Conwy to Edinburgh - Temple, Stone Cirlce, Hedge Maze

Preston Temple * Castlerigg Stone Circle * Traquair Manor Hedge Maze

Today was a travel day (we're going to put a lot of miles on this car in Britain) from Conwy to Edinburgh.  Once again we picked out a couple of stops just because, the first was the Preston Temple - closed for cleaning but we were able to walk around the grounds.  Stewart had a companion whose father is in charge of the temple grounds, we tried to find him, but he wasn't working today.

Our next stop was Castlerigg Stone circle via the Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District of England.  The pass was a beautiful drive with dramatic stoney green hills (mountains) lined with stone fences everywhere. Sheep dotted the green hills and every once in a while ended up on the side of the "highway" (I use that term loosely as no US official would allow for such narrow roads with blind corners - every time a car approaches Eric has about 1 second to slam his brakes and swerve left into the hedge).  We liked Castlerigg.  It wasn't crowded and the kids could run around the stones weaving in and out of them.  It was good stop to stretch our legs.

We had another amazing scenic drive for about the last hour into to Edinburgh.  It looked very different from the one in Wales.  More green, less rocks, just as many sheep, and a road that if going fast enough felt like a roller coaster - lots of ups and downs.  As we crested one hill, we were shocked to be buzzed by a fighter jet.  It was flying so low that we didn't see it until we came up the small rise and I thought it was going to crash it was so low as it sped down the small canyon.  It tipped it's wings as if saying "hi" as it zoomed past.

Our final stop was the Traquair Manor House Hedge Maze - the largest in Scotland.  From the start to the center it's a 1/4 mile of pathway and the only way to reach the center is to find the center of each of the 4 quadrants of the square first.  It was not easy.  It took Charlie over 30 minutes to reach the center and finally Maren had to head back to help him.  The hedge was tall enough hat you couldn't see over.  There was another family in the maze as well that we could hear but never see and that also never made it to the center until on our way out we directed them the right way.  It was an hours worth of great entertainment. We can now see why a hedge maze was included in the Tri Wizard Tournament.

We arrived in Edinburgh just after 6:00.  Our apartment is in a converted whisky warehouse right at the water's edge.  It's a cool area that's been reclaimed and turned into housing.  We're about a 20 minute bus ride from the old center of town.  We're glad that this apartment has 2 bathrooms and only Stewart has to sleep on the couch this time, and at least it's a couch that pulls out to a bed.  I made homemade Mac-n-cheese tonight which was perfect comfort food for a rainy day (as it has been all day).  Stewart now has a pasta aversion because of all the bad pasta that his mission companions made him throughout his mission - the other kids devoured it though.

PrestonTemple

Lake District Drive

Castelrigg Stone Circle

Traquier Manor Maze

Conwy - Castle, Slate Mines, Woolen Mills

Conwy Castle * Llechwedd Slate Mine * Trefriw Woolen Mills

This morning while the weather was still nice we wandered around our medieval town, Conwy, and walked along the old medieval city walls - the best preserved in the UK.  Our walk culminated in a visited to the best castle we've seen yet.  Built in the 1280s by Edward I to show the Welsh people who was in charge, it's one of 5 castle built by this King to keep an eye on the rebellious area.  Castles are cool and this one had all the elements, towers, spiral staircases, large fireplaces, a dungeon, a chapel, a well, and so on.  It was in amazingly good shape and it was easy to imagine what it could have looked like back in the day.  Conwy is easy to get around and we love that our apartment is inside the old city walls - we walked back home along the walls for a bit.

After lunch in the apartment of PB&J (we found some PB - good comfort food!) we headed to a slate mine about 45 minutes away.  By now the weather had changed to grey and drizzle (we've had drizzle almost every day since we've arrived in the Britain). I wish I'd brought another pair of long pants.  I'm getting sick of the 2 I brought.  The mine was fun - we wore hard hats with lamps and took the steep train down 500 feet (the mine goes twice as far, but those areas have been abandoned).  We had a guided walking tour through the mine with great visuals to help us understand what it might have been like working in a mine in the mid-1800s.  It's not a job any of us would have signed up for - including Charlie - as children as young as 8 worked in the mine for 12 hours a day.  The slate mined at first was mostly used for roofing materials.  It was demonstrated how very thin the slate can by spilt - apparently a slate roof from Wales can last you 200 years.  The wood that supports it will rot before the slate goes bad.  All the homes in this area have these slate roofs.  At one point this region was exporting slate all over the world.  The mine was cold - about 48*, so after the 1:15 tour we were glad to be back out side where it was a balmy 60*.  (This is only funny - because at our next stop - the Woolen Mill - we were told they only dye wool in the winter because the fumes are just too much in this heat).

