canals – My London+

New Year taken by my son by Lambeth Bridge, London

It is amazing how many places are shut on Mondays (usually one of my free days for exploring), and just now the weather has been dreadful (lots of wind and rain). At this time of year, houses owned by National Trust of English Heritage are closed, operating between October and March. Around Easter time, things pick up again. Some do open at Christmas as light shows have become the next big thing here. It used to be ice rinks, but I think light shows have taken over.

All the heady Christmas festivities have finished and now we are in January, the month when most people struggle with low mood. Getting outside is a great help, but you need some decent weather.

I went in search of new ideas at the library last week and headed for the travel section. There are often books on London with walking guides. Yes, I have plenty of my own, but I’m always on the look out for walks I’d not come across before that pass interesting places and gardens. I ended up with a book about a woman who kyaks through the Birmingham Canal system, and before you ask, I won’t be doing that even for this blog!

I’ve been to Birmingham twice, once for a day and another for a weekend. On the weekend trip I found the canal and what a busy thriving place it is (well in the City). I walked part of it, but without a map I had no idea where I was going, so didn’t venture too far.

I remember a particular low, dark tunnel which made me rather nervous. There were a couple of guys in there. I’m not sure if they were rough sleepers or just friends chatting. I hesitated. I was on my own. This might not be a good idea, but I strode out purposefully and reached the other side in one piece.

20190628_155814 — Who remembers Rosie & Jim from kids’ TV? Birmingham Canal

I get the feeling from the book I am reading that there are lots of tunnels like this, and also a lot where you can’t walk. In those days, narrow boats went through while the horse pulling them went over the bridge. The book also talks about the lowness of some bridges where the men had to push through by lying on top of their boats and guide it through using their legs!

Because I know the canal a little, I recognised names like Gas Street and Mailbox (where tour boats take you out on the water) in the book. It’s proving to be an interesting little book. In case you are interested, the book is called Hidden Nature: A Voyage of Discovery by Alys Fowler. In this book, Alys finds herself too.

It was the canals I fell in love with in Birmingham. I admit I got lost in the big shopping centre. I couldn’t find my way out and had to have help from one of the security guards! No sense of direction, that’s me. Not good in a walker.

The other place I loved was Birmingham City Library. Oh, this was paradise for me, being an avid reader. The size, design of the building and all those books, I was just swooning.

20190628_153939 — The view from the roof garden. Yes, it really has a lovely roof garden!

20190628_153824 — Birmingham City Library

Of course there are other things to see in Birmingham, different ‘quarters’, the museum and the cathedral, but the library and canal was my wow factor.

20190628_164229 — Lots of pubs line the canal

See you next week for a new adventure.

Just back from a four night stay in Chester. We went with a tour company, making our own way to the hotel, and then coach tours out around North Wales. It’s been over thirty-five years since I was last in North Wales.

Travelling on a Sunday you always encounter engineering works on the train lines. Then it’s usually replacement buses. This time we had a replacement train from Crewe to Chester. It took us the pretty way round on a journey that lasted about an hour against the usual half an hour. But I wasn’t complaining with views like the one above.

Then it was a taxi from Chester to our hotel about three miles out of the city. It was raining when we arrived and continued to do so all night. By the morning it was damp but not raining. Our first port of call was the coach into Chester for a walk around. We’d been to Chester before a few years ago when we had walked the City walls, visited the old and new Cathedral, Roman Gardens and the Roman Amphitheatre. The Shropshire Union Canal and the River Dee run through the city, and there is a lovely park called Grosvenor Park. The shopping area is the most fascinating with its Town Hall and upper shopping levels. I believe this is pretty unique. However, like every town here in the UK many shops have closed down.

After the city walk we drove out to Llangollen for lunch. I had been here before and remember the River Dee and the steam railway, though this is not yet up and running. I believe it has been closed for some time – something to do with money and probably Covid. From there we drove to Froncysyllte where we boarded the Thomas Telford for a scenic two hour cruise along the canal back to Llangollen. When we went over the aqueduct, our coach driver, Mark, was up there filming us as we trundled across! He later sent us all copies of the film. During our trip, it rained on and off. We could hear it beating down on the roof of the boat, but we were lucky that it always stopped when we were outside, which was very generous of it.

The second day was a long and busy one. We left at 8am, having pushed down a breakfast I didn’t want but knew I should eat – my tummy isn’t awake to eat at 7am! We had an unscheduled stop in Snowdonia with enough time to get off the coach and take a few photos. We drove through Betws-y-Coed and Swallow Falls and later Llanberis Pass. We had a comfort stop at the Snowdonia Mountain Railway. I had been here before, and that time I went up to the top of the mountain on the train (hubby had been up the hard way….walking!). This time there wasn’t time for that. Instead we set off to Caernarfon. This was a lovely place. However, we didn’t want to waste a lovely day (which it was, with glorious sunshine) inside the castle. We walked along the promenade where the tide was out and sea calm. Absolutely beautiful. From there we went over the Menai Straits to Plas Newydd. The house there was being renovated so lots of the furniture had been removed. However, there were paintings by Rex Whistler. The highlight was the Italian Gardens over three terraces, with views across to the Menai Straits. This was a photographer’s paradise.

Our final stop was Beaumaris Castle. I was impressed as the castle still has a proper moat with water in it. As well as that, the castle boasts inner walls, which we walked around. I then had enough time to quickly walk around the main street for some photos of the old shops.

Looking towards the Menai Straits from Pas Newydd

On the last day there was an optional tour to Llandudno, Bodnant Gardens and Conwy Castle. However, we’d both been to Llandudno, and the coach the previous day did a quick pass by Conwy Castle (it did look impressive), so we decided to have a free day. My husband was born in Chester, so the morning was spent visiting the church he was baptised in and finding the house he lived in until he was two and half, when the family then moved away. We then walked on down into Chester and had lunch. We wandered around for a while and then made our way back to the hotel mid afternoon. That evening there was one last group meal in the hotel restaurant. So soon it was all over.