It is currently 28 Mar 2024, 22:24

Best touristy things in southern Wales

Hang up your Chisels and Plane blades and take a load off with a recently turned goblet of your favourite poison, in the lounge of our Gentlemen's (and ladies) Club.

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby misterfish » 04 Aug 2017, 07:53

The Wells cathedral clock is fascinating and can be seen from inside and outside the building. Outside there are a pair of figures that move and hit bells with hammers. Inside the buildingthe clock has automatons of knights jousting on horseback. If you go into the cathedral its fascinating to look at the various carvings at the top of the columns. Another couple of things around the cathedral worth looking at are Vicars Close - a cobbled street built and lived in continuously since the 14th century and also the Chapter house where the stone steps are so worn from centries of use. There is also the moated Bishop's palace with swans that are trained to ring a bell for food.

We used to near the city and always found it a pleasant place to visit.

Misterfish
misterfish
New Shoots
 
Posts: 57
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 07:06
Location: Chichester, West Ssussex
Name: Jeff

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Rod » 04 Aug 2017, 10:04

Safe journey - weather forecast is sunshine and showers for this weekend.

Rod
User avatar
Rod
Old Oak
 
Posts: 4471
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:34
Location: Winchester, Hampshire
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby kirkpoore1 » 08 Aug 2017, 01:18

Hi guys. Things are going well for the most part. Raglan is a kick ass castle, and everyone has been great. My daughter and I did Stonehenge on Monday. I managed to drive on the left without accident and only got honked at once. But that was by a BMW driver, and I've had to apply horn and brakes because of them many times so figure he deserved it.

Only bad thing is that I dropped my passport on the train I called the train co right afterwards but that was on Saturday of the holiday weekend so I'm going to call again on Tuesday. If that fails then it's replacement time.

Kirk
Last edited by kirkpoore1 on 04 Sep 2017, 04:36, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
kirkpoore1
Old Oak
 
Posts: 1043
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:12
Location: O'Fallon, Illinois
Name: Kirk

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Rod » 08 Aug 2017, 10:23

I think you missed a few letters "out" Kirk

Yes BMW drivers do have a bad reputation but completely unfounded

I've seen lots of lost items being placed on the Railway Co's Twitter Feed you could try posting there.

Sorry about the weather - autumn (fall) has come early.

Enjoy the rest of your trip

Rod
User avatar
Rod
Old Oak
 
Posts: 4471
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:34
Location: Winchester, Hampshire
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Malc2098 » 08 Aug 2017, 16:50

Proper job, Kirk!

Keep at it. You'll end up emigrating!

Did you have 5 or even 6 on the floor or was one of those wussy automatic thingies?!
Malcolm
User avatar
Malc2098
Sequoia
 
Posts: 7209
Joined: 03 Jul 2016, 11:10
Location: Tiverton
Name: Malcolm

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Andyp » 08 Aug 2017, 17:14

having just spent 3 weeks driving in the USA I can see how driving in the UK would be more of a challenge for you. Glad you are getting about a bit while over there. Did you drop your passport on purpose in order to extend your stay? ;)
I do not think therefore I do not am.

cheers
Andy
User avatar
Andyp
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 11718
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 07:05
Location: 14860 Normandy, France
Name: Andy

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Duncan A » 08 Aug 2017, 22:02

Kirk
If you're still in the Raglan area and it's a fine day, go for a quick drive up to The Kymin near Monmouth. Wonderful views from up there. I think it is still free as long as you don't want to enter the Round House.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-kymin
Duncan
Duncan A
Seedling
 
Posts: 49
Joined: 09 Nov 2016, 17:31
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby kirkpoore1 » 08 Aug 2017, 23:52

No luck on finding the passport, though the Welsh train folks only round uo the lost and found once a week, so it could show by Saturday. In the mean time I'm getting an appointment with the embassy in London to get a new one on Thursday or Friday.


Having had an exciting drive to Newport (featuring 3 rountabout assisted U-turns), my daughter and I spent a pleasant afternoon looking at the Caerleon Roman ruins. Pretty cool, and they have a Roman stone coffin with a skeleton in it. They did a forensic projection of what he looked like, and it came out looking just like a guy I know.

More later...

