Wednesday 1st September

James and Val took us to the lovely seaside fishing town of St Abbs where we went for a walk along the shore and around to the next town, Coldingham, and back. We enjoyed a drink before heading back to Dunbar.




They took us to show Geoff the Belhaven Beach and the Bridge to Nowhere as well as where they used to live. We enjoyed another meal with them (they really really spoilt us) before heading to Edinburgh and a dinner with the Aussie team at the duathlon.

Dunbar High Street

Tuesday 31st August

When we woke up we again started exploring Hadrian's Wall

Poltcross Burn Milecastle

We followed the wall along until we came to Housesteads Roman Fort. The fort has survived relatively well and you can still see some of the barracks, hospital, granaries, leaders house, offices, latrine etc.


We now headed straight to Dunbar, Scotland to meet up with James and Val again. Geoff was keen to have a run with the local Dunbar Running Club. He ran over 'Doon Hill' with some of the locals. They had a magnificent backdrop of farms, some harvesting, the town and the sea. In Scotland it is normal to run/ride etc through people's farms which seems a bit strange to us.




James and I tracked them down to get some photos before James took me to see the 'Bridge to Nowhere' on Belhaven Beach. We were lucky enough to catch the sunset coming under the bridge.


Geoff enjoyed a drop of the local 'Belhaven Best' beer back at the running club before we headed back to James and Val where we enjoyed a beautiful soup that James had made.

Monday 30th August

We left Widnes and headed for the famed 'Lakes District' where we spent a couple of hours in Windemere. This may have just become my new favourite area. It's a quaint little place with dark stone buildings.


After enjoying a big lunch we went for a drive along the lake. The Lake area is a very popular place (especially in school holidays) with lots of sailboats, ski boats and sightseers.




We drove through several towns along the waters edge before the lake finally ended. we then came across the town of Kesswick where there is another stone circle that you can walk up to.


Our next stop was just over the border in Scotland at Gretna Green. We went to the 'Original Marriage House' where many couples crossed the border to elope. It was legal to get married at the blacksmiths shops here. It had become a very commercial area and the rest of the town was a let-down too so we headed back down towards England and Hadrian's Wall.


The wall was built by the Romans in AD122 and was 120km long and stretched from the west coast to the east coast. It was between 2 - 3 metres thick and up to 4.5 metres tall. There were many turrets, milecastles and forts along it and only took the soldiers 6 years to build. It particulary fascinated Geoff.

Sunday 29th August - After the Bog!

We left Llanwrtyd Wells after a great day and headed south to catch up with Geoff's cousin George and his wife Viv. We drove through Llandovery to Llanwrda where they are managing a beautiful, serene caravan park. After jinxing George's soccer team and then making him miss another game - we left!

We were heading back to Widness (near Liverpool) for the night so we phoned Judy and Trevor (Cathy's sister and brother-in-law) to see if they were already in Liverpool so we could catch up but they were in Shrewsbury. Not long after we saw a sign to Shrewsbury and it wasn't too far off the motorway so we took a detour and caught up with them. It was great to swap some stories, Thanks for the drinks and desserts guys! BTW - Noone in England has heard of drinks with milk, eg Tia Maria and milk!

Sunday 29th August - The Day of the Bog

We arrived at 'Bog Zero' early so we could check out what was to come. Despite the rain some of the keen ones were already starting to arrive. We've only been rained on twice during our holiday so I guess it all just added to the occasion here and noone else seemed to be worried anyway. I suppose when you're about to enter a smelly, dirty bog trench where the water is only 12 degrees Celsius, who cares about a little bit of rain! After watching about 20 or so others enter the murky waters and even struggle breathing let alone make their way to the other end of the trench and back I figured this is probably going to be harder than it looks and I was right. At least I was wearing a wetsuit, most of the others weren't and I don't think the superhero costumes etc. would have helped that much.

'The Bog'

My turn came so I slid in the trench trying not to think about it too much. No sooner had I reached the white starting post when the timekeeper called 3, 2, 1, GO. I dived in and the noise of the yelling and cheering stopped and all I could hear was me struggling to breath through my snorkel. The cold water just took your breath away and it was almost a surreal feeling looking into the brown murk. Then I realised it's probably no worse than swimming back home in Lake Albert and there's definately no chance of getting run over by a speed boat!!! I seemed to make it to the turn around post fairly quickly and thought I was doing OK then I really started to fade on the way back. My legs felt really dead and everything was just starting to go numb but I wasn't going to stop now so I struggled to the end and was just glad that I made it.

Done... and have the medal to prove it!

Yes, that's one event down! I climbed out of the trench and straight away was interviewed by a French television crew (strange but true). An official put the bog snorkelling finishers medal around my neck and I couldn't have been happier than a pig in poo - literally! We then enjoyed sitting around watching some of the other idiots take to the trench. Some serious, some not, but all having a good time and the crowd cheered and yelled for everyone. It was really good fun despite the rain and the mud.





