A Celebration—Capital Cities, Cornwall Coasts, Cymru Castles—and More!
Three Weeks in (mostly) London, Cornwall, and Wales to Commemorate a 40th Anniversary and a Retirement

I start this long trip report with a bit about us and about the impetus and planning for this trip. If you just want to read about how the days went, skip to Day 0-1. Also, DH—M in this report—has contributed to this trip report, and I will indicate his input with “M comments:”

In 2017 we knew the summer of 2018 would mark some major milestones: Our 40th Anniversary would be in July, and DH (M) would retire after 40 years, with his last day sometime in mid-2018. We have enjoyed several international trips together and considered celebrating these upcoming big events by taking a “big” trip during my school-year break in June or July. (I’m not quite ready for retirement yet.) But we weren’t positive we should start our retirement life with a hefty expenditure.

Then in September my dad died on his 88th birthday. On the drive back from Tennessee to Texas after the funeral and time with my brother’s family, M and I happened to have a conversation with a man about our age during a lunch break. He shared how he was on his way to Texas, the first time he’d taken this trip since his wife had died a few months earlier. He said, “We’d always planned to travel during retirement, but then she got sick and is gone now.” Back in the truck, M turned to me and said, “I’m taking you on a trip.”

M comments: Years ago, a young couple lived Anderson's lyric: Wondering aloud / Will the years treat us well / As she floats in the kitchen, / I'm tasting the smell / Of toast as the butter runs / Then she comes, spilling crumbs on the bed / And I shake my head. For me, at these life milestones, this trip was a moment to reflect on that question. I conclude, despite a few crumbs, the years have indeed blessed us.

So during the next week (which happened to be my Fall Break), we made plans. First, I got to pick the country—the UK. I’d always wanted to see Cornwall, we both wanted to spend more time in Wales, and we had a few things in London we definitely wanted to see or re-visit. M said three weeks would be the maximum and that he’d drive outside of London. So with Google Maps, guidebooks, and Fodors Forums at the ready, I plotted and re-plotted routes.

M comments: This would be my third visit to Wales. If you want to know more about my motivation, see TBW's 2010 trip report, especially this post: https://www.fodors.com/community/showpost.php?p=9648233&postcount=48

When we determined a general length of time, M researched flights; we’d buy Premium Economy (W code) and request upgrades with our system-wide upgrades with fingers crossed. We’d leave on a Sunday, flying to London via Dallas, spend 19 nights, and fly back from Manchester via Philadelphia and Dallas.Then I secured rooms. We wanted to spend at least three days in London, but we wanted a flat. I worked through Ivy Lettings (now just Ivy at https://www.ivylettings.com/), an agency I had used in 2017, and picked a flat for five nights (minimum stay) near High Street Kensington. M wanted to stay in castles in Wales, if possible, so I looked into possibilities and found three “castles.” He also wanted to return to the Cardiff Hilton he’d enjoyed once, and we’d use a Manchester Hilton at the airport the last night. He’s not a fanatic fan of The Prisoner, but he suggested I look into staying in Portmeirion. I found a beach-side BandB in Cornwall that required a three-night stay. So our basic route was set.

So by mid-October, we had flights, car-rental, and rooms all sorted. I then worked on itineraries, making sure there were lots of options and alternatives. There were some “must see’s,” but I included second-tier sites and tried to work in some slow mornings and even a whole day of rest a couple places. When estimating driving times, I added 50% to the Google Map times or doubled them. Since we’d be driving to most sites, I tried to find the most specific addresses I could for M to enter into the car’s GPS. I checked and re-checked opening dates and times (although there were still glitches!) for sites. I kept tabs on Tube issues; there would be no planned closures on lines we’d use a lot. I watched weather forecasts to help determine wardrobe needs.

We are fairly seasoned travelers. It would be my 8th trip to London and 9th trip to the UK; M has been to London twice, the UK five times, and to other parts of Europe and to Asia too many times to count. Usually I plan trips that are packed with activities from morn til night; whether as the leader of high school students on the four trips I’ve led or as the “tour guide” for M and me, the itineraries I made were fast-paced and busy ones. But this trip I promised to allow more down time, more leisurely meals and more lingering strolls. We are still in pretty fair shape, but we weren’t going to tackle very long walks or very steep climbs. We are more interested in natural scenery, art, photo ops, and history than in shopping or nightlife, but a nice blend of all fine, fun things is best! I’ve never considered myself a “foodie,” but this trip might be a bit more about the food since I wouldn’t be herding students and I promised M to take it slower!

M comments: As a “fairly seasoned” traveler, I know the only thing constant in air travel is change. So, when AA called in December to tell me they were changing the equipment and would not have PE on our outbound DFW-LHR, I was not too surprised. The result, though, was that we were punted to some less-than-great seats in the main cabin. AA asked if I wanted to pay for business class, but I politely declined and told them to keep us on the upgrade wait list. I figured with TBW's Exec Platinum status and my CK, we had a good chance of snagging upgrades if seats were available in the business cabin.

The only major purchase we made for the trip was a camera. After years and years of good service and 100’s of 1000’s of pictures with three Sony DSLR’s, in Belgium in November 2017 our camera died of complete shutter failure (yay for cellphones with excellent cameras as back-up!). So I requested something lighter around the neck but with similar capabilities; M did lots of research and picked a mirrorless Sony. This was our first trip with it, so there was some learning and practicing.

Day 0-1—Sunday/Monday—Flight, Arrival in London, and a Bit of the City

Our 4:10 pm flight was on time. At DFW, we were met by an American Airlines Concierge Key representative and taken in a vehicle to our gate; the connection time wasn’t that tight, but it’s nice to use his perks while he has them! There did seem to be some issues with our upgrades and seat assignments; when the equipment changed, we had gotten a refund but things got a bit muddled. He got upgraded, I didn’t, my record locator changed, and I wasn’t on an upgrade list. In any event, the CK rep worked on it, and by the time of boarding, I, too, was in Business. Yay! It was an easy flight. My in-flight entertainment screen didn’t work, but there was nothing I cared to watch (AA promised me 10K miles for the inconvenience, but at this writing, it has not been received.). M slept several hours and I got a couple naps, which is more than usual for me.

We landed about 10:30 and were through Passport Control with fast-track and had luggage by a bit after 11. I’d booked a Just Airports ride, but no one was there. We called; he was running a little late (we had made it through in record time); he was there by 11:30. I’d made arrangements with Ivy to be let into the flat early, so I made contact with them to confirm. Normal check-in is 3, but they have several ways to accommodate earlier arrival, even if just to drop luggage for a while. Their customer service is great.

We were greeted by William before 12:30 at our flat on Cheniston Gardens, a three-minute walk from High Street Kensington Station. He showed us where things were and left us to settle in and rest. The flat had sufficient kitchen space and equipment; the living room was roomy with two windows and a balcony door to open and a view onto a leafy narrow residential street; the bathroom was big enough; and the bedroom was filled by the bed, but it was comfortable and there was lots of storage (and a W/D, too). It wasn’t fancy but clean and neat, with plenty of plugs. As the weather was seasonal, after cooling off with the windows open, M didn’t miss A/C too much. (I was in London June 2017 during that stretch of record-setting heat, and I DID miss A/C then!)

M comments: Although it was a small flat, I liked the convenient location and the amenities, especially the kitchen and laundry.

