Y Mers ~ the Welsh Marches
“Wales is blessed with some truly magnificent castles, full of history and a must see for visitors. “- Luke Evans
So, the ferry that we boarded was large and definitely crowded despite the number of decks and seating areas. There were lounges, restaurants, coffee shops and even a movie theater. Thanks to our early start most of our group made desultory conversation or dozed. The more energetic folks went up to the view deck and took pictures of the sea and the sky.
Land Ahoy! and just like that we were rushing to board our coach and settle in for a full day of sightseeing in Wales and England.
Our first stop, the town with the longest name in the United Kingdom if not the world. Most of the alphabet and a few extras make up this name and we dutifully wandered to the train station and photographed everywhere we found the name for our picture albums.
There were a lot of people milling around here in front of the general store which also boasted a translation of the name.
The Welsh Marches as I had read and imagined were not the beautiful seaside towns and blue ocean that we drove along but soon we came upon the crenellated walls and enclosed towns closer to my vision of this part of the world.
The walled city of Comyn and its red double decker sightseeing buses brought home that we were definitely back in England again and time was marching quickly towards the end of our wonderful journey. We did have some time yet, so I determined to enjoy the beautiful English countryside that we still were to enjoy.
Our nighttime stop was the walled city of Chester and the most haunted hotel in England or at least on our tour. As we drove into the city, we talked about the most eligible Duke of Westminster the biggest landowner in these parts.
After a quick orientation walk, we were left on our own devices to explore the town. Despite the early morning start it was like I got a second wind and a host of energy that propelled me to explore this charming what I would call a market town and even walk the city walls which are beautifully preserved.
After checking in and freshening up we took the bar in the hotel by storm and the ladies in the group all got fruity frou frou martinis. Loud and joyful we all braved our haunted rooms and survived the night without any ghostly encounters.
The imposing Chester Cathedral. I abstained from going inside even though on this trip I have been amazed by the beautiful interiors. Despite feeling not another church I have to say there are still churches to see and goggle over.
The horse races were on and in general there were a lot of people walking the town giving it a wonderful tempo. I tried to close my eyes and imagine people in the Middle Ages milling around enjoying the weather and shops.
The Grosvenor Hotel held pride of place on the main street with its quintessentially dapper English doorman who was a very nice person and happily posed for a picture for me. I also walked by Boodles and Hoby’s all well-known names of shops for aristocracy from the Regency tales that I cut my romantic teeth on.
The following morning was a bit gloomy and overcast as we approached our first stop at Ludlow Castle. Ludlow actually was an interesting town with its cathedral which was hosting a wedding and closed to visitors and a flea market selling all manner of glass, porcelain and silverware. I know many people from a group enjoyed dipping into the shops and finding some interesting items to purchase.
I did not pay the fee to enter Ludlow Castle but walked along the outside and admired the green. Ludlow Castle is where Prince Arthur and Princess Katherine enjoyed their honeymoon after which she declared herself a virgin so she could marry Henry and become Queen of England, the first of Henry’s wives.
The rain that had been threatening all morning started to come down hard, but fortunately we were ready to move on and head towards Cardiff our next stop.
Cardiff fortunately was all blue skies and beautiful by the time we arrived. We were now on the Welsh side of the marches and soon to explore Cardiff Castle which is exquisite inside. Again, despite all that I have seen on my travels this is one of the most decorated and exquisite castles that I have had the good fortune to see. Lord Bute used a lot of his fortune from coal to lavishly decorate this one-of-a-kind manor house where he and his family spent a few months if that of the year.
Cardiff Keep the garrison for the soldiers stationed here to protect the English from the marauding Welsh.
Inside the manor house is an ostentatious display of wealth, marble and stained glass. This particular room is the Oriental room with Arabic frescoes and vases.
The children’s nursery with its painted fairy tales across the top.
The library with this fresco depicting Moses and figures representing the languages; Greek, Assyrian, Hebrew and Celtic.
Tradition has it that in Wales a man who comes courting must first carve a love spoon to show his beloved’s father that he loves his bride true and that he can support her through hard work and skill. I thought it might be interesting to purchase one as a souvenir but changed my mind when I looked at the price tag.
With the traveling and wandering during the day, I had missed lunch, but we had an evening plan to attend a Welsh Cultural show and dinner, so I decided to look for an ice cream to tide me over till dinner.
Ice-cream is never a bad choice but as it happens the cultural show was the first this group had put up since the pandemic and was not the best entertainment, and the food itself left a lot to be desired. I’m never going to forget the childhood maxim that if you arrive hungry chances are that you’ll leave hungry. That night for the first time I broke into my stash of protein bars for subsistence. Fortunately breakfast the next morning was all that could be desired before we continued on our journey through the English countryside.