Sunday, 18th August 2019 We awarded ourselves a lie-in after the sporting disappointment of the previous day and had a leisurely breakfast before setting out. The day’s destination was to be St Fagans National Museum of History where various buildings have been relocated or reconstructed to show how people in Wales have lived through the ages. A bus from outside our hotel took us all the way there. The buildings include the recreated Bryn Eryr Iron Age roundhouses which host educational sessions during term time. The relocated St Teilo’s church has been refurbished, complete with enchanting mediaeval murals, to reflect how it may have appeared around 1530, before Henry VIII started to break with the Roman Catholic Church in 1532. The Gwalia Stores meanwhile offers a retro retail opportunity circa the outbreak of WWI where . . . . . . many of the brands and much of the packaging on the wooden shelving was nevertheless familiar. Each of the Rhyd-y-car Terrace of six cottages, originally built around 1795 for mine workers, is furbished to reflect a different period: 1805, 1855, 1895, 1925, 1955 and 1985. It is fascinating to take a stroll through time as you walk the length […]
2019 Cardiff, Wales
Friday, 16th to Saturday, 17th August 2019 From Cardiff Central Station we walked a short distance around the Principality Stadium along the bank of the River Taff to check in to the Holiday Inn. There are several Victorian covered arcades which provided some shelter from the rain as we started to look round this historic city. There is also a Victorian glass-covered market which opened in its current position in 1835. Although this is not as splendid as some we have visited, it did include the extensive Spillers record store on the upper level. We had decided we wanted to visit Cardiff Bay which is a little way out from the centre and which you can travel to by river taxi: the journey takes about 20 minutes. There is an informative commentary onboard but unfortunately the rain on the windows, coupled with a slight delay on the audio, meant that it was difficult to make out the landmarks which were being pointed out to us as we passed them. Sights included the white clapboard Norwegian Church, now dismantled, relocated and re-opened as an arts centre, where Roald Dahl and his family worshipped. As we disembarked we asked a member of […]