M took a nap, and I unpacked a bit and rested—and iced my thumb. Right inside in the hall to the stairs up to our flat, I missed a step up, fell, and jammed/sprained my thumb. Urgh. It swelled up immediately; I diagnosed no break as I could move all the joints and the pain wasn’t severe, but it ached and plagued me the whole trip; in fact, it is still not all well as I write this over three weeks later. It’s amazing how many things you use the thumb for—opening lids, putting on pants, pulling up the shoulder strap of a backpack or purse, writing! The rest of the trip I was in so many places where I could have easily slipped or fallen, scrambling over castle ruins and unfamiliar turf, but I fell on a simple small carpeted step my first day in London! Ouch.

I had not set any definite itinerary for this day, as you never know how you might feel after flying or if flights will be on time or how the accommodations work out or what the weather will be. But after a rest, we were ready for a bit of sight-seeing. About 2 pm we headed out, stopping at the nearby The Muffin Man for a late lunch of tea, good sandwiches, and ok cakes. Then on to High Street Kensington and some neighborhood orientation. We got pounds at a Lloyd’s bank across from the station. Inside the station I checked the balances on Oyster cards I had leftover from the trip I led last June; there was enough left on enough of them that we just used them with no need for top-ups all week. We got to Trafalgar Square which on this warm but nice Monday afternoon was busy but not packed. There are three places in London I will always want to revisit to feel I’m “in” the city—Trafalgar Square, Westminster Bridge, and the Millennium Bridge. So it was great to see the people and statues and streets at the Square. M had some photo-ops he wanted to search for, which gave us some direction for our walk. In the BBC TV show Killing Eve, there are some shots of the intelligence station's door on a street off Trafalgar Square. We found it—ha!

Then into the National Gallery, which I would be glad to re-visit any time. M has only hazy memories of his visit to it in 2010, so we went in for a while. He posed in front of Turner’s The Fighting Téméraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up like Bond and Q in Skyfall, but we also enjoyed some other masterpieces. It was fairly crowded.

Then he plotted a course to Piccadilly to find the Japanese Embassy so he could pose for a pic to send to some colleagues in Japan. Once there, I crossed the street to take pics of him; meanwhile, he was hearing from the guard that no pics should be taken. But unlike in 2008 when I was tracked down by some nice London bobbies who asked for my passport and to look at pics I’d taken of the US Embassy, nobody seemed to follow us.

M comments: It is not possible to exactly reproduce Bond's pose; the furniture has been changed and relocated.

We rode from Green Park in a crowded Tube to HSK and walked to Waitrose; we were feeling tired by now. We got a few things there, mostly breakfast stuff, and then picked up some salads at the Pret in the station and ate in the flat. We really like all the fresh prepared foods available, which makes a nice meal option, even if we don’t actually cook. We fell in bed by 8pm—pulling the thick curtains to block out the light, of course. I think we were only up past the nearly-10-pm sunsets maybe 2-3 times the whole trip!

(I'll post more London days very soon)

Your story of how this trip came about is very moving, and I like your attitude of not letting hiccups get in your way. Your pace seems very similar to mine. Like you I've travelled to London several times, although I've not ventured further than Windsor. Looking forward to your impressions of the places you visited.

Thanks, tripplanner; I honestly don't like hiccups, but they do happen.

Here's next couple of days:

Day 2—London—Churchill War Rooms and …Well, I promised to be flexible!

The room was dark and quiet, the bed comfortable, so we slept in til 7 or so. After breakfast and tea, we left on a pleasant cool morning a bit after 9.

The plan today was a tour of Churchill War Rooms, a look around the Westminster area, and a walk in Covent Garden. We’d been to Covent Garden before, but for this trip I had mapped out a 2-3 hour stroll with nothing major as destinations. I really did try to make our itineraries pretty flexible with not much planned with definite entrance times, but the CWR has instituted timed-admittance, for crowd control, so I did have to figure out what would work out for us. I picked a 10 am entrance for this day, which would allow us in between 10 and 10:30, and printed the tickets at home.

From Westminster Station, we looked around the area a bit. Big Ben’s tower is totally encased with scaffolding as expected, but M was getting more used to the camera’s functions by taking lots of pics. I got a little turned around, not feeling completely alert yet, but we still made it to CWR before 10:25. We stayed until 12:30 or after. It was my 3rd trip, so I didn’t use the audio guide but just wandered around reading plaques and displays I hadn’t before. M really enjoyed his first visit. He agrees that it’s got way too much stuff to take in on one trip! We ate a yummy lunch—shepherd’s pie for M, soup for me—in the café and had a bit of rest.

Then after 1 we were going to head to Covent Garden. Outside CWR the street was blocked off, and M spoke with some policepersons who said some regiments would be parading by “soon” for practice for the Beating Retreat in a couple days. M wanted to wait to photograph that. As we waited, we enjoyed the bit of St. James Park there—cool paths, pretty trees, nice pond. Some police-dogs romped on the grass, and people in all sorts of clothes, from jogging outfits to business suits to fancy dress topped by fascinators, strolled by. About 3:00 several different regiments marched by, with little fanfare other than a bit of drumming but looking good in different regalia.

Then we went on to Westminster Bridge to the Southbank, just for a stroll across the Thames to take pics. It was a lovely mostly blue day. M was still game to try the walk I’d mapped out, so we rode to Piccadilly Circus—but then we decided jet-lag had caught up with us. We took some pics, then got on the crowded Tube back to HSK. We went into the huge Whole Foods just up the road from the station and got yummy stuffs for dinner back in the flat—and a much-deserved feet-up rest! I also confirmed some arrangements for meeting someone on Thursday. So we didn’t make it to Covent Garden this year, but I have a walking tour already mapped out for any future trip!

Day 3--Wednesday—A City Walk and Hamlet at the Globe

While planning, I had looked at different options for seeing a play. There wasn’t anything that jumped out at me or interested M; Mark Rylance and Ian McKellen, among others, would be in various productions but not while we were there; sad. I’d sorta settled on The Mousetrap but didn’t want to buy tickets; I thought we’d see about getting tickets to something when in London. But then I saw that Hamlet would be at the Globe! My favorite Shakespearean play, one I still teach—on the Globe stage! It would be my fourth production to see there and M’s second (we saw King Lear in 2008). So I got tickets for a matinee for this Wednesday, hoping the weather cooperated.

One trivial place I wanted to go this year was Twinings Tea on the Strand. I’d been by it a couple times but had never taken time to go in. I plotted some different walking routes that would included this tiny shop. What we ended up using was a Rick Steves Audio Europe app on my phone which has a walk called “Historic London: The City” which is similar to such a walk in his written guidebook. This walk would also incorporate 2-3 of the churches in the area I wanted to see.

We left on another lovely, cool morning about 9:30, riding to Temple where we started the audio tour. The first stop was the Church of St. Clement Danes, sitting in the midst of bustling streets. A Wren church (1681), it was heavily damaged in the Blitz of 1941 and now is the RAF chapel since its repair and rededication in 1958. It was quiet with a bright white ceiling; we found the American Book of Remembrance. Around back we noted the damage on the white Portland Stone walls and the statue of Samuel Johnson, who attended here. (We didn’t have time to go to Johnson’s House.)

Back out on the Strand, we admired the Gothic splendor of the Royal Courts of Justice, then we entered Twinings Tea. I didn’t buy anything; I didn’t really want to buy any of the special expensive teas. But now I can remember the visit when I’m sipping their tea bought back home in the “former colonies”! On past the Temple Bar Monument to enter the City.

Next we turned right down a little lane to enter the Inns of Court where I went into the Temple Church while M enjoyed the quiet of the courtyard. There was a small entrance fee; I wandered around taking a few pictures of this Crusader church.

