England (briefly) and Welcome to Wales
Saturday, July 5, 2025
Was it really only yesterday that we were in Dublin? We have certainly settled in to another Premier Inn Hotel in Chester. It was a cool and drizzly day today but that did not deter us.
Chester is a charming old city, replete with artifacts that add to its beauty.
First thing this morning we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel and then crossed the street to wait for the very first Hop On Hop Off run of the day. It was pretty misty so we sat under the roof upstairs on the bus. But soon it was dry enough to move to the open air. Our intention was to remain on the bus and travel the entire route, all 13 stops. For most of the route, we were the only people on the bus. We learned a lot of history about Chester and we took a lot of photos – buildings, natural beauty, parkland, rivers and canals. There was a great deal of history that occurred over the years that has made Chester the city it is now. Leaders of all persuasions who put their signatures on Chester – buildings, towers, city walls, statues, often based on a vision of what Chester could be. Chester has taken care to preserve many of the buildings and landmarks and the storytelling throughout the tour described the events that led to each component – a royal visit, a war, an innovative idea such as tudor buildings,
high and thick walls for protection,
functional buildings for manufacturing (cannonballs among other things).
The tour lasted for about an hour. We returned to our hotel filled to the brim with stories and photos.
The River Dee runs through Chester (we will see it again in Wales). It is a fast flowing river and offers canoeing, inflatable rafts, river cruises and houseboats for hire. This river certainly adds a unique dimension to the city.
Another feature that we encountered in Chester, near the Cathedral, were Rising Bollards. These are steel posts the retract underground and rise at the touch of a button to control the flow of traffic.
At one point, Jim was coming to pick me up but I was on the wrong side of the rising bollards and not able to see them. Jim explained the dilemma to the kind man who was responsible for the bollards. He pushed the button that removed them as an obstacle and as soon as Jim was through the gap, the bollards rose again.
Now I had a chance to begin putting together our blog and a companion book. That is, until we got a facetime call from our Toronto family at home. Our newest granddaughter, Leighton, and our four year old granddaughter, Harlow, stole the show. It was fun to see how much Leighton has grown and developed in her short 15 years and to hear all the stories and plans Harlow has for the summer. Iain and Elaine both got a little bit of screen time but the girls’ had lots to tell and show us.
By the time the call ended, it was time to go out into the city again. Another bus ride but this one had a specific plan to it. First, we stopped at the Chester Cathedral. Like most cathedrals, it had a history to it.
There has been a church on that site since sometime in the 800s AD.
When it was built, it was not intended to be a cathedral but simply a church for worship. In 1092, it was repurposed as a Benedictine Abbey. Then, in 1541, the Abbey was dissolved but the building was spared and became a cathedral. Several additions and modifications have been made since that time. It was heavily damaged during the Second World War and many of the stained glass windows were destroyed. Over many years several of those windows have been replaced but there are still many, many plain glass windows that light the cathedral.
What an amazing building it is! I described the evolution of this building from church to cathedral in yesterday’s earlier, so I will not go into that detail again. When we arrived today, a service was underway. All visitors are welcome to any service to remain for as little or long time as they wish. Of course, the expectation is to be respectful to the people who are in worship but to enjoy the various aspects of the building at the same time.
We chose to sit and attend the service for quite a while. The attraction was the music. The organ was magnificent, hundreds of pipes
After a long while, we left our seats and quietly explored the cathedral building with all its history and architecture and stained glass and clear glass windows. The cathedral was severely damaged during the second world war and only some of the stained glass windows have been replaces. Clear glass fills the other spaces.
In one area, the structure of the oldest part of the building (800 AD) was visible. It is humbling to be in the presence of something was constructed so long ago and has retained its integrity until 2025. We also paid attention the structure of the ceilings, amazing beauty high above our heads.
Of course, there were many, many graves in the walls and columns and beneath the floors. We did not recognize and names but stood respectfully while we read the epitaphs of many of the people who were buried there. Such a history.
One of the highlights of our visit was to see the completed lego structure of the cathedral. It had been a fund-raising effort and each person who ‘laid a brick’ made a donation to the cause. Of course, the money raised has been used to upgrade, rebuild and improve the building itself. But the lego structure is the only real way to see that whole building in its entirety. It is enormous!!
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Waking up this morning, it was hard to remember where we are. Oh, yes!! We are in Chester now and we have this day to capture all that Chester has to offer. I have to admit that we are both tired, most especially me, I think. So we were slow to get ready to embrace this day. Also, it was rainy. Another rainy day in the British Isles.
We dressed warmly and wore our raingear. We chuckled as we saw what apparel others were sporting. Clearly, for some, summer had arrived – shorts, sleeveless shirts, billowy dresses – no raincoats or umbrellas or even sweaters or jackets. The sun did come out briefly in the afternoon and we declared that summer had arrived … and vanished about 30 minutes later.
Sunday afternoon the sun came back out. It seemed like a good time to stroll a pedestrian mall. It was a a very unique shopping street. Buildings were constructed to accommodate two rows of shops. One row at the ground level and another row on a second storey with the walkway covered with a roof.
Although it was Sunday afternoon, many of the shops and especially the restaurants and cafes were open for business. And the street was crowded with families, couples holding hands, dog walkers, and a few serious shoppers if one can judge that by the number of packages they were carrying.
Partway along the street we happened upon a bake shop called Gail’s. Since I have a good friend named Gail, we decided to treat ourselves in ‘her’ shop – a chocolate and sour cherry scone, enjoyed at a tasty chocolate and sour cherry scone outside along the pedestrian street. Delicious and great timing. We sat at an outdoor table and enjoyed the scone as well as the crowds of people passing by.