Kirk
User avatar
kirkpoore1
Old Oak
 
Posts: 1043
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:12
Location: O'Fallon, Illinois
Name: Kirk

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby kirkpoore1 » 10 Aug 2017, 23:27

I got up this morning at 4:30, on the road before 5, in to Swindon by 6:30, and at Paddington around 8 AM. Ate breakfast then walked to the US Embassy by 9:15. Passport in hand about 2 hours later. Really nice, professional folks. I then walked to the V&A and took some more pictures of stuff I missed last year, then on a train by 2:45 and back at Raglan by 5:30. Easy! :)

I will post pics came when I get back. I have a paid PB account and they're still showing on the list.

Kirk
User avatar
kirkpoore1
Old Oak
 
Posts: 1043
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:12
Location: O'Fallon, Illinois
Name: Kirk

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Malc2098 » 11 Aug 2017, 09:17

Nice day out, Kirk!

Glad you got the Passport sorted.
Malcolm
User avatar
Malc2098
Sequoia
 
Posts: 7209
Joined: 03 Jul 2016, 11:10
Location: Tiverton
Name: Malcolm

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Andyp » 12 Aug 2017, 07:19

I am impressed at the speed at which you can get a new passport. Is your address in your passport? It is in the French ones but not in the British.
I do not think therefore I do not am.

cheers
Andy
User avatar
Andyp
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 11718
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 07:05
Location: 14860 Normandy, France
Name: Andy

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Rod » 12 Aug 2017, 10:37

We get our passports from Newport.
Had to do a trip there a few years back to renew our younger daughter's one urgently.
London a lot nearer to us!

Rod
User avatar
Rod
Old Oak
 
Posts: 4471
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:34
Location: Winchester, Hampshire
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby kirkpoore1 » 15 Aug 2017, 23:31

OK, I'm back home. I got in at 9:30 PM last night, that's 3:30 AM to you folks. I tried unsuccessfully to lose ID one more time (Customs agent stuck my driver's license into my temporary passport when she handed it back to me, and I didn't realize it at the time), but all turned out OK. It did take about 45 minutes to clear Chicago traffic and then another 4 hours home.

I had a great time. I have to call it an "adventure", because it all came out OK despite the setbacks. Let's see--

1. Smoking plane brakes meant that we had to stop on the tarmac away from the terminal and be bused to the building. Hour delay.
2. Asked by the station agent "Are you moving house?" Between the three of us we had 10 bags, including 3 that weighted 40+ lbs.
3. Lost my passport. Train folks never found it, or as far as I can tell, even looked. Oh well, my fault.
4. My daughter had reserved a room in Raglan (the town) via Airbnb. The owner was not there when we finally located the place and wasn't going to be back until Tuesday because of bank holiday, so we had to make other arrangements (which turned out cheaper but were not usually in walking distance of the castle). My daughter is getting a refund.
5. Ah yes, the roads. More later.
6. "How did you guys ever travel before GPS [i.e. satnav]?" "We stayed home." That, my friends, is a direct quote from an English person.
7. No train ticket ever worked to open the turnstile when leaving or entering a train platform. Fortunately, that was only necessary 3 times.
8. Beer good. Pies good. Fish good. Salad bad. Three out of four? Good enough for me. I did have Indian food. My opinion? You need decent Mexican food, and you need it right away.
9. The cheese was better than the beer. You can't live only on cheese, but I was willing to try for a couple of days.

The castle was fantastic. Except for the parking lot out front, you had to look hard to see anything modern from the top of the towers. The landscape was out of a painting--everything seemed much closer than it does in the flatness of Illinois. Even the clouds were closer--mostly low level strato-cumulus with tantalizing holes of sunshine, rather than mid-level stratus and giant thunderstorms that you get here. The weather changed about every 20 minutes, but mostly was dry enough for us. Saturday night we laid down on our backs on the grass in the fountain courtyard and watched shooting stars and satellites while telling stories. There were several Aussies there and they're much bigger * than anybody else.:)

