gracious country house and is full of fresh flowers and paintings. The rooms are very comfortable – ours was called the Castle room and situated in the oldest part of the building, the tower

You can have afternoon tea in the drawing room by the fire or, as we did, in the conservatory filled with scented geraniums and winter jasmine, which looks on to the gardens and river.

There are benches dotted through out the gardens where you can sit or you can wander through the extensive woodland gardens – which we did.

The buffet was truly superb. I started with a fresh pea soup and Ed had a beef consommé – then it was on to the seafood. Whilst the oysters and prawns were nothing by our standards, the pates, mousses and accompanying sauces were outstanding. There was beef, lamb, pork, turkey – all beautifully cooked and accompanied by individual garnishes and sauces to complement them. Vegetable dishes and salads were interesting and different. By the time the desert trolley came around we were slowing down but still managed to sample a few! They had remembered that Ed was lactose intolerant and adapted dishes to suit.

We had French wines to accompany the meal so staggered upstairs convinced we couldn’t eat or drink for days. Funny how we managed to make breakfast! This was also wide ranging with wonderful creamy porridge and delicious breads as well as carefully sourced eggs, bacon, sausages and kippers for those who want them.

The Ballymaloe Cooking School is just down the road and can be visited along with the organic farm they run to supply the school and restaurant.

Its story really begins when Myrtle Allen opened the Yeats Room at Ballymaloe. Myrtle’s ethos was simple yet ahead of its time: local produce, in season, full of flavour and simply cooked. Darina Allen was a young student in Dublin considering her path in life. Harbouring a desire to cook with fresh, seasonal ingredients she sought out Myrtle Allen who was making a name for herself – and went on to win a Michelin star.

She ended up marrying Myrtle Allen’s son and assisting her with the cooking classes she was running at Ballymaloe. Her imagination fired, she decided to try her hand at teaching her own classes out of her home and so Ballymaloe Cookery School was born.

Today, Ballymaloe Cookery School regularly ranks highly on various listings of the world’s Top 10 Cookery Schools. We looked at doing a class there but ironically the only one that fitted in and had vacancies was, you guessed it, bread making!

Ballymaloe is situated in Shanagarry in East County Cork. It is a very picturesque part of the world and we took our time driving through the various little villages on our way to Muckross House in Killarney.

Muckross House is a nineteenth century Victorian mansion set against the stunning beauty of Killarney National Park. The house stands close to the shores of Muckross Lake, one of Killarney’s three lakes and has a breathtaking outlook.

It was built in 1839 and took five years to complete. The principal rooms are furnished in period style and portray the elegant lifestyle of the nineteenth century landowning class. In the basement are the kitchens and servant quarters – miles from the dining room and with a myriad of bells!

During the 1850s, Muckross underwent extensive garden works in preparation for Queen Victoria’s visit in 1861. It was then sold and the new owners went on to develop the garden further, putting in a Sunken Garden, Rock Garden and a beautiful meandering Stream Garden. There are numerous woodland walks and walks down to the boathouse and along the edges of the lake.

We spent a very enjoyable four hours there exploring the house and gardens (and doing some damage in the wonderful craft shop) and then headed for Killarney to rest up for the drive around the Ring of Kerry.

We set off early on the long drive to Corofin in County Clare, the home of the Clare Heritage & Genealogy Centre, for our meeting with the indomitable Antoinette. The day was drizzly, cold and misty so we didn’t detour (we will have to watch the sun go down on Galway Bay another time). We stopped off at Kenny’s Drinking Emporium for lunch – a unique Irish combination of bar and café and not as dissolute as it sounds.

Antoinette had done an amazing job of detective work, trawling through hundreds of documents to find out the information and, despite many seemingly dead ends, not giving up. She handed us a document about 2cm thick with birth, death and marriage certificates, census reports and details of land ownership. Realizing we needed more sustenance (a drink) to tackle this, we headed for our hotel, The Old Ground.

The Old Ground was a central point to the Republic’s tumultuous beginning. Sinn Fein used the hotel as their campaign headquarters from 1917 onwards and the IRA used the building as a meeting place. Following kidnappings and ambushes of their members, the Black and Tans and Royal Irish Constabulary ransacked the building and burned most of the furniture on the lawn. Further retaliations followed, culminating in the bombing of a pub that served British Soldiers killing a number of them. In the official reprisal Old Ground was burnt and nearly destroyed. Restored once again to a hotel (Charles Lindberg stayed there) it is now a popular place to stay. Ed says the general ambience reminds him of some of the old Queensland hotels of the sixties with old-fashioned décor but roomy and very comfortable.