After a while the rain stopped and the sun came out so we decided it was time to head back to the campsite to have a shower and get cleaned up. But not before having a go at 'bathtubbing'. This is a new event where you paddle a bathtub as if it was a kayak and it will be included along with bog snorkelling in the 'Alternative Games' which this town is hosting during the London 2012 Olympics.
PHOTO - 1280

Saturday 28th August

We had driven to Avebury to wake up with the lesser known stones. There are a lot more than at Stonehenge (although smaller and spread in several areas around town) but you can walk right up to them. some were in semi circles and some in lines.



Averbury

Next we crossed over to Wales on the longest bridge we've even been on. We drove for a while before stopping at Crickhowell. The Tourist Info hadn't opened so we checked out the local bakery (and shared a welsh cake) and shops before finding out the correct pronounciation for Llanwrtyd Wells (something like Clanoortid Wells). I don't know how we didn't know that! Signs are written in Welsh with English translations underneath and it very different to see. Apparently 'Ll' is a 'Cl', 'W' is an 'O', 'I' is an 'E' and 'E' is an 'A' just to name a few.

Crickhowell

We headed half an hour up the road to Brecon. Geoff enjoyed catching up on some swimming before we walked around the local streets and got some supplies in case the shops were shut on the long weekend Sunday.
We finally arrived in Llanwrtyd Wells mid afternoon and found out what we needed to know for the race, and organised our bed. There is a great atmosphere with people from all over here to do the race. They set up a temporary camping area on the sports ground (bog camp) and the people beside us had a fire, played the guitar and a bit of a sing-a-long (mad Welshmen).

Friday 27th August

After thanking Marie (and Arthur and Rupert) for a great night we headed out again. We had our eyes set on getting to Stonehenge, but got sidetracked for a few hours at Exeter. I got to wander around some shops while Geoff checked out the sights on foot (OK he went for a run). It's a bonus for me, as he then takes me to see the best places. We wandered along a river and caught a small ferry (30 pence) across to the other side (only about 30 metres). There were some great shops set inside the arches of an old building/bridge? We then drove to the Exeter Cathedral and wandered around it, the park and the busy main streets.

The boat is in the middle and shops under the bridge


Exeter Cathedral

Now... back to Stonehenge. Just as you'd expect it is amazing to see and the rocks are even bigger than I imagined. As you walk around all you can wonder is 'What were they thinking when they built this'? What was so important about the solstice to bring all these stones and place them upright in the ground. Some stones were from 30 miles away and some were from over 200 miles away in Wales. One type is warm to touch and the other is cold - so WHY???

Stonehenge

We then went to Salisbury for tea at the Red Lion. It's a little older than the one in Wagga as it was built in 1220 and is covered in 800 year old ivy - just beautiful! We then wandered around their Cathedral.

Red Lion Hotel


Salisbury Cathedral

Thursday 26th August

We enjoyed a nice sleep in before seeing some of Plymouth's sights. We drove along the waterfront before stopping and walking around Plymouth Hoe (a lovely park on the waterfront with statues and memorials. The memorials also contained names of Australians who died helping England.

Plymouth Hoe


Plymouth Hoe


Plymouth Hoe

We then wandered through the Barbican. This is near the Hoe and is special because it is a very old area of town, one of the few to survive the bombings in WWII. There were many tourists strolling along these roads watching the boats and eating fish 'n' chips or ice creams. we tried faggot and chips - yuk!!!

The Barbican

By now Marie and Cyril had finished work and we met them for a traditional English afternoon tea (scones, jam and clotted cream). It was good to catch up. We left Cyril and went back to stay at Marie's, it was Thursday so therefore Marie's pub quiz night. We went to the pub and enjoyed a great night with her and her 'brilliant' friend Steve. As a bit of a fun twist we called our team the 'Whingeing Aussies' seeing as we were in the Poms territory. We were actually winning at the half way point but only because Steve answered all but about 2 questions! We went downhill after that although Geoff won a bottle of red in the raffle. We drove back toMarie's through the Dartmoor Moors where there were many sheep and even a Dartmoor Pony (like a Shetland) on the road.

Steve, Marie and Cathy at the pub quiz

Wednesday 25th August

From Tintagel we travelled south on some really narrow (single lane) backroads to a few of the nearby local 'surfing' (yes surfing) towns. From here down to Lands End on the west coast of Cornwall it is renowned for its surf beaches. It was strange seeing surf shops in the tiny towns set amongst houses that were hundreds of years old.


We spent hours driving down these really narrow roads exploring the countryside and covered quite a few miles (several of them in reverse looking for a good place to pass). By the time we got to Lands End the rain had finaly caught up with us but that was OK as Cathy had to rest her foot anyway. We called in on one final coastal town called Mousehole (pronounced Mouzole). It's easy to see how this town got its name, because youd need to be the size of a mouse to fit down most of the streets in this place!




After spending some time looking around Penzance (as in the Pirates of Penzance) we set sail (so to speak) for Plymouth to see our mates Marie and Cyril. We arrived in Plymouth later in the day so we didn't catch up with them that night.

