Wynmelvin » sightseeing

November 2nd, 2009

Russell — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:57:54 +0000

LONDON — I thought I’d go back to the Westminster City Archives this morning but on arrival found that they are closed on Mondays. So as it was such a beautiful day I thought I’d take a flight on the London Eye as last time it was such a drizzly grey day. The ticket also gets you in free to the new London Eye 4D Experience. The wait was longer but well worth it. At first I wondered what all the fuss was about as the film looked like any other—until the seagull flew in from over my shoulder!

After the London Eye it was into the city to do my last minute shopping. There were some very nice things, espcially at Hamley’s, that would be coming back with me if only I had room in the suitcase!

November 1st, 2009

Russell — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:21:14 +0000

LONDON — This morning was wet. The weather is supposed to be clear and dry tomorrow but rain is expected to return on Tuesday. I went to the Natural History Museum this morning and arrived in the rain to discover that they were very busy and that I could expect to be in the queue for up to two hours. As it transpired I only need to wait in the queue and the rain and the occasional gust of wind for about twenty minutes.

Once inside I went and had a look at one of the ticketed special exhibitions: the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year. All of the photographs on display were beautiful and many were exceptional.
Returning to the entrance hall I joined the the queue for the dinosaur gallery—I couldn’t leave without visiting the dinosaurs again. This queue moved slower and so took longer, but after about forty minutes I was renewing my acquaintance with the dinosaurs.

I went back to the National Gallery specifically to enquire about their print on demand service—could you take one home with you or did you have to wait for it to arrive by post? As it turned out it is printed there and then depending on how many are in the queue. So I bought my print and was able to see it being printed out on the A0 printer.

October 30th, 2009

Russell — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:50:00 +0000

LONDON — Today I went to the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. I had visited the Gallery on my previous trip to London and enjoyed it so much I just had to return for another look. And it didn’t disappoint. I still can’t get over how bright and vibrant the colours in the paintings are, especially those from the 15th and 16th centuries, when compared to what you see reproduced in books. And the other thing you don’t appreciate from the books are the relative sizes of the paintings. Some are tiny, and others are simply enormous. There is nothing like seeing the original paintings.

There were many memorable paintings but the one that really caught my eye was Two Tax Gatherers by Marinus van Reymerswaele, painted in about 1540. It reminded me of modern illustrations created with vector graphics programs. It impressed me so much I think I might go back and purchase a print.

For the rest of the afternoon I went shopping.

October 28th, 2009

Russell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:03:10 +0000

LONDON — Getting from Bristol to London went a lot smoother than I’d are hope. The walk to the railway station, pushing one suitcase and pulling another, only took ten minutes. I probably got to the station too early but it meant I was able to be one of the first to board the train—and when you’ve got more bags than hands, it helps. One unexpected but pleasant surprise was that though my seat was standard class the coach itself was first class.

Once I was back in London and settled in to the hotel, I went back to the British Museum to see about making a booking for Monday for the Moctezuma exhibition. Instead there was no need to make an advanced booking so I got an immediate ticket and spent the next hour or so viewing exhibits relating to Moctezuma, the last ruler of the Aztecs, and the conquest by the Spanish. There were some very beautiful objects, especially the masks inlaid with turquoise, and an impressive stone eagle with a bowl-shaped cavity in its back to receive sacrificed hearts.

It’s starting to get dark early now. Clocks went back an hour last Sunday morning.

October 26th, 2009

Russell — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:47:12 +0000

BRISTOL — This morning began with an early walk to the railway station to reserve a seat to Paddington (the advanced ticket office is closed Sundays). That done, I returned to the hotel to get the car and drive to Mells, the birthplace of my ancestors Benjamin and Joseph Coles.

I found Mells relatively easily. I managed to squeeze the car in to a space along a street and entered the churchyard of the parish church. I didn’t find any tombstones of familial interest but I wasn’t really expecting to—my Coles family had left Mells around 1800 and most 18th century and earlier tombstones are barely legible.

I then drove into Frome, a large(ish) town nearby and had a look around. I stopped and bought a postage box to send my collection of guide books home and help lighten my baggage. I headed back to Bristol early afternoon, partly to ensure I got a park but also to give me time to pack the box.

I got the box packed with all my guidebooks but I fear it might be a bit too heavy. It will be interesting at the Post Office tomorrow!

October 25th, 2009

Russell — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:08:26 +0000

BRISTOL — This morning I decided to explore Bristol and quickly decided that it is not an easy city to get around on foot. Bt the end of the day I still hadn’t found the high street and the maps I had weren’t much help in that respect. Bristol’s maritime heritage is very much to the fore and I did manage to find the SS Great Britain.