With drink in hand we set out to plan our moves for the next day. I started entering everyone into the family tree so we could see how everyone linked up and Ed started on the land holding maps trying to pinpoint where everything was on today’s map. We went down to Paddy’s Bar for sustenance but it was bedlam and the wait was long so we retreated to the hotel dining room which was exactly like one of the old Queensland hotels!

Next day we headed for Killrush and Kilkee. We knew that Michal Hassett (great grandfather) grew up on a farm on the Killrush Kilkee Road owned by his father John. We managed to narrow it down to about half a mile of road. We had a description of the house and found a derelict house from about that period. Who knows, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t but it gave us an idea of what the house and land looked like.

We drove through Kilkee where all the Hassett’s lived, married and died. It is a very pretty coastal town and now quite a holiday town

From there we went into the Kilkee Information Bureau to get some information on old cemeteries and Hassetts, Houghs and Liffeys. This led to a somewhat hilarious treasure hunt across the district with everyone being very helpful and hospitable. We were offered everything from clues, to cups of tea, to meals and, if we had asked, probably a bed. We met Hassetts, Houghs and Father Kenny and followed directions which, delivered in an Irish accent and taking into account Ed’s deafness, had us totally confused:

“You go down the road out of the village and past the cross. There is a house with a new barn door, that’s not it. A wee bit further, there are two roads. Don’t go down the bog road but look for the windmill that hasn’t been built yet and it is the second house along”.

Me: Is the cross on the right or left had side.

“But it would be on both sides”

So we set off with me looking for crosses on both sides and Ed looking for crofts. As we approached the crossroads we realised that this was the cross- no wonder she looked at me strangely when I asked if it was on both sides! . We found the house with the new barn door and a half built windmill. We avoided the deadly bog road and found Bridie Hassett in the second house along!

It was from Bridie that we got our best clue. She told us about a Joseph and Roisin Bonfield who farmed in Moneen, the area that great, great grandfather Thomas Bonfield farmed and where Bridget Bonfield grew up.

We found the farm, knocked on the door, and met Joseph, my third cousin. The farm had been in the family for 150 years. Mutual excitement and over cups of tea (and apple tart) we exchanged information about the two families and showed photos.

Their new house. The original was knocked down last year

Ed thinks Joseph looks very like Dad and Sandra thinks he and I have very similar facial features!
The original shop that they sold produce from over a hundred years ago was still there and just down the road was the nearby cemetery where the Bonfields (Bonfils) were buried

We visited the Parish Church of Carrigaholt where Michael and Bridget were married

and conducted a rather fruitless search for more clues on John Hassett in the Kilferagh Cemetery.

We headed back to the Old Ground with lots more information, some leads and a copy of the local phone book.

The next day it is on to Ireland’s most famous cooking school, Ballymaloe House, to stay the night and participate in their traditional Sunday night buffet.

“Derry is the only remaining completely intact walled city in Ireland and one of the finest examples of a walled city in Europe. The Walls constitute the largest monument in State care in Northern Ireland and, as it was the last walled city to be built in Europe, stands as the most complete and spectacular.

The Walls were built in the 17th century as defences for settlers from England & Scotland. The Walls are intact and form a walkway around the inner city. They provide a unique promenade to view the layout of the original town which still preserves its Renaissance style street plan. There are four original gates to the Walled City to which three further gates were added later. Historic buildings within the walls include the Gothic cathedral of St Columb, the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall and the courthouse.
It is one of the few cities in Europe that never saw its fortifications breached, withstanding several sieges including one in 1689 which lasted 105 days, hence the city’s nickname, The Maiden City.”

After breakfast we parked in town and went to look at the wall and museum. We soon struck two local representatives of Irish hospitality. As we looked at our street map an elderly gentleman stopped and cheerily pointed us in the right direction. Not much further on as we discussed various landmarks another gentleman introduced himself and offered to escort us to the very spot! This was Pat and we had a nice chat as we walked along and met one of his friends coming the other way and had a chat with him as well.

We had a look at the Memorial Hall and then the museum, which is partly within the old fortifications. This had a very interesting display of the story of Ireland from prehistoric times and, in the old tower, the remnants of a ship of the Spanish Armada which had been wrecked on the north coast not far from our ferry crossing of yesterday. There were many interesting arms and personal items recovered from the wreck site. It had been a Spanish merchant ship, which was conscripted into carrying armaments for the Armada and was among the half of the original 130 ships which failed to make it back to Spain. Most of those were wrecked on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland.

We then walked the wall of the old town. Looking out over the terrace houses of old Londonderry you cannot forget that this city was the scene of tragic events in the Troubles of the 20th Century and a feeling of those times still lingers. However we also felt while travelling around that while people haven’t forgotten, they are moving on.
We then motored down to the Harvey Point Hotel near Donegal where Lyndal had managed to pre-book a suite at half price. The photos tell the story, and indeed it was quite comfy to say the least.

