England's Countryside & Wales


Day 06 - Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - Motor to Chester; View Roman Amphitheater; Drive to Caernarfon, Wales

Because of the mix-up yesterday, everyone was to bring his/her bags down to the lobby. A usual, a few did not get the message. But Vic helped Pebbles retrieve the last two bags so we could have an on time departure at 8:15.

The temperature was cool, only 41 degrees. However, the sun was out and traffic was light. We were off to explore more of Yorkshire with our final destination of Snowdonia, Wales.

The countryside was beautiful. The roadsides were covered with white, pink, yellow, and violet wildflowers. The hedgerows were bridal wreath, (spireas) blooming with cascades of small, white petals.

Shoots of new beans, corn, and wheat were reaching up to catch the sun. We saw a few ring-necked pheasants pecking out a little breakfast. Amazingly, there was no litter along the highways. Even in the cities, we have been impressed with the cleanliness of the whole country.

By the time we reached our first stop at Haworth it was raining heavily. We put on our raincoats and got out our umbrellas. We walked up to the Bronte home and visited the Parsonage and the local cemetery. In the rain, the cemetery was very eerie.

Within a few minutes, the rain stopped and the sun came out. We went back to the cemetery and then followed the back streets to the Main Street. Galen and Pebbles were walking up the hill munching on goodies from the pastry shop.

We also went into the Villette Coffee House for a currant scone for Vic, and Gennie had a rocky road brownie with nuts, white and dark chocolate. Well worth the calories!

Continuing our walk, we marveled at the stone homes with the moss-covered roofs. Every home had hanging flowerpots. Just as we were wondering how they managed to water them, it began to rain again - mystery solved!

Arvie was to bring the bus back to the meeting place and we were to meet at 11:00. Pebbles saw us standing out of the rain under a passageway and showed us where the bus was now parked.

By the time everyone was located, it was 11:15 when we left Haworth and continued on to Chester. As we got closer to the city, Pebbles gave us a brief history of the area and a map as we were on our own until 3:30.

The pedestrian streets were narrow, as one would expect of a medieval village, with quaint architecture many with signs from 15th Century. Famous for its Black and White timber framed homes built during the Victorian era, Chester is a “not to miss” city!

Expensive stores of every famous name brands, sweet shops, cafés, and coffee shops lined the streets today. We did a little window-shopping and then pounds to dollars conversions and wondered how people could afford to shop in Chester.

We stopped for lunch at Tropeiro Brazilian Churrascaria. For only 11£ we had all you can eat salad bar, black beans and rice, and unlimited grilled sausage, chicken, ribs, and steak.

After lunch we walked during our free time, took photos, and talked to people on the streets. We spoke to five elegant ladies who were on a "day-away". These octogenarians were happy to take a few minutes to have their photos taken.

At 3:30 we all met outside of the cathedral and then walked to the bus stop where Arvie could make a brief stop to pick us up. As we drove south and west to the coast, the terrain was much steeper with smaller fields and pastures for grazing cattle and sheep.

We drove along the gray coast of the Irish Sea and could see thousands of wind turbines out in the waves catching the cold winds from the Northeast. Passing through patches of rain and sunshine, we knew why the land was so green.

The mountains on our left were shrouded in thick clouds. We knew we had arrived in Wales when the road signs were written in Welch as well as English. There was no formal border or official welcome designation between countries.

Our drive to Snowdonia in northwestern Wales took about two hours; we were at the Royal Victoria Hotel by 5:15. The temperature was 45° with the humidity at 73%.

Our room is very tiny, but we figured out a way to have space to use our computers. We moved the bed around so we could open our luggage. We do not have a view of the lake, but we have a nice cool breeze coming in our window.

After getting connected and organized, we did the first writing of the journal and sorting photos. Dinner was at the hotel, one of the few provided on this trip. But after our huge Brazilian Buffett at noon neither of us was hungry at all.

We did go down to the dining room at 7:00 to join the group for a while and then came back to complete our GarciaTrips work. The hotel is situated far from the town so the birds singing and the quiet of the country lulled us to sleep.

Accommodations: The Royal Victoria Hotel Snowdonia - - - Meal: B & D

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Black Bull Pub in Haworth

Black Bull Pub in Haworth

Bronte Parsonage Cemetery

Bronte Parsonage Cemetery

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