Brunel’s SS Great Britain was the first large steam ship to combine an iron hull with screw-driven propulsion and set the standard for decades to come. I found it interesting that at one point it was owned by the same family that lived in the house I visited yesterday—Tyntesfield. After investigation the ship’s hull from underwater and looking through the museum, you are given the chance to explore ship above and below decks. The ship has been very well restored as much as possible and it was very easy to imagine being back in time on one of her voyages to Australia.

I retraced my steps around the harbour-side and headed towards the city centre (or so I thought) to try and find the post office. In that I failed. I’ll have to ask reception for directions as I have a parcel of printed matter to send home to try and lighten my load!

October 23rd, 2009

Russell — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:05:00 +0000

CARDIFF — I walked back into the city centre this morning and visited Cardiff Castle. The castle grounds are very spacious what with the castle’s surrounding earthworks having been built over the top of the walls of a Roman fort giving it a square shape. I climbed to the top of the keep to get some good views across Cardiff before taking a tour through the castle apartments.

I spent the afternoon wandering about town window shopping, especially around St David’s. Presumably to accompany the opening of the St David’s Shopping Centre there was a fashion show on a catwalk erected down the middle of Working Street (a pedestrian-only precinct). There were also a couple of ballerinas on stilts wandering through the crowd. You wouldn’t think there was a recession in progress with the number of people in town. Mind you, I didn’t help spend Britain out of trouble as I’m now having to seriously think about the weight of my luggage.

October 21st, 2009

Russell — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:43:06 +0000

ST CLEARS — I awoke to a clear blue sky and the promise of a good drive to St Clears. And for most of the day it stayed fine, only beginning to rain mid-afternoon. I stopped at quite a few lay-bys (those that didn’t appear suddenly) to view the scenery and snap some photographs. After a while I realised I couldn’t do this at very lay-by as I’d never get to St Clears!

I stopped for a look at Castell Henllys, an iron-age fort where the roundhouses have been reconstructed on top of the original foundations. The interiors had been reconstructed as well with various goods known to have been used. The reconstruction of the village certainly made the fort more real than it would have if the site had just been post-holes in the ground. There was a class of school children on site which made taking photographs difficult as this particular school ahd previously complained about tourists photographing the children.

I continued on to St David’s, Britains’s smallest city. It would seem that a cathedral can only be hosted by a city, and St David’s has a cathedral which I duely visited. I did manage to photograph a postcard view of the cathedral before the clouds darkened and the rain drops began to fall.

October 20th, 2009

Russell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:36:12 +0000

PONTERWYD — The day dawned wet and miserable. Showers kept coming and going; some light and some heavy. My first stop was the Llechwedd Slate Caverns. Some 120 man-made caverns exist within the mountain on 16 levels. I went on one of the tours that took you by train into the mountain to see a cavern where slate was mined; followed by a demonstration of how the mined slate is split. Still done by hand as no machine has been developed that can do it better.

It was then on to Portmeirion. The weather stayed lousy and I can only imagine that Portmeirion would look stunning on sunny day. Luckily Portmeirion has plenty of doorways and arches etc. that allowed me to take photographs without the camera becoming waterlogged.

It was then time to head for Aberystwyth—which I did via Harlech where I stopped and had a look at another of Edward I’s string of castles. The tallest tower provided stunning views over Harlech and the surrounding countryside. The road leading to the castle was steep and winding and I nearly came to grief when surprised by a descending car—almost stalled.

I turned inland at Aberystwyth and headed for my lodgings for the night in Ponterwyd. The B&B was actually just before Ponterwyd—I was passed it before I had finished reading the sign. I also overshot it on the way back from dinner in Ponterwyd—but my excuse is it was dark at the time!

October 19th, 2009

Russell — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:30:11 +0000

BANGOR — I walked to the University of Bangor this morning to visit a former work colleague now working at the university. We spent an hour and a half or so chatting and I was given a quick tour of the Library and Archives.
And before anyone asks, I wasn’t able to obtain a model release!

I walked back to the Bed and Breakfast via the town centre as I needed to get some more cash and came across Bangor Cathedral. I didn’t realize Bangor had a cathedral so I couldn’t pass by without having a look.

In the afternoon I followed a suggestion from Tracey and headed for South Stack near Holyhead. Wind swept cliffs which are the breeding ground for thousands of pairs of birds, though there were no birds visible, it was a very picturesque location.