English Coastal Cities

Our rental car is clocking up some kms as we continue our exploration of England.  It has been great on the motorways humming along, speeding past the trucks and caravans heading home after the holidays but also small enough to safely navigate the narrow country roads.

It is like from one extreme to the other, huge motorway or roads that you don't think are big enough for two way traffic, especially the big tractors, trucks and buses that use them as well!

The seaside seems to be attractive to us as the next two stops are port cities.  We didn't think too much of Bournemouth, maybe because we got caught in a rain shower but it was awesome to watch the big waves crash against their piers.  A great swimming beach when the time, and weather, is right!

Not far around the Dorset Coast is Portsmouth which has quite a bit of history that interested us so bare with...

One of the most famous kings in Tudor times was Henry XIII, mainly for the saga of having 6 wives  but that is another story.

At this time in English history, there were many invasions of England so Henry XIII built a few castles along the South Coast for defensive purposes and he significantly built up England's royal fleet from just 5 ships to over 40 by his death.  His favourite ship was called the Mary Rose but unfortunately she sank in 1545 during the Battle of Solent, watched by Henry from Southsea Castle.

Now if you weren't aware, Rosie's name on her birth certificate is actually Mary-Rose so off we went to visit the Museum of the Mary Rose, and what a fascinating story which I will tell briefly.

Mary Rose was launched in 1511 and had 34 years as a king's ship before that fateful day in 1545.  The extraordinary thing is that for 437 years she was underwater but in 1982 she was raised to the surface by a huge team of divers, archeologists, engineers etc and what they found is now the largest collection of Tudor objects in the world.  Throughout the museum are fascinating objects, remains and stories about the ship, and the poor 500 souls who lost their life during the sinking.  Apparently 35 survived.

The interactive displays were thoroughly interesting, especially the ones about the ship's dog, whom they have nicknamed Hatch,

and the skeleton of an archer.  It is absolutely amazing how they can find out so much about someone from their bones, and chemical studies of their teeth can state which area of the world they were originally from.  This guy was either Welsh or English.

The hull of the Mary Rose was raised onto a dry dock at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard where she was originally built and launched, and now history can be re-enacted as it was in those Tudor times.

The Mary Rose also housed the latest guns and canons of the time, and the soldiers were trained in all sorts of warfare.  This particular gun is a forward facing one found at the front of the aftercastle, the widest part of the ship.

The archers must have been very strong as we had a go at pulling the string of a long bow, and it wasn't easy!!

Around Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard are some other notable exhibitions especially this one of the HMS M.33, (a gunboat) which was a unique survivor, the only ship left from the huge Allied fleet which supported the landings at Gallipoli in 1915.

Portsmouth is also home to the only UK museum dedicated to telling the events of June 1944 - D-Day.  This was about the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, which created a path to victory for the Allies.  We didn't have time to visit the museum but this landing craft it is definitely worthy of a mention in the blog.

So, a huge amount of history in this coastal city.  We were very pleased to be able to experience it.

Wales and Black Ferns Game #2

It would be remiss of us to be in the United Kingdom without visiting Wales so to Wales we went.  How do you know you are in Wales?  The signs are bilingual - Welsh and English.

We chose to stay at a little town called Pontypool for two reasons - 1.  We could pronounce it.  A lot of the Welsh towns have hard to say names eg: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (longest town name in UK) and 2.  It had a Park Run.  On Saturday morning, Rosie and Grant put on their walking shoes and walked the 5km Pontypool park run around one of the more famous club rugby grounds in Wales.  Apparently they have had some very good players represent the Lions from this club.

I stayed in the car since I can't walk!  Fortunately, the rain stayed away and they had a good chat to some of the locals on the way round.

From our travels so far, we can most certainly say that the Welsh are the most friendliest people, very much like us Kiwis, and if you want somewhere to stay in Wales, The Little Crown Inn is the place!!!  Great accommodation, bar and restaurant!

Whilst in Wales we went exploring and found a village called Hay on Wye which had numerous book shops so if you are into reading, this would be the place to hang out!

The Hay castle, whose 13th century gateway has survived numerous sieges in the middle ages, is in the middle of the village.  It survived attacks by King John in 1216 and Llywelyn the Great in 1231.  The history of the UK that we are hearing and reading about is just so fascinating and mindboggling!!  

On the way back to Pontypool, called into a market town called Abergavenny.  Had some quirky wee shops and stalls to have a nosey at.

We woke up on Sunday morning to the news that the Southland Stags had secured the Ranfurly Shield off Waikato so it was antlers up for the rest of the day!!