OK, let's talk about roads.
1. You've shaved all the shoulders off of all your roads and built roundabouts with them. Don't try to deny it.
2. Somewhere you have big mowers mounted on trucks that drive along country roads and mow the hedges back and the underside of the trees up in order to form green tunnels. I kept wanting to see one of these, but never did.
3. Speaking of hedges and shoulders, WTF? I drove 8 miles on a country road in the wrong direction one time (following a native, mind you) before I could find a space wide enough to pull over and figure out where the hell we were, and then turn around. Why are there hedges planted right up to the damn road? What do you have to hide?
4. If you ride a bicycle in the countryside, you are taking your life in your hands.
5. How about some directional signs like "A40 North" or "B4293 East" for a change? There are too many clouds to navigate off of the sun, and no place to pull over and figure it out.
6. The "Tank Crossing" signs down on the road to Stonehenge are very cool, even though I didn't see any tanks.
7. I have a Scottish friend on Facebook who bitches whenever Formula 1 is pre-empted on TV. I'm going to tell him to rent a car and go driving on 4-digit B roads in Wales. He'll have all the F1 he can stomach.
8. Farm trucks drive faster in towns than they do in the country. Especially loaded.

OK, that's enough on traffic. You know all those things anyway. I will say that the surface traffic in Newport is significantly more confusing and dangerous than the surface traffic in the Chicago suburbs at rush our.

Anyway, I'll post some pics when I can get them off of my camera. I think Photobucket will be able to host them.

Kirk
still tired...
User avatar
kirkpoore1
Old Oak
 
Posts: 1043
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:12
Location: O'Fallon, Illinois
Name: Kirk

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Pinch » 16 Aug 2017, 08:30

Very good Kirk :lol: :eusa-clap: Sounds like you had a ball matey!

The roads can be a nightmare here. The country roads/lanes are a 'car killer'. The farmers can only trim back the hedgerows when instructed or at specific times of the year due to wildlife habitation. My work's van/bus has lost a few wing mirrors (both sides) on country lanes due to the overgrown hedgerows and oncoming traffic racing for the gap because they can't slow down in time. :x There seems to be more idiots racing around on our country lanes these days - mainly women I have observed. It's unbelievable how fast they drive at times. One lady told me it's because she was in a rush and had too much to do. I agree about the cyclists (I certainly wouldn't ride a push bike on our roads) and horses too - lots of horse riders on the country lanes.

What is it all coming to. :|
In my previous life, I was a tree.
User avatar
Pinch
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2808
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 21:59
Location: Shropshire.
Name: Paul

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby RogerS » 16 Aug 2017, 08:48

Excellent appraisal, Kirk ! You sound like Rich Hall ... :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwOG-64Zeao

[youtube]iwOG-64Zeao[/youtube]

Driving in America is also great.

1) I love the fact that you have so much spare white paint in the US that you can paint STOP lines on every road junction in every community, suburb, town, residential area

2) and the California roll is not something that you eat

3) I also looked everywhere for that nice Chinese gentleman, Mr Xing, although Ped does seem a strange Christian name for a Chinaman.

Pinch has hit the nail on the head. The worst time to drive in the UK is mid-afternoon when all the Mum's are pretending to drive as they hurtle dementedly down narrow country lanes to pick up Gislane, Tamsin and Humphrey from their respective schools. Yes, they are late. Just need to get up earlier, I guess.

And driving in Wales is not helped by their insistence on confusing drivers by labelling road signs in English and words with only consonants.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
User avatar
RogerS
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 13291
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:07
Location: Nearly finished. OK OK...call me Pinocchio.
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Rod » 16 Aug 2017, 10:24

You have to remember most of our villages and towns were laid out in pre Roman, Roman, Saxon etc times and didn't always follow a grid system.
They were designed for horse and carts and most rural roads are basically surfaced farm tracks. Over time these gradually widened with subsequent surface applications and over- running, eroding the verges and bringing the carriageway closer to hedges, walls etc.
Most of the trunk roads started life in this way, becoming coach roads, then widened and improved over the years.

Roundabouts are a great invention but taken too far sometimes with the introduction of mini ones.

I've enjoyed driving in the States, especially the rural areas but in towns it can be very frustrating especially with the frequency of traffic lights at every junction. I've also been caught up in very large traffic jams especially in LA. You do have lots of space though and parking is generally very easy.

I could say you can get your direction from where moss is growing on trees and the direction of bent trees but before Sat Navs - good maps and planning the route before you set off. The AA used to provide a very good detailed route planning service - even for routes on the Continent (Europe).

