Britain in November

We went to Britain last weekend. After a long drive accross the country, and a couple of hours on the ferry, we  spent the first night in Fishguard (Wales).

In the morning when we woke, our view was just so beautiful (and presently half-painted too! yay!)

(chosen by Beloved, who drove for hours every day and took great care of all of us, diffusing some hairy moments (like when we found we were driving north as opposed to south in the dark and rain with children going nuts, and the mother (me) on the edge of nutty-dom) and finding a charity (thrift) shop that was FREE!!!!!! (donation only)-more on that anon)

We drove down through beautiful, scenic Pembrokshire and into England,

over this enormous bridge that straddled the River Severn.

We stayed south of (beautiful) Bath

for 3 nights, going to Glastonbury,

Stonehenge (Fergal took this fantastic photo),

and Legoland (really, really worth a visit, especially if your children are Lego-nuts like ours- the models are fantastic)

And then when we missed our ferry home on Monday (all my fault, I can’t believe I read the times wrong, but what a blessing!) we stayed in St. Davids, half an hour from Fishguard, in another idyllic spot

(Wales really is full of them. If  I had to live anywhere other than Ireland, it would be Wales. Oh, and the accents! I was always a fan of Fireman Sam :-D)

On our last day, we visited the Bishops Palace in St. Davids. We had been there ten years ago and have always wanted to go back.

 

Our ferry home was fraught with warnings of “we may not be able to dock the boat!” and “we will probably be delayed by hours!!”

but in the end it wasn’t too much later than planned that we arrived on Irish soil

(with great sighs of relief. We won’t be going to Wales by ferry in November any time soon) 

The following day we were home, we earthed ourselves with making a few apple-tarts (we have been incredibly blessed with buckets of cooking apples thanks to Grandad Tom and Granny Teresa!)

After many years of wishing I could make an apple-tart that came even slightly near the perfection of my mother’s, I am glad to say, I am getting close.

Not quite there yet, but it’s always good to have something to aim for, and there is a general familial consensus for me to practice several days a week (what a supportive family, 🙂 )

 

(note: Fergal took most all of the photos on the ferry, and he also took the ones at the campsite 
 – I wilted inside in the warmth… it was November after all!!)

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