Back in England we drove straight to Exeter for the next Black Ferns game, this time against Japan.  In front of a sell out crowd, the Black Ferns were too good winning 62-19.

One of the highlights was Portia Woodman-Wickliffe's 50th try for the Black Ferns, and record for tries scored by a NZ player!

The Japanese were very plucky and courageous in their play and just so respectful after the game, bowing to every side of the stadium.  

Definitely crowd favourites but in the next game, France vs Brazil, when Brazil scored their very first rugby world cup try, the crowd went nuts!!! So, so supportive of the underdogs and thoroughly enjoying women's rugby!  Rosie tested out the MVP back drop before Braxton Sorensen-McGee had her turn!

The next day was spent catching up with one of Grant's friends in the lovely, seaside town of Teignmouth in County Devon.   On one of the town centre streets, we just happened to come across the filming of Bergerac, Series 2 with the actress Zoe Wanamaker, acting out a scene.  That was quite cool to watch for a bit.

It was also good to breath in some sea air and eat some yummy homemade scone with jam and clotted cream!

Also had a look at another seaside town called Torquay, which is where Agatha Christie was born.  If you don't know who she is, do a bit of googling.

And that is just the start of another week, more exciting adventures await us as we enter the month of September, yay Spring but here in the UK, Autumn!  A lot of sad children around now as they are back to school this week after a couple of months Summer holidays!

Scotland, Lake District

It ended up being a brief visit to Scotland 

but when we were leaving the small town of Melrose, Scotland, we found out that it is the home of the rugby 7s!  

They regularly have rugby tournaments and the pub we stayed at also loves collecting rugby jerseys from all around the world.  Yes, the All Blacks' one was featuring in their display.

On the way we were able to stop to view three bridges that connect Edinburgh's M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth.

1.  The Forth Bridge - first mild steel, longest cantilever bridge when it opened in 1890.  A marvel of Victorian engineering in its day.

2.  Forth Road Bridge - opened in 1964.  At that time, longest bridge in the UK and 4th longest in the world.

3.  Queensferry Crossing - opened in 2017.  2.4km motorway structure is longest three-tower cable-stayed bridge in the world with the tallest bridge tower at 211m.

It was at an impromptu stop in Falkirk that we found a fascinating place called Callendar House.  They had a wonderful exhibition outlining the history of house, which has connections to Mary Queen of Scots (One of Henry VIII's wives) and what life was like back in the Tudor days.

Not far from there was Henrix Park, home of the Kelpies.  These magnificent sculptures refer to the Scottish folklore shape-shifting water spirits, that often take the form of a horse.  Rosie tried to feed me to one of them!!

Up close they were an awesome work of art!  You could have stared at them all day!

Further south we ventured off the motorway into the Lake District of England and what a beautiful part of the country.  

You can see the windy road that we travelled along, with the lake in the distance.  Absolutely stunning and that is where we stayed, up in the hills at an inn called the 'Mortal Man Inn' in a little village called Troutbeck.

Further south is Lake Windermere, England's largest lake and there are all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore around this area along with numerous amounts of water activities, hiking and other outdoor activities.  Unfortunately, for the first time in our trip we have struck rain so didn't get to have a great look around.  

Never mind, plenty of other exploring to do as we continued our trip further south to the medieval town of Shrewsbury.  Another castle to explore 

and they have this awesome street called Wyle (medieval English for hill) Cop (top of), full of 16th and 17th century architecture interspersed with cool little cafes, quirky shops and pubs.

One pub we went into called the Henry Tudor Inn, which dates back to 1429.  It was once Wyle Cop's Court House and held prisoners overnight.

Crime during the Tudor era was widespread and the punishment for committing a crime was often extremely severe.  The prison cells that housed those criminals back then now have a new use - you can have a meal in one!  

And so that ends another few days of my adventures around Scotland and England.  Where will I venture to next?

England - Black Ferns Game #1

Across the Irish Sea we flew into Heathrow Airport, picked up a car and started another phase of the adventure touring around the other part of the United Kingdom.

After navigating the roads out of London, we were soon cruising along the M1 North towards Northampton where we stayed the night and then onto York where we put on our black jerseys,

caught the bus to York Community Stadium to cheer on the Black Ferns in their first game of the 2025 Rugby World Cup against Spain.

Our seats happened to be in the middle of a lot of Spanish supporters who were a lot of fun.  They cheered whenever there was good play on both sides and gave a huge cheer when Portia Woodman-Wickliffe came on the field, obviously in awe of this wonderful NZ player.

The York community definitely supported the event with over 7000 spectators there and of course, the Black Ferns came away with a great win 54-8.