Next day we went to see the town and the ancient Donegal Castle

and then to the town of Killybeg, the largest fishing port in Ireland, in pursuit of a seafood lunch.
“Big Breakfast” was still weighing on us so we drove on along the coast in pursuit of a view. Well, like an ever receding mirage the grand view eluded us as were led on by promises listed on maps and roadside signs. We finished up on the wild and barren extremity of south west Donegal County, totally tree-less and populated only by peat cutters and (maybe) smugglers/wreckers!

We finally got back to Killybegs to find that, like many fishing ports, fresh seafood meals were not to be had (should have known). So we settled for fish & chips, which we ate on a bench overlooking the harbour and the sturdy fishing boats that battle the Atlantic seas.

Killybegs is also the home of the Donegal Carpet Factory, which has been hand making carpets for over 100 years. We did a tour of their remaining factory. There were four manufacturing houses at one time in County Donegal but three of the four facilities closed during The Great Depression and in 1987 the last facility closed. Local Donegal people petitioned the government to help re-open them and in 1999 they were making carpets again for places such as Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin Castle and the University of Notre Dame. The carpets are thick and sumptuous and very beautiful but commissions are few and far between as the cost is prohibitive.

We headed back to the luxury of Harvey Point rather wishing we had spent more time there instead of chasing views. A walk around the still lake convinced us!

Next day on to Ennis in County Clare and “The Quest” for Lyndal’s rellys.

Voted by us the ‘best B&B so far’, Marlagh Lodge is an early Victorian house on the edge of Ballymena and is the sort of place you could stay for a week. Originally built as the Dower House for nearby Crebilly House, the Lodge is a classic of its era, double fronted with high-ceilinged reception rooms on either side of the entrance and spacious bedrooms.

Once partially derelict, it has been painstakingly restored by Robert (an organist and piano player) and Rachel (on opera singer) with love and meticulous attention. Comfy bedrooms, lounges, fires and classical music wafting through the house make it very welcoming. There are books everywhere (within half an hour I had found a dozen I would like to read) but it was already midnight!

After the most delicious breakfast, starting with Robert’s own ‘Marlagh Lodge Tummy Warmer’ (creamy porridge with Bushmills whiskey, brown sugar and cream) , we had a chat with Louis (the rooster) Madge, Myrtle and Korma (the hens) and headed off for the nine glens and the Antrim Coast.

First stop was the lovely Walled Garden at Glenarm Castle. The Walled Garden is one of Ireland’s oldest walled gardens. Originally created to supply the Castle with its fruit and vegetables, the Walled Garden is now filled with flowers and specimen plants and is interesting year round, but when we were there it had fabulous displays of spring bulbs along with the apple and pear blossom.

For the next four hours we followed the Antrim Coast Road, which is one of the most famous road trips in the world. Most of the road winds through the countryside, following the scenic coastline. Some parts are even built between large 100m high cliffs and the sea.

As we drove, we passed the Glens of Antrim. These nine valleys radiate from the Antrim Plateau to the coast and are extremely beautiful. We passed the headlands of Garron Point and eventually arrived in Cushendall, a small coastal town. It lies at the meeting point of three of the Glens of Antrim: Glenaan, Glenballyemon and Glencorp.

Much of the historic character of this 19th century settlement remains. In 1973 it was designated as the second Conservation Area in Northern Ireland, and includes the largely intact Irish Georgian buildings of the town’s four original streets.

At Cushendall the road heads inland, but we kept following the coast by taking the spectacular Torr Road, a bit of a goat track but we specialise in those! The narrow road is winding and climbs its way up to Torr Head. It was a beautiful sunny day and we could easily see Scotland, which is only 16 miles away.

Next on our agenda should have been the famous Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge but we missed the turn. We had been warned it was quite a walk and wanted to make sure we caught the ferry over Lough Foyle in time so kept going to the Giant’s Causeway

This is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns that were formed some million years ago by an ancient volcanic eruption. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. At some spots the columns are about 12 meters high, and 28 meters thick. So spectacular it alone was worth the trip and the Irish tale of the two warring giants who formed the causeway was very plausible!
Heading through Bushmills (sadly passing up on the Whiskey Distillery) to Portrush, we passed the Dunluce Castle ruins. These ruins are located on a spectacular headland. The castle is surrounded by extremely steep drops on either side and is only accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland. Portrush itself is a pretty seaside resort town. The main part of the old town is built on a mile–long peninsula and is known for its sandy beaches

Magilligan Point guards the mouth of Lough Foyle and is home to Lough Foyle Ferry, Martello Tower and The Point Restaurant where they serve the best Seafood Chowder. According to Marty it is the best in the world and he is not far wrong!

