Chepstow

A friend told me that Chepstow, Wales had a really cool castle, so I decided to make a day trip out there. Chepstow is basically across the river from Bristol.

Since it was in the middle of the week and really cold, I had the castle to myself.

The entrance.

The castle was built in 1067 A. D.

This is the big dinning room. You can see the where the second story was.

The river Wye and Chepstow.




I love the Welch countryside.

After the castle, I walked along the main street and checked out some of the antique shops there.

Chepstow City Gate, which dates back to the 13th century.

Part of the Port Wall. It wasn't built so much for defense of the city, but to control who could get in and out of the city. The only entrance was the city gate.

I found this out after I visited, but J.K. Rowling actually attended a primary school there.

The Lake District

The next day, we planned it a little better and went right into the heart of the Lake District.

The Ulverston Lighthouse.Everything was so pretty and green.
We drove to a town called Bowness-on-Windemere which is right on Lake Windemere. We took a boat tour to little village called Ambleside for lunch.

Gavin was highly amused that I was taking pictures with mittens on. It was cold!

The guy who sold us our boat tickets told us that it was only a 5 minute walk to Ambleside from the dock. He lied to us. As soon as we get off the boat, there was a sign saying it was a mile to Ambleside. It was a pretty walk, though.

The High Street of Ambleside.

We stopped at a pub for lunch. We didn't realize that a huge football game was going on at the time. It was a little odd for me because I was sitting below the screen and it looked like everyone was staring at me. It was a very enthusiastic crowd. The boys sitting at the bar behind Gavin made Gavin jump a few times.

Lake Windemere is a huge, long lake. It was really pretty. We were there a little too late for the falls colors.

Some guy was water skiing. It was way too cold for something like that.

This is the hotel we stayed at the last couple of days were were there. It's supposed to be a castle.

The next morning, we drove through the Lake District looking for various water falls.

We drove up along the other side of Lake Windemere. This is towards the bottom of the lake.

The water was so clear.

We walked along this cute trail to find a waterfall.

This waterfall took us awhile to find it, but it was well worth it. The night before, Gavin looked up trails he wanted to see and how to get there. We just kept missing the turn off for this trail. It was well-hidden in Ambleside.

There were several waterfalls along this trail. I wish we had more time to spend walking along it.

The train ride home was so pretty.

Barrow-in-Furness

Gavin had a work meeting one day in Barrow-in-Furness at the BAE Systems branch there, which is in north western part of England. If you heard about the sub that ran aground in England, it was made by the BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness.

We went with one of Gavin's work buddies, Peter. We had dinner at the fancy restuarant in hotel Peter was staying at. We stayed at this hotel the next night.

Gavin and I stayed the first couple of nights in a nearby town called Ulverston. It's really tiny. While Gavin and Peter were at their meetings, I walked around the city a little bit. That they they were doing a farmers market. Ulverston must not get a lot of American tourists because when I ordered my lunch, the guy dropped the glass he was holding and looked at me in shock when I first started talking.

The next day, Gavin and I started driving around the Lake District. We had heard from everyone that we talked to that the Lake District is absolutely beautiful. The first day we drove, we went along the western edge. It actually wasn't the best day. Since it was off season and a weekday, most everything was closed. It was still really pretty, though.

This is just outside of Ulverston.

We drove past the BAE Systems where Gavin and Peter had their meetings.

Lots and lots of sheep. :)

We stopped in this tiny village for lunch at a pub where we were able to get some authentic British food. . Gavin ordered a steak and ale pie.

I had spotted dick for desert.

As we were driving, we saw these windmills with cows roaming right along them.

We drove all the way up to Carlisle to see the castle there. We got there right as they were closing, but the lady let us in for a minute to take a few pictures.

Parts of the castle date back to 72 AD.

The Military is still currently housed there.

And We're Back!

I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it safely back to the States. I promise to finish all of our trips in the next few days, but for now, we are tired. We're heading to bed. Keep posted for the updates.

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas.

While we wish we could spend it with everyone, we are enjoying our time in Italy. We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas

This video is from a house that went all out in Bristol. They took donations for a local children hospital foundation. I think it was called the Wallace and Grommet Foundation... Sorry the video is so shaky, but I was freezing. :)

PS. We will be home in exactly one week! And for those asking, we aren't mixed up in that whole Heathrow Airport mess yet. Hopefully, it everything is back to normal next week.