From limestone Georgian mansions to ancient Roman city walls...

Bailbrook Lodge



Our thoughts go out to all our family and friends caught up in this week's devastating earthquakes in Christchurch. It's just not fair!

Our days move quickly as we take to the highways and byways.

Sun 5 June is an early 4.30am start as two magpies argue on the roof outside our window. The M5 takes us directly to the delightful city of Bath, where we encounter our first real rainfall. Bailbrook Lodge, our B & B accommodation for two nights, is a beautiful but imposing four-storey country house. The bedroom is luxurious and the decor throughout lives up to its four stars.

To be in Bath is to be infused with a permanent golden glow - each and every building is created from limestone which, over hundreds of years, has aged to a wonderful golden patina. There is much to see and the weather doesn't stop us from visiting the town centre - raincoats, brollie 'n' all.

In the evening we take a short drive over a private bridge to a highly recommended restaurant - the food is wonderful but it's the bridge that captures our imagination.

The money-making toll bridge

Owned by the same family for over 107 years, we have to pay 60p each way to family members standing at the gatehouse. This is only one of two privately owned toll bridges (we think) in England, where the family collect the money as their earnings (tax free). So with around 2000 cars over the bridge a day, it adds up to a nice little yearly income!

Our riverboat the Pulteney Princess

Mon 6 June we take a leisurely boatride along a tree-lined waterway into Bath. We are hopeful for a glimpse of a resident kingfisher but only get a glimpse of its bright blue tail amongst leafy, green branches.



Two Kiwis almost ready for hibenation



We take a bus tour of the outer city and stupidly sit up the top in cold grey weather. All trussed up in jackets and hats, we get a few stares from others on the bus but we don't care - it's not obivious we are kiwis, we don't think..

In the afternoon, Max is all Bath-ed out so I take a tour of the Roman Baths for an hour or so while he seeks out a sunny place to sit and people-watch.

The Roman Baths viewed from street level

The ruins lie beneath the city and as I explore the Sacred Spring, temple and baths, I walk on ancient stone pavements and run my fingers over timeworn stone carvings and inscriptions. The baths still flow with hot water from the same source just as it did all those years ago.



Inside the cattery. Each cat has its own apartment.

Tues 7 June starts off with a visit to the second largest animal rescue centre in England, the Bath Cat & Dog Home. We are taken on a tour of the facility by Katie Love, the events and promotions co-ordinator. It is impressive both in size, facilites and its non-destruction policy. Over 3000 animals come through the centre a year and its costs over 2.5 million to operate annually. The centre has 55 permanent staff and 500 volunteers. Impressive, indeed!

 

The cooling towers loom in the
background



Our next destination for two days is Meadow Inn & Steakhouse (another medieval building) B & B in Ironbridge, which we discover sits across the river from a coal-fired power station and four gigantic brick cooling towers.

Ironbridge with its steeply angle pitch in the
centre of the bridge



Ironbridge is said to be where the Industrial Revolution started and is, of course, where we find the world's first iron-cast bridge with its 'soaring arches and graceful lines'.



The Roman Townhouse built by modern builders
using historic building methods

Weds 8 June we spend the day visiting the Wroxeter Roman City ruins and view a recently built Roman townhouse . We visit Shewsbury, another delightful medieval village, and then the ruins of Wenlock Priory (a medieval monastry) at Much Wenlock. We are finally all 'abby-ed' out and return to Ironbridge.

Topiaried bushes sculptured into animal shapes of
squirrels, mice and birds adds interest to
the Wenlock Priory ruins

For some reason, we are always first at in-house restaurants - perhaps because we are kiwis and hungry from our adventures - all that walking!

Thurs 9 June our destination is Heswall, where we will stay put for 15 days. Traveling for two solid weeks catches up with us, we still have colds but look forward to a break and staying in our friend Grant's flat. We are gratefulfor the space and a chance to catch up with some washing and unpacking our bags to let our gear breathe. We enjoy a lovely meal with Grant and his partner, Maddie.

Frid 10 June we get our bearings in Heswall. Our flat is on the main road and we have shops beneath us - one, a boutique wine shop, advertises NZ wine.

Max & Grant outside the castle

Grant's leg is in plaster, so he has time to guide us on a tour of the Wirral which is a peninsula which is surrounded on three side by three bodies of water - the River Mersey, the Irish Sea and the River Dee. We visit Hoylake  at the end of the peninsula and view the vast stretches of sand (the tide is out for several miles) and the large wind turbines that sit out at sea.

Sat 11 June with Grant again as our guide we take a drive to northern Wales (we are just minutes from the border which runs down the middle of the River Dee). We travel the motorway and pass several castles and a couple of dead badgers on the roadside (very sad).

We visit Conwy, a delightful seaside village with an old castle guarding entrance. Max and I walk the castle walls but refrain from paying to walk inside the castle. Conwy is also home to the 'smallest house in Britain'. Known as the Quay House, I pay L1 and squeeze (mind your head) through the front door, while Max and Grant watch with amusement.

The smallest house in Great Britain
is very small indeed!

The little red house measures just 3.5m by 1.8m and is a 'one up, one down' home, meaning one room downstairs complete with stove, bench seat and table, and one room upstairs with room for a small bed and bedside table. Apparently, it was once owned and lived until 1900 in by Robert Jones, a 6ft fisherman who couldn't fully stand up in it. It is still owned by his descendants.

The little Welsh lady at the door ,dressed in full Welsh costume, tells me of another village which boasts the smallest church. Max and Grant are not convinced. Perhaps another day! We drive home via Llandudno, Wales' largest resort and a popular holiday spot with older people, so we are told.

The low tide in Conwy leaves these fishing boats
high and dry

Sun 12 June we finally say goodbye to our little rental car and we deliver it to the Liverpool airport back to its rental accommodation. With Grant as my guide, I negotiate the M53 and Liverpool city while Max follows in Grant's car. We arrive safely after only one or two wrong turns, detours and backtracks. I'm on my second anti-histamine in 24 hours so nothing fazes me, meanwhile Max stresses out when we shoot past the last petrol station before the airport.

Back in Heswall, the day draws in and is cold and wet...

Mon 13 June we wake to the news of Christchurch's earthquakes and make contact with family and friends. Even though we are miles away, we still feel the stress of the situation. Later in the day, we take a map and discover the start of the Wirral Way, an old rail trail/cycle/walkers route. We also enjoy a walk through the Heswall Dales, where we discover that gorse plays an important part in the rehabilitation of wildlife in the area. We can't help thinking that back home, it would be sprayed and killed off - not protected!

Old buildings were restored in Victorian times



Tues 14 June we take a drive to neighbouring town, Chester. We find this to be very busy and tourist orientated but we enjoy the walled city (over 77,000 people live here) with its wide streets, medieval buildings, upmarket shops and the huge Chester Cathedral.



It's a brilliantly sunny and warm day so we walk for 45 minutes on the stone wall which circles the inner city and share our lunch with pigeons outside the gothic-looking cathedral.

 



Chester Cathedral



The historic city of Chester was founded by the Romans in AD79 and was built on the River Dee, where the water once lapped against the city's stone walls. Over the years, much of the River Dee has silted and where ships once roamed, now wildlife live amongst protected marshlands. It's hard to imagine the water this close to the inner city.

One of the many towers on the wall