Tuesday 24th August - Tintagel

Just when you think that things couldn't get any better we found ourselves in yet another amazing place. Tintagel is a small seaside town on the north coast of Cornwall and Tintagel Castle is known as being the birth place of King Arthur. The castle ruins are on top of a steep rocky outcrop which is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs which drop down to the Atlantic Ocean. Cathy really got into the 'exploring the castle ruins' thing and would go to every 'nook and crany' making sure she didn't miss anything. Unfortunately she got a bit too adventurous here and took a tumble which left her with several nice bruises and scrapes as well as a badly twisted ankle.

Tintagel Castle


Tintagel Castle

Tintagel Post Office

Not wanting to quit she managed to limp through town and 'hobble' through a 'Merlin' and 'Pendragon' gift shop or two. We had tea at the King Arthurs Arms (no kidding) and one of the barman, realising Cathy was injured, really took a shine to her and spoilt her terribly.


We spent the night at Camelot Castle which was a huge building overlooking the town, castle ruins and ocean. It was really old and dated and the whole place was a bit 'strange' really but the views were fantastic and Cathy liked the thought that we were staying at Camelot - plus the thought that several famous folks have previously stayed here.

Camelot Castle

Sunday 22nd August - Heading South again

Another day of driving through some small English villages just enjoying the countryside in this beautiful part of the world. We stopped and had lunch by the river at Tenbury Wells before heading to Bewedly to see the steam trains in action. There are quite a few steam trains still running in England but Bewedly Station was quite picturesque and again well worth the visit. In the afternoon we caught up with our friend Marie at her parents house in Bromsgrove. We had a Sunday roast with Marie, her parents and an old friend of hers. They were lovely people and we wish we could have stayed longer.


Bewedley Station

Monday 23rd August - Cheddar Gorge and Bath
After spending the night in Bristol, we headed to Cheddar Gorge for some cheese tasting. We weren't overly worried about going to the Gorge but were glad that we did as it had recently rained and driving through the Gorge was spectacular. We stopped and wandered into one of the caves and found it interesting to hear that they use the caves in the gorge to mature the Cheddar Cheese.

Cheese Tasting seemed to be the logical thing to do, so after trying several variations of the local cheddars and topping this off with yet another big but beautifull lunch (gee we are eating well) we drove back up the gorge and on to our next adventure.

Cheddar Gorge

The Roman Town of Bath seemed very different to most of the towns we'd visited so far. In the City Centre it was almost like we were back in Italy and we both had to remind ourselves that this was actually part of England. The tour of the Roman Spas was a 'must do' on our list and the entry fee was well worth it. This place would probably have put some of our modern day saunas, spas and massage parlours to shame. We didn't worry about idulging in the hot spas ourselves as they tell us there are some great natural hot springs in Budapest waiting for us!

We then spent the rest of the day walking around the city, reading the headstones in the abbey and feeding our faces!

We stayed at the Bath Marina Caravan Park that night, so Geoff went for a run along the canals early the next morning. Even the Avon River in this place was nice with plenty of canal boats either moored or making their way along the waterway.

The Roman Baths


Bath Abbey

Ludlow



We're definately glad we found this place. Once again it had some great pubs and old tudor style homes but this place also had a great castle ruin. Although Ludlow Castle is now just a ruin it was great wandering around checking out the different rooms, climbing the remaining towers and getting some spectacular views of Ludlow itself. It was also good value and not over commercialised like some of the other castles.

Ludlow Castle

Not feeling like another pub meal we decided to try the local Indian place and it was fantastic. We have certainly eaten well over here! Our accommodation here was also excellent. We camped at a farmstay which had magnificent views overlooking the castle and village of Ludlow. We woke to these views on a beautiful sunny morning (everyone else seems to be complaining about the rain, but the sun just seems to be following us) and everything was going well until Geoff in his haste got the car stuck on a grassy bank. We had no hope of either going forwards or backwards and had no choice but to enlist the help of some of the other campers to get us out of this pickle. We all got a good laugh out of it eventhough we had to put up with the taunts of 'you mad Aussies' - and that was before we even told them about the bog snorkelling!

Our Saviours!

Saturday 21st August

We managed to get some cheap and really nice accommodation at Widnes (small town just outside Liverpool) which was great because we caught up on some lost sleep. And once again we hopped in the car and started driving without having a clue which way we were driving. Someone had suggested going to Chester to check out the Roman Ampitheatre which is believed to be King Arthur's Round Table so we went there and did that just to say we went there and did that!

Roman Ampitheatre - King Arthur's Round Table

From here we once again just enjoyed driving down small country lanes and roads (amazingly stunning) to see what other gems we could find. We came across one of the few watermills still operating in England, Stretton Watermill.


Stretton Watermill

And eventually came to the medieval town of Shrewsbury. Yet another fascinating place with old Tudor buildings and and a medieval castle and Abbey. Just enough time for a mid afternoon snack from the what has got to be the worlds smallest bakery. And we're off again. This time we did know where we were going to as we'd seen a picture of Ludlow Castle and it looked like it was worth a visit.

Shrewsbury Castle

Shrewsbury Town