Then back out onto the street, now Fleet, where we walked along in the almost lunch-time crowd. We stopped in our next Wren-church, St. Dunstan-in-the-West, where the Great Fire of 1666 ended. A practice for an upcoming vocal concert was going on, so we were able to listen to that for a minute, then we left quietly. We’ve been to the gardens in the ruins of St. Dunstan-in-the-East, so it was fitting to stop in here, too.

We departed from the RS itinerary here and just headed straight on Fleet Street until we reached Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub. In my different itineraries, I had included this as a possible meal stop; today it was about 11:45, so we decided we’d have lunch. Inside it wasn’t crowded—it actually wasn’t even open for serving food until noon, but we were invited to wait, upstairs or down, and to look at the menus. We chose to eat in the bottom room; I looked around at the memorabilia from the pub’s literary and historical past, and then we had very decent pub grub of steak and ale pie with mash.

After lunch and rest, we went on through St. Paul’s churchyard, full of people on lunch break enjoying the bright sunny day with temps in low 70’s. The Cathedral looked awesome in the light; we have been inside, even to the top of the dome, but today we just admired Wren’s genius from outside. The Millennium Bridge was our next stop; the views from here are some of my favorite, so we lingered. The bright clear air was making everything sparkle.

We got to the Globe about 1, with our tickets in hand, so we entered (no security check like last year) and found some shade to sit in for about 40 minutes, time enough to share a brownie and re-hydrate and for me to buy some souvenirs for DD and myself (she’s a fellow teacher who also loves Shakespeare). M requested a Yorick skull (of plastic). Ha. We had great seats which were almost completely in the shade the whole three hours, which was good. Despite the funny vented sun-visor hats the staff were handing out to any and all people in the sun, at least two ladies passed out among the groundlings in the early minutes of the play. Quickly attended to; I guess it’s a common occurrence.

But I have to say that this production was…I guess the biggest disappointment of the trip. The Globe is amazing. The acting was adequate to very good. The costuming and staging were, while not unusual or innovative, fine. However, the casting—well, Hamlet, Laertes, Horatio, and Fortenbras were played by women, and Ophelia was played by a man. For me, it didn’t work. The lady playing Hamlet was fine in his (her?) mad moments but almost toneless otherwise. The handsome young man playing Ophelia was quite good, maybe the best of those five actors—but he was tall with a dark five-o’clock shadow, a strong beak of a nose, and dark heavy eyebrows. Seeing him in a blue dress bending over Hamlet saying, “My honour'd lord, you know right well you did, /And with them words of so sweet breath compos'd” just seemed a bit incongruous. Last year I saw Andrew Scott play Hamlet, and I have Mel Gibson’s/David Tennent’s/Benedict Cumberbatch’s versions in my head, so maybe I just protest too much. But it just didn’t work for me. I did not perceive the method in the…madness.

We got back to the flat about 5:30 after stopping at M & S in the station for salads and stuff for dinner. I used the washer and dryer for the first time, and I backed up our photos by copying them onto our tablet, a task I took care of each evening. I was trying to keep my travel journal up to date, too, but my thumb hurt when I tried to write, the whole trip, so I didn’t record as many details of the days’ events as I usually try to do.


Next up: Last 2 days in London and then on to Exeter

Day 4—Thursday—The Tate Gallery (with C and Baby!) and Windsor Castle

A first visit to the Tate Gallery was on the top of my list for this trip to London; M’s top pick was Windsor Castle (I’d been, he hadn’t), so we would visit both of these “must-see” sites today. Plus an added treat of meeting up with someone.

In 2011 I led a group of students on a tour of England with EFTours with a marvelous tour director, C. In 2013 I requested she be the TD for another group on a tour of Scotland, England, and Paris, and she agreed. We stayed in touch; she entered law school and had a baby girl in 2015 whom I got to meet when I was in London on an EF Tour with a different TD that year. Last year we had a brief visit when I was in London with my group. This year she was due to have baby number 2 in May, so we weren’t sure how she’d feel, but she wanted to bring her 3-week-old little girl to the Tate to see us, so we arranged a time. What a trooper!

So about 9:30 M and I rode to Westminster on another lovely day (we hit the jackpot weather-wise) and walked along the Thames to the Tate by opening time. We saw the Turner pieces, and then I lingered, but not long enough, with the pre-Raphaelites. We had time for a brief look at the Blake room, which was interesting to me since I teach The Canterbury Tales and Dante for which he did illustrations now displayed here. We met C in the café for lunch and a visit. It was a gift for her to make the effort to keep in contact. (And this baby was born on my daughter’s birthday!)

About noon we headed to Pimlico Tube to Paddington where I bought tickets (any-time travel) for the train to Windsor which came in about 10 minutes, so the timing was great. It’s a nice ride with an easy change at Slough. The day continued to be lovely. I had pre-purchased tickets, so we entered very quickly, although there wasn’t much line this afternoon. We went to the Chapel first, then the rooms, then around the grounds. I won’t go into details, as much has been said and written that I can’t improve on (a lot quite recently, of course, in conjunction with the Wedding). We enjoyed the visit a lot.

M picked The Two Brewers pub for dinner, so we made our way there, but they wouldn’t serve until 7, so we went back to the Duchess of Cambridge and had decent meals (pie and potatoes, fish and chips) with a nice staff in a cool and un-crowded dining room. We had a short wait for the train, comfortable ride back, and found the Tube ride to be not too crowded.

Day 5—Friday—Kew Gardens (Last Day in London)

Our first visit to Kew Gardens was the plan today. The Tube ride took only about 30 minutes, and we got there about 11 to find the only queue we’d encountered all week, really. M was amused to find Mark Harmon's doppelganger a little further up in the queue, but Pam was nowhere to be found. The sun was beaming, and it was going to be hot in the sunshine today.

We got tickets to ride the little train around, planning to get some overview of the grounds this way, but we ended up only using it to get from the entrance to the Temperate House, recently re-opened after extensive work. This largest Victorian glasshouse in the world is beautiful and shone brilliantly in this day’s sun. We strolled through, climbed the stairs, and admired the view. Then we found some lunch in a little stand behind it. As there were no more tables and it was fun anyway, we sat on the ground for a picnic in the shade. Next we walked to and then up onto the Treetop Walkway for truly treetop views.

Then to the Pagoda, which is undergoing some work so not accessible to climb. We started to catch the little train but ended up just walking through some of the grounds toward the lake and Sackler’s Crossing. It was a pretty stroll under trees and in the sun, with people of all ages enjoying the greenery scenery. We went through the rose garden, still pretty but probably a bit past its peak, and then popped in the Palm House and the Water Lilly House—both too warm to linger in. It was time for a coke and snack and rest in the Orangery. We walked out through the Victoria Gate and back to the station.

I think we were back in the flat before 4; I did another load of laundry so we could leave tomorrow with all (or mostly) clean clothes and packed up a bit. We had been comfortable but not messy in the flat, so there wasn’t much tidying up to do.We walked to The Brittania pub on Allen Street, a 5-minute walk, and had a good meal—M had steak, I had chicken. At some point this day we got some more cash so we’d have plenty for our road trip starting tomorrow. After dinner we took a walk through some of Kensington Park, to Kensington Palace, enjoying a leisurely people-watching stroll on this our last evening in my favorite big city.

M comments: I felt that I had just recovered from jet lag. The days had flown by, and I was sorry to be leaving London.