We continued along the mall, commenting on various restaurant names – Slug and Lettuce really stood out for us. But the tables were quite full so clearly, others were not put off by the name. At the end of the street, we determined where the nearest bus stop was located and patiently waited for the big red bus to arrive again. It is extremely punctual. We enjoyed the ride one more time until we got off in front of our hotel.
This time, we were headed for an early dinner at an Indian restaurant right across the street from our hotel. The food was delicious and the service was very attentive. We were happy simply sitting and relaxing over our meal.
It was early evening when we returned to our room. As usual, Jim was engaged in planning our next few days, tracking routes to drive, booking hotels, checking that the places we want to visit are open on the days we will be there.
I, predictably, worked on our blog, writing and placing photos. As well, I am trying to create our ongoing photo books as we move from place to place. I have to admit, I am falling behind. So tomorrow will be a day to rest and to catch up on the books. Unless, of course, something more exciting comes our way.
Monday, July 7, 2025
It was a quiet day indeed. Breakfast at the hotel with lots of coffee. Then back to our room to catch up on our various projects – Jim planning the future and me recording the past.
I am quite tired from the pace we are keeping and today (now Tuesday) as I write this, I can already anticipate a very busy day ahead – first to Manchester, then Liverpool and finally on to Llanglollen (Wales) where we will spend the next five days.
We decided to have dinner in our hotel tonight. The menu is simple yet pleasant. We sat at a table for four and a group of men (5) came to sit at the adjacent table for four. We invited one of them to use part of our table, anticipating that he would move one section of table to join his buddies. But, not so. He sat down in one of our empty chairs and very quickly it became clear that he was going to be eating with us.
It turned out to be a very entertaining time. The five young men were in town to work on a construction project. They are all electricians. This was the beginning of a lively conversation about pursuing trades as opposed to professional careers. He, as I said, is an electrician and his wife is a nurse. They both see quite a contrast in working hours, working conditions and pay scales. Plus, the time required to be prepared for the work, ie university vs apprenticeships and short courses. He presented a very interesting perspective, one that we really could not disagree with.
From there, we went on to other topics. And the other table of four joined into the laughter and conversation. It was one of those ‘passing in the night’ circumstances that brought pleasure to our table.
And so the day came to an end. I did not accomplish all that I had planned but it is time to move on. More adventure, more photos, and tonight, more writing.
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
It was a slow start this morning. We both had things to do as well as packing up to head for yet another destination. It was late morning by the time we were organized and had the car packed.
Our first destination today was Stockport, not far from Manchester. The traffic was light and the sky was bright, both of which made the driving pretty smooth. We wiggled around on the roads in Stockport, finally arriving at the headquarters of the Robinson Breweries Visitor Centre.
Although there is no direct familial relationship, it does not require much imagination to understand why we wanted to visit this place. Robinson Breweries have been in existence since 1838 and currently own about 250 pubs and hotels. In previous visits to the UK, we have frequently eaten at Robinson Pubs. The beer and the menus have always been tasty. So, today we sent some time at the visitor centre where the history of the business was on display – photos, stories, old equipment and souvenirs (of course). We took our time browsing around and Jim bought an authentic Robinson Brewery golf shirt as well as a few other mementoes.
As we were leaving, one of the staff asked if we would be interested in meeting their horses, the ones that pull the wagons in parades and competitions. Having seen horses last week, we were interested in comparing these animals. Were we surprised!!! These horses are certainly not racing horses. They were HUGE and friendly, beautifully groomed and clearly bred for size and strength. It was easy to imagine them pulling a wagon behind them.
After leaving Stockport, we drove past Manchester on our way to Liverpool. Liverpool has two cathedrals, one very modern and the other very old. A friend suggested that we visit them both because they are so different from one another, yet both so beautiful.
We started with the modern cathedral, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The initial idea to build this cathedral was introduced around 1850 and, due to architectural challenges, world wars and financial considerations, it was not actually built until 1967. It had taken ten years to physically construct this edifice.
This cathedral is like none we have ever seen before. It is immense in size, modern in design and beautiful both outside and inside. We spent about an hour simply walking around and taking in the beauty and spirituality of this place.
While we were there, an organ tuner was at work adjusting the sounds and when he was finished the organist put on a short impromptu recital. I am sure he was just checking that all the keys and pedals were working properly but it was a beautiful range of music that filled the air.
We moved on to the second cathedral, a much older building. It was beautiful and well maintained but, sadly, it was not open to the public and will not be for the rest of the week due to commencement activities that are occurring every day. We were disappointed, of course, and had to settle for a few exterior photographs.
From the cathedral, we drove to the docklands along the Mersey River. On a whim, we decided to register for a “Beatles Bus Tour” next weekend. Two hours on a bus with a guide, visiting all the iconic places that the Beatles are known to have been. It should be fun.
As we left Liverpool, we were amazed at the range of architecture in the core of the city. Many old buildings have been refurbished but there was also a plethora of new buildings in a range of very modern styles. Quite a different skyline than 100 years ago.
Late afternoon, we finally got on the road to Llangollen in Wales. Fortunately the drive was only about an hour in length and mostly on a freeway. We have been to Llangollen before but I have to admit that other than the beautiful tall hills around the town, I really do not recall much of the previous visit.
Except that there was choral festival then and that is why we are here now. The whole week is filled with performances by choirs from around the world. We have tickets that permit us to attend any of the daytime events.
We are now settled in a quaint old hotel. The room is lovely and dinner was delicious. The main drawback is that our room is on the third floor and there is no elevator. We will certainly get our exercise over the next 4 days.
It is 9:30 pm now and still broad daylight outside. The sky was clear blue this evening and it might even be warm enough tomorrow to wear summer clothes. What a treat that would be.
On that note, good night!!
P.S. You know you are in Wales when you see this word on a sign!
Comments
Post a Comment