Our next stop was a woolen mill powered by their own electricity which they made with water powered turbine.  All the machines were more than 50 years old, but working in great condition.  We were most intrigued by the loom making a traditional Welsh weave.  There were 2500 threads on this loom and we just watched as the machine amazingly did it's things.  We also watched the machine that takes the wool and prepares it to be tightened into a thread, the machine that takes the thread and puts in on a spool, and the machine that twists it together to make it 2-ply.  It was fun to watch all the machines in action.

We decided we needed to try tradition Fish and Chips for dinner tonight.  Although the Fish was good - it need some flavor in the batter and some tarter sauce (all that was on the table was malt vinegar).  I'll take Fish and Chips from Market Street next time.  The tradition side that came with the dish was "mushy peas" - Stewart and I were the only ones brave enough to even try - not too bad, just needed some salt.

My guild book listed 2 "nightlife" activities in Conwy - Bingo and the Folk Music Club.  We opted for the Folk Music Club at the local social house - think retirement center with a bar (we drank fruit juice and mineral water).  We paid our 1 pound/adult fee, got our raffle tickets and went in.  Our kids were the only children and with the bar tenders, Eric and I were the only folks under 50.  Each local musician got up and played 2 folk songs of their choice, some better than others.  We actually really enjoyed ourselves and got into clamping hard for the local crowd and singing along when we could.  We would have stayed longer - but Charlie and Emma were falling asleep.

Conwy - Snowdonia National Park

4.5 mile hike * fake stone circle

We attended church in a small branch about 15 minutes away.  A struggling small branch, most of the members were 70+ (really!) and there were 15 people in the combined RS/Priesthood meeting.  We met one family with 3 kids ages 16+.  (2 were RMs). This family made up 25% of the branch; their family, their parents, and their 1 married child - 3 generations in 1 branch.  The father served his mission to SLC and spent most of his time in Sandy, the mother served her mission to Scotland so we felt we had lots in common with them.

The meetings were all really great.  Perhaps it was because this was the first time we've heard church in English for 9 weeks.  

Our apartment is a wee bit small and Stewart and Charlie are both sleeping on the couches.  We have to fold up the kitchen table after each meal and put it in the corner and 3 of us have to sit on the couch to eat.  Eric and I keep bumping into each other as we maneuver our bedroom.  It's not as small as Paris - but with 7 people and 1 bathroom, it's close.  Our living conditions are somewhere between camping and living in a winnebago.  Good thing we've had a lot of camping experience so we're managing.

For the afternoon we drove to a nearby National Park, Snowdonia National Park, and found a moderate trail for a 2 1/2 hike/walk. It was beautiful and lush with moss and ferns on the forest floors and tall pine trees everywhere.  I also love that we had to cross several pastures and go up and over and around fun Welsh gates so the livestock won't escape.  Everything is very trekker friendly and I think it's expected to see strangers walking through your pasture.

Bath to Conwy - Harry Potter and Family History

Gloucester Cathedral * Stock-on-Trent * Maccelsfield

Driving around England is gorgeous and green, the distances are further than I expected, partly because the country is large and once we get off the freeway the streets are small and wind through the countryside.  Often times we are only going 30 mph.

We took our time today traveling from Bath to Conwy making a few stops.  Our first was Gloucester Cathedral where we sent the kids on a Harry Potter scavenger hunt (Eric and I waited in the car).  3 Harry Potter movies were filmed here and we gave the kids clues to where some scenes were filmed - their mission was to figure out which scenes were filmed in each place. They did pretty good (scored about 75%) and it was a good diversion from driving.

Out next stop was a small city called Trentham just outside Stoke-on-Trent.  In 1840 Richard Brough was the first Brough to join the church in this city and we visited the church were he is buried and the address (now a police station) where he lived as a married man.  Richard Brough is my G-G-G-G grandfather and his granddaughter Mary Brough married William Rex Jr.  We didn't find his gravesite, but we did find a distant relative of his listed on the outside of the church in a memorial to those killed in WWI.

After Trentham, we stopped by Maccelsfield, a really nice town from where the Maxfield's originated way back in the 1500s.  We visited the church which had a Maxfield coat or arms and a medieval staircase and then wandered around the pedestrian only area of the main town.  I love all the happy walking towns we've visited on this trip.  We need more of that in the USA.

We arrived in Conwy (yes - there is no A in this word) to find our apartment just inside the old city walls (cool).  A short walk and we are up on the ramparts looking down at the entire city (small - today only 4000 people).  Just beyond is a cool castle that we'll visit later.  At the grocery store tonight I had a moment realizing how much I miss the Italian and French food.  There was no fresh baked bread, only about 2 kinds of cheese, very average looking fruits and vegetables, no good chocolate, and no yummy hams or prociuto.  The poor English - I guess it'll just be fish and chips (actually we made omelets).

If I thought Basque was bad in northern Spain or Catalan bad in southern Spain, Welsh is just as bad.  I haven't run into anyone yet that is actually speaking Welsh, but all the sign are first in Welsh and then English and there are no similarities!

Trentham Church where Richard Brough was burried

Maxfield coat of arms

running up the stairs behind Maccelsfied cathedral