The next day was about exploring the fascinating city of York, which is was founded by the ancient Romans, but has a strong Viking past.  Again, the hop on, hop off bus gave us a good insight into the city including the York Racecourse, which is just recovering from a 4 day meet!  The main centre is surrounded by ancient walls and in the middle is a huge 13th century Gothic cathedral, York Minster.

It has so many tales about highway men, such as Dick Turpin

and is deemed to be the most haunted city in England.  We went on a Ghost Trail and heard a few scary stories about various characters and how they ended up haunting various parts of York.

We also visited The Shambles which is the alley that inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series.

 If you are into wizards and magical stories etc, then York is definitely a place to visit.

Back in the car again, with Rosie's superior driving skills, we headed to the coastal fishing village of Whitby, where Captain James Cook began his seaman's training, and it is also where the Endeavour was built. 

We didn't have time to visit his museum unfortunately.

Further north we came across Hadrian's Wall, originally built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 122 to secure the Roman Empires' northern frontier. 

It featured ditches, forts, and watchtowers of which some of them are still standing today.  We just had a brief look and walked along some of the wall.  You can actually walk along the whole length of the wall, on a hiking trail, which takes about 6-9 days for the 135km.  We walked about 20m of it due to time constraints! 

Not far way from the wall, we crossed the border into Scotland and stayed at a little village called Melrose.  It was there that Rosie had her first taste of haggis!  

Ireland - Paddy Wagon Tour #2

 After a delicious meal at an Irish restaurant in the Temple Bar area, a good night's sleep we then headed off with Paddy again, this time to the south of Ireland towards County Cork.

First stop was at the Rock of Cashel.  Rumours have it this is where St Patrick's used to hang out so it is often called Patrick's Castle.

Further south to one of the most famous castles in Ireland - Blarney Castle, home of the infamous Blarney Stone.  If you kiss it, you get 7 years of the 'gift of the gab' but all three of us didn't think we need any more opportunities to woffle so used the time to explore more of this wonderful place rather than stand in line for 2 hours!!

Instead we found lots of interesting places around the Blarney Estate - a poison garden, a druid's cave (home to a religious hermit)

and some druid's stones and a sacrificial altar that snakes played a central role in many of the mystical rites and that is why St Patrick was keen to so famously banish them.  Myth or fact??

Some wishing steps.  For hundreds of years the Blarney Witch has taken firewood from the estate for her kitchen.  In return, she must grant the visitors' wishes.  If you can walk down and back up these steps with your eyes closed, making a wish, then that wish will come true within a year.  I won't tell you what I wished for!

The witch's kitchen legend tells us that the Blarney Witch lit the fire every night to stop shivering after her nocturnal escape from the cursed witch's stone.  Otherwise, historians will tell you that this was home to the first Irish cave dwellers.

Then we found the Dolmen, a megalithic tomb portal.  What magic and mysteries has it guarded over the millennia?

Lastly, we come across a ring of stones called The Seven Sisters.  Let's see if this legend is similar to NZ's Seven Sisters myth.  This is about a famous King of Munster who once ruled these lands.  He had 7 daughters and 2 sons.  His rival was also a powerful clan chief and the time came when the king had to defend his lands. One fateful day the army rode out to battle with the king and his two sons at the head of it.  Although victorious, it came at a great cost, as both sons were killed in the fighting.  The army marched back to the castle, on route passing the ancient druids stones circle that had stood for millennia. 

The king dispatched a contingent of men to the sacred site and in his grief he instructed them to push over two of the nice standing stones.  This would forever commemorate his two fallen sons.  The seven sisters remain standing to this day...

We then were dropped off in Cork, second biggest city in Ireland.  Found a pub with great food,

traditional Irish music and timed it nicely to see some Irish Dancing.

Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication with the pick up time for day 2 of the tour, we missed the bus!  Lucky for us, we found a nice public bus driver who took us all they way back to Dublin.  Spent the afternoon wandering around the busy streets, exploring the inner city of the capital.

Fortunate for us we were able to get back onto Paddy's bus for a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher, one of the great natural features in the world.  These sea cliffs are located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare.  They run for about 14 km with a maximum height of 214m.

They were absolutely magnificent and we were lucky that the rain didn't come to much as it often does!

One noticeable feature of this fertile land are the rock and stone fences on the farms.  They have been there for centuries because a)  they cleared the land of the rock and stones so could plant crops or graze their cattle and b) mark the territory between farmers' lands.

That is about the end of our Irish adventure, we have loved it here and how they are embracing their very ancient Gaelic/Irish language with bilingual signs and most schools teach the difficult language in most of the classrooms.

Definitely will come back another time but now, another country awaits us....