Day 6—Saturday—Getting Car and Driving to Exeter

We finished packing up and doing the little cleaning we needed to do; about 8:45 I took the trash bag out and found our Just Airports driver, the same one who had met us at LHR, already here for our 9:00 pick-up. So we came on down, left the key in the box as instructed, and had an easy ride to the car rental office at LHR by about 9:30. They were all ready for M, and it was an easy process to get the car. On business in Germany, M had several times rented a C-class Mercedes-Benz and found it comfortable for driving and riding. So that’s what we got; he’s an excellent driver with some experience driving on the left side, but it would be stressful and unfamiliar, so having a car he already “knew” would be important. Plus he trusted its GPS functionality. So off we took.

The motorway to Exeter wasn’t too bad, and we found the hotel, Queen’s Court (http://www.queenscourt-hotel.co.uk/) without too much fuss. There’s a pay lot right across the street, but we were able to find the last on-street parking spot (with a voucher from the hotel). It was about 2:30, but the room was ready and we checked in. The staff and room were nice; a small but functional lift made taking the luggage up and down not a problem.

After a bit of settling in and rest for the driver, we headed to the only “must-see” here—the cathedral. Wow. Its longest continuous vaulted ceiling in England is stunning. We caught the afternoon light, so the interior seemed bright and the exterior shone. No matter how many cathedrals or similar structures I am privileged to see, I am still awestruck at the workmanship, craftsmanship, and artistry put into these works of art.

We had a look around some nearby old city walls; I didn’t have a very exact idea of where to go, so we had a wander. We walked up a hill to a church, St. Michael’s, and back down and over to an old park, Northernhay Park founded in 1612. In this pretty place are some Roman wall bits and a nice view.

We had reservations at the hotel’s restaurant, the Olive Tree, for 6:30. I had salmon and prawns, M had steak, and it was good in a relaxing atmosphere. We sat outside afterwards to finish our drinks on the patio—not a lovely view (of cars on the narrow street and a parking lot), but it was a beautiful early evening. Our room was not huge but was quite comfortable. It is a good value.

Next posts: Cornwall

Great start.. Looking forward to reading the rest.

Looking forward to more. Don't remember a little train at Kew but I would be glad of it these days.

Kew Gardens sounds great for a nice day. I still haven't made it there on my visits to London though.

Looking forward to your Cornwall and Wales bits

on for the ride

Thanks, dear readers, for replying.

Kew Gardens are (is?) wonderful, even if it took until my 8th trip to London to find the time. I hope you get to return to London someday, tripplanner, to experience some new things.

Thursday--technically I guess it's a tram, as it goes on wheels not a track, but it serves the same purpose. It does shorten some long walks across the Gardens' expanse.

Day 7—Sunday—Through Dartmoor to Tintagel and on to Hayle

After a good breakfast, we set off to Tintagel Castle. I had read that a drive through Dartmoor National Park would add about an hour and be a pretty drive, so this is what I proposed. Bad idea. I can NOT recommend driving from Exeter to Chagford through the Park. The roads were almost all only one-vehicle wide, although listed as two-way roads. And they wound between high hedges rooted onto, usually, stone walls. Not forgiving to brush against. There were times when both mirrors on this car (which is not a mini-car but not big) brushed both sides. There were almost never, on this section, a stripe down the middle; fortunately, there was little traffic and I think we only met 2-3 cars, usually near some slightly wider spot so that, with fractions of inches to spare, we could pass at a snail’s pace. There was no scenery to admire and only stress to endure on the drive. This was not what I had imagined at all. From Chagford on to Tavistock the roads were still narrow, often un-striped, but the terrain was more moor-like and open, as I had pictured. This is not a route to recommend itself in any way. I’m sorry I suggested it. M navigated and drove excellently, but it was no fun for anyone.

At Tintagel we found plenty of parking at a lot at land’s end with a lovely view of the sea. It was lunch time on Sunday, and M Googled where to get a Sunday roast in Tintagel. The most recommended spot was not far from the lot; we found it—oh, today they weren’t serving Sunday roast. But I’d noticed a signboard across the street advertising one, so we went to The Cornishman Inn, sat outside, and were served a good Sunday roast plate pretty quickly. We needed some time to un-coil our nerves and re-group our spirits!

M comments: The last time I had a pub roast was in the very smokey Shimbashi Rose & Crown last year in Tokyo. This one, enjoyed in the bright Cornish sun with TBW, was much better! But, get it early; before we had finished, the staff were telling latecomers that they were all out.

So then off we set for our Tintagel Castle visit! The weather was gorgeous—blue skies, light wind, warm air. I’d wanted to visit Tintagel since I became an Arthurian legend fan as a young girl. I know now there is little historical evidence to tie the site to any possible real “Arthur,” but the legends and beauty still fascinate me, so I was really glad to be here. One thing I had purchased before we left was a couple’s membership in Cadw, the Welsh Heritage organization, which would allow us free entry into all the Cadw sites, but it also gave a discount into English Heritage sites like Tintagel. In fact, it gave a 50% discount here; for us this was definitely a good purchase.

Tintagel is a complicated ruin sprawling over both what is now an island and on the mainland. We climbed up and down steep steps and paths, roaming around the ruins on the island (we didn’t make it back up the hill to the mainland ruins) and admiring the views, reading the plaques, and taking photos. There were lots of others enjoying the Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t crowded. The deep blue and turquoise water foaming against the black craggy cliff sides was spectacular.

After a chocolate ice cream break, about 3:45 we climbed back up to the car and began our last leg of today’s journey, to the Penellen Bed and Breakfast on the beach at Hayle, Cornwall (https://www.bedandbreakfasthotelcornwall.co.uk/). The roads were still often narrow, i.e., actually just wide enough for one car, but we made it ok. The car GPS did have a bit of trouble locating the BandB accurately, but between it and instructions from their website (and a few signs), we arrived. Our hosts, Barbara and Paul Goldengay, were great, our room was big and airy and lovely, with access to a frig in the hallway. And our view of the beach was superb. It was a great place to stay.

Barbara suggested for dinner we walk part of the South West Coast Path about 10 minutes to the nearby Bluff Inn, so we did. This is a big and extremely busy and noisy place with an arcade for kids indoors and a bar for the adults. The menu is pretty extensive, but they were out of our first choice—that was twice in one day we’d been thwarted in our eating choices! But we got something else that was fine, and the view over their terrace of the cove was lovely. And M was glad to not have to drive anywhere! Back in the room, we settled in for our three nights here and took pictures of the sun setting, a beautiful scene from our little balcony.

M comments: We were in Penellen's Room 3, which made the most of the wonderful sight and sounds of this beach-front location. It was a clean and comfortable room with a walk-in shower – very practical for the beach. And, of all the full English/Welsh breakfasts I sampled, I like this one the best.

Day 8–Monday—St. Michael’s Mount

After a wonderful full-English breakfast for M and plenty of cold stuff for me, we set off about 10 on the 10-mile trip to St. Michael’s Mount, with a parking lot’s address entered in the GPS. We found this with no difficulty and got a good parking spot before 11; an attendant said the lot was full by 11 on busy days.

Then we walked across the causeway, dry now before the tide would cover it in a couple hours, taking lots of pictures and rejoicing in another clear, blue, marvelous day. We stayed there until about 3, enjoying a walk to the top, a visit inside the castle’s rooms, the views from all around, and a stroll through the lovely gardens. We had lunch at the café, eating outside in the glorious sun. (Neither of us have skin that burns easily at all, but we both got a little sun-and wind-reddened this afternoon.) It was a lot of fun. To get back to the car, we got a ride on one of the boats that operate when the tide covers the walkway. I’m glad we got to experience both modes. (We’ve been to Mont Saint-Michel, too, so it was fun to be here at its counterpart.)