We caught the ferry to Greenhill and wound our way to Derry through some beautiful countryside.

We arrived at Troy Hall to be greeted by a patiently waiting Michael Doherty. Troy Hall is circa 1890s and is the original grand manor house. No hot water wasn’t a good start to our stay but, having left a number of messages for Michael, it came on about 10pm and we sank into the comfy beds so we would be ready for our exploration of Derry the next day.

We headed off from York in the afternoon and for the first time encountered heavy motorway traffic because we were passing by all the major cities of the Midlands: Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool. The locals call it the biggest moving carpark in the world!

It was a bit of a grind but we finally made it to our B & B at Colwyn Bay on the north coast of Wales. Colbourn’s Hotel was a nice old-fashioned seaside B&B, there was even a wide sandy beach – at low tide, and our hosts Michael and Leslie gave us a very warm welcome and directed us to the nearby Toad Hotel for dinner.

Next morning Michael told us about “1940 Day” being held in the town square so we went up for a look to find a lot of happy people parading about in 1940’s dress and uniforms plus restored jeeps etc. and, star of the show, a Spitfire. We walked around this wondering was it real? ; and how did they get it into the main street of Colwyn Bay?

Well turns out it was a replica made to replace a genuine RAF gate guard Spit which had been restored to flying condition. A group of Spitfire enthusiasts had later acquired this replica and set about improving it by fitting genuine Spitfire parts: gun sight, instruments & controls etc. For a small donation you could pretend to be an old Spit pilot and have your photo taken – naturally I was up for that!

Then it was on to Hollyhead to catch the car ferry via a quick look at Conwy castle on the way. The ferry was a bit bigger than our Straddie barge (it is the largest car ferry in the World and can carry 1342 cars and 2000 passengers) and gave us a comfortable three hour run to Dublin.

On arrival we checked in to Brooks Hotel and went out to find a meal. Saturday night Dublin was packed with Dubliners and tourists so we found a spot on a sidewalk café and watched the world go by.

On Sunday morning we walked up for a look at St Patrick’s Cathedral and then caught one of the Hop On / Hop Off Bus tours for a look at the city sights. The first place we got off was Kilmainham jail. The older part of the prison was completed in 1796 and is a pretty grim old place and is the part where the condemned men were kept. An additional improved part was added in the Victorian era but this was closed for maintenance and we did not see it.

This is a sacred site for Irish Republicans as seven of the principal leaders of the 1916 rebellion were executed by firing squad in the prison on 3rd & 4th May 1916. These events led directly to the 1918 – 1922 rebellion, the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and the eventual Irish Republic. Sadly the establishment of the Irish Free State was followed by a very ugly civil war.

Following this sobering interlude we remounted the bus tour and got off next at the Guinness Brewery. Their newly converted Guinness Storehouse is a most impressive building. The core of the building is shaped like a giant pint glass, and consists of seven floors. Along each floor, you get to see how Guinness is made. The top floor, which holds the Gravity Bar, is the most fun. You get a complimentary pint of Guinness and the most spectacular view of Dublin. We happily consumed our pint while looking out over the city – together with about 5,000 other people (I’m exaggerating just a bit).

We completed the bus tour seeing such sights as the illustrious Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral and Dublin Castle. The weather by this time was freezing and we were pleased to retire back to the Hotel.

The next day was as pleasant and warm as the previous day had been cold and windy. We made a leisurely drive up to Coalisland to meet Christine’s family stopping on the way at the Bernish lookout, which has the most spectacular views over the Irish countryside, and on the way called in at a 3 chambered burial cairn dating back to 3500BC i.e. 5500 years old! The cairn is very well preserved and one of only a few three-chambered cairns in Ireland.

Christine’s cousin (and bridesmaid) Lisa and her mother had organized for us to have dinner with the family, which was very hospitable. We finally got to meet Nanny Maureen, who turned out to be just as lovely as Christine had described, and caught up with Dara and Phillip who had been out for the wedding. Various members of the family kept popping in and out and altogether it was a great night.

We finally left about 10 o’clock to head for our B&B where our host, Robert, was waiting up for us with a cup of tea

Arrived in York. Can overlook the fact that our room at the hotel is through a maze of corridors at the back of the hotel and a total fire hazard because we are just across the road from York Minster, which is amazing.

Dropped our bags off and headed for the wall. We walked the high section behind York Minster heading for the Black Swan, which is one of the oldest pubs in York. We never made it to the Swan because at the bottom of the steps was the York Model Shop! With a gleam in his eye and muttering “Good job Mike isn’t here” Ed headed into the shop with me following muttering, “We are going to need a shipping crate to get home”.

