The Tour pt 17 - Are we there yet?
No, we’re not there yet, though the end is getting mercifully near for those who feel obliged to read this rubbish. We are on our penultimate stop of the trip - at Much Wenlock in Shropshire having met up with our friends Graham & Robert who will be travelling with us down to Cambridge at the weekend. So, here we go with the usual catch up and I’ll try not to mention the weather. Much.
Wednesday afternoon.Having bombarded you with the previous episode of drivel in the morning we headed out in the afternoon to Betws-y-coed to have a look at the waterfalls.
They were certainly pretty without being jaw droppingly spectacular. The admission fee to see something that was natural irked me a bit but they had certainly created a lovely setting. A great place to sit and chill or read - unless you are being attacked from all sides by malicious pollen intent on making your life a misery that is.
Thursday. Rain. Now there’s a surprise. Shopping first in the morning, then a drive west and south to Trawsfynydd (yeah, I couldn’t pronounce it either). Trev’s cousins and Aunty were due at their log cabin down there at some point and we hoped to meet up. There was no sign of them on our arrival so we continued south and out to the coast via Barmouth. There was some lovely beaches along this stretch of coastline that only needed some lovely weather to be fully enjoyed. Oh well. We done a complete circle but with no sign of aforementioned rellies on our return to the cabin, adjourned to the nearest pub for some refreshment. After a half hour or so we tried again but there was still no sign of them, and with no way of contacting them we headed home to Patsy.
Friday. Rain. Repetitive isn’t it? It was windy as well. We done pretty much nothing all day, apart from wait for the weather to break so we could take the awning down and pack it away. Every time there was a lull in the maelstrom and we went outside to begin demolition the rain and wind returned with increasing ferocity. It was early evening before the awning was safely dismantled and packed away, though still damp.
Saturday and time to move on, and a small step closer to home. Much Wenlock was the destination and the fifty-five miles or so passed easily, successfully locating what was Wales’ only pot hole on an otherwise excellent road network on the way. The site was easy to find, located on the edge of this quaint little town and we were soon sited. Graham and Robert had already arrived, making the much longer journey from London so they were on tea duty which was gratefully received.
The rain had gone, at least for a while but the wind made putting up the awning difficult. On the first attempt it nearly took off taking Patsy with it. We adjourned for a cuppa prompting a immediate cessation of the gusting wind. It returned of course on the second attempt half an hour or so later, but with pegs and mallet in hand we were ready for it. The rain didn’t return until later when the four of us had come back from the pub, but for some strange reason, hardly noticed it!
Sunday. Amazingly it managed to stay dry all day. Some friends had driven down for the day so the six of us spent most of the day drinking coffee and chatting, apart from the lunchtime period when the liquid was changed for something else as we graced one of the local hostelries with our custom, followed by a stroll around the town. The evening entertainment was nothing less than predictable as England went out, yet again, on penalties.
Monday. Dry and actually quite warm too. The flipside of this was that the pollen levels had soared and hay fever was doing it’s best to make my life a misery despite the ingress of various pills, drops and sprays. Trev went off to visit aforementioned cousins and Aunty while I went food shopping with the others. Dinner that night was at our place and the bbq cooked some lovely gammon steaks. I just interfered by turning them over once in a while. We even managed to eat outside - a an extreme rarity on this trip. The gas cylinder, in use since we started this caravanning lark back in March decided to remind us of it’s presence by running out half way through. Changeover was easy though and considering how much it had been used, had lasted remarkably well.
Sightseeing resumed on Tuesday with a train ride from Telford in to Birmingham. The train ride was only forty minutes or so, taking us in to the heart of ‘Brum’ at New Street. The famous Bull Ring was right around the corner and considering it was raining that was our first port of call. Browsing and lunching completed, we braved the wet, muggy elements again at least as far as the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which provided an interesting (and free) diversion for an hour or so whilst the skies cleared. A boat ride on the canal was next, before debriefing (not literally) and thirst quenching late afternoon. A good day out all though of course, being Britain the weather could have been kinder.
So, just about up to date. Laundry duty this morning but little else planned for the day. It’s dry and warm though cloudy, so the sunbathing will have to wait a little longer.
Oh well, not much longer to go now. Cambridge beckons on Sunday for a fortnight then it’s back to what hopefully will be, sunny Saltdean. Hmm.
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