M comments: I could have stayed longer and lingered on the grounds. It was a very good day.

I had tentatively planned to go to the Godrevy area for a stroll and photo-taking after our SMM visit, but as we had spent (happily) longer than I’d thought, we decided we’d put Godrevey off until tomorrow.

We thought we’d just get some food at a grocery store and eat in our room or somewhere outside for a picnic, but the only half-way convenient shop (which was difficult to get in and out of) was a little Lidl which didn’t have anything to offer us. And we did not want to drive anywhere else. St. Ives is only 10 miles away, but we had decided when planning the trip not to try to go into what was reported to be a busy, crowded, hard-to-drive-and-park-in town. So we just walked back to the Bluff Inn. I actually liked the food more than M did, so I was completely happy to return. He was just glad to have the convenience.

Next: More Cornwall and a Fodors GTG (a first for us) and on to Cardiff

Your description of Tintagel makes it come alive. It sounds like what I imagine from reading English literature. I've always wanted to visit Canterbury Cathedral for this reason.

Kew is definitely on my list. I'm in London for a day in August coming back from a longer trip to Germany, but will probably not make it out to Kew. Luckily, given that I usually take BA when hopping across the Atlantic, it won't be long before I'm there again.

Day 9 –Tuesday—Penwith Peninsula Drive and Our First Fodors-Get-Together!

When I was planning the trip, in some of my posts on Fodors, annhig had given some good advice and then offered to meet up if our schedules meshed. So we communicated, and after we’d arrived in London, we got a confirmation from her. This Tuesday evening she would be able to join us for dinner (I’d suggested a spot which she confirmed would be good), so she made reservations for 6:30. Yay!

I’d mapped out a driving tour for this day that would have us visit a few coves for scenery and also a couple other sites. However, after our driving experiences so far, I simplified and down-scaled the plan. The Godrevy beach, two coves and then the restaurant for dinner were the goals.

We had another clear day and left after another good breakfast, about 10:30. At Godrevy Beach, we parked and walked the Coast Path for lovely views of the lighthouse. The blue water, the azure sky, the green grass, the gold sand, the black rocks, the white lighthouse—picture perfect. Then we continued walking over the hill to see if we could see seals in a cove; Paul had given us that hint. There were people looking and pointing (and some talking way too loudly despite several signs saying to whisper), but I couldn’t see any seals for a long time. But then M spotted the little lozenges, looking like the stones they lay upon, and helped me see them. There were about a dozen, I think. Fun.

M comments: Godrevy was a picturesque site that kept the camera busy.

The next stop was Sennen Cove, which I chose instead of Land’s End to avoid crowds and touristy-tawdriness. We found a parking lot crowded already but got a place. We then just walked along the beach front some. It was pretty chilly in the bracing wind despite the sun. The first spot for food we picked was small and had no room, so we went to The Blue Lagoon where I picked fresh crab sandwiches. They were ok; M was expecting something more like a warm crab-cake, not cold flakey crab meat on bread. But the view was nice (and they had hung up a phenomenal photo of a gigantic wave during Storm Imogen overwhelming Sennen Cove’s beachfront walk in February 2016). Then we walked around a little and ended up back at our first choice, Little Bo Café, where we warmed up with tea, M had soup, and we shared desserts. I found one of those “millionaire bars” (shortbread, caramel, chocolate) I love; it was delicious and lasted a couple more days, as it was too sweet and rich to eat all at once.

Our next stop was Cape Cornwall, but as we passed through St. Just, M pulled into a parking space to take a break; driving through villages’ narrow busy lanes takes lots of energy! He found a sunny bench in the market square while I visited the little church nearby, St. Just Parish Church, with some interesting 15th C secco paintings.

Then on to the Cape. I don’t know if the day could have been any prettier. We set off to the “summit” for spectacular views. When almost at the top, the camera’s battery became “exhausted.” And for the only time on the trip, we didn’t have one of the extra camera batteries, as I had not brought my bag for the climb. Doh. But our phone cameras took great pics, too. So we used those and still got great shots. It was quite chilly in the wind, so we didn’t stay long, but it is a beautiful place and afforded awesome views this day.

It was still a couple hours until we were to meet annhig at The Gurnard’s Head Inn, so we put an address into the GPS for one of the old mine sites, the Levant Mine, which was along our route. We had time here to look around a bit before heading on. More spectacular views and some interesting information on the displays. Neither of us cared to go into one of the mines which are all around Cornwall, so we hadn’t planned on a visit to any mines, but it was great to spend a little time here.

We got to The Gurnard’s Head Inn (The Gurnard's Head Homepage ) early. Annhig arrived soon, and, as she said in an email to me later, in a few minutes it didn’t seem like we’d only just met! We talked about travel and family and Cornwall and such. It was an absolute treat to meet her, and we’re blessed that she took the time. Plus we had perhaps the best meal of the whole trip. M’s lamb was maybe the best he’d ever had, and my fish (hake) and veggies were superb. A wonderful end to a beautiful day. We each had about 30-minute drives back to home (-away-from-home for us), so we parted in the twilight about 9:30. Lovely. Thanks, again, annhig!

M comments: Very nice leisurely dinner with annhig. And the food was good, too. It was the best meat entree I had on the trip. Thank you!

Day 10--Wednesday—Drive to Cardiff

One plan for this day was to get an early start and stop at Caerphilly Castle on our way to Cardiff, and/or to stop at a Roman site or two, depending on time and weather. But those plans had not included being out late the night before, which was definitely the best thing to have done, so we were not going to get an early start. We’d fit Caerphilly in one of the next few days.

So after another lovely breakfast, we reluctantly left the Penellen; it’s wonderful. It was after 10 and we basically just drove, on mostly normal-sized roadways, toward Cardiff. I think we got lunch along the way at one of the service stops.

M wanted to be at the Hilton across from the Castle before rush hour, if possible. We got near Newport about 3, where there are some Roman ruins like an amphitheater, so he agreed we had time to try to find it. We got to, with twists and turns and one-way streets, a parking lot near the “Information Center,” which was just a plaque on a pole with the glass covering so cloudy and dirty that we couldn’t read the info. There were some signposts pointing in general directions, and M tried to Google Map the amphitheatre. We took a walk along a stone wall, in a circle, back to our car. Ok, this wasn’t working and wasn’t worth the time, so we gave up and headed out. We were probably close, but the signage wasn’t clear and I hadn’t researched it in depth with printed out maps and directions. Not a big deal.

We got to the Hilton (guess rush hour starts early, as traffic was stop-and-go-heavy) before 4. Nice hotel. Nice big room. Castle view! For Honors Gold/Diamond members, there’s a lounge with food upstairs, so we went up there after we settled in for some nibbles. There’s a marvelous view of the castle and grounds from this lounge, too. This Hilton is in a great location.

Then we headed out about 7 for a short walk to Wahaca, a Mexican food restaurant in one end of the St. David’s mall. We thought it would be fun to see what they did with this cuisine, which is so ubiquitous in our hometown area. It was great. We ordered several tapas-style dishes, and they were wonderful. Highly recommended. A short stroll through The Hayes area took us back to Queen Street and on to the Hilton.