To my surprise Ed bought nothing and we continued on through the Shambles.

The Shambles’ is sometimes used as a general term for the maze of twisting, narrow lanes, which make York so charming. At its heart is the lane actually called the Shambles, arguably the best-preserved medieval street in the world. It was mentioned in the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror in 1086!

The lane was a street of butchers’ shops and houses, many complete with a slaughterhouse at the back of the premises. The pavements are raised either side of the cobbled street to form a channel where the butchers would wash away their offal and blood twice a week. In some sections it is possible to touch both sides of the street with your arms outstretched and the houses are very close at the top to prevent sunlight reaching the meat.

We arrived back at York Minster and went to Evensong. They had a visiting choir and the service was very beautiful. They have a wonderful organ and I’m sure when it booms out all sinners repent, as the sound is overwhelming

That night we went to a pub called ‘The Hole in the Wall’ and, because we were in Yorkshire had a Yorkshire pudding. Very different to the ones we know as it was a dish and the roast beef was inside.

Next morning, whilst I was still surfacing, Ed disappeared to ‘go for a walk’. He appeared sometime later with a large bag containing – you guessed it – models! Apparently the shop is absolutely fabulous and has scale models of almost everything – so Cath; if you ever come to York, hang on to Mike!!

We walked the other section of the wall and came across a guy walking his pygmy hedgehog along the wall – no doubt not game to let him loose in the grass, but not really what you expect to see.

From there we went to the Jorvik Viking Centre which is situated on the site where, between the years 1976-81, archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust revealed the houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-Age city of Jorvik. As part of the exhibition you travel in a cart through a reconstruction of Viking-Age streets, as they would have been 1000 years ago, complete with noise and smells!

Back into the modern day streets of York, we picked up our modern day car and headed for the seaside town of Colwyn Bay to catch the Irish Ferry.

Since Lyndal is worn out after the gardens, I have been assigned the Castle next to the gardens, which we visited the next day. Alnwick (pronounced “Anick”) Castle has been the family seat of the Northumberland’s (various Dukes and Earls) for some nine hundred years. They are obviously a fairly wily and politically savvy lot since having lost the titles and estates several times over the centuries through being caught on the wrong side, they have always managed to find their back through various old school chums etc. who have put in a good word for them with the monarch of the day.

The castle is the family home for six months of the year and open to the public for the balance. No doubt, apart from helping with the (I imagine stupendous) overheads, public access under the auspices of some sort of Trust is necessary to avoid the punitive taxes, which would otherwise apply to such assets.

The castle has undergone two major restorations. One by the 1st Duke and Duchess in 1750, when they transformed the disused medieval garrison into a luxury 18th century Gothic residence and another century later, the 4th Duke restored the castle again, re-medievalising the more Gothic features of the 1st Duke and Duchess’ castle and transforming the interiors of the keep into the Italianate State Rooms seen today.

It is all kept in beautiful order and some rooms like the magnificent library (which has over 14,000 books including many rare first editions) look quite comfortably lived in with lots of family photos of the current Duke and Duchess and family. If one is so inclined, one can spend quite a lot of time checking out the family and their various doings (ahem).

Other rooms like some of the drawing rooms and the state dining room are less often used by the family and more formally presented. Over the years the Dukes have also been astute collectors – not ones to miss an opportunity – and the Castle is filled with one of the country’s finest private art and furniture collections and an extensive display of Paris, Meissen, and Chelsea porcelain.

The third Earl purchased the Cucci cabinets, originally created for Louis XIV of France for the Palace of Versaille. These were out of fashion and so were in storage at the time of the Revolution and missed being pillaged. The surfaces are patterns of birds and flowers crafted from small to tiny pieces of polished semi precious stones and added to all the gold leaf creates the most incredibly opulent pieces of furniture you may ever wish to see. They are virtually priceless and the French would like them back but the family still has the original bill of sale: all kosher and above board.

In 1856 the fourth Earl purchased the vast Camuccini art Collection, one of the last great acquisitions made by an Englishman travelling to Rome, which includes works, by Canaletto, Titian and Van Dyck. These paintings, together with portraits of the various members of the Percy family by leading portrait painters , adorn the walls throughout.

If you feel you have seen Alnwick Castle before, you may be right. Some of the more recent films that have been made here include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Elizabeth, and Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

Downtown Abbey’s Christmas Special is the only one to be filmed inside the Castle. Apparently the current Duke is a big fan and he and his son acted in an advisory role for the hunting scenes.

So, having hobnobbed with the Duke and Duchess – at somewhat distant remove – it is off to York. Besides I need time to think about all the things I hear I am enthusiastic about in the Alnwick gardens! A bit of consultation with higher authority at York Minster is called for.