Rod
User avatar
Rod
Old Oak
 
Posts: 4471
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:34
Location: Winchester, Hampshire
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby RogerS » 16 Aug 2017, 10:37

Rod wrote:..... The AA used to provide a very good detailed route planning service - even for routes on the Continent (Europe).

Rod


Oh my...that's taken me back in time. Those printed paper routes bound together, flipping each one over as the journey progressed. My old man with his cap driving and smoking Senior Service, mother in the rear back-seating driving with my sister and me with the map.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
User avatar
RogerS
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 13291
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:07
Location: Nearly finished. OK OK...call me Pinocchio.
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Andyp » 16 Aug 2017, 12:26

One road sign made me laugh in the USA was this one

Image
Not my photo.
A No Entry sign would be too difficult to understand I guess.

And what is it with putting traffic lights on the far side of the junction?
And how was I suppose to know you had to pull up that lever cradle thing on a petrol pump to get it to work?
Oh and junction numbers on the motorways. Took me 3 weeks to work out why there were so many "missing" exits.
Having driven half the length of Manhattan on a Friday afternoon I am sure Newport is a cakewalk.

next time Kirk try and make it to France. Roundabouts here are great fun:-
Firstly I do not think indicators are checked as part of the annual controle technique (roadworthiness test) They certainly do not work on most cars.
Secondly if they do work then they never indicate the direction of travel.
I do not think therefore I do not am.

cheers
Andy
User avatar
Andyp
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 11718
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 07:05
Location: 14860 Normandy, France
Name: Andy

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby kirkpoore1 » 16 Aug 2017, 16:24

Andy, that Wrong Way sign has the implied "You idiot, you're about to get killed" portion on it that just doesn't come out with a "No Entry" sign. :)


Kirk
User avatar
kirkpoore1
Old Oak
 
Posts: 1043
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:12
Location: O'Fallon, Illinois
Name: Kirk

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby timothyedoran » 16 Aug 2017, 16:51

Having driven around Nairobi for 3 months when I was 21 I have found all other places ok to drive around in.

Here is a photo showing a typical city centre road.
Image

You forgot that mums will only drive their own kids to and from school. That means that Rupert and Tarquin don't get to see each other until they are in the school despite living next door.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
timothyedoran
Sapling
 
Posts: 253
Joined: 21 Jan 2017, 10:48
Location: Bath
Name: Tim Doran

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Malc2098 » 16 Aug 2017, 23:15

Well, Kirk,

I am so pleased you have enjoyed and survived your sojourn in our little country and have started to understand that our two great nations are truly separated by a common language.

You see when one of your countrymen talks about a road, they mean as what here in the UK understand as a runway, where we would land aeroplanes on.

And our roads, which are proper roads by the way, not runways, our roads as others have said, have been evolved from Pre-Roman, Roman, Saxon and right up to Victorian times. Indeed, the Victorians had to create new road systems when they built the railways, because in places like here in the Southwest, the engineers built railways following the river valleys. But then, because the local road network only served the next market town or village some seven or so miles away, the distance a drover could walk a flock in a day, the Victorians then had to blast out more granite to build the roads for that drover to walk the flock or herd to a railway station, and for the farmers to take their produce to the station.

I am digressing somewhat, because your experiences have reminded me of meeting a couple of your countrymen back in the 80s. At that time I worked on what was called the Special Escort Group. We were tasked in providing Road Safety and Security for VIPs passing through our area. I was privileged to be part of the team providing the escort for President and Mrs Reagan while they were here for the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana.

On one particular day we were to meet our Principals at Northolt Airport and escort them to Chequers, the official country residence of the British Prime Minister. Now, those forum members living around London may well know that Northolt Airport is on what we call a large dual-carriageway west of London and otherwise known as the A40 or Western Avenue.

Now you can look at Google Earth or Maps and see that this road maybe our version of a ‘runway’. The role of the SEG was not just to pose in front, alongside and behind the convoy, but actively ensure the convoy passed safely, without incident and timely along its route to its destination. This means, that while one biker, let’s call him Blue Leader, sits in front of the convoy, he is in fact controlling the convoy’s pace and is in constant touch both with the convoy and the bikers, who’s job is it s to leap frog the convoy to get to the next junction to ensure that there is a sterile area in front of the convoy and that no vehicles enter that sterile area from any side road junctions.