Next posts--Our 2 days in and around Cardiff

Day 11--Thursday—Cardiff and Cardiff Castle—no, wait, Castles near Cardiff

I had interchangeable itineraries for our two days in Cardiff. One was to stay in Cardiff, seeing the Castle and shopping and doing whatever else we wanted to do—a sort of rest day. The other was a driving loop that included two or three castles and Tintern Abbey and maybe more, depending on…stuff. So the night before, we decided to sleep late this day and rest and just “do” Cardiff. I’d made sure of the opening times and dates for sites on the different dates I thought we might be at them. I didn’t want to arrive at a place to find it closed for some event. In 2015 when DD and I were in Cardiff on a day trip from London, we arrived at Cardiff Castle to find it closed due to some boy band having a concert the next day. Urghhh. (Our main goal that trip had been the Dr. Who Experience, so our trip to Cardiff had been quite a success, but I wanted to see the Castle this year.) And when M had been in Cardiff before, he hadn’t had time to go into the castle, so it was high on our priority list.

I woke early, though, and checked the local news. Hmmm, how did I miss this story—The Rolling Stones would be playing at the Principality Stadium the next night, Friday, and there were going to be some major crowds and lots of traffic issues and even street closures. Hmmm. (That explains the statue of the red tongue in the Hayes.) The Castle would be open both days. At least a concert was not going to keep us from the Castle again! When M got up, he decided he’d rather drive this day and just be in Cardiff on foot the next day, not chancing having traffic issues because road closures were forecast for the concert.

So after breakfast in the Executive Lounge, with its great views of the Castle grounds, we set off after 10. Since we were getting started late, I crossed Caerphilly off the agenda today, figuring out that it could be easily done on our way out of Cardiff Saturday morning.

We drove first to Raglan Castle, parked in the wide lawn in front of it, and used our Cadw cards for entry. This was a terrific castle. The sky was blue, but it was cold in the wind. M thought the information displays in this castle were the best of any we went to, and they were nicely done.

(We ended up at about a dozen castles on this trip—both ruined and still inhabited, royal and not, forts and hotels; I’m not going to give much if any history of them or say much about their designs or structures still there or current uses. Their different websites do a much better job than I would ever do, and those sorts of details are beyond the scope of this TR. I can highly recommend every castle we were able to see.)

Next was Tintern Abbey which has been written about by so many writers more competent and literary than I am; I see why its ruinous beauty has inspired so many words. We enjoyed it on this lovely day. We’d parked across from the entrance in a lot that had a non-functioning pay-and-display machine. After our visit, we bought some cokes and ate some snacks and apples we had in the car.

Chepstow Castle was up next; and, yes, it is up, up on a riverside cliff. The castle ruins didn’t seem too remarkable (empty doorways and tumbled towers and broken walls kinda repeat themselves), but the situation of the castle on the steep cliff overlooking the curve of the muddy river was unique. In the gift shop, I found some pottery I loved; in 2010 in Brecon Beacons, I had found two lovely blue vases; here I found the same pottery and picked a small pitcher with an interesting curved handle.

M comments: I thought Chepstow, spread out with an urban area on one side and the river on the other, was one of the hardest ruins to photograph.

It was after 3 now, so we would definitely postpone Caerphilly. We headed back to our hotel and had a restful evening. Dinner was the plentiful hors d'oeuvres in the Executive Lounge.

Day 12--Friday—Cardiff

Today we had a leisurely day in Cardiff. First we thoroughly enjoyed the Castle, first walking up on the tower atop its motte, with some great views this again lovely day. The Castle Apartment rooms we could visit were pretty; I especially liked the library.

Before we spent some time shopping and finding lunch, we stopped in Cardiff’s second oldest building (after the Castle), the City Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, where a morning service was just ending so we didn’t take a lot of photos. The mostly elderly attendants greeted us as they left the choir area.

Then we then just wandered the streets around the Castle and down St. Mary St., weaving in and out of several arcades and noticing a lot of people our age and older with Stones tee shirts. We had a marvelous lunch in the Castle Arcade—Madame Fromage (Cheese Shop - Cardiff - Wales Online Deli Madame Fromage). M had a ploughman’s luncheon platter, which was huge, and I had yummy Welsh rarebit. A wonderful stop!

We enjoyed a visit to the nice Tourist Information Center in the old library and being tourists in a couple big gift shops. While I was shopping in the TI, M discovered the adjacent Cardiff Story museum with its unique tiled corridor that had been opened since he was here in 2009.

For dinner we walked to the Smoke Haus at the end of St. David’s mall. It was friendly, comfortable, and good, but the portions were so huge we couldn’t finish. We didn’t rush anywhere all day, and although we did walk a lot, it was a restful day with a late start and no driving!

M comments: I'm not a big shopper, but at my casual glance, the Historical Wales shop across Duke Street from the Castle seemed to have the best prices of the tourist shops.

More about Wales including our stays in castles to follow.

Day 13--Saturday—Caerphilly (or not), the Devil’s Bridge, and Glandyfi Castle

After almost two weeks of pretty wonderful weather, in London, Cornwall, and Cardiff, this day was gray with rain showers forecast for the next 4-5 days. About 9 Saturday morning we checked out and set off on the road to Caerphilly. We arrived in a light mist and found a parking lot right across the street. There certainly were a lot of porta-potties set up at the entrance, with a security guard posted—oh, no, the castle was closed due to a concert the next night. What!? I did not see that posted on the website. The guard was apologetic and said there had been a lot of complaints. I told him it certainly wasn’t his fault, but the Castle should post things clearly. A few days later I realized I may not have actually checked this specific date for closures; I had thought we’d see Caerphilly one of the previous three days. So the info may have been on the website, on a date I didn’t check. In any case, I was disappointed. We walked around the outside of it, anyway, noting the leaning tower being pushed up by some sort of statue and enjoyed the geese and goslings. It started raining, although lightly, so we took off northward.

M had looked forward to driving through the Brecon Beacons again, as we remembered the area as beautiful with its rolling hills and stark vistas, with the browns and greens of vegetation dotted by the grays and blacks of rocks and highways. Today it was overcast with much dampness in the air if not actually gently falling, but it was still pretty with decent roads and not much traffic.

We stopped at Mountain Centre National Park Visitor Centre near Llabanis; it’s off A470 down a narrow road, but it is worth a visit. There’s a nice café; it wasn’t serving hot food til noon, so at 11:30 we just got some of the prepared sandwiches. They were so big we didn’t finish them. In the gift shop I found a pretty piece of glassware from a local craftswoman that will make a nice Christmas ornament. It was a pleasant stop.

M comments: This Visitor Centre was the most “complete” of the centers that we visited in that it had the cafe with cold and hot food, a dining room, complete WC facilities and welcoming grounds with a parking lot, plus all the tourist info for the area you’d expect. I'm glad I made the detour to it.

The next stop was The Devil’s Bridge, something I’d seen on the TV show Hinterland, a dark and well-acted detective drama. It has the distinction of being filmed both all in Welsh and also in English with some Welsh dialogue included, and it is the first BBC drama with both English and Welsh dialogue; I watched the English language version! Anyway, it lies between Cardiff and Portmeirion, so I had used that as a way-point when planning this day. The GPS recognized the address, and we found the parking lot next to it. M stayed in the car while I took about 30 minutes to walk down and back up the steep and windy steps. He sometimes has knee pain; it had only bothered him a little so far, happily, but something had happened in Cardiff so that he was in a good bit of discomfort this day. Driving didn’t bother it too much, but he was happy not to walk around much this day. I took pictures of the lush and dripping greenery and the three bridges--1901 on top of 1753 on top of older (by about 700 years). The River Mynach has cut a deep gorge here, and there are paths on both sides, although there seemed to be only one side “open” (cost a pound to get the stile to turn). Then as we needed a WC break, we went back a bit to a tea room and had tea and cake.