With the threat of rain in the next coming days we headed off early to Alnwick to see the Alnwick Gardens whilst the weather held.

The gardens are a registered charity with programs aimed primarily at children, the handicapped and the elderly. The Duchess of Northumberland is one of the Trustee and the main driving force. The gardens are two thirds complete and she is currently raising the remainder of the £80 million needed to complete the overall design.

It is a controversial garden. Many thought it should be a traditional formal garden to complement the castle and others thought the Duke should have donated the land and $8 million to parks and gardens around the town – none of which would have brought in the huge amount of money to Alnwick that the gardens do.

We found it to be a garden full of fun and inspiration and Ed and I had practically redesigned our garden by the time we had finished. It has a lot of quirky features and has enormous appeal for people of all ages, particularly children.

When you pass through the archway into the garden, it is impossible to miss the Grand Cascade. The Grand Cascade is the largest water feature of its kind in the country. Every minute, thousands of gallons of water tumble down a series of weirs, with water displays on the hour and the half hour. Jets of water shoot up into the air and splash on the terrace as children run underneath them. Children also collect water from the water walls at the foot of the Grand Cascade in John Deere’s mini tractors.

We had lunch overlooking the Grand Cascade and then wandered through the bamboo labyrinth. No escaping bamboo roots here! The whole area is planted on built up beds on concrete and provides a cool, leafy walk that is amazingly difficult to exit.

We eventually found our way out into the magnificent Rose Garden with pathways below pergolas swathed in roses, honeysuckle and clematis. Though it was a little early in spring it must be magnificent later on with masses of fragrant roses, a mix of climbing, shrub, old, and English varieties. There are more than three thousand David Austin Roses, including a beautiful new English rose, the Alnwick Rose, launched at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2001.

Walking higher up the garden from the Rose Garden we came to an area of clipped yew and beech hedges overlooking the Serpent Garden.

This garden features a topiary serpent in holly which snakes through the Garden, revealing a different water sculpture hidden in each of its coils. Each of the water sculptures are designed to show a different aspect of water and how it can be made to look and move. Inserted into the yew hedges were viewing tubes, each highlighting a different fountain.

We made our way through the Bluebell Wood up to the Venetian gates at the top of the Grand Cascade and into the Ornamental Garden; a structured garden brimming with plants and my favourite place. Here an intricate planting pattern is created with flowers and fruit and surrounded by pleached crab apples. There are pathways bordered by lavender and fruit trees and quiet places to sit and catch the sun.

At it’s center lies a pool that spills into the rills that run throughout the Garden, and into two small secret gardens. Beds of bedding roses and delphiniums are edged in box, while cut flower species grow with annuals and bulbs alongside small fruit varieties.

We particularly liked the woven mounds of beech, which they used to keep all the taller varieties from falling over as well as the way plants were staked. Ed is right into pleached trees!!

From the Ornamental Garden you can go down the side of the cascades through the many hornbeam pergolas which follow the stone curves, their windows looking onto the water and their twig chandeliers hanging from above

OR you can go down through the Cherry Orchard, which is planted with over 300 Tai Haku cherry trees. The trees are underplanted with daffodils, jonquils and 50,000 Purple Sensation Alliums (which come out a little later), and pathways meander amongst them, with azalea borders planted at the Orchard’s edge.

At the bottom is the Poison garden where, behind locked gates, are many varieties of deadly plants – some only displayed with Home Office approval. This is very popular with children and adults alike and is only accessed by guided tour. The guides are well into the spirit of things and play it up really well though we did wonder when they asked us whether it was true that more animals died from the fumes of burning oleander than from the bushfire itself!!

Before you leave the Gardens you come to the enormous and beautifully crafted Treehouse, which is built from Canadian cedar, Scandinavian redwood and English and Scots pine. It sits high in the treetops in a copse of mature lime trees and looks as if it’s been there forever. There are walkways in the sky and wobbly rope bridges for bouncing on as well as a café in the ‘potting shed’.

At the heart of the Treehouse is one of the most beautiful and unique restaurants to be found anywhere in the world. There’s a roaring log fire in the center of the room, trees growing through the floor, handcrafted furniture and screens created from fallen branches. Unfortunately you have to book a long time ahead and we were unable to get in.

Underneath the Treehouse is the Woodland Walk where the path is lined with mature trees, wild garlic and, in spring, bulbs carpet the ground. Sculpture exhibitions are tucked in among the trees for added interest.

I could have spent a week there but we only had 5 hours and then it was back to our lovely B&B, a warm welcome from Bill and Jean and a comfortable night before tackling Alnwick Castle the next day –but that is Ed’s blog!

