I’m just jotting down some notes in this entry. I’ll come back and fill out more after the trip is over. On Friday last week Dad, Mike and Lynda, and I left Ealing to drive to North Wales. Roadtripping in the UK is interesting just for the motorcade watching. Many of the cars on the road here are not to be found in the USA, too small, etc for our roads. Also because cars aren’t driven as far, etc. or necessarily as often, people keep their cars longer and you tend to see some older vehicles on the road in good condition. So far my favorite is the little Ford Ka. Partly because it sounds like a Boston accent every time you say it.
Ford Ka driving into Conwy. You can see the top of Telford's suspension bridge.
I was riding to Wales in a VW Golf that was pretty new. Drove and handled well. Not that I drove it ever, since in the UK only the person who made arrangements for the rental is allowed to drive, or you can pay 25 pounds and add another name to the insurance. Dad did all the driving this trip.
There are different classes of road like in the states and on the M roads (motorways=interstate/turnpike feel) they have Welcome Breaks instead of Rest Stops. I’ve got to say this is my favorite Britisism so far.
Welcome Break rest area.
The drive to Wales was quite nice. You know you’ve reached it when all the signs suddenly are in 2 languages (English and Welsh) and the names on the signs become a lot harder to figure out how to say. I plan on writing further about Welsh so won’t spend to much time on it in this entry. Let’s just say I became frustrated enough that I bought a book about the Welsh language & place name pronunciation in Conwy.
English animal count on the drive: 2 phesants and a herd of American bison. That was a bizarre moment. We had just entered Wales and were driving around seeing herds of sheep and cows in almost every field and then we passed a field and there was a herd of American Bison.
We stayed in a lovely hotel housed in a 19th century home built over a medieval abbey where once lay the bones of the Welsh king and hero, Llywelyn. The room was the biggest 2 room suite I’ve ever stayed in, right under the eaves of the building’s roof.
Our hotel.
Our rooms.
Wales is a green countryside filled with woods, sheep, and cows, and history and castles. Edward I basically spent a lot of time building castles and putting down Welsh revolts. Apparently he even kicked the Welsh out of their homes, resettled the cities with English and then didn’t even permit the Welsh to re-enter their own towns. Fascinating place so far.
Tags: family, travel, UK vacation
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