More adventures in Wales

by Robert Jacquemoud  and Michèle Garcia (level B1)                                                      

After a postponement due to the COVID period we were finally able to make this trip to Wales.

The period chosen by the organizers was entirely relevant since it corresponds in these regions to what we usually call “Indian Summer” Ideal weather for travelling: mild, very little rain, and no wind at all.

After leaving Grenoble before dawn, via Geneva, we swiftly winged our way directly to Bristol on English soil. 

Part 1: THE ROMANS

We easily understand the passion of the Romans for this distant northern land, it is full of mining resources of primary importance, so necessary for their empire: gold, silver, and especially copper, tin, lead, iron.

Bath : City famous for its imposing Roman thermal bath, fed by a hot spring (more than 40°C) whose flow seems not to have changed for 2000 years. Britain’s only hot spring.

Caerleon : The site of the ancient city of Isca,  ruin of a permanent base of one of the three main garrisons of Great Britain with Chester and York. Also see the arena.

 

Part 2 : CAPITAL, RUGBY, COAL, CULTURE and SOCIAL LIFE

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Cardiff : Capital of Wales and of rugby, founded by the Romans. We will stay there for three days.

 

The majestic stadium is visible from all four corners of the city. 

Cardiff

We stayed three days in Cardiff, the capital of Wales with its 350 000 inhabitants. The Welsh love rugby, a true religion, but also the arts. We discovered the Wales Millennium centre with its amazing contemporary architecture made of metal, wood, glass and slate. Its facade is made up of words in Welsh on the left and in English on the right : "In these stones Horizons sing", the line of a poem written by Gwyneth Lewis, a Welsh poet born in Cardiff in 1959 . Some of us went to see an opera "Ainadamar", about the story of Federico Garcia Lorca, and really liked the beauty of the place and the quality of the acoustics.

The Welsh people are very proud of their Celtic origin and culture. They have kept their language alive which coexists with English. As in Brittany, the names of towns are written in both Welsh and English.

After the discovery of coal and iron in the 19th century, Cardiff became a very important port and participated in the industrial revolution which transformed England into a conquering power.

The Blaenavon mines north of Cardiff bear witness to this. Today it’s just a museum.

Another emblematic wealth of the region was the extraction of slate in open-cast mines. They are located in the north of the county not far from the Snowdonia National Park.

 

Part 3 : CASTLES

After the fall of the Roman Empire nearly all of the cities were equipped with fortifications and castles (Norman invasion, Celt occupation….). They are found in large numbers and in a very good state of conservation. 

On our route we visited the most important: Cardiff, Pembroke a powerful Norman fortress dating from the time of William the Conqueror, it’s the castle where Henry VII was born, 1^st sovereign and founder of the Tudor dynasty, Conwy built by Edward the 1^st of England in 1284, Beaumaris located on the island of Anglesey, It is the largest castle built by Edward 1^st in Wales.

 

Part 4 : CATHEDRALS and ABBEYS

Christianity in Great Britain began very early, before the 6^th century. It left on the territory numerous religious buildings, prestigious cathedrals and abbeys. Bath, Llandaff founded by Saint Teilo, and Saint David’s the largest cathedral in Wales.

Part 5: MORE PRETTY TOWNS AND PLACES

Llandudno

We arrived on a rainy day in Llandudno, a Victorian seaside resort located in the north of Wales. It’s a city with old-fashioned charm. We lived a surprising experience when we took a tramway climbing a mile (1500m.) through the Great Orme, a chalky promontory. This tramway opened in 1902 and we got aboard one of the restored tramcars. 

The view from the summit was breathtaking on the coast and the bay. We could see also bronze age mines. We went down on foot and then took a walk on the pier. A good moment!

Isle of Anglesey

We went to the Isle of Anglesey, off the north-west coast of Wales, situated in the Irish sea and separated from Great Britain by the Menai strait. It is associated with the Celtic druids. 

We visited Beaumaris Castle. Its construction began in 1295, after the conquest of Wales by the English king Edward the First. The work was directed by the Savoyard architect Jacques de Saint Georges. 

We stopped in the station of a village with the longest name in Europe Llanfair­pwll­gwyn­gyll­go­gery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch  (l’église de Sainte Marie dans le creux du noisetier blanc près d’un tourbillon rapide et l’église de Saint Tysilio près de la grotte rouge).

Snowdonia Park

When we were in north Wales, we took a steam train from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. It was not the Orient Express but almost! We travelled through a part of Snowdonia Park in a wild and preserved nature. Curious coincidence, this locomotive was built in Belgium in 1952 and spent all its working life in South Africa until 1998 and our English teacher, Melanie who accompanied us comes from the same country!

Portmeiron

Morfa Harlech reserve

Portmeiron is a tourist village designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975. It is caracterised by Italian architecture. 

But nearby, I was more impressed by Morfa Harlech reserve which is the most important actively-growing dune system in Britain.

Finally,we were very happy to discover Wales, its geography, its history and to practise our English with the Welsh. So we are ready to go again -  to a new destination next year !

Robert and Michèle

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