From Inverness we took a more northerly indirect route to the Isle of Skye through the towns of Achnasheen, Kinlochewe, Shieldaig and Lochcarron. On the way we passed Rogie Falls, Loch Luichart, with Sgurr a’Mhuilinn, Fionn Bheinn and many other mountains to the left and right. We passed the head of Loch Maree and finally arrived on the West coast. All the high hills and mountains were dusted with snow. Not far from East to West coast in Australian terms but nonetheless a wild and remote landscape with single lane roads that wound their way through the valleys

We stopped at “Nannys” in Sheildaig, famous for its local seafood. The Loch Torridon squat lobsters and live creel-caught langoustine being out of season we settled for a salmon platter with salmon in all forms (salmon pate, hot and cold locally smoked salmon all served with the renown Viv’s Dill Sauce) followed by beetroot chocolate cake – very yummy and something I’m definitely going to try. It was then back on the goat tracks and on to Eilean Donan Castle.

Lt Col John Macrae-Gilstrap and his wife, an American heiress rebuilt it at considerable cost over 20 years from 1911 – 193 using it as a family home until quite recently. It is still owned and run by the family as tourist attraction in immaculate style. It was at Eileen Donan that we purchased a highland cow – her name is Morag and she will be arriving at Stradbroke at much the same time as us.

That night we stayed in the pretty little town of Kyleakin on Skye and in the morning drove across to the West side of the Isle via a road recommended to us by our hostess as the way to see “the real Skye”. It was only 15 miles (25km) from one side to the other but took an hour each way via the single lane bitumen road. Nowhere to move over except in “passing bays” every 500m or so. The locals would come charging down this road in “take no prisoners style” around the blind corners whereupon you would make a dive for the nearest passing bay and hope to miss.

A more wild and barren landscape you could not imagine with some of the worlds hardiest sheep farmers.

After leaving Skye (rather relieved to survive that road) we drove on to Dumbarton on the outskirts of Glasgow. The way took us past many lochs, through Glen Shiel, Glen Garry and the fabulous Glen Coe; on past Ben Nevis, highest mountain in the UK, and down the shore of Loch Lomond. It was a misty Scottish day with the mountaintops hidden in cloud, but nonetheless spectacular.

We stopped for dinner at the historic Drovers Inn, which has been dispensing Scottish hospitality for the past 310 years. It was used by the Highland drovers, who used to drive their cattle down the side of Loch Lomond to the markets. The decor and furniture, in deference to the past, look as though they have not been changed or altered for a couple of hundred years. We both tried their steak and ale pie, which came highly recommended by Trip Advisor!

A comfortable night in a Dumbarton motel and then on to Alnwick.

Sadly we farewelled “Sonya” and headed north.

First stop was the site of the Battle of Culloden which was not, as we had previously believed, a battle between the English and the Scots but was a civil war based on religious lines with clans on both sides.

The visitors center was very good and well worth a visit. It was freezing cold so we didn’t walk the battlefield but instead went into an active display where you stand in the middle and all four walls run a film on the battle. It starts off with the troops lined up on the ridges in the distance and finishes with you in the thick of the battle. Very graphic and quite disturbing. The battle only lasted an hour and was a massacre. A good example of how not to run a campaign with Bonny Prince Charlie and his commanders in disagreement all the way along

From there we headed to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. All the old castles are, of course, located on hilltops, lakesides etc. for defensive purposes so the scenes are uniformly spectacular. . Urquhart Castle has a long history dating back to the Picts. It was blown up by the last inhabitants who, sick of defending it against the Lords of the Isles, the MacDonalds, and others, blew it up and retreated south to their other estates. Hence the ruins which are still impressive.

Loch Ness is a lot bigger than I had imagined – you could hide a lot of monsters in there and no doubt they are all swimming up and down laughing at us, but we didn’t see one. A few whiskeys would surely be needed to help my eyesight.

We stayed the night in Inverness in an 1876 Mansion House owned, unsurprisingly by a MacDonald. Lovely spacious room but their restaurant was a bit mixed. To (Ed) my amazement (somewhat tinged by nostalgia) I saw that my “medium rare” rump steak had been hammered and well done a la Mrs. Paul. No more steaks while in UK.

Next day on to Isle of Skye via a more northerly route to see more of the Highlands

After a few false starts we finally made it to Falkirk and on a beautiful warm sunny day were introduced to our new home for the next week, “Sonya”.

