Wales - Catles, Coast & Steam Trains with Dan & Candy

 Wales - Castles, Coast & Steam Trains 

Collecting our tickets, we had soon taken our seats in the old fashioned carriages and we could hear the station master blow his whistle as we set off, chugging down the track.

A slow and bumpy ride took us through some of the most picturesque landscape of the Welsh valleys all the way to Devils Bridge. Stopping here for a light lunch, we soon made the return journey back to Aberystwyth and as we pulled into the station the other passengers on the platform gave us a big wave.

Next on the agenda was a tour of the famous castle. This timber castle (later reinforced with stone) changed hands repeatedly as the Normans warred with the native Welsh. We learnt that the build started in 1277 but was a particularly taxing job. It still was not completed by 1282 when the Welsh briefly captured and burned it down. Construction was finally completed in 1289 at great expense to the crown. We walked through the castle grounds exploring the ruins taking some fantastic pictures. 

Everyone was super excited for our canal boat journey through the heart of the Welsh countryside. We climbed aboard and we had soon set sail. Once again, we were greeted by breathtaking views as the captain navigated his way down the narrow canal, passing through locks and venturing through long, dark tunnels. Everyone looked out for the various wildlife on the banks of the river, whilst relaxing int the glorious sunshine. We stopped off at a near-by cafe for drinks and watched other boats pass through the canal clearly having just as much fun as we had.

We love a birthday on one of JollyDays holidays and we had double celebrations this time! There was cake galore!  

 Our journey began to the highest mountain peak in the South of Wales, Pen-y-fan. Driving through the clouds we had soon arrived, and we realised why it is known as being the highest peak, wow! It really was tremendously high and had the most spectacular views; we could see for miles. Then we drove down to the 2nd highest mountain called Rhigos, taking in more incredible scenery, seeing most of South Wales. It was something we wouldn’t forget.

We then set off for our next adventure on a safari trip with our tour guide Richard. He took us on a breathtaking historical tour and showed us where the last prince of Wales (Llywenlyn) was killed in 1282 by the King of England. 

He gave us a tour around the castles and where the King would have lived. It was a fascinating tour and the whole group enjoyed every moment. We then made our way to the top of the mountain in Builth where the Welsh army practice their live shooting. 

After our busy days out, we loved coming home to relax in the warm, bubbling jacuzzi. We certainly had a 'splashing' good time. 

A brilliant morning was spent at Llewelyn Wildlife Walk which was amazing! We saw the birds and enjoyed spectacular views as we walked up and down windy, rocky pathways to the top of the peaks and down into the valleys. After our long walk, we stopped at Builth Well to do a little shopping for some gifts and souvenirs for our loved ones back home. 

We visited a lovely chapel and explored the town of Tregaron.  We stopped at St Mary’s Church at Pontrhydfendigaid dating back to 1164. Although today this is ruin, many features of buildings show how impressive this place must have been during the medieval period. A beautifully carved Romanesque arch and medieval floor tiles still remain intact. We then visited the graveyards of the Welsh princes. 

Warwick Castle & Motor Museum with Isobel & Andy

 Warwick Castle & Motor Museum

We excitedly made our way to Warwick Castle. This medieval castle was originally built in 1068 and is full of history, magic, myth and adventure surrounded in 64 acres of beautiful grounds and gardens including Pageant Field and The Central Courtyard. 

We sat in the beautiful grounds and had lunch in the sunshine before making our way through the Peacock Garden with its topiary peacocks, manicured hedges and a spectacular pond and fountain. We made our way into The Great Hall with its huge variety of armour and weaponry and grand interior, strolling through the lavish state rooms and visiting the Earls private chapel. 

We were challenged at the Horrible Histories Maze where we rediscovered the Vicious Vikings, Stormin Normans and centuries more with interactive activities. After a few wrong turns we managed to find our escape route just in time for a short rest and a well earned drink. 

We headed to the War of the Roses Live show, taking us back to 1455 where King Henry Vl's crown is challenged by the house of York. With rival clashes and ferocious horseback battles, astounding stunt riding, fearless jousting and special effects, this was a spectacular experience to watch.

We joined the Falconer on a quest for the finest birds across the land. We were delighted to see the Eagle Owl, the largest species in the world. We saw Harris Hawks, Bald Eagle and the Andean Condor with a wing span of up to 9 feet. It was wonderful to see these beautiful birds in flight with some landing close enough for the group to get a good view of them. 

A dream day for all the car enthusiasts was had at the Gaydon Land Rover Show 2021 at the British Motor Museum. On arrival we walked around the open air exhibition which was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Range Rovers with limited edition models, modified, emergency and military collections built covering the 50 years. 

We stopped and had a drink watching some live music from the popular vintage trio The Barn-Ettes. We couldn’t resist dancing to the music of the 50s and swinging 60s in the warm sunshine. 

Continuing our tour of the Jaguar Zone where we viewed the record breakers display which features four of the world’s fastest MGs.  

     

We visited some of the most popular cars from TV and Film including the gorgeous glittery pink FAB 1 from Thunderbirds, the DeLorean from Back to the Future and the Land Rover used in the James Bond film Skyfall. 

We then saw the Royal cars which are on long term loan to the museum including the first bespoke Royal Land Rover state review car used for HM Queen Elizabeth ll first Commonwealth Tour and a 1971 Rover P5B, personal property of the Queen. Although these vehicles are not to be touched by the visiting public our group were offered a rare opportunity to sit in these vehicles and get a feel of how the Queen and Prince Philip travelled during their world wide visits. What a wonderful privilege and an amazing experience for us. Of course, we practised our Royal wave to all the surprised visitors in the museum who were passing by.

We could never resist an ice cream.... well, we are on holiday after all! 

 An excited group were delighted to arrive at Cadbury World where we travelled back in time to Mexico walking through the tropical rainforests of the Mayan Indians and discovered the origins of the cocoa bean deep in the ancient tropical rainforest. We then travelled back in time to the Victorian Bull Street where we watched a short film on John Cadbury and saw where the Cadbury business began. 

We had great fun watching the chocolatiers showing their chocolate making skills and were delighted to get the chance to practise our own piping skills by writing our names in chocolate.  

Next we headed for the 4D experience. We sat in our seats and enjoyed an adventurous journey on the Crunchie Rollercoaster and the Cream Egg Airship whilst being joined with some of our favourite Cadbury characters.

  

A morning was spent at Birmingham Sea Life Centre. On arrival we were greeted by the Gentoo penguins and their cheeky antics as they dived beneath the freezing waters and playing in their icy home. The group enjoyed the rock pool and were able to gently stroke the starfish which was a lovely opportunity for an up close experience. We learned about some of the conservation programmes in place to clean our oceans of plastics and the different projects in place to protect our marine life. We were thrilled to have experienced the UK's only 360 degree Ocean Tunnel where sharks, a giant turtle, rays and hundreds of tropical fish swim overhead and underneath as we walked through.

Down at the Ten Pin Bowling Alley we split into two teams and had a friendly few games with some fantastic scores and a few strikes along the way. After a nail biting finish Helen was the overall winner with an amazing score of 109! A huge congratulations to her and to the rest of the group for showing great sportsmanship and for making it a fun afternoon.