Weekend in Wales

I’ve just had a great 24 hours in the Cardiff area. The weekend  was booked months ago. It was one of those annual outings to meet old friends that George usually declined to attend. But he always provided a chauffeur service either to the area we chose, or to and from a convenient railway station. I hadn’t thought that I’d have to make my own arrangements this time, and it took some thought and organisation.

Cardiff is north-west from here. Going from my nearest railway station, though, would involve travelling directly east to Southampton before going north to Salisbury and changing to the line that heads westwards. It would be very expensive and take so long I wouldn’t have the time I wanted at my destination unless I went the day before.  Driving all the way would wear me out and I’d be so nervous about finding the hotel and parking etc. it would spoil my enjoyment of the reunion.

In the end I decided to drive to Salisbury – a bit under an hour away by road - and paid for a private parking space with justpark.com, thinking it would be safer than leaving the car overnight in the station car park. That should have been a perfect solution if I hadn’t found someone else parked in the space allocated to me. And if the owner of it had not been working all night in a hotel and had to be woken by my urgent phone calls so he could get up to sort it out. I had to double park behind his car and leave him my key. But he would be at work when I returned for the car the next evening, so we also had to agree a hiding place where I could find it.

That sorted, the rest of the journey was a straightforward train journey.  Coming back was another story that involved a bus journey between two stations because of work being done on the railway line. I determined to avoid thinking about that while I was with my friends - and abut whether I’d be able to get my car and drive home through the Dorset countryside in the dark.

Isn’t it great when you can get together with people you only see about once a year and find you are just picking up where you left off? We met in a pub at noon and spent some time there, then went off by bus to Cardiff Bay to see how it has been developed.  

We were quite impressed. It was heaving with people who were not all from the UK. We took a look at the Norwegian Church where Roald Dahl was baptised. That was a little disappointing since, although it has a perfect black and white exterior and some stained glass windows, the inside has been turned into a café. (The pristine toilets were appreciated though.)

photo by Pauline Eccles 

Months ago I had booked us all into the Mount Sorrel Hotel in Barry, a few miles from Cardiff. Hotels in Cardiff were either far too expensive or full up, probably because Cardiff were playing Leeds (at football/soccer) in the city that afternoon. We timed our travels to avoid meeting up with fans and were in Barry for the evening. The hotel was a gem, inexpensive so we weren’t expecting any frills, and didn’t need them. Full English breakfast was included and the rooms were comfortable. £30 is very reasonable for all that.

The next morning we took the 10 am train back to Cardiff to visit the castle. 

photo by Wolfgang Sauber

When I’d been in Cardiff before, it had been for work and I’d never had time for sightseeing. I had walked past the castle many times with no time to visit, so I had looked forward to that. And I wasn’t disappointed. I think a description of it will need to be covered in another post as I’m now running out of time.

I was on the 2.40 train for the first leg of my journey home, which all went to plan despite my anxieties. At about 6.50 I was welcomed back by Jade who had been collected by my son from the dog minder. He had also undertaken to cook a roast dinner for us before going back to the flat he shares with his girlfriend, so they could get ready for work on Monday morning. They said they thought it was better for me than coming back to an empty house. 

I must count my blessings.

Holes Bay Again

I took Jade along the side of Holes Bay today, so I thought I'd post some more pictures of the area. They were taken in the autumn of the year we moved here when I was doing lots of exploring. Things haven't changed much in the couple of years since. In the first one you should be able to make out the railway bridge on the line that dissects the bay in Poole harbour.  I'm quite blasé about that train trip now, but at first I got so excited whenever I travelled that way across the water.

The second pic shows where the footpath comes up against Cobbs Quay and you have to walk out and around the roadway to the other side of the marina if you want to continue beside the shore. A colony of Canada geese have set up home here so I always stop a bit short with Jade.  I don't want her even to think about chasing them. She does love to stalk and chase smaller birds if they come down to earth, but of course they always fly off before she reaches them.  I'm not sure what the geese would do and I don't think I want to find out.

Today we also saw one egret and a swan, as well as some seagulls. There seems to be one lone swan now at this end of the bay. We think it must have lost its mate during the summer. It must be feeling very lonely, poor thing. A couple of weeks ago I was very intrigued by the antics of the seagulls at low tide. They were all hunting for something under the water.  They would fly up a short distance, then up-end themselves and drop down beak first, ending up with their heads in the water and legs waving in the air, a bit like ducks who can do it without lifting themselves right out of the water first. I saw one doing this first, then looking around I noticed some others in different areas of the shallow water.

If you want to see more pics of Holes Bay, look here or here or here or here or here.  There's always something different to see at Holes Bay.

Journeying by Rail

Travelling to South Devon by train is a familiar journey for me. I always get excited on leaving Exeter, anticipating the vista of little boats bobbing on the wide River Exe. Or, if the tide is out, there will be flocks of birds feeding in the mud and I’ll have a great time trying to recognise all the different species. The excitement mounts as we pass the ferry to Exmouth at Starcross and I finally glimpse the sea beyond the golf course and the dunes at Dawlish Warren.

Last Thursday was even more exciting than usual. The sea was wild with white topped waves and as my train approached Dawlish station, the view was suddenly obscured by all the spray that flew up over the carriages. After the five tunnels through the red sandstone rock, engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, comes another sea wall stretch to Teignmouth. Again we were subjected to a wash from the sea and the carriage rang to the shrieks of children and general laughter.I know this gives Railtrack quite a few headaches, but for us travellers it was a happy and memorable journey.

The same could not be said for my return trip. I’d been visiting friends in Teignmouth and was to pick up the through train there at 3.39 pm on Saturday. But when we arrived at the station, in cold and miserable rain, the train was not listed on the boards. We waited awhile until I finally reconciled myself to the fact that it wasn’t coming.

Half a freezing hour later, I boarded the next train for Exeter, where I’d have a 90 minute wait but could get some warmth and sustenance. On the way, as we passed Powderham Castle estate, I managed to be thankful at least that I wasn’t taking part in the equestrian cross country event that was fenced off from the deer herd.

At 5.50, when I should have been arriving at my home station, I was still sitting in the Exeter St Davids buffet, and I limped into my house at 8 pm, still feeling chilled to the bone.

I just have to note these experiences because I never know when they might provide some writing inspiration.