We then carried on and reached our destination—Glandyfi Castle. (http://www.glandyficastle.co.uk/) It is lovely, lovely, lovely. A Regency Gothic folly of a house. Maureen and Peter Holmes are the owners/hosts of this beautiful bed and breakfast/hotel/restaurant/event location. Built on what was probably the site of an ancient castle, Glandyfi (Glan-dove-y) Castle was built in 1820 by George Jeffries; Keats and Shelley are said to have visited. Those wealthy owners created it at the height of Regency fashion. It changed owners a few times until in the 1950’s it became rather abandoned. In 2007 the Holmes bought it and transformed it into the thing of beauty it is. They had to pull away a lot of ivy, repair the towers and walls, replace all the windows to get rid of the draughts, and turn a courtyard, the oldest part of the castle, into a stunning conservatory dining area. They retained the decorations and paintings (cleaned up and re-positioned) and other features, like the oak “strawberry hill” double staircase. But all the modern amenities are here—Wifi, plenty of hot water in modern bathrooms, (although in our case the shower was pretty tiny but nice), plenty of plugs, comfy bed. I’m not sure now how I stumbled upon this place when I was searching for “Welsh castles to stay in,” but we are glad I did! (The GPS could not recognize the address, though. Its inability to register several of the specific addresses I had found for our destinations and way points was probably about the only negative thing about the car. He’d not had this issue in Germany, Belgium or Austria.)

When Peter showed us to our “Nightingale” room in a tower—which had the most lovely view from its two windows with windowseats—he pointed out a trapdoor in the ceiling. He said he could take us up onto the roof above our room whenever we cared to. We said, sure, let’s go now! So we accessed the tower’s lead roof and had a 360° view from on high of the grounds, the railroad, the Dyfi River, Aberdyfi on the other side of the estuary. It had cleared up a bit—not the blue skies we had enjoyed in Cornwall but not raining. Peter gave us some local history, both of the Jeffries who had built the castle and of the area before that time; the area had also lots of history connected to slate and lead mining and to railroads. He said that nearby was the site of a one-time capital of Wales. Then he said that another famous person had a connection to the area—Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, who had childhood ties to the area and has, as an adult, given support to the communities and bought property here. He even showed up at the Castle’s doorstep one day to introduce himself as a neighbor. Peter had taken him up on the roof where we were—it is a place with a spectacular view. So that was cool!

For dinner Peter suggested dinner at The Riverside Inn just across the estuary, as the crow flies, but a 20 or so minute drive. We asked him to make reservations for 6:30. (The website says Glandyfi offers dinner if reserved ahead of time. However, we hadn’t wanted that and he didn’t suggest it. Maureen had just gotten home the day before from knee surgery and was on crutches, so they may have not been cooking except for breakfast during our time there.) So about 6 we headed there, crossing the Afon Dyfi over an old stone bridge with a plaque that indicated we were entering Snowdonia National Park. We enjoyed our meal there although the service was a little slow—M had a steak and I had great salmon. We asked if they were doing a Sunday roast the next day, thinking we might make reservations, but as it was Father’s Day, they were booked up until after 2. So we didn’t do that.

M comments: When I wrote in the 2010 trip report “I would like some quality chill time [in Wales] some day,” I did not know at the time that Glandyfi Castle was the place I was envisioning. Quiet and situated on a 45-acre hill overlooking the Dyfi estuary, it was an ideal place to relax. I enjoyed all the house features, especially our room in the top of the tower and the library. I rated the full breakfast a very close second to the Penellen's, very good, but I thought the content and presentation of the cold breakfast buffet was a clear winner. Despite having one teammate on the bench, the staff was attentive and helpful.

Day14—Sunday—Glandyfi Area

In my plans I had this as a possible rest day, and, since M’s knee was still not right and the weather looked pretty miserable, we decided that’s what we would do.

We had breakfast in a lovely dining room; we were the only guests this morning. The day was drippy and cool. We went into the cozy library and read for a while; I took pictures of the interior rooms.

After noon, M felt like a short jaunt somewhere, so we drove over to Aberdyfi, a resort town on the mouth (“aber” in Welsh) of the Dyfi River where it empties into Cardigan Bay. It was blowing and a bit wet, but we walked around a little on the beach front. Not knowing what we would actually do, we had brought our leftover sandwiches from yesterday, which had spent the night in the Castle’s frig, and so we just had a picnic--in the car out of the Welsh almost-summer elements. Ha! Afterwards, we had another little walk around the cute village with its pastel-colored terraces. We watched kids crabbing, older kids in wetsuits jumping off the pier into the fast flowing current, and people of all ages strolling the Sea View Terrance walk. We got great ice cream at Aberdyfi Homemade Ice Cream (aka The Sweet Shop in Google Maps) and then headed back to enjoy the loveliness of Glandyfi some more, stopping by the Riverside Inn to make reservations. After a rest, we drove back to the Inn for another nice meal. After dinner, the rain, which had been only light at most all day, ceased even if the ceiling didn’t lift. We explored the Castle grounds some and took more pics.

M comments: In 2013, near Longues-sur-Mer on the Normandy coast, I had photographed a poppy field near some pill boxes (A Tale of Two Trips: Great Britain and France, June 2013--Part Two). One of the photos had earned a place as TBW's laptop background, where a co-worker had seen and loved it, too. When the co-worker relocated, TBW gifted the pic printed on a mug, a gesture that contributed to a tearful farewell. So, with that experience and the lyric in mind Poppies red and roses filled with summer rain, I was again looking for poppies. Although I could not find poppies, today I did find red roses still full of the morning's rain. The pics may not make the PC's background, but I was happy.

Ha ha. Glad to see another Texan likes to do this, too. I've had "Tex-Mex" in Versaille, Paris, Bern, and Edinburgh. The folks in Edinburgh came closest to getting it "right," but they had another location in Aberdeen, so I suspect that there was an oil field connection that gave them an inside track.

I'm loving your trip report! Thanks so much for the specific information about your lodgings and adventures. I'm hoping a visit to the UK is going to be possible for me next spring.

twk--Hope you get to sample Wahaca's sometime in the UK; looks like they have several locations, but we'd never tried them before: https://www.wahaca.co.uk/locations/cardiff/

enewell--I hope you get to visit the UK, too! Let "us" on Fodors know when you are ready to plan more specifics; it's a small area but with an enormous amount of choices--and time needed for transport of all sorts whether rental, public or foot, so be aware you have to factor that in. So many choices, so little (usually) time!

Day 15—Monday—Drive to Portmeirion via Harlech Castle

It was still drippy and cool; we hated to leave Glandyfi, but after breakfast in the lovely tower conservatory, we had a nice chat with Peter about how he and his wife came to own this place and then said goodbye.

I had researched and mapped a lot of ancient burial sites, Roman ruins, and standing stones, putting them on itineraries as extremely tentative waypoints if we had time and energy. One of these was pretty much on our way on this route, so we tried to plot Dyffryn Ardudwy; the GPS didn’t recognize it, but as it was on A496, our road to Harlech, we would just look for a sign. Well, I saw the sign, but it didn’t seem to indicate a road or lane or lot for a car; M turned around and pulled into a church parking lot. He said to ask the people in there; I could see ladies quilting, but no one seemed to be around the church entrance. M’s knee was aching still, so he said just bring back some pics but he’d sit with the car in case someone asked him to move it. I found the short narrow path to the two stacks of stones that were once inside burial mounds 4-5000 years ago and explored the small site a few minutes. Cool.