A few miles west of Northolt, the route moves on to the A413, which for a short distance remains a dual-carriageway, but then becomes a single carriageway until the village of Great Missenden. Now, for the escorts, this does not present too much of a challenge leapfrogging the convoy, because even a road of this size, combined with the skills and experience of the escort bikers, enables leap-frogging of the convoy to take place relatively easily.

But….at Great Missenden, the route changes to one of those little country roads bordered by green tunnels. Now, on those roads, the escort bikers really earn the money, leapfrogging the convoy where the space between the convoy vehicles and the hedge is less than the width between the bikers’ mirrors!! And have you counted the junctions between Great Missenden and Chequers, when the escort group actually only comprised of Blue Leader and 4 escorts?!! (We Brits know how to put on a good show for visiting VIPS!)

I am proud to report we delivered our principals safe and sound on on time to the half minute to their destination. (We never got to meet them, by the way, unlike other VIPS who would come and express their thanks!) Anyway, having a cup of tea with the Police security at Chequers after it was over, we met up with the President’s Secret Service guys who turned up an a big black armoured 4x4 thingy, so wide it was scratched all down the side from the brambles in the hedges in those country roads you love, and that John Denver wrote and sung about, and we asked them how the drive was for them and would they fancy doing escorts full time over here. I can’t quite remember all their reply, and some of it may have had to have been translated for me, but basically, they said, “No, you’re all a bunch of nutters!”
Malcolm
User avatar
Malc2098
Sequoia
 
Posts: 7209
Joined: 03 Jul 2016, 11:10
Location: Tiverton
Name: Malcolm

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby Pinch » 17 Aug 2017, 08:14

From the often 'one-liner' chap (or even one-word'er) to several very interesting paragraphs... oi, you're a nutter! :lol:

Excellent story Malc and hats off to you Sir! That must have been an amazing experience. Superb skills. 8-)

:text-bravo:
In my previous life, I was a tree.
User avatar
Pinch
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2808
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 21:59
Location: Shropshire.
Name: Paul

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby RogerS » 17 Aug 2017, 09:59

Pinch wrote:From the often 'one-liner' chap (or even one-word'er) to several very interesting paragraphs... oi, you're a nutter! :lol:

Excellent story Malc and hats off to you Sir! That must have been an amazing experience. Superb skills. 8-)

:text-bravo:


:text-+1:

Just before I took my driving test I went out with a neighbour who was a Traffic Officer (apologies if that's the wrong term, Malc). I learnt more about driving in that hour with him than I had all the time spent with my old man.

We need more on the roads.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
User avatar
RogerS
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 13291
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 21:07
Location: Nearly finished. OK OK...call me Pinocchio.
Name:

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby TrimTheKing » 17 Aug 2017, 10:25

Fabulous review of our country Kirk, though I have to disagree on the Indian food comment! Not that I don't love Mexican, I do, but a good curry is a fabulous thing to devour.

Great story Malc.

Cheers
Mark
Cheers
Mark
TrimTheKing
Site Admin
 
Posts: 7567
Joined: 16 Jun 2014, 13:27
Location: Grappenhall, Cheshire
Name: Mark

Re: Best touristy things in southern Wales

Postby woodstalker » 01 Sep 2017, 14:32

Kirk,

I have been off the forum for a few weeks because i am now overseas with work. I am really sorry i have only just seen this as i catch up with what's been happening. Too late now but I grew up 3 miles from Raglan Castle and my parents are still there. I am sorry to say they have a little holiday cottage they used to let out so i could have arranged for you guys to stay there (its is absolutely tiny mind but if you're just after a place to stay and some local knowledge!)

I now live 3 miles from Stonehenge (as the crow flies, when i am back in the UK).

If you come over again the castles of North Wales are really good Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech are good.

James
woodstalker
Nordic Pine
 
Posts: 580
Joined: 16 Apr 2016, 20:44
Location: Amesbury, Wiltshire
Name:

PreviousNext

Return to The Woodmangler's Retreat

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: fiveeyes and 24 guests