She may only be narrow but has all the comforts you could want including wi-fi, central heating and plenty of storage. We did a shop at Tesco and stocked up so that we could have most of our meals on board, which meant we could tie up in the countryside and not crowd in with the other boats in the town

We were given a brief run down at Falkirk and then it was straight into the first lock up to the Falkirk Basin. Being Easter it was crowded with holidaymakers who lined the rails taking photos – talk about a baptism of fire! On the green light we motored across the basin and into the gondola where the Scottish lock people positioned us for our ride aloft. Ed did extremely well with his steering and we rose in the air in great style! Two more locks and a long tunnel and we were on our way along the Union Canal.

We decided before we left that we were going to take things at a slow pace as we had been on the move for the previous couple of weeks. This meant a leisurely breakfast, tidy up before motoring off down the canal and mooring again about 4pm for afternoon tea followed by a brisk walk along the canal, drinks and nibbles followed by dinner and bed around 9.30pm

As the boats only go at walking pace (we had numerous children on the tow path racing us – and winning) you have plenty of time to see the scenery and watch the various birds and animals on the way. We were extremely lucky with the weather and only had one cold day. The rest were sunny and pleasant though the winds were cool and we welcomed the central heating in the evening.

Over the next week we got to know Sonya well, including all her peculiarities, as we crashed into banks, ran aground and tried to moor with the wind against us. By the end of the week we were dab hands at steering a straight line through narrow bridges, mooring on canal banks with shallow edges, rafting off other boats to reach the elusive water taps and turning a 58 ft boat in a 55 ft turnaround.

In Scotland the Scottish Lock Authority handles all the locks and swing bridges. In Wales you have to do it yourself . The fact that Ed is now pretty good with a long boat and Lyndal can steer (except when she panics at narrow right angle bridges and puts the boat under low lying branches and nearly knocks Ed off) will be a great help.

Ed :
A 58’ / 17.6m canal boat with a small diesel engine is a very peculiar marine beast. The whole thing is built like the proverbial in something like 10mm steel – it must weigh a gadzillion tons. I have learnt the hard way that slower is better most of the time ! Momentum is king ! When you put the rudder over and it starts swinging you better be ready to put the rudder the other way to stop it otherwise it just takes over and carries on regardless into the bank, particularly if the wind is blowing against you. It has been great fun learning anyway, and we are finding more and more use for the barge pole in turning the thing around – no wonder they put one on board as standard equipment. (most of the canal is much narrower than the length of the boat – you have to continue along some miles until you find a turning basin the right size).

We leave the Sonya behind tomorrow and head for Inverness. Before we go we are off to see The Kelpies at Falkirk. These are giant sculptures of the mythical horses that are supposed to haunt the lochs and waterways of Scotland and loom over the beginning section of the Forth and Clyde Canal. They are lit at night and quite spectacular

We had an easy and pleasant drive into Edinburgh and found the hotel with no trouble – can’t imagine doing this without a GPS!! Having spent most of the day in the Lakes District we didn’t get there until evening so spent the rest of the day sorting through luggage and organizing things for the canal boat. It was deemed that a pillow, torch and wine etc. were necessary items that had to be acquired before we left.

The next day was drizzly and cold so we hopped on a Hop on Hop off bus with an amusing and knowledgeable guide and toured the city being regaled with stories of times past. The notorious Burke & Hare, who murdered their lodgers to supply bodies to the medical school and the little dog Greyfriars Bobby are all marked by pubs.

We passed George Heriot’s School, which is a prestigious private school in Edinburgh, with four houses and four towers – a clear inspiration for Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Elephant Café where J. K. Rowlings wrote the Harry Potter series is nearby, as is the cemetery where she got the inspiration for the names of many of her characters

We spent quite a few hours at Edinburgh Castle – thousands of people from all parts of the world and cashmere everythings at exorbitant prices.

We had an audio guide explaining the history and went into several of the museums including the one that housed the Crown Jewels of Scotland (The Honours) and heard the tale of Oliver Cromwell’s determination to destroy The Honours, as he had the Crown Jewels of England, and the equal determination of the Scots to ensure he didn’t. We also visited the Scottish War Memorial on the site.

Back on the bus we passed The Deacon Brodie Tavern built on the place that the nefarious Deacon Brodie was executed. His double life as the respectable tradesman and daring thief is said to have been the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.

We also passed a statue of King George IV which we were informed, in serious tones, was very flattering as in truth he was “a wee fat man in a short kilt and pink tights with bad teeth and very bad breath”. Obviously our Scottish guide had firm opinions on British Kings

We thought we might go back and have dinner at The Deacon Brodie Tavern but by the time we completed our shopping and got back to the hotel our enthusiasm had waned. We had a look in a pub close to the hotel but it was packed and the noise level extreme so we adjourned to the restaurant attached to the hotel and had a stunning, if expensive, meal of scallops, venison and panacotta/fruit crumble.

With the car packed and ready and the GPS set for the Falkirk Wheel we were ready to head for the canals.