Then we drove on to Harlech Castle about an hour away. Now it was cold with frequent gusts and light rain. The lot at the castle entrance was small and full, but, as M prepared to give up and back out, a car began to leave, so we waited and parked. We decided to eat a bite in the small café first; they were out of the advertised stew, so M chose baked potato and I got a Welsh rarebit. We had to share a table with some nice generous folks, which was better than eating on the patio in the inhospitable conditions. The weather worsened as we ate, with the clouds completely lowering over the surrounding countryside and sea. No views today. I was about ready to give it a miss, but M pressed me on to stay. It is a large and fascinating castle, but no nice views today.

Then we had a short drive to Portmeirion, where we had a room in the Castell Deudraeth. (https://portmeirion.wales/stay/accommodation/castell-deudraeth) This is now part of the Portmeirion properties—it is “a Victorian castellated folly converted into a contemporary hotel in 2001,” according to the website. We didn’t know much about Portmeirion before we came here; M knew it was the film location of The Prisoner and I had a couple small pieces of Portmeirion china. So we didn’t have many expectations, but we found our stay here to be wonderful in every way (except the weather stayed a little gray). First our room was huge and lovely; it included a living area with a gas fireplace (which we actually used one evening), a dining area with table, walk-in closet, kitchenette with frig and hot-drink-making facilities, large bathroom, and a nice view of the Victorian garden behind the building. The building and grounds are lovely. There’s a very helpful staff. And a lift, so we didn’t have to tote luggage upstairs!

M comments: This room, appropriately Number 6, was awesome and, of the places we stayed, the clear winner of a room-to-room comparison. The hotel's location and our garden-side room made for a very quiet stay, too.

We ended up doing the easiest thing for dinner the three nights we were here, which was to eat in the Brasserie, the restaurant downstairs. The food was good, the service attentive, and the atmosphere relaxed but lovely with the glassed-in dining room looking into the gardens.

After dinner we walked to the “Village.” As guests at the Castell Deudraeth, we had complimentary access to the Village, which took us about 10 minutes to walk to. We had a look around this unique resort, this architectural folly, this lovely little coastal gem. We would be back for a longer look tomorrow; we caught the shuttle bus at the Village entrance for a ride back to our room.

While looking around the Village, a gentleman offered to take our photo and we fell into conversation with him. He was from the area but was showing Canadian friends around. They’d had their day interrupted by an incident on the train to the summit of Mt. Snowdon: A different train derailed, stranding passengers on top and canceling service for the other trains. Hmmmm—riding a train to the summit was on our “maybe” list. I had decided not to make reservations from home but wait and see what the weather would be like 2-3 days out, even if that meant there were no seats left, as it seems these trains fill up. I’d looked at the website just the night before, as it now seemed that Thursday, the day we’d be there, had decent weather, but there were no steam rail tickets available. Oh, well, it wasn’t a big “must-do” for either of us, so I wasn’t too bothered. And now after talking to this gentleman, we were even more ok with not being able to ride that route. I know that for many visitors to the areas we were in, trains of all sorts (and canals) are the draw and riding the rails or a boat is a must, but for this trip, trains were not something we had our hearts set on.

Day 16—Tuesday—Criccieth Castle and Portmeirion Village

This day and tomorrow were interchangeable, with one being a castle-seeing day and the other being when we’d rest and see the Village (and maybe go to a castle nearby). The weather--still gray, windy and cool--might improve, so we decided to do the castle-loop tomorrow.

We breakfasted in the Castell’s Brasserie and dropped off some laundry at the reception desk. About 10 we drove to Criccieth Castle, less than 20 miles away. We actually found an on-street parking spot right at the entrance to the castle! It is a little castle (compared with Windsor or Harlech or Caerphilly) perched up on a hillside. Despite the weather, we enjoyed our visit, including the views out over the foggy water. Being in these Welsh castles on damp and dreary days was actually pretty atmospheric and authentic, probably! Like in most of the castles we visited, there was a lot of good information on the plaques and displays at important points. I now have a better “feel” for the complicated history of Wales, but don’t ask me for any specifics, as the names and dates are jumbled up in my head!

We drove back to the Village (not the Castell), where we parked in the large free lot, about 1 pm, got some sandwiches at Café #6, and took pictures of all the various architectural features and flowers and follies until 2:30. Then we went on a one-hour The Prisoner walking tour. The guide was great and took us to sites (?all?) used in filming the 1960’s series but also told us about the history of the Village and its creator, self-taught architect Clough Williams-Ellis. It was fascinating. We shopped a little—I got some more Portmeirion pieces for DD and for me and a couple small prints by a local artist, one of Criccieth Castle in a gray mist, just like we’d experienced it this day. M got a sticker—“I am not a number” — which Number 6 often emphasized through clenched teeth. Ha. We took the little Woodland Train ride (again like at Kew actually a tram-like vehicle) that goes up to the site of a 11th or 12th century castle (great view of the Village) and on through the woods a bit more. We had a funny conversation with the train driver who flies the MAN-PHL route to visit his daughter in the US. Then it was time to go back to our room for a rest before another good meal in the Brasserie.

M comments: I thought this restaurant was fine. I had a venison entree and a lamb entree that were both good.

Day 17—Wednesday—Beaumaris Castle, Burial Chamber, and Caernarfon Castle

Well, today’s morning weather was not better, still drippy and gray, but it was the day to see the big castles at least, so after breakfast in the Brasserie, we set off a bit after 9 for the little over hour drive to Beaumaris. We parked in a big lot sorta behind the castle’s entrance. By the time we went in, it was actually raining the most we’d been rained on while visiting a site—steady if very light drops. Annoying for photo taking and damp for walking around a ruin with no ceiling, but not a washout. It’s an impressive structure in any weather.

We headed onto the nearby Castle Street and decided to find some lunch. Beau’s Tea Shop looked small but inviting, so we started down the steps to the door—oops, there was actually a velvet rope thing across the door, so maybe not inviting? But a waitress met us, said a party was leaving, and let us in to sit in a tiny table by the window. We had a lovely lunch; our waitress explained what Hairy Bikers is, as the shop says it’s featured in an episode; I’ll have to see if I can find that on American TV somewhere! We walked around the busy shop-lined street and had an ice cream from Red Boat Ice Cream Parlour near Beau’s.

I had mapped out several burial sites on Anglesey, knowing we’d probably not have time for many or any, but I hoped we’d get to one, the Bryn Celli Ddu. M was willing to try, and the GPS accepted the address I’d found, and we located it, with a small lot with empty spaces. And the sky began to clear! It was about a 10-minute walk down a well-marked path, and I’m glad we spent a little time seeing the barrow and going inside. In a field next to Bryn Celli Ddu, there were about a dozen people doing some sort of dig. And the sun peeked out!

Then on to Caernarfon, where we parked in the large lot next to the river for £4. Yay, the skies were lovely now, with a few clouds in the blue. We got to spend about two hours roaming around the big castle, glad that the views were lovely and enjoying walking the walls. The “curfew bell” rang us out about 4:50. Back to Portmeirion for our last evening, with dinner in the Brasserie.

So not many details here about these two huge and important castles, but I loved both Beaumaris, despite the icky weather, and Caernarfon this day.

Coming next: A lovely drive through Snowdonia, Ruthin Castle, and Chester

With reference to your drive across Dartmoor - we’re you aware that the road signs are colour-coded to give you a sense of the size of road?

heres a picture I found on the internet (the background should be white).

i thought this might be useful for others who find themselves driving ac

excuse my typing! It’s really difficult to insert photos on a phone!

Thanks, Gyhston; I did not run across that graphic when researching; we relied on the GPS for the specific routing the day we traveled, and I think we were on B roads--they were just narrower than I'd imagined for longer stretches.