View from our window: Llanrug, Wales, United Kingdom. 7:47pm, 11 April 2023.
On one particularly glorious day, we set out to climb Hay Bluff. We did not take the super steep, direct route up the hill, instead opting to make our way more gradually by winding around the back. We met lots of sheep and ponies along the way, and it was such a clear day, we could see for miles. On our way up the hill. Small boys bringing up the rear Looking out over Glasbury from the top of Hay Bluff. The sheep enjoy the view too. An inquisitive pony came over to say hello When we set out we thought we might
Family visits brought us to Herefordshire. Sam's sister lives in this corner of the world, and the Easter school holidays were a good time to have a visit with her and her kids. This part of the English/Welsh borders can be a bit rainy and grey, but we were blessed with mostly glorious weather as we explored the countryside. It made for a blissful few days. Beautiful Herefordshire countryside. Hay-on-Wye was the closest town to our little cottage. It is particularly famous for its books and bookshops. Hay Castle, newly restored and opened to the public. Hay on market day Cousin Lara
View from our window: Clifford, Herefordshire, United Kingdom. 8:30am, 06 April 2023.
It's generally been a trip where every stop has lived up to or exceeded expectations, but our day trip to Cheddar Gorge felt like our first misfire. Not because of the gorge itself, which was stunning. But the caves have been turned into a series of "experiences," for which they charge a pretty penny. During our visit, the main cave had the seasonal addition of neon-light Easter displays, which rather detracted from the caves qua caves. Mainly, we were disappointed that we didn't have as much time to explore the gorge itself — next time, we'd bypass all the
Since we last visited Stonehenge 20+ years ago, they have reconfigured the site so you park some distance away and either walk or take a shuttle bus up to the stone circles. The current set-up gives the tourists a bit more room to spread out and creates a bit more of a sense of grandeur — in the old days the carpark was right next to the site, and you felt like you were being shuffled past as quickly as possible. English Heritage have also done a good job on the new visitors centre, putting a lot of oomph into
We decided to stay in Bath for a full week, using it as a base to explore the surrounding area. We had lovely accommodations in Bathwick, a short walk up Great Pultney Street to the town centre, but also near to lots of green space. Our location inspired us to do a long walk (10k, definitely long for 5 year-old legs!) around the outskirts of the city. Of course, we also hit the tourist hot spots: a tour around the Roman Baths, Evensong at Bath Abbey, and a walk to admire the Georgian architecture. It's a really pretty place to
Bristol is an easy drive from Bath, but the weather conspired so that we only spent a single day in the city. It started off as a rainy morning in a museum, and then blossomed into a beautiful Saturday afternoon in a bustling port. The M Shed in Bristol was an eclectic mix of exhibits A highlight for the kids was the riding the water bus across the river. Brunel's SS Great Britain is a famed Bristol attraction, but one we only admired from the outside. We climbed to the to of Cabot Tower on Brandon Hill to admire the
View from our window: Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom. 9:30am, 30 March 2023.
In memory, Oxford is always bathed in the golden light of youth and love and learning and endless possibility. We we did get one such golden day in Oxford, where we showed the boys around our old college and the chapel where we got married; they were entirely unimpressed with Mom and Dad's nostalgia tour. They were much more keen when we took them punting on the river and treated them to ice-cream at one of our old student haunts. When the next day proved damp and dreary (there were lots of student days like that too; we just remember