Intermezzo

April 12, 2023 to April 21, 2023

Wheels, Wales, Walks.

First cycle venture. Even when living in London during our 1970s OE, the idea of cycling about the city held lots of appeal. Distances in the centre seemed so short, and in summer anyway, there was the immediacy of the city and parks. In recent years two of our children have related their own cycling experiences in London. Despite returning to cycle in the UK, we’ve never experienced the capital on bikes.

And so our first venture into the city begins with a ride down the hill from Petts Wood to St Mary’s Cray train station. This is one of three options we have locally, but since the London Terminal we want is Blackfriars, on the river, it the one we need. We have no trouble getting bikes on the train and the service to the city is fast and efficient. I’m quite surprised at the size of back gardens in the outlying suburbs as we travel through, but then that was partly the premise upon which suburban life was encouraged in Edwardian and later times.

Blackfriars station spans the Thames and there are wonderful views up and down the river. Tower Bridge, The Shard, The Gerkin and the Cheese grater are all out there. From Blackfriars there’s easy access down to the riverside where the views of the river traffic on the Thames shows it’s all go. Barges, tourist boats and Police patrol boats are all going either up or down.

We find what seems to be a cycle trail, of sorts, along the Thames south bank until we find a suitable crossing point at Westminster Bridge. Big Ben looks down, bright and shiny from his renovation.

A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse.

From here it’s easy- we simply stay on the cycle route and head into St James, Green Park, towards Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The gardens are pretty with daffodils, grape hyacinths and a huge variety of trees in bud.

We head down to Kensington Palace and then cross over to Queensway and stop for lunch at Diana’s playground along with any number of parents, grandparents and children. There’s every language and nationality present and little children sound so clever speaking languages like German and French!

Our return takes us past Buckingham palace where the gardeners are preparing for the coming coronation and we discuss soil quality with a chap who seems to enjoy a chat. He’s certainly got good black soil to work with. Then we’re off, past the Houses of Parliament heading towards Victoria.

Tradition. But would you want to shut yourself up in one?

Back to Victoria we take a look at the Cathedral of Westminster (free entry compared to £24 for the Anbey) Westminster is of Romanesque style and the interior is adorned with mosaics, but only the lower half. The top part ascends into darkness because it is, technically anyway, unfinished. This was the case in the 70s and nothing seems to have changed, though it’s still a beautiful building. We return to the south west from Victoria, happy to have negotiated our first day in the central city.

Art Gallery day. We catch the train to Victoria and walk to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to visit some old favourites.

Van Gogh - a reminder of country we cycled through on Via Rhona.

Constable. The image that sat on many a living room wall.

Returning to Victoria, we stop off at the Tate Britain to look at the Pre Raphaelite section. There’s rather heavy symbolism here but something appealing in their richness. There’s an exhibition of the Rosettis coming up that looks interesting too.

The fashion for brighter colours in clothing also adds to the painting’s richness.

Ophelia: ‘Her clothes spread wide and, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up.’

Down she came and found a boat Beneath a willow left afloat, And round about the prow she wrote The Lady of Shalott.

Wales watching. Off to mid Wales for a few days before we return to London, and then head to Portsmouth, to embark for St Malo towards the end of the month. After a train ride that involves 3 changes we meet our friends at Twickenham on a sunny Sunday and take a walkabout. The river is full of bird life on this Spring day and there are people with children making the most of the sunny weather. It’s a nostalgic reminder of how Spring used to suddenly arrive in London, and everything would change, seemingly overnight.

The drive to Wales is speedy. Sunday traffic doesn’t seem too heavy and the M roads work well when they work well. Not that I want to over egg motorway use. Before long the organised farmland around Oxfordshire has given way to the industry of Birmingham and then the dumpy green hills and white farmhouses of mid Wales.

We arrive at Rock Mill, our home for the next few days. The fruit trees are coming into prolific flower, there’s plenty of bird life, and the stream, a tributary of the Severn, is racing along and quite high.

A key part of Wales story is castles; castles built at strategic points to enable power to be established and maintained. Close by are Montgomery, Dolforwyn and Powys casltles. The two former are now ruins, but Powys is in impressive condition.

Montgomery Castle and Abermule’s Dolforwyn, are now in ruins but once faced each other across a valley. Trouble was, one castle, Montgomery, was built under Henry III’s orders and supported England, while the other, Dolforwyn, on the opposite side of the valley was under the control of a Welsh leader, Llewelyn the Last. The situation of regular conflict could not last. A siege was the result. The key to survival in a castle under siege was the well. Llewelyn the Last didn’t have one and as a result, Dolforwyn was easily captured by Roger Mortimer. Roger knew the importance of having a water source and has his men dig through several metre of solid rock to reach the water table and establish a source of life giving water. Today the hole looks big, dark and dank and is filled with water to a depth only to be guessed at. These castles both fell into ruin during the Civil War.

Once under metres of earth, these walls have been excavated in recent years.

Powys Castle, by contrast, has not fallen into ruin and looks magnificent with its red exterior, a clear landmark on the horizon. It is also surrounded by beautiful gardens. Powys was occupied by the Herbert family in the 1570s and has a wonderful collection of paintings, sculptures and tapestries, added to by each generation and on display. (No photographs allowed.)

1927 lawn mower - very heavy with more than one chain to get it moving.

The ice house- old version of the modern refrigerator.

Robert Clive (Clive of India) added to the collection with a number of objects which were either gifts or spoils of war. The gardens have views across the Severn Valley and comprise Italianate terraces, tall Yew trees and a formal garden with century old apple trees and rose bushes. For our visit the trees are resplendent in full blossom. It’s a sunny day, but the chilly wind demands that I wear 4 layers underneath a puffer jacket.

After a walk through the castle, one thing is clear - servants are a must. The amount of cleaning, cooking, gardening and general dogs -bodying would have been enormous. And still is. Rooms are dark but there are great views from the windows.
Our final castle visit is to Chirk Castle. It’s a rather squat building but is still in good repair, having been in the Myddelton family’s hands since before the Civil War and the last Welsh castle from the reign of Edward I still inhabited. The castle has beautifully laid out gardens and extensive views of the Shropshire and Cheshire countryside. There’s a well that’s an impressive 28 metres deep.

The castle may once have been coated in lime, meaning its white exterior would have stood out starkly.

Although not a castle, Gregynog Hall is of interest, having been built of concrete but in a Tudor style. Lord Joicey’s original building was taken over by the Davies sisters who built up one of the most extensive private collections of art works in the United Kingdom. They turned the lord’s billiard room into a music room and formed a choir. The house and gardens have hosted many festivals and concerts since the 1930s.

And so our castle visits have give us a new appreciation of border politics and ensure that we view the hard working people of Downton Abbey in a new light.

Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 312 km (194 miles)

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Rachael AndersonGreat photos! It brings back memories of our tour in Great Britain! The only thing I didn’t like about Great Britain is how steep the roads are! We’ve done many challenging climbs but they usually wind around allowing for more gradual climbs.
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11 months ago

Michael HutchingTo Rachael AndersonThanks Rachael, as Kiwis we are used to sheep from childhood farm stays with relatives. They were often herded along country roads. Today though, it’s cows and they tend to leave behind ( no pun intended) a much more fulsome by product- strictly to be avoided!
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11 months ago